IF you happen to be nervous working with lye and you still want to make soap, here are a few links on how to make soap by the Handmilled method: http://www.ehow.com/how_5533974_make-milled-hand-milled-soap.html http://www.ehow.com/how_4882653_make-handmilled-soap.html http://www.ehow.com/how_5510271_make-handmilled-soaps.html

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How to Make Triple Milled or Hand Milled Soap

From Wholesomebabyfood.com – Warm, hearty and savory on a cold winter’s day, try this beef casserole recipe for the whole family.  In my totally unorganized notebook of torn pages of handwritten recipes, this is written as Serbian beef.  I have tweaked it and wrote it below with my latest tweaks   I made

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Baby’s Savory Beef Casserole Recipe – Oh Yeah!

From Free Bath Recipes ( http://www.freebathrecipes.com/ ) Drop two of these homemade fragrant bath tablets in the tub and enjoy the wonderful fragrance as it engulfs your senses! These are very easy to make, and smell great! To package into homemade bath gifts, cut a circle of fabric large enough to hold 4 tablets, draw up around the bath tablets and tie closed with a pretty ribbon. Ingredients 1 Cup Baking Soda 1 Cup Citric Acid 1 Cup Corn Starch 1 Tablespoon Of Your Favorite Essential Oil 3 Tablespoons of grated cocoa butter Spray bottle of water or witch hazel Instructions Place attractive cookie cutters on a sheet of waxed paper.

Link:
Homemade Fragrant Bath Tablets

By Allison B. Kontur http://www.bathbodysupply.com/ You will need : 2 oz Shea Butter 1 oz Almond (Sweet) Oil 1 oz Beeswax Pastilles, White – Unrefined 5 ml (1 tsp) Camphor Essential Oil 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) Eucalyptus Radiata Essential Oil 1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) Fir Needle(Silver/White) Essential Oil Directions : Phase 1: Melt butters, waxes & oils in a double boiler over low heat until clear and thoroughly combined. Remove from heat & set aside.

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Natural Vapor Balm Recipe

Materials 1/2 cup of Dead Sea Salt, Fine 1 oz Shea Butter Shower Gel Base 1 oz Fractionated Coconut Oil 2 ml of Lime, Cold Pressed, Mexico Essential Oil (40 drops) Optional Colorant* FD&C Yellow #6 (3-5 drops) D&C Green #8 (1-2 drops) Directions In a small bowl, combine the Fractionated Coconut Oil and Shea Butter Shower Gel Base. Mix these well, until thoroughly combined

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Margarita Salt Scrub

Here is another soapglobe soap project for the holidays from HGTV! Project by Heather McConeghy. Materials and Tools : fragrance oil color solutions snowglobe-shaped soap molds microwave stir sticks microwave-safe container pipettes melt and pour clear glycer in soap round globe insert toys Steps : 1

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Snowglobe Soap From HGTV

From: Allison B. Kontur http://www.bathbodysupply.com/ You will need: Oil Phase : 0.50 oz Shea Butter, Unrefined (Ivory) 0.75 oz Olive Butter 0.25 oz Emulsifying Wax NF 0.25 oz Polysorbate 20 Water Phase : 2.25 oz Distilled Water 1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) Allantoin USP Cooldown Phase : 1.25ml (1/4 tsp) Phenonip (Preservative) 5 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil 5 drops Lavender, Bulgarian Essential Oil 3 drops Sandalwoods Essential Oil Blend Phase 1: In a double boiler over low heat, combine all ingredients in oil phase until melted & clear. Remove from heat.

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Cuticle Cream Recipe

Lori Nova graciously posted this picture (on Twitter) of the candy cane soap made in SoapyLove’s class at The Nova Studio ( http://www.thenovastudio.com/ ) on December 12, 2009. I was unable to take her class this time around

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Candy Cane Soap (Soapylove)

posted by Melissa Breyer May 29, 2008 8:00 am Adapted from Anti-Wrinkle Treatments for Perfect Skin by Pierre Jean Cousin (Storey Books) Also known as floral waters (but not flower waters), hydrosols are a byproduct of steam distillation, created while extracting essential oil. Hydrosols have properties similar to those of their related essential oils, although inevitably in a less concentrated form, but they are enriched with various water-soluble active ingredients

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Hydrosols: Petal Power Skin Care

Menu for Hope 6 is beginning our second week with some very impressive numbers, we’ve now raised $28,530 (and counting) for the UN World Food Programme.   And, to launch into our second week in style, we’re bringing in some fantastic new items to our raffle.  Over in Europe, our regional host David Lebovitz brought in some impressive stuff, including a Krups professional deep-fryer (shipped to EU countries only) and an array of delectable chocolates.  Our wine host Alder Yarrow of Vinography added to his list a luxury getaway at Meadowood Resort in Napa to his already impressive line-up of bid items.  Over here on Chez Pim, I’ve got quite a few cool new raffle items to add as well.  I hope some of these new items will entice you to donate to Menu for Hope and make your bids – the more you give, the better your chances!  Ok, enough overture, let’s get on to the good stuff. UW44 Coffee with Ruth Reichl Are you a fan of Gourmet?  Or perhaps a fan of Ruth herself

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Menu for Hope 6 – $28,530 (and counting) plus new prizes

www.beading-software.com Check this site out to understand why wise time management is so important for your home made jewelry business success as well as checking out the other free business advice and free jewelry pricing calculator.

