I'll Pour

That One Thing You Were Put On Earth to Accomplish

2012-02-16T00:22:00.000-06:00

Tonight, as I was sewing an edging on a baby quilt my grandmother Mary began, I started thinking. This is going to get deep, so put your boots on. I think all of us are put on this planet for a reason. I haven't figured my reasons out, but I hope something I did, (which was positive), will outlive me. People may be placed on this planet to give birth to someone that will become famous or infamous. They may be here to build something important, or to lead a nation, or to preach the gospel to millions, (I know we are all to spread the gospel, but that is another blog post.), maybe to teach children in school, or be a Sunday school teacher. I think you get the drift. Well, I have put off finishing a baby quilt for nearly 30 years. This quilt was for my little brother. My grandmother started it and I was to finish it. I wasn't in a hurry since my brother never married nor had children. We thought. A few years ago, I found out that he may have a child out of wedlock, but we are still not 100% sure since he will not do the DNA tests. His son is now around 28 years old. I visit with my nephew on the telephone from time to time and we have exchanged pictures. He has some of the family traits and looks a lot like myself. Now, back to what I started blogging about. (Sorry, I know when it comes to stories, I take the long way around and get lost a time or two.) I was wondering as I was sewing this quilt if this is the one thing I was placed on this planet to do. If so, this may be one of the last acts I do. LOL This quilt is soooooo adorable. It has more character than any other quilt I have seen. It is made from with fabric squares which are about 2" X 2" and made from scraps saved from old clothing. Most of the seams on one row do not match up with the seams of the next row. One I found was inside out. One had a seam on the front in the square. Grandmother was in her 80's when she made the quilt top. She was the best hand quilter. When it came to sewing and putting together quilt tops, she had the philosophy of "Get er Done!" I am a lot like that. My mother is able to sew perfect seams effortlessly and quickly. I have to work at slowing down and doing the seams right. I hope my little brother hangs this quilt on a wall and enjoys it just as I have. It was lovingly made and I am enjoying every little square! I will display the quilt once I stretch it onto the frame and as I progress toward the completion of it.

Thank you for reading my blog. I wish you and yours many blessings! Dawn

New projects with hand spun yarn.

2012-02-08T23:23:00.000-06:00

I find myself viewing so many photos in Pinterest. They may be decorating or remodeling ideas. Food is always a big interest of mine. Craft projects are always fun too. I noticed a fingerless glove/cuff made by a lady in Germany. She used a beige colored yarn and knitted a cuff. Then she placed a lacy crocheted top to the cuff which was lined with a baby pink mohair stockinette stitch, (knit one row, purl one row), piece which extended the glove/cuff area about 4 inches. You can view hers at: http://schnuddel44.blogspot.com/2010/09/elf-clobber.html If you would like my pattern you may obtain it free from my website.

I decided to make one similar to this, but use my lumpy bumpy rainbow died hand spun kid mohair yarn. I used a green color hand spun and lined the top with an antique colored light green mohair and silk blend manufactured yarn. I crocheted the cuff by crocheting in the back loop of the stitch which gives the crocheting a ridge. Instead of making an intricate crocheted top to the cuff, I just made chains of 6 or 8 stitches and single crocheted around those chains. A fancy pattern would not even show up with the novelty yarn.

One of the reasons I made this fingerless glove/cuff is to show others that you do not need large quantities of hand spun yarn to add a lot of interest in a garment. Even though I used a chunky bottom, the delicate top says I am all woman!

My second project is made from angora from my angora rabbit, Ruby. I hand dyed the yarn after it was spun. I tied pieces of fabric on the yarn in random places just before it was placed into the dye pot in order for it to have lighter areas. One color, without some variation or texture is too plain for me. I plied this yarn with a soft wool died with the same colors, but I dyed it prior to spinning it. Then I made squares in the modular knitting style. This is a cowl, a collar, or a head band. Wear it any way you want to wear it.

Thank you for reading my blog. I wish you and yours many blessings now and in the future. Dawn

2012-02-04T21:04:00.001-06:00

Ruby is helping me spin. She has blue wool fiber on her chest. See how big she is. It is mostly beautiful hair and soon to be angora yarn. Blessings! Dawn

Organization

2012-01-30T22:55:00.000-06:00

I am organizing again. I read about organizing fabric using pre-made fabric boards which were very expensive. I actually ordered pink foam board and I was going to make my own. I ordered the boards from Walmart. They messed up the order. Instead of getting two packages of ten, I got two boards. Two boards would not have gotten me too far with my large fabric stash. I tried to go into my on-line Walmart account and sign a form for them in order for them to send me the corrected items. I could not get into my account. I opened a new account with them and of course it told me that I had not made a purchase in the last 90 days, so the form has not been signed. After no return phone call, I decided to forget the order, even though it would have made my boards pink. Pink would be my preference since I am the "Queen of Pink." Go ahead and ask my co-workers and my son. They will agree. LOL I made an alternate choice using comic book boards. They were under $10.00 for 100 of them. I haven't a clue how they are used with comic books, but fabric I figured it out. Fabric comes folded from selvage to selvage when it is cut off the bolt. I fold it one more time and roll it around the comic book boards and then pin the end. I find that anything over five yards does not look as tidy, but it can be done. I purchased some new storage cubes. For other storage, I have a few cubes left from a purchase 20 years or so ago. I found that these cubes are fine, but they do not do well with children or in basements. Any ground moisture would be wicked up into the particle board and mold and mildew would grow on the bottom and back board of my cubes. If rollers were placed on the cubes, they would not be in direct contact with the floor, so you should be able to use them in basements. Children tend to rip the handles and hinges off of the doors of the cubes and the stack of cubes could be moved and out of kilter easily. I purchased these 4 cubes from Amazon and the brand name is Way Basics. Each cube was $20.00. I still have a long way to go and more cubes to buy, but here is the beginning. Thanks for viewing my blog. Blessings to you and yours! Dawn

Blue Balls Soap

2012-01-23T08:35:00.001-06:00

Ifinished making a new soap. It has a combination of fragrance oils and essential oils, but has mostly a lemony smell. I used an in the pot swirl of a medium blue color and soap balls rolled in tiny, royal blue, ball-shaped jojoba oil beads. The soap balls may have a tiny amount of green, yellow, and brown in them. There are also tiny blue blue jojoba beads sprinkled on the top of the soap. I think this soap should appeal to both men and women. Lemon is a smell that most people equate to as clean. This is a non-glitter soap, so men do not worry about getting glitter in their chest hair, which is a look I personally like. LOL I think this is the last of my ball soap for a while. After removing the soap from the molds, I found that there some little gaps at the edges around the balls here and there, so I will need to trim some. Yes, that is a hair on the second bar at the top. It is in the design. Did I not say hair was part of the decoration??? LOL Thank you for viewing my blog. May God bless you and yours! Dawn


No hair this time.

More Cheap Gifts

2012-01-15T15:37:00.000-06:00

As I was cleaning, I came upon a bundle of green washcloths I purchased this summer. They are the same green color as my end table in the living room. When I purchased them, my plan was to make coasters with them. Well it is better late than never. LOL I made 4 using the pinwheel design I was working on earlier this week. They go together real quickly.

Fir Balls.....................Soap

2012-01-15T11:35:00.001-06:00

As I was making the last batch of soap I decided to make another batch with a more manly fragrance and humor. LOL I had some of the soap left over and I placed it into a small mold, knowing that I would be forming soap balls later, once it hardened a little. The soap was mostly medium to dark green with a few white and light colored specks in it. When this soap was hard enough to stay in shape, I placed all of the soap allocated for soap balls into the food processor and shredded it up. Then I rolled it into small balls from 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter. I was not concerned with the balls being in perfect shape. I like them into a variety of the sizes and shapes since it gives the viewer a more pleasing view. After that, I rolled the balls into black caraway seeds, using a plastic bag. What man doesn't like a little extra exfoliation, right? The extra caraway seeds that fall off of the balls and any extra green shreds would just add to the visual interest. I left the balls to harden for a few days.
Since the balls were green and the plastic lid I placed the balls on was red, I was thinking about Christmas. That reminded me of Christmas trees and my co-worker has recently mentioned the hairballs her cat has removed, and another co-worker reminded me that his favorite soap I made was dingle berry, which was a gag gift......and,.........well,......uh, all of this was in my head and I decided to call the soap fir balls and use balsam fir fragrance as the main fragrance. Now you know how my mind works. Soon I will see men with a white funny jacket coming to see me.

The Fir Ball soap is made and I tried to pour the first half at beginning trace. It had a few green swirls in it. Three silicone molds were placed at an angle so the first pour would be a triangle of soap. I then placed the balls in randomly when the bottom angle set up slightly. It was able to hold the balls up somewhat. The top angle was mostly a white but it did contain a few green swirls. I also made leaves and a third log mold, but this mold was not placed at an angle. A soaping friend of mine told me that she makes soap and places it in the refrigerator or freezer and it does not go through the gel phase and she thinks it is creamer and has a better texture. I was finally able to try that with this soap. I think I agree, so I may need to tweak my methods and try this more often. Thank you for that helpful hint Dawn!

I think the soap turned out beautiful. It is creamy colored and it has a lovely pine smell. It reminds me of my trip to The Dakotas. Unlike Kansas, in the densely wooded areas a pine fragrance lingers in the air. A few men requested a glitter free soap, so here it is. My new MAN soap.....Fir Balls.

