A place to display my soaping adventure, crafts I like to do, share my thoughts and interests and to be able to give back a little to the 'net that helped me so much in my times of need.
I just got my package from Brambleberry! I am so excited! I don't normally alter from my norm of only ordering my soap supplies once a year. These new molds were offered after I made my order in February. I was just going to wait until next year, if I remembered, but then Brambleberry had a coupon code for these very molds! I could not resist. I pleaded and reasoned with Cowboy Preacher to let me buy some of these molds. And so now I have some.
Isn't my husband the best? Yeah, I love him so.
I do love to make soap, but since I am just a hobbyist, for now at least. I want to try out some new designs and scents, but don't really want to be swamped in soap.
I have three 4 lb wooden molds and two 2 lb wooden molds. I really love my wood molds, lined with freezer paper and all, but I am looking forward to trying these silicone ones out. I know I will probably have to keep them in the molds a little longer, but I hope it will be worth it in the long run. I will be sure to post my results.
I love how they always give you a little sample. This time I got a sample of Red Apple. I love appley scents. I think I will try out this little sample in my new mold! Catch ya later, I've got some soaping to do!
I've changed the name of blog yet again. So goodbye to A Little Creative Fun and Hello to The Ladybug's Soapbox. I decided to change to tie into my new Facebook page. If I were to start up my own soap company, I'd like to use The Ladybug's Soapbox.
In other news, Cowboy Preacher and Roosiers took off to camp this week. I'm left at home with two sickies. Princess Flower and Skinny are both sick with who knows what. It isn't too serious. Princess Flower takes after me and just sleeps it off. Skinny is the one to pay attention to. He likes to, uh, make a mess, so to speak. So I hope I'll be able to get back on here sometime this week and re do my video on making some cuticle oil. We will see.
Also Rockbiter is changing his name to Little Duder. He's a funny little dude. Anyhow, I decided to get off the fence about potty training him. I was waiting because we were going to be taking a trip. Starting to potty train and then a trip doesn't bode well for successful potty training. The good thing is that he is old enough to understand and wants to potty train. The bad thing is that he is also very stubborn and often says he wants to go in his big boy undies. Even though I potty trained my oldest 3, it still seems like such an undertaking every time. But I am a certain that potty training boot camp works. I just wasn't counting on being left with 2 sickies.
Being a soapmaker, there really isn't a shortage of soap around my house. I have a lot of soap, what can I say? I'm addicted to making soap.
I still had a few soaps hanging around from my last soap swap. The Autumn one, so I have a lot of spicy ones to choose from. Well I chose the one that smelled like cinnamon. Even knowing that cinnamon is a sensitizer I used it. My hands aren't all that sensitive, but let me tell you, that luscious cinnamon smelling soap really did a number on them. Nothing bad, just my hands were dry and itchy. Really itchy! I'm glad I didn't try it on my face and that Cowboy Preacher didn't use it (he likes to use the hand soap in a pump).
I decided that after that little fiasco, I needed a super mild soap to help me get over the cinnamon. You have to understand, I love cinnamon. It is just smells wonderful and so homey to me. I went thorough my soap boxes looking for a nice soap. I found a bar that must be 3 years old at least. It was an old goat's milk soap from before we moved to Arkansas. I made it for babies.
What is the point of this post? Well, I love the mildest of that old goat's milk bar. It really helped. It doesn't have the bubbles I love, but it has a great feel and it doesn't leave my hands feeling dry. I wasn't so great at taking notes at the beginning of my soapmaking adventure. I like to experiment a lot, playing with a base soap recipe. So as you may have caught on, I didn't take great notes on this bar.
It is sad to know that I made a really great bar of soap and I may never replicate it again! I know it has olive oil and maybe shea butter and it definately has goat's milk, but I don't know what else I may have put in the soap. I even remember the fragrance I used, but the recipe is gone. My memory isn't what it used to be. So my point is: take notes of your creations so you can create them more than once.
Of course I know that some of you just won't. How do I know? I was once like that. I saw any number of times others telling me to take good notes. Did I listen? Well, yes eventually, but at first, not remotely. Ah, how wonderful it would be if I had taken better notes.
Boy Genius designed, cut out and sewed his "Ultramatrix" cuff. Can we say, someone loves Ben 10? It warms my heart to watch him craft with complete concentration from beginning to completion. Crafting Rules!
