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Monday, January 23, 2012

January 2012 Card Class

Had another great card class...is there ever a bad one?? lol

This month we learned some new tricks...like this rosette. A lil tricky to get it turned, but I think when you do a few of these it gets easier...and the result is very pretty! We used the new Designer Rosette Bigz XL Die.


This was a nice simple card with coloring...Cathy made this one for us. It used the letterpress which I think is another tricky thing that takes some practice.









I love this birthday card and its "frosted" cupcake. This Sweet Cake will be a must have stamp set for me. :)



This was an easy Valentine card using the new framelit set...and I love the pleated ribbon.




Cathy made this birthday card...I guess she did all the coloring ones for us lol. This card used the new edgelets, which take some time to do it right...but the end result makes for a great card!






I love this new Elegant Bird Bigz Die, he makes for a great card, and with using the new labels framelit in the back with a brad....



It makes a fun and unique card!!



Now this card I LOVED! Looks like a movie action thingie....



And when you open it you find a pocket to insert movie tickets....We used the cupcake punch to make the popcorn.






Sunday, January 22, 2012

2012 Arizona Winter Conference

Spent the day at Soapies Supplies where they hosted a fabulous conference filled with demos, food and FUN!

There was a great turn out on what started to be a cloudy day, but right on schedule with the conference...the sun decided to come out and play. A couple of windy moments peppered throughout, but nothing to ruin the day!

Our event was hosted by the Princess herself...Miss Kelley!


She gave us a lot of hands on demonstrations....look ma...one hand! :)





You did not leave the conference empty handed...OR with an empty stomach. First lets talk food...wish I had thought to take a picture of the fabulous array of food provided by Cherie...that girl can cook! She made the most wonderful soup and there was a huge salad buffet, fruit and of course dessert! THANK YOU CHERIE!





Goodie Bags...they were loaded with fun stuff from various suppliers. Brambleberry, Day-Star Candle and Soap Supply, Candlewic, Elements Bath & Body, Bitter Creek Candle Supply, Lotioncrafter, Scents & Sensibility, Design by Cherie and of course Soapies Supplies!





There were even raffle prizes...I won aroma beads from Elements Bath & Body!!!! And we all got to take home a gorgeous plant from the centerpieces!





There was also a product swap...an added bonus of fun at a gathering is making items to take and swap with other makers. We received a wonderful selection of items - Soaps, lotions, room sprays, whimsical owl, and tarts.





Now you are probably asking did we learn anything?? OF COURSE! Abbie Sewell from Scents and Sensibility...who even though she couldnt physically make it...she skyped in and shared a wealth of knowledge with us.





First up was embedding cold process soap into MP soap, soy candles, lotion, a body oil (which is my favoritest!!!!), bath bombs, scented sachets and then Kelley capped off the night with scoop and soap.



Cathy and I had so much fun...and we are hoping this becomes an annual thing!! Thank you Cherie for all the food (and even doing all those dishes)...thank you Bronson for packaging some lye for me at the last minute and lighting the bon fires...thank you Abbie for sharing so much with us...and thank you Kelley for being such a great hostess!






Friday, January 20, 2012

Bad Valentine Gifts

I have been lucky enough to never have received a horrible gift for Valentine’s Day…but I know a lot of people haven’t been as fortunate. I can tell you the following are what I think would NOT be good gifts to give…


  • A bathroom scale…NO…not even if she asks for one!


  • Workout clothes or a gym membership…otherwise you night as well have given her the scale…although she may hit you with it.


  • Raw meat expecting her to cook for you….c’mon…make reservations and take her out!


  • Stuffed animals, unless you are teenagers…but grownups don’t have much use for a stuffy.


  • Do not even think about giving her a small jewelry box if it contains anything other than a diamond ring…finding earrings over an engagement ring is not a good feeling…for either of you.


  • And lastly…no gift at all is worse than all the above combined!

So tell me…what was the worst Valentine gift you have ever received…and I will pick one lucky winner to receive one of my Valentine themed soaps. (so be sure to leave your email in your comment so I can contact you)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Color Change I Like

I have blogged before about how unpredictable color can sometimes be in soaps. A good non bleeding Christmas red is hard for me to achieve...sometimes my pinks morph to orange...and well this time I had some different color changes...that I actually really like. With that said...I bet I never am able to achieve it again. lol


The scent is cucumber cantaloupe, and after we made a batch of soap I had some of the green and orange left over...and I have such a hard time throwing away good soap. So for some reason my sunflower molds were on the counter...and I poured some of each color into 2 of the molds...and I got yellow in the end result without trying.


