Doodle Pantry Ant Masquerade

I have a fun Doodle Pantry card to share with you today!

When I saw this already colored digital stamp set I was so excited!!!  I have the Ant Masquerade digital stamp set that was previously released as line drawings to be colored but hadn't used it yet.

I wouldn't have thought to use some of the colors in the pre-colored version either and I LOVE the digital papers that come in this set to match the images.  My card layout is an old sketch from "Fetch A Sketch" that I wanted to try.  It took some thinking and math on my part and I'm really happy with the way my card turned out.  Here's a peek at the sketch.

I also like the matching digital papers most Doodle Pantry colored stamp sets come with because I like to dress up my cards a little with envelope liners.  Most of my cards are donated to Operation Write Home and I think envelope liners make them just a little more special.

Thanks for visiting my blog today - 

RED Soap Cutter from Essential Depot

Soap Makers have you heard the news?!

I joined a Facebook Soap Makers group recently called Soaping 101 and have been learning a lot through participating in and following conversations as well as watching Soaping 101 videos on You Tube.  

Yesterday there was a whole lot of excitement in the group about this new soap cutter being rolled out by Essential Depot today.  They're signature color is red and here's what they have to say about it:

Engineered to last a lifetime when used as directed, the U.S. – made soap cutter uses quality steel and is coated with a hard, baked-on firehouse red powder-coat enamel.  Its heavy-duty base and cutting table are high-grade HDPE plastic.  Essential Depot’s RED Soap Cutter is specifically designed to complement the company’s RED Silicon Mold.  Loaves from the mold fit exactly into the cutter and can be cut quickly, easily and accurately into 11 equally sided one-inch bars.

I want one!  And then there are the RED Silicon Soap Molds that I really want to try out!

I have a 2 LB Acrylic soap mold for experimenting with new recipes that I do not have to line and love it.  

Here's what Essential Depot has to say about their RED Silicon Soap Molds:

The Revolutionary Essential Depot (RED) Silicone Soap Mold is four to five times thicker than traditional silicone molds, and is the first silicone soap mold strong enough to withstand thousands of uses.  In addition, it is engineered to provide years of easy service, and sized to make soap loaves that can be cut into 11 one-inch bars.

Made of finest grade silicone with following specs:  

• Temperature ranges from -40 to 536 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Will retain its shape after thousands of uses. 
• Dimensions (Inches): Interior: 11.25(L) X 3.25(W) X 3.70(H) Exterior: 11.75(L) X 3.75(W) X 3.941 (H) Wall thickness: .25 inch; Bottom thickness: .24 inch.
• Designed to make a 4 lb to 6 lb 11.25 inch long loaf of soap. You determine the height of the soap when you fill the mold.

I haven't placed my order yet I'm still day dreaming about the new cutter and soap molds...

They are definitely on my wish list!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

OWH So Sentimental

I wanted to share my card for this week's Operation Write Home Midweek Throwdown challenge, the theme is So Sentimental - using a sentiment as your focal point.

I made my card months ago in a mass production frenzy using this sketch and different patterned paper pads I've collected as well as great digital sentiments I've found on the internet.  

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - So Sentimental

Handcrafted Essential Oil Face Lotion

I only have a little dab of my homemade face lotion left in the jar so I'm gathering supplies today to make a new batch, I hope you'll join me!

I thought I'd get a little more personal and give a some background information about myself today and why I make my own creams and lotions.

Our family moved to Arizona when I was 10 years old from Montana.  I'm now approaching 53 years old and my skin needs moisture, sometimes desperately.  Our climate here is hot and dry sometimes reaching high temperatures of 120+ degrees in the summer but with very low humidity.  Don't get me wrong about low humidity it's still hot, let's just say you won't be going out to check the mail box in your bare feet.   We also have very hard water in our town so the combination of climate and hard water are really a challenge for my families skin.  

About a year and a half ago I started making my own soaps, lotions and potions to see if I could get some relief from the dryness I was experiencing.  The store bought preparations just seemed to make things worse for me.  They were expensive, harsh and I felt like they made my skin even more dry.    Now that I've learned a little more about what goes into our store bought soaps and skin care products I'm pretty sure I'll never go back to using them.  

Enough talk, let's get started!  I measured out 1 1/2 ounces of unscented lotion base into a 2 oz. amber jar.  The reason I like amber jars is because essential oils need to be stored in dark containers preferably in a cool place to maintain their integrity.  

I've added all the essential oils and it's time to stir it all together.  Be sure to blend well, it takes a little time and effort but it's well worth it.  Did you know that German Chamomile is a royal blue color?  It changes the color of the lotion base ever so slightly.  

Here it is blended together, it smells heavenly!  I love the fragrance from this combination of  essential oils and it's as pure and natural as I could find.  For me, no fragrance oils or colors to be allergic to - yea!

