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Happy Crafting
Jacki & Peregrine
Homemade Pampering Gift Baskets
I'm back in Indiana and am enjoying my time off from work. I gotta say, I definitely needed a vacation. As promised, this post is about the Homemade Pampering Gift Baskets I made for my family. Here's one of them:
I had a ton of fun making them because they combined a number of my favorite crafts/hobbies into one gift: (1) sewing; (2) soapmaking; (3) making homemade beauty products; (3) creating pretty packaging; and (4) getting my boyfriend involved--he made the wooden soap dishes.
If she lived in Portland, I am sure we'd be haninging out right now... This gal is a Polycrafter for sure! Love it. Just thought I'd share.
2013: the year I finish things
This year will be different. See - I've already finished something!
Yarn: Wolmeisse
Needles: US4 addi clicks
Pattern: Hitchhiker (ravelry)
The pattern is easy and makes a nice long scarf. The yarn is beautiful and there was a lot of it - over 500 yards I think - so it took a while to finish. Almost two years, actually, which is too long even for a gigantic ball of yarn.
I have knit this pattern as written and with my own tweaks in several different colors of sock yarn.. It's a great go-to for no-nylon sock yarn; easy, quick, fun, fun-to-wear! Congrats CarrieBee on finishing your first project of many in 2013!
My Adventures in Liquid Soap!
So… I’ve been toying with the idea of making liquid soap. On my last trip to the soap supply store I sucked it up and bought a gallon of Potassium Hydroxide (the type of lye used for liquid soap). It took me 3 weeks to find the time, a thrift store crock-pot, and the courage to try something new.
This weekend was definitely an adventure!
I spent several hours researching YouTube videos and blogs to see if I could find an easy castille (100% olive oil) liquid soap recipe which munching on Halloween candy (Sugar!!!) If finally just decided to try my hand at a simple, small recipe and just plugged 16 oz of Olive Oil into http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/lye-calculator-and-recipe-resizer and went for it. I knew it was a risk but i was feeling bold (maybe the sugar had me a bit antsy) Anywho, I measured out my oils, water, lye and got started. (If you’re not familar with the soap making process I HIGHLY recommend checking out SoapMakingForum.com and the About.com Tutorial for Liquid Hot Process soap) but after an hour of mixing, I couldn’t keep the mixture at trace! It would trace and then separate, trace and then separate, on and on…. So I finally gave up and poured it out, and went back to my computer.
This time I decided to just go with the simple (cheap) recipe on the about.com tutorial which used vegetable oil and Coconut oil. So two hours after starting this process, I was back in the kitchen mixing up my second attempt. I am happy to say, it worked!
Definately a trial & error process! But the hard part is over- I’ve tried it failed and lived to tell about it! I look forward to much more home chemistry and am excited for I am on a quest to re-create my favorite organic tea tree oil 100% castille face wash! Oh and shampoo!
~Jacki~
Unexpected Uses for Supplies
One of the great things about being a poycrafter is being able to raid your stash that “belongs” to one craft – and use it for another one. Or for any wacky thing!
What do these two pictures have in common? (Besides the fact that they are both taken at the fabulous-creative-fun-colorful-playful-inspirational Oregon Country Fair?) My Auntie and I are both wearing bindis on our foreheads. (If you don’t know what a bindi is, here is the Wikipedia explanation.) Bindis that used to be scrapbooking supplies. I can’t count how many times people asked us, “where did you get those gorgeous bindis!?!?” ”Well,” I laughed each time, “from my scrapbooking stash.”
Here we are modeling our bindis. Auntie is showing off some off the great hand-sewn items for sale, and I am
practicing my shaka (hang loose sign) affirmation at the Affirmation Station.
Useful and Creative Household DIY and Greetings from Polycrafters’ Co-Instigator
- Peregrine’s DIY Green Household Cleaner! Yea for not taking herself to seriously!
Hello fellow polycrafters! I co-organize the Polycrafters with Jacki. My name is Peregrine, and like you, I can’t love just one craft. As I work in the environmental field, I will post about something eco-friendly to start: Household DIY, specifically, Make Your Own Cleaning Products. No, no, it’s not boring. Think of the creative aromatherapy possibilities! The bottle decorating possibilities! (here is the cutest, kitschiest crocheted liquid soap dispenser cover)
Make-your-own cleaning products are: —Super cheap, —safe for your health, —better for the environment, and FAST. Believe me, while unemployed recently, I was on a mission to find the DIY tricks that saved the Most Amount of Money in the Least Amount of Time. This one is a winner:
All Purpose-Spray Cleaner:
Peregrine’s DIY Green Household Cleaner! Yea for not taking herself to seriously!
- Get an empty spray bottle, ’bout Windex sized.
- Get a permanent marker and write this recipe on the spray bottle’ side (so you don’t forget or loose it): 1 cup white vinegar, few drops of tea tree oil or lavender oil (anti-bacterial stuff), few drops of scented essential oil of your choice
- Put those ingredients in (you’ll probably want a funnel)
- Fill the rest of the bottle with water
- Have fun decorating your bottle. You could go artsy with paints and waterproof sealant, or go tacky-fun with googley-eyes and ribbon. Just tie on some ribbon if you are really short on time like I was. Or…???
- Laugh at yourself when you start to worry about spraying it near food in the kitchen, but remember that it is Totally Safe!
- Grin.
My *new* Wallet # DIY
So over the last week I have decided I really like using altoid tins for a mirade of purposes including my wallet. They are sturdy, water resistant, and unassuming. Nobody thinks twice about the tin on the bar ( which happens to be where I am tonight..singing karoke)…
Just anotherDIY moment in my life….
Newest Knitting Project
It’s Labor day and I’ve just finished a 2 month long KAL (knit-a-long) by Mr Stephen West (see my pictures on the previous post) and I’m bored. Hubby is still in Seattle for Penny Arcade Expo (PAX West) and its gorgeous in PDX!
So I call my friend Siohban to grab some brekie by bike and hit up Twisted ( a local yarn shop that I know is open). Breakfast and cocktails in our tummies, we bike past a bike store-which is closed-and then head for the Yarn Shop!
I knew what I was gonna be knitting- I had been eyeing this pattern for a while and had already purchased it… Something I never do ahead of time…. just to make sure I actually made it! I convinced my friend to make it with me… it actually wasn’t very hard at all…
So, we got our yarn wound in to balls and headed next door to the Rose & Thistle for a pint of beer and some knitting. Perfect labor day in my mind.
So here is my Scalene on Day 2.
Knitting- Finished Project
For all you knitters out there- Here is a pic of my recently finished Mystery Knit along - Rockefeller by Stephen West- For more info check out Stephen’s website/ravelry
My attempt at an altered sweatshirt
So- I was cruzing Pinterest.. and found this really inspiring pin about altered sweatshirts. You can find it here.
I am going to try my hand at this and see how “easy” it is. I used to sew with my mom- who is a professional- but haven’t done it for a while. But I have no excuses seeing as a very generous friend gifted me a sewing machine and I was gifted my grandmother’s babylock serger!
So I went to the thrift store and picked up 2 very large(xxl & xxxl) men’s pullover sweatshirts. I ususally wear a women’s medium so these should be large enough to modify. I started pulling apart the blue sweatshirt yesterday as it will be my first attempt. I will save the green one for when I am a bit more confident.
- by jackiolantern via Instagram
Next step- find my kitchen table and set up the machines; one of which I have never operated before 
I will keep you updated on my progress.