If you are not a soap maker, I do appreciate you reading my blog and I hope you do find it of interest.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope you and yours are truly blessed! Dawn

Star Singles from Spinning Star Designs in Edmond, OK

2012-01-08T00:10:00.001-06:00

Have you seen these paper squares? You place 2 pieces of fabric together with right sides facing each other, then pin the paper with sewing and cutting guides on the fabric, and sew along the guides. Then you cut along the solid lines and you have 8 squares made with 2 joining triangles. Check out this paper piecing technique at your local fabric shop. Shabby Fabrics has a You Tube Video. It makes piecing so much simpler. Thanks for tuning in! Dawn

Honeysuckle Rose

2012-01-02T12:57:00.001-06:00

I am not sure if I should call this soap Honeysuckle Rose or as my son said, "My Heavens." After that part of the statement, he continued to say, "you have a lot of soap!" Hee Hee Well, I have sold and given away a lot of soap lately, so my supply is down quite a lot.

I tried the new red velvet color from Bramble Berry. It is much darker than I expected, but I do love the color. I planned a slight color variation, due to not fully mixing all of the soap with color. I did get a little of that color variation. The bottom has a rose fragrance. It came out very pretty. On the top is the honeysuckle fragranced soap. I used an oxide to color this green. It was darker than I expected also. I usually make much larger batches. I tried something a little different with this batch. I tossed rolled balls into the soap, after rolling the green balls in green glitter. Some of the balls were partially white or lighter green, depending on the amount of color mix in the soap. When I said I tossed the balls in, I meant I tossed hard, so they may go to the bottom, or still hang on the top of the soap loaf. I like the random variation in the soap bars. Thank you for viewing! Blessings to you! Dawn

Christmas. Keep the reason for the season alive.

2011-12-24T00:28:00.000-06:00

I wish you all a safe and joyous Christmas! I hope you are able to be with family and friends during this celebration time. Remember the reason for the season. It is not for celebrating the jolly guy and the elves, it is for celebrating the birth of Christ.

I was able to put up the pink tree in a little area of the office.
On the bottom of the tree I used a prom dress for the tree skirt.
One of the ornaments I used was a salvaged doily. The doily was falling apart and I made a garland using the flowers in the doily. The garland was originally used as a curtain valance/decoration, but I think this is a better place for it. What are your favorite ornaments?

We drove to grandma's house last weekend. I had 3 sleeping babies on the way.

Joy hid from Grandma for most of the visit. She was able to take time to pose on the couch.


Yang hung with Dylan and I mean hung. LOL

Blessings for you and yours! Dawn

Breast Cancer Ribbon Christmas Decoration

2011-12-09T18:19:00.001-06:00

The other day, I was poked by one of my under-wire bras. I really need the support of the under-wire, but the way they are made allows for the wire to break through the fabric and poke the hell out of my boob/arm pit area, way before the bra is worn out. I always have issues with the right side poking through first since I am right handed. Well, I was examining one of the under-wires I removed and I noticed that it looked very much like a wishbone/cancer ribbon combo. I decided to crochet around the under-wire and then bend and criss cross the under-wire and support this criss cross with a tie. I used pink ribbon to crochet with. I tied a bow on the front with 2 colors of pink tulle. I think a little rose would be cute at the bow. What better way to remember a survivor of breast cancer than placing a pink ribbon made from an under-wire bra, on your Christmas tree.

It's Thanksgiving Time

2011-11-23T15:49:00.001-06:00

You know it is Thanksgiving when you can't find your car because it is buried under the leaves.

You know it is Thanksgiving when your turkey neck stairs back in the mirror and it is worse than any turkey you have ever seen!

You know it is Thanksgiving when all your friends and relatives show up. This is a good thing, right???
I am just kidding. I like having friends and family around... I feel like cooking and making aprons for everyone. I guess I know what I will be doing the rest of the week.

Tracie C. is modeling the hat for me.

I want to share a new hat I just completed. It is crocheted with handspun yarn. I used kid mohair and it is very curly. I hope the curls show on the picture. It is spun in a way that a lot of the curls and crimp show. I made this by crocheting around the posts of the previous row's double crochet, which also makes the hat extra thick. The hat is reversible and I used a recycled blue jean seam to weave around the bottom double crochet row. I will be positing the directions if there is interest in them.

The mohair was purchased raw from the Mohair Loft. I rainbow dyed it, spun it, and crocheted it.

Happy Holidays! Dawn

I have been.............

2011-11-20T17:51:00.001-06:00

I have been creating a little. I finished a neck warmer shawl for a Christmas present. I used homespun lumpy mohair to edge it and to hide where the increases were. I hope she likes it. I am not going to tell who gets it. I have also made peacock feather Christmas ornaments. I am ready to start crocheting a hat made with rainbow dyed kid mohair. I spun up 3 bobbins this weekend. How has your weekend gone? Next weekend is Santa Days in Norwich, Kansas, and I will be there with my soap and yarn. I will also be spinning. Come join me!

I have so much I want to tell you.................

2011-11-12T21:51:00.002-06:00

I have so many irons in the fire that I want to share with you. Today and tomorrow I am taking a spinning workshop with Jacey Boggs. She is teaching us how to make controlled art yarn. Today we made cables and tomorrow we get to make coils. We actually did more than that, but I had to put it in a nut shell so non-spinners would not be asleep by the time they finished this paragraph. Oh, by the way. Jacey is famous in the spinning circle. I even have a DVD of hers and she has a book coming out very soon. Now you know what I want for Christmas!!! We are in a classroom at WSU.

Nancy is the one on the left and she taught me how to spin.

Jacey is the cute one wearing boots.

Nancy and April were in my spinning class back in 2003 ???

I also want to show you a tool I find helpful in felting It is called a soap saver sack. It is like the bath scrubbies as far as the material, but it is a bag to hold all of the bits and pieces of soap. It is also helpful for older people or people that have a hard time holding soap since it has a cord to put around your wrist if you wish to. I like to use this for rubbing the knitted or crocheted piece when I am hand felting something. I know you can toss most any piece into the washer and dryer when felting, but I like to have more control over what I am felting. I also tend to use a lot of mohair and it would clog my drains. I have this item on my website---in pink. I may have a couple in purple it you do not wish to have my favorite color. LOL

I also found a good use for roasting pans. I do cook and I am pretty good at it, but there is only so much time in a day, so we eat out a lot. I love the home to smell like baked goods even if I am not baking.


My roasting pan is full of fragrance melts.

The last thing I will share with you this evening is how I rainbow dye wool. I have a pan of kid mohair on the burner at this time. I vary the number of colors and the colors from time to time. I try not to add too much dye since the object is for all of the dye to be exhausted into the wool. This means that you want the wool to be tired. LOL No, it means that all of the dye goes into the wool and is used, leaving the water clear. This is what we desire, but do not always obtain. If I have left over dye in the water when I am done, then I toss more wool into the pot with the leftover color and use it up, or add more color to the pot with the leftover with the left over color and use it up this way. Don't throw it away. When dying or creating, as with any media, observe the safety precautions. Learn the desired or preferred methods. Then do it any darn way you please! It is art and you are the creator. Now, back to my method, sorry but I got sidetracked. LOL I usually place wet scoured wool into the dye pot. I add water with vinegar or salt or both, depending on the dye used. Then I circle the inside of the pot along the edge with one powdered color. Then I stripe or put an X or use more circles with the other colors. Sometimes I place a little half way down the pot first so the bottom has color. Then I may place a weight on the wool after I have had it on the heat for a little while. I don't like to boil the wool, just get it nice and hot and let it stay hot for 30 min. or so and then turn the heat off and let the wool cool by itself. If there is extra water around the edges of the weight along with some dye in it, as seen in the picture, it gives you the opportunity to place more wool around it. I do not always wet the wool. I like the wool to vary as I spin it since I get bored too easily. I seldom spin white wool and dye it. I like wool, even when using one color the have variations in it. One thing I should mention is the need to follow basic rules when it comes to colors. If you place blue and yellow together you get green, if you place red and blue together you get purple, and if you place green and red together you get brown. Watch the placement of some of your colors so you do not get a pot of yuck! I personally like brown, but find that I do not need to dye brown since there are sheep which are naturally brown.

I was able to get all of the variations in this fiber using one dye pot.


This was dyed with the left over dye in the above dye pot. It is a lovely gray and green.

The Earth Shook and Shook!

2011-11-08T13:56:00.000-06:00

We have been shaken with earthquakes twice in the last few days. The first was Saturday around 10:30 and it was 5.6 on the Richter scale. The Richter scale is for rating the magnitude or the amount of energy an earthquake releases. Our whole house moved. The latest one was at 8:47 last evening and it was 4.7 on the Richter scale. I was laying on the bed watching a movie and the bed jiggled. These quakes only lasted a few seconds, but we do not get shocks of this sort in Kansas. An elderly friend and Kansas native reticently told me that she remembers a short earthquake in the late 1960's, but it was the only one she felt, until now. There was also one in between these during my sleeping hours. I did not feel it, even though it was also a 4.7 on the Richter scale. The epicenter, (area directly above the origination of the earthquake), was around Sparks, Oklahoma, which is not far from Oklahoma City.

Making your own lace and floral tape.

2011-11-05T12:54:00.000-05:00

I have been looking on line a little too much lately. When I do, I usually have to spend some money and try new things. Well, that is the case again. I purchased an inexpensive sticker maker. I purchased it so I could make my own tape. They have colored tape available and it is rather expensive and most of it is not girlie. I have to have girlie and bling! Simply I will explain how the machine works. Your paper, or lace goes between two pieces of paper. The bottom one has sticky on it. The top one is a see through Mylar-type paper. Where your item is, it will remove the sticky and the rest of the sticky is removed with the top Mylar-type paper as you rub across your creations.

I am demonstrating the new tape while recycling old junk faxes from work. I use these bags for my free soap samples. I will use the new tape for scrap booking, labels, stationary, packaging, etc.

Tag Fun!

