For most soap recipes, you have to mix several different oils to achieve a good soap that is moisturizing, cleansing, and has a nice hardness. However, with coconut oil there is a way to get around having such a complicated soap recipe, and that is by superfatting. “Superfatting” is adding more than 20% of oil …
Category: Pop and Thistle
Feb 14 2022
Connecting With Love
Did you know that just thinking about love releases endorphins from the hypothalamus of the brain into the bloodstream? Chemical magic happens that makes us feel good. As with other themes, in writing about love we writers try our best to be original. Don’t want to fall into that netherworld of clichés. Don’t want to …
Feb 12 2022
“Flirtation” by Rita Dove
Flirtation After all, there’s no needto say anything at first. An orange, peeledand quartered, flares like a tulip on a wedgewood plateAnything can happen. Outside the sunhas rolled up her rugs and night strewn saltacross the sky. My heart is humming a tuneI haven’t heard in years! Quiet’s cool flesh—let’s sniff and eat it. There …
Feb 11 2022
Amigurumi Snowman Pattern
I had some leftover white, pink, and grey skeins of yarn from the baby blanket that I last posted, and I liked the color combination so much that I made this amigurumi snowman & scarf with the yarn. Here is the snowman crochet pattern. Supplies Vanna’s Choice® White Vanna’s Choice® Silver Heather Vanna’s Choice® Rose Shocking Size F/3.75mm Crochet …
Feb 10 2022
Swirly Birds of Paradise Tropical Soap for Valentine’s Day
Here’s a useful and whimsical gift idea for your loved ones – Birds of Paradise tropical scented pure coconut oil soap! The fragrances in this soap combine sweet and tangy fruity scents with island hibiscus, making for a true tropical getaway. This is another one of my favorite superfatted pure coconut oil soaps – I …
Feb 04 2022
How to Make an Upcycled Juice Carton Birdhouse
I’ve been on a quest to upcycle every container I use and decided to make my juice cartons into bird houses! These are mainly decorative, but I put one of mine outside anyway, just to see! This is a great project to do with the kids, too, just be sure that an adult does all of …
Feb 04 2022
Recipe: Triple Berry Mousse Tart
Triple Berry Mousse Tart Ingredients 1 2/3 cups vanilla wafer crumbs 1/3 cup quick rolled oats 5 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar 5 tablespoons butter, melted 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided 3 tablespoons sugar, divided 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons boiling water 1 envelope unflavored gelatin …
Feb 04 2022
Your Budding Artist: Age 1-3 Years
You may not know this but children develop art in a series of stages. Early Childhood Education has broken those stages down to 3 stages ranging from 1 year of age to 5 years. It is important to remember that when we discuss any type of developmental milestones, we are looking at a “range of …
Jan 18 2022
Blending Fragrance Chords: Creating Your Perfect Scent
For over thirty years I’ve played piano, which must explain why I love thinking of blending fragrances in musical terms. Just like in music, fragrances have notes that range from high to low, and creating a balanced fragrance chord is a great way to achieve a complex, interesting blend. I recently made a scent which …
Jan 15 2022
“Amores (III)” by e e cummings
Amores (III) there is a moon sole in the blue night amorous of waters tremulous, blinded with silence the undulous heaven yearns where in tense starlessness anoint with ardor the yellow lover stands in the dumb dark svelte and urgent (again love i slowly gather of thy languorous mouth the thrilling flower)