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A Crafty Little Project

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

I hope you excuse my absence.  I have a really surprising excuse.  I’ve been a victim of mind snatching and in my place a Crafty Cathy has been dabbling.  *grin*  I’m not sure if she’s some previously unknown dual identity or what, but I’ve been having a lot of fun.  LOL 

I stumbled upon a really intriguing pin on Pinterest and it honestly sounded too good to be true, especially after the difficulties I had with the melted crayon pin.  It couldn’t be that easy and, truly, it’s not always.  I’ve had quite a mixture of success and failures, but the best part is that it’s a whole lot of fun and I think I may have finally figured out what’s been going wrong.  As you have probably guessed, that always piques my interest way more than success, so I’ve been a bit obsessed.  *laugh*  The pin (and sister link) lead to the websites: www.lilyshop.com/how-make-colored-mason-jars and www.lilyshop.com/how-make-glitter-mason-jars.  Once I started playing with one I had to explore the sister link, and then my crazy mind had to see if both processes play well together.  *grin*  Basically the first one explains how to “dye” mason jars with mod podge and food coloring.  The second is pretty much the same thing except you substitute glitter for the coloring (and the insanely girly side that hides from my typically morbid and dark usual tendencies can’t resist glitter, so it was pretty much a guarantee that I’d be checking that link out.  Although I totally realize that although the blogger says that it’s dyeing jars, it’s really just dyeing the glue, I’m going to follow in their footsteps, just because it’s a whole lot more consistent when you read my experience and then the blogger’s tutorials.  (Or you can go look now.  I’ll wait.  Unless I spot some glitter.  I can’t be held responsible for any lapses of sanity if that girly part of me spots…Oh!  Look at my new box of pretty glitters….*happy sigh*)  Ahem.  Now that we’re all on the same wave length, let’s continue.  *smile*

 

Here’s where my post is going to get picture heavy.  You take a clean jar (I got totally scandalous and branched out to sanitized spaghetti jars and old business jars…*laugh*) and pour a liberal amount of mod podge inside of it.  The blog advises quite a bit, but I have only needed that much for a family sized spaghetti sauce jar – the mason jars that I used didn’t need that much.  You add a few drops of food coloring, stir it completely into the glue, and then swirl the mixture to coat the entire inside of your jar.  Let it sit and drain for an hour or so, then flip it back over and let it finish air drying.  That’s what the instructions say.  Well….

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When I started I wanted to test if food coloring would be more effective than my soap dyes, since I have them on hand in more colors and they have such vivid tones in comparison.  The compilation of pictures are just that.  The lavender shots don’t actually go with the food coloring.  Honestly I didn’t want to overwhelm you with a bunch of shots that aren’t overly exciting, so I cropped them in with each other.  I wanted to show you the steps though, so if you are nervous while trying this project you can see that everything is progressing normally.  The lavender was a third test, using craft paint, while the pink was soap dye, and there will be a dark purple one you’ll catch a glimpse of, which was actually done with the food coloring.  (Something that the blogger very accurately notes is to not brush or scrape any of the paint mixture onto the glass.  Just swirl it around and let it naturally coat the interior.  Any forced application leaves funky textures and really messes up the look.  That was tested purely by accident, but a great thing to keep in mind if you do this project.  Just be patient and keep swirling!)

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This is what happened with the food coloring.  I retested it to see if there was a flaw in the application or process and realized that I had missed the instruction to turn the jar right side up after an hour or so (this was my first jar), so it had dried upside down, although most ran out and pooled at the opening on my paper plate.  I don’t have a picture of the retest, but it worked fine when the directions are correctly followed.  *grin*  I personally don’t care for the colors I achieved with the food dye, so I was more interested in the other paints.  Now, here’s the coolest part.  If you don’t like your results, fiddle with the coating at the lip of your jar and you can peel the whole shebang out and start over (after rinsing)!  How cool is that?!  So, you’ll understand why I’ve done these a lot of times, but don’t always have the pictures to back the comments up.  *laugh*  The second pic is the dyed glue “skin” which is absurdly fun to squish and stretch.  I won’t judge you if you don’t judge me.  *teasing grin*  It’ll be our secret squishy stress reliever. 

