This, that & other rambles.

I've been having a little fun the last couple weeks, putting together some "favors" and a little gift package of some of the products I've made for a bridal swap I found on one of the soap forums I visit now and then. For the swap, we send in something we have made (enough for everyone who joins the swap), and the recipe, and then we all get back a package with everyone else's swap gift in it, and everyone's recipe's. I thought it would be a good way to get some ideas for more things I could make, as well as package ideas for things.

I haven't had time to really get in and study out how to make liquid soap yet, but some things don't take as much to learn to make...so hopefully I will come up with some more ideas, once I get the return swap items! Can't wait to see what everyone else sends. Since I'm really fairly new at making things I don't think mine will be near as "cool" but...maybe they will help someone with their own ideas.

Swaps aren't something I plan on doing a lot of, but it's fun to once in a blue moon...when I have the time to.

I do plan on getting some more soap made soon too, in fact I got the colored part of a couple done last week, just have to get them grated up and the rest of them made, so I can start getting my drying rack filled back up. LOL Want to have a bunch made before we get to busy with spring things...so I have plenty for the summer...as I won't have as much time then to make some.

Speaking of spring...we have been seeing large flocks of geese flying north now...seems a bit early for that, but that makes me think spring is on it's way at least, even if we do have snow on the ground here! Even though we have had a mild winter for most of the winter (till February got here anyway) I sure am looking forward to spring. LOL Guess I just can't wait for things to start greening up, I LOVE seeing the world turn green, it's one of my favorite times of year! :-))

Ok, better run, trying to do something with the horrible mess here in my office, while I can't get into my kitchen. Hubby is still working on putting the tile board (not sure what it is actually called) on the walls, so I can clean them better. I really HATE trying to work around him, so have tried to avoid the kitchen, unless he needs help. Plus can't stand working in a mess...and it is one big mess now, with everything having to be moved around on the cupboards.

Hopefully he can finish it soon...so I can have my kitchen back! :-))

Now if I could just figure out what to do with all the soap stuff in my office...so I could totally clean off the counter, and make it look like I did something. *sigh* I just don't have enough storage space...and I thought I had a bunch, till the soaping bug hit! LOL I'm not a neat freak, but sure would be nice if it could be neater in here than it is!

Lip Balm and other personal care products

I've been making a few more things the past week or so, along with getting my soap ready to be wrapped and put away till it finds a new home. Well some of it is going to it's new home right away, just gotta get time to finish packing it all up and ship it. LOL

Other than some lotion bars, and whipped body butter, I finally got around to making some lip balm! I've been addicted to a mint lip gloss for years, and have been wanting to make my own, so I can stop having to try and find the stuff I had been using, plus so I knew what was in it...and get away from the nasty stuff it contained.

Mine is a little different than the one I had been using, but still leaves a very refreshing feeling on my lips when I use it, because I made sure and put plenty of mint essential oil in it, so it tingles a bit when applied. I'm loving it!!

I lucked out actually, I hadn't gotten around to actually making lip balm, because I needed to sit down and figure out what I wanted in it, and just how much beeswax to use, to make it solid, yet not TO solid so it didn't work. The other day, a blog post came into my google reader, from a company I buy some of my soap supplies from, and it was asking their readers to e-mail them with a list of oils they have, and they would help us decide what to make with them and give us a recipe.

Well...I KNEW what I wanted to make, so I wrote them with my list, and told them I wanted a lip balm recipe with lots of mint, so I could replace the lip gloss I'd been using, and they whipped up a recipe using only supplies I had on hand that turned out to be perfect! It was fast and easy to make my lip balm then, since the hardest part was done for me...the figuring out what quantities of oils to use.

I may tweak it a little here or there as I make more, but least I have a good foundation to build from and can make it my own as I go forward. :)

If you would like to try your hand at making some, you can see the blog post where they share the recipe here.



Anyway, this is just a small pile of what I've been getting together this week. This is some of what I plan on sending over to my family to try out one of these days...depends on when I get around to sending it. LOL I've got several other piles sitting around to go to other friends and family. I have a little more to make first, before I'm totally ready to send some of it off.

Between the soap, herbal salve, body butter, lotion bars and lip balm, I've been busy lately, but it's a really FUN busy! :-))

Now to finish up, so I can start again, on the soap anyway...although I really need to find the money to buy a few fragrance oils, cause I kinda ran out of some that I want to make again. :) I swear, this hobby is way more expensive than my digital scrapbooking one ever was! *giggle*

Oh well, least I get to play now and then...even if I can't find time to do a lot with ALL my different hobbies. :)

Ok, I gotta run, stay safe out there this weekend, if you are traveling! :-))

Soap Colors

I said I would show off the different colors of soap I was making a while back, then never did get around to it.

So while I was working at getting some of them wrapped up tonight, I snapped a photo to share! I'm loving the different colors, but then I've always loved color, so it's not surprising. :)

This is just a few of the scents I ended up with, in my last "soaping" round. Now that my drying rack is almost empty again, I'll have to get busy and fill it up! Gotta get more Shampoo bars made soon, and then will see what else I come up with. :)

I'll try to share more of what I've been doing in this area of my life tomorrow...right now I gotta run make something else I just remembered I wanted tomorrow, before bedtime gets here! I've been rather busy again this week. LOL

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Playing with Color

I've been having a LOT of fun, swirling some color into my soaps lately. With the new mold I got on Etsy this year, I can swirl on the large part of the soap, instead of what ends up being one side of it...and it's so much fun!

So....I've aquired a few more "colors" to play with. This was suppose to be red...it doesn't really look red to me, more pink, which is a color I was wanting to get if I could find it so pink is good too...just not for this scent. Now I need to find a red, or something that will work in place of it...I just placed an order for a different one, so we will see how it turns out when I get it and have time to play.

Love this shade of "pink" though! Can't wait to try the other colors I have! :)

I only got one of these molds, so can only do one batch a day...as it has to harden so I can take it out of the mold, before I can play again...but slowly I am managing to get my soap stocked back up...course I can't use it for several weeks as it cures, but it's nice to see it out there on my dryin rack at least.