2011-10-28T23:52:00.005-05:00

I recently purchased some download tags. I decided to embellish them and I wanted to show you the results. I don't think too many people would do them quite like mine, just because I have different resources for some of the embellishments. Maybe I am totally wrong, let me know what you think.

This is my favorite! I glued hand dyed kid mohair locks onto the top with glitter glue. The mohair is dyed using a rainbow method and the locks vary in color. In this case, they are darker at one end than the other one. Are these locks not adorable? Obviously I used glitter on the flowers and the leaves, lightly.

I used an Exacto knife and cut around some of the flowers and tucked in some of mohair. It really does look great with the flowers. I think it would also look great with some of the flowers partially cut around and popped out. I also added glitter to the edge of the lace frame and to some of the flowers.

This stocking also has glitter here and there, but it also has a tulle toe accent and a tulle weaving on the top where the tie is added. I hope the next two pictures show that a little better.

I liked the curls added at the hole where the tag is attached.

I stuck Cloud in here. He is eating a cracker. He will try most anything once, even the curtains. LOL He plucks his feathers and looks a little goofy, but it is not too uncommon umong this type of bird.

Blessings to you and yours!!! Dawn

Pumpkin Soap for 2011

2011-10-28T23:24:00.001-05:00

Last year I made pumpkin soap and everyone loved it. It was my favorite scent. This year I wanted to make it again. I wanted to do something different, but it wouldn’t have taken much since last year I had a disaster with using bee’s wax and the soap setting up real fast. I had to re-melt the soap to get it into the molds. Even though it was a disaster in the making, it turned out wonderful! Who would have thunk? This year, I decided to tell you my thought process and give you my recipe. Now you can understand how I make the what I consider art soap. It is artistic and very usable. I like to add extra things for visual effects, but also for skin conditioning. When making soap, I tend to make quite a mess and it takes a lot of clean up. I always drop some of the soap as I am scooping it out of the pail and sometimes I drop other things too. Not always is it feasible to stop and clean up your mess since there is a limited window of opportunity as the soap sets up . If you take the time to clean up as you go, you lost the opportunity to do some of the decorative elements in the art soap.

Recipe:

Read all directions and make sure you have what is required to make the recipe.

Prepare your surface and try to protect it as best as you can from the dyes and the lye. Newspapers and plastic cutting boards work great.

Measure out all of the ingredients, except for the lye. Once you measure the lye and start the actual soap making, make sure you put on safety glasses, gloves, respirator, and an apron. Some people put on lab jackets. I understand since I look like the mad scientist making soap. LOL

Mix 3 ounces coconut milk powder and10 ounces water. Set this aside and make sure to strain it or you will get little white specks in the soap. This can be a decorative element though.

For the center of the soap I will add left over soap balls which have been rolled in mica and oxide. The balls I have are left from the gingerbread with lemon sauce soap. Roll the balls in l teaspoon plum oxide from Herbal Accents and 1.5 tablespoon raspberry pop mica from TKB Trading Company. These two ingredients were placed in a large plastic bag, along with soap balls. They were tossed around and thoroughly coated on the outside. This should give it a tiny darker ring in the soap on the outside. This gives the soap visual interest, but also keeps the gingerbread from looking like poop balls. LOL Set these aside until you are ready for them.

Measure the lye and add the water. Add the coconut milk, the oils/fats, the ROE, and the palm stearic acid. Mix well. ((60 ounces water (10 ounces is already in the coconut milk) 26.30 ounces lye, 90 ounces coconut oil, 55 ounces tallow, 19.6 sunflower oil,11.5 ounces shea butter,2.2 ounces ROE, 3.5 ounces palm stearic powder))

Add the coloring, the sunflower petals, the fragrance, and the pumpkin powder. Mix well. ((10.6 ounces pumpkin spice fragrance from Bramble Berry,1 ounce pumpkin powder,.20 sunflower petals, coloring)) For the coloring, I used a liquid bright orange from Bramble Berry. It was especially made for cold process soap. I used quite a lot of the tiny bottle of coloring. I think it darkens over time, so it may be more feasible to use less.

Much of the ingredients sold for soap making is not made for cold process soap making, so prior to your purchases make sure you purchase the right kind of ingredients. You may also wish to label your purchases if you make melt and pour soap too. I recently used a lilac oxide and it turned grey in cold process soap since it was made for melt and pour soap. I did not realize that it was not made for cold process soap when I used it. The soap still looks great, but it was not what I expected.

Now it is time to get the party started. Place some of the soap mixture in the bottom of the molds. Add some of the balls at random intervals. Some soap will have 3 balls and some will have one. Of course, when you cut the soap, the complete ball will seldom be in one bar of soap. Pour more soap onto the top of the balls. Add more here and there if you are able to do so. I placed some on the soap in another container and I did not color it. This way I was able to use two colors in the soap for the first three loaves. Now this is where things changed. I had plans, but………… For the fourth loaf mold, I did not quite have enough soap. I used a larger mold than intended and if I had not mounded up the first three molds, I would have had enough. Isn’t that the way it goes. LOL I like the tops of the mold to look similar to pumpkin bread, so I mounded up the soap. So on the the fifth loaf, I added some green oxide to the last 2 cups of soap mixture. I somewhat swirled the soap, but mostly spooned it in the molds.

The first soap mixture gelled very fast. It looked like 3 loaves of sweet potatoes.

Since the the 4th loaf mold ingredients were a little low from the top, I decided to add a topper. I followed the above example and measured the ingredients, added the water to the lye, the oil to that mixture once it was dissolved, added the titanium dioxide to keep the topping white, and then the pumpkin pie spice. I whipped this a little stiff so it would top the soap and look like whipped cream. ((30 ounces coconut oil, 22 ounces tallow, 7.9 ounces lye,19.76 ounces water,1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice,1 ounce titanium dioxide))

Place the topping on the soap. Add the little pumpkins if possible. Sprinkle with cosmetic grade glitter. I used 3 colors of orange. Cosmetic grade glitter is very fine and does not scratch your skin. The tiny pumpkins were made from left over pumpkin soap from last year.

Now I can’t wait to see how everything turns out. It takes most of one day to plan, measure, mix, and clean up a large batch of soap. It also costs a considerable amount to make the soap since we do not have access to purchase much of our items locally and shipping can be expense, even when you buy bulk. I like to add things such as pumpkin powder and pumpkin pie spice, coconut milk, and glitter. My soap is a little unique and I like it to be different than the rest. It also tends to be a little flashy and that is what I am going for.

If you are able to salvage a little left over soap mixture, make tiny pumpkins for next time, or add a little green oxide to it and make vines for the pumpkins on the top.

I hope you are able to understand what I have written. It has been a long day and I think I am going to sleep and dream of pumpkins, maybe count them on my way to sleep....... Thank you for viewing my blog. You should have an award for making it this far. Blessings to you and yours!

Paper Flowers

2011-10-22T05:51:00.004-05:00

I have been reading other blocks and looking on Pinterest. I noticed that several people were making flowers using coffee filters. One of the methods uses the funnel type coffee filters and petals are cut from these filters. They use thread to wrap around the base of the petals as the flower is built. Then the flower is dipped into coffee and spice such as cinnamon. I tried this method and I found that my dipping concoction was too thick. I used an apple pie spice and cold coffee. I rinsed off some of the concoction and what I had left on the flower was strong enough to be a delightful color and still have a heavenly fall fragrance. To dry the roses, it is nice to have a cup to help keep the flower in proper form as it dries. It would also be ideal to perch a flower on the top of a small paper cup as it dries. I learned how to make the roses of this method from www.the-white-bench.blogspot.com.

The second method of making flowers from coffee filters uses the standard type of filter. You use about 3 filters and fold them in two pieces and then again fold or three more times. Trim the pleated edge into curved petals or pointed petals. I also used thread to wrap around the stem and dipped the flower into the same concoction that I used from the first flower. Again, I used the cup to help maintain the flower shape. The original method used a stem from wood and fabric. My thought would be to place a flower on a twine handle of a brown gift sack. Wouldn't this be a perfect sack to use for fall gifts, especially those like apple butter, or maybe even some of my home made fall soaps such as pumpkin spice, apple, or gingerbread with lemon sauce. Once the flowers are dry, it is the best time to arrange the petals into your desired shape. A cord or string can be tied onto the flower stems for easier attachment.

After I posted the above information about making paper flowers, I used a spray made for scrap-booking. The spray gives your items a little shine. After observing how it worked and how it looked, I realized that the spray was basically mica and water. I chatted via email with Kaila Westerman at TKB Trading LLC. She was familiar with the spray and agreed with me on what the contents primarily were etc. I researched and worked on products for a week or so and I have a pretty good recipe to color the paper coffee filter flowers with.

Make a paper rose as described above and shown in the pictures. You may attach a wire stem or pipe cleaner as you wrap the end securely. It takes 2 funnel type filters to make one paper rose. For the other type of flower using regular coffee filters, it takes three filters. Spray each flower after it is securely perching on a cup, or being held by you. Spray the flower using the following mixture:
1/2 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon fragrance oil, 2 tablespoons mica. Shake the mixture well before use. Make sure your mica is a shiny, pearly looking powder. If you are holding the flowers as you spray, hang up the flower after you finish spraying. Several light sprays are better than one heavy spray. Manipulate the leaves allowing the spray to mingle with the inside of the leaves.

See how much the mica allows the flowers to shine. If you do not like the rustic look, go for the bling with mica spray.

This is what you will need to make the coffee filter flowers. Add spice and coffee for color and scent, or mica and fragrance oil in a fine spray mist bottle.

The flower on the right is not dry and made with the regular type of coffee filter. The flower on the left is made with the cone coffee filter and it is dry.

Flowers drying up-side-down.

