Homemade Melt & Pour Soap

Cocoa Marble DIY Soap

In the past, I made my own lye soap. It was nice, but the batches were quite large and I could only make one or 2 batches a year with the amount that I got. It was great when I was busy with a family, but now, it just doesn't appeal to me having to store all that soap. 

Now, I do melt & pour using a natural base. It's not terribly cost effective by using the natural (some other M&P bases are much cheaper), but I know what is in my soap and can tailor it to my needs. I still get all the benefits of homemade soap and I can do one bar at a time, allowing me to experiment and have something different in the soap dish, plus they make lovely gifts. As you can see in the above photo of the Cocoa Marble DIY Soap, it is quite impressive when completed. With just a few ingredients using the recipe found here , you can end up with a lovely bar of soap that nourishes, smells amazing, and looks different every time you make it. Being marbled, the soap changes as it is being used. I've gotten many compliments on it!

Years ago, when the kids were small, we bought a melt and pour soap kit that was on clearance at Walmart. The kids had fun with it, but that was the extent of our M&P soap making. Fast forward to 2020. I stumbled across a video of someone telling about a subscription to Simply Earth, a essential oil company that not only sold essential oils, but made a box that contained everything you would need to make projects using the oils, a big box of bottles and other supplies (sent every 6 subscription boxes) AND it came complete with a course on how to SAFELY use the oils. I looked into the company and it was owned and run by certified aromatherapists, had good oils and the price was very good, so I subscribed. I made many awesome products from the kits, but after my vaccination in 2021 and the bad reaction I had to it, I ended up suspending my subscription until I was able to function again. I'm finally back on the horse making things with the EO's and loving it! If you would like to look further into the Simply Earth Subscription box, you can get a total of $50 off by using my referral code: THERESAD504 You will receive $10 off each of the next 5 boxes totalling $50 of savings and I get a little for referring, too. Normally, I don't refer anyone to any product, but the savings and the product here are amazing and something I've used for a couple of years. Yes - this is a product I believe in, the course is great and the items are high quality. The subscription runs $45 a box at the time of this writing, but with 4 essential oils, recipe cards, lables, molds, bottles, diffusers, waxes, flowers, clays, oils,  bases, (and anything else you might need for that month's projects ), the cost is very reasonable, (you ALWAYS have leftovers!!) PLUS free shipping. This is the only subscriptioin I buy because it's worth every penny! 

Even if you aren't interested in subscribing, make sure to check out the recipes and the blog on their site. It's full of information and you don't have to subscribe to be able to make them! You can purchase the oils individually on the site (or elsewhere if you prefer) as well as all the other supplies needed. 

So Far, So Good!

It is day 23 of going "Cold Sheep" as the group that I have joined calls it. I have not purchased any yarn at all this year and I have dumped all my subscriptions except for Potomac Beads Best Bead Box XL and Simply Earth's Recipe Box. When I joined Simply Earth's Recipe Box subscription, I got a $40 gift certificate to use. Now they are giving $50 gift certificates! If you are interested in trying this box and getting the $50 gift certificate, use the code THERESAD504.

I have a 31 day goal tracker in which I am using to create some good habits. So far, I have not missed a day on any of them. They are simple goals: 

• Bible Reading
• Work on my reviews
• Take my vitamins
• Work in basement
• Clean cat box
• Drink at least 32 ounces of water

Like I said, nothing earth shattering, but necessary. One thing I'm finding is that I am doing much better when I have a daily to-do list. 

Spinella Scarf

I also have some finishes for this month so far. I've made 2 bottles of a wonderful citrus foaming soap (recipe from Aromahead Institute) and a bottle of Sunshine Body Wash (recipe from Simply Earth). I have some more things I'll need to make this month in the Bath and Body department.

I was subscribed to Mary Maxim's Crochet of the Month Club as well as their Knit of the Month Club. I cancelled that for a number of reasons, but mostly because of all the stuff I had to do. I was getting behind on the kits. This was from the last kit I got - November's Crochet kit. I decided to knit this, as I couldn't see the stitches easily enough to crochet. This was a no think piece to knit on - just a cast on of 30 stitches and then knit each row until I ran out of yarn. 

Included in the kit was Lion Brand's Spinella Yarn of the most "not me" colorway. The colorway is 602 Vintage. I knitted up the scarf and even though it's soft and really long - well over 6 feet, it just doesn't do it for me. It went into the donation box. Maybe someone will love it more than I do.

Crater Lake Hooded Cowl

My next finished project was from Mary Maxim's September 2020 Knit Kit of the Month Club. This one is called the Crater Lake Hooded Cowl by Grace Akhram and the pattern can be purchased on Ravelry if you are interested in making one. Personally, I was disappointed with the pattern. It was super, super easy. From what I saw from the photos on the pattern, I thought the top of the hood was rounded in the back to fit the shape of your head. Nope - it's pointy and looks like an elf hat. In the photo I pushed the point down and in the hood. It looks better, but you can still see the hint of a point. Even though I'm disappointed, the hood itself is comfortable and I'll be wearing it - it just not what I really wanted. With that said, the yarn that came with it was nice, though. It was Louisa Harding's Pitturissimo in the colorway 218 The Scream. 

Viola Earrings

My January subscription box arrived from Potomac Beads and although I love everything in it, I decided to go back to an older one and make the Viola Earrings. They are a post earring that has a cabochon in the middle. There is beadweaving around the front and back to hold everything together and they are so pretty when finished. I wish my photo would show exactly how pretty they are in person. The nice thing about Potomac Beads is they always have a tutorial online, so if you like the things I post here, you can go to YouTube and you'll be able to get the supplies list and follow along with the tutorial. The colors in the tutorial are different than the colors I received in the box and I like the colorway I received a LOT more.  

3 in 1 Handwarmers

Now down to my latest finish. These are the 3-in-1 Handwarmers designed by Marly Bird for Red Heart yarns. The pattern is free from Yarnspirations and there's even a YouTube tutorial and CAL that goes with it. These were a little of a challenge for me because of the new-to-me stitch that it uses. I decided to make the crocheted version of the mittens and after a bit of working the split crochet stitch, I was really thinking of ripping the whole mitten out. It was stiffer than I thought I'd like a mitten. I was already past the thumb gusset, so decided to just bite the bullet and make the pair. If I didn't like them, I could always donate them, right?

These mittens really surprised me. I think they will be warm and after crocheting both, even though they are still stiffer than knitted mittens, I think they will soften up after washing. That's usually what Red Heart yarn does. For these mittens, I used Red Heart Super Saver in the color Ecru and Red Heart With Love Stripes in the color Fiji. 

I do have on more finished item - but it's a test, so I'll need to make sure I get the OK from the designer to post it. 

That's all for now. I know this was a long post, so if you've made it this far - THANK YOU!!!