Project #4: Homemade Birthday Invitations

My daughter and I spent about an hour making invitations to her birthday party. She had a great time helping! It was nice to use some stuff from my craft stockpile!

I used some pink cardstock for the cards. We stamped them with a flower stamp and Versa Mark ink. Then I applied "heat & stick" and Kelsey heated it with the heat gun. Once it was sticky we poured hot pink glitter on them!

They turned out great and glitter is now everywhere!!!

Project #2: Melt & Pour Soap

I've been making Melt & Pour soap (M&P) for several years now. It is so easy and fun!

This year all the women at church are getting a bar of soap for their birthday and my mom volunteered us to make some. I have lots of bulk soap, fragrances and color on hand.

I often have people ask me how to make M&P soap. It must seem difficult, but it is very simple. Any beginner can do it or a child with adult supervision.

First: Prepare your area and gather everything you will need. Personally, I use the following.
*Scale
*Microwave safe bowl
*Silicone spatula
*Metal straight edge spatula (for cutting the soap)
*Soap molds
*M&P Soap base
*Fragrance oil or Essential oil
*Soap dyes and other additives
*Plastic wrap or something to wrap soaps in (soap for my own use gets put in a large pretty jar in my bathroom)

When I first started making M&P soap I just bought base at Michael's using a 40% off coupon. They sell a 10# bucket for $39.99. Now I use natural base from Wisteria Lane. I've been really pleased with the products I've purchased from them.
I could also use the Amazon GC's I earn from Swagbucks to get base for free!

Next: I use 2 pound cavity molds. Cut up the soap base into small cubes and weigh to make sure you have the right amount for the mold. Put all the cubed base into your microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on high in 30-60 second intervals. Do NOT allow the base to boil and do not over stir, to avoid bubbles.

Once the base is fully melted you can add your fragrance. I add 1 ounce of fragrance oil to 2 pounds of base. If you are using essential oils you will need much less.
At this point you can add any additives you may like. Do NOT use food additives that will go bad. I like to add extra glycerin, mica, glitter, shea butter, vitamin E, jojoba beads, seeds, etc.

If you add seeds or other additives that you want to suspend in the soap you will need to wait to pour your soap into the molds until it starts to get thicker. I try to pour it when it gets like pudding. If you wait too long it won't settle into the mold, you'll get strings. But, you can always warm it up a little in the microwave and try again.

If you don't put anything that needs to be suspended then you can pour immediately into the molds and let cool.

Finish: Once cool you can cut the bars if you have a mold like mine. Otherwise, just pop out of the cavities and wrap. You can get as creative as your imagination will allow when it comes to presentation.
I wrap in plastic wrap and put a label on the back with the soap information for the recipient.

Enjoy!

Making Glow-in-the-Dark Star Ornaments

On Saturday we made glow-in-the-dark star ornaments made from Sculpey. It was the first time I have ever used Sculpey, but it won't be the last.
Sculpey is a polymer clay that is pretty easy to work with. Just like most clay you have to work a little before it become malable. It was very difficult for the 4 year olds, but much easier for my 11 year old.
The hardest part was rolling it out by hand. It took a lot of effort and I would like to get a Pasta Machine for use with Polymer Clay for next time. That will cut the time and make it much more enjoyable!
After rolling out the Sculpey we used a star cookie cutter
to make stars.
All our projects were done on manila file folders. Once we had them roled, shaped and ready for the oven we just cut the manila folder to fit in my Pampered Chef jelly roll pan.
Then we just followed the directions for baking. A few of the stars did get baked too long, but they still look cute and glow-in-the-dark.

Glass Etching on Pyrex

My friend and I had a craft day yesterday. It was a lot of fun, but my house did suffer for it!

One of the projects I did was etch some of my Pyrex and other glass dishes. It was very fun and easy. I tried doing it at an activity back in October but it didn't work. So I was determined to get it right.

I bought Armour Glass Etching Cream-22 Ounces and my friend bought me some Rub-on Designs for my birthday. I think the big bottle is going to last a long time. I got it to share with my firends. :)

The bottle and rub-ons say that they do not work on (all) Pyrex. Bummer! However, it did work on mine. I wiped it down with white vinegar first to take off any detergent residue. That is the key.
Next I chose and cut out the design I wanted. The easiest way to apply these rub-ons is to tape all around it before rubbing with the popcicle stick. If they shift at all the design can get messed up.
After the entire design transfers to the glass, remove the tape and paper. Then tape back around the design to protect the glass around it.
I used a sponge brush or cheap paint brush to brush the etching cream on. With the rub-ons it only take 60 seconds to work!!! I was a little skeptical, but they were right.

It was so fun to see the finished product that I went around my kitchen looking for more things to etch. LOL I still have several pieces to do, but I think I want some different designs. I think polka dots for my drinking glasses would be fun!