Soap fun!

To make soap, the following basics are needed:

Soap mould
Melt & Pour soap base (cubed is better as it melts more effectively)
Cosmetic fragrance - 1/2 drops per 100g base
Cosmetic colour - 1/2 drops per 100g base
Microwave/plastic jug/stirrer or spoon


Method:

1. Firstly, measure out the soap base (100g of base for every 100ml approx).
2. Melt the base at intervals of 30 seconds in the microwave - use the defrost button
3. Make sure not to over melt the base. 
4. When cooled but not yet hardened, add the fragrance , followed by the colour ~  drop by drop.
5. Mix thoroughly.
6. Pour into the moulds and allow to set. 
7. That's it!                                  

 For this recipe, I am adding some pre-made soap cubes for an interesting effect.

A selection of cosmetics colours/fragrances

Filled soap mould

Finished soaps

And there's more...

Cute bear guest soaps

My handmade labels for the soap packaging!

Bubbles galore!

I have dabbled in soap-making in the past but my passion for this craft has suddenly resurged! 
 I am so grateful for the amount of resources out there that help beginners like myself - from tutorials to soap packaging ideas, there really is no shortage of ideas! Watch this space!

Free craft giveaway!!

I am going to host a free giveaway now ~ for a chance to win the following pictured craft items, please write in the comments section below, what you think is a good craft tip or piece of advice?  It can be related to any kind of craft so get your thinking caps on!!!!   The best answer wins!!

  
 

 The lucky winner will receive:

3 sheets of stickers,  2 packs of embellishments and a cute owl rubber stamp ~ everything is brand new!

My latest makes...

I was kept busy when I had some free time with my son being over at his granny's last weekend.

First up was the realisation that I had already bought myself some decopatch papers whilst on holiday in Krakow earlier this year so, I figured I might as well put them to some use.   I had a blank wooden pen box lying about ~ so I covered this with brick design decopatch paper and decorated it with a bicycle embellishment, like so:

Then, I embellished the reverse side in a similar way ~ this is very simple to make...isn't it cute?!?

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Next up, I made some cards with Christmas being just over 100 days away...

 I used rubber stamped images on blank white labels for the above card - on top of a foil piece of backing card.

My twin nephews gave me the inspiration for this card.

 Kid's birthday card (Mr Men design)

 Oriental themed card ~ materials used:  blue oriental fabric covered paper, double fish sticker

Chinese girl & baby embellishment, paper borders.

Simple girly birthday card

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A scrapbook page I created for Christmas 2012!

Art is relaxing....

I have been feeling quite artistic as of late...and my first attempt at a self portrait was encouraged by my son who 'showed' me how to use soft pastels for the very first time!!     I have fallen in love with pastels!!

Here are some of my drawings/pictures:

This is myself

I like still life a lot

Sometimes the artist within me can express herself easily , like water flowing from a strong river or fountain....Flowers are my ultimate favourite object to sketch!

Lip balm making.

Have you ever tried creating homemade cosmetics of any sort? Me? Never.  Well at least not until now.

I bought a nifty wee kit off the popular Ebay and it arrived today.

To make lip balms, all you basically need is the following ingredients (to make approx. 12 tubes):

4 oz carrier oil
30g  pure beeswax
5 ml  flavouring oil  (I used apple)

Method:

1. Place the beeswax into a jar and place this in a pot of hot water that is just gently simmering , not boiling.
2. Stir now and again , and once the beeswax has started to melt a little, add the 4oz of carrier oil and mix at intervals.
3. Once the beeswax has melted, lift out of the pot and set aside.
4. Allow to cool slightly then add the flavouring oil, using a pipette.
5. Mix thoroughly then pour into the empty lip balm tubes.
6. Allow to cool thoroughly, then place caps on.
7. Stick on some homemade labels and voila!!

I used Safflower oil as the carrier oil but Jojoba/Sweet Almond oil is just as effective

I designed these labels from my own computer.

Here are the applied labels!!

I used lip balm tubes but you can also get empty pots with lids at any good craft store or do a search on ebay.    I will give these to friends and family - however, please note that if you are planning to sell these on at any scale in the UK or EU, you need to be aware of the legal side of selling handmade cosmetics and you most likely will require what is known as a Cosmetic Safety Assessment.   (This is extremely important - please Google for further information)

What will you create today?

Mosaic Heaven

I love to experiment with mosaics and this is my latest creation......

 

Materials used were: MDF Square mirror, tesserae (mosaic tiles), grout, PVA glue.

This really was simple to make.

• First you take your tiles and arrange them on your wooden blank, then take some PVA glue and glue them on.
• Allow to dry for at least 24 hours ~ longer if possible.
• Apply the grout (ready made or grout powder to make your own is fine) in between the spaces
• Smooth over, and within 5 - 10 minutes go over each tile with a damp clean cloth and wipe away the excess grout.

Et, Voila!
You can basically make anything by decorating blanks with mosaic tiles.

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Here is a second project I have started just recently:

The materials I used are a circular wooden blank disc with a hole drilled into the centre, clock hands & mechanism set, clock adhesive numbers tiles, PVA glue, ready-made grout.

Step 1

As with the above project , I lined the tiles firstly on the disc in a nice pattern, glued them using PVA glue.
Then I filled in the gaps with the grout , and let it 'set' for 24 hours.

Step 2

I then attached the adhesive numbers around the clock perimeter

Step 3

Finally, I fastened the clock mechanism on the back & the clock hands on the front.

There you have it! A handmade mosaic clock!!