Tuesday, July 26, 2011

HOW-TO TUESDAY

When working with polymer clay, sometimes it can be difficult to get all of the clay off of my hands with just soap and water. In high school I had used a mechanic's orange pumice that worked great, but it wasn't something that I kept regularly for myself.

Recently I have discovered using coffee. I've read that coffee is actually good for your skin, and I love the added bonus of scrubbing power brought on by the grounds.
SUPPLIES YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE YOUR SOAP:
  • Melt & Pour soap base (offered at craft stores. Don't forget to use your coupons!)
  • Ground coffee
  • Vitamin E oil (optional)
  • Plastic food container (yogurt) or other type of recycled container (microwave safe)
  • Plastic spoon or other tool for stirring
  • Mold
WHAT I DID: I bought a large brick of melt and pour goat's milk soap base and cut 8 portions out of the brick and melted it in a 16oz sour cream container. (Melt your soap according to package directions.) This makes about 1c of soap. Next I added 1/4c of coffee and about 1 teaspoon of Vitamin E oil to the melted soap. (The Vitamin E oil is not necessary, the soap is mostly for scrubbing the clay off of your hands.) Stir with a plastic spoon until combined and pour into molds. Having children in the house helps to have all sorts of fun stuff on hand, and today I used their silicon molds to make Lego Minifigs to keep at the sink.
The nice part about using a recycled container and plastic spoon is that it makes clean up a breeze. Just toss them in the trash!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Kodiak Inspired Coffee Sock Knitting Pattern

Well, I finally did it! I finally got the pattern for my Kodiak Coffee Sock written and now it's available for purchase. It's pretty easy and I hope you enjoy it!

Happy knitting!