Just call me Peppermint Patty

Remember that bossy red haired girl with freckles from Charlie Brown?  I used to look like her!  My hair isn't so red any more but the freckles are still there though.  I kept thinking of her when I was making my soaps and scrubs for teacher's presents because I used peppermint oil!

I really enjoyed making these soaps and learned so much too.  I can see this being quite addictive! There are a couple of ways that you can make soap - one is quite technical and involves double boilers and thermometers and such like.  I went for the much easier melt and pour method.  You buy chunks of plain soap (I got mine from various places on E-Bay depending on quantity and price) and then shape, colour and scent it to your own design.  You can get various types of soap base and initially I went for glycerine for the red layer because it takes the colour well and an opaque base for the white layer.

Basically you melt a few chunks in the microwave and then stir and stir until it has all dissolved.  I used enough chunks for one layer which was a total estimate but as long as you keep the quantities the same each time then the layers will be the same thickness.  You need to keep stirring frequently to stop a skin forming because it does cool quickly and then I added a few drops of scented oil.  I used peppermint to keep to the theme of candy canes and to match the invigorating scrubs.  I also coloured at this stage too - one tiny drop of red soap colour (also from E-Bay) for the pink layers.  I used a silicon loaf mould and didn't line it or grease it or anything and it just popped out - easy peasy.

You need to work on one layer at a time so melt, add colour and scent and then pour into the mould.  Then spray with rubbing alcohol to disperse the bubbles.  About half an hour later you can do the next layer but before you pour the alternative coloured mix in, spray the hard layer with the alcohol again.  This makes the separate layers stick together and form one solid large soap.  If you don't want to use rubbing alcohol then you will need to pour the subsequent layers on before the previous one hardens but then they layers will merge together a bit more.

For the top layer of my first batch, I crushed up a few candy canes like I had seen in the original pin that I got the inspiration from.  Then I put on another layer and placed a mini candy cane at intervals so I could slice it with a candy cane in each portion.  These teeny candy canes are very minty (huzzah!) and are from the pound shop and are just perfect for embellishing gifts.

You can see the two batches I made here - the bright red and white striped one with the candy canes on top is the first batch.  The pale pink and white version is the second batch where I used all opaque base instead of the glycerin layer for the red.  On the chopping board you can also see the disaster that occurred as part of the learning experience.  On the second batch I left out the candy cane on the top because I needed to slice them more thinly and I didn't like the way they went a bit soggy.  I should have taken the hint from that. The exposed bits of crushed candy cane on the top went very soggy and literally melted off of the top when I laid the slices down.  They do just rinse off and all is well but it makes for a bit of a sticky gift really.  Also I must have neglected to spray one of the layers with enough alcohol because the top two layers have come loose.  Hey ho.  We will have festive soap in our bathroom for a while yet...

The jars of scrub there have turned out quite well too.  Just a mix of olive oil, caster sugar and peppermint oil.  You just mix the things together until they are the right consistency.  Enough oil so that the sugar doesn't fall off your skin but not too much that it runs off.  Once I had this part sorted I separated it into 2 bowls and coloured one with a spot of greeny blue and the other with a spot of red.  Then I used a teaspoon to plop it into the recycled jars and press it down a bit before adding another layer.  Great for tired and dry feet, and painty or muddy hands or any other place that needs a bit of a buff.

I needed to cover the lids of the jars so I used mini doilies, bakers twine and some of the lovely Bundled Up papers.  I finished off with a snowflake punch and a snowflake brad.  I really hope people like them and don't mind the initial sticky bit too much.  Hopefully they won't mind it being another bottle of wine or box of chocolate.

Only another 15 slices of soap to wrap....

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 237

The last Wednesday before Christmas!  Oh my!  I still have so much to do and things have gone a little awry in the studio here...  Can you see the blobs of pink on the left there?

Please ignore the empty mulled wine glass... it was from last night and not this morning...

I made another batch of soap but I used a different brand of candy cane (I didn't realise they were cherry flavoured! CHERRY?! What's that about?!) and left the crushed pieces exposed on the top as per the pictures on Pinterest.  The bits that hadn't sunk in nicely went very gooey and slid off the slices of soap that were laid on their sides.  The soaps are fine once you have rinsed off the sticky layer but it is rather a shame that I will have to put that instruction on the little labels!

This was my desk about 15 minutes later once I had cleared up the goo and started to decorate the jars of layered peppermint body scrub.  You can see the sort of production line of half finished gifts there and things needing normal wrapping etc.  The blue parcel at the back was a potential error present that I checked and then couldn't get back in the wrapping - darn!

