I built a new website for our business and it features a blog, so I’m testing out that format. It has less customization then the WordPress, so I haven’t decided if I will be using that one or this one.
Here is my first blog post on my new website, talking about my new baby and a zipper pouch I made while I was on maternity leave.
https://www.bearinthewoodsllc.com/blog/milk-gremlins-and-zipper-pouches/
So, once again, I find myself randomly thinking “damn, I need to write a blog post, but on what?”
So much has happened since my last post in April. I am now 25 weeks pregnant, and I feel like my belly is this planet attached to my waist that is pulling me along in its orbit, and I still have the third trimester to go through. This is the first kiddo, and it’s been both exciting and scary (ER visit for sciatica issues).
Naturally, I go to the hospital, and then like three different online orders for lotion bars and bath bombs appear just when I cannot move, let alone walk or mix stuff. Now that I am walking under my own power (never taking the ability to go to the bathroom without help for granted again) I am catching up on orders.
The lotion bars in tins have been a huge hit since I debuted them in April. I still surprisingly get orders for the little ones, but the larger tin bars seem to be a big pick for stocking-stuffers with the current orders. I had a lady clean me out of all of them the first day of a two day craft event, and I was up late making more for the next day.
I even added a new scent, Lavender and Sweet Basil. I use this in my one bath bomb recipe, and I love the addition of Sweet Basil – definitely not 50/50, more like 60/30, Lavender to Sweet Basil, but it’s enough. It just reminds me of a Spring garden with the Sweet Basil tempering the floral part of the Lavender. I’m preferring it since it is now getting into the season of
“cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey”
to quote one of my dad’s favorite phrases (just for fun, look it up, it is actually a historic reference involving canons – the ones that go boom boom).
I’m experimenting with a few other lotion-based items. One is a lip balm based out of a new book I purchased called Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book from the Herbal Academy (image below), and the other is a derivative of a recipe I found from Jan Berry aka The Nerdy Farmwife. As an aside, I adore this lady and her blog is like Pinterest, almost everything I see I go “damn, I really want to make that!”
Anyhoodles, below is the new book!
My experiment ended up a lot glossier then I expected, mostly I think because my oil combination choice for the recipe had probably more castor oil in it then I needed and I ended up with a high-gloss end product that doesn’t last as long as I’d like. I think it would be something to use as a lip gloss coat, applied after one uses a lip balm. I’m going to also experiment with tinting this result too.
First attempt at the “more glossy, less balmy then expected” lip balm based off of page 188 in the Botanical Skin Care Book:
I added the honey based on a suggestion in the book for adding “sweetness” but I wasn’t happy with how it appeared to separate from the oils. I didn’t want to overheat things, so I think the 3rd lip balm sample that I poured last probably has most of the sweetness in it.
This wasn’t a bad first attempt, and I have an idea for using this recipe for something else, it just wasn’t the consistency and look I was searching for in this particular instance.
Alas, that is why we take notes and try again!
Attempt 2 I am going to omit the honey, and I believe I am going to fiddle with the hard to soft oil ratios to see if I can get something a little longer lasting.
The Jan Berry recipe is a Warm Toes Lotion Bar I saw in the Nerdy FarmWife newsletter, and I’ve been fiddling with that recipe (it is an excellent recipe! I just can’t help fiddle with stuff just because I am always experimenting). While it works well on warming your toes, it also seems to be helping my Mom’s arthritis, so we’re experimenting with putting it in a tube form for not applying it to your eyeballs accidentally (required when something has things like cayenne in it :D)
Another shout out to Jan for her Sinus & Headache Balm – my husband was extremely grateful during this past month when he got sick. Since he is allergic to the planet (it may sound like I’m exaggerating, but his allergies include grass, trees, pollen, dust, and cats, so that pretty much covers everything I see when I look outside) and I am pregnant, we had a fun time finding something that wouldn’t make his skin lose its shit and that I could handle safely. I really, really still want to try her Pine Headache Balm – I’m just going to have to avoid letting the Hubster smell it.
I hope you enjoy your holiday season, and that you get time to do something crafty!
It feels good to be making stuff again. Between work, school, and being down a spouse due to tax season, I haven’t made soap since last year. Possibly not since June of last year, according to my records. That is too long to not make time to do something I love.
