Summer is here in Arizona

Summer is here in Arizona!  I just walked out to check the mailbox in my bare feet, ouch - when will I learn?

We've had excessive heat warnings for the weekend with predicted highs of 126 degrees, it looks like maybe that won't happen but who knows?  

If the high temperatures aren't warm enough did you notice our lows? 

These are the temperatures outside just before sunrise here.   

Paper Smooches Zoo Crew Hippo Hooray

Our Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps challenge theme today is Clean & Simple, oh my do I struggle!

I've been working on making more CLEAN & SIMPLE cards and thought playing in some of those type challenges would help me develop my skills.  I love how my card turned out but I have to tell you leaving it alone is so very difficult for me! 

I used the Paper Smooches clear stamp set called Zoo Crew for my card.  

The cute hippo is colored with Copic markers:

W1, W3, W5, RV10, RV21

She's cut out and popped up with foam tape just above the banners for a little dimension and texture.

I made the banners using Basic Grey Bittersweet & Ambrosia patterned papers, the envelope liner is from the same Basic Grey Bittersweet collection and made using a Papertrey Ink envelope liner die.  To make my banner ends I used an EK Success square punch.

                                                                                   

Attached everything to the one layer card base and stamped the "hippo hooray" sentiment.  

There is a birthday sentiment on the inside, this card is ready to go into my stash of birthday cards.

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Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Clean & Simple + Texture

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Soap Making - Just Good Clean Fun

About a month ago my husband comes home from work and asks if I had a good day, told me the house smells good and asks how I spent my day ...

This is what our kitchen table looked like about an hour before he walked in the front door.  

The soap making aftermath.

I've been wanting to do some photo tutorials of cold process soap making but everything seems to happen so fast that it hasn't happened yet.  Our kids will be out of school in a few weeks so maybe Michael will help me out by taking pictures of the process, he kinda likes chemistry as long as he doesn't have to help clean up  the mess.

Here's what my soap looks like in the mold.

In this batch of cold process soap I tried using Paprika and Spiulina powders to make my green and orange colors, so far so good.  I'll know more once I've un-molded and cut the soap.  I also tried a few swirling techniques I've learned by watching Soaping 101 & Soapstar videos on You Tube.

Here it is out of the mold about 24 hours later.

And then 24 hours after that.  I decided to call it Arizona Back Country because it smells like the Arizona desert after a gentle rain.

Here's my description of it's fragrance:

Close your eyes and imagine with me for a moment if you will, the aroma of the Arizona desert after a gentle rain.  Picture mesquite trees, tall saguaro cactus, desert sage brush and wild rosemary blended with the earthy fragrance of the desert floor.  

This soap is ready to use and for sale in my Sudz n' Hunni Soaps web store starting today!

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igotta Create

Catherine's Caffeinated - RED Silicone Mold Soap Kit

I had to share this soap with you today, it smells heavenly!

The picture above is the four pound loaf of soap being sliced into one inch bars.

It's a Coffee Soap that is scented with Coffee & Peppermint fragrance - wow it's yummy!

This was a kit my friend Dagmar bought from Essential Depot for me to make for her and since the entire loaf goes to her I think I'd better make one for the rest of us too!  

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Bugaboo Stamps Birthday Monkey

You know... I've never been too fond of monkeys or coloring monkeys until I discovered Jodie's Bug A Boo Stamps monkeys!  I've had a change of heart about coloring monkeys.  

I know, I'm weird!  But it's a fun kinda weird!

For my card I used one of the cute monkeys in the Birthday Monkey collection and my card is for our Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps Midweek Throwdown challenge this week.  The theme is Cards 4 Kids.

I colored the image with Copic markers to match my digital paper I found recently at My Grafico.  Copic markers - YG01, YG093, W0, W1, R27, RV25, RV23, E42, E43, E44, E74, E71, E70, RV00.

My layout is SC314 from Splitcoast Stampers.  The other cardstocks I used are Papertrey Ink Raspberry Fizz & Stampin' Up! Old Olive.  

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Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps  - Cards 4 Kids

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Homemade Laundry Soaps

I made laundry soap recently and have a tutorial and recipes for powdered and liquid laundry soaps.

I have to say making the batch of liquid laundry soap was quite an adventure!

Above I have the supplies used to make laundry soap:

1 gallon Distilled Water

Homemade Lard Soap

Borax & Washing Soda

I grated my one pound block of homemade laundry soap using a cheese grater and weighed out 2.5 ounces, then measured out 1/2 cup of Washing Soda and 1/2 cup of Borax.  

While I was grating my soap I had 4 cups of Distilled Water on the stove coming to a boil.  When it started to boil I added it to the grated homemade soap and stirred till it was dissolved, then I added the 1/2 cup Washing Soda and stirred till it was dissolved, then added the 1/2 cup Borax and stirred till it was dissolved.     

I actually doubled the recipe for the liquid soap so it made three quarts of liquid laundry soap.  I set it aside to cool and went to work on the powdered laundry soap which actually uses the same ingredients and measurements but excludes the distilled water.

If you use the blender to mix the dry ingredients it makes a nice fine powder.  I did have to stop the blender and take the glass pitcher part off and turn it upside down a few times to help mix it.  A food processor would work well too I'm sure.  Maybe next time!

Here's the powdered laundry soap.

