Oh, Hello again...

Ah yes. Another wide gap in the posts. And I got a ton of excuses, but who really cares? So here is the first of another string of posts to update ya'll on what I've been up to.

First off, I recently joined a sewing group and here is one of the projects we did. It is a woven fabric bowl and it was really fun to do. Plus I LOVE how it turned out. I will definately make more. Here is the tutorial for anyone who's interested. The tutorial uses a machine to sew it, but I did it by hand. The cording I got was real fat and wouldn't fit in the machine, plus it was something easy to do while watched movies.

On a more personal note, today marks the last day of my vacation. Boo. And I just checked my work email. Which was a poor idea on my part. Anyway, Puppy, Hubby, and I rented a cabin out on Gold Bar on the Snohomish River for a week. We invited our folks to come out as well. They didn't stay the whole time, though. It was awesome vacation spot. It was a 5 acre fenced property so Puppy just ran wild for a solid week. She loved it. We loved it. We went hiking, river-tubing, hot-tubing, shopping, and played wiffle ball. There was also alot of sleeping, lounging, eating, drinking, and laughing. It was super fun. So sad its over.

Kitty Catnip Patchwork Toy

No parent is supposed to show favoritism, right? Well, since the pup came along last spring, I'll have to admit that the love scales have tilted a bit away from the kitty. My kitty that I have had since I was twelve. Together we've been through some rough times and some good times in the past 14 years of our lives. And these days I find myself constantly tripping over bones, squeaky toys, and tennis balls. So I thought it was high time to do something nice for him. Plus, Sew Mama Sew (one of my favorite blogs) is holding a contest for the month of October called Scrap Busters and I wanted to enter.

And thus we have what I like to call Kitty's Sticky Icky Icky patchwork toy. (Don't worry folks, it's just catnip.)

Assembly is very simple and will used up a few of those pesky scraps you have in a box next to your sewing machine.

You will need:
Dried Catnip (may be sold in bulk at your local co-op or grocery store)
Dry Rice
Insert (I used a reusable muslin teabag, but you could make you own or use something similar)
Scraps for outer bag

Measurements will vary based on how big of an insert you use. I sort of eyeballed mine.

Step 1:
Fill insert with rice and catnip. (the rice is so that when kitty begins to loose interest you can warm it up in the microwave and... viola! New again!)

Step 2: 

Assemble outer layer and patchwork piece. I used denim for most of the shell because my cat likes to grip his catnip toys in both claws and suck on them. So they need to be durable.

 Step 3:

With right sides together sew your patchwork piece to the back of the outer piece, leaving a 2" space in the side so that you can fit the insert in. Trim corners being careful not to cut the seam. Next, turn the shell right side out, pushing out the corners. Place catnip bag inside the shell.

Step 4: 

Topstitch around the outer shell 2 times to close the hole and reinforce the outer seams.

And it is ready to be introduced to the cat...

Mission accomplished.

How to Make Hot-Process Soap

Finally! The long awaited hot-process soap tutorial! For those of you kept waiting, my apologies. Enjoy, but please forgive the amateur photos, my camera stinks.

Equipment:
• Crock-pot or double boiler
• Emerson (stick) blender
• Scale
• Various measuring cups
• Glass container
• Wooden spoon or spatula
• A mold to put the soap in. You can use anything that you would use for baking really (if its non-stick you can oil it up real good and the soap should come out. Otherwise use parchment paper, I didn't with this batch and paid the price.) I like wooden soap molds the best myself.
• Some sort of protective clothing like and old shirt with sleeves or rubber gloves. And have some vinegar on hand if you get any of the lye solution on you. Some tutorials imply that making soap is a lot like handling radioactive materials. Its not. No hazmat suits necessary. Just caution and common sense.

Basic Ingredients for Basic Soap:
• Sodium Hydroxide (aka lye)
• Water
• Coconut Oil (or other hard oil as called for in the recipe)
• Palm Oil (or other hard oil as called for in the recipe)
• Olive Oil (or other soft oil as called for in the recipe)
• An Exfoliant such as wheat berries or oats (if desired)
• Favorite Essential Oils (if desired)
• Vitamin E or Grapefruit Extract (as a preservative, if desired)

Step One: Weigh out and measure all of your ingredients.
This step is probably the most important part of soapmaking. If you do not get the exact amount required in the recipe your soap could flop…literally. I do not have any recipes that I have written that I am confident enough to publish. However they are easy enough to find. The Soapmaker’s Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch is my favorite soap book. But there are many.

Step Two: Melt the oils.
Throw all of your fats into the crock-pot or double boiler and wait for everything to melt. While you wait move on to step three.


