I hope that you all had/have a safe and blessed New Year’s Eve. We are 1.5 hours until the new year officially begins. I cannot believe its almost here. We are planning a fun stocking tomorrow with new colorways and some old time favorites.
I snapped a photo this afternoon so here you go!
So I recently mentioned I was doing away with commercial deoderants right? Well I whipped up a recipe this morning with quite simple ingredients. I had everything on hand (in my cupboard). I took about 1/4 tsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp baking soda and about the same of organic coconut oil. I mixed it all together on a plate and it all looked good. I decided to double the recipe to have more of a nice paste type. I added 2-3 drops of sweet orange essential oils then the application began (back of a spoon dedicated to my arm pits now lol).
Anyhow, I am pleased so far and will report the progress along the way. I snapped a couple of pictures so goodbye to commercially made ”ecret” hello oh natural ingredients into my body no longer clogging my pores wooooot!
Ah, no commercial soaps either these bars are mine from Tory at Frostfishcovesoaps. Left is Honey almond, front is a scrubbie bar Litsea Cubeba and back bar is Peppermint Tea Tree all are delicous.
Just had to share I got some nice socks in the mail last night. I needed to slip them on my feet almost immediately (surprise?) These are my Sir Patrick superwash fingering merino yarn. They were knit up by Shayla of Heavenly Huggers.
Well, believe it or not I dabbled with soap making before my knitting to dyeing business took flight. I thought I could make the perfect wool wash bar with ease. At the time I was a cloth diapering mama for my youngest and with wool you occassionally need to wash soakers, soaker pants, shorties and the the like. I made a bath of honey almond milk and while it wasn’t pretty it worked. I however soon learned that I was not a fan of fragrance oils. I am a nature girl and over time went back to basics with essential oil scented items and infact sometimes unscented products. Its odd lavendar gives me a headache and sore throat lol. Although, my eye pillow has a tiny hint of lavendar and it doesn’t do a thing. Perhaps, it is the potency or type who knows.
So back to soap making its been say 4 years since I’ve dabbled with soap. And I pretty much have gotten to the point now where I want to KNOW what is in my soap. And not just part of what’s in the stuff but, I want to know ALL the ingredients. No more beauty bars (which aren’t even soap yk?) and I’m even going to make my own deoderant (commercial stuff clogs your pores so you don’t prespire isn’t that sick?)
As for soap suppliers there are oodles on the web lol. So many to choose from but, I feel that one stop shopping is best to save on shipping from here, shipping from there. I have also found in some melt and pour type soaps they use sorbitol…it states it is a moisturizer? Odd, I know that sorbitol is a sweetner in some sugary products, baked goods and such. I guess you can bath in it and eat it lol. I myself, feel sorbitol is not necessary there is enough sugar everywhere ha ha but that’s my opinion.
Today, I’m planning to play in my dyes a bit with some different yarns. My Bulky BFL, Madeline Bulky Merino and my Glorious merino 2 ply. We shall see I might get in some other yarn bases here and there. I really enjoy dyeing up my Carden Superfine merino which is a new yarn base to Beemer Knits.
I hope that those who are on vacation are having a nice time with family, friends and so forth. We had a truly blessed Christmas this year with family.
Once, I decide on where to order my soap supplies from (this is a task in itself I am a very thorough in my research). I will beging dabbling in the soap making arena once again.
For those who do not want to dabble, do not have time I HIGHLY recommend Tory’s soaps. I have been using them for a year or two (as I can ;)) http://www.frostfishcovesoaps.com/
They are amazing and truly my favorite to shower with. My most recent favorite is her Peppermint Tea Tree soap. It is such a nice soap with later and not overbearing at all. I actually opened it up to help my son with his breathing (peppermint is awesome for this). I was asthmatic growing up in a very bad way. Peppermint tea and honey helped me along quite a bit so I thought this soap might help my youngest who gets a cold that transforms to asthma occasionally. I’ve babbled enough now I ought to get busy with dye preperations now :) I hope you have a blessed day!
Of this busy time of year we are finding peace & focus during this Christmas season. We have been enjoying lots of family time with card games, board games and Christmas specials. You will find us playing Go-fish, SORRY, Battleship to name a few. My youngest has the best matching game by Beneath the Rowan Tree Square ROOTS set that he received last Christmas. We absolutely LOVE each and every handpainted picture done by Lori.
We put up our tree last Saturday. I would post pics but, some of my boys don’t want their pictures posted which I understand. I have taken on a few customs so I will share a pic of that. Also, I will include a picture of a box of FIBER….it will be spun into some yarn over the next month or so. I do not spin although aspire to learn in the far future. My gift is dyeing at this time in my life. I also dream of learning to knit socks but, that is just not in my time schedule at this point in my life.
A few photos and I hope that you are enjoying this holiday season!
Our new Carden superfine Merino dyed in our DARKEST Bananafish colorway.
Box of fiber ready to ship out to be spun into something beautiful! In this box is about 1.5 lbs of fiber 
And Ah, speaking of socks I forgot to post these. I absolutely LOVE Renate’s knitting with Nana’s I will say that again and again without hesitation ever. She knit up two pairs of socks again for me recently. Let me check and see if I can find some pictures to share with you.