I walked out there to the porch this morning with my newest batch of soap, and smelled all the soap drying and thought to myself I LIKE that! Wish I were good at mixing scents to make new ones, cause that mixture I have out there now is kinda yummy. :-))

Once I get most of what I am planning on doing right now I'll have to get a photo of all the different colors of swirls...but that may be a while still...I've got several more batches to go! :)

That means more playing with my soap colors! Yippee!! :-))

Soap & an update on DH

I finally managed to make a little bit of soap last week in my new slab soap mold. I LOVE being able to swirl on the side of the soap, so it shows up more...now if I can just learn to pour the soap, before it starts setting up, I'll have a better chance of getting a really good swirl. LOL One of these days I'll figure everything out....maybe.

Anyway, just had to share my latest attempt at swirling the colors in my soap! Hopefully I can play some more soon, and do an even better job...we will see how things go.

We got a few sprinkles over the weekend...just enough to get wet if you were outside, but nothing major, like we really could use around here. Most of the rain that was around, stayed west of us. It wasn't nice and sunny enough to spend much time outside with my camera though...darn weather anyway. It just doesn't want to cooperate with me and let me get some photos when I have the time to go out walking around. *sigh* Least it could have done, was actually give us a good rain, since it sprinkled from time to time so I didn't want to take my camera out. LOL

This morning DH had another physical therapy session to go to, and he actually managed to tie his shoes himself before he left. I've been having to do it for him since his back surgery, (he wears his rubber boots a lot around here, but when he goes somewhere he will put his shoes on, so then I'll have to help him.). So his physical therapy is helping him already!!

He's starting to be able to bend more, without pain, so...maybe soon...he will be able to take over the milking, just having me do the lifting of the milker when he brings it back to the house!!!!! *giggle* I'm sure looking forward to that. Not that I mind helping sometimes, but the everyday thing, especially if I have something I'm wanting to get started on inside, is rather annoying at times, although really it can sometimes be fun too. I do enjoy seeing the cows, so till the cold snowy weather gets here, I may have to go out a little more often than I was before his surgery.

I'm just so happy his back is getting better, even if he still can't do much lifting! :-))

I'm still here!

Wow, one post last week, thats a little unusual for me...hopefully I can do better this week. I guess I just get busy and don't get around to posting, or don't feel like posting. I did have a good birthday, got to lounge a little more than usual, so I actually got to read a book (yippee!!). Got surprised with an amazon gift card from a friend (thanks Jenny!) and my dentist called and sang (well played a recording) happy birthday to me. That made me chuckle, and sure surprised me. All in all it was a good day, but over all to quickly. Had to get back to work the next day, as warm weather always has more going on around this hillbilly farm, so won't let me be lazy to long. LOL

After several days of rain, we finally got some sunshine and blue sky here yesterday (and today)! It's beautiful outside, although I'm sure it would be kinda warm today if I were out working (may find out this afternoon, as I need to go do some things outside).

I did however manage to take my camera out and snap a few photos yesterday for a change. Haven't been taking quite as many lately it seems...least it's not been a daily thing. LOL Still haven't gotten together with my DH and had him take one of me, have to do that soon. Seems we are both busy (him usually outside if he isn't resting his back in his office, and me doing things that need done inside) but one of these days soon, hopefully, I can get him to stop long enough to get a photo of me. LOL


I've been kinda surprised these chives came back up this year, because I planted them in our raised beds...that are raised up to waist high, in a metal trough with lots of air flow under them. I didn't think there would be enough dirt, to protect them from the cold temps of winter, so didn't think they would be back. They are though, and are blooming up a storm. Makes me wonder if I could put some other herbs that are suppose to come back every year, in the raised beds, so they don't take over and spread to much somewhere else, and have them survive the winters. May have to try that sometime.

I ordered some more soap making supplies a week or so ago, and got a lot of them today!! Been having fun checking out the new fragrances I got, some of which were just samples of some I wanted to try, that they (MMS) were kind enough to send to me for free with my order. I asked for 5 to try...and three of them are going on my wish list now, to get more of so I can use them in soap. :)

I also had to order more lye. I'd gotten 8 pounds of lye, when I first started soaping, and when I got it, thought that would last me forever!! *giggle* Hmmm didn't know forever was only a year (or less)! Who knew I'd use up (almost) that 8 pounds of lye in that short amount of time. I got 20 pounds this time, plus 10 pounds of the "other" lye, for making liquid soap, as I'm wanting to study up on that so hopefully sometime this year (or next depending on time) I can learn how to make my own liquid soap. Oh, if I ONLY had more time for everything!!

Well I better get going, need to get some things done, so hopefully I can get outside to work on a project I'm needing to do out there. Hope everyone is safe, after the weekend storms. Thankfully they didn't come to close to us, or my parents in Missouri, but not everyone was so lucky.

Busy Week in the kitchen

I made French Bread today...been wanting a recipe more like the stuff you buy in the store, so went looking and found this post here about making french bread. It had instructions about using a pizza stone...so I just had to try it, so I could use my stone for more than pizza for a change!!

We haven't actually tried it yet (going to cut it up and put butter and garlic on it tomorrow!) but it sure feels nice, like the ones you buy in the store. Actually we will only use one tomorrow, I think hubby is stealing the other one for his friend who has promised to help him with something tomorrow. That's ok, one is more than enough for us. :)

The feel of the dough, after it "doubled" was sure nice! Different than what I'm used to, really silky and soft feeling. Course I did all white flour this time, since it's my first time making the recipe...I can play with it next time if I want to and add a little whole wheat...least I know what it's like now.

I tried hamburger buns earlier this week...but they didn't turn out like I was hoping, (they were good, just not exactly what I wanted) so I'll still be playing with those to come up with a good recipe. As you can see I'm trying to get my "bread" section done in my cookbook...not going to manage finishing it this month I don't think, but that's ok, there is only so much "bread" things we can handle in a month. LOL

I've had a little more energy this week thankfully, which is great cause I've been "tired" for way to long. Hopefully that Kombucha is kicking in and starting to make me feel better like they say it can. Whatever it is, hopefully it continues...I was really tired of feeling tired if you know what I mean. *giggle*

Course that doesn't mean I have stopped doing stupid things! LOL Can't remember what it was today, but I remember muttering something about losing my mind again...and DH started singing...yes singing! (Ok, he said it was actually Peaches, but I'm not THAT far gone! *giggle*) He sang...

"Oh Mom's a fruit loop but that's ok...
She loses her mind at least twice a day...!"

