My little spot o happiness

Bathbombs, Soap, and a Blankie

2012-02-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

I made this 2 1/2 lb. soap for a family member this week. Gotta get that in the mail soon.

My bathbombs didn't crack! I was so happy. These are scented in Wildberry Scone and they are really big. I am going to make another batch today and get them listed on my etsy this evening sometime. I just love it when these guys work out.

I completed this baby blanket for a soap buddy of mine. She's having her first baby soon. I made a hat to match but ran out of yarn for the very last row. ;0)

Stay tuned for more soap and bathbomb pics this week. I have a lot of orders to complete and another craft show we will be preparing for in March.

Lotion Bars and Bath Bombs

2012-02-01T07:02:00.000-08:00

I have a love/hate with bath bombs. I haven't been making them for quite a while now. I pretty much just said I wasn't going to mess with them anymore. I have a great recipe but I had to just stop making them over the summer b/c no matter what I did, they would crack open. So many batches were ruined, I decided for my own sanity, I would just stop making them...I MISS them! So this week, I am receiving some new molds and bomb colorants and I'm going to start again. Our weather isn't so humid right now so I am hoping for the best because I'd really like to put some in my shop. People love bath bombs.

I have also been making some solid lotion bars. These are fragranced in Strawberry Cheesecake. I just listed them in my etsy shop for Valentine's Day. I love these things. This is a nice recipe but I'm also tinkering around with another recipe that has some different oils in it. I may make some with that recipe this weekend.

We got invited to do another craft show in our surrounding area in March so I'm really excited about that. I will be making a few batches of soap in the next few weeks to prepare for it so I will be posting pictures of all those.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a great week. ;0)~Lori

Japanese Cherry Blossom and Random Goodness

2012-01-25T06:30:00.000-08:00

I just soaped this soap a couple of days ago and I am so happy with how they came out. I knew how I wanted them to look and the happiness came when I cut them and saw the swirls ;0). That's one of the funnest parts of soapmaking for me...seeing what the soap looks like when it's cut.

I made a big batch of Monkey bread and oh was it delicious. Basically you can just make this with any sweet yeast bread. Just roll it into balls on the second rise and put them in layers between brown sugar and cinnamon. Your family will love you a bit more after this. ;0)

Sissy ;0)...

My oldest daughter has been playing around with her camera, taking artsy pictures of her sisters and I thought this one turned out fun. Groovey socks, huh? ;0)

Have a great big, blessed day.

2012-01-20T20:18:00.000-08:00

The last soap is in Indian Sandalwood and they smell oh, so good. ;0) I usually keep this soap on hand and this time I gave it a little bit of a different look.

I made some men's shaving soap the other day. I have been working on my recipe for about a year now, off and on and hopefully I have it right. It is being tested by a couple of men right now who have always used shaving soap and brushes so I'm anxious to get their feedback. I am hoping to be able to put this soap in my shop in a nice men's shaving set.

I'm so glad it's Friday!

Hello

2012-01-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

New Soap in Berry Lemonade...

New Soap in Dewberry...

I've been practicing my braiding and I have one patient daughter who has endured all my learning through the years. ;0) I love her.♥

This is also a new soap. I actually soaped it with a good friend in mind. It is fragranced in the scents of red grapes, blueberries, and another light mix of different berries. It's my Fruity Friendship soap.

My children and I made cake ball over Christmas. They turned out so pretty but I didn't like them! I love the concept but I think I need a better recipe. We will try again with another recipe maybe.

Me!

CUTE!

Getting ready to list this one on my etsy today along with some other things. Just in time for those who celebrate Valentine's Day!

Making Your Own Detergent

2012-01-08T20:39:00.000-08:00

I know there are a million recipes on the internet for this but I thought I'd share mine just incase you haven't read any of those and you're interested in some serious money savings. First off, I have been making this detergent for a couple of years now. It has saved my family so much money. It only takes a little bit of time and you will have 5 gallons of detergent that will last for quite a while. I have a family of five so I use a lot of detergent around here! ;0)

Okay, I've taken pictures of the ingredients I use. I am now seeing that Wal-Mart is carrying these products. However, if yours doesn't, you can usually find them at Ace Hardware or online. Make sure your box of Arm & Hammer says "WASHING" soda...you don't want baking soda for this.

Grate a whole bar of Fels Naptha laundry soap. Dissolve this over MEDIUM heat in a gallon of your water. Once dissolved, take off the heat and add 1 1/2 Cups of Borax and an equal amount of the washing soda. Stir well until dissolved. (It will kind of thicken up like honey) In a 5 gallon bucket, put in 4 gallons warm tap water and then add the 1 gallon mixture you mixed. Stir and let it sit overnight. It will look like gel the next day. I just give it a mix when I use it. I use one cup from an old detergent bottle for each load. For my whites, I still use a little Chlorox and Shout on anything that is seriously stained. This stuff will get your clothes clean but it won't work miracles. Enjoy! Share the recipe with people.

New Things

2012-01-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

I just love making these bath salt parfaits. There is a lady on youtube that shared her recipe and they are just so much fun. You can use her recipe or make some changes like I did and make it your own. Her channel is velvetinkcafe. You'll love her channel.

I saw this wreath made out of coffee filters on the internet somewhere and just had to try it. I love how it turned out. I'm not finished with it. I want to add some pink things to it and put it in my girls' room. It's so cool looking ;0). I burned my hand so bad with my glue gun making this! Careful with the glue gun. If you want to make one, just google it and the girl's tutorial will come up.

This is a Lush dupe and I should have listed it already on my etsy but just haven't gotten around to it. I will try and list it sometime today. It's one of our favorites. The hearts make it so girly looking.

I made these tea tree oil bars for my daughter. She uses them as facial soap. I made them extra pretty for her this time. I put some sugar and cosmetic glitter on top. It washes off after the first use but it's fun for her to have pretty soap too. I love the smell of tea tree oil...it has a warm smell to me. We also use this bar for a shampoo too. Shampoo bars are great for my girls' curls.

Tea Tree Bar

I soaped this a couple of days ago. It's called Burgundy Rose and it smells just like fresh cut roses to me. I love it.

Happy New Year to you! I hope each one of you had a blessed Christmas with your families. I am looking forward to a great year and I hope you are too. I will be posting a few pictures of the making of homemade laundry detergent later. It is so easy and will save you so much money. Even if you're not interested in doing it for yourself, pass the recipe onto someone else who really needs to save money.

Bubble Love

2011-12-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to get my new fragrances in the mail the other day. I ordered a bunch of Lush dupes I'd never tried and so this is my version of Yummy Yummy...which I named Bubble Love. I think it turned out super cute and it was a lot of fun to make. I have another idea working for the next one hopefully to be soaped this weekend. ;0)

We are getting ready for Christmas around here. It's finally getting cold enough to turn on the heater and drink hot chocolate without sweating..lol. ;0) Hope you all are enjoying your week so far. Thanks for stopping by!

Hello

2011-11-28T19:36:00.000-08:00

New Lotion Bars..

Honey I Washed the Kids lush dupe in the mold...

I haven't posted much lately because we have been sick. Finally when I think we're all getting better today...my middle daughter starts running another fever. Well, it seems we're not through with this bug just yet but it's okay.

I felt like making some soap tonight so I took some pictures of it still in the mold. It's a lush dupe and it smells delicious. I hopefully got some nice swirls in there and I can't wait to cut it tomorrow.

I am waiting for new fragrance oils to come in this week from a couple of different companies I've never used before. I am looking forward to trying some of them. I've sold out of most of what I had on my soap shelves so it's time to move on and restock a few things.

Thanks for stopping by ! Hope you all are having a great week. ;0)

2011-11-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

Randomness

2011-11-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

I'm always practicing hair stuff to do on my girls' hair. I did these styles a couple of weeks ago and they came out nice.

I have made several candles lately and have been thinking about listing them on my etsy along with my soaps but so far haven't done that. Hopefully this weekend I can get everything listed and maybe make another batch of soap too.

My oldest daughter is my photographer. I love the pictures she takes for me and I thought this one was too cute.

This is my birthday cake scented candle.

Sugar Cookie soy wax tart...

More sugar cookie tarts...

Sissy....

Goat's milk heart cupcakes.......

Sugar Cookie Candles...

These are some of the Christmas soaps I've been working on..I love the way these snowflakes came out. They're so shimmery and I scented them in a fruity fragrance called Indian Summer.

Soap cake slice scented in purple hooters...

I had no idea how much I loved the fragrance of Sandalwood until I soaped this batch. I know it's more of a masculine scent but I think I'll be using this when it cures. It has such a nice powdery scent and I was pretty happy with the swirls.

These are some of the other Christmas soaps I've been working on. They are scented in Tinsel and smell just like peppermint candy.

Me and my girls aka The Hen & Her Chicks ;0)...

I am absolutely loving the scent of these bars. I've had them curing for several weeks now and they are still making my dining room smell so good. It's the first thing I smell when I walk in the door. Also, when I was in a department store the other day, I smelled the Be Delicious perfume and decided that this soap fragrance has my soap smelling very much like the real thing. ;0) Sometimes, I've noticed the dupes of these perfume fragrances turn into a totally different scent when you cold process soap. So I'm very happy when they don't morph into something else!

My Chanel No. 5 type cupcakes and bars.....

The weather is getting cold and it's beginning to feel like the holidays. I am looking forward to cooking for Thanksgiving and putting up our Christmas tree. I love this time of year.

I'm also getting my gift sets together to start selling them for Christmas. I'm hoping to make another batch of snowflakes and gingerbread men soaps this weekend.

Thank you for stopping by! Hope you are having a great week. ;)

Soap

2011-10-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Be Delicious Dupe..Making the swirls for this one was a lot of fun.

Be Delicious type cupcakes.....

Chance by Chanel type cupcakes...

Chance by Chanel type bars....

These little tarts are fragranced in raspberry truffles and they smell just like berries and chocolate.

Candied Apple bars....I think this is my favorite fruity fragrance I have found.

I just soaped another apple fragrance tonight and it smells really good too. It's called Green Apple Candy and it smells like a green jolly rancher or one of those green apple Now and Later candies. Ummm....has my house smelling like I actually cooked something.

I'm hoping to do some more tarts tomorrow. I love doing those. I used them long before I started making them. They make the house smell great and you can use them over and over again.