Step Three: Make the lye solution.
Make sure that you measure exactly what the recipe calls for. Using a glass container for the lye solution add the sodium hydroxide to the water and not the other way around. If you add water to lye it is harder for it to dissolve. Some people say it explodes, but that’s crap because I’ve done it a couple times on accident and it does no such thing, but the other way is still better.
Anyway, once you add the lye, stir with the wooden spoon constantly until the mixture is clear and the hydroxide dissolved. Be aware, the chemical mixture will get really hot really fast, so treat it as you would boiling water. And try not to stand right over the opening of the container as the fumes from this process are not the most pleasant.


Side note: I have gotten lye flakes on my skin before and trust me, it is not a Fight Club type of situation, all it does is it dries out your skin a lot. Lye is highly alkaline you need something acidic to balance it. If you happen to get lye on you (pre or post mixed) pour vinegar or lemon juice over the exposed area. This relieves it immediately. If you notice a super itchy spot on your hand you probably got some lye on it. However, once the water touches the sodium hydroxide its temperature can instantly reach about 200 degrees. Caution and common sense are important here. Also, you should know that lye and aluminum are not friends. Do not use any aluminum while soapmaking…ever.

Step 4: Begin Saponification
“Saponification” is the term used to describe the chemical reaction of introduction of the alkaline lye solution to fats. Blending them together and cooking them at the same time, rips the molecules apart and as they cook they join together in the form that we know to be soap.


As soon as the lye solution is clear and the fats are liquid add the solution to the crock pot or double boiler. And blend with the emulsion blender for several minutes until you get what is called a “trace.” You know you have a trace when you have about a cake batter consistency. When you take out the blender it will look something like this:


Step 5: Complete Saponification
Once you have reached a good, thick trace, set aside the blender and cover the mixture for a couple of minutes. Let the heat finish the saponification process for you, but keep a close eye on it. It might puff up and look sort of foamy at first, then it will start to cook around the edges. Every couple of minutes stir the mixture with the wooden spoon or spatula to make sure the molecules are bonding correctly. It will progress from cake batter, to runny applesauce (at this stage turn off the heat), to thick mashed potatoes. When you reach the potato stage the mixture will start to look somewhat shiny and opaque. At this point add the optional scent, natural preservative, and exfoliants, if using. Then take out the mixture and pour into your prepared mold.



Step 6: Almost done
Smooth out the soap in the mold. And let cool. After a couple of hours you should be able to take it out and cut it up. I’d advise to wait at least a week before actually using the soap to wash with.

I added wheat berries to this batch for my exfoliant.

Troubleshooting:

• If you find little specks of white crystals in your soap, that’s probably lye. This could happen if the lye wasn’t completely dissolved when added to the fats. The soap is bad and cannot be saved, do not use.
• If the soap is still soft after a couple hours, it wasn’t cooked enough, throw it in the oven at 200 degrees for awhile and it will harden up. Another reason could be that you didn’t measure the ingredients properly. If that’s the case, you’re out of luck.
• You cannot get the soap out of the mold. Hopefully you used parchment paper. Other wise you will have to dig it out , and hopefully you can salvage most of it. I have done this. It sucks.

Well, I hope you have found this tutorial helpful and useful. Stay tuned for a tutorial on cold-process soap.

Candlemaking 101 : Molded Candles

I'm pretty new at candle making still, but a few weeks ago a friend who is an avid candle user asked me if it was more cost effective to make a candles or to buy them. So I investigated. And in general (as with many crafty things) it is much more cost effective to make candles rather than buy them... in the long run. Buying the supplies may add up at first, but once you have them, wax is not very expensive, and if you enjoy doing it, well then why the hell not? Its really pretty simple:

First you need ingredients and equipment. For the ingredients:

• Wax (with a medium melting point of 135-145 degrees. I found paraffin wax that meets this requirement for only $3/lb. Beeswax is more expensive but also works.)
• Stearic acid, 10% of the weight of the wax needed for your mold. (The recipe I used called for this, but I forgot to use it a couple times and it turned out fine for me without it, though the finished product was probably more fragile without it.)
• Scent, as desired.
• Color, as desired.

And for the equipment:

• double boiler or rarely used crockpot-like device (I use an old mini crockpot I originally bought for hot dips and have never used in about 5 years. Works like a charm, but I doubt I'll ever be able to get all the wax back out so keep that in mind,)
• a mold of some kind (I used a votive mold as shown above.)
• a wick appropriate for the diameter of the candle you wish to make (it will say on the packaging of the wick how think it should be.)
• chopstick, pencil, or skewer
• a ladle
• large bowl or bucket

Step 1 - Figure out how much wax you need by filling your mold with water and measuring it.
Step 2 - Melt the wax in double boiler or crockpot type device.