*snicker, Sadly that is SO true!! I had to laugh, couldn't pretend I was mad or anything, cause it is TO true. *giggle*

On another front, I've managed to finish the soap I was making (I think...unless I come up with something else I just HAVE to do)...gotta cut the last of it, if I get time to and remember, but least it's done. I also made a few lotion bars and one batch of body butter but ran into a snag. It seems there is a shortage on Jojoba Oil, so it's raised in price (wasn't cheap to begin with) and I use it in my body butter and shampoo bars...so am almost out. I about had a heart attack when I went looking to see how much it was, and decided I needed to try to find something to replace it, that was cheaper...least for now.

I read up on different oils, and asked online, and got some suggestions. I have finally settled on Grapeseed oil for now (unless I come up with something better...which may very well happen), cause it's suppose to be good for skin and hair, and is suppose to be absorbed quickly without leaving a greasy feeling, which is nice for body butter. I'd rather stick with Jojoba Oil, but it's just not worth the price to me at this time. Course we will see what the body butter is like, with Grapeseed oil...I may change my mind. LOL The nice thing about grapeseed oil is, I can get it in our little town...I couldn't believe it when I called to ask if they had it and they said yes! Yippee!! Finally something I use that I don't have to buy and pay shipping on if it's the only thing I need. :)

Anyway, between making breads, cheeses, butter, Kombucha, meals and working on my soap and moisturizers I feel like I've been in the kitchen all week! I have had the chance to do a few other things but most of my time was spent in the kitchen. (Did do the two layouts for this months exchange at least though.)

Needless to say...that's one reason I didn't post yesterday, cause I was busy! LOL Besides which, I didn't want to bore you to death (like I am with this post) since I hadn't really been doing much news worthy...not that there is much newsworthy in this post, but I guess I felt like chatting today, so here I am. *snicker*

Hope everyone has had a great week! It's been cooler here again, actually had snow on the ground this morning, but it left in a hurry thankfully. Maybe eventually spring will stop teasing us, and actually show up! :)

Have a great weekend, everyone...I'll see ya when I see ya! :-))

***Edited...Ok, forget what I said about the grapeseed oil...I'm still looking for a different one. Guess I typed to soon! LOL

Soaping problems

Here is my latest batch of swirl soap, it's not to bad, although I haven't smoothed the bars and beveled them with the beveler I won a while back...I'll do that later when I have the time.

I had trouble with the ones I swirled last week, I guess I kinda forgot a very important lesson I was taught in the class I took. Actually I didn't really forget it, just didn't know if I could totally have the oils at room temp, when I was using as many "hard at room temp" oils as I do in my soap recipe.

However, it turns out, I can and SHOULD still let them get back down to room temperature, before soaping with them, or my milk will burn after I pour the soap into my molds. Who knew it could still burn at that point in the game...I sure didn't. *giggle*


As you can see, by the orange color in the above photo...these are the rejects I made last week. It is still usable, but not to pretty, so I will probably just grate it up and use it in laundry soap. That doesn't have to be pretty. LOL

Needless to say I learned my lesson. Course that means I can't make as many batches a day, but that's ok...it's not like I'm selling it or anything. LOL Guess it's not to bad though, I think I was about due to mess up a batch (or two) of soap, just hate that it was with my expensive oils, instead of tallow. LOL And since I can still use them for something, I can't complain to much. :)

As you can see, the "swirl" down in the soap, isn't near as neat looking as what I tried to do on top of it, but it's still neat having lines of color in the soap, instead of having it all one color. It is more of a marbling, but I'm still happy with that. Maybe eventually I can afford a different kind of mold, where I can swirl the flat side of a bar, to get one side that is really pretty...like this one. But till then, I'm quite happy with what I have!! :)

I do have a small problem though...I am totally out of one of the oils I need for my soap, and still wanted to make 3-4 different flavor's of soap (or am once I make one more batch tomorrow...the oil is cooling as I type). *sigh* Darn expensive hobbies anyway. *giggle* Have to wait till I see how much it is going to cost for a repair first though, before I can order more. Guess it's a good thing I don't HAVE to have them ready by a particular time. :)

A friend of mine put in a request for some Udder balm type stuff (with palm fruit oil - which seems to be as good as coconut oil for some healing salves - and peppermint in it), that is whipped like my whipped body butter, so it's easy to apply. DH thinks that is a great idea too, so I'm in the process of trying to come up with something like that. We will see if what I'm attempting now, is going to actually turn out right or not. It's kind of a long process, as things have to be melted together first, then left to cool, with occasional whipping of them as they cool. Hopefully I'll know tomorrow how it turned out. I hope it works! :)

Anyway, that's the soap problem I mentioned on my Saturday post. Using milk, instead of water, makes it a little harder to get good bars, but it's so worth it, to have the extra nice milk soaps. :)

Better go whip the udder balm again, and get some rice started for supper. Have a great rest of the day!!

Swirl Fun!!

When it comes to digital scrapbooking, or soaping, I've discovered I LOVE swirls! I had so much fun today, trying my hand at swirling some more soap....this time it may have actually worked! I got 5 more small logs of soap made today, two of them with swirls. I saved a little to much color for the top, so there isn't as much natural colored soap showing on top as there should be, but...there is a little on this log.

I'm hoping when I can cut them up in a few days, that I got some really nice swirls inside. Can't wait to see!! Last time I tried to swirl, it didn't work out to well, so I did some research online and found this blog post here, with some video's on how she swirls soap. It worked like a charm...or least, umm it seemed to...we will see for sure in a few days! LOL

I had so much fun with soap today though...think I've GOT to get some other colors of the soap dye when I have the money, now that I tried the purple one, cause I had a lot of fun with it. I still need to figure out for sure how the best way to color it is, cause I'm not sure if I did it right...it's not the deep purple I was expecting but maybe I just didn't use enough of it. It's still pretty, so that's ok.

I'm just thrilled that I might have figured out this swirl thing. Gotta love how much you can learn from the Internet!

I'm almost done with making soap for a little while though...unfortunately. Need to use up some of this I made, before making more...or give it away. *giggle* Next time I make a bunch, maybe I'll swirl all my soap. We will see if I can get some other colors of dye, between now and then. I actually would rather use natural plants and spices to dye my soap...however I want colors I can't get that way, or least haven't discovered HOW to get that way, so I'll be happy using the dye for now. :)

I do hope to make another two or three logs of soap this week, or next...depending on how long it takes to get this soap out of the molds, but after that I'll have to quit till I can find someone to take some of this off my hands. LOL It's is a lot of fun to make soap though...who knew I'd enjoy it THIS much! :-))

Busy beginning to the week.

