Broken Bones, Final Exams and Christmas

We did make those ornaments I just have not had time to post the pictures for them yet. The girls did a great job with them and they were very inventive with them. Thank goodness we had them all made before Kenzie broke her thumb. She did that this last weekend at Grandma's house. She was playing with her cousins while Tony and I were at a Christmas Party and she tripped over a laundry basket and broke her thumb. She is ok. Monday her Dr. took a few more X-rays and put a cast on her. She will need to wear the cast for 2 weeks, so she chose festive red and green colors for the cast. She will go back in 2 weeks and the cast will come off and she will get X-rays again and another cast will go on for the remaining time. The Dr. said it will hopefully be healed in 6 weeks.

I just finished my last Final for the quarter. I am so glad that is over. I hope I did well. With that stress gone I am now down to the line on Christmas shopping these last couple of days to get that finished. Last night when I took Kenzie & Taylor to conformation class I had a hour to relax and shop a little for Alex. She is not so easy to find things for. It is not that she is a picky child she is not at all. It is that she doesn't give me a christmas list like my other children do. She not a girly girl like my other three so it makes it harder for me to find things for her but I think I finally found some things she will like. Now I need to get ready for my 2nd job interview today with a local Hospital. I so hope I get this job I really need it and I think I will really like working there. They also have slipped in another interview for another department for me today as well.

Have a Wonderful Holiday!

Christmas is in 13 more day

OH MY!!!  Christmas is in 13 more days are you ready? I am not.  I have lots of shopping to do I have barely even started.  There is so much to be done and so little time left.

 I have a lot of baking to do.  I promised my nephew I would make him chocolate chip cookies and send them to him for Christmas along with his Christmas gifts.  He lives in Arizona so I have to get this done in the next day or two to make sure they arrive on time.  Also Anthony has been asking for cookies so I will add those in and I need need to make something for my Math class tomorrow morning we are having a pot luck so maybe I will bring cookies for that also.  It looks like I am going to be making a lot of cookies this year.  Two of my girls also have class projects coming up that they need help with one is due on the 14th and one the 19th.  You will never guess what they need to bring to school.  COOKIES.  We  have to make enough for each of their classes.  It was a health class assignment were they had to take a cookie recipe and change the recipe to make it healthier.

Also the girls want to start a craft project tonight that they would like to give as gifts.  It is a handmade Christmas tree ornament made out of a special dough that we fragrance and cut into shapes.  We have made these in the past but this year we are going to try a new shape a dog bone made into a puppy face.  Tonight I will photograph them and post them on here in the next few days so you can see what they look like.  Maybe I will give one of my recipes out with it so you can try to make them yourselves.  It is a great kids project and they have a lot of fun with it.

Holiday Crafting

Turkey, Turkey, Turkey

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Holiday! It was a busy one for me. I think my children, Tony and I have had enough Turkey and Trimmings to last us a year. Over the holiday we celebrated Thanksgiving four times at four different family members homes. The best part was getting to see all the family.

On the Crafty side of things

This year the girls want to make some gifts for people so I agreed to help them. Our first project is to make French Milled soap. I don't want them involved in the lye process it is way to dangerous for them so they are re-batching soap and making them in to unique small batches. So far we have made together Pomegranate Citrus Confetti soap that contains Grape seed oil, vegetable glycerin and is enriched with Vitamins C & E, and silk proteins. We also added a small touch of rose petals.

We also made Oatmeal milk and honey deodorant soap that contains Grape seed oil, vegetable glycerin and is enriched with Vitamins C & E, and silk proteins. We added my secret blend of oatmeal to the soap that I also make to use for a facial mask.

Our last batch that we have made for soap so far is a Spa Soap. It is a Rose Violet soap. It is a Salt bar soap that contains Grape seed oil, vegetable glycerin and is enriched with Vitamins C & E, Salt, Camomile, Apricot Seed. Three of the bars we embedded a tiny rose bud in the center of the soap.

We are trying to make all the soaps first because even though they are being re-batched they need time to dry and harden. The more time they have the better.

We also started to make bath bombs. So far only one batch of these and I would like to find a better mould for them, because the ones we are using now just are not cutting it. Some of them are so hard to get out they break and we have to start all over again.