I've also been working on something different this week - a box frame of butterflies as part of a 30th birthday present.  I've seen them around on Pinterest for ages, hearts too, and been meaning to try one.  Now that I have, I want one for myself!  The papers are from an old Laura Ashley line.

This is still my favourite die and I never tire of using it.  The butterfly in the middle signifies the young lady in question, my step-niece (if there is such a thing) who is strong and independent and has blossomed into a beautiful young lady.  I do like art to reflect the recipient where possible!

Taking up my time this week was also this little lot...

Its quite an old Playmobil princess castle and we didn't have any instructions because it was second hand. Cue much head scratching, bad words, huffing and puffing...

Thankfully between Management exercising more patience on the internet search, and me Tweeting Playmobil, we got the instructions and have also got a form for the couple of missing bits.  I absolutely adore it and I'm so excited to play with it  see Bella playing with it...

Right, onward and upward.  Lots of jars and soaps still to prettify and I'm running out of school days left!  I will make time for some desk hopping today though too :-)

Don't forget that there is a DT call open at S J Crafts so please do pop along and read mroe about it if you are a UK based scrapper.

This post is brought to you by What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday with Julia at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.co.uk/

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 236

Two weeks today people!  Two weeks!  I have no idea if Julia will be hosting a What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday on Christmas Day but I think it would be very interesting...  How many of us have to make room for guests to sleep or eat I wonder and how many desks will be laden with new stash or covered with the remains of a late night wrapping frenzy?

Anyway, here's mine as of Tuesday late morning.

The bottom layer and all the bowls are for Journal Your Christmas which is well underway.  Then the first 2 presents of the year appeared on the pile from my lovely sister-in-law and you can see one of the jars of scrub that I've been making for teacher's gifts.

About 5 minutes after I took that photo I cleared the lot off ready to start the great wrapping fest of 2013.

I have lots of sellotape, lots of paper and tags and I have my Christmas scented candles going.  I also sing along to my Christmas CDs (badly) and wear a Santa hat.  Today I have also finally steamed my individual puddings and made one of four cakes.  It was Bella's nativity yesterday and Louis's this evening so they are all done and dusted.  I am on a roll!

Here's a little sneak of the festive soap I've been making too.  This was before the final layer went on.  I'll be making some more at the weekend and will share a more detailed post on it then.

Some exciting news just in is that S J Crafts has a Design Team call out so if you have an active blog and would like to be part of a fantastically friendly team then hop over there and find out more!

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 234

Ahem... 

In my defence it is that time of year when random things get dumped in my craft room because anything that doesn't belong to someone gets left there on the assumption that it is therefore mine.

To be fair, most of it is.  Some of it is only mine for a small time.  The things that are definitely mine are... the feet that you can see at the bottom of the picture.  There was so much on my desk that I had to stand on my chair but it meant going around the other side of the desk so to me it all looks upside down.

On the plus side a messy desk is a lot more interesting, even for the person's desk that it is because looking at the photo means that you realise where you left things...

So.. the pizza box is my delivery from Shimelle getting ready for Journal Your Christmas which starts on Sunday - yikes!  Working clockwise you can see a couple of funny shaped boxes that are actually selection boxes for the children.  Next to that is yet more sweets in the form of candy canes but I'll come back to those.  The thing that looks like a cocktail is actually a Hello Kitty electric toothbrush - another present, as are the pouches of Lego Friends.  The grey parcel is a Skylanders towel - yet another present, as is the crochet book further on round (but not for the same person...).  The very old Enid Blyton book Cristina's Kite is something that needed sticking (which I have just done) and the reel of sellotape has been returned after use by one of the children but not to it's proper place... gggrrr..

The white pizza box is a present for me!  Its a set of 60 Porject Life page protectors in 6 various styles so that should keep me going for a while.  I will be using some for my Journal Your Christmas and some for a little something after Christmas too.

The rest of the stuff, including the candy canes, is for some Christmas presents I have been making.  Last week I made soap for the first time and I loved it!  You can't see from this angle (I'm doing another post on it) but it has pink and white stripes and then the top layer has crushed candy canes in it with a little cane on top.  You can see left over blank soaps for the next batch, colouring agents and peppermint oil.  My room smells rather lovely and minty as a result!

Is your desk as messy as mine or full of random things?  Show us do, because sharing is caring!  Link up with the lovely Julia at Stamping Ground and share What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Bye for now
xx