Crafty Sunday : Cold Process Soap

Today's Crafty Sunday documents my first experience with cold process soap making. A lot of ingedients are required, as well as some safety precautions. The recipe we used was pretty basic, and was enough to make 6.5 pounds of soap.

5 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
5 oz. Castor Oil
32 oz. Coconut Oil
32 oz. Palm Oil
11 oz. Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
24.4 oz. Distilled Water

I also used some Plumeria and Red Apple fragrance oil and Flamingo Pink Colorant which I purchased (along with most of the other ingredients) from BrambleBerry. Additional supplies you are going to want to have on hand are 2 candy thermometers, towels, a large iron or steel pot (NO ALLUMINUM!), hand mixer, scale, spatula, wooden spoons, molds for your soap, and SAFETY GOGGLES, GLOVES, AND MASKS. You will want to be sure to remove any jewelery and wear long sleeves and pants since the Lye is a highly corrosive material. Let's begin with the process of soap making....

After organizing your workspace, the first thing you want to do is measure out your lye + water mixture. It heats up quickly and takes a while to cool, so be sure to set it somewhere safe.

Next, you want to mix your oils together and melt on the stove. Once both the lye + water mixture and your oil mixture have reached the same temperature (around 120 degrees F) add the lye mixture to the oil pot.

Stir the ingredients together in short bursts with a hand mixture. Trace will begin to take place at this time and the mixture will start to thicken. Now is the time to add your fragrance in. A little goes a long way. I only added about 10cc to the pot and the smell was fantastic. After you have mixed in the fragrance oil, you can add in your colorant to your liking.

Now you are ready to pour your raw soap into molds. After you have finished pouring your soap into the molds, tap on the table to remove any air bubbles. You will now want to wrap the molds in towels to keep them warm and allow the saponification process to continue.

After 24 hours, you can remove the soap from the molds and cut them into bars. It takes a full 4 to 6 weeks for the soap to finish curing before it is ready to be used. Once the time has passed and your bars are fully cured, they are ready for use. Enjoy!

Womb With A View

frown + smile

little feet crossed + i love you

Today I am 28 weeks pregnant, and what better way to celebrate the occasion than with a 3-D Ultrasound! She was not willing to cooperate for a little while, and I had to try laying on my side and eventually ended up elevated upside down to help raise my pelvis and get the shot to see her. She was holding on to her foot, covering her face, but then, for a few brief minutes, she gave in and we got to see her!

Truman-Approved!

Here is our precious kitty Truman! He's lounging on the new pillow I made for him tonight. Both him and our other cat, Drew, have been in need of their own bed for a while, so I whipped this little one up for them tonight.

Truman is a fan of sleeping on shoes, desks, window ledges, the dresser, and other equally hard items so I was really surprised that he settled so quickly on the pillow since its MUCH more comfortable than his usual surface of choice.

Drew has yet to test it out, but he already has made a bed for himself in our upstairs closet in a box of clothes that we never unpacked, so I guess he is less impressed with this new addition.

I need to venture to the fabric store and but some sweet fleece so I can make another bed like THIS ONE. I think they would love it!

In other news, only 2 more days until my 4-d sonogram appointment! Baby B has been bumping around in my belly like crazy the past couple days (not to mention I look MUCH rounder than I did at my last sono), so I am excited to not only see what she looks like, but how much bigger she has gotten. Both grandmas (my mom and and my mother-in-law) as well as one of my best friends will be joining in on the excitement. I might even have to post a picture of her on Thursday!

Oh, and a heads up for the next couple Crafty Sundays: Be ready for an awesome recipe I found for a raspberry lemonade pie to be featured on the 4th of July and the following Sunday I will be making soap with some girlfriends!

Crafty Sunday

So I'm going to try to feature a new crafty project I've completed every Sunday. First up is a 5 minute project I worked on today. I've made some little travel tissue packs as part of the "thank you" bags for my baby shower in August. There are lots of other elements yet to be made, but those are surprises! Shall we begin?

WHAT YOU WILL NEED (as shown clockwise from top left): 1. a sewing machine, 2. an optional lazy assistant, 3. individual tissue packs, 4. fabric of your choice, 5. sewing utensils (scissors, pins, measuring tape.)

THE PROCESS:

Step 1. : Cut your fabric into a 63/4 x 57/8 rectangle.

Step 2. : Fold the short ends in to meet at the center of the rectangle and pin.

Step 3. : Sew both sides shut with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Step 4. : Turn right side out and trim. You can trim with scallop shears if you have them. Mine were much too dull... I doubt they even cut paper any more.

Step 5. : Repeat the process. I still have about 40 to go!

Step 6. : Enjoy!

From start to finish I would say it took me about 10 minutes per pouch, and cost was pretty minimal. The purple fabric was left over from previous projects and I ordered a jumbo box of the travel tissues from the pharmacy for about $4. Pretty simple, but pretty cute, too!

it's a first!

Why hello! This is my first official post on my first official blog! I've been meaning to get this up and running for a while, but between working + the bun in the oven, blog time has been limited. I think for my first post, I'll link up three awesome photographers who will be photographing our little lady within the first week or two of her precious little life!

Simple Splendor Photography : Kim Newman

Kim has been one of my dearest friends since I was in the 7th grade (back in 2002!). We started out as pen pals with an equal love for crafts, good music, and thrifting. She's been with me at dance competitions, when i've been stuck in a vintage prom dress, and not to mention she's been there to photograph my engagement, my wedding, and soon, my bump + my baby! Her family is my family, and vice versa. I've attatched a SPLENDID photo of us. This may have been from our first summer hanging out together.... my how we have changed!

Shlay Photography : Ashley Huffine

I was referred to Ashley after viewing some shots she took of my friend's adorable little man, Levi. She had a style I was totally in to, and lots of sweet props. I'm so excited to meet her for a maternity shoot next month and a newborn shoot in September!

Sarah Maxey Photography : Sarah Maxey

I first became aware of Sarah Maxey through birthphotographers.com. She specializes in natural light newborn/child photography, but also photographs births, which is what she will be doing for us. My husband Tyler and I were both on the fence initially of the idea of having a near stranger be a witness to the intimate birth of our baby, but I've fell in love with the idea and have since convinced Tyler. For anyone unfamiliar with the process, a birth photographer is a photographer hired to document the entire birthing experience: labor, delivery, and post-partum snuggles. It's such an art form, and I'm blessed to have found Sarah who was willing to help us out. I will be meeting up with her for lunch in July to lay out plans for the big day. Here's a picture I snagged from her gallery of a birth.

Well, that is all from me here... think it's time to turn in for the night!