We are going to have an "open house" shopping weekend this month. I got my postcard invitations in the mail last week and plan on getting started passing them out in the beginning of next week. I've never had one before to sell soaps but I am hoping it will be fun and successful. We are planning on serving hot chocolate and having fun. It's going to be another busy month!

Wax Tarts, Soap, and My Beautiful Family ;0)

2011-10-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Buttery Goat's Milk and Honey Soy tarts...these have my house smelling delicious right now!

New Bubble Bars scented in Green Apple Candy....

New cupcake soaps scented in Kiss and Tell.....

Kiss and Tell bars...these will be listed in my etsy shop in a couple of week. This was a Victoria Secret dupe for Bombshell.

I used full goat's milk in this batch of soap. I know it's going to be a super creamy bar...

My beautiful family! We went on a mini vacation a few weeks ago. It was a great family time even though it only lasted for a day. I love my family!

Country Bumpkin soy tarts....these are such a nice bakery scent!

I will be soaping some tonight and this weekend and will try and post pictures of everything. I hope you all are having a blessed week. Thank you for stopping by! ~Lori

New Soap and Bubble Bars

2011-10-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

I made a new soap last night. The pictures show it still in the mold but it's actually already been cut I just haven't taken pics yet. It smells so good. The fragrance is called Hot Maple Toddy but it smells like hot caramel to me. ;0) It is a really nice fall or winter scent. I love it.

The bubble bars shaped in cupcakes, Christmas trees, and flowers are all fragranced in Forbidden Fruit. The heart cakes are fragranced in Grape/Blueberry and they both smell delicious. I love fruity scents so much. I never get tired of them.

We've had much going on this week. Between getting school done in the day and starting to make soap again, we are super busy from morning til evening. I love it though.

The weather is changing finally and it is so nice. The kids have been able to play outside in the afternoons more and I'm glad to not run our a/c as much!

Thank you for stopping by to read this blog. I appreciate all my readers. I have a youtube channel for soaping and such. www.youtube.com/mbjlhj

After the Show...

2011-09-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

We are having a normal week this week after getting ready for the Arts and Crafts Festival for the last month. The festival was over the weekend and it went so well. We had a great time as a family doing that. The pictures above are some that I just sent off today to enter another juried show that will be in March. They won't let us know until around December if we're chosen so I'll be on pins and needles again wondering. It is supposed to be one of the biggest ones in the state and it's a 3 day event so ...we'll see. I am hoping we'll be chosen. They are a ton of work but a lot of fun at the same time.

I hope to be posting more frequently now that I have some time. I'm getting ready to try my hand at cream soaping so I'll post pictures showing how that goes. I'm also going to be soaping again soon for fall and Christmas so I'm sure to be sharing those things along the way. I have to order some new fragrance oils this week and get creative juices flowing again with some new ideas. Hope you all are having a great week so far. Thanks for stopping by!

More Soap Creations

2011-08-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

I made my last batch of soap last night for the craft festival. I hope I will have enough ...I feel like my whole kitchen has been taken over by soap. lol It smells good in here!

The things I'll be doing now are : making lots and lots of bath bombs and bath bomb cupcakes, wrapping soaps, labeling everything, last minute displays, and hopefully picking up our banner, tent, and tables this coming week. We are looking forward to all of it!

I feel like we've settled into a nice rhythm of school and working. We've also gotten back to reading aloud at bedtime. We have started The Yearling and have been enjoying that. I love that part of the day...all of us piled up together on the bed reading and spending time together. ;0)

We are going to have two birthday celebrations next month. I'm waiting for these two daughters to let me know what kind of cake they want this year. We always make the cakes together and I decorate them while they are asleep. It's more work than buying a cake but it's much more fun hopefully creating lots of good memories.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Daughters' Creations

2011-08-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

Drawing on paint by my youngest daughter...

Drawing by my middle daghter ;)...

Polymer clay necklace charms created by my oldest daughter. We'll be selling these at the upcoming festival. I think kids are going to love these. They are super cute!

I am blessed to have my daughters! I love to see their creative sides. It always amazes me.

Lots of Soaping, Diaper Cake, and Baby Outfit♥

2011-08-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

I'm calling these little guys "popsies". They are cold processed soap mini cupcakes and you just pop them out of their cups. They are so cute.

These are Lemon Sugar bars...

I made this outfit for my middle daughter's babydoll. The baby even has milk on her mouth. They're only supposed to be feeding their babies with the "pretend" milk in the baby bottle. Hmmmm..

These are so fresh and fruity and they are called "Love Potion". I smell these everytime I walk by. ;0)

Peppermint popsy...

I am inlove with anything that looks Shabby Chic and these bars have that look to me. So of course, these are some of my very favorite bars. I haven't named them yet. I'm still thinking about it.

I made another diaper cake. I have such trouble finding stuffed animals. No one carries cute stuffed animals anymore. I was trying to find something cute without spending a fortune. I have to charge for everything that goes into it. I finally found this little guy. I didn't think he was the cutest thing but I couldn't find anything else. I hope the mommy will like it.

Cream Soda bars...these have gotten a bit darker in the curing process. I love them.

Peppermint and Rosemary bars...they are so lovely.

We are officially going to do the craft festival. We got the call yesterday so we're super excited and anxiously preparing at the same time. I am soaping a cake tonight and something else tomorrow. My daughter is working on charms and things. We have a lot to do in a short amount of time but I am so thankful we get to do this. It will also be a great family time together.

We start school back on Monday and I am looking forward to the eb and flow of that. I enjoy reading and studying with my girls and learning things together. It's truly a blessing that God has allowed me to have this with my children. It's been nice having our summer break but it's time to get back to other things and that's a good thing.

Thank you for taking the time to come here and read my blog. Blessings to you!♥ ~Lori

Random Happenings

2011-08-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter loves horses and has finally talked her daddy into taking riding lessons. ;0) She's doing so well and we've been having fun just watching.

This horse's name is Oreo...he's so cute.

Who can resist this cuteness????

Strawberry Passion Cupcakes...these smell so good!

We took a family trip downtown to the peanut shop and then on to the park to feed all the squirrels. They will actually come up and take the peanut out of your hands! I've never seen anything like that. We had so much fun.

My pretty girls.....

We had to get some sweets out of the peanut shop too. They have all kinds of homemade candy and chocolate dipped nuts...yummy!

Daddy and a daughter.....

Mommy and a daughter...

I have been wrapping soaps like craaaazy!

New Birthday Cake soaps...they smell just like fresh baked cake. ;0) I saved some of this fragrance oil to make some lotion with. I think it will make a nice lotion or cream.

I'm working as quickly as I can to get as many crocheted wash cloths made. I want to have lots made by Christmas.

I have also been working on these rice bags. I love these things. You can use them for a cold pack or a hot pack and I put essential oils in the rice to really make them nice. Someone made one for me a long time ago and I have used it so much. I struggle with migraine headaches and I love to heat my rice bag up and lay on it. I'm hoping to get a lot of these made too. This one is made to fit nicely around the neck and it has peppermint essential oil inside.

I am getting our schoolroom organized. It's almost time for school to start back for us. I like to make our room look a little different every year so it feels like we're starting fresh. I'm also going to be making some little supply boxes for my younger two. Who doesn't love a fresh box of crayons? I am grown and I still love a new box of crayolas. ;0) I love brand new play doh too! ;0)

I hope you are all having a great week. Thank you for taking the time to come over and read what's happening in our neck of the woods. ;0) Be blessed!

Soap, Soap, and More Soap

2011-07-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter makes the cutest jewelry. I loved how these donut earings came out! ;0)

My first diaper wreath....I think I'll do the next one differently. I still have to add baby things to this.

Hot Fudge Brownie soap! This had our house smelling like I had made something really yummy! My kids were extra disappointed when they found out it was only soap. ;0(

My first diaper carriage. I was just experimenting with the diapers I had left over from doing the wreath.

Watermelon Taffy bars....yummo!

I have been making soap like crazy for Christmas and hopefully a craft show. If we don't get to do the craft show, I'll be selling like a crazy soap woman for Christmas! It has been fun using lots of different fragrance and essential oils. I made a bug repellent soap the other day using only essential oils and that was so much fun. The kids and I tested it out yesterday outside in mosquitoville....they didn't even bother us! Yayyyy, it seems to really work well. Today I'm making some shaving soaps that can be for men or women.

Well, the summer has really gone by fast for us. We only have a couple of weeks before we will begin our school year. I'm sad it's ending because of all the things we haven't gotten to do yet but I'm excited to start reading with my girls and going through our school days together. We have some fun things planned for our school year too. I'm also looking forward to fall weather with all the falling leaves and windy days. I love the changing seasons.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

So Many Yummy Bubbles!

2011-07-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Passion Cupcakes

Cherry Burst

Strawberry Passion Bars

Hawaiian Ginger Bars

Don't these look like scrumptous cupcake bars? ;0)

Cocoa Cabanna type..named this one "Castles and Waves".....

Hot processed bars with cold processed soap icing on top in the fragrance of "Lime Sugar".

These are the Lime Sugar bars in their mold...they are the prettiest green on the bottom. I haven't taken pictures of them cut up yet...

Cinnamon Apples...Love these!

Monkey Toots in bars...delicious!

Hot process extra scrubby bars...for the hands only. These are filled with berry seeds for washing dirty hands...they smell so good and fruity.

Bath Bombs filled with salts, cocoa butter, milk, and all kind of good things for a good fizzy bath soak.

These are scented in essential oils of lavender, cassia, and cammomile. I haven't named these yet. ;0)

Well, I have spent so long loading these new soapies on here that I don't have time to type very much. I hope everyone reading this is having a great weekend. I hope you enjoyed looking at all my new soaps. I'll be listing these in my etsy early in the week! Be Blessed!

Craft Show Entry pics

2011-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

I sent these pictures in this week for a juried craft show. I'd never heard of that before since I've never even done a craft show. Well, they have a jury that picks who they want to be in the craft show. I'm hoping to get to do it. Pick us! Pick us! ;0) There will be thousands of people who come to this and I would LOVE to get out there and do this. They won't be picking and letting people know until the first week in August. That's too long to wait! I guess it's working patience in me, right? ;0)

Gardener's Soap and Other New Soapies

2011-06-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

I am sooo excited with the way this gardener's soap turned out. It has finely ground pumice and rasberry seeds in it for scrubbing dirty, grimy hands. If you look closely you can see my green swirls in the middle (meant to represent growing things) actually turned out to look like green grass blades! I was so excited when I cut in to this one. The smaller ones are crinkle cut and are about 3 oz.

