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

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

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!!

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.

Clay Soaps Coming Soon

I have so many clays already, but I just got some new clays in, and I thought I would do an unscented line of soaps colored with just clays. They have so many wonderful natural skin loving qualities...first up is the new clays I just got...Cambrian Blue Clay and Dead Sea Black Clay...

How awesome are these boxes?

Cambrian blue clay is said to be a rare clay from Russia with the most powerful detoxifying properties of all clays. It comes from the Siberian lakes and is known for its clarifying and blemish fighting properties, and is also thought to be good for anti-aging and anti wrinkle. It has a rich source of trace minerals, and although it is very good for oily skin, it may be to drying for sensitive dry skin.

Dead sea black clay works great to cleanse and is known to have antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties and can refresh and regenerate the skin.

So now on to the soap making....we added olive and avocado oils to make the bar even more conditioning.

I used my new favorite molds. I LOVE these square molds, they make the perfect bar size, here is the blue...

...and the dead sea clay....

...and both beauties next to each other.

These will be ready in about 3-4 weeks. Also added to the clay lineup will be Rhassoul, French Green, Morrocan Red, Pink Kaolin, White Kaolin and Bentonite.

The Rock House

Here is the view of the rock house from the garage.

We call it the "rock house" ...well because it is made of rocks.

This used to house tools and junk...and when I was little I found it very scary! Now all grown up and all cleaned out...its a pretty cool place.

It's main purpose though is to house the pump for the well but it still makes a great tool shed and just needs a new tin roof put on.

Unplanned Absence

Sorry to have just disappeared, but we had a crazy twist to our life as we end 2011. Wouldnt even begin to know where to start to explain, but short and sweet story is we have taken custody of a disabled family member, and as a bonus we "inherited" grandmas house.

I grew up in this house...my daughter grew up in this house. We were VERY close to grandma, my daughter called her Grandma Mommy all growing up... so this house is beyond special to us.

Unfortunately it wasnt cared for properly in the 4 years since grandmas passing, and so The Hubs and I have basically been gifted a project house....lets hope it isnt a money pit lol.

Here she is in all her green splendor! Cant tell you how many evenings we spent on that porch...we didnt get but 2 channels on the TV so back in the "good ol' days" we hung out on the porch rocking chairs until bed time.

The house was moved here waaaaay back when, that sure had to have been a sight to see an entire house moving down the road. Of course as a kid I never paid attention to the story, now as an adult I want to learn more, so I hope to find that out later on.

The house and garage sits on about an acre and a quarter, so plenty of space. The Hubs wants to make the 2 car garage you see there on the left...my soaping room...totally not going to fight him on that one!! LOL

Side view of the house...we will re-side with concrete siding in a couple years.

Not sure what was planned with these posts...but they are soon to be.... outta here!!

Back of the house, this door leads to Jenny's room which was added on at some point.

So...here is the house, we hope to restore it while keeping its old country charm...you wont believe what the inside looks like, I was shocked and saddened...but saving that for future posts...