Friday, November 21, 2008

Snowflake Soaps

I made these soaps this morning for a donation to a gift basket for a local PTA. These are fun and easy to make. Moving me more into the Christmas Spirit.


Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Bath & Body Products

I have a great passion for making soaps and various bath & body products. I have gradually been introducing various products in my gift shop, The Gift Garden, and at local craft shows. Since I enjoy making these products so much and the feedback I have been getting, I decided that I should make these items as a separate product line. Therefore, these items will no longer be packaged and sold under The Gift Garden. Now they will be sold under Distinctly You. This is our new logo.




I chose this name because I want my products to be about you. While I will have some pre-made items like my cold & hot processed soaps and glycerin soaps other products will be custom made. You will be able to choose colors and fragrances making the products distinctly yours. I am working on a web-site devoted to these products and hope to have my Etsy store up and running very soon.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Cupcake Soap

I have to say wow for this soap. I was browsing through Etsy and checking out different soaps when I came across this one. This looks so much like the real thing and it is scented with White Chocolate Cherry.....yum.

Check out other great creations by Crazy K Bath & Body here. I am off to go buy some of her soaps.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Aroma Bead Ornaments

As promised, I am posting the rest of the information on how to turn your Aroma Beads into ornaments.

After making the beads, choose metal cookie cutters in the shapes and sizes you want. For mine, I used Christmas Ornament shaped cutters.


Place the cookie cutters on a metal non-stick cookie sheet. Fill the cutters with a layer of beads. Make sure the bottom is completely covered. You will then bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 5-10 minutes. The beads will melt together making your ornament. Do not leave the beads unattended.




After taking them out of the oven, let them cool completely and then remove from the sheet and cutters. You can place in the freezer to expedite the process.


To finish them off, I used a nail to make a hole in the tops and put in an ornament hanger. You could also use string or ribbon.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Aroma Beads

Aroma beads have been quite a popular item so I wanted to show how to make them and also how they can be made into ornaments for the holidays.

Aroma beads are clear plastic beads that can absorb up to 30% fragrance oil. Most often they are used as air fresheners in the car, in lockers, linen drawers, closets, or anywhere fragrance is desired. When I sell them, I put them in organza bags.

To make them you need the following:

Aroma beads
fragrance oil
liquid candle dye (if you want to color them)
a glass jar or container that has a lid
packaging


I usually make the beads in 1lb increments however you can do smaller amounts too. I use 2 oz of fragrance per lb of beads. If it is a really strong fragrance or essential oil, I use less and if it is a soft fragrance I may opt to use more.



For the candle dye, I usually use approximately 6 - 10 drops to color 1 lb of beads. You can use more or less depending on how soft or dark you want the color to be.

After adding the candle dye to your fragrance, swirl the jar to mix the 2 together.


Next, add the beads.



Then put the lid on securely, and give a good shake. Keep shaking until the fragrance and color is evenly disbursed.



You will want to shake the jar up every hour or so. Depending on the fragrance, it can take a few hours to several days for all the fragrance to absorb. You will know when the beads are dry when they no longer stick to the sides of the jar and they are dry to the touch.

All the supplies listed in this tutorial are available in a special kit for the holidays at The Gift Garden. In part 2 of this tutorial, I will show you how to turn these beads into ornaments.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Craft Show

It has been a while since I have posted but I will be posting regularly over the next few weeks as I have lots of great information, tips, and ideas to share for the holiday season. In the meantime, I will be at the Holiday Craft Show this Saturday at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The hours are 9:00 am - 4 pm at 400 N Aspen in BA. Please come on down and say hello!

The shop will also be open Saturday from 10 - 6. We are participating with the Main Street Association Holiday Tea - Off. Be sure to fill out an entry form for the drawing to be held on November 13th at 8:45 pm.

I am also participating with the Buy Broken Arrow Program sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. You get one ticket for coming in and more tickets for every $10.00 you spend.

Full information on both of these campaigns is available in the store. I look forward to seeing you soon.