This is a tea tree oil soap I made for my daughter. It has cleared up her breakouts already, which was the purpose for these. I listed a few on my etsy! They're pretty...not just functional. ;0)

These are made with a Bermuda Triangle fragrance and is one of the best fruity smells I've ever smelled!

These are made with goat's milk and honey and are scented in a fragrance oil called that as well. They smell great.

Daisy! I love how the swirls came out in this one. I may have posted this one already.

We are having a great break from school and just enjoying our days together. It's so nice to have everything finished up so we can do some fun things.

Today we plan on swimming, cleaning ;0), mowing grass, soapmaking, and whatever else I can squeeze into our daylight hours. I hope you out there are having a great and wonderful day as well. Blessings! Lori

2011-06-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Me, I don't know what I'm doing but my daughter thought it would be fun to snap some pictures on this setting. ;0)

Cupcakes...all wrapped up and ready to go to a good home/shower.

New bath bombs scented in "key lime pie". Oh, they smell so good.

Cupake soaps scented in "fresh peach". These are very light and peachy...I love these.

These are my newest soaps. They are scented in the "beautiful" perfume dupe and smell very sweet and floral. I love the way the swirls came out. Can't wait to try this soap!

My girls and I planted tomato plants and bell peppers. They are getting so big. We can't wait to eat them ;0). The girls check to see how big they are every morning. They have been so much fun.

These are the "fresh peach" bars. The candy sprinkles on top are so cute. There's a peachy swirl inside this soap. These have goat's milk in them and they will be so moisturizing for the skin.

Tomatoes! Look how big and juicy they are!

I think these are some of my favorite bars simply because of the scent. They are fizzy and fruity at the same time...and also sweet. These have cocoa butter in them and we have enjoyed these bars.

My oldest daughter snapped pictures of us. She's so much fun! I'm so blessed to have sweet daughters that I truly enjoy being around. I love being a mommy.

On The Curing Rack...

2011-05-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Fluffy Almond Icing is the fragrance I used for these bars. The brown swirls came out nice.

Hello Kitty cupcakes are scented with the fragrance dupe "Daisy" and the ones in the back are my bubble gum cupcakes.

These are my new "plain" bars. I used goat milk and real honey in these and that's what has given it the nice honey color. I love these. They actually have a bit of a sweet honey scent.

These are so pretty with the yellow swirls. These are scented with a pear fizzy fragrance and I have to pick one up and smell it everytime I walk by my curing rack. They remind me of summer and I can't wait to try one. A bit of glitter on the tops make them shimmer and sparkle.

These are scented with the same pear fragrance. I was able to pipe this icing nice and tall and then add a small glycerin embed on the tops. Sometimes the soap cooperates better than at other times when it comes to piping it out. It's always a new adventure.

"Stop Smacking!" and other Soaps

2011-05-02T06:48:00.001-07:00

Just sharing some new soaps I recently made. I love how the swirls came out on this one. I've been practicing swirling more. I have another one swirled that's still in the mold so I don't know what it looks like on the inside yet. That's one of the fun parts of soaping is seeing what it looks like outside of the mold and cut into bars. I love that part!

These pretty pink ones are the end product of a soap I made that turned brown. I soaped a key lime pie fragrance not realizing it had vanilla content so my whole pretty pie turned brown. So what to do? I chopped it up into bits and pieces and embedded them into the soap you see here. I figured that it would look nicer inside another soap and it does! I love how it came out. I think this one is one of my very favorites. The icing is so yummy looking.

"STOP SMACKING"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;0) Bubblegum Scented soapy, goodness!
These pink and blue soapies are made with a yummy bubblegum scent. I made some cupcakes and bars. They smell so good! My daughters love these. They're really girly looking, aren't they? Kind of like cotton candy colors.

I have been selling more and more soaps lately and I am so thankful. I've even had a few repeat customers so that really makes me happy. I took most of my soaps to a doctor's office this week and they bought just about everything I had. They were mostly buying for Mother's Day. I can't believe that it's almost that time of year again. Where does the time go?

I hope if you are a mother and you are reading this, you will have a very blessed and happy Mother's Day! It's a blessing to be a mother. We should not take that important role for granted. There's not a more important job in the world! Happy Mother's Day!

Flea Market, Biscuit Making, Life

2011-04-20T06:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted in a while because life has had us super busy. You all know how it is! If you're a mom you know! The weather has been beautiful here and the girls and I have done some planting recently. We planted some flowers and some tomatoes. The tomatoes were planted in pots but I'm hoping they will still do well. The girls check to see how big they've gotten everyday! It's so much fun planting things and watching it grow and change with each passing week.

I recently bought some canning jars and a water bath canning pot. I want to learn how to can. I never learned and have never done it before. Being raised by my grandparents, we always had a garden full of things and my grandmother canned a LOT. BUT, she didn't ever teach me how to do it and she's passed away now so there are many things I wish I would have learned from her now that I'm older. You never realize how much you could miss a person until they're gone. I miss so many wonderful things about her. She would be glad that I'm learning how to can and growing vegatables with my kids. I'm sure of that.

She would also be happy to know, I am no longer a biscuit failure. Look at those biscuits below! Wow, I have made them successfully 3 times in a row. Normally, I am not successful with biscuits. I think I messed with the dough too much before but now I use my hands instead of a spoon. If you need help in the biscuit area of your life, check out this website: http://teachinggoodthings.com/blog, scroll down and this lady has a recipe and a video that was very helpful to me. ;0) May your biscuits be successful too!

SEE HOW FLUFFY! ;0)

We recently took our soaps and things out to the local flea market and these are some pictures my oldest daughter took of our table. I really need to get some banners and things but I'm still saving up for those things. I hope to have them before summer so I can start doing some local craft shows. The flea market was fun and my girls had a blast. My oldest daughter sells her jewelry and my little girls eat and color and play ;0) and "help" of course. ;0)

Don't I look like I'm having such a great time? ;0) I hate pictures of myself but with my daughter around taking pictures all the time, I'm getting over it a bit I guess.

Here is the pretty rose bush we planted.

I'm ending this with a picture of my new shaving soaps! I will be listing these in my etsy soon. They will come in a kit witha mug and a shaving brush. I'm super excited about offering this.

Hope you are having a great week! Blessings, Lori

Oh, and we made some homemade peach jelly to go on those yummy biscuits. ;0) The End. ;0)

New Things ;0)

2011-04-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

New Bath Salt Parfaits...scented with Pink Sugar!

I have been working so hard on these men's shaving soaps. I have finally made a recipe that is really, really good. My dad is currently testing it and so hopefully I can offer a men's shaving kit soon!

Unscented, gentle soaps...I try and always keep some of these for those who love homemade soap but are allergic to fragrances. These are some of my very favorite soaps.

I'm calling these "Lovely Lavender" because they are scented with lavender essential oil. They smell so fresh and clean and I love the way the swirls came out.

All of the cake slices above are so delicious smelling. They are scented with Almond Biscotti and they have my house smelling so good! I made this soap in chunky bars and one layer cake slices. I'm hoping to do some key lime pie slices next week sometime. I can't wait. These are such fun soaps to make. I love making the soap look like frosting. ;0)

I needed to add some more bath bombs in my shop and so here they are! They are not the giant ones, they're the middle size and I'm selling them in sets of two. My girls helped me find those cute stickers to put on them. Aren't the cupcakes cute? These are scented with pink sugar.

These bars are really big but I didn't want to slice the pretty inbeds in the top, in half. We have named this soap "Hula Girl" because it reminds you of the islands...fresh and fruity. Whoever purchases these would do well to slice them up. This bar will last a super long time. I will definitely be making more of these.

It's been another busy week. I haven't gotten much soaping done but a lot of other things. I'm thinking one day soon I need to take a day to really clean my house from top to bottom. It's time to go through closets and drawers and donate what doesn't fit anymore. I can't stand clutter and I'm feeling very cluttered lately. I can't seem to get it all done! Sometimes I feel like the more I do, the less I get done! LOL Crazy, I know. Seriously though, some days I feel like I've been busy all day long only to look around and think..."it doesn't look like I've gotten much done!" I'm blessed beyond measure though and I try to enjoy my husband and kids and not stress like this too much. It takes away the happiness in life!

The weather is so nice and it's definitely feeling like spring. We're looking forward to playing outside, picnics, park days, and anything else that we can come up with. Hope everyone reading this is having a very blessed week! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my ramblings. ;0)

New things

2011-03-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post of some new things added to the etsy shop this week. Hope everyone reading this is having a great beginning of a week!

Bath Salt Parfaits

2011-03-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

Oh. My. Goodness. These were so fun to make. I can't wait to put these on my etsy. They are made with 3 kinds of bath salts, topped with a foaming bath butter and a pretty glycerine soap on top. I let my girls help me with these. I got this idea from another soaper and when I saw them, I knew I had to try them. The first thing I thought of is how much fun it would be to do with my girls! They help me with the soaps but they can't help with the whole process. Due to the lye and such, it's not safe for them to help me with much of the process. They help with colors and scents and they love to watch me cut it up. But this project! Oh wow, we had so much fun together. We have more ideas for these but these are just the first ones. One lucky family member will get to try one in their bath tonight....who will it be????? ;0)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Velvetinkcafe#p/u/11/omyk_-zfTvw This is the sweet lady that gave the tutorial on these! Now go make your own!

New Etsy Listings this week

2011-02-25T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is my XOXO Juicy all wrapped up....

A mini cake scented with Bath and Body Works type Brown sugar and fig....... these smell so good!

Big, Huge, Bathbombs with sugar sprinkles....

I made these pretty hearts unscented. This is a really moisturizing soap made with coconut milk, olive oil, palm oil, castor oil, and coconut oil. I love to use this one to wash my face. I have sensitive skin and I haven't ever been able to use anything until I started making this recipe. Love it!

Buttermilk Soap Cakes all wrapped up...

