Soap Making Time

Yep...it's been a while since I made soap. I think the last time I made it was in December for the Christmas rush. December is a busy soap selling time! Well...it is now June and my soap supply is running low. Thankfully I have a friend who calls or e-mails me every couple of months when she runs out of soap and is ready to buy some more. This friend is who keeps me accountable in my soap making. I love making it and it's fun, but taking the time is what stops me.

I am now in the soap making mood and my friend is suppose to come over today or very soon anyway. Last week I made a delicious looking mocha soap. It's my normal coffee soap but I added some cocoa to it because I was in the chocolate mood and didn't have any in the house. My friend LOVES this soap because of the grittiness of the coffee grounds, so I make sure I always have this in stock.

Yesterday I made a bug repellent soap made with citronella, eucalyptus and tea tree oil. This is something I have been wanting to make for awhile and always tend to think about it in the winter when the bugs are not around. My kitchen now smells like a citronella candle, but at least I shouldn't have to worry about bugs in the house. :)

This morning will be a time of making lavender soap. I like making this soap because my hands and house end up smelling like lavender the rest of the day. The lavender buds are from my garden, so it feels good using products that I grow in my yard.

All of my bars of soap are very large, 5-6 oz., and I sell them for $5.00 per bar. All natural ingredients are used: olive oil, distilled water, sodium hydroxide, palm oil, coconut oil, castor oil, and essential oils and other natural ingredients.

Make a happy Wednesday!

~Stacy

Professional Pictures and More...

Yes...it's been awhile since I last posted. I'm not really sure why. Maybe I had spring fever, end of the school year excitement, next year school planning, raising and training my children to be God centered, going on dates, gardening, raising meat chickens, get-togethers with friends making camping plans and cleaning to do. :) I'm sure you all know what that is like. Did I mention school planning for next year? That takes me a lot of time! Mental and research time.  It is especially hard trying to figure out what to do for my first high schooler in the fall. It is very exciting!!!

Anyway, last night I realized that in my last post I showed you pictures that I took of photo props that I made for my good friend Christie. Today, you are going to have a chance to see some work from Christie Ackroyd Photography.

The burlap banner and cake were made by me. Christie made the cute tee pee.

 

The small burlap banner is not available for sale at www.etsy.com/shop/SewSoapy and in the near future the cake will be listed in my shop.

If you know any photographers, please let them know about the props I make. I love making them and coming up with new ideas if they have something in mind that I haven't made yet. It is a joy for to me make things that are enjoyed by people for their special occasions...birthdays, showers, weddings and parties.

A different topic now....could of been a different post but oh well. :)

Can you believe it is almost strawberry picking season? That means it will be jam making time again and a disastrous looking kitchen. Last year I didn't even make jam, although we picked plenty of fruit.  I was burned out from canning the year before. We enjoyed eating the frozen fruits though and ate almond butter and honey sandwiches all year. I can't get myself to buy a jar of jam from the store, so at least we had plenty of honey in the house.

I hear rhubarb and strawberry jam calling my name.  There is plenty of rhubarb that needs to be picked from my garden.


Enjoy your day!!!!
Stacy

Creative Challenge

A photographer friend of mine asked if I could make her some props for upcoming photo shoots this spring. I like creative challenges, so I told her I would love to.

Now, if you look at my etsy shop you will notice that I make fabric pinwheels, banners with triangle shaped pennants and a couple rag tie banners. Those items are what I am comfortable making. When my friend asked if I could make a shabby chic/vintage looking cake prop and a rag tie banner with a grayish blue, pink, burlap, browns and white with different textures, I decided to take up on this challenge.

After many weeks of research, thinking and dreaming I came up with a plan and finished this project today. I love how it turned out! The cake was fun to decorate and I like that it will last many photo shoots and there are no worries about messing up the frosting or melting in the sun or having the temptation to eat it. :) Zero calories and fat free!

The banner is fun and shabby with the different textures and colors of fabric, burlap, lace and jute. Different colors can be added or removed for a different look, very versatile.

 

 

 

I am excited to see how these props look in the photo shoot!

Thanks for reading and please check out other custom props I have made on my Sew Soapy fb page and at my etsy shop.

Rustic Wedding Coming Up?

I have been learning about the rustic trend lately and I love it! All you need is burlap and wood and a little creativity and you can decorate your house, party and even a wedding with just those items...well maybe you'll need some basic tools too such as paint, nails, scissors, needle and thread and of course your glue gun.

Burlap is so easy to work with and versatile and can be made into anything from a pillow case, curtains, table runner, flowers, banners, ties for vases, bows, and even pinwheels.

I don't know why I didn't think of this a long time ago when I started making pinwheels....

 

These are so cute and I can just imagine them sitting on each table at a wedding in a Mason jar.

Now available for sale at my etsy shop...  www.etsy.com/shop/SewSoapy

Sew Soapy is now on facebook. "Like" us for upcoming items and promotions.  www.facebook.com/SewSoapy

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Kaake Family Farm!

 

Once again I am going to share a video from Kid Snippets. I am hooked on these videos and have subscribed to get their new videos once a week.

After you have watched a few of these you will never look at a little talking child the same way again. We had a family over for dinner last Saturday and I kept giggling the whole evening whenever their three year old son was talking. I kept imagining adults ad libbing to what he was saying.

If you like this kind of humor, please join me in subscribing to their videos. It's a great way to start your day or have a laugh with your family.

A New Yummy Recipe

We went to a friends house the other day and as she was pulling our lunch out of the oven, she said "I know it looks disgusting, but it very good." Her kids really wanted her to make it for all of us to eat for lunch, so she did. The food didn't really look all that disgusting. It was different from our usual lunches, so I was anxious to give it a taste test.

All four of my kids gave this Lentil/Rice Casserole dish a two thumbs up. I thought it tasted really good as well. My friend and I both discussed how this is a perfect mom and kid lunch and that our husbands would rather prefer to eat it as a side dish.

Yesterday I made my weekly grocery trip at Meijer and my kiddos made sure that I had all the ingredients to make Lentil/Rice Casserole. This is a VERY easy and cheap dish that will probably last us two or three lunches as our main meal. If you're running low on your grocery budget at the end of the month, this meal is the perfect dish to give your family. With the cost of a bag of lentils and rice, which is quite cheap, and if you make your own chicken broth, this costs very little and feeds a lot of people.

Lentil & Rice Caserole

8 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 1/4 cups uncooked lentils (1 lb bag)
1 1/2 cup uncooked rice
3/4 cup minced onion
1 1/2 tsp basil
3/4 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cup cheddar cheese (topping)

Mix all ingredients in a casserole dish, except cheese.
Bake covered 300 deg. for 2-2 1/2 hours.
Take out of oven, sprinkle cheese on top and serve.

I hope you give this a try and that you enjoy it as much as we did.

Craftsy Contest

Craftsy.com is having a Valentine's Day craft contest and since I already had a Valentine's Day craft made I decided to sign up. If you go to this link at Craftsy.com, sign up as a member, and click on the heart of the project. You can also click on the picture below. The project that wins the most hearts by the end of the day on Feb. 14th will win a free Craftsy class. You can only "heart" someone if you are a member.

I just entered my project and it says that it may take up to 24 hours to show up on the website. If you don't see it, please check again tomorrow. Thank you for your votes! :)

Source: Valentine Contest via Stacy K on Craftsy