Fabric Ornaments

These are the handmade ornaments I decided to do for this year.  It is inspired by a youtube video I saw (I did not save the link and can't find it again as I am writing this post) combined with this video from Jenny Doan. 

Went to our local Jo Ann's Fabric store and decided on these fabrics below.

 

I had fun making these ornaments. 

Great Turtle Race 2013

Friday, October 25, the hubby was worried that the Great Turtle Race might be cancelled due to a very bad weather forecast.  But since he trained and it's been scheduled, we drove over and hope for the best.  We stayed at the Cabins of Mackinaw which has become our favorite place to stay.  Although the drive was pleasant, it rained and got really windy at  night.

The ferry ride on Saturday going to the island was not only dizzying, it was also wet and windy. 

 

The Arch Rock.  The kids and I walked to the arch rock once we had our lunch.

 

We had our dinner after the race at the O'Reilly's Irish Pub and this is going to be another favorite stop in Mackinaw City.

  

 

The race was typical.  Nothing really stands out.

 

Update on Bandit:

  Bandit may have a barky kennel mate dog that weekend since he came home and barked every few hours at night.  He did this for a couple weeks.  I was starting to worry if this goes on until winter, I will not be able to do it.  But luckily he is back his usual self and slept through the night before it gets cold.  Since the kids don't have school for the Christmas break, he has been sleeping in and have not bark for attention again.

Winter Soap

 

Christmas is just around the corner and so I decided to make more of the gingerbread men.  The mold held after being used a couple times.

 

I am also taking advantage of my friend D's molds that I still have with me.  Will have to return them soon.  I called the above soap "Winter scene".  Original idea was from my supplier's website.  I used the circle mold from D and added some shredded white soap base and two green tree soaps I made earlier to  a red and white base and poured a clear soap base on top to keep everything in place. This was my first attempt and I am very happy with the result.  

 

I also made a tiny snowman and placed them on top of the gingerbread men for the picture.  I guess they would look better added to some colorful winter scene.

 

D also lend me some flower soap molds and I played with them by just pouring the colored soaps in the main flowers and poured a white soap base for the rest of the mold.

 

I also tried to embed a tree, the awareness ribbon and flowers into some of the regular soap molds.  Although better than my previous attempt at embedding, I waited to cool the clear soap too long and they started to harden when I poured them and thus I got wrinkles and uneven clear top layer to the soaps.

 

Still needed a lot of practice but I am enjoying every creations so far.

Assorted Designs

 

A crafty friend thankfully lend me her soap molds.  Made me realized the potentials I can play with the different shapes.  For the round and hexagon, I did the double pour technique of basic white soap base and a clear soap base I colored with blue.  Although not an award winning design for people to go gaga over with, I was happy with the result.  It turned out just as I expected.  Pictures below shows the other side of the above soaps.

 

The awareness ribbon was a mold I bought for the October Awareness Month.  As you can see in the picture below.  The soap with the ribbon on top of the soap turned out just right.  Since, I like playing around, I decided to make the ribbon looked like it was embedded inside the rectangle and oval soap molds.  I did not get the result I expected for these.  I intended for the ribbon to be seen through a clear base but the white soap took over the entire ribbon. We can still see some part of the pink ribbon peeking out.  The plan was for the ribbon to be embedded inside the soap but completely visible supposedly.  I will have to play some more to get what I am envisioning for this. 

 

I had some leftover pink soap to fill up three happy face molds. 

 Till the next project. Thank you for stopping by. 

 

Gingerbread Men Soap

Today, Friday October 18, 2013, I decided to make some gingerbread men.  I used the leftover soaps for a few happy faces and a musical mold I got from our grocery store.  They turned out great as well.  The details showed and did not break at all as I was expecting.  My daughter Lyn saw the molds when they got home and just started peeling the soaps off.  The designs held and came off the mold just fine. The house smells like Christmas time. 

 

This time, I did not freeze the mold.  Practiced my patience and waited for a few hours before attempting to unmold the soaps.  They came out pretty easy and were not wet at all.