I love how these flower cupcakes came out. They are unscented on the bottoms and fruity on the tops. I love how the sugar sprinkles on top make them sparkle. ;0)

We have been super busy this week running around doing things plus making sure we get school work done. We have so many good books to read this year so we've been doing a whole lot of reading together...I count that as joyful time. It's nice that my younger girls are reading now b/c we all take turns reading our individual books aloud every night.

My only living grandfather had to be rushed to the hospital this afternoon but God is good and after 3 stints, they think he will improve. I am praying for him. Will you pray for him too? ;)

I am hoping to do some soaping this weekend. So maybe I will have some new pictures to post on here before Monday. I am so bad about posting and I've really tried to be better over the last several months. I have my favorite blogs I look at daily and they are so good at posting everyday...I don't know how they do it!

Blessings to all!

Practicing two strand twists and braids..

2011-02-22T09:24:00.001-08:00

Just a small compilation of hairstyles on my girls. I'm still learning...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Big Soap Sale through 2/13/11

2011-02-10T21:47:00.001-08:00

I'm having a soap sale for the weekend only. Check it out. Click on my etsy shop in the sidebar! ;p

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pink 3 Layer Soap Cake and A Birthday

2011-02-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

My daughter has a big, huge bear she is attatched to. My husband got it for her a couple of years ago and she wanted a "Papa Bear" cake. Here is my attempt. ;0) It was fun. I didn't have enough cake for the bowtie she envisioned on there but she was happy with just a bear head! ;0)

Here is my girl opening up all her hand made cards from all of us.

Okay...here's the 3 layer soap cake...we didn't eat this one!

This is another buttermilk soap. It looks so creamy and good. It's scented with Brown Sugar and Fig (Bath and Body Wks type) and smells just like it. I can't wait to try this one. This is a larger cake than the first one. I think I enjoyed making the smaller one better but I like the outcome of both.

XOXO "Juicy" type Soaps

2011-02-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

Just soaped this "Juicy" fragrance yesterday. Oh it turned out so nice. I really like this scent. It's a very sweet, floral scent. I think it's Ed Hardy that makes Juicy but I'm not sure. Anyway, this is a dupe. See the hearts I embedded on the inside? I wish these were going to be ready for Valentine's Day but they won't. They take 4 weeks to cure so they won't be ready until the middle of March.

Some of my new soaps

2011-02-09T20:05:00.001-08:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Push the pause button on my playlist or you'll be listening to both at the same time. ;0)

A Busy Week

2011-02-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

This has been another busy week and it's only Tuesday! It surely feels like it should be close to Friday. ;0) I have been slowly adding more things to my etsy shop as they get close to being fully cured.

We will be at a flea market this coming Saturday and I am hoping it will be a good day for us. We did pretty well when we went before Christmas. I will be making some Valentine's baskets up this week in preparation for this trip. I'm just hoping we'll be seeing some Valentine's shoppers. ;0)

I have some very good things happening with my soaps. A lady that has a little country shop has put a lot of my soaps in her shop and I am so excited to see how they will do. It's such a cute, quaint little place. The shop is an old house her husband grew up in. They sell local honey, gift baskets, lots of local handmade things, and they shell pecans. I think shelling and selling pecans is how she got started with the whole gift shop thing. I have been meaning to stop in this little shop for sometime now and finally just did it over the weekend. I enjoy making things but the sales part is something I'm still desparately working on! I just decided to walk in there, introduce myself, and let her know I was a soapmaker and would she be interested in some for her shop. (heart pounding that she might say "no! get outa my shop ya little soapmaker!") I did it and she was sweet and delighted and had actually been wanting to put homemade soap in her shop for a while. She said she's even had lots of requests for it. Wow. God is so good. He helps me with even the smallest things!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you, dear reader, are having a good, productive week too.

Buttermilk Soap and Soap Cakes

2011-01-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

These are the new flower molds my daughters bought me for Christmas! I love them. They were perfect for the new buttermilk soaps I wanted to try. Aren't they cute in there???;0)

These are also buttermilk soaps. I love how they turned out. They look so creamy and good. I scented them with an oatmeal, milk, and honey fragrance and oh, they smell so good and yummy. I can't wait to try one of these.

This is the cake before it was sliced and with it has really lightened up since I sliced it. As you can see, it started out a pale pink but is a creamy, light pink now. Funny how that happens sometimes. I'm okay with it lightening up...it's when fragrance oil starts turning your colored soap brown that looks yukky! It starts looking diseased or something! LOL....

I can't wait to see how these will sell. I hope people will like it b/c it was super fun to make. The whole process took 3 days though. That's the only part I guess I didn't like. You have to make the layers one day, the icing the next, and on the 3rd day you can cut them up. I started this project on Saturday and couldn't slice them up until Monday morning. That part was so hard for me. I get so anxious to cut my soaps. I always make them at night so I'm not tempted to peek under the box while it's doing its gel phase. When I wake up in the morning, it's ready to cut.

I made buttermilk cupcakes out of the flowers that were in the top picture but I haven't taken pictures of them yet. Thanks for looking!

Saturday Projects

2011-01-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

My girls found Sissy in the closet all snuggled up...awwww!

The soy tarts...

I finally got around to trying out some candle making. Oh - how- fun. ;0) Really. Not as fun as soap for me but it was a lot of fun. I haven't decided yet how I'm going to decorate the jars so I'm just playing around with some ideas. They will probably have a circle label on the top of the lid and not much on the jar itself. I hate to get candles where the label messes up the pretty jar. ;0) I also made some soy tarts that you melt in a tart warmer. That's what the little blue hearts in the pictures are. We have decided to do our local flea market at least once a month and I really wanted to get some candles made to put on our table. Hopefully when I try one out in a few days (they have to somewhat cure), it will burn nicely with no problems. They sure do smell lovely. The pink ones are a Pink Sugar dupe and the blue are a coconut/fruity fragrance.

Today has been a really good Saturday. I have gotten lots of things done without being too busy. Candles were made this morning after breakfast with the kids. While they were playing, I made some buttermilk soap. I've really wanted to try some sort of milk soap for a while but finally talked myself into just giving a small batch a try today. The process is basically the same but the milk had to be frozen and such. The recipe used made 2 lbs. and I'm making a mini cake with it. The cake part was made today and I'll make some icing for it tomorrow and post those pictures. It's scented with Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey FO and it's making my whole house smell wonderful. My husband is going to come home and think I've made him something sweet. ;0)

I have read that the buttermilk is really good for your skin. Actually, most of the milk soaps are supposed to be really rich and good for the skin so I'm hoping to be inlove with this recipe. I may start making all of my soaps with the buttermilk, depending on how people like it.

I just wanna say...I'm not opposed to comments. I see people visit my blog but hardly ever comment! It's okay, I'm a lurker too. You can lurk if you want to. I just wanted you to feel free to comment too. ;0) Hope everyone out there reading this is have a blessed day. Thanks for stopping by!

New Etsy Listings

2011-01-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

Lollipop......mmmmm

Shuga-cakes

A Soap gift wrapped up for a friend. ;0)

I just wanted to put up a quick post on the new soaps that have been listed on my etsy this week. I needed some more cake slices and these came out really nice. I have another kind of soap cake in mind to make but just haven't had time to make it. Several other soapers make them and they look so real and yummy that I feel I have to try it too. ;0)

I changed my recipe a little bit when Christmas was over. I think these are more conditioning to the skin. The other recipe is good but this one is really good. Soap is fun like that. You can make so many types of soap from different oils and they are all good for different kinds of skin. I would like to try to make some men's shaving soap. There are men who still shave like that. (With a brush and such.) My dad is one of them. If I could make one that pleased him, I would be very happy.

I got my candle wax before Christmas and still haven't had time to do any but hopefully this week sometime I can dive into that.

I have recently finished some crochet and knitting projects. I think my daughter took pictures of them so I'll have to post them another time. I'm working on a baby blanket and hat to match at the moment. My sister got us a pom pom maker for Christmas. That thing is so much fun! The pom poms come out so pretty and fluffy. I want to buy the one that makes the heart pom pom one day soon. They are super cute too.

This blog got started a couple of years ago because my little daughter was getting ready to have a major surgery to remove a tumor. I had wanted to keep people posted on her condition and thought it would be good so I wouldn't have to be on the phone and such. It has changed along the way to something less personal. I am such an introvert that it's just hard to be "personal" on a blog. Oh, I have tried and such but I think I like things better with me just posting about crafty projects and things like that. ;0) It's more comfortable for me. I love to look at other people's crafty things they do too. So I hope whoever looks at this silly blog will enjoy looking at the crafty things my kids and I make together.

Hope everyone reading this is having a great, blessed week.

Soaping Again

2011-01-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas break is behind us and we are already in the middle of January. Hard to believe. Valentine's Day is coming up so I thought I would make some new soap to add to the etsy shop. These bars are fragranced with all the good fruits a monkey would eat. ;0) Honestly this fruity fragrance is popular in the soap world and now I understand why. It does smell so good.

I have tried some other popular fragrances that I just hated. My kids grated one batch up for me yesterday so I can re-batch. I used a fragrance that turns brown and so the green color I used...well it looks like camo. The cream icing on top has brown spots also and I don't like the smell. I have never rebatched and I've been meaning to do it before now so hopefully I can get to it before the weekend. 7 lbs. of soap is a lot of soap to not like.

I have more fragrances to try out but unfortunately I don't think I can get much more cured by Valentine's Day. I had quite a bit made up before Christmas so the "shop" is nice and full. I need to work on my etsy shop and update things.

I found this blog the other day that I just love. If you love vintage art with lots of pastel colors, just click the link and check it out. I printed out gift tags for Christmas for my jars of hot chocolate and they were so pretty. www.freeprettythingsforyou.com Love it!

Hope everyone out there reading this is having a wonderful, blessed day!

Gift boxes and New Soaps

2010-11-30T07:41:00.000-08:00

I made some gift boxes for a lady that needs something for a Christmas exchange. Not sure how many she needs yet but I was playing around with these little Christmas Chinese boxes I have and this is what came out. I've sold out of most of my cupcake soaps so I filled these pretty boxes with two different bars and a Christmas ornament.