I took the dogs out for a really SHORT romp this afternoon, while I went to tell DH I needed his help getting some things out of the attic. He lay down on the ground, since it's dryer out now, and got attacked. I had to laugh when I saw this photos...cause Peaches looks like a Devil dog, with her ears up like horns. *giggle* Flicker has some other ones of the attack, but I figured I'd make you go there this time if you want to see them, so for once, my post wasn't full of photos. LOL

The last couple of days, I've been busy finishing up organizing both pantries. I have most of the canned food out of the one in the kitchen (just left one shelf for a little bit) and most of the empty jars are also out of there. I actually still have empty shelves in both pantry's now...a totally unheard of thing around here! LOL Course I kinda doubt that it will last, especially with the one in the kitchen, but...it's sure nice for now. I'm hoping we actually manage to get stuff from our garden this summer, so I can fill the shelves in food pantry with canned goods. We will see how quickly I can fill them.

I left one whole shelf for empty jars, so I have room for more out there, as well as space for full ones. The metal shelves are going to be for some appliances that don't get used to much, a couple of which I'm hoping to buy this year...like a new dehydrator with more racks. We will see if I can manage that or not. LOL

Money is getting tighter it seems, but I'm really hoping to get that dehydrator, another (larger) stock pot, and a new food processor before canning season starts. I HAVE to have the food processor...cause the old one I have is relegated to soap making (it annoyed me for the last time last fall when I made salsa), besides it's so old, it's started to get a few cracks in the bowl...so kinda doubt it will last a real long time anyway. The food processor was one DH's sister gave me, cause she wanted a new one...so it was old when I got it. LOL Having a bigger, better dehydrator would be nice so I could dry more things faster...and the stock pot, while not totally necessary would sure be nice.

God knows what I really need though, and I'm trying to leave it up to him...although it really is hard to wait! LOL We also need a couple new large cutting boards for butchering season...but those will wait since that's not till November. I'm sure God will provide what we need...the rest will come eventually. :)

I actually managed to get up to the attic today, and go through the kitchen boxes we had left up there. I am missing one or two I think, cause I went looking for three things in particular, and only found one of them (the pasta maker my Mom gave me). I had a stack of glass custard cups I couldn't find, as well as a couple round layer cake pans that were my grandmothers. That's REALLY ticking me off, cause they were the kind that had metal thing you pull on and it cut the cake away from the pan once it's done. (Have no idea what they are called, and can't think of how to describe them any better now either.)

The cake pans were older, but they were so handy for baking a layer cake, cause it was always easy to get the cake out of the pan. My Mom had a couple I grew up using, so when I got Grandma's I was thrilled. I don't make layer cakes to often, which is why I haven't really looked for them for years, but...with doing the cookbook, I thought it would be nice to use them again...and they are no where to be found. Least not in the boxes I looked through...and since we organized the attic a few years ago, and put all the kitchen stuff in one spot...I think I looked through all the boxes that we have. *cry*

The fact that they were Grandma's is upsetting...and the fact that I've never seen that kind in the store, so I can't even replace them if I had the money to is upsetting.

The one good thing about going through the boxes is, I found some more glass glasses I forgot I had. (I actually thought I had all our glasses down here already). I'd been needing to get more, as we were down to like 3 or 4, but can't find any I like, so hadn't got more yet (the last ones I got at wally didn't last long...they broke in the dishwasher, so I didn't want more of them). I was thrilled to find the glasses, so now I don't have to get more right away!! Yippee!! :)

Besides enjoying organizing my two pantries & going through the boxes in the attic, I made a couple batches of soap, with my new recipe! I haven't taken them out of the mold yet, as they need to dry a little more before I do, but from what I can see of them, they look like they turned out just fine (we will see in the next day or two though). I'm hoping to do a few more batches this week, so my shelves are full again with drying soap. I wanted to have some to giveaway again, should the need arise...so figured I better get stocked back up. Besides, making soap is fun!! :)

Since, I also had butter and cheese to make already this week...it's been busy around here, and looks like it's going to be one of "those" weeks where I'm busier.

Thankfully I'm not as tired this week, as I was last week. I seriously need a brain transplant, I think. I had to move the herbs I take, to help my thyroid, a couple weeks ago, and if I don't have them sitting on the corner of my counter, I forget to take them...sometimes I can forget, even if they are there. However, when they aren't there...forget it, they don't get taken.

That's probably why last week I was extra tired since I was off them for a week or so...cause once I started taken them after having the subject of thyroid come up from a friend (thanks DJ! LOL) I started feeling better again. Who knew they were working THAT well for me! *sigh* I gotta get more of them ordered too...only have one more bottle in the pantry. Thankfully March is coming, and I probably should be able to get some then. :)

Anyway, I suppose I should get off here, I need to finish supper and besides, I'm sure I've bored you enough! *giggle* Sorry for the long and even more boring than usual, post.

Hope everyone had a good three day weekend, if you got it off! :-))

Homemade Laundry Soap

I've been making my own laundry soap for several months now. I've tried two different ways of making it, the first one wasn't as good as the 2nd. I like the 2nd, although it does have trouble with harder things like hubbies tractor grease. I've been trying to stay away from borax, because of not really understanding what it is, and a few places I read when I was studying up on making my own laundry soap mentioned that it wasn't really good for us...and since I was trying to get away from the nasty things they put in the soap, I didn't want to use borax if I didn't have to.

Since it was time to make some more, I thought I'd try a little bit, with some borax in it, and see if it cleans the harder stains better, without bothering my skin, if it doesn't seem to clean any better, I'll go back to my other formula with oxiclean in it (not that I couldn't add oxiclean too, but in trying to save money I don't want to if this cleans just fine the way it is).

With the store bought laundry soap, I had trouble with my back itching a lot, (and that was with buying the scent & dye free stuff) but since I've stopped using it, my back doesn't itch nearly as much. Course I also stopped using the dryer sheets (for the most part) then too, but I don't dry my shirts (just hang them to dry) so it wasn't the dryer sheets causing my back to itch. It's sure nice not having to get my back scratcher out and scratch my back so often!! :)


Anyway, since I had to do laundry today, and I didn't think I had enough soap left to do all our clothes, I spent yesterday afternoon grinding up the bars of soap I had made, to use in my laundry soap. I put them through an old grater a friend sent me several months ago (Thanks again Rena!), to make the pieces smaller.