Powdered Method Laundry Soap Large batch

Well since we covered the fabric softener lets get to the laundry soap. There are different ways you can do this as well. If you are a soaper you could make your own laundry soap bars with out superfatting. The extra oils create a nasty film in your washing machine and can leave spots on your clothing. If you make the soap bars you will then need to shave them down on the smallest size on your box grater. Making the soap yourself is the most cost effective for making you own laundry soap but not everyone is cut out to make their own soap so If you are not a soaper You could purchase soap to shave if you buy homemade soap again please make sure it is not superfatted. Using homemade soap is the greenest way to go about making laundry soap but if you wanted you could go to the store and get bars that would work like IVORY would we a great one or others like it and shred them down. Or you could buy soap flakes that are ready to use. One place of many that you can get a bag of them is on Amazon for 8.99. You will also need 1 box of borax, 1 box of washing soda, food processor, rubber gloves and a dust mask & a bucket with airtight lid. Also if you would like Essential oil or fragrance oil to scent your laundry soap.

 

 

2 lb soap

1 lb borax

1 lb washing soda

2 cups baking soda

 

Put on the gloves and mask place soap into a separate bucket for mixing. Next incorporate the Borax with the soap. Next mix in the washing soda and baking soda and completely incorporate. After the mix is complete start to run the mix through the food processor until it is a fine powder and place into your laundry soap bucket until all is completely processed. I recommend that you not skip this step because it will help the laundry soap dissolve better in your washing machine when it is being used. Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load of laundry.

 

Saving money & your laundry Part 2

Please remember as stated in Part 1

~*~ DO NOT USE HOMEMADE FABRIC SOFTNER WITH BLEACH!!~*~

VINEGAR AND BLEACH PRODUCE TOXIC FUMES!!!!

 

Baking Soda Fabric Softener

2 cups baking soda

6 cups white distilled vinegar

8 cups water

Add baking soda to bucket, followed by water. Stir and add vinegar. Separate into bottles then fragrance with essential oil or fragrance oil to your liking.


I use a big bucket to mix the base then I poor it into smaller fabric softener jugs and scent them with E.O. or Fragrance Oil after it is divided. It depends on which I am using to fragrance my fabric softener I add it until am happy with the scent. Before each use you must shake the bottle because it separates and add to your laundry as you would any liquid fabric softener. Add 1/4c to the final rinse in your washing machine. If you have hard water, use 1/3c.

Saving money & your laundry Part 1

I don't know about your world, but in my world this economy isn't getting any better yet. I am always looking for ways to save pennies any way I can. I have been making my own soaps for some time now and since I have such good results with the bar soap I have decided to venture into the laundry. There are some great perks to this project not only will it be better for my families sensitive skin issues, it will help reduce costs for the family budget and it will also be greener for the environment.

~*~ DO NOT USE HOMEMADE FABRIC SOFTNER WITH BLEACH!!~*~

VINEGAR AND BLEACH PRODUCE TOXIC FUMES!!!!

~ What is great about these recipes for fabric softener is that they use vinegar! Vinegar is great for so many things! It Brightens & Whitens so there is no need to use bleach and gets rid of soap scum residue so your clothes will be nice and soft. Not to mention your washing machine will stay free from soap scum build up.

Conditioner Fabric Softener

To make your own fabric softener all you need is old Large liquid fabric softener bottle

3 Cups White Distilled Vinegar

2 cups of regular hair conditioner (any kind you like is fine)

6 cups of water


Add all the ingredients into the bottle shake to mix and your ready to use. If you still are noticing a static cling issue toss a tennis ball in your dyer with your laundry or a piece of crumpled up aluminum foil.

St. Mathews Craft Fair

    Craft Sale yesterday was good. I forgot the camera so that was a let down. I did have someone that came by and asked about if I would consider vending at Art in the Park an they asked for permission to take a photo for their reference of my booth. This is a great compliment. An yes I have been asked once before but it is a expensive show that I was afraid that I could not afford. She told me that I could rent a half booth and the fees she quoted me I felt I could handle so I am strongly thinking of doing it. After all I have been asked twice now they must think I have something don't you think?? Since I was a last min sign up for this show I was out in the hallway. The hallway was filled but still did not carry as much traffic as inside the gym. Also the hallway is much colder because of the doors then the gym. I think I would of doubled my sales if I would have been in the gym. So I put in a request for the next sale there. Sales where not horrible though and I did make a new friend. She was a vender next to me. She sells screen printed T'shirts & sweat shirts. She had some really cute stuff. She has goats at home and that is how we started talking because of my soap making :) She invited my girls and I to come over and see them. I will talk more about this later in another post.


