Christmas Cards

Christmas is almost here, which means it is my annual run around to try and get cards out on time. Most of you know what I mean, but to add to that, I like to make my own cards. Although really fun, doing so can be very time consuming. There have been a few years that I gave out all handmade cards, years where there were all store-bought, but most years have been a mix. This year, I made 10 and only plan to send about 15 out, total. (Most of my friends don't do X-mas cards.)

Would anyone like to see any card making tutorials? Anyone?! I've been debating doing my first v-log (I think that's what you call them... video blog) to demonstrate some techniques. This might be a good time to try it, dontcha think?

Anyways. Here are pics of the cards I made. A few of you lucky bastards might even get one. (I took the pics in the evening with poor lighting... sorry about that. There isn't enough daylight in my non-working hours!!!)

That last picture is sideways because Blogger has been giving me a lot of issues and this image will NOT appear the way I have it saved! I'm using this instance to make a big announcement... I'm moving my blog to Wordpress! I'll have more info soon, but make sure you subscribe to my blog via RSS and not Feedburner so you can keep following me.

Keep an eye out in the coming month for a new and vastly improved Eclecticisms!

Happy Holidays!

Fun Soap "Recipes"

Recently, I was talking to my cousin Kelly about getting together and she mentioned how she'd been wanting to give soap making a go and ask if I was interested. Was I? Heck yes, I was! Soap making is one of those things that just seems it should be so much more difficult than it actually is. (One of the many things I put off doing indefinitely, usually.) Granted, this was a first try at it so we ran into a couple of "bumps", but I can't wait to make more and try out all natural recipes!

I've looked a little into making soap completely from scratch since making these, and definitely want to give that a try eventually. (The all natural, from scratch ones look really, really intense to make...) This post is by no means a scientific, by the book tutorial, nor did we make the bases from scratch. This is just what we did, how it turned out, and what I'd do differently next time. (I'm also ready to give body scrubs, candles and maybe chapstick a try, too.)

Ingredients

Soap bases (We tried glycerin, goat's milk and olive oil types)
Essential oils
Oatmeal
Berries
Citrus Fruits
Dried Herbs
Moulds (We used paper cups, but you can buy fancy ones)
Heat proof dish
Ladle or large spoon
Spray Cooking Oil, to coat your mould(s)


*Do you ever have a moment where you look at a word written out and think, "Man... that's a really weird word."? That just happened to me with "soap". Maybe because it's midnight and I'm exhausted.

Yes, that is a dead rosemary plant, and no, I am not throwing it away.

This entire process was a lot of fun, but I have to say, one of the best parts was picking out what to use! Here are a few things we pulled out to start.

Kelly picked up the soap bases from Michael's which worked out great. I was excited to try three different kinds!



Wonderful Blogger is rotating my pictures again... sorry it's on its side!

We started off with the goats milk base, choosing to go for a more healing and moisturizing blend of oats and berries.

Look at that monster strawberry!

Once you've picked the combination of goodies you want to use, break up the bar (use as many pieces as you'd like) and microwave it for a minute or two, in 10 second intervals after 30 seconds.

I thought it looked a little like cheese.

Once melted, gently stir in the ingredients you've chosen.

Don't stir too vigorously, or you will get bubbles. It was starting to look a little like corn chowder here.

Lighly coat your mould(s) with cooking spray, to esnure an easy release.

Using a spoon or ladle, transfer the liquid soap mixture to your mould(s).

Put the moulds in a place they won't be disturbed so the soap can set. (About 1-2 hours, but we let them all sit over night.)

Here are more of the combinations we tried: 

Olive Oil Base...



...with lavendar essential oil, dried marigold seeds and dried rosemary.



This came off of the spoon after I stirred it!



We learned the hard way that you should NOT use any of the juice from the citrus fruits, only the rinds.

This lemon, raspberry and rosemary combo was almost perfect.

Alas, it never set.

We also tried a glycerine base.

Here's one of the glycerine bases, with lemon rind, essential lemon oil and blueberries. It smelled so good!

Though it smelled great, here's why you don't use the juice of the fruit. The soap was fine, luckily. We just cut off the top where a majority of the juice had settled.

Kelly made a couple of layered ones, including one using cinnamon, oatmeal and brown sugar in a heart dish using the goat's milk base. It turned out great! She cut it in half for us to share. Aw!

After the soap has set, gently remove it from the moulds. We peeled the paper cups off of the soap, which proved to be super easy. Who needs fancy molds, anyways?!

 If your bars are giant like most of our's were, just cut them into the desired sized bars.

Some of (not even all!) the bars we made.

So far I've used two of these, and love them! Making your own soap is fun, affordable and easy. Give it a try, or if you already have, please share your tips with my readers and I!

Yay for trying new things!

Drinking Beer in the Name of Crafting! (AKA Bottle Cap Magnets)

Directions:

• Buy some bottled beer
• Drink said beer
• Save bottle caps
• Make crafts

Ok, so it doesn't have to be beer and it doesn't have to be drank all at once, either. (P.S. Pop is crappy and terrible for you. Stop drinking it!) You can even find bottle caps online, if you're opposed to bottled beverages. (Weird-o.)

Bottle Caps can be turned into magnets, necklaces, collages, pins or earrings (though I haven't tried drilling them yet...). Let your imagination run wild with these!

*This is a kid-friendly project!

Bottle Cap Magnets

Supplies:

PPA (Perfect Paper Adhesive) in gloss
Scissors
Bottle Caps
Magnets
Compass, or 1" hole punch
E6000 glue (Optional)
Micro Beads (Optional)
Misc images (The smaller the better)
              i.e. magazine clippings, old greeting  cards, clip art, collage sheets, etc.



This is my compass from Grammar School!



Start by making a 1" circle and cut it out. You will use this to trace circles on the images you will be using (unless you have a hole punch). It's a LOT easier than using a compass over and over, and you won't put a dent in the center of the image(s).

Choose your image(s) and cut them out using your 1" circle.

Put a dot of PPA in the magnet and press the image onto it. It's ok if a bit oozes out the sides, but you don't need a ton. The glue is just to ensure the image doesn't slide around. Let set for about a minute.

If you are using mircobeads, add a small amount of glue to the areas you want the beads to stick. Pour beads in the bottle cap to fill it, and pour out the extras. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

Fill the bottle cap with glue about 3/4 of the way.

Allow to dry overnight (often takes longer, depending on how much glue you use).

When they're dry, either glue the magnets to the back of the caps or just stick the magnet on. Not using glue will allow you to mix and match them! (You can also glue on a pin back, wrap it in wire to make a pendant, or anything else you can think of! These are super versatile!)

Have a fun Tuesday!

Holiday Cards and Ornaments

I originally had planned to make this blog a tutorial on card making techniques, but I was so pressed for time to make these that I just whipped them out as fast as possible and kept them super simple, using paper scraps, stamps, markers, inks, ribbon, eyelets and paint. Here's the cards I made this year (not for everyone, unfortunately).

If you'd like to see a basic card tutorial, let me know and I'll speed that blog up!

That's my handsome dog, Footloose, in his way too small santa costume.

And... a few of my ornaments, most of which are super old and belonged to Marge.

This last ornament is one I made last year with tissue paper, an image and some fibers.

Unless I really get on the ball with making truffles AND blogging (unlikely) this will be my last blog before Christmas. (No Tickled Tuesday this week!) Have a great holiday, everyone!