This is my Melange colorway and that mini skein you see in the picture will go to ONE lucky person in the Spotted box December. If you don’t know what the spotted box is please take a peek here:
Becky is a mama who has a wonderful online business. She is also local to me (maybe a 20 minutes drive) so a Washington mama as well.
She approached me in collabing with her back in August/September and well my yarn and she coordinated a matching journal.
Check it out stocking in 25 minutes
http://hyenacart.com/prod_details.php?id=41892&vid=597
Bottom two photos are more accurate of the yarn colors in our most popular colorway~Bananafish
Be sure to check out The Spotted Box for December.
We will be participating…
Be sure to check out:
I love sharing pictures period. Photography is something I have always LOVED. I remember in middle school getting my first black and white camera. Yes, black and white it was a quite old PENTAX with the colored plastic slides for your flash lol. I loved that camera and thought it was the neatest thing in the entire world. I absolutely loved developing the film in the dark room into black and white. My color negatives I transformed into black and white. Fast forward what some 18 years later I still have some of those photos I developed. I was proud in my first photography class. Anyhoooooo I mentioned yarn didn’t I? And I went off on photography whoops LOL.
This is my new Clementine superwash DK yarn. I am loving how it takes in the dye on my Turquoise Rainbows colorway. This was hard to part with (honestly)
And lastly something I dyed up on my Jewel Merino a month or two ago LOL.
It is my Fiona colorway and well I need to find my notes to go with her in how she was exactly dyed up LOL.
I’m offering a couple of custom slots today :)
I also have other yarns/colorways being offered as instock “instant” purchase gratification :)
I decided to do 2 different time slots 9 am PST & 7 pm PST today. I love the fall into winter we need something to keep our fingers busy and warm (I do ha ha).
This colorway I continue to adore dyeing up. Its our Peppermint Chocolate Chip colorway. Today I’m offering it up on our new Clementine Superwash Merino DK weight as well. This picture is on our Bulky BFL Caribe which is TDF!
A few more pics I can’t resist adding Abrianna/Bananafish Creation on Bulky BFL Caribe
And I need to mention Agave Nectar. If you are not familar with this stuff it is amazing and a wonderful alternative to honey, SUGAR, etc. I just got my first shipment from www.amazon.com just minutes ago. It only takes a few drops into my tea and I’m trying it out on coffee tomorrow. I feel SO much better about using this verses sugar which is processed, etc. I rarely sweeten my tea but it is so yummy a little goes a LONG way…Plus, you can use this for pancakes, waffles, oatmeal and the like. You might wonder why I chose to go with Agave? Well my boys love the stuff and it is much more affordable than Organic Maple Syrup and well Mrs. Buttersworth is planely just High Fructose Corn Syrup which we try to AVOID.
http://www.amazon.com/Madhava-Organic-Nectar-46-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B001ELL2DS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1225126268&sr=8-2
It is interesting sometime ago I began to recieve emails from www.dayspring.com I did not ever sign up to receive the mailings but, each time I am refreshed, renewed & truly blessed in the living word.
Today, in my inbox was perfect. Jesus is the gift and the most precious gift of all. Christmas is around the corner and it is so easy to get wrapped up in the commercialism, etc. Please read forward I have supplied the text from this link:
http://www.jesusisthegift.com/about/script_basis.asp
Free Gift—No Purchase Necessary.” Especially at Christmas, this familiar phrase can serve as a refreshing reminder of Christ.
Indeed, through His birth, life, and death on earth, Jesus paid the full purchase price for our salvation. “God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NIV). But we can easily slip into a place of taking Christ’s free gift for granted. Commercialism and secular interests steal the spotlight, and we miss the opportunity to respond to the message of Christ in any truly meaningful way. We quickly forget that when we receive His gift we can also offer something in return.
Jesus told us the most important commandments are to love God and love others. When we do this, our hearts respond to the gift of Christ. DaySpring’s Jesus is the Gift effort seeks to help us respond to God’s offer of a “Free Gift—No Purchase Necessary.” Through the symbol of a scarlet ribbon wrapped around a cross, it invites believers of all ages to become part of truly celebrating and sharing the Greatest Gift of All.
And I found this article a great read as well in so much that I wanted to pass on.
http://www.jesusisthegift.com/about/sb_stuff.asp
The purpose of Jesus is the Gift is certainly not to say material gift-giving is inherently wrong. Indeed, the giving of gifts is central to the nativity story of Christ as the three wise men recognized the honor due to God’s Promised One.
“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11 NKJV)
However, Jesus is the Gift does ask believers to keep all gifts in proper perspective and remember, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” (James 1:17 NIV)
As Luke 12: 32-34 reminds us, we must always ask ourselves what is more important—our earthly treasures or the joys He has won for us in heaven?
Through Jesus, we are strengthened in this purpose, as found in Titus 2:11-12 NIV: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
And so the question becomes: Does your giving or receiving of material gifts take away from or contribute to your ability to honor the ultimate Gift-Giver and His example? Jesus is the Gift hopes to offer you ways to make material gifts extensions of your daily ministry in the world and encouragements for living in Christ.