Step 3 - While the wax is melting, prepare the wicks and mold. First, apply vegetable oil to your mold. Then, if you are using scent, soak the wick in the essential oil for a few minutes before tying them to to your chopstick, pencil or skewer.

Step 4 - When the wax is melted, pour about a half inch into the mold to secure the wick in place. Let cool.

Step 5 - Pour in the rest of the wax, and place to mold into your cool bath. You might have to weigh it down if it decides to float.

Step 6 - Once they are cool, pop them out and you're done! If you are having a hard time getting them out, put them in the fridge for a bit and try again. If that still doesn't work, then you might be out of luck.

How to Make Lip Balm

Making your own lip balm is surprisingly easy, provided that you have access to the proper ingredients. The recipe that was used in the batch shown in these pictures was from the book “The Soapmaker’s Companion” by Susan Miller Cavitch and it was a bit more complex (in terms of ingredients) than the following recipe (which I found on a flyer for Zenith), so I decided to include that one. Plus it sounds creamier than the one I made and creamy is always good.

Lip Balm Recipe : Makes about 10 jars
1 oz almond oil
0.5 oz cocoa butter
0.75 oz shea butter
0.5 tsp food grade essential oil (regular essential oils are not for eating)
0.75 oz beeswax

You will need to have a scale for this. But all you have to do is weigh out the ingredients, throw them in a pot on the stove over medium heat until the beeswax melts then pour them into little jars. (I got the ones shown for only $0.10 each.)

If you are in the greater Seattle area, all of these ingredients can be found at Zenith Supplies near the U District. It's definitely worth a visit. I freakin LOVE that store. If you are farther away, perhaps you could dial in to your local crafting community to find a source or else find a trustworthy store online. I’ve never bought these things online so I don’t have any to recommend.

How to Brew Your Own Kombucha

This post is from my previous blog, but I thought it would be a good one to kick this new one of with.

For those of you who don’t know what it is, kombucha tea is made when you submerge a kombucha spore in sweetened black tea and let it ferment for 7 days. By the end of the week, you have a strong-tasting drink. A kombucha spore (or Manchurian Mushroom) is not really a mushroom, but rather it is a gelatinous mass. It is a colony of numerous species of fungi and bacteria living together. The precise composition of any sample of Kombucha depends to a great extent on what was floating around in your kitchen when you grow it, much like cheese. Kombucha tea is said to have been used for centuries to cure a wide variety of illnesses. And I wanted to share the how-to process with you!

So, for awhile now, I've been buying commercial Kombucha from health food stores, but they cost like $4 a bottle. So when my boss said he had a connection to genuine spores, I jumped at the chance. One day when I got to work, this was waiting for me...

Now, if you want to brew your own kombucha you must remember that you are working with microorganisms, so sterile equipment is vital so that you don't kill your culture. Clean everything out with boiling water before you begin and only use food-safe glass for your brewing facility. Metal and plastic can leach unwanted things into your final product.

Gallon-size Cookie Jar, Some loose-leaf black tea

Now, you have to feed the culture to keep it alive. A kombucha's favorite food is black tea and sugar, so that's what I gave it. I brewed about a gallon of black tea (not earl grey) and mixed in about a cup of sugar and let it cool down to room temp before introducing the culture. If you put it in when its too hot, it can die.

Once the tea-solution is cool, carefully place the culture into the tea and cover with a towel and secure with a string to keep bugs out. If you can, it is best to use about 10% of the tea from the previous batch when you introduce the culture to the new tea. This ensures that the ph levels are adequate for the culture to survive. Then, let it sit in a warm and dark place for 7-ish days.

You will know when your batch is ready when you can see a second spore forming and starting to detach from the 'mother' spore. Give it a little taste test and if its like a really sugary fruit juice, let it sit a day or two more, but if you wait too long your batch will be somewhat vinegar-y. You should also know that during the fermentation process, the kombucha can give off a sort of sweet and somewhat powerful smell (not unlike bread yeast or old apples) that can be a little off putting in a one-bedroom apartment. Now my kombucha lives in our storage unit. Hubby is much happier.

See the 'mother' spore start to come away from its new spore at the top

Once its is brewed to taste, enjoy it cold! Some people filter it before they put it in bottles for storage, but I didn't bother. You will now have 2 spores. You can give one away or start up two new batches if you want. Or of course you can just toss it. I tried first batch today and during the fermenting process my kombucha took on a bit of effervescence. It was surprisingly refreshing, though a bit acidic for me. Next time I think I'll cut the final product doing 1 part juice 3 parts kombucha. But of course, Hubby wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. Oh well, more for me.

Local sources for Seattle spores: Mother Nature's Natural Health Store