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Now, the above is what happens if you don’t have a consistent heat source and your house is pretty chilly.  It starts out just fine, but then…I have incredibly bad timing and we had snow, freezing rain, and below zero temps, and to top it off our wood stove has been off getting repaired, so the house is chillier than usual.  I had been setting the jars in front of a heater register in the bathroom, since I could close the door and make that the warmest room, so in theory they’d have the best chance at heating.  That would be true if Abby Cat hadn’t decided that she needed some direct heat and laid down between the vent and the jars.  *rolling eyes*  The streaking also happens if the temperature is just right for the thermostat to not kick the heater on for several hours, so the glue just kind of works with gravity and pulls off of the sides.  The blogger noted that she had small bubbles develop from placing them in the oven (by the way, I never found a way to avoid at least a few bubbles, no matter what dye or process I tried.  Gentle stirring of the dye into the mod podge helped to reduce the number, but they developed on their own while I worked the mixture around to coat the interiors.  If you find a way to stop it, please let me know, but I never developed a whole lot of them, like she described with the oven process.  Just a heads up so you don’t think you’ve done something wrong.).  The way that worked best for me was to place the jar and paper plate on the floor and surround them with a heating pad, then top that with a light blanket, so it trapped in the heat.  I swear I need stock in Sunbeam, because I go through so many heating pads every year (it’s one of the few things that really helps me cope with the pain), so I always have a few handy.  For this I used a really long one, although I think a “king” sized one should work just as well.  The most flexible one you have.  After trying a few different heats I found that medium worked the best with mine.  After that first hour or so, once the jars are flipped, I slipped them back into the cocoon (with a bit of wax paper over the lips just because I don’t want to muck up my pad or blanket), and let them keep drying for at least a day.  The worst part about this is that most heating pads have that safety turn off feature, so every two hours I had to go and turn it back on.  When I slept I just left them in the cocoon and they still stayed warmer than most of my house.  *laugh* 

 

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The above is mod podge with super fine iridescent glitter that is rated as safe for cosmetics, which I use in soap.  At first it’s white, but then it dried completely clear and look at all of the pretty sparkles!!  *cheesing*  Yeah, I’ve turned the bend.  They’ll probably be coming to size me for my straight jacket soon…(Something else to note is that no matter what color you’re using, it’s going to look like a pastel at first and won’t be anything like what you’re going for.  I found that 4 drops of actual dye worked great for vibrant colors and about a teaspoon of craft paint was perfect. 

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I had a crafting mishap when I tried to make a pretty glitter covered jar weeks back and decided to dye it to see if it would salvage the disaster, and I happen to love how it turned out.  *grin*  I used Crafter’s Choice (available at Wholesale Supplies Plus, among other online retailers) in Strawberry Red for the dye, while the outside was simply the same iridescent glitter mod podged [I’m not sure if that’s a word, but I’m going with it.] to the exterior in two or three sessions (yeah, looking back that’s a bit extreme, but while it was wet it looked so pretty, so I kept going for it.  *sigh*  Lesson learned.)

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It’s now a permanent fixture on the entertainment center.  Although it didn’t photograph well it looks so cute with an LED tea light at the bottom and the fake flowers on top.  There’s a slight frosted look, plus a delicate shimmer from the glitter.  *happy sigh*

 

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I saved the best for last.  This is the lavender (“lilac”) craft paint example from the collage at the beginning with metallic purple small (not fine) craft glitter mixed in.  I found that the heavier glitter always sunk, but still looks pretty awesome to me.  I swirled like a possessed woman to get enough momentum for the paint to carry some of the glitter toward the top.  *grin*

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This is what really got us all amped up about the lavender one.  Larry came into the room as I was trying out a flickering LED tea light in the jar and said he wanted to try something.  He came back with his color changing glow sticks that he uses when he goes riding at the dunes in Oklahoma (safety measure so others know where your vehicle is at night and so it’s easier to judge where your vehicle ends, since it’s dark as can be in the middle of those dunes and you don’t want to clip someone).  The above pictures were taken in that lavender jar!  I’m not from Jersey, but those are still wicked cool!!  Plain and simple.  I think this would be awesome for a preteen, too.  There are so many glow in the dark craft paints on the market and a ton of different glow sticks, even, so they might not even need a black light.  We sure didn’t use one.  I never outgrew (nor did Larry) my love of glow in the dark things obviously and would have gone ape over this as a teen.  We plan to do some of these jars as luminaries if we get to do a morbid anniversary or Halloween party someday. *crossing fingers*  How awesome would these look in a darkened room with a creeping fog from a bowl of dry ice near them?! 

 

In the end I had several that I tore out, but all in all I loved this project.  As a matter of fact I bought a bottle of extreme glitter craft paint while grocery shopping today, so I’ll share pictures of that attempt soon.  I’m at war with myself over spending the next hour of insomnia watching the new episode of Face Off, which I’ve been eagerly anticipating, or go try out my new paint.  *laugh*  Since I’ve had limited use of my right arm for the past 36 hours from a small mishap I think the season premiere will win out this time.  I really hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my results and experiences, and please share with me your results if you try this.  I’d really love to see your creativity.  Feel free to link in the comments or email me.  It’d totally make my day.  *grin*  In the meantime, pamper on Garth. 

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A Little DIY Ornament Tutorial

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

I hope you’re having a good year so far and that your resolution is going strong. My resolution was to work on learning to be proud of myself again and stop focusing on what I lost or am unable to do after I became disabled. Part of that is to do little things to help me feel productive and proving that I CAN still do some things.

In light of my goals I wanted to try some of the many crafty pins I have from Pinterest. I might give them as gifts or keep for us to use, but mostly it was to prove to myself that I actually can be crafty. *laugh* I’ve never thought I could be, although I’ve always done some artistic things. When I saw a pin my stepmother had posted on Facebook about using crayons to create pretty swirled ornaments I thought it sounded like the perfect craft to try.