It's hard to see in my picture above but I noticed that my liquid laundry soap behind the blender was starting to separate.  Not a real big deal...  I figured I could shake it up before using it.  But when I put my silicon spatula in the jar to stir it up I had a solidifying white mass above the water, hmmm.

That got me to thinking I have the blender out so why not pour a jar out into the blender and see what happens...

Now I have liquid laundry soap the consistency of Cool Whip!  I wasn't sure what to do next with it so I let it cool and watched to see if it separated.  Ahhh Nope...  I suppose that's a good sign but wondered how it was going to work in the clothes washer.    

The next morning I had the idea to dilute the liquid laundry soap using a 1 to 1 ratio and mix it together with my stick blender.  

So I measured out 2 cups of laundry soap fluff to 2 cups of distilled water and mixed it with my stick blender.  Ok, that's about the right consistency now!  

After diluting all the laundry soap I poured most of it in an upcycled one gallon  vinegar container and the remainder in the empty gallon water bottle.  After letting it rest for about an hour I noticed it was separating.  I've been keeping an eye on it and trying to shake it up to mix it together again and it's working now.  I labeled my liquid laundry soaps "shake before using".  

The next time I make this I will adjust the recipe and experiment a little more.

The best part about this laundry soap experiment was I figured out the cost for my batch of liquid and powder laundry soap.  For $4.06 I have 1 1/2 gallons of liquid laundry soap and 3 pounds 5 ounces of powdered laundry soap.  Even though I had to put in some extra time to get the consistency right I think it was worth it!

Here are the recipes for you:

Powdered Laundry Soap

2.5 oz grated Lard soap

1/2 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup Borax

Mix together in the blender or food processor for a good consistency.  

Use 2 tablespoons per load of laundry.

Liquid Laundry Soap

(the revised recipe)

2.5 oz. grated  Lard Soap

1/2 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup Borax

7 cups boiling water (distilled)

Pour boiling water in bowl mix in Lard soap till dissolved, mix in 1/2 cup Washing Soda till dissolved, mix in 1/2 cup Borax till dissolved.  I'd let it sit till it's cool before pouring into containers to see if it separates.  If it starts to separate you could try mixing it in the blender...  I haven't needed a second batch yet so I'm not sure if my recipe revision is going to work.  Use 1/3 to 1/2 cup per load of laundry.  

The original recipe came from Cathy at Soaping 101 on You Tube.  I made laundry soap about 9 months ago from a different recipe for under $20.00 that you can find here.  I was happy with it, it worked well and lasted 8 months.  This recipe looked fun because I was actually "making" one of the components that goes into it, the soap.

If you'd rather not make your own Lard Soap for this recipe I have several bars for sale in my Sudz n' Hunni Soaps web store ready and waiting to help with your laundry needs!

I hope you enjoyed my adventure in making homemade laundry soap!

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K n' K Designs Eagle

My card today is for Flag Day!  This cute digital image is from K n' K Designs, I "googled" her but didn't find her so I'm not sure if she's still in business.

This digital stamp set was part of a fund raiser in 2011 to help pay for postage for Operation Write Home's busy holiday season that year.

Happy Flag Day!

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Cuddly Buddly Love Birds

I have a fun card using a Cuddly Buddly digital image today for our Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps Midweek Throwdown challenge, themed "Birds".  I colored the love birds with Copic markers R22, R24, R27, Y13, Y15, Y17, B12, B14, R81, R83, R85, cut it out with a Spellbinders circle then matted it with a Spellbinders pinking circle die.  After that I cut two more Spellbinders circles, layered them and added them.  

Cardstock colors are Via Vellum Basic Black, Astro Brights Galaxy Gold, Turquoise, Stampin' Up! Pixie Pink and Copic X Press It.  I used two Papertrey Ink dies, double ended banners and a ric rac die for the edge of the turquoise panel.  "Tweetheart" is computer generated, I needed something for my double ended banner.  I also used two new to me Darice embossing folders.  

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Challenges:

Operation Write Home Stars & Stamps - Birds

Handcrafted Natural Carrot Facial Soap

I've been working on new recipes for making cold process soaps, this Natural Carrot Facial Soap came out beautifully and feels great on my face. 

This particular recipe is a blend of Olive Oil, Coconut Oil and Castor Oil, Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, Camellia Oil and Emu Oil all chosen for their reported skin nourishing properties.

There's even a touch of Tussah Silk for it's ability to increase lather and it's luxurious feel. 

I chose these four essential oils because:

Carrot seed (Daucas carota) essential oil is said to  be best known for its skin-healing abilities,  
it's also said to be useful for eczema, psoriasis, skin ulcers, skin infections and in healthy skin to restore tone and to moisturize.  It has a carrot like fragrance too.

I chose Rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) for it's reported  antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anti bacterial and skin nourishing properties.

Sandalwood (Santalum album) is said to have moisturizing and antiseptic qualities as well as anti-inflammatory, astringent properties.

Lemon (Citrus limon) because it's said to be Antibacterial, Anti-fungal, Antiseptic, Astringent and detoxifying.   

I've been washing my face with this new soap for about a week now and I really like it!

If you'd like to try it too I have it for sale in my new Sudz n' Hunni Soaps web store.  A little side note about my new store...  I launched it early by accident so there are only a few items for sale so far.  As the handcrafted soaps I've been making are cured and ready I will be adding them to my store so there should be something new each week for awhile!

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