I soaped a new batch the other day. I did a cold process/oven process on these. They came out really nice except the bottom of the cupcakes aren't as smooth as just doing the cold process. They are still fine but I prefer them smoother. Something happens in the oven to these little guys. The loaves always turn out fantastic but it's in a wood mold and I'm sure the insulation has a lot to do with it . The cupcakes are only in silicone molds and not much insulation so I'm thinking I will just stick to bars when I do this process. I really needed some more cupcakes and didn't want to wait for a month cure but...sometimes ya just have to wait. ;0)

I ordered some fragrance oils the other day from two different companies. I'm anxious to try them out. They will be used on the Valentine's Day batches. Fragrance oils are funny. They smell different from company to company. It's risky ordering and not being able to smell them b/c most companies don't give refunds or do exchanges. So if you get stuck with oil you don't care for...oh well. This has happened to me! I ordered some oils from a company and two of them siezed my soap. No matter what I tried, I could not get the oils to work. I soaped at different temperatures, different recipes...no good. I used them in some bath bombs and they were fine. I was disappointed b/c they smelled soooo good. ;0) I hope the ones I just ordered will be great oils. They smell wonderful!

The girls and I put up our Christmas tree the other day. This is the first year in a long time, I was not running my a/c while we decorated! I hate hot weather in December. It just doesn't go with Christmas! Well, it was cold outside this year and I was very happy and thankful for that. We are hoping for snow again this year! Maybe just maybe it will happen..... . Have a great day!

Soap Packaged and Ready To Go!

2010-11-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

Today is the day most of my soaps were carried off to try and sell. So far so good. My husband just simply took them to work and left them with the ladies in the back office. That pretty much took care of it. ;0) I'm hoping he comes home with empty containers.

I opened up an etsy shop and so far haven't sold anything from that yet but it hasn't been up for very long. If you like handmade/homemade things, etsy is the place to shop. There are so many neat finds on that website. So many talented people selling their wares. Soap is just one of many, many things on there. You can find knitting, crochet, jewelry, and the list goes on. Here is the link to my shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/gfgproductions. I haven't put my etsy button here on my blogspot yet but am going to try and do that later on today sometime.

I hope to sell most everything I have made for Christmas and get started pretty soon on some soap that will be cured by Valentine's Day. ;0) I'm just anxious to make soap again. I've restrained myself until I sell what I have. It's been so hard! I don't know how to explain it but when I love to do something, I just jump in and can't seem to find a stopping place. I still love to do other crafty things but I think out of them all, soap is my favorite thing to make.

Hope everyone is having a blessed day! I'm so glad it's Friday!!!!!!!!!♥♥♥

Whipped Soap!

2010-11-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

Isn't this cool??? ;O) This is a bathbomb with some sugar/meringue icing that foams and bubbles in the bath. I scented this batch with a birthday cake fragrance oil. When it dissolves in the bath, it releases a bit of sweet almond oil and a sweet , yummy smell. These are so much fun. I just got something in the mail today to tweak this recipe a little bit. I'm hoping to play around with it this weekend and hopefully the next batch will not only fizzy but will be very bubbly.

This is just a huge bath bomb like the previous one only with no icing and a different shape. These are fun to make. I think people are going to really like these.

These are all wrapped up in their pretty packages and ready to go to someone else's house. ;0)

Okay, this is whipped soap. This soap is very unique in how its processed. Obviously the oils are whipped and the lye mixture is added at a cold temperature. The end result is a very light bar that will float in the bath. (think Ivory ....only better) These have lots of good oils in them like olive, shea butter, and coconut oil. These are fragranced with a baby powder scent.

I have really been trying to get all my soaping finished up these last few weeks. Everything needs to be cured by Thanksgiving. I'm starting to get excited about selling this. My sweet husband has already gotten lots of orders for me. He's the salesperson in this family and the only reason I ever sell anything! I make stuff and he sells it. ;0)

We took a trip out of town last week. My husband was checking out a job prospect. It was a really nice area right outside of Atlanta. It was much bigger than what I'm used to but it was a beautiful place. Sometimes I think it would be fun to go somewhere else where we have to kind of start over again. Of course there would be things missed back here where we are but I still think it would be fun. So, we're just leaving it in the Lord's hands. If that's what he wants for our family, He will work it out. We've tried to move before (a couple of years ago) and it just didn't work out at all. The business he's in was really in bad shape for a while and still hasn't fully recovered and also we found out our youngest daughter had a tumor that had to be removed. Oh, that was all such a terrible difficult time! I hate to even remember that but I am so THANKful! My daughter is well and growing and healthy! My husband's business is doing fairly well again! God works all things out for our good. We just have to trust in Him even when we don't understand. Even when things don't make sense. If we could see the whole picture it wouldn't take much faith on our part, would it? Trust and obey. Have faith in the one who is able to keep us! Have a blessed day!

Kid's Art and More Soapies

2010-10-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my pictures to upload on here today and came across this sweet little piece of art one of my daughters drew and saved. She titled it Mommy and Daddy at the bottom! I thought it was so cute! ;0)

Just another cute art piece. Not sure what the name is on this one but he kind of reminds me of a wienie dog. ;0)

Ha! This dog is talking to a talking foot. Bet ya didn't know dogs or feet could talk. ;0)

This soap was so much fun to make. I used bits and pieces of other soaps for the insides. I like how some of them have stars on the inside. They smell so good. It's called Apple Jack Peel and on the top is a pumpkin spice. They smell so good. I will definitely make these again.

These are made with a Victoria Secret dupe called Love Spell. It smells just like the real thing. Sometimes the dupes smell like the real thing and then as the soap goes through its gel phase the smell changes but not this one. It has kept it's smell so well. I had made some other ones a while back that are completely cured. They don't have a very strong scent but it's enough...just really light. I bought a new icing tip and I think my icing is turning out better.

These are like a powdery, clean scent that a man could even use. Just having soaped these, the smell is still very strong. I think I'm going to really like these. I made some cupcakes with the soap I couldn't fit into my mold. Aren't the little duckies on top cute? ;0)

These are some bath bombs that I won't be selling. I used a mica to color these and when I tested them, they left my bath tub a color. It comes out but I don't want to stain anyone's bathtub. So I have decided to keep these for my family. The blue ones smell like coconut and the purple ones smell like a fruity smell. They are so fizzy! I put sweet almond oil in these. Overall, I really like them except the colors. Live and learn, right? ;0)

New Soaps

2010-10-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, I really love the way this soap came out. I think each batch has gotten better and better. I am learning more and more. ;0) That's a good thing. It's not fun to ruin anything! I have one "ruined" batch. Well, I call it ruined b/c the fragrance oil turned the colorant brown with brown spots. It looks awful so I am researching how to rebatch. Think I'll go ahead and let it finish curing and then rebatch it. It's the only thing I can think of that could possibly save the soap! Okay, back to the blue and white soap. It's called Kiss Me Goodnight and it smells just like J&J's night baby bath. MMMMMMmmmmm. I might just keep a bar of this for myself. I used to buy that baby bath just for me. Honestly, I loved the baby bath that much. ;0)

This batch is the peppermint batch. It was so much fun making the swirls. These soaps smell just like peppermint candy. We're calling it Peppermint Bark.

The fragrance oils made this soap trace so fast that I had to work super fast to get it into the mold. For some reason, citrus oils cause a fast trace. Thankfully, I was expecting it and got it into its mold before it set up too much. We put soap stars on this one and called it Starburst. It has all kinds of fruity smells. It would be hard to describe just which fruit. Fruity, just very fruity and good. ;0) I wish you could smell it through the screen. My whole kitchen smells good.

This has been another extremely busy week. I am wishing I could add some hours on but I know I can't. I do wish I had more time ...all the time. At the same time I'm so thankful for the time God has blessed me with.

My girls and I had a girl's day out today. We went to the mall and shopped a little bit and I just really enjoyed being with them. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful family.

Crochet and Yummy Cold Process Soap

2010-10-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

I have been busy trying to get these crochet projects finished to hopefully sell. I got some ribbon for the borders this time so Iguess I should've waited to post the finished look with that. I'll try and remember to post those pics.

I love to make these little pinafores. Wouldn't they look sweet over the top of a pretty white or pink dress? ;0)

I made these soaps with a fragrance called Love Spell. They really do smell so good. I'm happy with the way the soap icing turned out. I can't wait until these are cured and ready to use.

These cake/pie slices were so much fun to make. They smell like Birthday Cake. My whole house smells good b/c of these little guys. I made a loaf and a cake. In this picture they are beige on the bottom but as they've cured, they have turned a very pretty darker brown. That's what the fragrance does...turns it dark. The tops are still the same pink. Methinks this one will be a good seller. Looking at the next picture you can see them all nice and sliced up. They look good enough to eat...but ya wouldn't wanna eat them! They are just to wash with!

The stars are for another soap called Starburst but they wanted in the picture too so I put them on top of the loaf for a snapshot. ;0)

We have been so busy with life this week. I think every single day for the last two weeks has been filled with "stuff". The stuff was actually mostly things we really have to do and a few things that I just really wanted to do!

I got out yesterday after school to do my drugstore deals. Oh my, I got some really good deals. Maybe it would be easier to stick with only one store but both Walgreens and CVS have such good deals most every week that it's hard to pass it up. I got $60.00 worth of products yesterday (food, razors, toothpaste...things I actually use) and I paid $10.00. I got back about $8.00 in store money at both places so everything was actually free. How can I not stock up with deals like that even on a tight schedule? I haven't had to buy toothpaste, shampoo, and all kinds of other things since I started doing this over a year ago. It's not always convenient but it's worth it. This saves my family lots of money throughout the year and we can use the money for other things. More and more people must be doing this now b/c the deals go fast. Both stores start their sell on Sundays but by even Monday sometimes CVS especially is running out. Walgreens usually overstocks for their customers. Are you convinced yet to give this a try? ;0)

Have a blessed week everyone!

Soap and Bath Bombs

2010-09-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

The soap cupcakes are almost cured enough to use. ;0) I can't wait to try one. I iced the top with whipped soap. The whipped soap actually floats! The cupcake part is lemony. They smell so good. We were playing around with packaging today. I love Shabby Chic colors so that's kind of the look we were going for. ;0)

These little guys are called bath fizzies. They are so much fun. They have almond oil in them along with some "smell good" stuff . When you drop them in your bath they fizz and release all the good stuff. My kids think these are so cool. One has to be careful of these though.... They definitely cause the giggles.