I had taken a screenshot of her post, which said to melt some crayons inside clear glass ornaments with your hair dryer, so I hit the day after Christmas sale at Walmart and picked up a package of them for around a dollar. That way I wouldn’t be out much if I had one of those days of disasters I tend to stumble upon. *grin* I had everything else on hand, so once I found some gumption I went for it.

Now, I went through lots of pins on Pinterest to find a good tutorial and I never found one. The instructions about were just about it and I’m not going to send you to a site for that. I also think a tutorial that says what not to try could save others a lot of time and frustration, so I’m going to provide it.

First off, make sure you get actual glass ornaments and not the plastic ones that several stores sell that look a lot like the real deal. I promise you that the plastic will distort with the intense heat of the blow dryer. *shaking head with embarrassment* However, if you want to make some creatively shaped ornaments, that would be an easy way to go about it and would be totally unique. *grin* Decorate as you want and voila, an original creation. For this though, make sure it’s the real deal. Second, don’t use a knock off brand. After sacrificing a box of off brand crayons to my xacto knife I discovered that they are incredibly hard to melt. Get a box of Crayola that you can slaughter.

Now I tried a variety of lengths and I found that half an inch chunks worked the best for me. You can cut smaller pieces for extra detail swirls, but they don’t last long, and lengths beyond half an inch tend to stick for a few, which makes bare spots when they do that. (More about that later. Once you’ve cut your chunks on something disposable like old sale ads or something, clean up so that there’s nothing lightweight in your work space. The dryer WILL blow everything off if you don’t have a clear workspace.)

Pop the cap off your ornament and drop in one or two pieces of crayon. I found that two colors at once made some gorgeous designs and made the process a lot faster, although you have to try to keep the two pieces together as you are melting them, since you have to chase the crayon piece(s) with the hair dryer. Before you start the dryer put the cap back on. Trust me on this. When you get going the dryer will blow just right into the hole sometimes and cause a seriously annoying noise. While you’re putting stuff in the bulb you can use a mason jar lid to keep it from rolling around. If you get creative with your add-ins, this can save you a big mess (trust me).

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I learned that if you get really creative and add glitter, and that bulb decides to roll, since the top area is heavier, well, those crayons will knock a healthy portion of glitter all over your table. I also happen to know that manly men hate to have glitter accidentally sticking to their things when they go to work, so this little oops has the potential of causing you a bad day. *grin*

The easiest way to get the ball rolling once you’re all ready is to hold the ornament by the top and put the blow dryer at the underside, directly on the crayon(s) and give it a minute or two to start to melt, with the dryer on your highest settings (mine allows for hot heat and high force – warm doesn’t cut it for this project). You’ll start to see a little pool around the edges and it’s much easier to get going once it’s at this stage. (I forgot to get a picture at that point, but I did when I switched colors, so at least you can get the idea.)

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Once the crayon starts to melt a little just start to roll the ornament slowly, following closely with the hair dryer to keep it melting, and swirl to your heart’s content. I found it was much easier to control the process by putting the ornament down on a hot pad on my knee and rotating the ornament while keeping the dryer steady. That glass can get really hot and your leg can get burned if you have the blow dryer focused toward it for the half hour or so this takes. Please put something down to protect yourself. I tried the mason jar lid, too, but that didn’t work so well. The pad on the knee worked the best.

Anyway, you will probably have to add more pieces and start the process over if you want as much of the ornament covered as possible. As you will see later I covered as much as I could, but I saw some pins where people just did a few swirls with the melted crayon and had lots of clear ornament showing. The more colors you have and the hotter the overall ornament gets, the more the colors will blend. If you melt colors individually it’s a bit more work, but you get distinct swirls. As mentioned before when a chunk of crayon stops in an all ready colored area the chunk will strip the previous color off and you’ll have a clear spot again. I found that if I kept the chunk there and focused the dryer on it, much like I did to get the whole prices started, and got a little pool of melted color going, then I could swish the chunk around and re color most of the stripped area. No matter how hard I tried every ornament had a few stripped spots. Hey, it’s handmade, so that just shows that a machine didn’t do it. *smile* Toward the end you will have trouble knowing where the crayon is, so you’ll have to pull the cap off and shine a light inside to see where it is. The lighter the colors the easier this is and the last bulb I did was so light that I could just hold it up before a light to see where to focus the dryer.

If you decide to add glitter don’t add a lot of it before you get the crayons started. The glitter coats the chunks and makes it hard for them to melt at the beginning. Get your little pool started and then sprinkle some in. You can also blow the dryer into the opening for a few seconds, sprinkle the glitter in, and then shake the ornament to get the glitter to settle everywhere. Doing the heat inside will make your colors blend a lot more. Just sprinkling in some glitter throughout the process worked the best for me. I used extremely fine, cosmetic safe, glitter that I have on hand, so you may have different results with a bigger and heavier glitter. The only time mine clumped was when I added it to the cold crayons.