This spray can be used for various other projects. I hope you have found this blog entry has been helpful for your future projects.

Refer to the other blogs or websites for more help in making the flowers or for ordering mica.

Some of my findings are below:

Coffee filters can be re-used. Once I use the filter, I pour off the grounds and rinse the filter. I lay the filter on a plate and it dries within a couple of hours. Once dry, it is already tinted and ready to be used in flower making.

The flowers dried and stayed in shape by either hanging by the stem, or while being perched on the end of a paper cup with the flower tip pushed through a hole in the cup.

Coffee filter fiber tends to have a little give and it works very well with this type of flower. I tried using recycled fax paper, and it did not want to be manipulated and moved into shape since it had a tendency to tear.

I experimented with cosmetic grade glitter and I did not find that it would stick to the flower, unless a glue was used.

I sprinkled mica on top of the original purchased spray, and it would not stay on well, unless it was sprayed after being sprinkled. Too much mica in your recipe can allow the coloring to become too powdery and come off.

Mica tends to clog the spray nozzle. That is why I stress to make up only what you need for one day.

A second reason for not making too much of the product is the need for preservative since we are adding water.

A spraying container that drips or does not leave a fine mist, leaves an unintentional interesting pattern on the paper.

I used a fan on low close to the flowers and it helped immensely in the drying.

A dab of glitter glue in the center of the flower adds a little spark and interest to the flower. I used a dark purple with a lavender flower.

Thank you for tuning in!    Dawn

Lovely Train Case Give Away at A Gathering Place

2011-10-20T15:23:00.001-05:00

Isn't this Beautiful! To enter, try the following line.

http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com/

http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com/2011/10/vintage-train-gathering-case-giveaway.html

Blessings! Dawn

Weekend Fun

2011-10-09T16:47:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful visit with family this weekend.


My big sister.

My mother doing what she does best----making repairs.

My great nephew

My niece and her son

What a cutie!!!

I have been reading other blocks and looking on Pinterest. I noticed that several people were making flowers using coffee filters. One of the methods uses the funnel type coffee filters and petals are cut from these filters. They use thread to wrap around the base of the petals as the flower is built. Then the flower is dipped into coffee and spice such as cinnamon. I tried this method and I found that my dipping concoction was too thick. I used an apple pie spice and cold coffee. I rinsed off some of the concoction and what I had left on the flower was strong enough to be a delightful color and still have a heavenly fall fragrance. To dry the roses, it is nice to have a cup to help keep the flower in proper form as it dries. It would also be ideal to perch a flower on the top of a small paper cup as it dries. I learned how to make the roses of this method from www.the-white-bench.blogspot.com.

The second method of making flowers from coffee filters uses the standard type of filter. You use about 3 filters and fold them in two pieces and then again fold or three more times. Trim the pleated edge into curved petals or pointed petals. I also used thread to wrap around the stem and dipped the flower into the same concoction that I used from the first flower. Again, I used the cup to help maintain the flower shape. The original method used a stem from wood and fabric. My thought would be to place a flower on a twine handle of a brown gift sack. Wouldn't this be a perfect sack to use for fall gifts, especially those like apple butter, or maybe even some of my home made fall soaps such as pumpkin spice, apple, or gingerbread with lemon sauce. Once the flowers are dry, it is the best time to arrange the petals into your desired shape. A cord or string can be tied onto the flower stems for easier attachment.

While doing the second project, It also gave me another idea. I made a tag using paper, fabric and other sewing scraps and sewing these items on the tag using a sewing machine. See the photo for my idea----there is not wrong way to make the tag. I used the coffee filter for a ruffle on the bottom of it. Creatingkeepsakesblog.com is where I gleaned some of the ideas for the last flower method and tag ruffle.

Soaping Weekend

2011-09-26T21:36:00.000-05:00

Sunflower Hot Pads Made with sunflower decorated fabric.

Belly Up to the Bar Beer /Salt Soap

Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce

Soaping weekend. I planned on going to Topeka and selling my wares. Instead, I stayed home with a bad cough. It is a good thing I stayed home since someone charged on my debit card and the bank thought it was suspicions activity and put a hold on my card. I am grateful for the bank catching the illegal activity, but I pay for everything with the card. I would have been stranded in Topeka unless I could find a bank that was open. Instead, I made two batches of soap. One was Belly Up to the Bar which is a beer salt soap and Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce. Oh what heavenly smells came from my home!!! I also crocheted a couple of sunflower hot pads too. This fall weather is wonderful!!!

Under the Lilacs

2011-09-15T21:00:00.000-05:00

I made a new soap and I call it Under the Lilacs. I was a little disappointed with the color. The oxide I used did not work correctly for cold process soap so the lavender color came out a gray color instead. In some of the bars, I tried angle coloring with some marbling, and only marbling in others. The top is decorated with freeze dried lilacs and glitter. I added a little lavender jojoba beads as well. Even though the gray showed up, they are still beautiful.

As I approach an older age, I will wear lace, lace, lace.

2011-09-14T21:39:00.001-05:00

As I approach an older age, I will wear lace, lace, lace.
No, not just the weathered and beige,
all kinds and colors and styles;
even the funny ones that bring on big smiles!

I will wear it as much and as often as I can,
some made by machine and some made by hand.
While making my outer shell look gentle and refined,
it is covering the flaws of old age and time.

Poem by Dawn Jones

Blessings to you and yours! Dawn

Liquid Soap

2011-09-14T15:41:00.000-05:00

Today, I am making one large batch of liquid soap in two crock pots. I am observing differences in the way each crock pot cooks. One is a little smaller and it cooks hotter. The larger one required more stick blending to thicken.

I have to get masked up and gloved up since lye will burn your skin. I can still wear pink gloves!!!


Just starting to thicken. Crock pot 1

It is thickening and becoming a little translucent. Crock Pot 1

The soap mixture is looking applesauce color. Crock Pot 1

Beginning to thicken. Crock Pot 2


Thickening, but not translucent. Crock Pot 2

This is the second crock pot and you can see where it is becoming a little translucent, but not as translucent as the other crock pot. This crock pot was mixed for 5 min. longer. Crock Pot 2

The translucent mix will break into clumps and eventually become thick liquid. Shown in this picture is the mixture with Borax and

Coloring Added. The clumps are almost broken down. I added fragrance. Nice consistency and suds!

I start with oils and butters and then I add water and potassium hydroxide, (lye). I am using shea butter, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil in the soap. It should be wonderful to use on the skin. In this batch, I added coconut oil to my regular recipe and I hope to see more suds. These ingredients are mixed and cooked in the crock pot until they become thick and translucent. Once translucent, I add boiling water, Borax, fragrance, and coloring. Then the soap is placed into containers and is ready to use.

My last batch of liquid soap turned out wonderful but............... After a month or so, it developed spots. I decided that the spots were probably due to mixing the Borax in hot water, opposed to boiling water. The soap smells and looks very normal except for little white snowflake like spots.

Thank you for viewing and may you and yours be blessed! Dawn

dogs in a blanket

2011-09-14T01:40:00.000-05:00

My son, the big dawg, and the little dog babies sleeping with him on Grandma's couch. They have to curl up with him for bedtime. Isn't Yang's little ears sticking out cute? He is totally wrapped in blanket except for part of his head. Joy woke up when I took the picture.

Mom is 80 today!

2011-09-11T17:25:00.000-05:00

My mother turned 80 today! We just had a simple family party. Now please do not tell her that she is on Facebook or there will be hell to pay. LOL

Blessings for you and yours!

Dawn

Daily Fiber Visual Intake

2011-09-06T08:07:00.000-05:00

Daily Fiber

Do you create to live or live to create?

2011-08-29T21:29:00.001-05:00

Many times I can't wait until the weekend when I am off work in order to create. The skein of yarn I make from raw wool. I wash it, dye it, add fun ingredients and wallah! You can't buy the same kind of enthusiasm you feel about a project when you buy manufactured yarn. Don't get me wrong, I like to create with manufactured yarn, but it is so much better when I create a one of a kind item with homespun yarn which I created with my hands.

I also feel this pride when I make soap using oils, lye, and fun ingredients. How can you compete with (store bought) manufactured soap? Each creator has his or her unique combination of ingredients and technique, aside from using the necessary basic ingredients. I have to curb my enthusiasm when I smell the sweet fragrance, see the lather on my skin, view the color combinations and the difference of each bar, feel the way the butters and oils leave my skin so touchable soft, and of course, view the added sparkle.

I make items for hearth and home, like grandma made, but I want them to sparkle, be made the best I am capable of, and add ingredients which were not available to grandma to improve on the products.

The following pictures are some of my weekend creations.
Batts to spin.

Yarns to knit or crochet with.

A small tea cozy or mug cozy.

What is important to you when you create? Is it the process or the product or both?

May you and yours be showered with blessings! Dawn

Felted Fall Leaves

2011-08-27T16:59:00.004-05:00

I am back to the felting topic again and I thought I would give you a photo tutorial of felted leaf making.

I started with mohair dyed in fall colors. I picked the mohair open and tried to remove and pieces of pasture left behind in the twist.

Once the mohair was picked open, I placed it on a piece of plastic bubble wrap. I kept the mohair overlapping and tried to blend the colors using mixed color mohair.

Liquid soap was evenly distributed on the mohair (1/2 cup) and boiling water (4 cups). The bubble wrap had larger bubbles and it did not work as well as the wrap with smaller bubbles. At this time, I used the back side of the bubble wrap. I didn't want to have large holes in the felted piece.

As you see, the mohair went down quite a lot in size. Once I added pressure of rubbing and continued to add hot water, the mohair was felted. Unfortunately, there were some thinner spots and holes in the mohair. I expected this since I could not lay the mohair both ways and cover all spaces prior to felting, like you can when using roving. NOTE: Mohair would be nice to felt over a piece of wool felt so thin areas would be fine since it already has a backing of felt.

