Reserved for Nymeria

Hello, all! Going through the Father's Day thread, I've noticed dozens of "What can I make for <insert character trait here> dad?"

There are a lot of truly good ideas out there, so let's try to compile them all on one thread. For one reason, it clogs up the board having multiple posts about, essentially, the same topic. Also, there are a lot of really great ideas from your fellow Craftsters! If you're like me, you might start out with one idea, and find something totally new and different just by browsing everyone's suggestions!

So feel free to ask away and start throwing out suggestions! I will add links as I come across them.

Can anyone else believe that the first quarter of 2010 is already gone? I know I can't! This was almost an impossibly hard list to make as people posted so many wonderful projects this quarter. It was crazy hard to just prune it down to a sampling, but I hope everyone enjoys what we've (and by "we," I mean you) have come up with!

Once again, I remind folks that featured projects are chosen two ways: the first is by you! When you hit the "This Rocks" button, it helps tell us what should be featured. But also, it's a nice way to pay homage to the B&B posters who contribute both on the Completed Projects and Discussion board; those friendly, helpful people we all know and adore.

Speaking of adoration, about about Smitthenheart's gorgeous Strawberry Swirl soap? The color is so girly, it looks good enough to eat!



Next we have Onegroovyday's funky Oh Oh Mama cloth pads. They are almost too pretty to use!



RavingRosemary has burst into the B&B board with a host of lovely offerings, but I think her Cucumber Soap is the neatest, most interesting of the bunch. It's so earthy and cool!



Whenever EmmyFNWL shows up, you can bet it's going to be something really neat. Her Rainforest Lip Butter has oils I've never even heard of and sounds so ridiculously nourishing and exotic, it has to be featured!



Envirocraft's Wedding Bath Bombs were in turn girly, sweet and such a neat idea for a wedding favor. I especially love the pearl accent.



It had been such a long time since we had a super fun makeup post, and Teapotdnky's super pretty Flamingo Inspired Makeup definitely fell into that category! If that didn't get you into the carnival spirit, I don't know what will!



MareMare's Soap-a-palooza showcases her ability to make soap that is so lovely, it looks good enough to eat!



And finally, I think MareMare would chastise me if I didn't mention my Homemade Laundry Soap.



That was quarter 1, guys and dolls! I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with in quarter 2!

Alright guys and dolls, it’s that time of year again for the official soap swap! Please read all of the post before sending in your sign-up!

Gallery:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=347774.0

Swap name: CP/HP Soap Swap
Craftster member who is organizing this swap: Nymeria
Sign-up date range: March 25 - April 7
Date to send item by:  May 12, 2010

Limited to a certain number of people? (optional): NO
Restricted to people who all live in the same country? No, but it will be restricted to the continental N. America. Sorry, European soapers!

Swap Organizer himself/herself meets these conditions:
- Has fully read the Swap Info Guide: YES/
- Has successfully completed two swaps as a participant: YES
- Is not organizing more than three swaps right now: YES
- Will recruit a co-organizer or give all details to a Swap Moderator if this swap has more than 25 participants: YES
- Is at least 18 years old: YES

Swap Organizer will check each participant to make sure they meet these conditions:
- Has been a member for at least one month: YES
- Has posted at least 15 times: YES
- Has completed one swap successfully before signing up for multiple swaps at a time: YES
- Is not currently signed up for more than five swaps: YES
- Does not have any negative feedback: YES
- Participant has agreed that he/she is at least 16 years old: YES
- If within the US, understands that Delivery Confirmation number is required for this swap: YES
- If outside the US, understands that a mailing receipt copy is required for this swap: YES

First off this swap is going to be restricted to cold process and hot process soaps only (your soap must be made with lye!!). No melt & pour, candles, lotions, lip balms, or crochet goodies. Sorry to say, but the last time we did this swap we ran into a few snafus by being too broad. Also, it’s very hard to judge what is equal to two bars of CP/HP soap.