One last note – the darker your colors the harder it is to photograph. *laugh* I ended up with one red and green swirled ornament, a second one using the same two colors but more blended, so it looks kind of like camo (hmm, sounds like a great stocking stuffer for my favorite redneck), and then a really pretty light one, where I used pink, white, peach, and iridescent glitter. You have to look hard to see the glitter in the picture, but it has a gorgeous soft (almost gold) shimmer in person. I had one shatter while I was working too, which was another light one, and after some looking I found that there were some fine cracks in the ornament and when I dropped the piece of crayon in I hit one. I found a weak spot in the other light one too, before I started, and made sure to softly slide the pieces in and I kept the dryer at an angle to keep from having direct force on the ornament.

All in all I spent probably two hours working on the four ornaments, which included the time it took to learn that the off brand crayons wouldn’t work and chopping up some Crayolas, so it’s not a really time consuming project. Your fingertips can get a little toasty, but it’s a pretty safe craft, other than the projectile chunks of crayon as you cut them. *laugh* Depending on how the light hits your ornament they can look completely different from one moment to the next, too! The best part, in my opinion, is that the possibilities are endless. Hopefully you’ll give this project a try. If you do, I’d love for you to post the link so I can see your incredible results. In the meantime, here are some final result pictures.

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The light one is definitely my favorite. I plan to try some other color combinations too, but don’t know that I’ll ever top that. *grin* Anyway, I hope you don’t mind my going off topic today and being rather lengthy. Happy pampering and stay warm to those of you “enjoying” the wintery weather if you’re getting hit too. 🙂

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Inspiration

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Georgia's Pampering

If you have looked at my recent Pinterest activity (if you didn’t know I was on there, then it’s easy to find me by searching for Georgia Cornelison for the pinner), then you know that I’ve been playing with ideas for some themed combos/baskets. One that I love thinking about is a monster themed basket. Most of the items can be standard products with little twists, much like the Redneck options, but with a decidedly more…morbid twist. *grin*

One such item that keeps rattling around in my mind is a bubble bath – er, blood bath. *laugh* I saw a pin for a container of red bubble bath that resembled a bag of blood/plasma. I can’t tell you how excited the Poe-loving side of me is over that idea. With this rattling around while I looked over the end of year sale my wholesaler had yesterday I ended up buying a set of zipper bags. They hold around 2 ounces and even stand on their own! How cool is that?! Anyway, most mention using it for samples of bath salts, which I will definitely be trying too, but I want to see if a little “blood bath” will work in the bag. Check this out:

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Although I’m trying to decide which zombie and Frankenstein items to narrow in on (so many ideas!!), I decided to also splurge and get the really nice mold for Popsicle soaps. Look at this little guy:

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It was a bit more than I usually want to spend on materials I can’t really justify as necessities, but it’s silicone and guaranteed to work for soaps. I loved the failed Popsicle soaps I made before the holidays and knew I really wanted some good Popsicle soaps all year around. I saw some really wicked (oh man, I almost went to the “wicked cool”, so you know I’m getting all wound up about this) Popsicle soaps that were in Halloween colors and they embedded toy spiders in the ends. Wow!! How awesome would a play on that look in that Monster combo?! I’ve thought of doing some Frank colored ones or some toxic yellow ones. *grin* There are SO many options!

As you can tell, I’m having a lot of fun looking at the brilliance and creativity of others, and in thinking of what possibilities would work for me. I am so excited. *smile* I’m still looking into trademark issues for other theme ideas, but I am pretty set on a few things. I want a zombie repellent soap, a blood bath, and a demented Popsicle soap, bare minimum. Isn’t it fun to think of all of the options?

Anyway, I don’t want to keep you reading if you’re still suffering the after effects of a late night. I hope you’re enjoying your New Year and have a wonderful rest of the week!

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Last Minute Gift Idea

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Georgia's Pampering

I didn’t plan to post again until after Christmas, but in case you’re feeling the pinch and wanting to jazz up a last minute, or small, gift, I thought I’d share a neat idea.

I saw a cute idea on Pinterest where someone filled a mason jar with gum balls, with a clean paper roll hollowing out the middle, so they could hide some money in there as a gift.

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I thought that this is a fun idea and much neater than just a gift card sleeve or card, and figured I could play with the concept a little. I got a couple of bags of holiday candy, the recipient’s favorite chocolates and then M&Ms for the filler to replace the gum balls. I can’t say what I hid in both jars just in case the kids or their parents read this, but I quickly realized that my gifts were definitely too big to fit in a paper roll. *laugh* This is why the M&Ms came into play, since I’d need some small candy to fill the spaces around the gifts, and I’d need a lot more filler without the hollowed out area. I put a small layer at the bottom, so even if they look at the bottom they won’t have a clue that they’re getting something better than a jar of candy. *grin* I put the gifts into baggies, slid the gifts into each jar and filled around them with the bigger candies, and then the M&MS to fill the holes. I then put a simple label and a little ribbon on each.