LOVE BOMBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More fizzies

Birthday, Braids, and Fun

2010-09-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

We celebrated another birthday! Goodness we have
LOTS of birthday people in the month of September for my family. ;0) I always have fun coming up with a theme cake for my girls. They usually help but for some reason this year all they did was lick the bowls. ;0) The theme this year for this kiddo was dogs. She loves dogs so the cake has a big paw print right in the middle.

Been practicing on my braids. I wasn't too happy with the way these came out exactly. It was supposed to be hearts but...as you can see they are uneven curves! Oh well, I'm still learning. Since I'm so critical that's what I have to keep telling myself. It takes too long to do for me to start over after I'm finished so the end product has to stay in for a while. She was happy so that made it better. ;0)

These are just funny pictures. We've been having fun with the new camera. Oldest daughter got some good action pics of the little ones having fun being silly. Miss Sissy dog half asleep was very comical as well. Always something to laugh at around here.

More Soap

2010-09-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

soap all wrapped up ;0)

yummy soap cupcakes

I'm inlove! (With soapmaking!;0)) Like I need another crafty thing to love. This is so much fun. I'm disappointed with some of the colors I've tried but I'm just going to try some different recipes next time. The cupcakes were really fun. My girls loved them. They are still curing but the day their finished, 3 girls will be so excited.

I'm still crocheting baby things. I'm almost finished with a baby boy blanket. I have to finish the border and it'll be ready to give away. I've got some ideas with Shabby Chic colors to start crocheting. I have a real weakness for Shabby Chic. I don't often buy it b/c it's so expensive but it is so pretty to me.

We celebrated a birthday yesterday. I can't believe how time passes by so quickly. I say that all the time but I feel that way all the time! I enjoy my kids. I really do. I can't believe my first baby turned 13. She's the one taking all the soap pictures for me. ;0) She got a new camera yesterday so maybe I'll start having some better pictures on here. We've had all kinds of camera trouble around here the last couple of years. I got a different brand this time. Hoping for the best.

I'm not consistant with posting on this blog. Many times I've thought to quit all together but for now I'll just keep posting everyonce in a while. Between my cameras breaking and just staying busy with "life" in general, posting hasn't always been easy.

Hope everyone out there is having a good week. We're greatful it's Friday around here! Blessings!

Cold Processed Soap!

2010-08-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

Sissy being a cutie...................

This was so much fun. I can't wait to make another batch. ;0) I didn't add any fragrance to this soap but it still sort of has a tiny bit of an olive oil smell. (Which seems to be fainter everyday that it cures.) I love how buttery it came out of the mold. I'm having some big ideas on what to add in the next batch. My girls and I found some soap stamps yesterday that are really pretty. So the next batch will have a pretty imprint on them. These will make good Christmas gifts. Maybe the girls will help me crochet some wash rags to go with the soap. ;0)

I've been trying to win some books on ebay this week. I decided to use Teaching Textbooks this year with my oldest daughter. I finally won an auction last night. At the same time I'm selling our books from 3rd grade and so far so good. The auction ends in 4 hours. I have had good and bad experiences with ebay but for the most part it's a convenient way to buy and sell.

We are getting ready to start school next week. It sure doesn't seem like it should be that time again. Time needs a pause button sometimes! I'm ready to read some good books. That's the part I really look forward to. ;0) My little girls are using Sonlight for the first time this year so I'm anxious to read with them.

Have a great day out there!

Baby Boy Things

2010-08-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

I am posting some older pictures of a set I made for someone's baby boy. I couldn't remember if I'd posted them before. I was fairly happy with the way they turned out. So far I haven't made a whole lot of boy things. I'm never motivated by the selection of yarn colors out there for boys.

Both my cameras are broken and I'm not going to fix them. They were both Cannons. One had to be fixed before. Ugh! I will try another name the next time. Hopefully I can get another one soon. Until then, I will have to borrow my daughter's camera to take pictures. ;0)

I made my first batch of homemade soap the other day. I'll post pictures when it's finished curing. This batch wasn't a pretty batch but now that I know how the process works, I'll mold the next batch better and maybe put a decorative stamp or something on the top. It's so much fun. I can't wait to try it. I made it using the cold processed method. I felt like I was in the "old days"! (As my grandmother calls back then!)

I have so many things I want to try in the crafting world. It's hard to pick just one thing at a time to learn. ;0)

Blessings!

Random

2010-02-18T06:56:00.000-08:00

Sissy enjoying her time under the Christmas tree. Looks like she pulled a candy cane off the tree.

Belle...oh, she was so little and cute. She's a "big girl" now. ;0) This was her first bath after we got her home.

I made this blanket and gave it away. Now I'd like to make it again but can't find the pattern. Oh well.

For anyone that likes to sew, I found this cool website. http://sew-whats-new.com/ They have all kinds of videos on things from quilting to what I needed (sewing in a zipper). There is a girl on one of the videos who makes a wedding dress outa tee shirts. ;0) While I wouldn't really wear that dress, I thought she was very clever for coming up with it.

Hope everyone is having a great week! Thanks for stopping by.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun yesterday! See our little snowman????!!!! Yes, he was small but for those of us who never get to see any snow....he was a BIG deal! I'm so thankful we got to see that snow. It didn't last long but we had fun in it while it was here. See our huge snowflake we made out of paper? ;0) That was fun too.

We celebrated a birthday on Sunday. Oh, how time passes by so quickly. I feel that way with every passing birthday of my children. Is this how every mother feels? I wish time would move a little slower. I love my life. My husband and children are such a blessing. Even when there are major bumps in the road with life challenges, I'm still so thankful for each one. The Lord has been so good to me.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Old Memories

2009-12-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

I recently spoke to an old friend about not having any baby pictures. She's someone I can't remember NOT knowing! We're the same age and have kept in touch for all these years. Through moves and family changes and life, we've managed to always stay in touch. She's been a good friend. When my grandparents died, some family members came in and took all our photos. No one will admit to having them b/c they're all at odds with one another. I live pretty far away so I didn't get an opportunity to go through things. Well, my friend went through all her photos and sent me what she had so I would have some baby pictures to show to my children. How sweet! Can you tell which fat cheeked one I am? ;0) These were so fun for me to look at. It really was so very thoughtful of her. Thank you Heather.

Hats for everyone!

2009-12-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

You may recognize one of the "models". Lilly, with the pink and white bonnet, looking so sweet, is my little girl's baby she's taken care of since she was about 1. ;0) The other baby is one I bought at a dollar store to see what my crocheted baby clothes look like....since I never get to see them on the babies I normally give them to. They are both very good little babies. ;0) My daughter makes sure they're well taken care of and she likes mommy to make them new things often.

It is almost Christmas and I feel like time is just going by so quickly this year. It just doesn't seem possible but whether I think it feels like it or not, it's almost here. I'm thankful for the cold weather for this time of year. Sometimes where we live, I'm running the a/c while decorating the Christmas tree. That's not the greatest atmosphere for hot chocolate and putting up Christmas decorations. Hot weather and Christmas don't go together in my crazy mind.

We'll be taking the week of Christmas off. I'm looking forward to baking and spending time with my husband and girls. It's time for a school break!

New Family Member and Baby Boy Diaper Cake

2009-11-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

Meet Sissy. She is our new family member. She is the cutest thing. Very sweet too. I still can't believe I got talked into it but...I'm glad I gave in now. She's been a good fit to our family.

I finally got another diaper cake order. They are so fun to make. I'm not the best sales person in the family so I don't sell as many as I would like. Thankfully, my sweet husband is always telling someone about it and that is where 100% of my little handmade jobs come from. ;0) I would never sell a thing if it wasn't for him. I have a very sweet husband. He's always encouraging me. ;0)

We are getting ready for Thanksgiving and we have a lot to be thankful for! I am so thankful for my family and friends. God has truly blessed me in my life. I truly don't deserve all the many, many blessings. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and thank God for all He's given you too! Happy Thanksgiving!

Farm Animals and Finished Projects

2009-10-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have the farm I always wanted when I look outside. LOL Three turtles, one fiesty bunny, and a sweet Belle dog. ;0) They all get along and it's really fun to see the rabbit and our dog play. They even sleep beside each other. The picture is of them sharing a meal together! ;0) After they finished, one of the turtles had to climb in there and get a bite or two. ;0) I always wanted goats and chickens but ....for right now I am blessed with these cuties that make us laugh everyday.

The baby things are for someone my husband works with. It was fun making something for a boy. The bib was something different I had never made before and I was happy with the way it turned out.

We have been so busy with life, I haven't posted much on here. I am not the greatest blogger but it's fun when I have a chance to sit down and share. There are so many wonderful blogs out there. One I have been looking at lately is http://www.aspiring-homemaker.blogspot.com/ and a good recipe blog I have found is http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/. The cooking one has some really good yeast bread recipes.

I haven't been CVSing much lately or getting deals at Walgreens either. I am still collecting coupons. I need to go through and throw out all the expired ones. For those interested in learning how to maximize the use of coupons go to this site and look through her blog. She explains it well and it's how I learned. http://www.moneysavingmom.com/. A friend of mine recently shared a local lady who's started doing a blog on this. The good thing about hers is the fact that she's local and posts deals that we have in our own area. Go here: http://easternshoremoms.blogspot.com/.

Fall is Coming!

2009-09-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying our weather so much but I am really looking forward to fall weather. ;0) I love to sit outside with one of my needle projects while watching the girls play. I love to wear sweaters and warm pants. I can't wait to get them out! Actually, I think I look forward to every season. All the seasons have good things about them. Now that I'm getting older, ;0) every season seems to FLY by! Too fast.

My youngest daughter is losing her teeth. My children are getting older. I am getting older. Dear husband is getting older. ;0) I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Time really does pass by quickly. I want to savor this time more. Does anybody else feel like that? I want to enjoy all that God has blessed me with. I am so blessed with my husband and children. God has been so good to me. I don't want to pass by the days in monotony....I want to really take the time to breathe it in and just enjoy it. It's so easy to go about our everyday lives and get into ruts of doing the same ole things. It's sort of unthankful, isn't it? The bible says our lives are like a vapor, it appeareth for a little time then vanishes away. As I get older and I see how fast time flies by..it is true! Let's enjoy this time we've been given and bless our loved ones! ;0)

These photos are the latest projects I've completed. The little seater sets were free patterns off the internet. The blanket pattern came out of a yarn book I bought a long time ago. I got an order from a lady yesterday wanting some afghans to sell in her shop! I was pretty excited about that. I've got to get going....she needs them as quick as I can.