As Forrest says with Life...somedays I feel soap is like a box of chocolates...just never know what I am going to get. These are smaller than a regular bar so they wont be for sale, but maybe after they are cured some lucky shopper will find them in their package. :)


Sunday, January 15, 2012

Card Making Space is Back...

Well sort of. It is a work in process still but the gist of it has begun and that is all I need.

I had one of the bedrooms as my card making room and also it held all my containers...and then life threw us a curve ball which we gladly accepted without a second thought. With no notice my special needs cousin came to live with us, so everything was thrown into boxes so we could get her settled. I think we are now all settled and I am missing my card making as it is very calming and enjoyable to do. We have this alcove in the livingroom...and it is plenty of space for me! As Baby Girl said...this is a crafty home, it wont look out of place here...and besides I reminded myself...we never get company, so unless the cats mind...and no sign of that...my new crafting space has hatched!!



Thursday, January 12, 2012

Fortune Teller Soaps

What does Penelope see in your future? Some new vividly colored soaps. How fun are these beauties?!







I have printed an image onto water soluble paper and then embedded that into the soap....



Yes there really is a layer of paper in there, but it will dissolve away with use.




Currently we offer 4 different fortune tellers....what other pictures would you like to see?









Monday, January 9, 2012

Loofah Soaps

I decided to try something new here. I bought these loofah pieces a year ago...I am really bad on impulse buys and usually sit on things for a while trying to choose a project...then what scent to use is just as hard.


The soaps all each have a loofah piece inside, giving you exfoliation while cleansing.


One side will be scrubbier than the other...until the soap has worn down more after some use.


It is a pretty easy project actually...just set your loofah in the mold, melt, scent and color your soap base....and pour over the loofah filling the mold.







I chose to represent the entire rainbow...makes for a prettier display...





  • Pink - Cherry Blossom


  • Red - Sweet Love


  • Orange - Arizona Sunshine


  • Yellow - Lemon


  • Green - Rosemary Mint


  • Aqua - Sea Kelp & Agave


  • Blue - Blue Raspberry


  • Purple - Lavender EO


Saturday, January 7, 2012

Time Capsule in the Wall

The Hubs took down the paneling in the front room...and although puzzled to find not one single piece of insulation in the room...no wonder it was always so cold in that room lol...just look at the treasure he found....


An Arizona Republic newspaper from February 1971!!


It only cost .10 cents...and check out the chuckle of the day...pretty sad it is still a "weigh" of life for most hehe


Thursday, January 5, 2012

Inside of the House

Are you ready?? Boy what a site it was to find the house gutted out. :(



This is the kitchen...it was boarded off from the rest of the house....not sure why it was there....but it had to go...






This is the living room...with the front door we almost never used...we always used the side door and I guarantee I will probably keep that habit. lol




The living room has a great fireplace in it...just need to replace with a better pellet stove.





This is the front bedroom, which will be the guest room. We are going to take the paneling down and drywall which will really brighten the room up.



This was grandmas room, and the room I lived in when I lived with grandma, thankfully this room is in good shape...



As was Jenn's room as well.




So...we have our work cut out for us in the kitchen, and although that is the worst room in the house...bummer part is that is the most expensive to repair...but we are up for it!!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Valentine Soap #1

I was inspired by a post from the Soap Queen making a peppermint soap. I love the colorful peek-a-boo middle portion, so I thought I would give something a try for Valentines.
I decided to use my new mini mold Cousin Al made me, and well with the first time using a mold you have to get your proportions worked out...so the base ended up being a lil taller than I would have really liked, but all in all I think it turned out great!

First step is making my layered embeds. When I think of valentine I think of victorian/shabby chic, so I love reds, pinks, white, lavenders and greens. So here I made 3 layers of red white and green...a lil watermelon looking at this stage, but I knew it would come together.






Then I cut them up into pieces...







Here you see the first layer poured. It is an oatmeal base scented with almond. The embeds are scented with cherry blossom.







Next I melted some clear base and poured over the oatmeal base adding my embed pieces as I went.






Then I added a white topper and sprinkled more embeds on top...I LOVE this mold and being able to see what my layers look like as I go.











Here is my completed log...










...and the finished product.










Each bar is about 5 ounces in weight, 2-1/4 inches wide, 3-1/2 inches tall and about 1 inch thick. $7 each and that includes US/Canada postage.








Claim your bar over at our Etsy shop now before they are all gone.