    I had a lot of great customers come by. For the most part I kept busy. I had a few soap requests so I will have to work on them so when Art in the Park comes up in the Spring they will be available. Even a lot of great comments from some saying that they have received my soaps in the pasts as gifts and how much they liked them. Its always nice to hear feedback. Even one older lady commented she had gotten one as a gift and she liked the smell of it so much she uses it to scent things. She said she's had it for like two years now. The day went by really fast and turned out to be a great day! Oh and to top the day off I even had a job offer so we will see what will become of that.

Soaps & Getting ready for craft fair saturday

This week has been a very busy week. I took a basket of soaps to church about two weeks ago and received a call yesterday and said they have all been sold and there are customers looking to buy more. What a great feeling! I have a craft fair this Saturday that I am so looking forward to. I am going to take my daughter Star with me, she has been asking to go with for over a month. She will be a great helper.


I have 13 bars that I named "Imperfect Autumn Magic" it smells awesome! However I call it Imperfect because I had to break my soap loaf mold to get it out of the mold because it leaked through three layers of freezer paper. NOTE TO SELF.... DO NOT USE CHEAP FREEZER PAPER EVER AGAIN! I can be an impatient soaper and do not always want to wait for to soap to cool to much when I am doing hot press. This batch was a re batch and I poured it hot. On the bright side it is a wonderful bar of soap. It lathers beautifully and smells heavenly of crisp autumn leaves blowing in the sweet autumn air. My entire family loves this bar and four bars left the table as soon as it was cut. That is always a good sign. I have two more loaves of soap to cut into bars yet to package and label. I haven't decided on names for them yet. One is similar to my famous Lemon Thyme soap that Mechanics and Truck drivers just love because it really gets the grease off and if they have cuts it helps clean and heal them. This batch has some improvements in the bar and a few added extra helpers. I added Real Lime juice in addition to the Lemon. I also changed the base of the soap instead of using goat milk and shea for this bar I used extra virgin olive oil and aloe. The other loaf that is waiting to be cut is a Vanilla soap with a hits of coco an something else that I forgot what I put in and cant pin my finger on what it was. So I am not sure what I am going to name it yet. I will decided that after I cut it and start packaging it. It should come to me by then.

Yikes its Halloween!

OOOOHHHH!! Are you Scared yet? Tonight is Halloween! Not only do we have Tricks or Treats today which I happen to like but there are only 55 days left until Christmas!!! YIKES! That is the only part that scares me because I am not at all ready. Have not even thought about it at all. Nope not one little bit until yesterday. There has just been way to much on my plate this year to even think of it.



Anyway back to the Halloween FUN! Yesterday it was horrible weather here and Tony, All my children and I went to a Halloween parade they then had trick or treating after the parade. The weather really didn't seem to stop anyone from coming out to enjoy the festive fun. The roads where lined with all kinds of spooky little goblins and some cute little creatures as well. One lady had her infant out in a insulated puppy suit he was the most adorable thing ever but I still don't think if it were me I would of taken him/her out in the weather he was so little and it such crappy rainy conditions. I only went out because my children are all older and insisted we go because they had been looking forward to it all year. They were bundled still. As for the trick or treating part We drove around in the van to areas where there where groups of houses with lights on then they would get out run and get back into warm up to the next group. This was the first year we ever drove around instead of walking but because of the weather, better then everyone getting sick. After our tick or treating we adventure we stopped and had some hot coco to warm up and visited just a little bit with MacKenzie & Austins Grandma at area restraut she works at. Then we drove to my mothers house know as Grandma Cheryl to Austin and the Girls. She had made cupcakes and Lasanya because she knew we would be stopping after our long day. It was so nice of her she even took me into consideration when she made the cupcakes and didn't use milk or butter because health problems so I even got to have a cupcake. I am happy to report I ate on and It didn't have pain after I ate it.



Well today is truly Halloween an we have trick or treating here. I have made an agreement with the girls that they can only go tonight if they get their chores done. The weather is suppose to be much nicer here today so they can walk.  Definitely a much better day to go if they finish their end of the deal. 

Photography from friday

Here are just a few of my photos from yesterday when the girls got home from school.  I have not had time to go through them all yet. Today is even nicer then yesterday so may go out again today to take a few more if we have time. 

