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Free eBook: 25 Sewing Crafts from Bloggers. Click Here.
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Free Sewing Home Décor Patterns. Click Here.
Free Clothes Patterns. Click Here.
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We all use soap. In the old days, most people made their own. Today, we are much more likely to buy it from the store. There are lots of brands to choose from, and each brand has various formulations and scents.
But making your own soap has some definite advantages. One of the most significant is the price. We can make soap much cheaper than we can buy it. Making it ourselves also gives us complete control over the ingredients, so we can create a soap that’s perfect for our skin type in a scent of our choosing.
Making soap is much easier than you might think. It is, however, important to take certain safety precautions. Here’s a basic recipe:
Ingredients
* 12 cups lye crystals
* 5 cups softened water
* 6 pounds lard
Instructions
1. Put water in a glass or plastic bowl. Carefully pour lye into water, stirring constantly with a plastic or wooden spoon. This should be done outdoors or in a well-ventilated area, because it produces caustic fumes.
2. Mixing lye and water produces heat. When the lye is completely dissolved, set the mixture aside to cool.
3. Place lard in a stainless steel or enamel pan. Melt over low heat.
4. Allow both the lye solution and the lard to cool to room temperature.
5. Slowly pour the lye solution into the lard, stirring slowly and constantly with the plastic or wooden spoon.
6. Continue stirring after all of the lye solution has been added. Drizzle a small amount of the mixture into the pot periodically. When the soap keeps its shape for a moment before sinking into the mixture, you can add scent, color and herbs.
7. Pour the soap into a mold greased with Crisco. Wrap in a towel, and let set for about 18 hours or until completely cooled. Uncover and let set for 12 more hours.
8. The soap may now be unmolded and cut into bars. Let the bars cure for 3 to 4 weeks before using.
Customizing Your Soap
There are lots of different ways you can customize your soap. To make the best soap for your skin type, you may want to use different oils. Some that are commonly used include olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter and shea butter. The correct amount varies depending on which oil you use, so look for recipes online or in books until you get the hang of it.
Essential oils have therapeutic properties and add fragrance. Oatmeal, cornmeal and other grains can be added as exfoliants. And skin-safe colorants may be used to produce the desired color. These ingredients should be mixed together and added to a cup of the soap mixture, then stirred into the rest of the soap mixture immediately before pouring into the mold.
Making your own soap is easy, and it can be lots of fun. Coming up with the perfect concoction for your skin is rewarding, and sweetly scented homemade soaps make wonderful gifts for any occasion.
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Piñatas are all the rage at kids’ birthday parties. There’s just something about getting blindfolded, trying to hit a brightly colored object with a stick, and picking up the candy that falls when someone succeeds that young people (and the young at heart) love. Piñatas have become must-haves for birthday celebrations, but unfortunately they’re not cheap.
But did you know that piñatas are really easy and fun to make? You can create a colorful piñata with just a few supplies, and you can find some of them around the house. Here’s how to make a simple one.
Supplies
* Newspaper
* 1/4 cup flour
* 6 cups water, divided
* Large balloon
* Large bowl
* Poster paint
* Twine or other strong string
* Candy and/or small toys
Instructions
* Cut or tear newspaper up into strips 1 1/4 inches wide. Make more than you think you’ll need to cover the piñata, because several layers must be applied.
* Mix up some papier-mache paste. Mix the flour with 1 cup of cold water, and press out all lumps. Then put the other 5 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add a spoonful of boiling water to the flour and water mixture, and mix well. Continue stirring while slowly pouring the mixture into the boiling water. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes and let cool.
* Blow up the balloon and tie securely. Set it down in the bowl.
* Soak a strip of newspaper in the paste until soaking wet. Smooth it onto the balloon, wiping off excess paste with your fingers.
* Add more newspaper strips soaked in paste, overlapping each by about an inch and crossing the strips. Cover all but the tied end with two layers of newspaper.
* Let the piñata dry for 2 to 3 days.
* Pop the balloon and remove it.
* Decorate the piñata with poster paint. Glue on construction paper accents, streamers and other decorations if desired. Let paint and glue dry.
* Using an ice pick, carefully poke a hole on each side on the top. Thread a length of twine through the holes and tie the ends together to make a hanger.
* Fill the piñata with candy or toys. Cover the hole with masking tape, and paste some newspaper over the tape. Let dry for 24 hours, and paint to match the rest of the piñata.
If you like, you can use a large balloon and a smaller one to make a body with a head. Just cover the balloons separately, let dry and decorate as desired, then put the open ends together after you’ve added the candy. Attach with more newspaper and paste, and let dry.