My husband says he can tell when I don’t do something crafty. Apparently I turn all moody and stuff (not to the level of grump-a-soar-ous, but close.) More that I just spiral more and more into unhappiness. It sucks that I let things like stress and worry control me as much as they do. I’ve certainly gotten better at it, but still, this is kind of ridiculous.
To think that I could have been soaping and jamming to Beastie Boys before today. I’m taking it as a sign that “you’ve got to fight… for your right… to PAAAARRTTYYY!” just rang out.
So today I made time to make a batch of soap. I decided to make my goat milk Bella Bar, as it’s one of our most popular, and I had run out of stock. I finished inventory last weekend, so that means I got most of the shipments from re-stocking orders this week, and I get to play! I just stuck it in the fridge to prevent gel phase, so I have accomplished one of my goals!
I’ve been thinking about the lotion bars that I make.
Surprisingly, they’ve been much more popular then I had expected, which is usually the case. My intuition sucks. Or maybe I should say my premonition skills suck. I won’t say these annoy me as much as the bottle-cap candles I make, but maybe just a little.
A little background — I make small candles with leftover wax and wick and my husbands beer bottle-caps. They burn for about an hour and can be good for parties or emergency bags. I sell them for 25 cents each, and I was just trying to prevent waste.
They have been a hit. I had one lady order 50 of the damn things. 50! Parents thinks they are just the cutest, and kids beg their parents for them. It’s mind-boggling to me, it really is. Kinda like when you slave over some stupid potluck dish and three people try it, but throw together something out of a picture cookbook and people can’t get enough (also something I have experienced and find equally mind-boggling).
This is a picture of my current lotion bars. They’re about an inch across, and about 1/2 an inch tall. They’re scented with lavender and lemongrass.
My only thing is that they are lotion bars, that are designed to melt when they come in contact with your body heat for any length of time.
One of my biggest issues with owning a store is packaging.
I hate it. See below.
So basically I usually have a bowl of these on our table, and people can pick out the ones they want and they go into a bag with the ingredients label. However, this does not please me.
I want something that keeps them protected and doesn’t look crappy. The beeswax streaks on the bags, and the bags certainly are not going to protect these suckers when pockets or purses are involved.
Soooo, I decided I am going to upgrade said lotion bars. I have this adorable small silicone bee mold from Brambleberry (so glad I ordered two right when it came out. Sucker has been on back order ever since).
I spent hours (and I do mean hours) on my supplier websites before I found something that would fit the new size I want to use. PaperMart provided my answer, and I was able to order little screw top tins that fit the lotion bar pretty well. Not too much wiggle room around the edges of the bar, but not too little either.
I’m hoping that for maybe a buck or two more, the larger bar and the little tin will be worth it to the people who like them.
Add in some label design (second most hated business thing) and I think I have a product upgrade!
I just took this with my iPad and it is definitely not of high quality, so please don’t judge. Ignore the glitter – that experiment did not work out well.
FYI – This is not a short post. I am going to go through my process, and my brain is like a monster-drink fueled chipmunk on speed with the focus of a cat on the nip with a bird in the house.
So this week has sucked. Like, stress at work combined with loosing a close family friend sucked. Soooo, what does my brain do? In an effort to protect itself from stress and freak-outs, my brain goes “Hey! Lets randomly start creating a recipe for some sort of thing” or “I bet you could make that cool outfit you saw on that Pinterest with the fabric you have on hand.”
Years of depression and anxiety issues have actually netted me some decent stress control and treatment skills. Who knew?
I firmly believe in self-care. So I am not sure if this is the original quote, but I paraphrase this a lot.
Eleanor Brown
“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
You cannot pour from an empty cup! This is so important, but it is incredibly difficult to realize and implement. I can’t tell you the sheer amount of guilt that accompanies it at first. Why am I taking care of myself when others need something? My husband has spent many years trying to convince me I need to take care of myself. I think this is a life-long thing. I’m trying, and I will continue to work at it. It does get better the more you try it.
I try to look at it logically. If I am calm and centered, I can better help others when there is a crisis or they need support. Strong foundations go a long way to shoring up life’s burdens.