Then I fed those smaller pieces into a food processor, and chopped them up really tiny. I put them into gallon Ziploc bags, and ended up with 2 1/2 of them full of ground soap, that I can now use in my laundry soap. I think the smaller the pieces are, the better so they melt easier in the wash...but who knows, maybe they wouldn't have to be that small.


This is the finished powdered soap, with borax. (It looks the same as the last I made without borax but with oxiclean. LOL)

I used equal parts of borax, washing soda, baking soda, and my ground up homemade soap. If I go back to the old recipe, it will be equal parts oxiclean, washing soda, baking soda and ground up homemade soap.

I just used a cup of each this time around, to see how I like the borax...if I need to do more because I can't decide if I like it or not, I can, since its easy to mix it up when I have everything all ready.

The homemade soap I use in my laundry soap, is just plain milk soap made with tallow, with no scents added. The reason the color is different on the bars in the first photo, is because some of them were made using Jersey milk (cow) and the lighter ones were made with goat milk. Frankly, when I was grinding them up, I liked the Jersey milk soap better, it seemed creamier. I think I will stick with our Jersey milk, for the laundry soap from now on.

I will be using goat milk, for the next soap I make, just because I have some, however it's not something I'll probably go out of my way to get, just cause I think the Jersey milk makes a nice bar too. Course, I could change my mind down the road, once I've used it for a while...but for now, I'm happy with the Jersey milk soap, especially for the laundry soap. :)

Another thing I do, is put white vinegar in a downy ball in the wash, as a fabric softener. Someone gave me a recipe for homemade fabric softener, using Vinegar and baking soda, however I got tired of trying to make it and having a volcano erupt in my kitchen so stopped doing that and went back to just plain vinegar.

Seriously, have you ever mixed baking soda and vinegar? No matter HOW slow I tried to mix it and stir it, it would foam up and out of the bottle all over the counter, floor, and anything else that was in it's path. SO not worth the hassle to me! *giggle*

I think the vinegar helps get rid of some bad smells and germs in the clothes. If I wasn't trying to save so much money, I'd add a bunch of tea tree oil to my soap when I made it, as it would help get rid of some bad stuff too.

I read somewhere that you can make your own oxi-clean with hydrogen peroxide and washing soda (1 cup HP and 2 tablespoons WS...let sit for a day before using, then spray on stain and soak for 10-20 min.) so have considered trying that, but haven't yet. I have to admit, I'm not a good one for searching for stains, before I wash. I'm wondering if just adding hydrogen peroxide to the wash would help at all with whitening and stains, instead of using oxi-clean. Maybe eventually I'll try it and see.

If anyone else makes their own laundry soap or other laundry products, I'd love to hear how you make it, and how you like it!! I'm always willing to try to improve the recipes I use. :-))

***Update*** I've decided to not use Borax, cause while I was using up what I made here, I had times when my hands would itch after I touched it, and my back was even more itchy, although not near as bad as it used to be with store bought laundry soap. No idea if it was the Borax that caused it, but between that and the socks not seeming as white, I decided to go back to oxiclean instead of borax in the mix.

Whipped Body Butter

I finally got around to making some whipped body butter today. I've been wanting to for a while now, but just never found the time.

The above photo was just a quick one I took...so it's nothing special, but I wanted to show you kinda what it looked like. Course I got a little carried away filling the jars, so had to level them off with a knife, after I got the photo, so they aren't as pretty now, but...they should still work the same.

I've never used body butter before, so really have no idea if this is actually the way it is suppose to be...but it seems like it will work good, even if it isn't perfect. LOL It seems like it will be kind of like a soft version of my lotion bars.

I used Shea Butter, Avocado Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Calendula infused Jojoba oil, e-oil and peppermint oil in them. It should be good to use just like lotion...and feel really good on feet, I always love something good to rub into my feet cause a good foot rub is always wonderful...even if I have to give it myself. LOL I decided to use those special oils, because they are good for your skin, from what I've read...and sometimes my skin needs all the help it can get. :)

Well we are in the middle of a snow storm here...actually right on the edge of a big one, so thankfully, if we are lucky, we shouldn't get more than 4-6 inches...unlike some who could get a foot or more. We had some ice here yesterday, and according to the Internet the roads were ice covered, so we didn't venture out like we had planned.

The snow is blowing around this time, so we really don't know how much we have gotten yet, but we are getting some drifts so I think it's got to be several inches. I decided to spend more time in the kitchen with the wood stove going, since my office is rather cold with that wind. LOL A good day to try something new like Whipped Body Butter! :)

Hopefully I can make some soap this week still too...I'd really like to get some more of that drying on my shelves out on the porch. That way I can have some more to give away come spring! :)

Hope everyone is staying warm (unless you are in the middle of your summer...then staying cool would be a much better idea LOL) and safe in this storm...a lot of the Midwest is being dumped on it appears, so stay warm out there!

Try to have a great week! :)

Hungry Birds

With winter in full swing, the birds are visiting our feeder by the kitchen window a lot the last week or so. It wasn't to long ago that it got filled up, and I was noticing today it was going to need it again soon!

Last week, during the snowstorm, (and the day after) I got some photos of the birds at the feeder. It's the first winter we've had it, and it's sure been fun watching them come eat...when they don't get scared off by us walking around the kitchen. They have gotten braver, with winter here, guess they figure braving the humans is better than starving to death.



I noticed they seemed to be at the feeder a LOT the day of the snowstorm...but maybe that's just cause I was in the kitchen more, I don't know.

It's fun watching them fight over it...and seeing what kinds of birds show up to feed. Mostly it's the little ones in the photos here.