 

 

Because I sometimes like to do things fast.  I over poured the white details and had to do some cosmetic surgery to give the gingerbread men a sharp and clean look.  The hubby saw me removing tiny bits of pieces in the eyebrow area and was like " I thought it is just melt and then pour ". 

Definitely, not just melt and pour if you have different colors to add and has to be precise with the detailings.  Noticed the white soap in the supposedly only red top botton?  This is what happens when my impatience took over and I was not meticulously doing what I should have.



 

 Since the soap came out dry and I don't want any crystallization to happen.  I wrapped them right away and practiced making my own soap box.  I obviously still need to practice wrapping the soaps and making it tighter.  But at least these soaps are going to be protected from the elements.

My Very First Attempt at Soap Making

Tuesday, August 27, 2013, the day I received my first soap making supplies.
Oh what excitement!  After reading a lot about soap making and watching how to videos on youtube.    I thought that it would be too difficult for me to decide which fragrance, colors and base to use for my first project and so I ordered for a kit.   After opening the package, I got into work right away, I forgot to take pictures of the supplies.

 

The company included a free half an ounce of fragrance and I can't ignore it or wait for another batch of order to use it.  So I separated a few of the base for the free fragrance and grabbed some baking molds for it.  My impatience to just go ahead and avail of  everything in the package got the best of me.

 

 

The white mold came with the kit and the blue silicone ones are from my kitchen.

 

 

As you can see in the above picture, instead of spreading the gold dust, I ended up creating a few globs of it.

 

Some of the bars broke off into two or three layers.  Definitely need to practice some more.

 

 The white top layer was sprinkled with the gold dust and the layers in between was supposed to be a pretty swirl of pink, blue and purple then a clear bottom layer.

Definitely a keeper hobby.  No needles flying all over the house whenever the machine is in trouble.  I just need to find a good supplier that ships faster than this company I am using now.  The supplies were good but this was my first and I don't have any other company to do any comparison yet.

It was great fun making it and waiting for the final result was satisfying even for a first time soap maker like me.

First Halloween Soaps

 



 

Thursday, September 12, 2013.  This was my second shipment of soap making supply.  Halloween is just around the corner and so I ordered for a Jack-O-Lantern kit from another supplier a few days after ordering my first kit.  This was my first attempt at using designed soap molds.   

 

 

The Jack-O-Lantern soaps were a little stubborn  to unmold and so I put them in the freezer for a few minutes, some soap bloggers suggested this method of unmolding the soaps.  The freezing makes it easier for the soap to pop out of the mold but they turned out to feel wet instead.  I will check it out tomorrow to see if they will dry out.

 

As usual I used kitchen mold for the leftover soaps.  I used happy face silicone molds and the blue flower designed silicone mold and tried to make swirls and a double pour technique according to the soap tutorial I've been watching.

 

My son Vyn said the Jack-O-Lantern looked scarier in the above picture when the black soap was spilled all over the faces.  I like the cleaned up looked better though.

 

The happy faces were just a mixture of both the leftover orange and black to make them looked like spooky happy faces.  Was I successful in making them spooky?

 

 

 

Ghosts and Bats

Thursday, October 3, 2013, my third batch of melt and pour or sometimes referred to as soap casting soap making technique.  I ordered for yet another soap mold "ghost" from yet another soap making supplier.  I also came across a "bat" mold while grocery shopping and was tempted.

 

 

 

The designs turned out great.  But if you look closer, the soaps have white crystals all over them.  Further reading on soap making revealed that moisture and glycerine content is the culprit.  My first two batches did not do this.  I wonder if it was because I ordered from another supplier and got a less than stellar quality of the products or the moisture in our house changed.  More reading still needed.

 

 

As you can see the designs came out exactly as expected.  I also am able to prevent a mess from happening with the black color for the Jack-o-lanterns.  I was not excited with my black happy faces and so I remelted the black happy faces from my second batch and made them into black bats which I thought was more appropriate.  