I’ve been using a recipe for a facial cleanser I got from https://livingwellmom.com/homemade-lavender-honey-face-wash/
Fun fact about entering your 30’s, it’s another type of puberty. Your body goes through the next stage of changes in your life, and suddenly I don’t even recognize my skin anymore. All the things I was doing, no long work. Don’t even get me started on how my metabolism has betrayed me, that Bastard!
It sucks.
Since its winter, aka The Season of Cold and Misery (disclaimer, I just really hate being cold. I was not made for cold, I am a lizard. Come find me when it’s Spring – I will be on my sun rock.)
This cleanser has been working very well for me. I tweaked the EOs for my own skin needs, and during the Fall, I actually didn’t feel the need for a moisturizer while I was using it. I actually just discovered today that my husband has been using in the shower, which explains why it is going faster then I expected.
I am currently in mourning for my moisturizer. I was using Origins Ginseng Energy Boosting Moisturizer, and I loved it. Great smell, energy boosting benefits, and it was the best damn texture that I had found in all the overwhelming options, especially since my skin is more finicky then a cat whose had their food brand switched. Like what the Hell do we even need that many options for? I understand that everyone’s skin is different, really, I do. I bet you there is probably a moisturizer made from Koala Bear poo and the Komodo Dragon spit. I really do. Probably turns you into a zombie if you stop using it, too.
Actually… I kind of like that. NEW MOISTURIZER TITLE – I AM NOW GOING TO NAME THIS DRAGON SPIT!!
Sorry for the side rant. Anyhoodles, my moisturizer was great, but I realized that it was turning my face red. I’m trying to even out my complexion, so I gave it to my husband (side triumph, I got the man to use moisturizer after he shaves! BOO YA! *hip shimmy* Seriously, if it makes you feel better and helps your skin not feel irritated, why is it so hard to get them to use something just because it’s traditionally “feminine.” I will personally sucker punch anyone who gives my cinnamon roll a hard time!)
Side note: Please don’t tell my husband I referred to him as my Cinnamon Roll of Gooey Awesomeness. Appearances must be maintained, after all.
So my goal is to make myself a new facial moisturizer to help with the scaliness the Season of Cold has deemed to grace my magnificent self with.
To start, I wanted certain ingredients included. Those who know me know I have a random attic filled with strange oils and potions. I’ve always thought that I was a hedge witch in a former life.
This is going to probably go through several incarnations. I went searching on Pinterest, and these two recipes inspired me the most, especially the first.
DIY Healthy Face Moisturizer – Note: I know it says no to the homemade aloe gel, but I’m doing this on purpose. Reasons!
Random things I picked off my goodies shelf:
So I don’t think I am going to get everything in on the first go, but I am going to save some of these options for later testing. I highly doubt I am going to succeed on the first try.
So I’ve been contemplating a blog post for a while now, because I knew it had been a while. It was a lot harder to work up the nerve then I expected. Then I finally log in this morning and discover it’s really been more than a year since I wrote one. Naturally, this got me thinking about the past and what all has kept me from posting. I will be putting most of this behind a link, so that people can see the Soap part, and less my emotional baggage part. The baggage is just how I arrived at the soap making, and is mostly for me. This post has sort of become a “so you want to start soaping” kind of thing.
So,as part of my decision to try new things and also add things to my product inventory, I attempted that wonderful yet frustrating task of making a bath bomb at home. Like many, I was fascinated by the concept when a friend introduced me to this addiction via Lush.
Tutorials and gorgeous pictures abound on various sites, Pinterest in particular luring me into that belief that I can DIY anything easily and with ingredients around the home. As a seasoned Pinterester, I approached this endeavor with a tad more skepticism, but I am happy to report that, for the most part, they are a delight to make. Notice I didn’t necessarily say easy. The basic concept is, in and of itself, easy. However, it is the finer details that require trial and error before you get the feel of how this process works. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be as frustratingly enjoyable, now would it?
I had planned this trial out in advance, and thus ordered good quality ingredients online. I already had a good supply of essential oils and herbs, so I didn’t run into some of the costlier ingredients my first time around.
WARNING! I am a messy crafter!