I do need to scrub the window inside and out though...it makes it hard to get good photos with spots on the window. LOL Course moving the one crystal in the window is probably going to have to happen too, as it is right in the way, when the birds are on one side of the feeder. *sigh* I just can't seem to keep up with all the housework...I'd NEVER get any "play time" if I tried to keep a spotless house, so guess I'll have to live with not being the perfect housekeeper. LOL

Yesterday totally got away from me, which is why I didn't post here, my brain went on vacation I think...cause I haven't found it yet! LOL

Last night and this morning I was "formulating" some new soap recipes, so I can use oils besides tallow, and I've had to learn more about using a soap calculator and what the "numbers" all mean and what you want the numbers to be. It's been interesting...I still have a couple recipe's I want to make up, then I'll be ready to get back into the actual soap making. I don't know that I really need several recipe's, but it will depend on what oils I have, as to which I will use...so wanted a few different choices. Hopefully this week or next I can actually MAKE some soap for a change again. :)

Anyway, hope everyone had a good weekend! We did here...DH's birthday was fun, he had a couple friends over for supper and it was good to sit and visit.

Ok, better run, have a great week! :)

I Won!!

A few weeks ago, I entered a contest on a small soap making forum I visit now and then and won a prize! I got to choose from a soap mold or this beveler...naturally I chose this, because I'd been wanting it ever since I saw one on Etsy.

I just received it along with a little bottle of lotion, a bar of soap and a soap dish yesterday! I haven't had a chance to actually USE it yet, but I can't wait. It's going to be so much nicer to use (as well as make a nicer edge I'm sure) than the carrot peeler I've been using to bevel my soaps! LOL

I have my eye on one of this guys cutters, cause the one I have isn't working real well...unfortunately they aren't cheap, so it will have to wait for a while. *sigh* He sells on Etsy here.

I just had to share my new toy...cause I'm so thrilled to get it! Now if I can just find the time to make some more soap, I'll have a good excuse to play with it. LOL I'll have to try it out at least, on some I have drying...but if I make a big bunch like I did earlier this year, I could have way more fun with it. :-))

Finished Soap

I had to show a photo of some of the soaps I made, that are now cured out (although it probably wouldn't hurt them to go longer...but they are usable now). I wrapped 4 of them, cause I'm going to give them away as a gift and wanted to make sure they had an ingredient list on them...besides, you KNOW how much I love playing in photo shop...so I really had no choice, I had to come up with a neat label even though I'm not actually selling them, and have no intention on doing so since the insurance required is far to expensive.


I used the pen tool, and made a little line frame for the front, and printed them on Kraft paper which I then cut to the right width...and cut a piece of purple paper a little wider for under the Kraft paper for a more finished look. I know....big surprise I choose purple for my "color". LOL The really cool thing about the paper is it's metallic....so it sparkles in the light. Not that you can see to much of it but it still adds a little something special.

Now if I can only figure out how to cut the bars so they look better. I found a cutter I want, but...it's really expensive, especially for someone who is only doing this for themselves and gifts, but...maybe someday I'll manage to get one. I've also got to work on my coloring. Some of it worked like I wanted it to....some didn't. I guess even without the bars looking perfect or the color being right, it still works, and that's the most important thing. :)

Today, I'm making a batch of Green Tomato relish/salsa! We were given some sweet red peppers and some hot peppers yesterday, so I thought I'd try it, since we still had some green tomatoes left. If we like it, I might make several batches and can it. It's the first time I've made salsa, so we will see how it turns out. I used this recipe here...if anyone has a good recipe that they have used and love, feel free to share it with me...if this one doesn't turn out real good, I may try something else. Course I am pretty sure DH will eat it, even if I don't. LOL I don't know how hot it's going to be, so don't know if I will like it or not (as I prefer mild salsas myself LOL). I'll try to let you know later on, if we like it and I make more. :)

DH is stewing some tomatoes, okra & hot peppers, cause we got some okra for free too...and he likes the combination. I think he will probably get all of that for himself. *giggle* Fried okra is good...not sure I'd like any other kind. Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE free things, even if I do have more work to do when we get them? *giggle* Praise God for his continued blessings!

Ok back to work! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. :)

Mishmash

Praise God we are pretty sure Rascal turned a corner during the night...he was able to get a drink, and not throw it right back up!!! He still isn't feeling real good...but after not having much to eat for the last week, it's not surprising. He of course isn't out of the woods yet...but he has been able to eat a little bit off and on today...and drink some...and not throw it right back up. I'm so happy he seems to be doing better! Thanks be to Yahweh!!


We now have names for the three little monsters AKA the triplets. They are Panda...bet you can't tell which one that is *giggle*...Raven...the brownish black one...and Coal...the black black one. They are growing and starting to eat solid food, and are still noisy when they see or hear us...till they are fed. LOL They are all really friendly (duh)and like to climb around on things...especially Raven.


Raven got up on DH's back twice this morning when I was out with my camera...along with a stool that was right beside me, so she could get up closer to me for some attention. I thought this photo was so cute though (above) with her on DH's back. *giggle* They are little pests but oh so cute with it...and of course I love watching them, just wish I had more time to do so. :)


Daisy is loving the apples that are on the ground under the apple tree...she spent a little while this morning scarfing them up...bet Romper (the goat we have that LOVES them) is wondering if there will be any left for her. *giggle* Daisy's calf has also been named...not my favorite name, but better than some of the other ones that hubby mentioned. His name is Stew...for Stew Meat. LOL Granted he will be more than that when he is in our freezer, but chuck was taken with the blind calf...and so we went with Stew. Not sure just exactly WHY it has to be a name of a dish....but that's what hubby leans towards I guess for the ones we KNOW will end up in our freezer, and for the most part he names our animals...cause I kinda suck at it. LOL


Here is a photo of a couple bars of soap that I have all cut and curing out on the side porch. Two of those shelves are almost full of the stuff...I think I went a little overboard with them huh! The one on the left is suppose to be swirled...as you can see I still need to work on that! *giggle*

DH has now tried the Shampoo Bars that we made in the class I took, and likes them...so I'm going to have to make some of them soon too, before I take a break from making soap. I'm afraid that the lady who taught the class could be right...I could get addicted to making that stuff, cause it's kinda fun. LOL

If the forecast stays the same, and rain doesn't get put back in it, we may be doing hay early this next week...so I have no idea how much time I'll have next week, between that and maybe starting on the apples...before the Cows decide they are going to pick the tree clean. LOL So...who knows when I'll manage to post here, but hopefully I can sometime during the week. It's suppose to be really hot here starting on Sunday...NOT what I wanted to hear. LOL (Not that it was exactly cool this week, but least I was able to stay inside!) LOL

Well better run, got some things to do before bed. Have a great weekend!!