Once the felting was done, I washed the mohair in cooler water to wash out the left over soap and I laid the piece flat to dry.

I planned to needle felt embellishments on the leaves, such as the veins. I found that it was necessary to needle felt any thin areas and holes first. Then the leaves were cut out. The left over pieces were able to be needle felted together to make a third leaf. I let the shape of the leaf keep the natural curl of the mohair as much as possible. The edges of the leaves and the stem were needle felted so they did not come apart when used. The edges and the veins took some of the curl look from the mohair, but it still retained the bright colors and the soft feel.

The colors did not quite come out the right colors on the indoor pictures. Look at those curls of the mohair. WOW!

The veins were made using a thin yarn of mohair in the same colors of the leaf.

They are at the base of the tree in this photo and the oranges just pop with color!

These are great to use under your mug, teapot, or coffeepot. A friend of mine thought they would look nice alone as decor. She also suggested the edges should be rippled when they were drying, so they maintain that rippled shape like normal leaves.

Thank you for viewing my tutorial. Blessings to you and yours! Dawn

Do you ever.............

2011-08-22T17:43:00.000-05:00

Drying Mohair

Do you ever start a project and stop in the middle of one? I also have unfinished ideas in my head! I am the queen of unfinished projects, especially home improvement projects!!! A couple of years ago, I purchased a teapot which resembles a radish. I have a couple of silk cabbages and a carrot from another project to display next to it. During a shopping spree, I found a decorative radish to add to this group. In another shopping spree, I stumbled upon a piece of material with red and green cabbages on it. This fabric and all of the other items go perfect! This is where my creative flame blew out and the spark was not there to finish the project. The items set until the spark I need hits me.

Yesterday, I rainbow dyed a little mohair, and it came out from the dye pot in perfect colors to go with the teapot. I can now commence with my project because the flame is on high!!! I am going to make a new tea cozy and unleash my creative mind. More to come......

Silly Little Hat

2011-08-16T14:51:00.000-05:00

I novelty spun some bright green yarn, which is almost neon green. In with the wool is Kelly green Mylar and silk nibs. I allowed the twist to spin back on itself and make little worm like extrusions from the yarn. On the side of the hat is 3 roses made from Sculpey clay. When you wear this hat you can be girlie and funky at the same time. It will fit most adults, but I think the style would suit a teen best. Aside from decorations, it is made with 99% Border Leicester wool, .5 % silk nips, and .5% green Mylar. One of my trade marks is an extra row on the bottom of the hat, crocheted a special way, making the hat more sturdy. You hate for your hat to get all stretched out. You see the extra row on the last picture.

Thank you for reading my blog. May God Bless You and Yours! Dawn

I had this idea for 2 years and I finally completed it.

2011-08-15T19:33:00.002-05:00

If you are a creative person, you dream about colors, designs, and ways to make your next project unique. I purchased a vintage ruched French ombre ribbon on eBay which was made for hats or considered to be millinery. The design was a purple and gold pansy. You can find similar flowers on eBay for much less, but they are not vintage. This flower was about $45.00. The non-vintage flowers I viewed on eBay are priced from $9.00 to $29.00. One of my sister's gifts at Christmas to me was vintage ribbons. In the box of ribbons, I found some black netting, or what may be called cage veiling. I placed the netting behind the pansy and I knew it had to be together. All I needed to do now was spin the wool to match and crochet or knit the hat. I think hats, such as stocking caps look great with vintage millinery on the cap. The hat is made with a Merino wool and plied with a kid Mohair and a little purple Mylar for sparkle. Both wools were purchased from the farmer. I washed, dyed, and spun the wool. The wool is not one solid color, it varies from a blue purple to a pink purple. There are a few intentional fuzzies from the mohair. Well, it took about 2 years to get this project together. It did not take 2 years to spin the wool, more like 2 days to spin the wool and put the hat together. It took 2 years to get in the right mood and have the right materials together to make the hat. LOL I am pleased with the way the hat turned out. I hope you like it as well as I do. Unfortunately, due to the cost of the flower, fiber, and all of the labor, the hat will be priced rather high. I don't expect to get paid for all of my labor when I price projects, but I do have to price them so my material costs are covered.

Please excuse the odd hat display, mine good display is at the consignment shop and when last viewed it was displaying someone else's hat. LOL I used a paper towel holder and a pink bowl for this display. My lense also has a scratch on it and it has a light blur on the middle of the lense on the left side.

Thank you for viewing my blog. I hope you and yours are truly blessed! Dawn

Maison Jar Pumps

2011-08-09T08:38:00.001-05:00

I have been playing with jar lids and converting them into pumps for liquid soap. I tried to put a fabric strip around the lid and I did not like that look. I made scrunchie like you make for your hair and I didn't like that look. I made modified version of that scrunchie and a version of a teapot drip catcher. They are pretty much the same thing, except for the size. Would you buy a quart of liquid soap, or do you prefer a smaller size?

MORE PICTURES TO COME.

Jerry the farm goose and his family.

I will be hiding under the blankets.......

2011-08-05T19:11:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where you want to hide under the blankets in the warmth and safety of your own bed and tell the world to leave you alone? This is one of those weeks. Monday I had an interesting date, just a meet and greet. I am still trying to figure that one out. Tuesday I found out that a friend of mine lost his 20 year old son to suicide. What a tragic event! I have a 19 year old son and I just can't imagine the paid he must be feeling and the void in his life. Wednesday we had very heavy storms with strong winds and rain. We lost our electric power at our home until the following day about noon. My telephone stopped working also. This morning we had to rush our beautiful Scarlet Macaw, Albert, to the vet where he sadly died. The electricity being out probably encouraged a lung virus to grow due to the humid hot temperatures. It was like pneumonia in adults. Albert was about twelve and this was the first time he had been ill. He was always joyful and he liked to tease you. He would pretend bite you and yell, "ouch." He would drop his food and say, "oops, or uh oh." What I will miss most are the times he would say, "Hi Babe." He would say this to me copying my late husband's voice. My late husband would say this to me often. Maybe this is an omen telling me to get on with life and to get over the past. With Bob's voice coming from Albert the parrot, it was like he was there from time to time.

I think Mae West said, "When in doubt, take a bath." This may be good advise for today.

Can You Identify These Figurines ???

2011-07-19T21:06:00.001-05:00

The head in the background is not part of the set. LOL

I have friends that purchased these figurines at an estate sale. The lady they purchased them from told them the figurines came from Vietnam in the 60's. We are not sure what they are made from. We do know that they are not made of wood or stone because of the weight and texture. They may be made of bone, shell, or a plastic type material. Do these look familiar to you? Do you know anything about them? Do you know where this couple could look for more answers??? Thank you for your help. My God Bless You and Yours!

Kid Mohair Spinning Fun

2011-07-17T20:11:00.000-05:00

Out of the dye pot.

Pulled apart. This is the actual color. The other pictures turned out dull.

Before the twist was set.

I know tail spinning is popular, but the yarn is very heavy and can be difficult to work with, and expensive. My choice for novelty yarn is Mohair. I like to purchase raw Kid Mohair from the farmer and scower it, rainbow dye it, and spin the wool myself. Instead of carding the mohair, I pull it apart. A few fibers will stick together, but I try not to let too many stick together. I let the yarn go into the wheel orface and I give it a little guidance trying not to let it get too thick in spots and I add a little to the twist if there is not enough bounce or thickness. I can do this as a one-ply yarn or use several plies. If it is a single ply yarn, I set the twist before I use it. Thank you for tuning in tonight. I wish you and yours many blessings! Dawn

What A Mess!

2011-07-09T17:35:00.000-05:00


up and over

I left the crock pot on and went to bed. My son was watching it. LOL At 4 am he woke me up. It took me 3 hours to clean up all of the mess. It even went to the bottom shelf and in-between bread pans. I hate these messes! There was soap in the crock pot, so at least I did not need to add soap. LOL

bottom cabinet

Laundry Soap

2011-07-03T23:45:00.001-05:00

It seems that everyone is making laundry soap and saving money. I thought I would enlighten those of you that have not quite got into the money saving mode on making laundry soap yet.

I know, you are thinking that I am totally nuts and you are probably right, but play along with me for a few minutes before you make the assessment on how nuttie I am.

There are several ideas out there and what works best for you and your family will obviously be your decision. My sister buys fragrance free laundry soap
and adds her own essential or fragrance oils and makes it a fragrance she likes. That is a great idea for those that find some fragrances obnoxious. I am one of those people. My new favorite fragrance is one part of oatmeal, milk and honey fragrance oil and two parts baby powder fragrance oil. This does not really smell like either fragrance. It is a light fragrance that smells like an old fashioned man's shaving lotion. I think both men and women will like this fragrance. Well, back to the topic at hand.

The basic 3 ingredients are: shredded bar soap, borax, and washing powder. The bar soap can be most any kind, but Fels-Naptha is what most people reach for. The bar is 5.5 ounces and it is an obnoxious smelling bar! The soap wrapper states that the bar is a heavy duty laundry bar soap. The ingredients listed are cleaners, soil and stain removers, chelating agents, colorants, and perfume. Mine usually state that I use some type of specified fats, water, lye, colorant, fragrance, etc. The washing powder is from Arm and Hammer and the Borax is the 20 Mule Team kind. All of these ingredients can be found in the cleaning isle of the local grocery or discount store. You can also add baking soda and Oxi-clean, test out the original recipe and see what works for you. The three original ingredients are used in equal amounts of one cup each. Each load of laundry only required approx. 2 tablespoons of soap. Don't expect a lot of bubbles, but it does clean.