The biggest issue I had was the molds. I couldn’t get the damn bombs out of the damn molds. Plus, it has rained this whole week which just royally screwed with how these things dried. Because they dried slowly, even after waiting 48 hours before taking some of them out of the molds, they would settle and flatten. Irritating, the little bastards. Also, they had this bumpy texture that I just did not understand how it happened, since it was a great texture pre-molding.
So, I experimented. I have the Fort Loudon, PA Peach Festival Saturday, and I had been kicking around this idea for 6 months and I was determined to have these at the fair. I’m up to about 6 or 7 batches at this point. I’ve also learned a few things.
This is what I have figured out thus far. I’ll put more on storage and creation as I learn. I came up with a nice recipe that I thinks elks divine. I call it Rosey Dreams, and its got milk powder and rose petals in it, scented with rose, lavender, and sandalwood.
To see packaging, they will be on my Facebook business page shortly. Bear in the Woods LLC
If someone else is attempting bath bombs, hope this works.
So it’s been a busy and exhausting year punctuated by starting a small business, a new job, the death of a parent, various medical surprises, and just an all-around resettling back into life. All of these pretty much managed to collectively knock me on my ass and stomp on my face for good measure. Recently, I was able to squeeze in a little craft time to help maintain my sanity, and the result is that I discovered a love of making candles.
I had been kicking this idea around for awhile, especially as a product to sell in our new founded craft business. What I didn’t expect was how much I would enjoy it! I started out with trying to melt some pure beeswax beads into some tiny jars in the oven based on some Pinterest posts, and I’m lucky I didn’t just give up the entire thing then and there. Pure beeswax is a bitch to work with. There, got that off my chest. *phew* Lessons learned were a need for better reading and instructional materials, as well as utensils and materials better suited to what I wanted my final end product to be.
I started immediately researching books and websites for the knowledge, and finally ended up purchasing “Candlemaking for Fun & Profit” by Michelle Espino due to it having a lot more positive reviews than other guides. I love this book. When I was researching wax, and I would read the reviews detailing problems others were experiencing, I turned to this book. One of my favorite parts is that it has a troubleshooting section on why you might be experiencing certain difficulties and how to remedy them. It has good explanations and eases you through the process of different projects, from pillars to container candles, from novelties and tea lights.
My focus was container candles, and I poured my first mason jar candles using a soy wax blend I bought in bulk at 50 lbs.
I only had an issue with some wet spots, which the subsequemt purchase of a heat gun (best toy ever!) has remedied.
Wicking a candle is still an adventure, but thankfully there are handy tips for figuring that out. I’ve now started critiquing the candles I see in stores and it’s really easy to tell if a lit candle is improperly wicked, once you know what to look for. I.e. Carbon balls forming in the end, uneven melt pools, etc.
I’m also still figuring out scenting, but that’s my favorite part, as I feel like a chemist or more aptly, a wise woman mixing potions and watching temperatures. My next foray will be colors, and I am so excited!
Interestingly enough, research can make a big difference, so make sure you do your research on materials so that your cost vs. profit numbers work out. Beeswax is way more expensive, and making an 8 oz beeswax candle vs. a soy wax candle can have a price difference of up to 4 times the amount of the other! In other words, you could be spending $2 per soy candle and $8 per beeswax candle! My research led to a cost-effective soy wax and palm oil blend, designed for hotter climates. Pillar candles will hold their sides better.
I’d honestly thought I wouldn’t be adding any more hobbies into my life recently, and yet I’ve added quilting, self-defense classes, and now, candles. Also self reflection, but that is an important part of a hobby. How else would you relax or find release? Consider taking a class with a friend or partner. My husband and I are taking Krav Maga, and enjoying ourselves immensely.
Find a passion so that you may live your life passionately.
A friend recently asked if I would sew some patches on her husbands leather bike vest- a reqest that both excited and terrified! I have been teaching myself quilting lately, and happily learning more to add to the sewing basics my mother taught me.
