a little craftiness

I've opened new etsy shop by the name of Homestead Hippie. Well, to be honest there's nothing there just yet, but these are some of the things I've been working on.

This bag is completely lined with off white canvas and amply sized. The handle and side gussets are one piece and made from macrame' cord so it's sturdy, strong and won't stretch out.

The poncho is a one size fits most. The colors are not true in the photo. It's actually turquoise, coral and sand and much prettier in person. Very southwestern.

This is my favorite bag, made from bits and pieces of yarn in a classic granny style. The handle is 4 crocheted chains woven together to make two, then the two are bound into one with hemp cord for strength and a rustic look. I added a flap pocket to the inside. I love the big, vintage button closure.

The tie died look of this cotton bag is quite hippie dippy and the cool things is...

you can use it as a shoulder bag or a hand held bag with dual straps.
Again, the colors aren't quite true, it's not as bright as picture shows.
The bag is actually bigger than it appears.
I love the way it forms a natural gusset affect when closed.

That's all. Just wanted to share. :) Thanks for looking.

Hand Made Soap the easy way

This is a small batch "blender recipe" that will give you 5-6 bars of castile soap. I have made this several times and it has never failed me. Credit for this recipe must be given to Phill at city mouse country house. The directions are copied and pasted from the original from Phill who says this is a recipe he developed by learning from friends like Peggy at Hidden Haven Homestead.

Lye is the active ingredient in home made soap making unless you are using the melt and pour recipes or kits. Lye is a caustic chemical so it must be properly handled. Don't be afraid, but be safe and take precautions such as wearing latex gloves and avoiding the fumes.

Castile soap is Olive Oil soap. Some say the blender and the containers that you use to make the soap should not ever be used for anything else. I tend to disagree here as it’s just soap. Safety goggles are a good idea too. Do not allow lye to come into contact with anything because it corrodes. DO NOT use metal measurers or containers for the very same reason.

Soap always contains three things - a fat (olive oil, in this case), a liquid (water, milk, tea), and lye (sodium hydroxide). Lye is available from online suppliers. It is usually very difficult to find locally. Believe me I have tried. Where it once used to be a common hardware or grocery store item, it has been removed from the local markets because of its use in illegal drug making. This is the same reason crystal drain opener is not made with lye anymore. I was fortunate enough to have an Amish neighbor provide me with lye for my soap making.

my latest batch...lavender with oatmeal

Basic All-Natural Castile Oatmeal Soap, Blender Batch

3/4 Cup Water (put it in the freezer until almost frozen)
4 1/2 tablespoons Lye Crystals (I measure ahead and place into a small glass ramekin until ready to use)
2 Cups Olive Oil (not evoo, just cheap olive oil. Again, measure and have at hand)
1/2 Cup Ground Oatmeal (I use closer to a cup)
1/2 Ounce of Essential Oil Scent (optional)
Some sort of mold

1. Grind your oatmeal in the blender beforehand. You can decide how chunky or powdery you would like it.

2. Put your 3/4 cup water in a heat-safe container (I use pyrex so it's an automatic measure). Place this in the freezer until the water just begins to freeze around the edges. Add in your 4 1/2 tablespoons lye crystals slowly and carefully. No splashing. Best to do this in a well ventilated area or perhaps outside - there are fumes. Stir well, very gently for a few minutes. The liquid will seriously heat up. Let is sit, well ventilated until it cools down a little. I insert a glass thermometer but a good indicator is waiting until the liquid is clear and the cloudiness disappears. You want to let the lye mixture cool down to around 100 to 120 degrees. Again, wear gloves, and do not touch it.

3. While the lye/water mixture is cooling, pour your 2 cups of Olive Oil into the blender. When cool enough, carefully pour the cooled lye/water mixture into the blender and put the top on. I cover the top with a towel for extra safety. On low, start blending the mixture together. It will reach "trace" in a minute or two. "Trace" is when it starts to thicken, the consistency of thick cream. Wait ten seconds before you take the top off - you know how a blender sometimes "burps" after it stops. Take the top off and add your ground oatmeal and essential oil "at trace." Put the top (and towel) back on, and blend for a few seconds to mix in the scent and oats. Don't go nuts and don't blend it too much - Once you reach trace, this stuff will thicken quickly, and you need to be able to pour it. Ideally, it's thin enough to pour, but not too thin. The consistency of a cake batter would be good.