A picture perfect day

Today is a beautiful fall day! It is sunny, not to much wind and it isn't to cold. When the kids get home from school I will have to see if any of them are up for a little photo session. I can hardly let this day get by with out getting a few good photos. I know Kenzie still wants to get a few more done because she hasn't been home for many photo opt days this summer. She wants them for swapping with friends at school. I don't bother with getting photos taken at school anymore because 1. the price adds up with 5 children and 2. I can take the photos the way we want. Also In the past most times when I ordered pictures from school I never liked how they turned out. This kids also seem to prefer me taking the photos because then they can choose which ones they would like wallets of to swap with friends.

Here are a few of my photo's

Actually today really would be a great day for me to get photos for our Christmas card this year. I like to add a photo to personalize our Christmas cards. This way family and friends that don't get to see the kids very often can see how they have changed over the year. Plus my mom always looks forward to getting new pictures of the kids. I think she is where I got my love for photography from. Now that I think of it, I wonder why she ever stopped taking photos. I remember when I was a kid she use to tell me stories of how when she lived in Chicago she use to develop and take her own photos.  I will have to ask her about that.

One day I would like to turn my hobby of taking photos into a business.  I have had family and  friends ask me to take their photos since I love to take photos I do.  I do not charge them a sitting fee though, I only charge them for the prints they want.  I mainly do this because I don't feel like I am that good a photography yet.  I could get deeper here but we will just drop it at that. 

Herbal Healing

I don't know about you but it seems every time I turn around someone in this house has a small cut, scrape or boo boo. It is important once you have a open wound to your skin that you wash it immediately with soap and water, and to keep it clean and dry. Then we like to use a little helping healing ointment and as my children call it "feel better cream". Here again I am about the all natural an using nature to promote healthy healing. One of the herbs I like to use in my herbal salve is Comfrey its a herbal plant that contains minerals which decrease inflammation and promote new cell and tissue growth. I also like to use Calendula it sooths inflammation, controls bleeding, and works at healing damaged tissue.

 

 

Healing Salve for small scraps & minnor burns

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Approximately 1 cup total of these herbs combine Comfrey leaf, Plantain, st. johns wart & calendula

1/4 cup cosmetic grade beeswax

8 capsules Vitamin E

1/2 tsp. tea tree oil

 

Simmer herbs on stove top in olive oil until leaves are crisp. (DO NOT BOIL this will ruin your oil) Strain leaves from oil and discard leaves. Add beeswax to oil and melt. Once beeswax is melted remove from stove top (let cool a little but not so much it begins to harden) snip open vitamin E capsules and add oil to the mix along with 1/2 tsp of tea tree oil. Pour into a clean dry container ( use a cosmetic grade container, or small glass jelly jar that is suitable for storing your ointment), allow to set then cap with air tight lid.

 

 

 

 

 

Please use caution if you have any of these circumstances. If you do have any of the following you should seek immediate medical attention. Do not use your healing salve for these.

 

~ If you have a cut that is deeper then 1/4 inch.

~ If you have a wound that is a result from a animal bite.

~ If there is a chance your wound has become infected.

~ If you have badly burned skin.

~ If you have a injury that is bleeding heavily.

Why I like to make my soaps from scratch

     I like to make homemade soaps because they are 100% pure and natural. I make them from scratch and use all natural ingredients that are great for your skin. They are environmentally friendly and healthy for the entire family. I like knowing that everything in my soaps is natural and safe for my family. I also like the fact I can "Say" & I know what every ingredient in my soap unlike the store bought soaps that have some of the longest words and even if you can say it do you really know what it is?.  Everyone in my household has had some form of skin problem and since I stopped buying store bought chemical soaps. Everyone's skin is healed and there is no more itchy dry skin patches and even Anthony's Psoriasis is gone on his skin, I am not at all saying that natural soap is a cure of Psoriasis but it works for him he has not had a flare up in 6+ years since I started making homemade soaps & herbal healing slaves.

This is Goat Milk & Shea Butter Grubby Mint Soap

     I choose to use ingredients that come from natural sources such as vegetables, herbs many of these I grown in my own garden so they are also organic because I do not use chemicals. I also use some natural spices, fruits, oats, honey, olive oil, grape seed oil, coconut oil, and goat milk just to name a few.  It all depends on the type of bar I am making.