I, like others who love to sew, dreaded working with leather, having heard how much of a bugger it was to work with, yet I also lusted at the thought of customized leather goods. So, with much trepidation, I turned to that much beloved time- suck- Pinterest. I found wonderful information on needle sizes and thread (learned that Cotton thread apparently reacts to tanins in leather and thus should be passed over for another choice, in my case, 100% polyester) and proceeded to carefully look at this expensive vest in the hopes that I could avoid pulling any stitches from the leather. The vest has multiple pockets, both outside and inside, and I needed them all to be functional by the end of this endeavor.
A little background… I love to sew, but need lots of practice before I can be happy with what I create. My sister, makes these beautiful creations and has run a sewing business for many years, managing to decider much of the instructions that I believe should have been included as an additional side of the Rosetta Stone. Instructions on making darts or modifying patterns look like hieroglyphics to me, such as it were.
Anyhoodles, I was able to install the first patch on the front right shoulder without endangering pockets, by way of going through the liner seam- the white edge. This is after I hand stitched it back up using another instructional pin on the back stitch (my hand sewing is rather atrocious).
re-stitched seam, please ignore the cat fur.
fully sewn on
The finished patch! Thanks to a gutermann thread board as a Christmas gift years ago, I had yellow thread that closely matched the outside edge. I sewed on the inside of the patch boarder, trying very hard to make sure my needle went in the holes of the patch border. The resul: my husband told me he couldn’t tell this had been sewn on.
Now, my biggest problem. Trying to get the vest under the presser foot without scratching leather or having the patch shift. You can’t pin leather, those holes don’t close and are there forever. So, I tried a pin suggestion of using scotch tape. That so did NOT work. It made me too nervous and the patch kept moving with all the manhandling I was giving that leather. So, now what? I then read about spray adhesive!!!! It’s a big thing in quilting, and someone suggested gluing the patches on before sewing them.
It worked beautifully!
I found some elmer’s multi-purpose spray adhesive At the local dollar general and I was able to make small adjustments after I used it. I had to wait for it to dry, but the peace of mind was well worth the wait. It did come off if pulled hard enough, and dries pretty clear.
The second patch was a little trickier, as placement was on top of two pockets, an inner and an outer.
patch that is drying from the glue.
The inside pocket was also anchored by another fabric strip seven into a seam. I pulled probably around 10 inches of stitches out of the lining, but it gave me enough room to shift pockets and leather out of the way.
the finished patch
Here it is! I didn’t have as close a color match with this thread, so you might be able to see my stitches along the interior blue edging. I put white thread in the bobbin to match the background.
The longest part was sewing back the lining, making sure I out the pockets back where they belong. Removed cat hair, and it’s done. Returned the vest, my friend’s hubby was very happy!
Thoughts:
My first project with leather was both terrifying, yet addicting. My sister convinced my dad to buy a presser foot collection with my sewing machine as a gift, which has been a Godsend. I had a Teflon coated foot that didn’t stick to the leather.
I want to make more!
Moving the leather worked easier once I lower my feedogs. Mi e are lowered by a switch which made this easy. Any time I had to rotate the vest, I’d put my need down, lower the feed dogs and the. Switch them back. I’d rotate the vest and start sewing again, because my feed dogs don’t come back up until the needle starts moving again. That way. They didn’t scratch the leather.
So I have to share my first quilt!
My hubby’s nephew and I share a similar addiction to all things Toothless and How To Train Your Dragon. So, I decided to make him a Toothless quilt!
I made it lap size, with machine quilting lines along the simple 2″ squares & a little bit of free motion quilting in the middle to do a dragon. Metallic thread sucks (just for the record).
My husband is my display rack for these pictures.
This is the front of the quilt. You can see the dragon better in the next picture.
I even did the part of his tail that was replaced in red metallic thread ($17 a spool, thank God for random strangers with coupons).
I did the backing in a black cotton that has little circles, picked up especially because they looked like dragon scales! The machining was done entirely in green thread to match the accent, and it made for a cool effect on the back.
I pretty much just did a 1/4 inch straight stitch along the edges of the piece seams, and a decorative stitch around the center rectangle. I made the binding from scraps, and discovered I had a binding foot in the process that I hadn’t known about. The 1/4 inch presser foot was a God-send.
A good deal of my help came from wonderful Pinterest searches!
I certainly learned alot, and I can’t wait to start my new project – a Christmas table runner!
The Crafty Imp 