Busy Morning

Saturday Morning I usually try to get a few things done around here, because we don't do a lot in the afternoon, besides spend some time together and rest. Normally it's not a lot of things, just odds and ends that I didn't get finished up during the week, like put washing away if I haven't yet, sweep some floors or do a little bit of cooking for the weekend if I need to. This morning I was trying to catch up on things I didn't get done last week...so the little things like putting the laundry away and sweeping floors didn't get done. *giggle*

I made butter, and started some clabbor for cheese and started a new kind of cheese I haven't made before (feta) since we had an extra gallon of milk in the fridge...if there had been two I would have made mozzarella. Blanched some corn on the cob, took the corn OFF the cob and got it in the freezer, and took the soap I made yesterday out of the molds...and then washed the molds. I'm sure there were other little things in there, but I can't remember them at this time. LOL Needless to say I was busy...and while I do wish I had had time to do those other little things I usually do, at least I did get several things done that I was needing to do.

The soap I made is still in the blocks, because I've been having some trouble getting it cut without it looking wavy, so I thought I'd let it dry an extra day or two, and see if that helps it cut better...hopefully it doesn't make it TO hard to get cut up. LOL I know that it being wavy won't make any difference to how it works, but...I am just trying to make it look the best that it can, so want to keep trying new things till I get it right. I think I'm going to have to try making some without covering the mold cause covering it kinda messes up the tops as you can see in the above photo.

This time around, when I was making the soap, I played with color. The first block in the photo is actually suppose to be swirled...but till I cut it apart, I won't know how well that worked. I kinda thought once I poured it, that I may not have had it at a thick enough trace...so I'm not sure how well defined the swirls will be. May be trying that again and making sure it's thicker before pouring. Hopefully it will have pink and natural colored swirls in it when I cut it apart! :)

The 2nd block of soap is natural colored. I thought about doing a color in it...but didn't. Maybe next time I will when I use that scent.

The 3rd block is colored with turmeric. I was wanting a yellow color, and read several places that turmeric will make soap yellow...hmmmm NOT what I would call yellow yet, but...still a pretty color. I guess I should have gone with ground mustard after all (or least I think so...since I've not actually used it yet, I don't know for SURE that it would be yellow like I read either). LOL

The 4th block (dark pink) is colored with pink Australian Clay. I think I used to much of it(I used two teaspoons)...guess I'll forgive myself this time, cause it was my first time. LOL That block is actually going to be grated up and mixed with a batch of natural colored soap so I have pink flecks in my soap. :)

The last soap is colored (not that you can tell) with Green French Clay. I read something and was trying it on that block, so I'm wondering if that's why it's not exactly green...or if it's because the clay isn't real dark...guess I'll have to use it again and see if it works better doing it the way I did the pink bar. I guess soap making is a lot of trial and error. Just wish I could justify making it more often, so I could try several different herbs and spices for coloring it...cause I'd sure like to know exactly what color some of them actually will turn it...but as it is now, I think I'll have enough for a good long while with what I've made so far.

I will have to make more plain soap though...cause I will be using that for laundry soap...and that we will use a LOT faster I am thinking, that is if I like that soap. I don't need to waste the coloring agents in that soap though...course I guess I could use that "green" soap to try to make some liquid soap for the bathroom....hmmm have to think on that. If I do that, then I will have to make another batch of it, and see if I can get it greener. :)

Anyway, I'm sure I'll share a photo of the soap once it is cut into bars...especially IF the swirl one turned out for a change. LOL

If the feta cheese is good I'll let you know about that too...I had to drain it for several hours today, so got to use one of the bags my Mom made me for my birthday. I asked for them because the cheese cloth I've been using doesn't wash real well...it does better than the cheap cloth you buy in the store, but after awhile it still starts getting holes. I knew if I started making other kinds of cheese...like hard cheeses I'd need something better, so asked for them for my birthday! Thanks Mom, it worked great and fit over my colander perfectly!!! :)

Ok, now that I've bored everyone silly I guess I'll shut up for now. I wanted to document (somewhat) my soap process with trying colors in case I forget what I did later on...and this was the easiest way to do it. LOL NOW, I need to figure out what we can do with feta cheese...if we like it. That is besides just eating it plain of course...what can I use it in or on., THAT'S the question. LOL Guess I'm going to have to go googling, once I decide if I'm going to want to make it lots and lots or not. LOL

Have a great rest of the weekend!!

My soap center

My DH is a scrounging machine!! *giggle* He loves to find things that people want to get rid of, and bring them home for our future use. After all, it's kinda like recycling...only we get to benefit with other people's free "junk", which sometimes turns into our "treasure"!

A few months ago, we were driving down the street in our home town, and he saw someone was taking some shelving out of an old store building that was going to be torn down, and laying it out by the curb to be hauled away as trash at a later date. He stopped and asked if they were getting rid of them and if so, could he load them up and take them home. They were happy to let him do so, as that way they didn't have to themselves.

So they were loaded in the back of the truck, and away we went with our latest prize! Little did I know, that I would end up being able to put some of the shelves to good use myself.

Now that I'm making soap, I decided I had to have a place to dry it, out on the side enclosed porch, because that would help keep most of the smells from the fragrance and essential oils out there, and not inside the house, where it likes to give both myself and DH a headache. I've found that a little bit of soap is fine, but when you get even just one small batch drying it really puts out the smells...and even I get a headache from it.

So I got to talking to DH the other day, about needing some shelves on the porch, and told him where I wanted them and he said he had those shelves we picked up that would be perfect for it...cause they would be easy to put up, cheap since we already had them, and would let air flow letting the soap cure like it should.

He got them put up earlier this week, and today I got 5 small batches of soap made (different flavors) and in the molds (which are under the blue blanket on the 2nd shelf) so in a few days, I should be able to get the soap cut and laid out on a couple of the shelves to dry for several weeks. I will have to come up with some small plastic totes I think, to store the soap in on the 3rd shelf, once it drys but for now I think I have my drying center pretty much figured out!

There were room for 4 shelves in the spot I wanted them, so the top one is where we are going to store the empty gallon jars we use for milk...and the other three are for my soap. I guess if I had the "perfect" soap center, I'd have room for all my supplies in it too but "beggars can't be choosers", so I'm just happy that we were able to put some shelves up for drying my soap on...and that it's in a place where the smells shouldn't bother us as much.

