Green Tea with Jasmine Soap

Green Tea with Jasmine

 This soap is a new one for me.  I had never used a floral fragrance oil before and I wasn't sure how it was going to behave in this batch of soap.  However it behaved itself very well.

Top detail

I started by measuring out my water/tea, adding a small amount of silk fibers, and measuring and adding the lye to the water.  After measuring out the oils, I started by mixing the oils to break up any lumps.  Next I added the lye water to the oils.  Before mixing though I added the fragrance oil to the oils.

After reaching trace, I separated the soap into three portions.  One portion I colored with beet powder, I was hoping for a pink, but the tea color was too strong.  One portion I colored with comfrey oil and a pinch of green pigment.  The last portion I colored with titanium dioxide.

After all of my colors were mixed, I started layering the colors.  I did two layers of each color.  Then I used a skewer to do a circular swirl to swirl the layers.  This gives a nice swirl through the layers that is beautifully visible when the bars are cut.  After swirling the layers I put down a solid layer of white and then topped with a thin layer of green.  After I had the layers in the mold, I mixed a little bit of ivory mica with a little bit of vitamin E oil.  I dripped the mica mixture over the top of the soap and started swirling the very top layer of the soap with the sharp end of a skewer.  I swirled it in little 3/4" circles back and forth across the soap mold.  I tried to keep from swirling the white in to a bare minimum.

After giving the soap 24 hours to gel and solidify, I unmolded it.  I love the swirl.  I haven't seen anyone else use it that I can remember, so I may have to come up with a name for it just to make it easier to blog the soaps I use it in.  I am not a huge fan of florals, and this one is still a little strong for me, but I expect that it will probable fade a bit over the next month.

I am linking with the following blogs:

http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com                                http://www.bystephanielynn.com
http://blackfoxhomestead.com/                                          http://www.iamannekehn.blogspot.com
http://www.hopeineveryseason.com                                  http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com
http://littlehomesteadonthehill.blogspot.com/                      http://www.sewcando.com/
http://www.campwander.com/                                          http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://coloradolady.blogspot.com                                      www.aboverubies.net
http://abidingwoman.com/                                               http://www.besimplybetter.com/
http://www.deeprootsathome.com/                                   http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/
http://raisinghomemakers.com                                          http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/
http://www.52mantels.com/                                             http://www.the36thavenue.com/
http://www.create-with-joy.com                                       http://teachingwhatisgood.com/
http://www.the36thavenue.com/                                       http://seevanessacraft.com/
http://katherinescorner.com/                                           http://cupcake-n-bake.blogspot.com
http://alifeinbalance.net                                                   http://www.hopestudios.blogspot.com
http://thediydreamer.com                                                 http://www.the-chicken-chick.com
http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com                       http://www.flusterbuster.com
http://www.time-warp-wife.blogspot.com                        http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
http://www.growinghomeblog.com                                 http://nourishingjoy.com
http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/              http://trayerwilderness.com/
http://timeforseason.blogspot.com                                     http://mylampisfull.blogspot.com/

Spring Fling

I found out that I have some strawberries in my backyard that are in a shady spot.  They are also not in a spot that is convenient to keep an eye out for ripe berries.  So I thought that I would try an idea I saw on Pinterest.  So I bought clay pots that I can use to make a stacking planter.  I am painting them so they will hold more moisture, i.e. not have to be watered quite so often. Anything that works to make life easier is a plus in my book.  I got enough for two stacking planters.

After I got my paint, between rain and a migraine  it took me about two weeks to get my pots painted.  After they were painted I still had to get my potting mix.  This was fairly easy to make myself.  My father has about three dump truck loads of leaves that have been sitting for three years.  This means they are wonderfully broken down and are more like dirt than leaves.  So I mixed about 1 part vermiculite to 2 - 3 parts leaves.  I don't have pictures of this step because I was working late in the evening and it got too dark for pictures.  I mixed everything up in my kids plastic wading pool which worker really well.  Each pot has to be stacked after the one under it is full of course.  This makes it possible for you to place the pots at an angle.  Unfortunately By the time I got my pots all done, the strawberries already had berries on them.  Since I don't want to kill them I am going to wait until the strawberries have ripened to move them.  In the mean time I am planting nasturtiums in their place.

So to spruce up things this spring I decided that I needed a table for the front porch.  Well, I didn't want to spend any money, and my dad has all of the wire spools that he just has to dispose of eventually.  So I rescued one of them from the trash pile.  However I didn't want to end up with it rotted on my porch, so I used the leftover paint from the pots to paint the spool as well.

 I think that it will work quite well, and it won't blow off the porch in a stiff wind.  I have to consider this since the rest of my furniture for my porch is folding chairs.  On top of the spool, I have a 12 inch pot planted with pansies sunk in an 18 inch pot also planted with pansies planted around the sunken pot.  I think in about a month it will be truly beautiful.