As you have noticed, this is powdered laundry soap. Some people prefer liquid. This can be done by placing the shredded soap in water and melting it down with the use of a double boiler. Once this is done, you can add the other two ingredients until dissolved. It may take up to 24 hours for your soap to thicken and set up. A 5 gallon bucket works great for the storage of your laundry soap.

In place of the Fels-Naptha soap, I use my homemade soap. I usually have a bar or two of soap that is not pretty enough to sell or gift to anyone. Using a hand shredder is fine, but if you have a food processor that can be allocated for soap shredding only, it would be the easiest way.

Once the three fragrances are together, you can add a fragrance. You may purchase them at a hobby store in the soap making isle. Essential oil fragrances may be purchased at a health food store. If you wish, you can purchase fragrances at soap making supply stores. Most are not available to us, except on line. Some have small bottles and sample sized bottles. Experiment and have a great time.

I hope this helps you with saving money, or your quest at getting back to nature. If you have questions, or suggestions, I would be happy to hear from you. This makes a great gift. I recently used a plastic bag, tucked into a pretty fabric bag.

Wouldn't this make a good gift?

My you and yours be blessed today and in all your tomorrows! Dawn

Lightening Bugs

2011-06-22T22:16:00.000-05:00

Just when you think you have seen it all, your child comes in with a family pet sporting lightening bugs on the pets forehead. What is next??? LOL
May you and yours be blessed! Dawn

The Pink Door

2011-06-22T00:55:00.000-05:00

Do you ever see a path or a door and wonder wear it might lead or what may be inside??? What do you think is inside this pink door?

Jump for Joy Endorsed by Yang

2011-06-20T16:29:00.001-05:00

Have I told you that I like the soap mama made me?

I really do like this soap!

I also like the cuddles I get after a good bath!

More Cuddles!

I really do like this soap. It is called "Jump for Joy." It is named after my sister Joy. See her picture below.

Joy visiting at Grandma's House. I hate to admit it, but she is scared of Grandma.

Lindsborg Midsummer Festival

2011-06-20T15:42:00.000-05:00

Festival set up. See Dylan in the back.

Joy at festival.

Yarn and wool batts at festival.

Yang at festival.

We had a great time at the Lindsborg Midsummer Festival. We saw so many people and many watched me spin. Most had not seen a spinner, or at least not for a long time. I was surprised to learn that at least 3 of the festival goers were spinners also. Photos of the festival are attached.

Step-By-Step

2011-06-13T11:25:00.001-05:00

Liquid soap continued.

It is getting clearer.

It looks a lot like apple pie filling.

Just a little more water and it is done!

More Weekend Endeavors!

2011-06-12T20:36:00.002-05:00

Strawberry Love Sugar Scrub

Liquid Hand Soap

I am continuing to make items for my on-line store. Of course, there will be samples and gifts for family, friends, and customers. Maybe some for me too. I will also sell some of my weekend endeavors in festivals and in local shops. I made a sugar scrub. It turned out wonderfully. I am making a liquid hand soap now. It is in the crock pot and it will become translucent soon. I will then add water, borax, fragrance, and color.

Headbands

2011-06-12T01:35:00.000-05:00

I have been making craft items like crazy. I will be at Midsummer's Festival in Lindsborg this coming Sat. I am attaching a couple pictures of headbands.I think they still look great with short hair. Who do you think the model is?

Pink Flamingo Mail

2011-06-01T14:08:00.001-05:00

When I was a kid, we made fun of anyone that had a pink flamingo in their garden or on their lawn.

As I got older, my tastes changed and I developed an interest in pink flamingos. I decorate my yard and flower bed with a couple. I have hanging lights that are pink flamingos. I decided to go over the top and paint my mailbox pink and add a pink flamingo under the mailbox. The flamingo is peeking out from under the mailbox. I will plant a climbing plant, such as a morning glory, at the base of the mailbox and allow the plant to climb up and around the flamingo.

Joy and Yang playing in the yard on 5/31/11.


Katie looking wonderful with a glow stick necklace.

Have a wonderful week! Blessings! Dawn

Homepsun Wool and Angora Child's Hat

2011-05-27T00:03:00.002-05:00

This what is left from what I spun. Doesn't it look like flannel? There is another wool yarn under this yarn popping out.

I spun some of the wool that I won from Cintia Sadrith Mora, at the Fiber Farm, in Corning, California. It looked like gray flannel. I made a 3 ply yarn with this wool and two other plies. A second ply was also from a Merino X wool but it was brown. I mixed this strand with a little teal wool here and there, giving the yarn a tweed effect when it was twisted with the other two plies. The third ply was made from our white angora rabbit hair. This brown/gray/white yarn was very interesting, especially with that teal tweed effect. I then knitted the yarn into a child hat, with an unusual pattern similar to a military garrison hat. At the bottom of the hat I used a 2 ply yarn made with the above wool, leaving out the brown Merino X. There are 3 gray buttons along the seam. I tried to take several pictures, but my normal hat stands are in use, so I used volunteers and a glass vase. Thank you for looking and may your home be filled with warmth and happiness! Dawn

The Soap Is...............

2011-05-25T07:52:00.001-05:00

The soap is peppermint with lavender and crushed peppermint on the top. The smaller loaves are mostly green and the larger ones have pink bottoms. This soap is named Peppermint Poodle. Blessings! Dawn

Name That Soap

2011-05-23T23:12:00.000-05:00

I am sure that everyone is familiar with the game and the old game show, "Name That Tune." Well, I want you to Name That Soap. No, I don't need a name for it, I just wonder if you can identify what kind of soap it is if I show you my pictures. There is a secret on the bottom third, and that was one of those last minute things that I had to do for me and my need to pretify everything up. I don't expect you to tell me what is on the bottom because that is a secret. For those of you that know me well, it is not glitter! LOL So what kind of soap do you think this is???

I'll Pour: An Addition To MyTeapot Collection

2011-05-22T18:49:00.001-05:00

I'll Pour: An Addition To My Teapot Collection: "Last week I was at Pier 1. They have an area with discounted items. I saw a rose teapot in the discounted area, so I had to investigate. ..."

An Addition To MyTeapot Collection

2011-05-22T18:21:00.009-05:00

Last week I was at Pier 1. They have an area with discounted items. I saw a rose teapot in the discounted area, so I had to investigate. It was broken. I usually hesitate purchasing a teapot with a flower bud at the top on the lid, or something like that because it usually breaks off. I also do not like purchasing ceramic teapots since they chip easily. Most flower teapots are ceramic and this teapot was china and very detailed. Behind the broken teapot was another teapot which was unopened. I opened it and it was in perfect shape! It was also discounted to just a little over twelve dollars. What a good deal for a teapot addition! I have a limited space to display my teapots, so I will remove a teapot to display this one. One of my friends or relatives will be receiving a teapot for Christmas now. LOL Blessings! Dawn

Yang Was Hiding

2011-05-21T17:29:00.000-05:00

We drove to Enid and picked up a new dog at the SPCA earlier this week. His name is Yang. We looked all over the house to find him and finally Dylan found him. You would never think to look in an overnight bag would you? That may be why he was hidden so well. LOL I hope your weekend is going well! Blessings! Dawn

Birthday Boy!

2011-05-15T09:06:00.000-05:00

Dylan decided to fashion his birthday hat. When you are on a road trip you get a little giddy. LOL

The best part of the trip for Dylan was to see a car without doors, etc. I think you have to see it for yourself. Dylan was able to get a picture just after the vehicle turned.

I hope you all had a great weekend!
Dawn

Simple Pleasures!

2011-05-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

Today is one of those days, a little rain and a quiet morning at work. I looked around me and found some simple pleasures that made me feel very blessed. These are also great inspirations to me. The flowers on my desk give me such inner joy. A rose from Tracie, the groundskeeper, is in my teapot vase with a giant white iris from my front yard. A gift of chocolates from a kind resident is scattered on my desk. The Internet up and running and fast! What blessings!!! Last evening we were on our way home and my son saw a rainbow. I am not usually as observant about those things since I like to keep my eyes on the road as I drive. LOL I took a couple pictures and if you look real well, you will see a pinkish rainbow in the center of the sky. Blessings to you and yours! Dawn

p.s. I tested Jump for Joy soap last evening on Joy, our 6 pounds of jumping joy, and I also tested it on myself. I like to test my products on family and friends before I sell them so I can tweek recipes in case there are any problems. I must say that Joy is softer and cleaner today. It worked well for me too. The anise star on the top of each bar gave my test bar more fragrance. For someone that did not like a lot of floral, this would be a great soap, even though it is intended as a dog soap. The lime and mint are more predominent in the fragrance.

Jump for Joy!

2011-05-08T22:26:00.005-05:00

The new soap is finished, except to cure. The soap is 100% natural and full of essential oils that repel bugs and help with the scalp, along with the benefits of herbs and goats milk. It is named Jump for Joy! because our new dog is named Joy. Joy was her name prior to us finding her in Enid at the SPCA. I am having new labels made for the soap and they have a little dog that looks like Joy on the label and a child blowing bubbles. The dog is jumping after the bubbles.

I also made a small batch of a soap I call Scraps, using soap scraps and regular soap batter together. I put a few too many soap scraps into regular soap, so it does not stick together along the edges as it should. It will work for family and friends though.

The wool I won arrived on Saturday. I won the fiber from Cintia Sadrith Mora, at the Fiber Farm, in Corning California. Here are pictures of what arrived in the sack and also some combed samples. I will attach more pictures when I have spun more than a tiny sample.

May your new week be full of blessings! Dawn

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-07T15:19:00.001-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there that have given birth, adopted, mentored, grand-mothered, and taken care of child!