 

 

 

 

I froze the mold before unmolding again because I am such an impatient soul and they all came out easily but was wet again.  The hubby who is a chemist suggested not to freeze them the next time.  I will try not to freeze the soaps on my next batch and see if we would get a dry and easy to unmold soap.

 

 

 

Crystallization also happened with this soap batch and according to soap blogs it was because of not wrapping them right away.  The moisture in the air is not good for the glycerin content of this soap making technique.

 

 

 

Glycerine absorbs water in the air thus is very moisturizing to the skin but it caused the soaps to sweat and crystallized when expose to moisture.  Still obviously learning from other soap crafters and bloggers.  Also  comparing product quality from different suppliers.  Will see if I improve for my next batch.

 

 

Look at how sweaty and wet they were, this was taken right after I unmold them and after being in the freezer for a good half hour.  Just learned from a soap book that if I should freeze the soap, it should only be done for at least 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Government Partial Shut Down

So this is the second week of the partial government shut down.  Here is a link of what is going on from foxnews.

Like all kinds of relationship, if compromising is gone, the relationship deteriorates.  What happens when only one side is being heard?  When  only the egos and pride and what they want is given and the other side just give in all the time. 

The government is supposed to be there to make the community run smoothly.  But when the government is in havoc, the people suffer.  Did the people who promised to make the country a better place to be, who promised to improve our lifestyles really did what they promised.  Or are they just there muscling for what they believe in without thought for the rest of us,  but their very own agendas only.

I am starting to really dislike the word "entitle".  Why is it that working and enjoying the fruit of your own labor so difficult.  Why is it that people think that because they are born to this country or this family that they are entitled to part or all of somebody else's hard work.  If people just work for what they want and not feel entitled to somebody else's work, will we be in such a mess?

Debt is something we all struggle with.  What with credit cards readily available and companies sending application forms every day.  The discipline to spend only what we earn is difficult to do since there are thousands available with just a flick of the card.  Yet what do you suppose will happen to a family where the mom and dad just kept on bickering at each other.  They both carry 10 credit cards to the max and paying only minimums.  Of course there are the normal mortgages or house rents, the car loans, student loans to name a few.  These people are up to the tip of their foreheads in debt and yet they plan to go on a luxury vacation to their budget.  Of course that means adding another credit card to pay for the vacation.  As a family member or friend to people like this, do we just allow them to do it or at least say something.  If you are a government, do you just allow these people to take in more debt for the people to pay or try to stop this nonsense?

How about the people who are really affected by this shut down.  Who are thinking of their welfares and their common good.  Especially if they still have to go to work without compensation until a compromise is going to be settled.  What will happen if a compromise between the mom and dad of the government is not allowed because the other side will not even listen?

That is my two cents for our current government situation.  Thank you for reading.

Basil Drink

The kids don't like the basil leaves in this but the adults liked this.

2 cup Greek Yogurt
4 cup milk ( 2 cup whole milk/ 2 cup almond milk)
1 cup lemon/mango/pineapple juice
1/4 cup sugar
20 basil leaves

Pesto

Pesto is a staple with the hubby.  He adds them into his pasta, bread and anything he thinks that needed some flavor.

2 cups fresh basil leaves stripped from their stems
2 tablespoons freshly chopped pine nuts/walnuts or cashew
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 to 1 cup Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated imported Sardo, Romano or Parmesan cheese

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor except olive oil and blend.  Gradually add olive oil and blend until you have a thick sauce.  Toss on hot pasta, put a tablespoon or so on soup, put under skin of chicken breast and bake or spread on French bread and broil lightly.  For winter use,  freeze Pesto in small jars or air tight containers.

Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago

I used gluten free pasta and added fig infused balsamic vinegar to this dish.  From foodnetwork

Ingredients

 

  1 pound fusilli pasta

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 (9-ounce) bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped
• 8 ounces (1/2 pint) cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup (about 3 1/2-ounces) grated Asiago
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, warm olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook until the spinach wilts, about 2 more minutes. Add the cooked pasta and toss. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper, and the pasta cooking liquid and stir to combine.
Transfer the pasta to a serving plate and serve.