Invisapeeps 2.0

Aardvark · But my mom says I'm cool!

RE: Crafters! What are you working on?

Balloon Animal · Guru

I love both of those

Aardvark · But my mom says I'm cool!

Thank you. I got the letters and things at Michael's, the plates at Target, and the glasses at Ikea.

just hanging around · Senior Member

Aardi, love the letters! i did a plaque for my new granddaughter, with her initials in lavender, blue, and green, on an ivory plaque. it will go on the shelf over her window, and be surrounded by various stuffed animals (some that were my DD's, some that were my SIL's).

right now i'm getting ready to piece a blanket for my grandson for his "Big Boy Room". DIL got a set of blue panels on serious sale. they weren't long enough for his window, but there was plenty of material for a window valance, two floor pillows, and a pieced blanket in the curtain fabric and true red flannel, which i used for backing on the floor pillows. i also got the flannel on serious sale, so all of the soft goods for his room is going to cost about $30. the blanket isn't something that has to be done right away....they'll be moving him out of the nursery into his big boy room by the end of April, and he won't need the blanket until Fall.

Desdenova · Motherhood: Sleep is for the weak!!

I love how they turned out!!!

I found this place where they sell craft stuff this weekend. We were in a hurry and couldn't see everything they had, but I'm going back and will get what I need to do LO's door letters :D

ladyloonatic · Senior Member

Well done! The letters are really cute!

What kind of adhesive did you use for the plates and glasses?

EmmDee · Guru

I feel wrong posting my things over here since it is a business for me now but if you all don't mind, I will share a few things

Spoiler

This is a sandstone piece, I hand cut/snipped the heart in the center

I made this as a wedding present for my cousin, it has their monogram on the reverse side. I didn't get to make them a stone because one of my regular customers ordered them one already.

This is a 1x2' tile painted with a stone cross

I am about to start making more bottles like this and sell them with reed diffusers

And I just think this one is cute, I really like the cottage I designed

ladyloonatic · Senior Member

Very nice!

Aardvark · But my mom says I'm cool!

ladyloonatic wrote:
Well done! The letters are really cute!

What kind of adhesive did you use for the plates and glasses?

Hot glue - it's holding well, but I make sure to pick it up by the glasses. I didn't actually glue the whole thing together, just the small top plate to the highball and the middle dinner plate to the wine glass. The purpose is so that I can use either 2 or 3 levels as needed, but if it's too unstable, I will glue the whole thing together.

Aardvark · But my mom says I'm cool!

Sounds beautiful, JHA!

just hanging around · Senior Member

EmDee, i think those are gorgeous.

i started the process of asking you to make stepping stones for my grandbabies before i deleted from Zeta.

we'll have to start working on that again, in June, when i know what Munchkin's (another grandson) name will be. our princess Sofia is now here and healthy and gorgeous.

oh, and i forgot to tell you...i told the hubs that i was working with a stone artist to make stepping stones for the babies. he thinks that is really cool!

EmmDee · Guru

JHA, that will be awesome. Can't wait to do that for you. How exciting that your grandchild troop is expanding again! I am glad that your DH supports the idea as well. Sweet Canary from zeta won a gift certificate on a facebook giveaway I did and is ordering some additional stones too. I am kind of proud of the designs I did for their names so when I am done with those I will post them for more ideas.

just hanging around · Senior Member

we'll figure it out betwixt the two of us, EmDee. it's going to be really fun to do! and i have no problem with you using the pics of the final stones to add to your portfolio....

EmmDee · Guru

It will be so cool for sure!

I am in La Grange working on stones. I can't wait to get back to Austin and get my business/hobby room set up. I started playing with polymer clay back before the holidays but haven't had time to mess with it in months. That is a relaxing hobby that helps me reset my creativity.

Balloon Animal · Guru

I actually have a craft idea I read about I want to try for Mother's Day gifts for my mom and grandmother. You buy quick dry cement and save old cereal boxes or other kinds of boxes for molds. Then you cut a hole in the box and pour the cement in. Then let the kids put their handprints in there or use colored glass stones or bottle tops or shells to decorate them. Then they dry and you rip the box off and you have garden stepping stones. It seemed pretty easy so I thought we would try it. Let them each make a stepping stone for each of them and then they will have 3 cute hand made stepping stones for their gardens.

EmmDee · Guru

That sounds like a great craft for the kids. I had never heard about using cereal boxes but that is cool. They make fairly inexpensive molds if you wanted to invest in making more of these in the future, about $5. Using this one they could place the stones together in a spot. www.amazon.com/Midwest-Products-Octagon-Stepping-12-Inch/dp/B000WWMLHG/ref=sr_1_1

OpheliaDev1 · Guru

I made a batch of salt bar soap this weekend. That's when you add salt to the soap. I used pink Himalyan salt (on sale from Homegoods). It's pretty! I can't wait to try it. Gotta wait 6 weeks. :(

EmmDee · Guru

I would love recommendations on making soap. I have never done it before but it looks like fun.

OpheliaDev1 · Guru

My two favorite sites are www.millersoap.com and Soap Making Forum. You can get almost everything at Walmart. Lye can be difficult to get. Depending on where you live, you may have to mail order it.

That's assuming you want to make it from scratch. If you just want to fiddle with color and scent, you can do melt and pour, which are soap (or detergent) that you melt, color and scent, and then pour into a mold.

If you want more detailed info, let me know!

EmmDee · Guru

Thanks Ophelia. My grandparents used to make STRONG soap with the fat from the hogs when we butchered. That stuff was not used for skin unless you had something like poison ivy you wanted to dry out. I would be interested in learning how to make it from scratch.

OpheliaDev1 · Guru

By your description, I would guess that the soap your grandparents made was lye heavy. When you make soap, the fats and the lye combine into a new molecule, and that is soap. Most soapers superfat - which means they add more fat than the lye can use. This makes this soap gentle because the extra fat is available to moisturize you. And it's a cushion against lye-heavy soap. Most soapers superfat between 5% and 10%. Interestingly, most soap making books have recipes that are 15% or 20% superfat. I think that's a CYA move to make sure nobody produces a lye-heavy soap.

I use lard in almost of my soaps, and lard makes a wonderful, gentle soap. My only no-lard soaps are the all vegetable ones I make for vegetarians.

To make soap, you need a scale, water, oils/fats, lye, a pitcher, a spoon and a mold (something to pour the soap in).

Always ALWAYS run your recipe through a lye calculator. I use the one at soapcalc.

EmmDee · Guru

They made the soap for use on clothes and grease and such.

Thanks for the info. Do you make it to sell or just for yourself?

OpheliaDev1 · Guru

I have sold a little. Mainly I give them away. I literally have 7 bars of soap in my bathtub right now! I don't particularly want to make a lot of money from it, but I would love be able to sell them at cost just to pay for my hobby and to free up room for more soap.