Making Soap

Ever since I first discovered the world of Handmade, mostly through my experiences with Etsy, I have been enthralled with the idea of making my own soap. I initially searched through the multitudes of sellers on Etsy to find Theraganics, from whom I purchased several bars of soap. I loved it! I was hooked. It made my skin feel so soft and smooth, it smelled wonderful, and best of all, it was natural and handmade! So, since then I've been doing research on cold-process soap making, and slowly purchasing supplies with which to make my very own soap. I have my recipe all set to try, but I am waiting for my order of lye to arrive, thanks to the new restrictions placed on purchasing this hazardous chemical. My recipe includes various oils, coconut milk, and honey. It's a basic, moisturizing soap, good, I think, for my first attempt. I have also been researching herbs for skincare, and I think I want to eventually make either a comfrey or calendula soap, both of which seem to be good for skin disorders such as eczema. I'd love to make one of these for my sister in law and nephew, both of whom have eczema. But I get ahead of myself. I have yet to make my first batch, but when I do, I will document the entire process here.

Brand new painting

After a long hiatus, in which I was away for a month helping with the pregnancy of my sister and subsequent birth of my niece, among other things, I have returned to the blogging world. I have lately been obsessed with three things: working out (Bikini Ready, Fast! Oh yeah, farewell to the jiggly poundage that kept me warm this long, snowy winter! That is, if I can stick with it long enough to make a dent.), the Appalachian Trail (I have hiked on it a total of three times now, adding up to about, ehhh, six miles or so. But they're really more reconnaissance hikes.), and something else which will remain unnamed. Since this is a creative blog, I shall show you the painting I did yesterday. This one is a bit darker than my usual, but it is now hanging on my wall downstairs, and I believe I'll keep it. I attempted a sort of antiqued linen look for the background, which shows up easier in real life than the photograph, and an Edgar Allen Poe inspired tree with blackbirds. I have not yet named it. I actually had been looking into vinyl wall decals such as this one, thinking to perhaps purchase some contact paper and create my own to fill the empty white expanse of wall near my front door. However, since my walls are not properly painted, only primed, I decided it might not be a good idea to stick contact paper to them. I remembered I had a large blank canvas just hiding out in my closet, waiting for an inspiring moment to metamorphose it into something prettier than a blank canvas, and bada bing! Several hours later the painting is hanging on the wall and I'm sitting on a chair, reading a book, surreptitiously glancing up at it every thirty seconds. Hope you like it!

Winter Sunset

I'm back, after a long and luxurious break from the technical world. I must admit, it was refreshing to spend days, yes, even weeks away from the computer, but it's also good to feel connected again. I wanted to share my newest painting, of a treeline silhouetted against a lovely Ohio sunset. This is a scene by my brother-in-law's home, and it was a lot of fun to do. The water in the pond had a thin layer of ice over it in places, which reflected the color of the sky in an unusual way. I find water is not the easiest thing for me to portray. If there are any artists out there with some tips, I would highly welcome them! I will get this posted to my etsy shop as soon as I can manage to get some decent pictures of it. In the meantime, I will endeavor to create another carbon pencil drawing, perhaps of some type of animal. Shall I follow the etsy trend, and draw an owl? Or perhaps something else woodsy, a squirrel or a deer. Hmm, we shall see!