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Wise Time Managment Secret To Your Home Made Jewelry Business

With the height of summer’s ripe-wave, I find myself often failing to keep up with the super juicy berries in my kitchen. When its too darn hot outside, do I want to fire up the stove top to turn these fruity gems into jam? No

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Spoils of summer: fruit popsicles

My bookmarked printables are getting unruly again, so I thought I’d share a few with you. Here are some of my favorite free printables from around the wonderful web. Enjoy! Perfect for Parties Cupcake Box template by IS*LY Elephant Baby Shower cupcake toppers, bunting and invites at Alpha+Mom EVERYTHING in the new DIY section of Martha Stewart Weddings Favor Boxes by Twig and Thistle (via Style Me Pretty) Placecards by Heirloom Paperie Fill-in-the-Blank Invitation by The Small Object Just for Fun Dreamy Projects to Post List by Erin Vale Design Be Kind Banner by kind over matter Teeny Envelope by Cottage Industrialist I Can Do Hard Things to-do list by Heirloom Paperie Greeting Cards Miss You Love You card by Erin Vale Design Penelope’s Would be Party Invitation by IS*LY Thank You card by Cottage Industrialist Thank You card by Inspired Designs by Faith Thank You card by Heirloom Paperie Procrastinate Now and Panic Later card by Creature Comforts Gift Tags Summer Gift Tags by Erin Vale Design Cupcake Tags by Creature Comforts You can find my first round of favorite printables here

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printables II

According to the recent Nova Studio newsletter…The 2 Day Boot Camp is only 2 weeks away and they have decided to offer you  the option of taking just one class, just one day, or any/all parts of our popular soap boot camp ! We hope this will help those of you who have been waiting to see some of these classes offered individually on the calendar (as most are rarely offered outside of the boot camp). These classes include  Cold Process 201: Swirls & Layers  w/Lori,  Hot Process  w/Lori, and  Big Batch Production Soap  w/David.

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2 Day Boot Camp @ The Nova Studio on 7/11 and 7/12

Registration for these classes at The Nova Studio ( http://thenovastudio.com/ )are on the low side. For these classes to proceed, minimum of five (5) students are needed for the following classes: July 18,  Lotions & Creams 101  w/Anasa Tatum July 25,  Cold Process Soap Making 101  w/Ruth Esteves July 25,  Herbal Extracts: 3 Types  w/Alice Duvernell July 26,  PMC with Gold  w/Patrik Kusek July 27,  Intro to PMC  (mini class) w/Patrik Kusek Aug   1,  3 Types of EO Perfumes  w/Lori Nova Aug   2,  Fresh Facial Masks & Exfoliants  w/Alice Duvernell Aug   2,  Handmade Hydrosols  w/Alice Duvernell Aug   8,  Melt & Pour Soap Techniques  w/Debbie Chialtas Aug   9,  On-Line Selling w/Chelise  Stroud Hery Aug   9,  Social Networking for the Artist  w/Chelise Hery Aug 15,  Bath Salts & Body Scrubs  w/Anasa Tatum Aug 15,  Balms, Gels & Serums  w/Alice Duvernell Aug 16,  Image Transfer Intensive  w/Angela Silva Aug 22,  Advanced CP Soap Design  w/Ruth Esteves Aug 23,  PMC Ring Making  w/Patrik Kusek Aug 24,  Intro to PMC  (mini class) w/Patrik Kusek Aug 28,  Coloring Soap with Confidence  w/Lori Nova Aug 29 & 30,  2-Day Soap Making Boot Camp Aug 31,  Advanced CP Soap Design  w/Ruth Esteves I am signed up for the Online Selling class on August 9th and I will sending in my registration in for the Advanced CP Soap Design class on August 22nd. Save these classes and pass the word along! Remember to check out the studio’s website @ http://thenovastudio.com/

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Save These Classes @ The Nova Studio!

Once you’ve mastered how to make soap, you’re going to need to know how to package those little buggers! Here are some tips, but by all means get creative and let your imagination fly. I do recommend looking for good buys in order to keep your costs down and so you don’t have to compensate for it in your prices if you decide to get into marketing your soap. Cured Soaps waiting to be wrapped : If your going to have to store your soaps for any length of time and especially if you’ve used costly essential or fragrance oils, your going to want to keep them in a covered container to help them hold their scent

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Packaging Your Soaps

I finished Oscar’s quiet book just in time for our long flight west back in May, but hadn’t taken photos of it until this morning. To those of you who have been eager to see it, sorry to keep you waiting! I kept the front cover simple, with just a cute fabric and button closure. I’m hoping to get mileage out of this from more than one child, so I didn’t want “oscar” plastered everywhere (um, besides multiple pages)

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the finished quiet book

The last page of Oscar’s book is a little felt mailbox that I can tuck love notes into. The mailbox flag turns up and down, the door is a flap opening, and the stamp on the letter is attached with velcro. attention grandmas, godmothers and other loved ones who sew: Oscar’s mailbox is accepting postcards (3×4 inches or smaller, please)! Only three days until my move, and I am determined to have this book done and ready for the longest travel day of my life.

Originally posted here:
quiet book, page 10

Hi friends, Sorry I have been so absent lately! My move has gone remarkably smoothly so far, and my little babe travels like a dream. Thanks so much for all your well wishes! Southern California is a very lovely place, and while I am missing New York City something dreadful, I am sure I will grow to love it here too. All of my crafty belongings are in a truck somewhere in the country, so I am on a brief crafting-hiatus

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fabric toy bucket

10 Steps to a cord free lifestyle! In an earlier writing I shared  my family’s experience  with cutting the cord.   Overall, things are still going smoothly for us.    I have been asked several times how we did it, so I thought I would provide more details on our transition. I realize that cutting the cord for an HTPC may not be for everyone. There are many different solutions for consuming content (both online and locally based PC content). While some have very attractive price points, they also include challenges that potentially limit the experience.

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Are You Ready to Cut the Cord?