Honey Cleanser and Almond Scrub

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Along with making my own soap, I’m now making my own cleansers.

Honey Facial Cleanser is a recipe from the book Bodyworks: Restoring Wellbeing with Homemade Lotions, Potions and Balms (Murdoch Books): Restoring Wellbeing with Homemade Lotions, Potions and Balms (Murdoch Books)

60ml runny honey

125ml vegetable glycerine

40 ml liquid castile soap

Mix all together and pour into a clean pump type bottle.  Keeps in the shower without needing refrigeration.

To use, simply rub over wet face and rinse off with water.

Note:  Liquid Castile Soap is true soap, not the liquid detergent you buy in the supermarket.  You may need to order it online from a Soap Making shop or might possibly be available from a Health Food Shop or organic supermarket.

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Almond Scrub is a recipe I made up myself.  It’s very loosely based on a product from Lush.  Works brilliantly!

2 Tblspn ground almonds

2 Tblspn clay (Kaolin, Bentonite, or similar cosmetic clay)

1 Tblspn vegetable glycerine

1 tspn sweet almond oil

5 drops lavender essential oil (leave out if you’re allergic, or you can substitute another essential oil)

Mix all together well and store in a plastic container (for safety reasons, you don’t want to risk dropping a glass jar in the shower!).  Leave for 24 hours before using.

To use, wet face, break off a small piece and scrub skin gently.  Wash off with water.

To be honest, the colour of this scrub reminds me of baby poop!  It ends up a yellowish khaki colour and the texture is, well, chunky….  LOLOL!

Homemade Soap

I made this soap last year, and only recently realised that I hadn’t posted about it!

All made by me on the stove!  I think I now have enough soap for us for the next few years!  LOL!  It was pretty easy and good fun.

The basic recipe is a mix of oils, I’ve used all vegetable oils, with Caustic soda added to saponify the oils.  Then they have spices, clays, essential oils or synthetic fragrances added to make the different varieties.  I did have one failure, tried making a coffee soap and it ‘burnt’ when I added the caustic.  Smelled like a coffee pot that had burnt dry so had to throw that one out.

I started making them using tupperware as the molds, then swapped to using 75mm pvc pipe which works a treat!

Centre (grey) is shaving soap with bentonite clay.  Works better for shaving than plain soap.  I made a heap of this in plastic jars for DH to take overseas on his deployment and the rest of it I’m using.

Clockwise from top: Solid shampoo bar, spice (cinnamon, clove and nutmeg), chocolate, Eucalyptus (can’t smell it though), Sweet Vanilla Sugar, plain basic soap, a mix of some small bits and failures all remelted and molded.

Easiest Short Rows ever!

I just found the BEST tutorial for knitting short rows.  http://www.cocoknits.com/info/tutorials/shortrows.html It’s the simplest, easiest way ever, and looks great!

June Capsule Contest

I’ve signed up to be a part of Stitcher’s Guild June Capsule Contest. The idea is to make a wardrobe capsule of four garments and one accessory during June. One item must be a top, one item must be a bottom and no black! I’ve already decided what I’m going to make:

Skirt – choc brown wool blend fabric, with a split centre front and back to show a gathered underlay of chiffon (or similar). I saw a skirt like this last year, asking $$$$$, and decided to make my own but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Trousers – I need heaps more trousers for work! At this point I’m planning on making them out of a gorgeous dark olive green fabric I’ve seen at Addicted to Fabric. I’ll be using Vogue 1040 as the pattern.

Top 1 – A knock-off of a top I saw in the latest Undercoverwear catalogue. I have to draft the pattern myself for this one, a v-neck tunic style top to just under the bust, with a fitted ribbing body in a contrasting colour. I have an orange/pink/tan fabric that matches perfectly with a choc brown ribbing I have.

Top 2 – A blue/purple/cream almost-paisley patterned fabric, using a crossover top pattern Butterick 5084.

For the accessory I expect (although this could easily change!) to make a necklace using brown, olive and cream beads.

I really need more office clothes for work, so this will be a great opportunity to make some and have some fun with others sewing at the same time!

Recent Sewing

A few weeks ago I made two tops, out of cheap fabric to check the pattern fitting. The first one was a disaster, waaaay too big! (Silly me, I followed the pattern sizing!) The second one turned out well, after I ignored the pattern sizing and just made it in a size that looked right!

I had to add a ‘modesty panel’ partly to cover up and partly to keep the crossover front pieces sitting nicely. The fabric is very stretchy and drapey. I bound the edges, including the hem and sleeves with a coordinating plain purple jersey.

I quite like this top and will be making this pattern again, with a better fabric, now that I know it fits!

Updating the last few weeks

It would take me too long to post individually the last few weeks, so here’s some highlights…

Hit with a doozy of a sinus infection that laid me flat for several days and took about two weeks to get my energy back and able to do things again. Really not what I need just before moving!

Finished work at Dian’s school. The last week I was there we worked extra time thursday and friday, most of the saturday and then monday as well. Did I mention that I had the sinus infection that week???? By the end of the monday I was exhausted! Cried when I left the school as it’s the last time I would be there. I loved the school, the people and working with the kids.

One of the school’s rabbits had three babies, had no milk and then rejected them. I took them home and fed them three hourly for two days but they all died. It was really sad, they were so tiny and helpless, I did everything I could and it wasn’t enough.

Dian has finished school. She doesn’t go back until 4 Feb 2008, almost eight weeks off!!!

I made two personalised pillowcases for my two nephews and got them posted off yesterday. Had to send them express post as they won’t arrive in time for Christmas otherwise. Ouch$$$$$! Unfortunately I messed up one of them, I put the name and the opening on the wrong side of the pillowcase, and also the sizing of the letters was wrong. I’ve sent it off anyway, and will remake it after we move. Or even possibly while we’re away at Christmas.

We leave here in two days time!!!! I am so not ready, another week at home would be good. I won’t have it though, we’ll just have to muddle through. Thank goodness we have removalists come in and do the packing and unpacking for us!

30 days of Handmade gifts

Found this great blog that is posting links and tutorials for handmade gifts every day in November. Sew! Mama! Sew! Brilliant!!! I want to make one of the rag rugs, just need a lot more hours in my day….

Christmas pressie preview!

Here’s an early preview of one of the Christmas presents I’m making… I won’t be posting any other pics until after Christmas, although I may do some previews of other gifts along the way… Nothing that will give away what the final gift will look like or who it’s for!

Twist top Mk IV

This is my fourth go at making this twist top, and finally I have one that fits! Yay!!! The first top was great, just too small so I gave it away to a petite friend, the second one was HUGE, could have fitted two of me in it even though I made it according to the pattern sizing, the third one was a test sample, sewed up really really quickly to check the sizing (it fitted, mostly) and this fourth one actually fits well! I’ve had this fabric in my stash for about two years now, waiting until I could get the pattern to fit so I didn’t ruin it. I like it.

The pattern is Simplicity 4076, and there are two other styles of tops in this pattern, both of which are really nice. And four sleeve options, long, short, floaty or sleeveless. I’ll definitely be making more tops from this one!

Goldwork Class – Week 3

Last class. Well the picture from this week doesn’t look like there has been much change… that’s because I didn’t do my homework before the class! I was really busy with other business/coaching stuff and simply ran out of time. So now I just need to work on getting it finished. I’ll post pics on here occasionally as I continue to work on it.

I’m heading back to Ballarat in October, the other ladies from this class and I are having a get-together to work on another of Alison’s kits. This one is called Bejewelled Dragonfly. It is a very simple goldwork piece, with swarovski crystals added. Gorgeous!