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No matter what way the jars are turned you can’t tell that there’s a secret hiding in there. A best friend pointed out that if I’m not there when the kids get their jars, then it’d be smart to say something to the parents, just in case the kids don’t discover the true gifts within a few minutes. Smart advice that I thought I’d pass along. I’m definitely one of those people that are too excited by great ideas and fun gifts that I can barely keep them secret long enough to give them to the person, so I plan to be there when the kids get them. *laugh* If they don’t dig in within the first few minutes I’ll suggest that they dig around a little.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday, no matter how/if you celebrate it, and that this fun idea serves as a little inspiration if you need it. 🙂

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Blessed

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Georgia's Pampering

Remember that slice mold I used for the “Slice of Peppermint Pie” and “Slice of Roadkill Remains”?  I’m still obsessed with it.  *grin*  This time I went a little more traditional and did a version of a fudge ripple cake.  You can’t tell that I’m in the mood for the delicious baked goods of the season, right?  *laugh*  I thought that a fudge ripple would look awesome and would break up the colors a bit, while letting me avoid trying to find more than an hour’s worth of patience.  I admit that I’ve been pretty restless lately, so I’ve been sticking with quick gratification, and this was perfect for it.  What do you think?

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I planned to frost the slices Monday since I knew that Miss Ash would be here to help, but there were a few complications.  *begins to bite my lip while trying to find a way to make it sound a little better than it really ended up being…*  Things started out pretty well.  I had all of the ingredients gathered and was measuring the FO when she came in.  While she filled me in on school and the other fun details of young teen life I started to heat the soap.  With her here I figured a half batch of bath frosting would be a wise decision, so we could have some fun together, yet still get to the bigger project that I really needed an extra set of hands for.  I wanted to get Ash used to using the scale and how to tare it, so I had her measure out the bath whip.  I should have known when the spatula bent as she tried to scoop some out that this wasn’t going to go well.  (Our woodstove is still being repaired, so the house is still pretty chilly, but I had been active and quickly overheat, so I didn’t notice this.  I’ve thought through all of this for hours and finally realized that this was the first domino that fell.  It’s only right to fill you in on my realization.  *laugh*)  Well, with a metal spoon and a butter knife we were able to get the whip out, although, yet again, warning bells should have gone off, but I didn’t notice that the spoon got impressively bent during this task.  *face palm*  Miss Ash is very deliberate and cautious, so things took a bit longer and the melted soap began to set up slightly.  (Yeah, those dag on warning bells again…*sigh*)  I showed her how to get the mixer set up and started mixing the whip with some glycerin I noticed that it didn’t have the consistency that I remembered from when I made the cookie wash soaps last year.  I held out hope and gave her the melted soap to add to the mixture.  As she did this I added some stabilized FO (so that it won’t discolor later from the massive amount of vanilla that is in Christmas Eve Cookies, the FO I used throughout all of the soap layers).  While I was putting a few things away I heard some weird noises coming from the mixer.  (You’re welcome to shake your head at this point.  We both know this is just going to get worse.  Lol.)  I turned off the mixer and poked at the mixture with a spatula, and realized that the soap had solidified between taking too long during prep and it being too cold in the room.  Hey, bath and body products require a lot of quick problem solving and that was basically my career before I became disabled, so I did a little quick thinking and put the bowl in a sink full of hot water, and had Miss Ash keep rotating the bowl around, so the soap would melt off of the sides of the bowl.  I figured the whip attachment would also help (realistically I should have used it in the beginning, but it was the least of the problems really).  After things were pliable again we whipped the mixture for a few minutes and I started to add more glycerin.  This mixture had started to look really weird, so I figured maybe a little more moisture would stabilize it.  Nope.  *laugh*  I turned it off after a few minutes and packaged it in an empty jar to deal with later, so I could salvage the rest of the night.  I’ll spare you any pictures, because it looks like curdled milk at this point, and somehow the smell got a bit distorted.  I can still detect the vanilla, although there is definitely some funk going on, while Larry insists (with a very puzzled look of “Why in the world are you topping the soap with…”) that it smells like burnt buttered popcorn.  Yum.  Nothing like curdled milk and burnt buttered popcorn to make you feel pampered, right?  *grin*

Thankfully the big project went well.  I needed to make a huge batch of heavy duty sugar scrub for Larry and then a little to have on hand.  With the movements and shaking I have some trouble with keeping the jar lip clean when making scrub now, so I figured young hands would be perfect for this.  It took a little longer than I had intended, since we took time for explanations and demonstrations of things that she was unfamiliar with, but we ended up with something like 70 ounces worth of scrub.  *happy dance*  Thankfully I use repurposed empty supply jars for his items and jarring went pretty well.  I have to admit that I felt like a superhero by the end, because Miss Ash had learned so much in the two hours together, and she totally had that awesome “mind blown” look going on.  *grin*  She learned how to use and read a pipette, why sugar is used in scrub, how can sugar be safe for your skin if your dentist doesn’t want you to eat it, what pumice powder is and how it works, what poppy seeds are (let me tell you that the seeds are incredible for heavy duty exfoliating!), what humectants are and how they work in soap, and how to convert measurements.  She’s going to be SO far ahead of her classmates now.