Well as the saying goes, "The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry" (Robert Burns). Last week I had intended to make another video, but alas Salmonella broke in and attacked the whole family. Only Princess was spared. Salmonella is evil, just plain evil. Let me tell ya, trying to take care of mulitple sick boys while being sick yourself is NOT a picnic. So last week was just some down time for us to recover as a family. In fact, Cowboy Preacher is still not too hot right now.
I actually did do a video, but I kinda dropped the camcorder. So some of it went missing, which I needed. The rest of the video went bye bye. I'll just record another one. I hope you look forward to learning how to make some lovely cuticle oil. I really needed some, but I made extra to give away as gifts. It would make a nice Mother's Day treat.
Here is a picture of one recipe I am testing for shaving soap. I am looking forward to testing this soap out.
Next on the soap list is Pine Tar and some colorant tests for getting some lovely purple soap. Until the next time.
Well of course I have been neglecting my blog again. Sorry folks, life continues to march forward. Honestly I've been intending to write but certain things keep popping up. My little Princess has been sick and I haven't felt too hot lately.
On with the show! Literally, I've had some time to play with some of my new toys this year and videoed myself playing around with my nail polish kit. Boy Genius had gotten me into watching reviews and how to videos on YouTube. He then wanted to publish some himself and that got me wanting to make some videos of my own. Well it also helped that a few of my friends wanted to see some visual tutes. I like to share what I've learned.
I really liked this kit. I think Brambleberry did a wonderful job putting together the items you will need to make some really rockin' nail polish. The only downside to the kit I could see is that I wish they had included a mini scoop or two. Thankfully, I did have some on hand, but I know that some people could have used them. On the bright side, you can mostly likely use those specialty measuring spoons (ie dash, pinch).
With my yearly restocking of supplies for my soap and lotion making, I decided to buy Brambleberry's Glittery and Bright Nail Polish Kit. It is only $24.99 and they have really reasonable shipping. I really liked the colorants offered by this kit. I have been wanting to do my nails ever since Brambleberry announced they were carrying the Suspending Nail Polish Base. I waited and waited for my order time to come around just so I could add this kit to it. It is a great starter to see if you really want to get into making your own custom Franken Polish. I confess I was very plain and didn't really mix many colors together. I really liked the colors and wanted to see them shine on their own. Next year I am planning to mix some of my own color blends and see where that takes me.
Supplies you will need: The Glittery and Bright Nail Polish Kit Mini Scoops or some small measuring spoon
Toothpicks
Cotton Balls
Nail Polish Remover
Paper Towels
A working surface you are not afraid to get messy on (I used a notebook paper on the video, but I'd recommend a piece of freezer paper myself)
I did actually video when I first got the kit, but I really flubbed and made a huge mess. My children insisted on being in the spotlight and it really was too chaotic to publish. I will say that the first time pouring the nail polish base into the bottle was a disaster. It was cold and I was too eager. The nail polish base was thick and didn't pour into the bottle in the narrow stream that I had watched on the Soap Queen videos. After I cleaned up that mess, I sat back and thought it might be because the base was cold and it was rather full. I promise when I get another one, I'll film pouring the first bottle again. I believe in learning from others mistakes. Who knows, I might get it right the first time. Anyhow, in the video I mention paper towels and nail polish remover but never used them on camera. Well it is still handy to have on hand IN CASE you make a mess like me. I used the cotton ball soaked with remover to clean up my messed up bottles.
Here is the video.
I hope you enjoyed watching it and gathered some useful information. Again, I really like this kit and I plan on buying more supplies to feed my new habit of Franken Polish.
Here are the resulting nail polishes:
Sheer Purple Veil: 4 mini scoops of Sparkle Violet Mica (Not included in kit, I just had some from last year)
Candy Apple: 3 mini scoops of Cellini Red (this was the one I made on camera, also not included in kit)
Turquoise: 5 mini scoops of Cellini Blue (5 is really too much, I'd try 3 next time)
80's Pink: 3 mini scoops of Red/Blue mica (this really takes me back)
As I mentioned I find that I don't much like glitter in my nail polish anymore, but that is just me. I got mica everywhere, I'm messy like that. I had so much fun making these. My Roosiers was happy to hear I plan on getting more supplies. He doesn't much care for the smell, but I think he enjoys the colors. I think he plans to be a Mad Scientist like me. :)
Please stop by again, there is always more to craft.