I do make my own lotions and creams but did not for this face lotion.  I purchased a large quantity of unscented lotion base from Aromatics International for my Aromatherapy certification course and I really like it so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.  Most of my essential oils are also from Aromatics International, they are high quality pure essential oils.  Each essential oil they sell is tested using a Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer device to determine the precise chemical constituents of the essential oil and the data is available to everyone on their website.  I also added links to each essential oil in the recipe so you can buy them if you wish and/or read about their therapeutic properties.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make your own Essential Oil Face Lotion

1.5 ounces unscented lotion base

2 drops Neroli - Citrus aurantium var. amara

2 drops Rose Absolute - Rose damascena

2 drops Jasmine Absolute - Jasminum grandiflorum

1 drop Geranium - Pelargonium roseum X asperum

1 drop Sandalwood - Santalum paniculatum

2 drops German Chamomile - Matricaria recutita

3 drops Roman Chamomile - Chamaemelum nobile

1 drop Sweet Fennel - Foeniculum vulgare

1 drop Carrot Seed - Daucus carota

2 drops Lemon - Citrus limon

2 drops Lavender - Lavandula angustifolia

3 drops Frankincense - Boswellia carterii

Blend together well, store in a cool dark place and enjoy -

Where do you buy all this stuff?

Aromatics International

If you're not into making your own I have this Essential Face Lotion available in my Etsy store Life Scents in the 1.5 oz size.  Thanks for visiting my blog today!

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Handcrafted Lemon Soap Name Contest

I'm back today with pictures of my Lemon Meringue Pie Soap out of the mold and cut!

I'm not so sure Lemon Meringue Pie is the right name anymore either...  

The fragrance oil I used is called Lemon Verbena and it smells wonderful so now all I really need is a name and 6 weeks worth of patience before this cold process soap is cured and we can enjoy it.  Here's what Bramble Berry says about this particular fragrance:  Lemon Verbena is a wonderfully complex blend of Italian Bergamot, Lemon Verbena mixed with sultry Primrose and Violet. Rounding the blend out is a dry down of Amber and White Musk and just a little drop of Peppermint for an energizing surprise!

I'd like to offer my readers a change to win one bar of my newly created Lemon Something soap!  I think I should add that the top of the soap in the photos looks pink, it's the lighting causing the pink hue, the soap is actually yellow and white!

Submit a comment on this post with the name you think would fit my newest soap and if I pick the name you submit I'll send you a bar of this soap as soon as it has cured in 6 weeks on or about July 1st!  

I'll leave the contest open for two weeks and draw an entry Friday, May 24th and announce it here!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Link Parties:

Clever Chicks

Lemon Meringue Pie Soap

I thought I'd pop in here while it's still this morning to share with you the cold process soap I just made!  This is only my third batch of cold process soap, my first one was the same recipe, it over heated and looks ugly!  

I recently bought a 2 pound mold that doesn't need to be lined for experimental purposes and I love it.  The soap comes out nicely and it's easy to take apart and clean and...  I can see what's going on in there.

I'm experimenting with my own cold process recipe that works well for me and it's coming along.  For coloring in this soap I used Brambleberry's Fizzy Lemonade colorant, it's supposed to glow under black light - my kids will LOVE that.  I also used Brambleberry's Titanium Dioxide for the white and the fragrance oil is also from Brambleberry called Lemon Verbena.  Right now it kind of looks like Lemon Meringue Pie, but it also reminds me of wet scrambled eggs...  I hope tomorrow when I un-mold it and slice it, it's still pretty!

Here's a better side view of what's happening in the soap mold.  I tried the "hangar swirl" technique, you can see where my hanger disturbed the white.  I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's cut and then the next step in the process is the cure time - 6 weeks to wait before we can use it!

It's just after 11 AM here in Arizona and I think it might be time for me to get out of my p.j.'s and go get ready for the day...  

I do have a question for you today!  What do you think I should name my soap?

Lemon Meringue Pie or something else?  Leave and comment and let me know!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

Homemade Pain Relief Salve

I'm gathering supplies today to make a homemade pain relief salve using essential oils.  

One of the class assignments for my Aromatherapy Certification class was to make a blend of essential oils using the Monoterpene family.  I was to pick three to five essential oils for their therapeutic properties and blend them into an ounce of jojoba oil.  The little amber bottle in the photo above is my finished assignment.

I've been using it with good results but thought it would be nice as a salve.  The oil drips and is easy to spill.  For this project I'm turning my essential oil blend into a salve.

All I really needed to complete the project was Beeswax to make the salve.  I made a homemade double boiler using a small sauce pan and a one cup heavy glass measuring cup.

The Beeswax is almost melted here.

After the Beeswax was melted I poured in my essential oil blend and stirred, then quickly poured the mixture into a 2 oz. push up tube and put the cap on.  The reason for putting the cap on the container is so the essential oils don't evaporate.

Here it is finished with the label I swiped off of the original oil blend bottle.

The essential oils in the recipe have changed a little due to the size of the container:

Frankincense 10 drops

Juniper Berry 4 drops

Orange (Sweet) 8 drops

Nutmeg 6 drops

Neroli 8 drops

If you've never made a salve before you'll need 2 ounces of the oil of your choice, a few examples would be Grapeseed Oil, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil, etc., and one ounce of Beeswax.  Weigh out on your kitchen scale and melt together, let cool and you'll have a salve.

After my salve cooled and hardened I found that it was very difficult to apply so I had to go back and re-melt it.  When I did that I added one ounce of Trauma Oil that I had the herbs infusing for in a mason jar for another project.  Trauma Oil is a combination of Arinca Flowers, Calendula Flowers and St. John's Wart infused in Olive Oil.
For fresh quality dried herbs I shop at The Bulk Herb Store, the link is in the banner below and most of my essential oils for this project are from Aromatics International.

I hope you enjoyed my project.  Thanks for visiting my blog today!

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