4. Have your mold(s) ready beforehand. You can use anything flexible. They sell soap molds in craft stores; you can line a cardboard box with piece of a tough trash bag, or use old yogurt or sour cream containers. Could be anything as long as it is plastic and you could pour roughly the size of a bar of soap into it. If you used small plastic yogurt cups, pouring about an inch of liquid in each would make about six or seven. Or you could pour it all into one larger plastic thing (like one of those glad containers) and cut it into bars later.

5. Again, wait a few seconds before taking the towel and top off in case the liquid "burps." Carefully take the top off of the blender and pour about an inch into each mold.

6. Soap has to cure. Put it up out of the way and let it sit for three weeks. Most folks say the longer it sits the better it gets. Do not use the soap before it has properly aged. If you used one big mold and need to cut it into pieces, pop it out after a few days and cut it up, then put it away to cure. If you used smaller molds, pop it out after a few days and put it away to cure. Place the bars on something that will allow them to breathe, or at least stand them on end with a little space in between - they need air.

7. Keep the gloves on and carefully wash everything up.

This whole process takes about ten/fifteen minutes per batch. I've found the natural soap is wonderful and has been a miracle for dry skin. I find that rose essential oil goes well with thus oatmeal recipe, although most often I make it without scent.

Additional notes from city mouse- I've found really inexpensive olive oil/soy mixes in the dollar store. They work fine. Don't go for expensive olive oil - It doesn't matter. Also, you can mix oils. I've melted cocoa butter and subbed that for part of the olive oil (cocoa butter makes an extremely hard bar). You can melt down shortening and use that. Old timers used lard. Each oil has a different property, and you can combine the properties by combining oils. I've tried different combinations, but I honestly prefer the plain old olive oil. It seems to be the best for moisturizing. If you use a different oil, use an online lye calculator to check the amount of lye - different oils require different amounts of lye.
Here's a description of what each oil does - http://www.colebrothers.com/soap/oils.html
Here's an online lye calculator- http://www.the-sage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php

I'm sew crazy

I have a whole slew of things I want to share...eventually...you know, projects I've completed over the past few weeks. But they will have to wait until I have more time to write about them. In the meantime...

I've been drawn to sewing lately rather than my other usual creative outlets. I completed another new apron the other day. I think it’s a very vintage looking piece of fabric, turquoise blue gingham with butterflies all over it. It just seemed the perfect piece for an apron. This one is a little different as I made a triple pocket across the front and ran the neck ties through a pocket at the top of bib. I have another in the works and eventually will put a couple on my etsy store. In the meantime, if you have an interest in purchasing an apron similar to this, I can make you one for $18 plus $5 shipping. Just holler at me by leaving me a comment somewhere on this blog and let me know your color preference.

it's all about pink

Anybody and everybody who knows me well knows I love pink...have since I was a wee child. One of my few toys was a pink bunny I called pinky. Not very original but hey, I was a little kid. It just seemed right. Anyhoo, over the years my one big "thing" was wanting a pink kitchen. For some reason, no matter where we lived I just never got around to making my kitchen pink. So, when we were planning our move back into this old house, I decided right then and there the kitchen was going to be pink. And so it was.

The quality of these photos is poor I know and they were taken prior to finishing the trim paint, but you get the gist...it's pink!
(Please ignore the litter box in the corner, lol! I absolutely have no other place for it.)

I bought a box full of assorted fabric at a thrift store a few months ago and fell in love with this one piece...wonderfully pink in nature. :) It was flowery but muted, like a watercolor painting. There was only a yard so it wasn't going to make curtains or even a table cloth. What oh what could I make? Today I figured it out!

Mamma needed a new apron!

crocheted tea pot cosy

I have finished up a few crochet projects the past few days, one being a tea cozy. I've always wanted one and still need to make one for my larger pot, but I did get one made for my small teapot! I used Peaches and Cream 100% cotton yarn in peppermint. It reminded me more of valentine colors than peppermint and with the touch of pink it works well in my pink kitchen.

It's a basic pattern I made up as I went along for a custom fit, done in rows of half double stitches, aside from the row surrounding the spout which I did in double crochet. Simple, but effective. The top is drawn closed and tied by weaving a crocheted chain in and out. I added the "love" button just because it was cute and seemed appropriate...adds a little more positive chi to my chai, hee, hee.

I'm a litte teapot short & stout

Friday night accessory modeling

So, daughter Kandie and her hubby Tom came by tonight on the way from dropping Destiny at her dad's for the weekend. This time I remembered to take advantage of her presence by having her model some of my creations for my etsy shop. I didn't even have to bribe her, lol!
Her younger hands photograph so much nicer than mine.

