Winging It

We will be "winging it" as far as meals go this week.  I haven't had time this weekend to plan for them, but I do have a few things in the freezer so, hopefully, it won't be too bad. 

This past Saturday was very productive and I am so thankful to my hardworking boys who spent the majority of their day working on projects for me.   One of the big projects was yard work. 

I know that doesn't sound like a big project, but we have about 10 acres that has to be mowed and weed-eated.  That includes my parents and daughters yards, but since we all live on my Dad's place it makes for one BIG yard.   (That doesn't include the bush-hogging that has to be done in the pasture and woody areas.)

Thankfully, we have a finishing mower that is pulled behind our Deutz tractor and also a riding mower and a couple of push mowers.    My youngest son took care of the mowing close to the house while the older boys did the tractor work.  While one of the older boys was on the tractor,  the other was helping with various other projects that were going on at the time.

After mowing, my two youngest sons weed-eated around all of the fruit trees and flower beds and then did the ditch banks.  My yard looks soooo good now. 

In addition to the yard work, my middle son bought the materials to begin working on a trundle bed for Amanda's youngest daughter and my oldest son replaced a fuel pump in his Dad's surburban. 

We also did quite a bit in the house Saturday and I was thankful for the help in lifting and moving things around.    I'm really hoping to get most of the household projects completed by Thursday of this week so that I can focus on soapmaking and sewing the latter part, but I'm not sure if it will work out that way.   Mainly because my sweet husband bought 16 pounds of strawberries at a really good price and I am hoping to be making jam today.  He mentioned that he may be able to get more if I wanted them, which I do, so I may be spending the next couple of days making jam.  

I have two nursing cover-ups that need to be finished by Wednesday, because the lady I'm making them for has a baby shower to attend this upcoming weekend and that's the only day I will be seeing her to deliver them.  

All in all, I'm looking forward to another busy, but productive, week and am so thankful that God has blessed me with hardworking helpers :)

Making Soap and Enjoying Life

I am really enjoying my week so far.  It's been busy, but it's a normal kind of busy and that I can take delight in.  I've made a start on my "To Do" list for the company that we have coming in a couple of weeks and have also kept up fairly well with our "day to day" things (like the never ending laundry :).  

Today's plan is to make more goat's milk soap.  I made some last week and am planning to make a couple of batches today as well since I sold the last of what I already had on hand yesterday.  (I did keep a few bars for my family). 

Soapmaking is one of those things that I really enjoy doing.  I enjoy playing around with new recipes and learning what works and what doesn't.  I've been learning to add herbs and colorants to some of my soaps, since I have had a few people request that and it's been fun.  Some of my "experiments" have turned out well and some just haven't, but they're all fun.  

I usually make my experimental batches in a smaller (one pound) quantity, so that there is not as much waste if it flops.  It's fairly easy to adapt the recipes to larger quantities later using http://www.soapcalc.net/ if the recipe is one I want to continue making. 

Today I will making a plain, unscented, goat's milk soap, because I am totally out and I have a few people that really like it for their children dealing with eczema.   I also plan to make the same recipe with Lavender scent  simply because I like it :) 

Well, I guess if I don't get started, I won't get finished so time to go.  I hope all of you are enjoying life as much as I am at the moment!

Getting Ready for Valentines Day

Now that things are "somewhat" back to normal Amanda and I have been working on our soaps and other crafts again.  Recently we've been working on Valentine's Day Projects.   So far we've made Peppermint Chocolate Milk, Citrus Blend, Lavender, and Oatmeal Milk and Honey soaps that are curing right now and today we are working on new fragrances and shapes that we'll tell you about later.    Below is a picture of  the flower and heart shapes we have curing in addition to our round and rectangular shaped soaps.     The flower shape is Peppermint Chocolate Milk  and the hearts are Lavender.    We've also got some other things that we've been working on and will share with you another day.   

Peppermint Chocolate Milk and Lavender Soaps (fresh from the mold and untrimmed)



In addition to the soaps and crafts, Amanda has been working hard with her Avon and has really done quite well with it.  She is putting together some Valentine's Day Sets with Avon products as well as the joint projects that we have going.  I'm proud of her for working so hard and doing such a good job.  We'll be sharing pictures of our recent projects in the near future.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

(Oh, if you're interested in learning more about Avon check out Amanda's website at www.youravon.com/asibley)

Experimenting

I haven't made any soap since before Christmas so I decided that it is now time for me to get back into my soapmaking routine.  I usually try to devote one day a week to soapmaking.  Sometimes I'll make several large batches and sometimes I'll only make one or two small ones (especially if I'm experimenting with new recipes).  Today I decided to experiment with a small batch using cocoa powder and peppermint essential oil.  It smells so good and I can't wait until it cures so that I can give it a try.   I am calling it "Peppermint Chocolate Milk".  (As you can tell I have absolutely no imagination when it comes to naming things :)  

Amanda and I are planning to sell our soaps at a local farmers market this year as well as a couple of other "festivals" that we are in the process of checking out, so I am trying to build a good inventory of soaps to have on hand.  During Christmas we sold most of what we had so it is definitely time for me to get busy. 