Have a blessed day!

Baby Projects that AREN'T Pink!

2009-08-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun little things I've been making. Free patterns off the internet are great....when they work out. My little daughter always lets me use her Lilly baby for a model. One dress went to the doll and one will be saved to bless some new mother. ;0) The other picture is of dishclothes. Again, a free pattern off the internet and they turn out so nice. They were quick to make and I kinda like them better than regular ones. They would be a good gift..especially if I knew how to make some homemade soap to go with them! Maybe one day I'll learn how to do that too. Right now, I don't think there's enough time in my day!

Sew Fun

2009-08-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

Although we've had a great summer break, I'm ready for the next season of life. School will begin again on Monday and I am really looking forward to it. I love the Winter and Fall seasons when we can curl up on the couch and read. I love it when the trees start changing colors and the girls and I can just go sit out back and enjoy the outdoors. It's about time to put the good ol' sewing machine away for the year too. It's my summertime enjoyment but I don't do much of it during the school year. It's time to pull out the yarn again. ;0) Have a blessed week!

Some of the Farm Animals

2009-08-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

A Fun Family Day

2009-08-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to the Gulfarium in Ft. Walton several weeks ago. That was so much fun. It doesn't look like much on the outside but it's really cool on the inside. ;0) We just drove over for the day and were back by late afternoon. I think we all enjoyed the dolphins the most. They were so beautiful and interesting. I always think those animals should be free though... ;0). The places they have for them just doesn't seem large enough...kinda like the zoo.

Speaking of the zoo, we're starting to have one in our own back yard. We now have a rabbit named Clover , a turtle named TJ, and of course our lab, Belle. We got to watch our turtle lay eggs in the yard the other day. We were extra surprised because we've been thinking "he" was a boy for a very long time. Well, we were extremely wrong! Poor TJ (turtle Johnson) is now TMJ (Turtle Mae Johnson). ;0) I'll post some pics after this post. Be blessed.

My "hair" journey and summer fun

2009-07-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have done a LOT of hair this summer. I have wanted to learn how to do something pretty with my girls' hair besides pull it back into a ponytail. ;0) I've come a long way with the Lord's help. Yes, He can help you do anything....even hair.

We just got back from the beach visiting family and it was such a nice visit. I really enjoy my family and it makes me so grateful for all that God has done for me and all that He has blessed me with. I wish I could see them more but 11 hours away makes things hard. I usually only see them once a year but this year, seeing them at the Gulf, made it twice!

The picture of the girls holding hands, looking at the water was our "picture" day. I love the picture. A sweet moment in time, captured...

2009-07-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

We have been busy around here this summer. It's been so hot outside! We thankfully have enough "inside stuff" to keep us happy. ;0)

I'm still working on the little quilts for the girls. I have two of them almost finished. I've been working on sewing night clothes and things mostly and have quite a few finished projects.

We've been having church at a local nursing home over the last few months. The elderly people are such a blessing. I look forward to spending time with them. Some of them are in the last stages of alzheimers and never say anything but when we start singing those old hymns....they sing every....single...word. ;0) God is so good.

Have a blessed day.

Braids, braids, and more braids!

2009-05-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

Well, summer has officially started at my house. I've been watching all these cool youtube videos on braiding. I'm thankful the girls think it's fun too b/c it is a little time consuming to have it done. The good thing is though, they can leave it like that for a few days and mommy isn't constantly "doing hair"! ;0) Youtube has a video for just about anything you'd ever want to learn. Check out breadmaking and couponing! There are some really great instructional tips on these things.

My crochet and knitting projects are taking a backseat for awhile. Time to get the ol' sewing machine going again. I have started out making my girls each a little quilt and then I need to do some night clothes for them and a few fun things. Oldest daughter gets to start using my old sewing machine this summer. Hopefully we'll do some fun projects together. I think it's going to be a good summer. I'm already enjoying it! ;0)

Cables!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-09T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well, these are the latest projects. I found the pattern for the knitted hat online and it turned out so nice. I finally cabled!!!!!!!!!! Yayyyyy! The pictures don't show it very well but they are really there. It turned out to be preemie size so it's perfect for my little girl's baby Lilly. Lilly has been the proud recipient of lots of my projects. :0) She's a very spoiled babydoll.

I also made a diaper cake for someone in my husband's family. She had her baby 3 months too early and he only weighs 4lbs. The little baby on top of the cake has a preemie hat on that will hopefully fit her baby.

Yesterday was one year since my little girl had her surgery to remove that mass. I am so thankful! This will be an extra thankful Mother's day. I hope all you other mothers will have a wonderful, thankful day too. We are so blessed.

2009-04-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

These are the latest projects made around here. The first picture is a blanket made by my oldest daughter. It turned out so pretty. She's ready to start another one. Once something is finished, there's such a sense of accomplishment. ;0) I think she's been bitten by the crochet bug!

The other pictures are of a baby set I made for someone my husband works with. I like the way the snowflakes turn out sewn on the sweater and bonnet. I hope the lady I made it for was happy with it. Now I'm looking for another project. I'm still wanting to knit some socks. I found a youtube video that's helpful. It's just time consuming to sit and watch. I'm not giving up!

Random

2009-04-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Two unrelated pictures. The first one is my oldest daughter petting Sweet Tea at my parent's house in Arkansas. That is always a fun trip. My girls love the farm life. I've made them promise that one of them has to have a farm when they grow up so I can come and visit. Mikenzie has said she would...although she thinks she'll be living next door to me. ;0) I don't know how that's gonna work but my 8 year old has it all planned out so I'm not going to worry about it!

The next picture is of my two little violinists. I have one more who is going to play starting this summer. She is so excited. I'm thinking between them playing violin, my husband on bass, I may have to step up to the plate and do something too. We could have our own family group. :0) Like the lovely Macdonald family! Check them out at www.macdonaldfamilysingers.com. What a cool family. ;0)

I hope some people have checked out the money saving mom's blog and the other ones I added as buttons on my page. I've had the most fun saving money and couponing. Hopefully it's helped someone else as well! Blessings ! Have a great day.

CVS and Walgreens

2009-02-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I have discovered a new "thing" to do. It's a good thing and evidently many people have been doing this for a very long time. I am just now finding out and sort of catching on. :0)

A lady in our homeschool group wrote an article on cvsing and it has totally changed the way I shop. I used to never clip coupons b/c I reasoned the generic ended up being cheaper anyway. I also thought Wal-Mart was the cheapest place but I'm finding that it's not actually if you take a good look at this CVS stuff!

A good place to really find out about this is www.moneysavingmom.com. She has a CVS101 page and it is a really big help to understanding how this works. She's got so many other bloggers in her links and on her site, you could click all day and view how other people are making this work for their families.

So far I've been doing this for a month. Yes, it takes a little time to research coupons and sales on the computer but I find time late at night or early in the moring. It has saved me a lot of money. Last week alone I got free soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, and some makeup products that earned me money just for shopping in their store. I have a family of 5 and 4 of us have lots of hair so I'm saving a lot just on shampoo alone. Toothpaste? Who couldn't use free tubes of toothpaste? :0) I've gotten razors for my husband and really the list could go on. Check it out for yourself. Go to moneysavingmom's website and see what I'm saying. You could save money for your families. It's amazing!

A birthday and some finished projects

2009-02-18T06:45:00.000-08:00

A sweet daughter turned 8 this month. I can't believe how much time has passed by! Surely not 8 years! ;0) She had a good day. She and her sisters helped bake the cake. That's always fun and is tradition now around here. I am so blessed to have my girls. Each one is a blessing in their own special way.

The doll house is something they got for Christmas and to my shame, I'm JUST now almost finished with it. I had NO idea what I was getting myself into when I got that for them. It's for people with a serious hobby for building doll houses. It has taken me FOREVER! :0)

I finished the bonnet that goes with the snowflake sweater. I'm thinking about making a place for myself on etsy to sell my growing stash of baby things.

Knitting is not going so well. I feel stuck. I never felt this way with crochet. The crochet process was easy for me to understand. The knitting....I need help. Not giving up here, just admitting I can't go on alone!

Snowflake Sweater

2009-02-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure who I will give this sweater to but it turned out cute. It's waiting to have a matching bonnet to go with it. I didn't buy enough yarn so I have to go back and get more sometime this week.

I found a free pattern on the internet for this snowflake. People are so nice to share their patterns. I found it here: http://www.crochetsal.com/snowflake.html

My background in the picture doesn't really show how pretty the gray yarn is. I should've put it against something else. I just finished it so I was just anxious to post it. Hopefully the bonnet will be made in a few days.

2009-01-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

These little slippers were created by my 7 year old! She told me she was gonna make her sister some slippers. When she showed them to me, I couldn't believe my eyes! Wow! I was so proud of her. :0) Her sisters were too. Little sister was the proud recipient. :c) The "slipper creator" says she's going to make up her own patterns one day!

This was one of the first things I found to knit. It was a free pattern off the internet and is called a pixie hat. Since we don't have a baby to model it on, Sweetie Bear did it for us. Wasn't that sweet? :0)

Such a sweet little model. Couldn't ask for better behavior while snapping these pics. Did just what I asked him to.

2009-01-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

These are some of the sewing projects I did a few months ago. The little blue dress turned out so sweet. I will use this pattern again.

I made this little lamb for the top of a diaper cake. A very nice lady off the internet gives this pattern for free.

These were made for my 3 girls. I made two of the skirts but only got a picture of one. The dress was for my oldest daughter. These were fun and simple to make. The purse was just b/c I had some left over material! I only had enough for one so the little girls had to take turns :0). They didn't mind.

My camera should be out of the shop soon. It just stopped working and I found out I could send it to Cannon and they would repair it for free. They have given me the very best customer service so far. It's sad so few companies care about good customer service but they are definitely an exception.

Still here!