...and she wears the hat so well....
and here she is without a head at all, just a chin...
She was such a good sport....little does she know that the next time I'll be having her model shawls. :)

bags and now, fingerless gloves

I see a couple of readers have been gracious enough to log a comment about an upcoming give away. Thank you bunches!

In my last post I mentioned a bag or two I was working on. Since then I finished the green bag by lining it and now have it featured on etsy. Sometime today I should have a similar bag finished, this one in blues. I just finished embellishing it with some copper accents and have the lining made and pinned in place. A little hand stitching and it’ll be done! Yay!

In the meantime I started making hand warmers aka fingerless gloves aka wrist warmers. Like I didn’t have enough projects already! Well, I’ve made three pair now, the first being a trial pair for myself. I just love them and have worn them everywhere! Here’s just one of a pair I made the other night with some funky copper and green variegated (although the green looks teal in the photo). More justice would have been done had I not been trying to photograph my own hand, but you get the idea. I think I like them better in a solid color.

Anyhow…I didn’t create this blog to be a craft blog, but making things is very much an integral part of my simple, frugal lifestyle. So, I guess you’ll just have to bear with me.

: )

my etsy store, possible contest???

Life seems as if it may be returning to a more even keel now that we are well into January. With the holidays over and me feeling like I’m finally over a lingering virus (or whatever it was) I am feeling a little more ambitious. I emphasize the word little because I just recovered the other day from a bout of stomach flue or food poisoning, not sure which. Either way I know when starting the new year feeling like crap, it can only get better…right?

Everyone I talk to seems to be on a sorting and clearing out kick. The same applies to me as well. January is a good time for that. For the most part inclement weather keeps us indoors, so what better way to put our time to use? I think it’s part of the natural cycle for us to want to unclutter and purge our homes somewhat at this time of year. Personally if I didn’t busy myself with those activities and my crafting, I would become more sedentary than I like over the winter months. Instead I have kept myself occupied with sorting and organizing things here and there as well as becoming immersed in a few crochet projects. And to think, I left the creative channel of crocheting sit by the wayside and go unused and neglected for so many years. What was I thinking? Well, you know what they say, there’s no time like the present. I think I am more than making up for it now anyhow!

Lately I’ve been on a bag kick, crocheting several new purses and bags in various styles and sizes. They are presently all waiting for linings. They are all woven s as not to need lined, but I think this would really give them a finished look and feel, so that is next on my “to do” list. Once finished I’ll be showing them off. : ) I’ve also made two new ponchos. One is for me, done in beautiful deep autumn red, a light wrap to wear indoors or out as a shrug. The other is a full size poncho for outdoors done in coral,, turquoise n sand colors for a very southwestern look. I still need to put fringe on it and then it will be featured in my etsy store. Speaking of which, I actually have that up and running now. So far only a handful of items have found their way there (and none crochet craft believe it or not) but, I’ll keep working on adding more as I go. I have the featured items showing on my blog site on the left sidebar, but for those who subscribe to posts I am including a thumbnail showcase in this post.

Etsy Buy Handmade Phoenixstudio

Now I can’t help wondering how many people are actually reading this blog. So, I’m thinking maybe I’ll plan a give-away in the near future, and gift a lucky commenter with one of my handmade items just to see who and how many may actually be reading this. Keep watching for that and if you’re actually reading this, let me know by leaving a comment. Just say hello or let me know what you think about that idea, k?

Have a great weekend!

New Makes @ the Homestead

Here at home I have, as usual, been busy crafting and creating. My daughter is modeling the newest hat style I created in 100% cotton yarn.

It was simply a matter of using a basic skull cap pattern in double crochet. By adding a few increased rows at the end instead of finishing off, I made what I call a boat hat. Great for spring and fall. I was going to keep it but it looked so much cuter on Kandice I had no choice to send it home with her. (Thanks Sue for taking the snapshots!) The cotton yarn gives a lot more when wearing, so it helps to use a smaller hook than a pattern might call for. As you can see, my boy Arther had to get in on the photos. I think they’re both pretty cute kids. :)

In other project news, hehe, Coop (bless his heart) made this simple peg rack for the bathroom wall.

