Friday, January 4, 2013

Homemade Lavender Shea Butter Soap


Here is the second soap recipe I used for Christmas gifts for my family. It was also found on www.Soap-Making-Resources.com complete with a kit containing all of the ingredients that the recipe required.  I made 16 bars of this Lavender Shea bar and it ended up being one of my favorites.   I actually love all 6 scents and bars but still, this one is very good!!  Here is the recipe and how-to! Enjoy!


SUPPLIES:
  • Olive Oil = 21.2 Ounces 
  • Palm Oil = 10.6 Ounces 
  • Coconut Oil= 10.6 Ounces
  • Rice Bran Oil = 4.77 Ounces
  • Shea Butter = 3.18 Ounces
  • Castor Oil = 2.65 Ounces
  • Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil = 75 Grams 
  • Colloidal Oatmeal powder= 4 tablespoons
  • Oat Milk = 20 ounces
  • Lye = 7.29 ounces (206 grams) 
  • Gloves
  • 2 Thermometers
  • A pot for melting the oils
  • A bucket for cooling and mixing the lye and distilled water
  • A stick blender
  • A soap mold
  • Parchment paper 
  • A Digital Scale
  • A measuring cup
  • A coffee grinder
  • 5 lb wooden soap mold
  • Dried Lavender Buds for decoration
  • A large towel to wrap the mold in
  • A knife for cutting the soap

DIRECTIONS:

1) Wear gloves and measure out your distilled water oat milk in the bucket you intend on making your lye mixture in.  You can blend oats and make your own if you don't have oat milk on hand- its 1 cup oats, 3 cups distilled water and blend- if you do this strain out the oat particals with a cheese cloth before using it). Now measure the lye and add it to the distilled water oat milk. Do this near a window, it gets stinky! Place the thermometer into the solution and wait for it to cool to about room temperature. 

2) Measure your Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Shea Butter and Rice Bran Oil in grams or ounces with your digital scale and a add it to the pot you have for melting the oils.  Place this pot over low heat until all of the oils melt together.  Once they are melted place your second thermometer inside this pot and set it aside to wait for it to cool to room temperature also.  You can place both the pot of oils and the bucket of lye mixture in an ice bath if you'd like to speed up the process

3) Now measure out your Lavender Oil and set it aside for later use.  You are also going to want to take your whole oats (NOT INSTANT!!) and grind them up on the coffee grinder to make almost an oat powder and set that aside also, this is the Colloidal Oatmeal powder. 

4) Now take your soap mold and line it with parchment paper.  Set it aside also.

5) When your oils and lye mixture have cooled you want to combine them slowly while stirring.  When they are a smooth and even texture add the powdered oats and the lavender oil.  Now mix the batch with the stick blender until it is the constancy of thick yogurt.  This is called reaching trace.  You will be able to tell you are at trace by dribbling a little of the soap mixture on top of the batch and seeing if it settles on top or is immediately absorbed into the liquid.  If it settles on top you have reached trace.

6) Pour your soap mixture into the mold, sprinkle some lavender buds on top, cover it, wrap it in a towel and let it sit overnight.  

7) The next day (AT LEAST 24 HOURS LATER!) Remove the lid and towel and cut your soap into 16 even bars.  Place on a cooling rack in a well ventilated area to cure for 6 - 8 weeks, flipping each week.  

TA DA! You're done! 16 home-made bars of soap!  


Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Homemade Clove Honey Oatmeal Soap

Every year I like to craft or make something as a Christmas gift for my family.  This year I started thinking about what to make for everyone a little early, as in October, and thankfully I did! I stumbled upon a bunch of beautiful soap recipes and decided I wanted to try it out.  Making the soap was so much fun and they turned out so beautiful I actually ended up making six different kinds.  The first one I made is this Clove Honey Oatmeal soap that I found at www.Soap-Making-Resources.com  That site is AWESOME and you can buy the kit complete with all of the supplies right from it.  Here is what you need and how to make it! 


