Radiate Beauty

Super cute ideas using the July stamp of the month from Close To My Heart!  Check it out!  My CTMH website

Simple drink coasters

I like to leave my tables bare most of the time because I like the look of wood.  However, when we have summer drinks like iced tea, lemonade, or soda pop, the condensation likes to leave rings on my precious wooden tables.

I could easily use coasters, which I do on our side tables in our living room.  But why do that when I have a wealth of fabric available to make something?  Today I took a few leftover 5-inch squares from the My Sunshine Charm Pack by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake, and I made some simple coasters.  Here is what I came up with:

And the other side:

For the orange one, I used the same motif on both sides because my husband likes orange so much.
I just put them wrong sides together and sewed a simple seam along the edges.  I am not an expert seamstress, but I am happy with what I came up with.

I got the fabric at Missouri Star Quilt Company several months ago, but they don't carry the charm pack anymore.  However, they do have layer cakes and fabric by the yard, which you can find here.

Happy crafting and enjoy your cold iced drinks this summer!

Mr. Darcy would love this soap!

Frankly, who doesn't like a blog post that starts out with Colin Firth?  Yes, this actor will always be the one I and so many other millions of women will imagine as Mr. Darcy.  Who could forget his 1995 portrayal of the hero of BBC's Pride and Prejudice?  Were you envious of Miss Elizabeth Bennet like I was? 

And who could forget Mr. Darcy emerging from the lake at Pemberley looking like this:  

Pas moi, c'est certain! 

Apparently, the real life Pemberley, Lyme Park, has a 12-foot tall statue of Mr. Darcy emerging from its lake.  

I must go to England to see it some day!

{INTERMISSION:

How about another gratuitous photo of Colin Firth?  

Nice.}

Well, back to the point of this blog post:  imagine yourself taking a stroll through the rose gardens of Pemberley, enjoying the delicate fragrance of the beautiful English tea roses you find surrounding you.  

Imagine leaning down to smell one...

Isn't it just lovely?  Well, you may be able to live out some of these scenes if you were to experience the lovely English Tea Rose soap from our shop, Prairie Sunshine Soaps.

I can't guarantee Colin Firth will appear at your doorstep soon thereafter, but won't it be fun thinking he might?  

Enjoy!  

{Talk to you soon.  Now I have a date with my DVD player!}

Craft projects

Summer is almost here (I am working a few more days and then I'll be out for the summer) and I have a whole list of projects to finish this summer.  Hopefully I can finish all the ones I have already started and then get to some new ones as well.

Here are three projects I completed this weekend:

1.  Small bag made with Amy Butler Designs Belle by Rowan Fabrics charm pack and fabric.

2.  Small bag made with High Street charm pack and fabric by Lily Ashbury for Moda Fabrics.  I got both charm packs and the fabrics from Missouri Star Quilt Company my favorite quilt shop!

3.  Crocheted iPad cover using Tweed Stripes in Orchid by Lion Brand Yarn.  

Fun stuff!   Happy summer!

Making Cold Process Soap--a new video by us!

New soaps available, and a new soap has been put to bed

Two new soaps are available today:

White Tea and Ginger, one of my favorite scents.  It's a pretty, mild soap that will bring you peace of mind.  

And the second new soap is Organic Spearmint and Eucalyptus.  It smells divine!  It will most assuredly wake you up in the shower, even when you are at your most exhausted.  Made with spearmint and eucalyptus essential oils, this soap has many wonderful benefits.  I can't wait to try this soap!

And a sneak peek of the soap I just made tonight:  Love Spell.

I'm sure the colors will fade a bit but I hope it is as pretty as I think it will be.  I'm in the process of making a video detailing how this soap was made.  Stay tuned for that!  

Have a great week!  

Trying something new--English Tea Rose soap

In the last couple of months, I have tried many new soap fragrances.  Most have been fabulous and wonderful to work with.  Unfortunately, two fragrances produced soap that seized on me.  It is always humbling and frustrating when this happens.  I like to think I am very careful when I make my soaps.  However, some fragrance oils don't like to be mixed at temperatures around 115 degrees Fahrenheit and they don't like to be too agitated.  Lesson learned.  This new soap, English Tea Rose, looked horrendous at first after plopping the mixture into the molds.  I was scared it wouldn't turn out at all.  However, just one day later, it looks almost charming.  Once this soap cures, there may be a few bars that aren't perfect, but that will just mean we will get to keep it and use it ourselves.

Here is our English Tea Rose soap, put to bed.

These soaps smell like rosewater and the pink parts contain rose clay.  Rose clay is a mild kaolin clay that can be used on normal to dry skin to gently cleanse and exfoliate while improving the skin's circulation.

Look for it around June 2, 2014.