I like these so much better than regular towel bars as they hold so much more. We have one near the tub to hang towels on, but needed something more for my jammies and such. A simple board spray painted black (to match the other) and a few inexpensive hooks completed the project. Total cost was about $2.00. The premade ones I priced at Home Depot and such were about $14.00. (Pay no attention to the unpainted woodwork…a project that hasn’t been tended to just yet. )

Today’s project is making up a batch of my “Winter Magic” aromatherapy spray. It’s a wonderfully spicy seasonal blend of essential oils. I concocted it to create a welcoming feeling conducive to ease and enjoyment. Last year I included it in my gift giving and it became an immediate favorite, so now a new batch is in order. I have a new scent or two in mind to work on, also, and can’t wait to get started. Here at the homestead the creativity never ends!

a few beads, a few safety pins, some wire & voila'

A recent wisebread article, Savvy Suggestions for Safety Pins inspired me to get creative. Well, to be honest, it first reminded me that I had the components necessary (leftover from a few craft projects of the distant past) to make use of. So here are the results...two candle covers. The green and red one I made first to set over a tea light. Next I put together the purple one, making it with the daisy style beads and large enough to set over a votive cup. They turned out so pretty I just had to share. When lit, they look like jewels shimmering. I thought they'd be especially nice to use over the holiday season. All it took was a few large safety pins, an assortment of plastic beads and some 18 gage wire to string them all together. I've shown them here in bright light and then when lit in the dark.

Arts & Crafts Madness @ the Homestead

With fall weather arriving I have been focused on the holidays and as you can see, creating handmade gifts as well as finishing up work on a couple afghans.

The one on the left is a granny scrap afghan, made up of bits and pieces of leftover yarn. The one on the right was made per special request from my nephew. Again, a simple granny stitch, but aren’t the colors of the sun, sky and clouds pretty?

So, thought I’d share those with you here today and some other exciting news…my good friend Vicki will be flying in on Tuesday from Florida to spend a couple weeks with me!

I’m pretty excited about that for several reasons. Number one, she’s a really, really, really good friend whom I love and I laugh more with her than I think I do with anyone…we think way too much alike at times! Then there’s the fact that we both are crazy, jewelry making fools, so we’ll be playing around with our beads and getting creative. (Speaking of jewelry, I made a couple of goddess necklaces that you can check out below.)

Along with the laughs and crafts, Vicki and I will really get a chance to catch up and spend some quality time together. I have known her for about six or seven years and although she has been in Florida for a few years now, originally she is from Ohio where we met after (get this) connecting on eBay! And last but not least, while she is here she will be giving me my Reiki III Master level attunement! So, the next couple of weeks should be fun while we laugh and play and make lots of memories. I know I’m really looking forward to this!

Crochet Pattern Links:

Unisex "warm winter hat" hat pattern (shown in the hat/scarf sets) can be found at here.

For the flowered hippie hat I simply added a brim to granny skull cap pattern found here. This is a child's hat, so use a size larger hook than called for to make a more appropriate size for the adult head.

For the purse and tote bag I used a pattern found here. For the tote bag I used two strands worsted weight yarn held together throughout, along with a larger hook than pattern called for.

The scarves and flowers were all made free hand w/o the use of a pattern. The afghans are a simple granny stitch.

Trashion-making a halter tunic from a t-shirt

I really loved this simple idea... If you're a crafter like me and haven't checked out Etsy Labs
be sure to!

Hooked on Shawls

This is a republished version (with photos!) of a recent post...

I’m so pleased with some of the nice comments I have received from some of my blog viewers. Thanks so much for the thumbs up!

As mentioned in an earlier blog, I was crafting something green. I’m pleased to say that I finished it the other day. Also is a photo of another shawl I made prior as a gift for someone special. (If I don’t say who, she won’t know) It’s very southwest in color I think. I have been on a shawl making kick for some months now and have given them to friends and family members here and there ever since. Both shawls were bargains to make because the sage green yarn came from a bag full found at yard sale and the light green was free via freecycle! The southwest shawl was made from freecycle yarn and some leftover black I had on hand. Neither shawl cost more than $4 to make. Now that is a bargain!

Shawls are such a wonderful and practical thing not to mention trendy. Nothing better to wrap yourself in on a cool evening or when you feel a chill. I use mine in the mornings quite often rather than throwing on a robe. Plus, they are a great item to take along in the car just in case the day or evening turns cool.

My mother instilled a love of hand made things in me, despite the fact she was not the one to teach me the art of crochet. She was an avid crocheter, but I taught myself after she passed away. So now, when I crochet, I often find myself reminiscing about her and her handiwork and the many things she hand made for me as a teenager. That was back in the seventies when crocheted items became very trendy…from shawls to fringed vests to floppy hippie hats, I had them all. And most of her work was of her own design. Like her I am often one for improvising and creating as I go rather than following a written pattern. I always was a rebel!