SUPPLIES:
  • Olive Oil = 26.5 Ounces
  • Coconut Oil (76 Degree) = 10.6 Ounces 
  • Sweet Almond Oil = 6.4 Ounces 
  • Avocado Oil = 5.3 Ounces 
  • Castor Oil = 4.3 ounces
  • Honey = 2.5 ounces
  • Almond Milk = 6 ounces
  • Whole Oats = 2 ounces
  • Orange, sweet essential oil = 45 grams
  • Clove Bud essential oil = 30 grams
  • Distilled Water = 12 ounces
  • Lye = 7.281 ounces (206 grams)
  • Gloves
  • 2 Thermometers
  • A pot for melting the oils
  • A bucket for cooling and mixing the lye and distilled water
  • A stick blender
  • A soap mold
  • Parchment paper 
  • A Digital Scale
  • A measuring cup
  • A coffee grinder
  • 5 lb wooden soap mold
  • Optional- Bubble wrap and extra oats for decoration
  • A large towel to wrap the mold in
  • A knife for cutting the soap
DIRECTIONS:

1) Wear gloves and measure out your distilled water in the bucket you intend on making your lye mixture in.  Measure the lye and add it to the distilled water stirring until the mixture becomes clear. Do this near a window, it gets stinky! Place the thermometer into the clear solution and wait for it to cool to about room temperature. 

2) Measure your Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Castor Oil and Avocado Oil in grams or ounces and a add it to the pot you have for melting the oils.  Place this pot over low heat until all of the oils melt together.  Once they are melted place your second thermometer inside this pot and set it aside to wait for it to cool to room temperature also. 

3) Now measure out your Almond Milk (you can blend almonds and make your own if you don't have almond milk on hand- its 1 part almonds, 3 parts distilled water and blend),  Honey (I added warm distilled water to the honey to make it easier to pour too), Orange Oil and Clove Oil in separate containers and set them aside for later use.  You are also going to want to take your whole oats (NOT INSTANT!!) and grind them up on the coffee grinder to make almost an oat powder and set that aside also. 

4) Now take your soap mold and line it with parchment paper.  Set it aside also.

5) When your oils and lye mixture have cooled you want to combine them slowly while stirring.  When they are a smooth and even texture you add your almond milk and honey water and keep stirring.  Then add the powdered oats and both the orange and clove oils.  Now mix the batch with the stick blender until it is the constancy of thick yogurt.  This is called reaching trace.  You will be able to tell you are at trace by dribbling a little of the soap mixture on top of the batch and seeing if it settles on top or is immediately absorbed into the liquid.  If it settles on top you have reached trace.

6) Pour your soap mixture into the mold, sprinkle some oats on top and press the bubble wrap into the top of the mixture. Cover it and wrap it in a towel and let it sit overnight.  

7) The next day (AT LEAST 24 HOURS LATER!) Remove the lid, towel and bubble wrap and cut your soap into 16 even bars.  Place on a cooling rack in a well ventilated area to cure for 6 - 8 weeks, flipping each week.  

TA DA! You're done! 16 home-made bars of soap!  





















Thursday, April 26, 2012

Tie-Dye T-Shirt Project

Our softball team didn't want to go through the work of getting a sponsor so we decided not to have one and instead of getting custom printed jerseys we would make our own!  It turned out to be a blast! The team came over to my house, we set up a large table in the garage and we all brought t-shirts, rubber bands, tie-dye kits and of course snacks and drinks! Our shirts turned out AWESOME! Here is the How-To for tie-dye t-shirts!


SUPPLIES:
  • Tie dye kit- Complete with bottles and dye!
  • T-Shirt
  • Rubber bands
  • GLOVES! (Our hands were all stained for quite some time because a few of us chose to skip this step!)
DIRECTIONS:

1) Take your t-shirt and the runner bands and start grabbing different sections and bunching and twisting them.  Rope these areas off with a rubber band.


2) Squirt different colors of the dye (after you mix it according to instructions of course!) to the different areas of the shirt


3) let it dry for at least 24 hours


4) Unravel the rubber bands, rinse it in the sink, throw it in the washer and dryer and youre done! here are how ours turned out!....