Second, this swap will require you to send two (2) bars of soap to five (5) different people. That is a total of ten (10) bars of soap you will be mailing out. However it also means you will be receiving ten (10) bars of soap! How cool is that? We are also requesting that you send two different bars of soap. They don’t necessarily need to be a different recipe, but definitely different fragrances, e.g. one orange and one birthday cake, or whatever your heart fancies.

Third, make sure it is a soap recipe and FO/EO that you are comfortable working with. This swap should showcase your best work -- your “signature bars,” if you will -- not something you want to play with to see if it works. I say this only because of the relatively short crafting/curing time.

Fourth, we are allowing five (5) weeks for crafting/curing time. This gives you a week to soap, and four (4) weeks to cure. Please do not send soaps that you made two days before send-outs and have not yet cured.

Fifth, and finally, be sure to label your soaps in detail. It doesn’t have to be in scientific terms (e.g. sodium cocoate) but “lye, oil, fragrance oil” will not cut it. An example of a good label will be “water, sodium hydroxide, olive oil, palm oil, blue mica, Play-Doh fragrance oil.” I say this because most soapmakers became soapmakers because of skin sensitivities. Also, it’s just courteous!

Please be sure to post on here at least once after you send in your sign-up. Thanks and happy soaping!!

Questionnaire:

Name of Swap:
Craftster username:
Email address:
Real Name:
Address, formatted for shipping:
Are you willing to ship outside the U.S.?:
Are you making CP or HP soap?:
Which two scents are you going to use? (this can be subject to change, but in order to keep with scent preferences, please let me know if it does change!):
Are there any oils to which you are allergic?:
Are there any scents that you will just die if you receive? (i.e. patchouli?):
Are there any colors or scents that bother your skin/sinuses?:
Do you understand you will be mailing five (5) separate boxes to five (5) different people?:
Do you understand you must craft immediately and let the soap cure for four (4) weeks?:
Are you totally excited?:

Partners:

Black = Not sent/not received
Blue = Sent
Purple = Received
Strikethrough = Sent/Received, pau hana!
Red = Overdue

1. Nymeria >>> RavingRosemary, twistedbeader, goatgoddess, mcook72677, smittenheart

2. MareMare >>> Lique, Nymeria, RavingRosemary, twistedbeader, goatgoddess

3. Lique >>> Nymeria, RavingRosemary, twistedbeader, goatgoddess, mcook72677

4. smittenheart >>>MareMare, Lique, Nymeria, RavingRosemary, twistedbeader

5. mcook72677 >>> Smittenheart, MareMare, Lique, Nymeria, RavingRosemary

6. RavingRosemary >>> twistedbeader, goatgoddess, mcook72677, smittenheart, MareMare

7. twistedbeader >>> goatgoddess, mcook72677, smittenheart, MareMare, Lique

8. goatgodess >>> mcook72677, smittenheart, MareMare, Lique, Nymeria

Quick FAQ:

How do I mail soap? The best way is either in a small-medium puffy mailer, or in a small flat-rate box.
Is it to okay to include other B&B goodies? Sure! If you have a lip balm or lotion that goes well with the soap theme, feel free to include it, too.

Happy Soaping!!!

So normally I'd post this over on the swap-idea board, but since I have a grand master plan, I figured I'd put it here first:

Last year we did a great bath & beauty swap where everyone mailed 1 or 2 bars of soap to 5 different people and received from 5 different people. It got a little chaotic because we really opened the gates to all bath & beauty, but it was still fun.

I'm thinking this year, why not *just* do a soap/massage bar/lotion/bath bomb swap? Really tighten in the reigns so that everyone gets 5 bars of soap, and sends 5 bars of soap (or less depending on how many folks sign up) or such bath item. I will definitely restrict it to bath consumable and cut out the crochet/knit goodies, even though they were lovely.

Who'd be interested?