2009-01-20T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't posted in a while b/c my camera decided to quit working. I've sent it off to be fixed and hopefully they'll be sending it back to me soon. Boy, you don't know how much you miss your digital until it's gone! :0)

I've been knitting a whole lot. I made several Christmas presents and lots of hats for my children. I love it. I never thought I would love it as much as crochet but so far I am really enjoying myself through the whole learning process. I love all the you tube videos and the knitting help videos. They have been a big help since I don't know anyone personally to come and teach me. I do have one person who has taught me some things. My daughter's violin teacher (and friend of mine :0)!) taught me how to do cables and she's so sweet to encourage me to keep learning. I know if I get stuck or have a problem, I can always ask her.

I want to learn how to knit socks on double pointed needles. I also want to tackle circular needles. They look like so much fun!

Well, I will post more projects when I get my camera back. *****Soon I hope!***** :0)

Creating and Learning

2008-11-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

We seem to be always creating and learning around here. I am very thankful for that. My children love to make things and they love to read. Each one of us has some project we're working on around here. (Some of us more projects than others! ;0) !)

I made these baby shoes a while back. I love the way baby booties look, however, they're not my favorite thing to make. I have trouble counting the little stitches.

I walked into the room a while back and found my 3 girls all piled up on their beanbags reading! I love to see them read!

This is my very first knitting project. Wooo hoo! My dear friend and Michaela's violin teacher encouraged me to do this. She just kind of said what to do and I took it home and did it. It turned out kind of small. It would probably be good for a premie or one of my kid's baby dolls. I'm working on a bigger one that will hopefully fit one of us! I've been finding all kinds of knitting websites. The internet is a nice way to learn things.

We are having a good school year so far. I feel like a hill has been climbed now that they're all reading! I hope one day the Lord will bless me with more children to love and teach. If He chooses not to, I am very thankful for the ones I have.

Another Diaper Cake

2008-11-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

This is a little diaper cake I made the other day for a family member. I hope she liked it. It was for her baby shower. These are so fun to make. :0) I would love to make more so whoever is out there reading this, let me know when you need one! They can be as big or small as you like.

It's funny how everything I make I usually end up giving away. It's a nice feeling to make someone happy, especially a mother to be. They're usually so excited anyway! :0)

The weather is finally getting cold around here so I'm working on some afghans for a couple of people in my family. I'm also trying to learn how to knit which to me isn't nearly as fast as my crochet. I desparately want to learn this though! I've got to tackle it! I found a couple of really helpful websites that have online video. For anyone interested, check out www.knittinghelp.com . It is extremely helpful for someone who learns better by *seeing* rather than reading it in a book. Hope it helps someone else!

New Projects

2008-11-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

Well, here are the things I've been working on for this week in my free time at night. I'm thinking the slippers will make nice Christmas presents for family members. I'm still in the process of building up my baby stash! I am trying to do some colors other than pink....which is still my favorite. The cross is something that my sister taught me how to make. She is so crafty and can make just about anything I think! I wish she was closer in distance so I could have someone to share and glean from. :0)

Little Angel Pinafore

2008-10-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

The best patterns I've ever found, I got free off the internet. The lady this pattern came from has the sweetest patterns I've ever seen. Her directions are wonderful...not too hard to understand! I can't wait to find a little baby girl to give this to. :0) I'm always looking! However, I do like to give them to mothers who actually like handmade things. Lots of people nowdays seem to not pay much attention to handmade things. I will take handmade over store-bought anyday! However, I am a very sentimental type of person and I love other people who are the same way. I hope my girls will also like to make things for people as they grow up. Each one is learning how to crochet and sew a little bit. How could I not pass this down to them?! Even if it's not something they love as much as I do, I still want them to know how to do it. They may want to do it someday and if I go ahead and teach them...they'll know how. I feel like when I grew up, I didn't know how to do anything! I didn't know how to cook or anything. What a waste. I thank God for giving me desires to learn and (LOL) a very sweet, patient husband. :0) I want them to know how to do some things. Along the way, we are making good memories and spending time together. We should all find something worth teaching our children. That something will differ from family to family. The important thing is spending time with them. Pray for the things God wants you to teach your children. He can help us even when we didn't have the best examples ourselves. God can do many things to help us if we'll only ask. He's a good Father.

New Life

2008-10-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

I am so excited. I'm waiting to hear news about my sister, who is in Arkansas, about to have her very first baby!
She and her husband have waited a long time for children. We are praying for a good delivery! The Lord is so good.

I'm having fun making all these new baby things. I have given all my other things away. I just like to have a lot of things on hand to give away. It's so much fun making all these little things. I have so many crochet projects going on at once. I have little stashes of them in every single room of the house! By every chair and couch! Do other people do this same thing with their projects? :0) One day in my future I hope to tackle the sweet art of quilting. I would love to make some for my girls to have in their houses one day. Ah...one day! :0) Hope everyone out there in blog world is having a blessed day.

Writing Stories

2008-10-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

This is what my oldest daughter does in her free time....she sits and writes and writes! I love to read the stories. We have notebook after notebook of stories she's written over the years. She's written stories even before she could spell! Some are really funny because they are so phonetic. Now my little ones are starting to write their own stories and we are filling up more and more notebooks. This is something I encourage. Since we've always read a lot of books, the stories seem to just flow out of them. What great imaginations they have! My children amaze me everyday. God is so good to me.

Another Sweet Birthday

2008-09-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

Kenna had her 6th birthday today. Oh, it seems like yesterday I was holding her in my arms. I guess it's always bittersweet for mothers to see their children get older. :0) She had such a good day. Her sisters did so many nice things for her and everyone just loved to see her smile. I couldn't help remembering all we went through with Kenna over the last several months and just being so thankful to the Lord for seeing her through so safely. Oh, I could just feel His loving hands through it all. I am truly blessed. She is well. She is running and jumping and just completely healed. Sometimes we go through things in this life that we just want God to fix right away and in the way WE TELL HIM to! Oh, but His ways are not ours! His thoughts are not ours. We are not in control like we'd like to think we are and life is so precious. Hug your kids and tell them you love them....often. Appreciate and give thanks for the loved ones in your life. My children, my husband, Robin, my sisters, my grandmother, my friends, and other family members...the blessings are too many to count! I am truly thankful!

Birthday Cake

2008-09-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we have lots of birthdays to celebrate in September but this cake was from my oldest daughter's birthday a few days ago. All 3 girls helped me bake this cake. My oldest added the final touches of tea cups and things b/c it was kind of a tea party theme. We had some little girls over with their dolls and they had a picnic in the yard with their cake. My daughter had so much fun. I love making these homemade cakes with them. It's like making memories for me. I hope they will remember the fun we've had one day when they grow up! Life is good.

Summer Sewing

2008-06-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to really get some sewing done this summer but so far I have only completed a few projects. This skirt is one of them. I made it for my oldest daughter who adores skirts! I need to make her lots more, I just haven't found the patterns I'm looking for yet. I made all the girls their own pretty pillowcases and I'm working on some dress up clothes and nighties for all three. I have so many things I want to get working on. I wish I had more hands!

I will take a picture of the costume next week sometime. It's kind of Little House on the Prairie-ish :0).

The finished blanket

2008-06-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

I finally finished this blanket! I have made lots of things lately for baby girls. I need to find someone having a boy! I am needing a change of colors here...all this pink. Actually, I love pink and I never get sick of it but looking through all my pictures here, others might be getting a little tired of it. Oh well! I'll try and put some blue, green, or yellow in the photos sometime soon.

Pretty sheet projects

2008-05-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

I found this pretty sheet when the girls and I were shopping one day. We decided to turn it into a diaper bag and a pair of nightpants. My oldest daughter got the pants and we haven't decided yet who we'll give the bag to! These were fun projects.

More almost finished projects for someone's little girl!

2008-05-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

Graduation Day

2008-05-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

Well, this was another one of life's wonderful moments. Kenna graduated today from kindergarten. She is my little, hard-working student. Mike and I were so happy for her today. She has worked so hard.

Another school year is almost at a close and what a wonderful year it has been. Lots of learning going on around here, lots of love, and lots of making memories like the ones today. I am so blessed with my family!

Baby Shower fun

2008-05-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

I was invited to the neatest baby shower this week. It was different b/c the hostess had printed all the bible scriptures about the blessing of having children. They were read outloud. It is so nice to know all these ladies. They are all such good mothers and they truly look at children as blessings. It's a delight to be around women who welcome children! I made the bonnet and booties as a gift from my family. There were so many pretty gifts from people. Lots of creative things! We had a good time.

Blessings

2008-04-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

None of us take the time to reflect on how truly blessed we are. We get so busy with our everyday lives and forget to be thankful for all the little things and sometimes even the big moments. I have been thinking lately about my family and just trying to make all the seconds count. It's so easy to get caught up just doing "life" and take for granted those you love most. The Lord has given me so many blessings I cannot begin to count them all. But for today, I will try to remember to give more hugs, more kisses, and say more I love you's to those so near and dear to me. Our families need to know they are loved and are special.....I love mine.

New nighties with some sweet bloomers

2008-04-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Throughout the year I make nighties for all three of my girls. They love this. I usually just make them from really simple patterns and add some pretty embellishments like lace, ric-rac, or just anything we think would be pretty.

I always like to let my girls be involved in picking out what looks pretty in a sewing project. Two of them are too little to actually use the sewing machine but already my 10 year old daughter knows how to do some simple things on it. It's important to involve your children even if it's just doing something little. It kind of creates a love of the craft for them too. I want all my girls to know how to do things for their children one day when they have families of their own. I can go out and buy these things we make but when you make something with your own hands for someone, it is just more special. It says I love you and shows it too.

I would encourage anyone who has a desire to make things but doesn't know how to just give it a try. The web is full of free information and tutorials on how to do just about anything you might be interested in. I started out making my kids their own pillow cases. How simple is that? They weren't perfect but they loved them and it's become a tradition with every passing year to go pick out their own fabric for some new pillow cases.

Handmade baby sweaters and hats!

2008-04-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

These are some little sweaters and hats for baby boys. I also make them for girls, only the girl sets have bonnets with them and usually pink ribbon threaded through the neck of the sweater and in the bonnet to match.

It's a boy!

2008-04-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

This was another diaper cake made for a boy. The mother loved it and this was also used for the centerpiece alongside the real cake!