I did the swirl pattern on mine and if you are interested in the you need to follow these instructions instead... 


1) Pinch the shirt in the center


2) Swirl the T-shirt in a circle around the pinch as tightly as possible, you will form a circle.


3) Take the rubber bands and wrap the shirt creating wedges... like this... 


4) Dye each wedge a different color, I chose rainbow order just because I think it's pretty! 




This is how mine turned out after I LOVE IT!!! 



Here is our entire team with their lovely handmade tie-dye uniforms!
GO KILLA BEEZ!


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Folded Cloth Flower Pins


I was bored and cruising around StumbleUpon when I ran across this  AWESOME idea complete with a How To video! I immediately ran out and bought the supplies and made a ton of flowers.  I made four for a bag and then I made about 15 others and turned them into ornaments and gave them as Christmas gifts.  Here is the How To...

SUPPLIES:

  • Fabric
  • Glue
  • Needle
  • Thread
  • Buttons




DIRECTIONS:

Follow these instructions at this link...

Refurbished Rocking Chair Part One


I wanted a rocking chair for my front porch because i live in the country and enjoy drinking coffee in the morning and reading outside.  I found this one at the local Goodwill store for only $20 so i bought it. The wood was split down the middle and really dirty so it took some work to revitalize it but now it is looking good and almost complete.  Here is the how to for sprucing up old furniture and refurbishing chairs...

SUPPLIES:
  • Rocking Chair
  • Sanding Blocks
  • Wood Glue
  • A Wet Towel
  • Sealer and Primer Spray Paint
DIRECTIONS:

 




1) Take the wood glue and seal each crack of the chair.  You have to hold it for awhile until it sticks or it will shift and dry off center.






















2) Once it is dry, take the chair outside on a nice day and sand every single part of it.  This will remove the grimy top layer and reveal fresh wood.  It will also open the pores up for your sealer and primer to sink in.











3) Spray every surface of the chair with the sealer and primer.  Let it dry.

YOU'RE DONE WITH PART ONE! Here is how it should look!



Wine Cork Coasters


I have a lot of painted furniture and therefore am obsessed with coasters so the finish doesn't get ruined.  I have been wanting to craft some coasters of my own but couldn't find an idea that i really liked and wanted to recreate until i found this one.  It involves wine corks and I happen to have a ton.  I have been saving them from our Girls Nights and have some friends from a local bar who gave me an entire Crown Royal bag full of corks from the bar.  Here is the How To...
SUPPLIES:
  • Corks
  • Hot Glue
  • Strong Scissors
  • Ribbon
DIRECTIONS:

1) Take your wine corks and cut them in fourths. It takes alot of muscle and strong scissors but it can be done!

2) Glue the pieces together with the hot glue gun side by side to form a circle.

3) Let it dry and glue a ribbon around the outside (if you don't want to it does look cool with the sides of the wine corks showing so you can skip this step if you like it as is!)

YOU'RE DONE!


Here is how they should look....

Chalkboard Wine Glasses


I host a Girls Night once a week with my best friends.  We hang out, chat, eat all sorts of good snack and of course, drink wine!  As our girls night became more popular we had more and more attendees.  Now, there are about 6-8 regulars.  With this increased number my amount of available wine glasses was decreasing and we were getting mixed up as to whose wine glass was whose. That is where I felt this project came in handy! I will show you how to use one of my favorite craft supplies (chalkboard paint!) and some wine glasses to make sure you don't ever have the issue of not knowing which glass is yours.  Here is the How To!

 
SUPPLIES:
  • Wine Glasses
  • Chalkboard Paint
  • Tape
  • Chalk
DIRECTIONS:

1) Take the wine glasses and wrap a strip of tape 1/4 a way up the stem of the glass around it creating a straight line.

2) Spray the bottom of each glass with a few coats of Chalkboard paint below the strip of tape.

3) Let it dry.

4) Peel off the tape and write your name on the base of your glass! TADA!


You're done!  Here is how it should look...