Best Holiday Ever

This year we decided to do away with family gifts of the commercial kind and voted on a family vacation. Lucky for us, the my drummer man's family own a beach front property nestled in amongst beautiful Kauris. We started a Piggy bank (a real 70's version red plastic Pig with white hat) which we fed almost every day our small change. I was surprised how quickly it grew.

Deciding not to purchase gifts this year removed the normal merry seasonal stress, I gave dear friends crafts that I had made, over the past few months in our girl Friday craft days. nothing could have been easer.
The days were spent reading, eating, walking swimming, talking, sleeping, drinking,talking loudly and plenty more sleeping.



Frenches Bay Tita Rangi
Inspiration for many of Colin Machan's Paintings.


Blue boat under the Pohutakawa Tree

Beatiful Sandstone

Merry Christmas

Hi every one, just a quick note to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
I would like to share this quick and easy craft, with you all. Perfect for last minute gifts, and a great Holiday project for the children.
Have a Great Christmas, and I look forward to sharing some more crafts in the New Year.

Cheats Soap

If you have always wanted to make your own soap, but didn't like the ideal of mucking around with caustic soda and the like, then here is the perfect alternative. Children love making there own soap, and creating recipes, it gets very messy but its good clean fun.

Ingredients

Lux flakes (pure soap) or a pure soap in flake form. If you cant find any grated hand soap well do.

Elder Flower water (or straight water)

Additives - the ideal is to select what you want in your soap. Quantity is up to you, and how many you use in one soap is also your choice, I keep it simple and like explain the the ingredients to whom ever I give the soap too., ie, gardeners soap, has calendula which is good for cuts and abrasions, and helps to prevent nasty infections, the pumice is to help clean off stubborn dirt, and the elderflower is to soften the skin (as is the oatmeal).


apricot oil -great for skin moisturising
calendula (old fashion English marigold petals
vitamin e oil
almond oil
essential oils, for scent
oat meal
pumice (for gardeners soap) use grated into the dry ingrediants
coffee grounds for kitchen soap (used grounds work best)


Method.
making the elder flower water
Elder flowers are used to make wonderful cordials, they are also used to soften your skin.
As they only flower in the spring you have a small window of opportunity to harvest them for soap. Of cause when they are not available simple water is ok.
Pick your flowers and gently rinse under running water.
remove from stems from the flower petals, put petals into a bowl and cover with boiling water.
leave to seep for about twenty minutes and strain.

Making the soap

Take your dry ingredients ie, soap flakes and oatmeal, for aprox 6 balls of soap, you well need approx 3 cups of each. Add your hot water (not to hot so as to melt the soap, but hot enough to
the blend the ingredients) do this slowly and mix with a wooden spoon. Aim for a dry scone mix
texture, that does not stick to your hands.

Add the extra oil, and scents, and use your hands now to mix. If the mixture is too dry add more water, and if to wet add more dry ingredients.

Take enough of the mix to form a Ball the size of a tennis ball (or less if you wish to make small soaps) and roll around in you hands. If you want a square bar the you can pat it into shape using wooden paddles (2 wooden rectangles) and slap them into shape.
Try the following soaps.
Gardner' s soap
dried calendar's
oatmeal
grated pumice
apricot oil

kitchen soap
coffee grounds (removes onion and garlic smell from hands)
coffee essence


Hints
use only dried vegetation such as lavender or calendula, undried flowers etc ten to turn brown, as does rose petals (dried or fresh).
The round balls take about a week to completely dry, and well need time to cure(about one month).