This and That

I've been able to complete a few smaller projects...

A table topper or wall hanging and two matching place mats

Place mats feature very cool folk artsy appliqued flowers

Then on to a few tote bags...

Casserole carriers

I Pad (or tablet) storage cases

Three different sizes, smallest one fits a cell phone or I pod quite nicely

And a table runner, once again trying my hand at applique

Heart Smart

It took a bit of figuring, but I finally came up with this design. Happy to be finished.

Linda B's Quilting

I have still been quilting... and sewing...

I guess it began in the spring when I attempted to sew a graduation dress for Amy. She graduated from her grade 9 and moved on to join her brother at the local high school.

We spent many hours pouring over patterns and ideas. In the end I packed everything up and took it with me on my annual trip up north and enlisted the help of my mom.

We were all pleased with the end result and Amy wore the dress like a diva... The grad theme was 50's retro.

After that I focused more on summer skirts and shorts and later some leggings for the girls. I also continued to sew for little ones... More on those items later.

Soaping for real

I've discovered that if you are making your own soap you are Soaping. That is the technical term. To prepare for soaping, I read many, many articles. Spoke with several other soapers; And visited the Value Village the Soap and More and the Canadian Tire in order to collect all my supplies. I was even lucky enough to collect a large storage tote at the Superstore via free gift for spending so much on groceries. This becomes the perfect storage container for all my supplies.

In addition, I need some molds. I decided frozen juice concentrate cans would be perfect, so I washed several of those and set them aside, kept the individual yogurt containers, as well as any suitable plastic tray I could get my hands on.

So with supplies laid out, recipe in mind and courage in check I set out to make my first batch of real lye soap.

16 oz lard

2 oz lye

5 oz water

Fat goes in the pot - this one is lard

Water and lye are measured (water is measured by weight as well)

Chemical reaction - its kind of hard to see here but when the lye is added to water it starts out cloudy. You stir until the lye completes reaction and the solution turns clear again. The solution also heats up. I think it went up to about 180 degrees F. 

Once both solutions have cooled, in our case they were both around 120 F we added the lye water to the fat and began to mix. We started with the whisk, but soon turned to the stick blender. It really does make it go a lot quicker.

Once we had trace we could add in any additives and Essential Oils. We added about a tablespoon of borax and a few drops of Eucalyptus/Mint to this one and poured into the cylinder molds.

One recipe filled 2 molds.

I waited the recommended amount of time, removed them from the molds and cut.

Some of the bars crumbled a bit, I think I may have waited a bit too long. The second batch was OK.

To the second batch we added about 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1 Tbsp honey, Vanilla/Lavender EO and a couple drops of Tea Tree oil. Something must have been a bit too much, as I am not enjoying the smell as much as the first batch. 

9.4 oz shortening

6 oz coconut oil

6 oz olive oil

3 oz lye

7 oz water

Now we wait. We set them aside and wait for them to cure, which can take several weeks.

The Mennonite in me - Part 3

I feel as though I'm a bit on a roll now. The ideas keep coming in and the this new hobby is just like any other, once you start it just keeps growing.

Lip Balm...

This is Apricot Lip Balm. It smells divine! The challenge is to get the correct beeswax to coconut oil ratio in order to go on nice and smooth.

The recipe I used is this...
- 1/3 cup beeswax
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp honey
- a few drops of apricot flavour oil

The beeswax was purchased at Soap and More in little pellets. They were cream coloured.

Next up, Toilet Bombs...

The recipe...
- 1 1/3 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid
- 1 tsp water
- lemon grass EO

Mix the baking soda and citric acid together in a bowl until well blended.
Combine the water and EO into a small container or spritz bottle. I actually used a small medicine cup.
Gently add the water and EO to the powders, mixing with a fork as you go.The idea is to make it stick together but if you add too much water or add it too quickly it will begin to "fizz" which defeats the purpose.
Once you are satisfied the mixture will clump together (I had to add a little extra water), press it into your molds. I used an old ice cube tray. Set aside to dry for several hours.