To make the evening end on an even better note she told me that she always loves coming over to work with me.  Not only does she get to do “cool things”, but it always smells so “awesome” in my house.  Then Miss Ash’s mom came over to pick Ash up and bought a Redneck Gift Basket.  Yay!

Although the frosting was a disgusting failure I am pretty happy overall with our time.  The actual cake soap still looks fantastic and I was smart enough to not try the frosting on ay of the soap, so I can still try again.  Larry’s stocked up on his scrub.  Miss Ash lit up like a Christmas Tree when I surprised her with a few of the glitter bar soaps that she had made at her last visit, so she can give them as gifts or show them off.  Best of all, we both learned a lot.  The youthful way of just shrugging off failures and just look to what’s next instead is something I have always struggled with, but with her literally turning and asking “what’s next?” I was finally able to.  I’m still smacking my forehead, but I’m doing a lot better with just shrugging it off and laughing.  And Miss Ash learned a lot of little tidbits that should help with school, and hopefully even a few skills to help her with life.

This Christmas I think the best gift will be this.  Knowing that a young girl can see me as a kind of rock star and not see the things that I can no longer do.  That I was able to have a good impact and that I got to see that thirst for information light up in her eyes.  No matter if the pies burn, the turkey turns out dry, or I have a fall and can’t walk between now and Christmas, I’m blessed.  And all because I believe we should all get pampered sometimes.  I couldn’t ask for much more.

I wish the same for you this holiday.  Whatever your beliefs and your traditions, I wish you happiness, personal development, and the feeling that no matter how different you are, or how your life has changed, that you are still a rock star in somebody’s eyes.

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A Little Bit of Fun

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Georgia's Pampering

I decided the other day to go back to just amusing myself and made a couple of soaps that made me smile. The first batch were some simple guest rounds with the holiday erasers embedded in them. The reindeer is just so cheerful. *smile* In order to get the embeds to show well I had to warm and brighten the overall picture up, so the soaps are more of a clear with the faintest gold to them, and not so yellow.

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After those I decided to play with dye. I haven’t played with swirling colors in a while now and got a little wild with the toothpick (stirring). I had a few that became a blended color because I got a little too into it. Lol. I love some of the swirls though!

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Gingerbread people followed, although I use that term quite loosely, since I went incredibly unconventional with them. A bright pink with glitter. Mawahaha. *wink*

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My last soaps didn’t turn out unfortunately. I tried to embed the centipedes I had found and although they looked great at first, the soaps became cloudy. I rinsed them and everything, so I suspect a little chemical reaction between the material and the FO. They wouldn’t fit in any other mold, so they were poured in a brownie mold I never used (one of those that’s suppose to make every brownie an edge brownie since people supposedly like those best. Um, I’ll let those mysterious people have those pieces and I’ll take care of those ooey gooey center pieces for them. *grin*).

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Although the last batch didn’t come out, I enjoyed myself. Nothing fancy or anything to tweet home about (especially for me since I haven’t joined the twitter bandwagon), but some fun little soaps. I got a few supplies today to keep the ball rolling, too. A new bubble wash that suspends additives, so I can put the centipedes or jojoba beads in some bottles of wash (we won’t talk about what happens if you try adding jojoba beads to a non-suspension formula…ugh!). I also got these cute little guys to embed and maybe even put on top of some fancy bar soaps (thank you Pinterest for that bit of inspiration).

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For a little size perspective here’s a picture of one in my palm. It’s plain adorable!

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With that little bit of cuteness I bid you adieu. I hope you are enjoying the middle of the holiday season and have a splendid weekend! 🙂

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My first sale!

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Georgia's Pampering

I’ve done a few events in the two years I’ve been building my little business, but this is my first full site sale.  In honor of Cyber Monday I decided to offer 20% off all items.  I pushed hard to get the big combos/baskets done in time and am so proud of that.

One thing I’ve been a little sad that I couldn’t accomplish was getting two kid combos available for this sale.  Unfortunately I ran out of vanilla stabilizer, which keeps soap from turning brown due to the vanilla content in the scents (which all holiday scents I’ve hoarded have apparently lol).  I put in an order for more at the beginning of last week, but apparently because I had a small order I wasn’t quite as high of a priority, and my order is still awaiting processing once they return from the extended down time.  I’m glad that they got to have an extended time to enjoy their family and the season, so I definitely don’t hold it against them, and it was my fault for not noticing I was going to run out during the most critical time.  I just really hope they get it sent out in the morning!

 

I have been itching to make the new soaps for the holiday.  I found some cute little flexible centipede toys that I want to embed.