Making piñatas is rather messy, but it’s also lots of fun. A homemade piñata is also much less expensive than a store-bought one, and it is completely customizable. The next time you’re planning a birthday party, why not try your hand at papier-mache?
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The great outdoors holds many treasures that we can use in crafting. Flowers, pine cones and rocks can be used as the basis for many crafts, and they also make lovely accents. Even simple leaves can add a nice touch to our projects.
Leaf prints can bring a hint of nature to the most sophisticated of crafts. Yet they’re so easy to do, even children can create them expertly. Here are two simple ways to capture the beautiful intricacies of leaves.
Leaf Rubbings
Supplies
* Paper
* Leaves
* Crayons
Instructions
1. Lay a pretty leaf flat on the table, with the veins facing upward.
2. Lay a piece of paper on top of the leaf, positioning it so that the leaf is where you want its impression to be.
3. Peel the wrapper off of a crayon in the desired color. Holding the paper down around the leaf, gently rub the side of the crayon over the paper on top of the leaf.
4. Reposition the leaf, or place another type of leaf under the paper and repeat with a different color. Continue to create a pattern, or just make rubbings at random to complete your work of art.
Painted Leaf Prints
Supplies
* Paper, poster board, card stock or fabric
* Leaves
* Paint (acrylic, tempera or fabric, depending on the material you’re working on)
* Paintbrush or sponge
* Newspaper
* Paper towels
Instructions
1. Lay the leaf on top of the newspaper, with the veins facing upward.
2. Use the paintbrush or sponge to thoroughly apply paint to the leaf. Alternatively, you could simply put some paint on the newspaper and dip the leaf into it.
3. Carefully lift the leaf off of the newspaper, and place it paint side down onto the material you want to make a print on.
4. Place a paper towel over the leaf and press down gently but firmly.
5. Remove the paper towel, and peel the leaf off of the material, taking care not to tear it.
6. Repeat to create prints of the same leaf in the same color. Let dry.
7. Use a new leaf for each different color, and let each new color dry before adding another one.
There are also other ways to create leaf prints. Pressing leaves onto ink pads and then onto paper is a simple way to make them. It’s also possible to make imprints of leaves on clay by gently pressing the leaf into it. These techniques present all sorts of crafting possibilities.
Leaf prints are simple enough for toddlers to create with little assistance. They make wonderful rainy day projects on their own, or they can be used to enhance all kinds of crafts. So if you’re looking for some inspiration from nature, look no further than that tree in your back yard.
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Making your own greeting cards can be both fun and rewarding. Many people cherish home-made greeting cards because they are a true expression of yourself and the person you are making it for.
The first step in making a greeting card is to determine who you are making the greeting card for. What interests does the person have? What is the person’s hobbies? Is the person your friend, family member, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandparent, parent, husband, wife, or significant other?
The next step to making a greeting card is to decide if you want a funny greeting card or a sentimental greeting card. If you want a funny greeting card, you will want cut outs of cartoons, or you might want to draw your own cartoons. If you want a sentimental greeting card, you might gather cutouts of flower pictures. If you want a Christian greeting card, you might cut out some pictures of crosses or bibles. If you can draw your own, that’s even better. But not everyone is an artist!
You also need to decide why you are sending the greeting card. Is it for a birthday, anniversary, thank you, sympathy, holiday, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or other occasion? Maybe the greeting card is just because you care. If you want to send a birthday card, a picture of a birthday cake might be best. Or a picture of a flag for Independence Day greeting card would be nice.
The next thing you have to do is write the copy for your greeting card. You can choose a poem you like or one that you know the person getting the greeting card will like. You could also write your own poem. You should remember though, that when you copy someone else’s poetry onto your card, you cannot sell the card. Copyright laws forbid you to sell someone else’s work without permission. But for the purposes of just making a greeting card for a loved one, copying a favorite poem, saying, or scripture is more than acceptable.
Now that you know what you will put on the greeting card, who it is for, and why you are sending it, the next step is to gather all the materials you will need to put the greeting card together. You will want to gather cut outs of any pictures you want to include, as well as scissors, paste or glue stick, construction paper, crayons or markers, a pencil for outlining (in case you make mistakes), and don’t forget your creativity! You may also want some lace, ribbon, doilies, pretty material scraps, paints, and other items.
The most important thing to remember when creating your own greeting card is that the sky is the limit! There is no right or wrong way to make a greeting card. The only thing limiting your greeting card possibilities is your own creative mind! So break out those old magazines, poetry books, comic books, and cartoon strips, get those creative juices flowing, and make the best greeting card ever! Your loved one is sure to enjoy your hard work, effort, and how much you care showed by your handmade greeting card for years to come!
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