Baby Oh Baby!

2011-05-05T00:12:00.002-05:00

I knitted up the baby girl hat from the skein of Kid Mohair and Angora I showed you yesterday. (homespun by me) It is so soft!!! Along the edge I placed 3 pink transparent daisies. It should fit most all infant and toddler heads since it has the cross over front, unless of course, the child has a lot of hair.

I changed the background of the blog. I have not quite finished tweaking it. It seems like I have the wrong size or something since the cute edges are not showing. I will attempt to make the changes soon. I am not the most computer literate person I know. LOL

Blessings!
Dawn

Have You Been to the Office Supply Store Lately?

2011-05-04T14:09:00.003-05:00

Have you been to the office supply store lately??? See my latest find. Now I have a high heel tape dispenser and a purse sticky pad dispenser. LOL

I finished this small skein. It is made with one ply of Angora and one ply of Kid Mohair. The Angora is spun smooth and the Kid Mohair is thick and thin with the curls here and there. This is baby butt soft!


Finally, I organized my books and found that I had duplicates of these two books. They are unused and just sit on a shelf for a couple of years. I thought I would give them away if I am contacted with a comment answering the following questions: 1. If you bought a bar of my made from scratch soap, what size would you like the soap to be? 2. How would you like the bar of soap to be wrapped? 3. What fragrance would you prefer? Make sure I have an email contact address. I will draw randomly around the 21st of this month. Thank you in advance for all entries.

I Won!

2011-05-01T22:57:00.001-05:00

Every once and a while you read something such as "you won!" No, not from Publishers Clearing House saying, "you may have won," and actual, "You Won!" I was notified by Cintia Sadrith Mora, from the Fiber Farm, in Corning California, that I won a package of wool which as been washed, and it is ready for me to comb and spin! Here is a picture of my winnings. She even displayed the winning wool on a knitted background! Can you believe it???

Flowers, Love and Romance, Lace...........

2011-04-27T19:09:00.000-05:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I dearly love flowers, lace, romance, beauty.... I like to wear lace and to decorate with lace. I believe in love and romance for everyone---yes, I said everyone. A romantic home and romantic clothing is of course full of lace. Well, I ordered my new business cards for Custer Cottage, and they just arrived. I had them printed with a lace design. I think for a woman's business that specializes in feminine items for home and hearth, it works. I am showing you the design and also a new lace scarf I was fortunate to purchase earlier today. Blessings and love to all!

It floats!

2011-04-27T18:35:00.000-05:00

I had to see how the soap looked, so I took one log of soap out of the mold. Some of it stuck to the mold and did not come out as smooth on the bottom as I had hoped , but the soap looks very nice. It is lighter in weight than most soaps. I cut a little bit off of the uneven bottoms and rolled it together to test for floatability. It floats! Yeah!

Baby Me

2011-04-26T23:57:00.004-05:00

I have two firsts I want to share with you today. The first of the firsts, (LOL), is something I have desired to have for many years, but I could not justify the expense. Why would you switch mixers just to get a color you desire more? I purchased a KitchenAid mixer years ago. Shortly after that they came out with pink mixers for breast cancer research. They were hard to find and KitchenAid is not cheap. Obviously I have drooled at the pink mixers for years. If I have a coffee maker, a toaster oven, a microwave, etc. all in pink, I should have a pink mixer too, right? Well, I finally babied me and bought one. I am using the old mixer for other things such as mixing oils for my soap. The second first is making whipped soap. I just made some and when it has set up, it should float. The floating is one of the reasons for making whipped soap. It is also to have a different texture and I am looking forward to experiencing that myself. It is fragranced with baby powder and hence the name Baby Me. I also used jojoba beads, a tiny amount of glitter, and some oxide to add a little interest and beauty to the soap. We will see how I did when the soap is ready to be cut. I understand that it may take longer for the soap to set up and it is also humid here in Kansas and that may also be a contributing factor to the soap taking longer to set up. I'll see you soon.

Happy Easter Everyone!

2011-04-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

New Business Cards

2011-04-21T22:50:00.000-05:00

New cards for Slippery When Wet! Pink bubbles!!!

I Found My Yarn Thief

2011-04-19T21:37:00.001-05:00

I found the yarn thief. Notice the pink ball of homespun yarn, or what is left of the pink ball of homespun yarn, on the right side of the thief.

New Soap and New Signs and a Purse Insert

2011-04-18T23:28:00.002-05:00

I just cut 2 batches of soap. One is a shea butter salt soap. It is Baked Apple and it also contains apple cider and a small amount of apple liqueur. The other batch is Antique Lace and as usual it also contains shea butter. Both are vegan.

I have been making signs to use for announcing the price and content of items. I like to laminate signs and use a Sharpie to write on the signs. The Sharpie is removable with finger nail polish remover. I learned to use chopsticks, but a straw covering the chopsticks helps tie in your sign colors.

My co-worker got an insert for her purse. This one is from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It seems to be taller than the first ones that came out and the fabric seems to be more washable.

Spring

2011-04-12T08:01:00.000-05:00

I took pictures of the rabbits Sunday. I thought I would treat you to a little spring visual.

I purchased some muffin cups made by Vesti House. They are a little hard to get, but I saw the pink muffin cups with white lace and I had to have them. I thought they would be perfect to put a bath fizzie in. The papers do not absorb oil, so that would help retain their beauty.

The Flying Pig

2011-04-09T22:05:00.002-05:00

I was at The Flying Pig today. I sell some of my products on consignment there. It is a wonderful shop which contains all types of bath and body products, including home made soaps and lotions. There are some antiques and vintage items, clothes for children, jewelry, garden decor, and many, many items for your home and for gift giving. The sign was just painted a few weeks ago. You can see the pig on the sign as far away as three blocks. It is wonderful! Dani, the shop owner also teaches soap making classes. She is a very energetic proprietor and she makes it a delight to visit her shop. I am posting some pictures of the shop inside and out. Some of the items are mine and some are not. If you look carefully you will see bubbles in the front of the store. The pictures will enlarge if you click on them. Blessings!

Bubble Butt!

2011-04-03T21:57:00.001-05:00

I was at Walmart tonight. I was so excited to see that they have colored sand.............pink, purple, and green. I wonder if it is 100 percent safe and if it stains clothes?

Hint, this is what I want for my birthday.

I bought the colored bubbles tonight which Crayola makes. I thought a bubble making machine would be nice when I set up for a market/craft show. Since I use pink for business colors, wouldn't pink bubbles be fun! Well, I went by the bikes. I have one picked out. Of course, it is pink. Well, if I set up a bubble machine on the bike and as I peddle the bike, the bubbles can flow behind the bike, You don't want them to flow from the front and into your face. If I do this, would I not be considered a bubble butt? Now I have to figure out how to attach the machine and make sure that it is level. I purchased the battery operated bubble machine.

Many happy bubbles to you!

Snuggle Bunny!

2011-03-29T20:24:00.000-05:00

We are finding Joy to be a ball of fun energy. She snuggles up with Dylan when he is sleeping. We had a cold snap so I even made her a sweater.

I caught her.

Joy

2011-03-26T15:50:00.002-05:00

We drove to Enid yesterday to pick up a new dog at the SPCA. They had 5 Toy Fox Terriers at the shelter. My son looked on-line and found one that looked like our Annie. We had two other Toy Fox Terriers in the past and we wanted to replace our Annie with another one like her. The new family member's name is Joy and she is much smaller than Annie was, but Annie was way too big for her breed. Joy is so lovable and my son has enjoyed her immensely.

Dylan and Joy are both fully grown.

Pretty Pink Peppermint!

2011-03-24T17:16:00.003-05:00

Pretty Pink Peppermint....Say that 10 times real fast. I can't. LOL
My soap room is pink again. Yesterday I made pink peppermint bath bombs. I used some pink mica and colored jojoba beads for added beauty. At times, but not often LOL, I get a request to make bath products without glitter. I prefer tons of glitter on most everything and at our house, we all wear it accidentally due to the fact that it gets on everything. We teased each other a burglar we previously had at home, could be identified by the glitter on the bottom of his shoes. I think I watch too much CSI. LOL I thought the colored jojoba beads would be great to add a little extra pizazz to bath and beauty items without the glitter. I also made some of the bombs in small heart shapes so they would be great in foot baths. Just the right size and with peppermint essential oil for that soothing effect. It will also relax your muscles, help with foot pain, and of course it would leave your feet smelling minty fresh!

On these photos, you may notice my new tags. I glitterized them too. Glitterized may not be a word in your language, but it is in mine. LOL

I think I showed you this hand towel before. Just in case you did not see it, I am showing it off again, in the more wrinkled version. I had a pillow case with this nice crocheted basket on it. The case had wear and a small hole on it, but not on the side of the case with the crocheted basket. I just did a little sewing and made the pillow case into a hand towel. It is always better to re-purpose than to toss away hand made beauty.

2011-03-22T00:21:00.001-05:00

I found a wonderful blog that offers free images. It is Magic
Moonlight, http://magicmoonlightfreeimages.blogspot.com.
Blanca, a primitive artist from La Quinta, California is the
author of that blog.

The images below are from Blanca. Thank you Blanca!

I love pictures of young love!

This looks like a young me. LOL

This would make a great Sunday Undie tag.

Some Days are Better Than Others!

2011-03-20T17:41:00.000-05:00

Saturday was an odd day for us. We had to put our little dog to sleep, so we said goodbye to our faithful friend and companion Annie. I am posting a few pictures of her. We will miss her!

See the smile on her face?

She was dog tired.