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Aren’t they cute?!  They’re not “worms in dirt”, but I think they will work perfectly in the Dirt FO as a stocking stuffer.  *grin*  I also found some cute holiday erasers to embed.  I might have mentioned them before, but I don’t think I shared a picture.  I think guest rounds with one or two of these would be pretty adorable.

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To top things off I am writing this post from my brand new laptop.  Larry was incredibly awesome and got me my first laptop on Black Friday.  I’ve wanted one for so many years and most of my interests have required gaming computers, so I was super lucky that they had a massive sale on a gaming laptop.  *cheesy grin*  Just in time to have my business recipes on hand when I really need them. 

Cross your fingers, please, that the sale is a success.  In the meantime, I’m going to go re-watch last season’s finale of Doctor Who.  Bo has felt a bit neglected that my lap has been full, so I haven’t given enough snuggles to “the poor puppy” lately.  *grin*  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrated it and that you have found some great deals if you’re into Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  🙂

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‘Tis the season to do a lot of work

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Georgia's Pampering

Despite a few lingering symptoms from the poisoning I’ve been really pushing myself to get a lot done and I am so excited with the progress I’ve made! I’ve made soaps, lotions, oils, and baskets, plus I finished up creating a cover for my business cabinet with Velcro for easy removal when I want to work. This is beyond happy dance proud. *grin*

Miss Ash came last Thursday for the first time this year and she labeled everything that I had made. (I still think it’s cute how excited she gets about applying labels. What’s that phrase? “It makes my heart smile.” I totally get that now.)

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Lots for her to label

She helped stir both pots of lotions, which was a huge help while I was making batches of different scents and the emulsifying wax wasn’t playing nicely that day. She was reluctant to pour any lotions, but she poured her first true soaps and I’m really glad that my persnickety personality was on hiatus, because the pure joy and excitement was incredible to see. I needed a glitter bar for the girl’s Christmas tin combo and although I intended to sell the other 3, instead I’m giving them to her as a thank you gift for her help.

20131124-105533.jpg She really likes the smell of alcohol apparently, and got a bit heavy handed with spraying it as a result, so the embeds made the soap surrounding them just a bit hazy, but they’re still pretty cute. She dragged her mom all the way to the kitchen to show off her creation at pickup, which cinched it in my mind that she should get her first full fledge creations. *grin*

Since I was on a roll I kept working after Miss Ash left and I used my brand new slice mold. Right before she came over I had poured the guest loaf full of clear reddish (meant to go dark red, but it definitely looks dark pink when the light hits just right.) It sat up quickly (it’s a little cold here right now, even with the heater on) and I diced it up to embed in the slice mold.

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A slice of peppermint pie soap

I was excited to have finally ordered this mold that I’d eyed for so long, but I became absurdly tickled when I got to work with it. Lol. It’s always a little fun to poke embeds into soap as it is poured and sets, anyway, so it was a great way to end a busy day.

And here is the result.

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This is a dual named soap. It’s scented with peppermint, so it’s “A Slice of Peppermint” soap, but my morbid mind latched onto the red as being blood and meat clumps in a “Roadkill Remains” soap for the Redneck basket. *cracking up* I seriously considered dying the white soap brown to go with the Roadkill idea, but wanted to stick with using standard products that are always available and I thought that might be a little too repulsive for the more squeamish. Lol. I totally love the results, though!!

To top it all off I decided to have some fun with the fonts while I made labels for the slice soap, new lotions, and the replacement labels for the Redneck products. I found some amusing handwritten and very hillbilly fonts that I think are perfect for the Redneck items. *huge grin*

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The middle row has my favorites. The exfoliating scrub and the natural bubble bath crack me up (details will be included in another post).

Although I’m exhausted I’m so pleased with all of the progress. All of the baskets/combos are almost completed, so I’ll be sharing those soon, and I have most of the paperwork done all ready too. My $4 slice of Roadkill Remains/Peppermint Pie is my favorite accomplishment. Hopefully tomorrow I can show a few finished baskets. In the meantime, enjoy the cyber sale shopping and don’t work too hard while getting ready for the holidays. 🙂

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A nerd, shampoo, and a redneck. What the…?

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Georgia's Pampering

I’ve actually gotten a lot done while recovering from the beginning stage of iron toxicity and there was only one crisis. I’m either improving or the universe finally decided that I had enough to deal with. *laugh* I’ll hope for both, but figure it was merely a karmic oversight.

I did a ton of paperwork (although I still can’t find a few missing papers. Doh!) and updated a lot of recipes. As much as the nerdy side of me loves figuring up recipes I’m tired of guidelines changing and my having to redo the calculations. I also found an (oops – nerd flag raising here) app that lets me make a to do list plus show if I made anything, how long it took, and even to separate tasks and projects, then link the tasks to the project. *pushes glasses back up my nose and sighs happily* I can feel better about not killing a bunch of trees for my lists and I can easily track my progress with all of my projects. If you have an iPhone and love lists, then rush to the App Store for “Weave”, brought to the masses by the trusted Intuit brand. By the way, one project only has two more tasks left before it’s completed. Booyah! *grin*

I’ve completed at least one task per day until today (although I might add writing a blog post as a task just so that I can feel that I accomplished something instead of just being proud that I got out of pajamas. Hmmmm.). I made several varieties of bubble washes, evening primrose lotions, goat’s milk lotions, and some massage oils. That small crisis actually popped up twice, although I only realized it yesterday. While the bubble wash simmered to the proper temp to accept scent (and I had fished the lively candy thermometer out of the bubble muck that it kept trying to take a full dive into a few times) I decided to make the oils on my holiday list.