Pop out of molds and they are ready for use. They are meant to be tossed into the toilet to deodorize and freshen up. I find the lemon grass smell so wonderful and refreshing I added it to the shower as well and allowed it to dissolve.

Laundry Soap...

- 1 bar Sunlight brand laundry soap, grated and pulverized to a powder using my food processor.
- 1/2 bar lever 2000 citrus scent 
         (I added this mostly for the scent, not because I think its a great laundry bar soap)
- 2 cups of washing soda
- 2 cups borax
- 1 cup baking soda

I use about one small scoop (approx 1/4 cup) per load. I just add it to where powdered detergent goes in my washer.

Fabric Softener...

Of course, this goes along with the laundry soap.
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups vinegar
- 1 cup hair conditioner. I used coconut scent - the least expensive brand.

I mixed this into an empty pancake syrup jug. I just shake it up and squirt it into my fabric softener spot in the washer.

The Mennonite in me - part 2

I'm still really intrigued with soap making, so I began researching all sorts of solutions. Pinterest is a fantastic tool and I found lots of great ideas. I began to track what goes together as far as Essential Oils and additives. Which oil and milk combinations are better for your skin. As well as learning the different methods of creating. As soon as you get into the real basic soap making using lye, or Sodium Hydroxide, there are so many cautions and warnings it makes you wonder if its worth risking chemical burns for a bit of homemade soap.

So I stayed with the Melt and Pour one more time.
This time I purchased glycerin soap. Glycerin is a product which is supposed to draw moisture to your skin and keep it there. Living in dry Calgary I'm always looking for what can moisturize. I went with both a white and a clear base.

With the white glycerin I made the following...

(left) Pumpkin Spice - additives are oatmeal, pumpkin pie spices and a bit of colouring.
(middle) Sandalwood - additives are black pepper, sandalwood oil and a bit of colouring.
(right) Coconut - additives are coconut flakes and coconut extract.

With the clear glycerin I made the following...

(left) Candy Cane - additives are poppy seeds, coconut flakes, peppermint extract and what was supposed to be swirls of red colouring. Crushed candy cane is added for decoration and should "wash off" within a few uses.

(middle) Lavender - additives are poppy seeds, coconut flakes, lavender EO and colouring.

(right) - Eucalyptus - additives are rosemary, eucalyptus/mint EO and green colouring.

Although these are very nice and produce a well enough lather, they are rather costly. Plus, I'm not sure how pure the Melt and Pour bases really are. I've discovered you can get pure bases (GMO free) through the Soap and More store in Calgary, and if I make more of these soaps I will likely get the bases from them. 

Attempt #2.

I've decided my next attempt will be a basic soap recipe using very few oils and lye...

The Mennonite in me

Lately I have felt an urgency to experiment with homemade cleaning supplies. It must be the Mennonite in me.

I was looking to experiment with products which would be more natural, have fewer harsh chemicals and be better for our bodies. There is an increase in environmental irritants and I think the more I can do to safely substitute products the better off we'll be.

I started out with some soap making...

... MELT and POUR

Ok. This isn't really soap making. I went to Michael's and bought a ready made base. I chose to use a white Goat's Milk base. I'd heard that goat's milk was good for the skin so decided this would be a great place to start. I chose to make a lemon poppy seed soap as well as a lavender soap.

Using the Melt and Pour base I simply melted the soap cubes in the microwave, added the extras - poppy seeds and lemon zest, poured into my molds and allowed it to set.

For the lavender soaps I added poppy seeds, coconut flakes and lavender scent.

They are pretty and smell nice, but there are too many poppy seeds. It feels more like using sandpaper on your skin. First lathering it onto a washcloth is better.

However, I was on a roll and really wanted to use green tea...
For the next batch I steeped some really strong green tea, blended up some cucumber and added that to my base. Disgusting.. is the only word for it.

It turned an ugly green/brown. You can smell the cucumber, but it is not very appealing. It works well as soap, just does not look or smell nice.

Attempt #1.