I'll be posting pictures of some of our newest soaps soon.  Hope everyone has a great weekend and can stay warm in spite of the weather that's predicted for our area.  (Oh and by the way, if this post sounds rushed and disjointed, that's because it is.  We're having internet issues (AGAIN) and I'm trying to post before it goes out.)

Not for the Squeamish

I've mentioned before that people quite often think of me as being a little strange.   Well, for the most part they are probably right, but my strangeness is one of those things that I can live with just fine.  My most recent "strange thing" has been rendering deer tallow.   My son-in-law, Alan,  killed a deer the other day.  He took it to his Dad's to skin and cut it up.  While they were in the process of cutting up the deer Alan made the comment to his Dad (jokingly) that he should bring all of the fat to me so I could use it in making soap.  He told me that the more he thought about it the more he realized that if he brought it home to me I would probably do just that.    So guess what?   Alan arrives home that evening with a bucket of deer fat, which he presents to me with a proud smile.  Well, I don't know about anyone else, but if my dear son-in-law brings me a gift of deer fat, then of course I'm going to put it to good use :)   I've never rendered fat before, but decided that it couldn't be that complicated and of course it wasn't.  Here's a picture of some of  my recently rendered deer tallow all ready for soap making!

I guess I should have put a warning that this post is not for the squeamish.  I understand that not everyone get's excited over a plate of  fat, but for me I'm thinking that's one soapmaking item I don't have to buy.  I don't use animal fat in all of my soap products, but I do use it in some of them.  It's relatively inexpensive and readily available which is a big plus for me.

Christmas Market Festival

Amanda and I were invited to share a booth at a local Christmas Market Festival today and since it was our first time to have a table at an event like this we were excited.  It took quite a while to get everything packaged and labeled, but at day's end we were quite pleased with the result.  Amanda and I had a good day and are planning to attend more craft fairs in the future. 

Our table at the Christmas Market Festival in Eupora, MS.

Soap, Soap & More Soap (Gift Sets Too!)

Today has been pretty busy for me.  I have gotten behind on my soap labeling and decided that today was the day to catch up.  Amanda and I are planning to be at a local craft fair next weekend, so I have a lot to do to get ready.  Today I made up several gift sets as well as labeling all of the soap.  I still have a few more gift sets to put together to fill requests that we already have and hopefully I'll get a few more ready for the sale.   I also have requests for a few crocheted dust mop covers and soap savers so I need to get those finished as well. 

I thought I would post pictures of some our stuff.  I apologize that the pictures are a little blurry.  I guess that's what you get for being in a hurry :)

Oatmeal, Milk, & Honey Soap with Brown Sugar Scrub

Coffee Soap with Coffee Bath Scrub

Energy Blend Soap with Loofa, Lavender Soap with Loofa, and Men's Shaving Set

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Soap

Christmas Forest Soap with Ground Rosemary

 We have a few more things ready, but the battery died on my camera so I didn't get pictures.  I'm planning to post more later.   Oh well, I think I'm gonna call it a day!

Christmas Gift Sets

Amanda and I have been busy putting together some gifts sets using the homemade soaps and body scrubs that we make.  Thought I would share a few pictures.

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Soap and Brown Sugar Scrub

Coffee Bath Scrub and Round Soap

Men's Shaving Set w/camo bag

Wooden Soap Saver Set

Amanda has also been making beeswax candles and we have a few other projects in the making.  Hope to post pictures soon.   We would love to hear about any homemade gift ideas you have.

Crocheted Hair Bows

I've been doing a lot of crocheting recently and thought I would share one of my latest projects with you.  I made these cute little crocheted hair bows with a certain little someone in mind.  I think they are just too cute! 

I've using the time when our family is watching a movie or sitting in a waiting room, etc. to work on a few projects and since Rachel is at the age right now to really enjoy wearing hair bows and necklaces (pretty pretties is what she calls them) I thought these would be cute for her.  Hope ya'll have a good weekend!

Soap, Soap and More Soap

After trying (unsuccessfully I might add), to make soap for the last two weeks, Amanda and I decided that today was the day.  After a few early morning distractions we were able to get started.  Since I have sold just about all of the soap that we made the last time, I decided that I wanted to make at least two batches.  We ended up making one batch (4 pounds) of our basic unscented soap, one batch (4 pounds) of our basic lavender scented soap, and one batch (one pound) of goat's milk soap.  (This was our first time to make goat's milk soap, so I can't wait to see how it turns out)

I know that nine pounds of soap doesn't sound like much, but for me it's a lot.  We haven't been making soap all that long and usually only make one batch at a time.  Sometimes it will be a one pound batch and sometimes it's a four pound batch.  Soapmaking, using the recipes that I have, is not complicated, but it is time consuming.  I was very thankful that Ferrell was willing to help out with Amanda's two precious daughters while we were making our soap.  I feel very good about all that we got done today and cannot wait until tomorrow to unmold our soaps and get it sliced.   Hopefully we will be able to make another batch or two of soap sometime during the upcoming week.  I've had requests for our citrus blend and I also want to try a small batch using peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils.  Since I have never used those two oils I don't know how it will turn out, but I'm willing to take a chance :)    Hope ya'll have a great weekend!