This is Goat Milk Sandlewood Ginger Soap

     For bars with added fragrance I use essential oil most often it is the best way to naturally add fragrance to a bar of soap. Essential oils are 100% plant based. These are purely botanical oils that contain great skin care benefits. I like to use essential oils the most even though they cost more because of the benefits they carry. It is worth it, they add wonderful skin healing properties to the soaps, and they are much less irritating to the skin. However, that is with the exception of cinnamon. Cinnamon can be skin irritating and should be use with caution. I strongly recommend studding essential oils before using them.
On occasion I use fragrance oil if I am going for a particular fragrance type that I can not get from essential oil. When I sell my soaps no matter which may be contained in a bar it is clearly marked on the bars label as a curtsey to my customers.

Moose Creek Primitives

Moose Creek Primitives is my soy candle business that I started in 2004. I have a new web site that is currently under construction. You can still view and purchase products they just are not all currently displayed. The web site is MooseCreekPrimitives.com

Currently our hottest selling item both on-line and in shows is our Break~Away Bar©.

Moose Creek Primitive, also known as MCP, Break~Away Bars© Soy wax tart melts are highly scented. Great for use in your electric or tea light warmers, simply break a cube or two off of your bar an place in your melting tray. The best part about using Soy wax is that is helps support our American farmers and is biodegradable. Soy wax cleans up easy with soap and water. Each Break~Away Bar© is in a 6 cavity mold each cube measures 1 x 1 x 1 an is approximately 1 oz each.

Why did we choose soy?

~ Soy is clean burning it is non-toxic and has no carbon soot that is the black soot that collects on your walls and other areas of your home.

~ Soy Wax cleans up easy with soap and water.

~ Soy wax is created from soybeans which is a renewable resource and is also biodegradable. By using soybean products we are helping support Americas farmers and helping stimulate economic growth with in the agricultural sector of the United States.

~ Soy candles burn slower and cooler than paraffin wax. 

Welcome to my page

    This Blog is originally being produced as part of my Collage Composition course at Globe University.

What I am going to use my blog for is to blog about some of my hobbies like: photography, soaping, and candle making, and maybe a few others.

    My Blogs name is named after my soap company. I plan to blog a lot about soaps.  In my opinion handmade soap is best.  I have very sensitive skin an so do few of my daughters. Everyone in the house has had some sort of skin issue in the past.  Using homemade soaps has eliminated a lot of our families skin problems.

    I will also blog a lot about being a Mom, because that is a huge part of my life. I am a mother of five wonderful children Austin is 15, Taylor is 11, MacKenzie is also 11, no they are not twins we are a blended family, Alexandrea is 10 and Star is 9.

    So lets get blogging!!

    This weekend was a very busy weekend. It was a very beautiful weekend where the weather was concerned as well.  Perfect for photography! Saturday Anthony (my wonderful man), the girls and I all went to Harvest Fest in Wausau WI.  We had a great time there.  They had a petting zoo and free pumpkins for the kids just to name a couple of the things they had going on.  Ministry Health Care sponsored the free pumpkins for the children they also handed out other fun halloween treats to the kids while they stood in line to get the pumpkins.

    Here are some photos I took at the event.

My four pumpkins Star, MacKenzie, Taylor, & Alexandrea

Star in the Pumpkin Patch with the pumpkin she chose.

Taylor, MacKenzie, Rasmussen College Moose, Star, Alexandrea

Taylor with a pony she loves horses

Star with a donkey

    Then we went to Owen Withee WI for the rest of the day to my brother Kenny's for my niece Katie's Birthday Party she turned 12 over the weekend. The girls really look forward to getting together when we have family gatherings. Since it was such a nice day I took advantage of it for some great photo opportunities. Since my mom was there it was a great opportunity to get a picture of her with almost all her grandchildren. My son was out hunting so he was the only one that wasn't there for the picture so it isn't a complete picture but at least it is a start. I will have to try again at the next holiday get together.  My brother Kenny has a blended family like me so we have large families and sometimes that makes for a challenge of getting all the children together at one time.  Kenny and his girlfriend just had a little boy Eathin Warren so I also used this time to catch up on some baby photos of him.

Star, Logen, Alexandrea, Destiny, Kyleigh, Katie, Mom, Eathin, MacKenzie, Gabe, Taylor & Bree

Eathin

    My son is a hunter he really enjoys both bow hunting and gun hunting,  if you are wondering he hunts for the meat not just the kill. Here is a picture of him this is his first deer with a bow.

Austin likes to give some of the credit to the new bow we got him this summer.