See her roll her tongue. LOL

I also got my mail and found this odd letter in it. Let me explain, my husband passed away more than two years ago. This letter is to him. It starts out, "When will it be too late for you to qualify, Robert Jones?...No medical exam needed." Unless they have bring back the dead insurance, why am I getting this ??? I know that it takes a while for marketers to get names off of lists, but you would think insurance lists would be better at it. I guess not.

I was able to hang out at Twist Yarn Shop and The Flying Pig. They are two of my favorite shops in town. You may even find my products in these shops from time to time. I learned that a small bath fizzie, or bath bomb is good for feet soaking or to put in a foot bath. What a great idea Shelly, from Twist, gave me.

Occasionally you have a need for a paper doilie. I just received these from Fancy Flours.
Life is too short for ugly. LOL

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and may God Bless You!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T08:28:00.000-05:00

Bird with Bling!

2011-03-16T14:20:00.002-05:00

Do you remember the old chicken pot holders? You put two extra full crocheted circles together and doctored them up. I decided to do an updated version with bling. I wanted to make it smaller and fit on the knob of a pan or on the top of a teapot and used when pouring hot tea. My version is as follows:

Nesting Again!

2011-03-15T12:14:00.001-05:00

I wanted to make a nest using a sustainable product that I already had. I tried using paper shreds before and that was OK, but the nests came out large since the shreds were larger. The bottom left hand side is the nest I made. Well, what do you think of my finished product? What do you think I used?

Oh, I thought I would show you my duck. LOL OK, it is my son with chip lips.

So, have you figured out what I used to make the nest? I'll confess, I used wool and needle felted the nest. I used a Merino cross sheep wool and it has a lot of crimp. Of course, it is soft too. Some of the wool has been opened and some is still together on the tips. I plan to put 3-5 egg-shaped bath bombs, (or fizzies), into the nest. What do you think?

Puzzled?

2011-03-11T14:29:00.001-06:00

I am awful at doing puzzles. I thought I would occasionally put one in my blog so I might be able to practice. lol

You may want to try this one instead.

2011-03-10T18:16:00.002-06:00

I know you all think I am nuts, but I have made some changes on my blog and I added a couple of items to the bottom of each post. Unfortunately they have a rectangle outline and I do not know how to remove that. I will read up on that tomorrow. I how you all have a blessed evening!

Great Package Day

2011-03-07T21:52:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while you order things and they all arrive at the same time. Today was one of those days. I want to show you some of the items. I am also including one wonderful antique find from a favorite antique shop.

I bet you can tell what I purchased from the antique shop.

This tub is soooooooooooo cool! I was told that tulle will look like bubbles on a photo.

Another addition to my tea cup collection.

New knitting bag. Cath Kidson

I bought these kid bags for small project bags. You can't have too many project bags.

Last, but not least, the other bath tub. It is a wire tub and it holds soap and sundries very well.

Spring Eggs

2011-03-07T00:39:00.000-06:00

I worked on items to display and sell today. Some of the items were Spring Egg Bath Bombs. I tweaked the recipe a little and I didn't have problems with the bombs raising. The humidity may have been lower today too.

Seaside Soap

2011-02-28T14:44:00.000-06:00

The unveiling of the new soap. Seaside

Spa Soap and Magic Milk Straws

2011-02-28T00:44:00.000-06:00

A new soap is setting up in my dining room. It is a spa soap with Himalayan Pink bath salts in the soap. This is the first time that I have used bath salts in soap. It should look interesting from the added salts, but I also added cranberry seeds to exfoliate and of course shea butter and glitter and color swirling. I love the anticipation before the soap is cut. It is like Christmas. lol

Himalayan Pink Bath Salts are found in the Himalayan mountains and hand mined. They are speckled in color and contain 84 trace elements and iron. The salt is known for it's healing powers which include the folk remedies of stimulating circulation, lowering blood pressure and removing toxins from your body. (Information from Snowdrift Farms)

Have you seen the new straws that make your milk flavored? I saw chocolate and strawberry at a convenience store this week. There are little pieces of a strawberry candy-like flavor that is inside of straws. The straws are semi-sealed at the top and bottom and allow the candy flavor to come out with the milk each time you drink through the straw. Weren't they thinking outside of the box?

Passion for Pink

2011-02-26T22:59:00.000-06:00

This week I was packing boxes of my products and getting other products ready for display in 2 local stores. Until this time, I hadn’t realized how pretty my products, wrap, labels, etc. were when they are placed together and spread out on the table. I have a round oak table in the area a normal person would have a coffee table. It is in front of the couch in the living room. I find that it is easier for me to use it for placing my coffee/tea cup, to photograph my products, or when I need a table to place my knitting chart as I curl up on the couch. I must confess that I eat at this table quite often too. I had a silly moment a couple months ago and I got cable TV. One of those bundle things so my son can play 360 live. I am addicted to HGTV and murder mysteries. When I can get the remote! You understand that when a male is in the home, he seems to feel that the remote is his property and he is in charge of TV entertainment. If two men are in the house, it goes to the older man. lol My table even looks a little romantic with all these items spread out on the table. On the table, my tags have pink lace ties, fragrant pink rose bath fizzies , pink bubble wrap, pink packing shred, pink tissue paper, pink calico fabric bags… Look at all of this pink! Did I ever tell you that I like pink? I know that I wear a lot of blue so I can accent my eyes, (He He), but I prefer to decorate in pink. Don’t tell me that I am the only one with a passion for pink.

Your Help Needed

2011-02-24T17:03:00.000-06:00

My pink microwave is on the blink and I want to replace it. I have tried to get a replacement at Penney's. eBay, and anywhere else that would have one. No luck! Does anyone know where I might find one?

I also need help with another thing or two. I found an old range that was pink. It has been outside for a while and I am sure that it does not work. Do you have any ideas on how to convert or recycle this range into something else? When I was growing up, we had a turquoise refrigerator and a pink range, or vice versa. I love those colors!

The last thing I need help with at this time pertains to bath bombs, or bath seltzers, or bath fizzies. After I made two batches yesterday, one of the batches continued to raise. It is probably a simple thing and I think I can tweak my recipe, but have you ever made them and they raised to double in size?

Saved

Bath Fizzies

2011-02-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

drying fizzies

glitter on top

see how pretty the water is

the pitcher running over

I made some new bath fizzies. Some are strawberry fragrance with red glitter and some are cherry almond with pink glitter. These are such fun when you put them in water and let them fizz away.

This morning I cleaned some glitter off my shoes. I wore these shoes yesterday while I was smoothing some soap edges and I apparently dropped some glitter on them. I think I live in the right state for wearing glittered shoes. From the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy had ruby slippers. She clicked her heals together three times and said there is no place like home. Most of the time you see the slippers decorated with red glitter.

For that purple lover............

2011-02-16T20:40:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine loves purple. I thought I would make a purple coffee cozy for her. I made a matching coaster since I had plenty of yarn left from the project. This coffee cozy does not show the shine that is actually in the yarn. The buttons have glitter inside too.

Coffee Cozy

2011-02-16T08:14:00.000-06:00

I have been working on a coffee cozy for coffee cups. This cozy and cup is a gift. I used fabric strips and a shiny yarn together as I crocheted. The buttons have a little sparkle in the center of them. It is very foggy out this morning so the pictures are not too good.

Pink Pancakes

2011-02-11T07:17:00.000-06:00

I saw the pancake mix in another blog. I had to try it. It can be purchased at Walmart in the Valentine section for about $3.00. They look pretty, but the pink does turn brown as it is cooked.

Unveiling of Lepricheon Fields Soap

2011-02-07T14:49:00.000-06:00

Do you see the heart with the cross inside of it?

The glitter on the top really shines! This is fine cosmetic grade glitter and not the scratchy regular type glitter.

Leprechaun Fields

2011-02-06T21:41:00.000-06:00

My new soap named Leprechaun Fields is setting up in the kitchen. (about 22 pounds) One of the things I like about making soap is the unveiling of the soap several hours later. You never know for sure what it will look like. You pour the semi-liquid into the mold, you swirl colors, add other good ingredients for interest, add ingredients for your skin, and then you sprinkle the top with glitter or other goodies and it all sets up. You cut the soap and allow it to cure for about a month. Stamping an imprint on the soap allows for a little more interest and beauty. The color may change a little during the cure. I placed some sea kelp into the main color. Sea kelp sometimes adds a little green speckling as the bar sets up. There is some minor lavender swirling in the soap along with more dark green swirling and under the green glitter, you see some purple glitter peeking out.

Cottage Cozy

2011-02-03T16:56:00.000-06:00

I finally am finishing another cottage style tea cozy. I need to complete the lining and it will be done. I made the roof over a year ago. lol Here are some pictures.

Tea 4 Two

2011-01-31T11:30:00.000-06:00

Tea for Two Lyrics:

Picture you
Upon my knee
Just tea for two
And two for tea,
Just me for you
And you for me alone.

Nobody near us
To see us or hear us,
No friends or relations
On weekend vacations,
We won't have it known, dear,
That we own a telephone, dear.

Day will break
And you'll awake
And start to bake
A sugar cake
For me to take
For all the boys to see.

We will raise a family,
A boy for you,
A girl for me,
Can't you see
How happy we would be?

Black Forrest Brownies

2011-01-28T21:46:00.000-06:00

Black Forrest Brownie Recipe
2 packages of Duncan Hines Chewy Brownie Mix
4 eggs
1 cup of sour cream (instead of oil)
1.25 cups water
1 can cherry pie filling

Mix the brownie mix, eggs, sour cream, and water together in the mixing bowl. Mix well for approx. 4 min. Pour brownie mix into a greased 13 X 9 inch pan. Spoon small amounts of cherry pie filling into the mix evenly spaced in the pan. Bake as normal (approx. 25-35 min. at 350 degrees). I personally like these served warm and with ice cream.