[Laundry Gel Ingredients & Materials:]

Finally a tutorial for homemade laundry soap! Why make your own laundry soap? Why not! Not only is it more cost effective (and who doesn’t want to save money right now?), it can also be a great way to recycle your gallon-size milk cartons! Smells great and cleans well, what’s not to love?

Supplies:


I feel I should point out that, just like regular laundry detergent you buy at the store, tough stains like oil, grass, ketchup, etc., will still need stain treatment. It’s great stuff but it’s not a miracle worker.

*** Please read through the entire tutorial before embarking on your laundry soap adventures. The recipe makes a concentrated laundry gel; read to the end to see how to make it useable! ***

Laundry Gel Ingredients & Materials:

5oz. soap (see note1)
4c. hot water
1c. washing soda (see note2)
1c. Borax

5-gallon bucket ($2-3 at Walmart or Home Depot)
a long metal or plastic spoon
large saucepan
cheese grater

Note1: You can really use any soap here you want, except for melt & pour soaps. Don’t try it, trust me on this one. Most people tend to like to use laundry soaps such as Fels-Naptha, Zote or Meyer’s (I think?), but Lever 2000, Ivory, etc. will work. Homemade soaps also work well for this too (again, no M&P); if you have 5 oz. of soap shards, feel free to use them!

*** ETA: For people who have allergies, this works phenomenally well with unscented, dye-free soaps such as Kirk's Castile, Tom's, etc. When it doubt, stick with what you know works: if Ivory soap is what you use because it's all your skin will tolerate, use Ivory. One of the great things about this is how adaptable it is to your needs! ***

Note2: Washing soda, also known as sodium carbonate, is NOT the same thing as baking soda! Please note this!! Arm & Hammer makes washing soda (it’s available in some grocery stores and hardware stores), but always make sure it specifically says WASHING soda, and NOT baking soda. This process will NOT work with baking soda!! I can’t stress this enough. You can also order washing soda from some soap suppliers online, if you can’t find it in your area.  (I should also caution that caustic soda, also known as lye, will definitely NOT work!!! Know your sodas!!)

Using your cheese grater, grate your soap into a large sauce pan. This procedure can take awhile if you’re using store-bought soap such as Zote, Fels-Naptha, Lever 2000, Ivory, etc. Good workout for the arms! F-N ends up looking awfully like grated cheddar...



Add 4c. of hot tap water to the sauce pan and place over a burner on medium-high heat. Stir constantly until soap is dissolved/melted. The mixture will smell VERY potent if you’re using anything with a strong scent -- use your fan an open some windows!

(excuse my dirty stove top)


Once the soap is melted, remove from heat. Fill your 5-gallon bucket 1/2 full with hot tap water. This is not an exact science, so feel free to eyeball it. Add the washing soda, Borax and melted soap mixture. Stir vigorously until all powder is dissolved. The mixture will be fairly viscous at this point. I recommend using a metal spoon because they wash clean. Plastic tends to absorb scents.



Once dissolved, fill the bucket the rest of the way (I leave 3-4” of room, again this is not an exact science) with hot tap water. Stir to combine.

Place the lid on your bucket and set it somewhere safe overnight. I like to put mine someplace cool like the basement or our garage in the cooler months. So sad and lonely...



Did I mention this process really brings out the scent of the soap? Any whiney babies in your house who are sensitive to smells may not be pleased with you... super, awesome, supportive husbands will completely understand your love of crafting and being frugal!



The next day you have concentrated laundry gel! Weeeee! See how thick and lovely it is? It's almost the consistency of good flan. Mine is still very yellow because of the Fels-Naptha soap. I once used an electric green soap and it made it a lovely minty color.

To use at this point, you will have to experiment with scooping. Some people use 2T., some people up to 1/2c. It depends on your washer, the load, etc. I prefer to dilute it for convenience factor.




To use as laundry soap!

