// Homemade Flaxseed Hair Gel… Well, Conditioner

 

Attempt #1:

2 T.  flaxseeds
1 cup water
4 T. coconut oil
essential oil (as desired)

Boil flaxseeds in water and melted coconut oil for approximately 10 minutes. Once mixture is a gel consistency, remove from heat and pour into container through pantyhose or fine cheesecloth. Using tongs, squeeze as much from the bundle as possible.

You can boil the seeds again like we did. Remember it may take longer to boil to get a good viscosity for the mixture.

Add essential oils as you like. I used 4 drops of vanilla, a small amount of tea tree oil, & about a 1/8 teaspoon of sweet orange (not pictured.)

Thoughts:

It’s really more of the consistency of conditioner, and from all that I’ve read, it makes a great one at that! I think my next batch will not include the coconut oil, and of course, I’ll post more pics!

via PicsArt Photo Studio

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// Lazy Lunch and Time Rescued

No offense to Martha, but…

• I handed my kid a spoon and a plate of halved kiwis.

Of course I fed him more than just that, but the point is I didn’t make a miniature anything, wrap it in a little package, or configure it into a smiley-face. Maybe as artists, one might think we should paint or build pictures with his food for him; however, I’d like to believe that I’m teaching him to see the natural beauty of things from his and God’s perspective. (Also, I don’t have time to make mini versions of anything that would equal enough to feed a growing boy and his big, mountain-of-a-man father! ^_^)

So call it lazy on my part, Martha, that I didn’t put it on a cute plate, cut it out in cool shapes, or pair it with a side of some special sauce (made of ingredients we do NOT normally have in our pantry or fridge.) That’s okay if it seems lazy because I’m busy. Besides, the kid and I are about to use that time I salvaged doing something really awesome!

• Read Bible stories // Talk about God and our faith // Pray with him
• Talk to each other // Laugh // Tell silly jokes // Call or text people we love
• Teach him to play tennis with his new Sponge Bob racket
• Go to the comic book store // Watch people play games // Eat Pocky // Teach geekery
• Read together // Kid’s- choice and Mommy’s choice
• Go swimming // Pretend we’re a special task force of underwater ninja-spies
• Bake cookies from scratch together
• Go to the farmers’ market // Taste watermelons and homemade jalapeño pickles // Buy “too many” collard greens
• Show him old photographs of ourselves and family members (and laugh at how funny everyone looks of course)
• Put a puzzle together // Play a board game
• Play “school” (a.k.a. practice/ go over current school lessons)
• Go to the library // Teach him to find his own books
• Take him to work with me // Teach him how our family business runs
• Use our imaginations // Have Fun

No offense Martha, but …

Those are better uses of my time.

// Finding Beauty in the Ugly

No offense to Martha, but…

I find beauty in not-so-obvious places.

On our last Christmas visit to Kev’s parents’ in West Virginia, I caught a quick snapshot of this abandoned trailer.

It’s been begging me to photograph it for several years now.

Many seasons have passed over that little sunshine-yellow, broken-down home. Winters on those mountains are especially rough.

I hope it’s still there when we visit again because I plan to stop and photograph it properly.

                                                                                                                                                                                     

• Check out more of Backburner Studio’s favorite Shutter Sketches and Jess’s photography.

// Aspirations of Simplicity

Let’s be candid here, how many of us are living up to Martha’s standards?

No offense to Martha, but…

• I don’t entertain that much.
• I can’t afford anything with her name on it.
• My garden definitely has weeds.
• We’re in debt and working hard to dig our way out.
• Those homes in her magazines look nothing like ours.
• I really don’t think I need all the stuff she suggests are “good things.”

Martha does have this idea right though…

Everyone could use a little more simplicity in their lives.

In our family, we just go about it all quite differently than Martha, and that, for us, is a very good thing!

That’s what this blog is all about… our life and how we navigate through it with aspirations of simplicity (but not by Martha’s standards!)

We’re Kevin and Jess, a husband and wife team of artists trying to pull our dreams off the back burner. Our studio is thus, appropriately dubbed, The Backburner Studio. Our artistic styles are eclectic. Some may even say they’re all over the place. We maintain it’s just reserving the right to be artistically indecisive!

Hope you’ll stay tuned!

–Jess

The Backburner Studio