If DH ever gets the time he is going to put a short wall up at the end of these shelves, and make me another "pantry" area. I wanted to put the daybed back out on the porch, as it's kinda neat to sit out there sometimes with all the windows...but I'm finding I could use more shelf space for canned goods since I am hoping to do more canning, so we are going to have to use it for that.

I tried and tried to think of how we could rearrange the house, so he could have my office and I could use his for my 2nd pantry (as it would be perfect because it's right by the kitchen) but I just couldn't figure out where to put all the things in my office...so I couldn't take his. I really LOVE our house, but I also sure wouldn't turn down having another 2 or 3 rooms in it. *giggle*

Maybe once I get the soap to drying I can get a better photo of the shelves...I had the wrong lens on, and was to lazy to change it so what you see is what you get for today. LOL

This week has been a busy one, and I didn't have enough time to get everything I needed to do done...and it's almost over! *heavy sigh* I guess having to be gone two days just totally cuts into my week and makes it impossible to finish everything. We had two Dr appointments this week, and did next months shopping at the same time. As it turned out I think we should have done hay this week...but with the Dr appointments we kinda couldn't, besides they SAID it was suppose to rain yesterday and today...who knew that for once it wouldn't. We will hope for another week (or two) where we can...without pesky Dr appointments getting in the way! :)

Well I better get going, gotta start supper. Next week, if at all possible (and it isn't to late, as I was going to do it this week) I have to can some pickled beets. I just ran out of time this week. It's that time of year I think...where there is never enough time to do even half of the things I need to do.

Have a great weekend!!

No time to scrap.

I managed to get a photo of my soap today. I took a couple of the rectangle bars and beveled the edges to see what they would be like, and then put them all together and snapped a photo. The rectangle soap is the one I did the other day by myself...so it's my "first" soap, the other two are two of the ones we did in class this last weekend.

The rectangle is just plain Jersey Milk Soap, the flower is Oatmeal, Goat Milk & Honey, and the green bar is a Shampoo Bar. Now it has to age for a few weeks before we use it, so it hardens up more. I have used crumbs off of it to wash my hands and test how it's doing, and it seems to be working...so I guess I did ok with my first soap. :)

I also made some 100% whole wheat bread today using my usual recipe (where I usually added some white flour to the batch, so it wasn't to hard and dry) only I added some dough conditioners I read about here to the recipe. It just came out of the oven so it's hard to know for sure, but I think it did pretty good. It's nice and tall and spongy for now...not quite as much as it is with some white flour maybe (spongy wise) but not to much different.

I've been wanting to be able to use 100% whole wheat flour, that I grind with my wheat grinder, but haven't before now...cause I didn't know to add the other 4 ingredients so it would turn out more like we like it. Course it takes a while to get enough flour ground since my grinder isn't electric...and thankfully DH helped me yesterday so I could get some other things done too, but it's worth it to have bread that is 100% fresh ground! :) Maybe one of these days I'll be able to get the motor attachment for my grinder...or a cheaper electric one, so I don't have to spend so much time doing the grinding, but till then I'm just happy to have what I have. :)

I haven't, however, managed to find time to scrap this week. I don't know what keeps me so busy, but something sure does...cause I run out of time to do everything. I guess if I don't make sure I scrap in the mornings I just can't get to it, and I've not been able to any morning this week. :( I just keep getting further and further behind on scrapping this years photos. *sigh*

I have piddled with a new template for my blog, the few times I've had a moment to play, using one of my old blogs, so It doesn't matter if I mess it up...and while I have gotten it fixed so there are three columns, I can't get a background to go on it like I want it to. It's only going on part of the page, not stretching all the way across it. I love messing with html and all...but when I get stuck, it BUGS me till I figure it out. Only problem is, I've not been able to figure out why it's not working, cause I've checked to make sure it's like I've read to do it several times...and checked it with more than one set of instructions, so I'm about BUGGED out I think. LOL I gotta take a break or I'll go insane...so hopefully I can forget about it for a few days....or weeks...although I won't hold my breath. I may be forgetful, but not about stuff that "bug" me this much usually. LOL

Well better run, still have things to do in the kitchen, before I make supper. Hope everyone's week is going good! Stay cool out there...if possible! :)

Herbal Salve & Lotion Bar week

I've not gotten back to scrapping after those two pages earlier in the week, because I've been busy working on more lotion bars and herbal salve since DH gave the last bottle of salve away a week or so ago. I figured I better get more made, so we didn't run out, if one of our animals got a wound that needed something put on it. I also like to make plenty, so I have it on hand, and don't have to stop to make more to soon...so I ended up with several bottles of salve and several bars of lotion bars as well as some push up tubes of the lotion bars.

I made two "flavors" of lotion bars, honeysuckle and tea tree/peppermint, so should be set for most of the summer I'd think...although will probably make another kind of lotion bar, if I get some essential oil I'm planning on getting when I go to that soap class next month.

Other than that, I've been up to my usual thing...and in the evenings we have been working on our garden. Not sure if it will do much for us...since we aren't the best gardeners, but if I'm lucky I'll be able to do some canning later in the summer!! I'm praying our tomato plants produce really well at the very least...but I'm also not going to hold my breath. LOL

I've also done a little bit of weeding (something I tend to NOT do, but figured maybe I better try to do a little bit most evenings if possible, and then maybe by the end of summer my front flower beds would look ok for a change. *giggle* Like I say, I am not to good at wanting to weed, so they tend to get over grown if I don't watch it. I guess I can handle pulling a few weeds every evening, so by the end of summer the flower beds in front of the house look like flower beds, instead of weed beds. We will see if I can keep it up or not. ROFL

Well no major plans here this weekend. Until I found that soap making class I was going to go have fun this weekend at a Renaissance Festival (late birthday activity) but decided I better not spend the money on gas, tickets and food when I had to pay for a soap class...so we are staying home this weekend instead. I've never been to this festival, and it's probably not near as good as the one I have been to, down by KC, but it might have been fun...so maybe we can try again next year....maybe. LOL

Anyway, I hope everyone has a safe weekend, and enjoy the extra day if you actually get the long weekend off! Hopefully I can get some scrapping done next week, but am not holding my breath, as we also have plans that could keep me busy. Take Care! :)