Materials needed:
1-gallon container (milk containers are great for this)
Funnel (if your container has a small opening)
Concentrated laundry gel
water
Essential or Fragrance oil (see note3)

Note 3: If your soap was heavily perfumed, as Fels-Naptha is, I’d be careful adding any scent. The laundry gel will retain that heavy scent, it’ll just be lighter, and actually quite nice. I remember using Lever 2000 and adding scent because it didn’t really stick, though.

Fill your gallon container 1/2 full with laundry gel. Fill the rest of the way with water. This is the ratio for gel, 1:1, no matter what amount you’re using. For 1 gallon, keep EO/FO to 1/4-1/2tsp. You don’t want to get too crazy with it.



Shake well before each use. It tends to want to separate overnight. Shaking makes it good as new.

Top-loading machines: use around 3/4c. for a full load.

Front-loading machines: use around 1/4c. for a full load.

Voila!!

** Added: It is totally normal for your bucket of gel to have some condensation. You can either pour it into your washer, or just pour it down the drain. If you have more than 4-5" of liquid floating on top the next morning, that may be a warning sign that it wasn't mixed properly. But 1-2" is totally normal. Thanks, Honeylioness, for reminding me! ***

First, the money shot:

I was at H-Mart the other day and a box of donut mix managed to magic its way into my shopping cart. Don't you hate when that happens? Well naturally I couldn't just let it go to waste on my counter so I decided to whip it up. Problem was that the box was entirely in Korean. Entirely. All I can say is thank God for Arabic numbers.

Mix:

For anyone who happens across this mix, I found about 1/2c. water, 1 egg and 1T. oil to be the ticket. Since I had no idea on amount of frying oil and had to assume that the (6~7) meant 6-7 minutes, I just heated up my Fry Daddy Jr. and set the timer. They showed you rolling the dough into an egg shape, but I was lazy, and unsure it was going to work, so I just used an ice cream scoop. Hence the giant mass, lol.

Frying:

Took them out, threw them in the only paper bag I could find, dumped in some cinnamon & sugar and shook!:

And voila! Donuts! Next time I will take the time to flatten the dough and make them circular and therefore a little prettier.

Would anyone else be interested in crocheting the Pixie Dress from the Mar/Apr '10 issue of Crochet Today?

It's just the type of frivolous, springy pattern I need to get me out of the Mid-Winter blues, I think!

I apologize for the tardiness of this post, but better late than never, right? These are fabulous Bath & Beauty projects posted between October, November & December. There were a lot of excellent Christmas entries, and all I can say is that I want to make it on some of our B&B girls' Christmas lists this year!

First up we have KayKay84's luscious looking Lavender and Citrus Soaps. Not only do they look creamy and perfect, they're rocking uber-cool German labels!



Second is another offering from the talented Miss  KayKay84: Bath Bombs and Lipbalm. I don't think I could use either as they are just too pretty.



Next Donnevita's Christmas recipients were some lucky ducks with her Little range of bath gifts. The packaging on this scrub is so homey and holiday-looking.



Hellotheremary had some sugar scrubs in fancy jars that sound incredible and were packaged great. Who wouldn't want a yummy-smelling scrub in a fancy pants jar?



Just when we started forgetting how much fun MP soap can be, crafty gurll showed up with her mint scented, loofah embedded soaps. Plus she used recycled molds so they're eco-chic to boot!



Last, not intending to too my own horn, we have the Slippery Soap party favors I made for my daughter's 2nd birthday party. Turns out we have a lot of Team Steve members on this board!



And those are our featured projects for the end of 2009! 2010 is already shaping up great -- just keep on craftin' and doing that voodoo that you do so well!

*** How are Featured Projects chosen? By you, of course! See something you think should be featured for quarter 1 of 2010? Hit the This Rocks! button and let us know! ***

For my daughter's second birthday we made a Blue's Clues cake because she is absolutely wild about Blue. I had the Wilton pan from when Blue was first popular (1999-ish) and I had made it for a friend's daughter. Thank goodness I kept it!



Not a great picture, but best one I had. Of course she didn't quite understand why she couldn't just dive right into it...



Comments, criticisms always appreciated.