See, my first mistake was trying to actually accomplish more than one task. Let that teach me to not get greedy. Lol. Anywho! I decided to do these in a 1:1 ratio of almond and coconut oils. I weighed out and poured the coconut oil, then added the total FO I’d need for the blend. I don’t know why, but something made me look at the label on my almond oil jug. Is your spidey sense tingling yet? Instead of almond oil it was a gallon jug of shampoo base. Granted they are the exact same color and in the same shaped jug, so it was easy to mistake, but I didn’t order shampoo. It doesn’t work so well in massage oils, and they’re not in the same area of the wholesaler’s website even, so I know I didn’t pick it. Lol. I’m just glad I looked at the label this time when I always go by the color usually. Nothing else in my cabinet (well, until this) looks like the almond oil jug with a lightly yellow oil inside. (It’s not an overly appealing thought that the shampoo starts out yellow, right?!) I decided to splurge on the oils and just go full coconut oil for them. I realized that the oils I had experimented with last week obviously are mostly shampoo and are awaiting labeling as a massage oil (Miss Ash is returning this week to help during the holiday season, so I have held off on labeling, since that’s one of her favorite tasks). I pulled those bottles out of the collection and in having a dramatic emoticon texting meltdown to my other half he smarted off about having some fancy shampoo. *cue the lightbulb above my head lighting up* So not only did I just adjust and make straight coconut massage oils, but I’ll add these messes up bottles to more shampoo base and try out some coconut oil shampoo. Shoot, maybe it’ll be impressive and help break that pesky fear of adapting. *grin* If not I’m still impressed that I adjusted and switched to the straight oil so easily. I’m still marking those brownie points down. And my brownie points actually add up to allowing me to have a brownie, so double win.

As my usual disasters go this was definitely one of the easiest to handle and a lesson in adaptation was due anyway. Plus, a quarter of the items in my to do list got checked off. To top it all off I came up with a combo that’s still cracking me up – the redneck combo. (Since I’m a redneck in a family of rednecks I’m not mocking the culture, just using it as a way to have some fun and catch the eye.) I’m going to make “Saturday Night Date Wash”, “Beard Be Gone Shaving Soap”, and probably “City Slicker Soap”. We’ve thrown around names for a lotion, but they tend to sound perverted, so I keep veering back to the safe realm of soap. Lol. I’m having a lot of fun with this idea and they’ll be products I normally sell (or hope to) anyway, just with a different name. Otherwise I’m part way done with new versions of the Christmas Sweet Treats Basket, the Spa Basket, and the Kids Tin, with the new Men’s Combo being almost ready to show you.

More details to come later, but I finally got over my embarrassment and am laughing, so it was time to share. I hope you have a great night planning out your Black Friday goals (don’t leave my nerd flag hanging alone…I can’t be the only one on the bf app!). Happy pampering. 🙂

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Bring On the Egg Nog

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Georgia's Pampering

I finally made a batch of lotion with the Cozy Christmas FO I bought a while back. Since I really like the Evening Primrose lotion I decided to use it for experimenting with the FO. I wish they had figured out “smellivision” so you could at least smell these jars.

I think the sweet, Christmassy scent pairs perfectly with such a soothing and light lotion. Larry and I actually agree (I’m just as surprised! Lol) that it smells like spiked egg nog straight out of the bottle (cream, sugar, spice, and rum), then mellows to mostly sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg once on the skin. I know it’s kind of odd, but I’m finding the sweet notes incredibly comforting and uplifting. Although it’s such a Christmassy scent I’m really tempted to make this in several mediums and sell it year round. Yeah, I like it that much. *grin*

Any input for the off season name? I haven’t decided if I want to play with the Cozy Christmas name for the holiday time or if I’ll just leave it alone. (I may have lost my cheat sheet that reminds me of the names that don’t correspond well to the FO names, so I had to remove several descriptions from my website while I track the info back down, which makes me a little gun shy now. *embarrassed grin*) Come to think of it some rum in my egg nog always makes me a little more cozy, so it kind of fits.

As tickled as I am with this I have about twenty things on my to do app to get done soon, so I look forward to my helper visiting in the next week. Hopefully I’ll have lots of new tidbits to share soon. In the meantime I’m going to head off and email the manager of my favorite grocery store to see about getting some egg nog. I think a spiked egg nog while soaking in some Cozy Christmas bubble wash sounds divine. 🙂

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