• Blog - Crafts

    Watercolor cartoon

    A friend of ours turns 50 today…his party was actually yesterday. We had planned on attending but several circumstances made it impossible. 
    The birthday boy is an avid hunter. My hubby came up with the idea and caption then I went for it with 
    the drawing and paint. 
    Considering my drawing skill or lack there of…
    I think it turned out pretty well. 
    It’s supposed to be kind of cartoon-y in case you were wondering.  🙂
    The caption inside the card reads:
    “When you’re over the hill, catching Z’s is easier
    than climbing trees”
    I’ll be mailing this card on Monday.

  • Blog - Crafts

    Soap results

    Patty was kind enough to take photos of the freshly unmolded soap we made.  
    Here’s much anticipated blue marbled soap brick. 
    Isn’t it pretty!?!?
    Next out of the mold was the Oatmeal Shea…
    I thought this was a cool photo showing how they slipped it out from the mold.
    And now being cut into bars….
    Nice of her hubby to lend a hand with the cutting. I’m sure it’s not that easy to slice through.
    Fun stuff!
    Definitely want to try it again soon.

  • Blog - Crafts

    Soap Making

    So I took a drive today out to my friend Patty’s house so she could show me how to make soap. 
    I’ve admired and used her awesome soap for quite a while, 
    so when she said she’d show me…
    I knew I had to find a time to do it. 
    That day was today… 
    As I found out later what we made today was cold process soap. It used lye but wasn’t cooked on the stove as I thought it would be.
     
    She explained that this soap has a “curing time” of about a month which if I’m understanding correctly, hot process soap is ready pretty much
    right away.
    This photo is showing the mixing process after 
    the lye dissolved in water has been added to the oils.  
    She is using a deep pot and a stick blender. 
    I was really shocked how quickly the saponification
    happened.
    This was actually the second batch we made but I had forgotten that I had my little pocket camera with me. I was too busy learning.
    For this batch, Patty wanted to try out some new pigments she had purchased. We decided on ultramarine blue and titanium white going for a marbled effect. The scent we used was called “rise and shine”. It smelled divine!!
    Her hubby stepped in to lend an extra hand while filling the mold.
    Now I have to wait for a month until I see the finished product!! AHH!! I’m not known for my patience. If it didn’t take the better part of an hour to drive to her house, I’d be there on Tuesday when she un-molds it. I’m pretty sure she cuts it at that time as well. Yet another question I’ll have to ask.