Finally!

Panels Finished, a photo by rowsew on Flickr.

I have now finished the second glass panel for Mum and Dad's door. Ta-da! What a relief, they match enough. I am very, very pleased with these pieces, and now all that is to be done is the double glazing enclosure. And, of course, Dad has to make the door to put them in! Much swearing has assisted me in the construction stage, especially when cutting long, thin, flower stalks in ancient green glass. But that's all in the past now, so I will happily go back to making small glass birds for the meanwhile. Enjoy July, pack your waders!

Handmade Cold Process Soap - Lavender

Second slicing of soap, a photo by rowsew on Flickr.

What I did today, whilst balancing on my very dodgy broken foot. Made the soap yesterday, so today had the excitement of demoulding (which is always trying as I forget to grease the moulds first) and then slicing. Almost the best bit because you get to see what the texture is like when you slice it open. Now there's lots of waiting. Almost six weeks. And then it will be properly cured and ready to use. If you want to have a go at making your own soap, I recommend that you read this post from Rhonda at Down-To-Earth. But please be aware that kids, pets and people with breathing difficulties should be banished whilst you are making soap, as lye (caustic soda) gives off dangerous fumes and if spilled will cause burns. You do need to c be very careful and concentrate on what you are doing. Of course, further reading is always helpful, so check out your local library for any books they might have.

Handmade Soap!

Thought you might like to see my very first effort at soapmaking - I was so excited to have a go at this, and now I'm itching to use the stuff.  But you have to leave it to cure for about 6 weeks, and I'm only at the end of week 2!

Just going over to Flikr to load up some 'during' pics.  I did cheat a tiny bit and wash my hands with a very small piece that fell off yesterday (my mould was not the best shape) and it was lovely, my hands felt clean, but not too dry.

The instructions I used were from Rhonda's excellent 'Down to Earth' blog - check out the sidebar for a link to her blog.  I used the soap calculator she recommends in her soap-making post to calculate the quantities of oil.  For those interested, this batch contains olive oil, rice bran oil and a little coconut oil.