Baby Bee Diaper Cake

I love to make a diaper cake!

This momma to "bee" registered for Burt's Bees toiletries for the baby.

I used size 1 diapers, and I had a few left over...

so I made "cupcakes!" :-)

You can find directions on how to make a diaper cake here.

You can use all sorts of different themes for diaper cakes.

The possibilities are endless!

They are so fun!

~christmas tree for feathered friends~

Sure wish I had the time this year to decorate a Christmas tree for the birds.

I had so much fun with this a few years back and wanted to share the ideas again.

Maybe I'll decorate a tree for my feathered friends in January! :-)

Here  are all the how-to's!

~peppermint candy ornaments~

I'll be honest I was really thinking these might be a "Pinterest fail..." ;-)

But they worked!

I followed the instructions here.

I used a bit of shortening on the cookie cutters

instead of the cooking spray the original instructions suggested.

I also used a straw instead of a toothpick to poke the holes in the ornaments.

(I found if you wait a minute or so after they come out of the oven it is easier to make the holes.)

The whole process took just a little more than 30 minutes.

They harden back up really quickly.

I put some red ribbon on to hang them with,

and added them to my kitchen Christmas tree.

I thought they really turned out cute!

I would have made more, but only had a dozen peppermints on hand.

I put the star one on the top of the tree! :-)

More peppermint!

peppermint oreo truffles

peppermint biscotti

peppermint bark

~gingerbread ornaments~

I LOVE gingerbread!  

It tastes good.  It smells good.  And it's SO Christmas-y!

This afternoon I used this 

"no spread" gingerbread cookie recipe

to make gingerbread ornaments for my kitchen Christmas tree. :-)

I had a bit of dough leftover, so I used tiny cookie cutters

to also make a cute little garland for my hutch.

More gingerbread!

gingerbread houses

gingerbread scones

gingerbread cookies

little house gingerbread

Soap!

I have a new hobby!  Making soap at home.

No, not the "real" homemade soap with lye and the chance of chemical burns…

  That scares me just a tad. ;-)

Instead, the easy kind, where you use a soap base 

and then add scent, color, herbs, flowers, etc. etc!

The possibilities are endless and I have had more fun getting started.

You can find instructions, recipes and inspiration for making soap all over pinterest.

I started simple this week and bought a soap mold ($2.47 at Hobby Lobby) 

a block of goat's milk soap ($6.59 with my 40% off coupon to Hobby Lobby)

and a block of shea butter soap ($4.99 with my 50% off coupon to Michaels).

I went back to Hobby Lobby two more times this week ;-)

and got some essential oils and dried herbs at 40% off.

For color, I simply used food coloring from the pantry.

I also used a few other items from the kitchen as well.

And, here is what I created… :-)

(Each of the "recipes" I list makes two bars of soap.  With the two blocks of soap base I bought, I made  12 bars of soap and I still have some left over to make 4 more bars.)

~sweet almond oatmeal and honey soap~

(using this one as my face soap - oatmeal and honey are so good for your skin!)

8 cubes of goat's milk soap base

a few drops of sweet almond essential oil

1 tablespoon of honey

1/4 cup of oats (use old fashioned, not quick cooking oats)

1 capful of vitamin E oil

~lemon and poppyseed soap~

(loving using this one in the kitchen!)

8 cubes of shea butter soap base

zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 cup of poppy seeds

1 capful of vitamin E oil

2 drops of yellow food coloring

~mint soap~

8 cubes of goat's milk soap base

2 tablespoons of infused mint water

1 capful of vitamin E oil

2 drops of green food coloring

(The infused mint water didn't give me a strong enough scent for this soap, 

so next time I'll probably just get some spearmint or peppermint essential oil.)

~lavender soap~

(perfect for a sleepy time bath)

8 cubes of goat's milk soap base

1 tablespoon of drived lavender

a few drops of lavender essential oil

1 capful of vitamin E oil

1 drop of red and 1 drop of blue food coloring

~orange peel soap~

(for a morning shower, I think!)

8 cubes of shea butter soap base

1 tablespoon of dried orange peel

1 capful of vitamin E oil

1 drop of red and 1 drop of yellow food coloring

(Again, I think I'll get some orange or citrus essential oil next time for this soap.  Also, I want to add some cornmeal to this variety.)

~rose petal soap~

(Mr. H. calls this the "grandma soap!") ;-)

8 cubes of shea butter soap base

a few drops of rose soap scents 

a capful of vitamin E oil

2 drops of red food coloring

A few tips -

Get "suspension formula" soap bases and your add-ins won't sink to the bottom of your soap bars.

No need to buy the special soap colorings - food coloring works just fine.  One drop of coloring per bar of soap is a good rule of thumb.

It takes right at a minute in the microwave to melt 8 cubes of soap base.  I did 30 seconds, stir.

Then 10 seconds, stir 3 times.

Make sure your soap is completely cool before you pop it out of the mold.  Mine took about an hour.

No need to spray anything in the molds to help the soap not to stick.  Mine came out perfect each time.

Never buy anything full price at Hobby Lobby. :-)  Print your 40% off coupon and take your time gathering your supplies.

I do have a question for any experienced soap makers out there -

I am wondering about the shelf life of the soaps that I added organic ingredients to,

like the oats and the lemon zest?  Anyone know?

Next I want to try the clear glycerin soap base and add wildflowers from the backyard.

And a coffee bean soap, how neat would that be?

You can be SO creative with this 

and the possibilities really are endless!

I'm so excited to enjoy these at home 

and to give them as gifts.   

{Th} read

This week I have two books I'm reading.

And they're my own books - not borrowed from the library or a friend. 

I can't even remember the last time I got a new book,

and in a week's time I got two. :-)

The first book was a gift from my secret sister at church.

In the note attached it said that it was one of her favorites.

I've finished the first two chapters and I am really enjoying it so far.

The setting is on a farm in 1931. :-)

Hidden Places by Lynn Anderson

The best part of this book, though, was the bookmark that came with it!

So pretty!  I just love it.

The other book I'm reading, I just got over the weekend, when we went to Houston.

I got to spend a few minutes in one of my favorite places to "window shop" -

Williams Sonoma. 

I just drool over everything in there.  

And, I also wonder what kind of folks can afford most of the stuff they sell.

On this visit I got a chuckle over a $20 jar of frosting.

$20!!  Granted it was cute packaging and it looked yummy, but still. ;-)

Chicken and Egg by Janice Cole

There are always a lot of really nice cookbooks to look at Williams Sonoma.

I spotted this book last fall and thumbed through it.

This time it was on a clearance rack for 1/2 price

so I snatched it right up. 

It's a memoir of chicken keeping with lots of recipes included.

I think I'm going to like it a lot!

As far as crafting goes - this week I started a blue baby blanket 

for a nephew due in late November.  

I've made this particular blanket before

and it is definitely a "thinking" project,

meaning it takes a lot of counting and full concentration.

I was a little unsure if I should tackle it right now

seeing that my lazy days of summer are swiftly coming to an end,

and I will be a busy girl as soon as school starts back.

But, you know what I did?

I looked at the pattern again.  The blanket is 229 rows long.

I simply divided the number of rows by the number of days I had to work on it 

in order to be finished by the end of November. 

 I quickly realized that even if I only knitted 3 rows a day 

I could still be finished with it by the middle of October! 

 Looking at it that way made it seem SO much more doable.  

And aren't so many things like that??

Something can seem so daunting when faced with the big picture,

but when you break it down and just do a little bit each day,

one foot in front of the other as they say,

all of a sudden it doesn't seem so bad.

Finishing a project, loosing 10 pounds, saving for a vacation, reading a book,

cleaning out a closet, etc...

It's all easier if you just break it down and take it one step at a time. 

So whatever you're facing right now, just put one foot in front of the other

and before you know it you'll reach your destination! :-)

And, isn't it the getting started part that is the hardest? ;-)

As all knitters know that is definitely the hardest part of knitting.

The first few rows are always tight and hard to knit,

but after you get going it's much easier. 

I would say that's probably true for most things...

Week of August 6th