Painting Pots

I know this is nothing new, but I sure do love painting (though I'm not fantastic at it), and this week some Terra cotta pots have fallen into my hands (via the 99 cent store) and I have had trouble finding pictures to reproduce onto their curvature. When I do find images I like, I can only take pictures with my phone. Trying to paint from a picture on my phone, with the back light going off after 30 seconds, and locking after 45 seconds is incredibly tedious!! I was trying to upload the pictures from my phone, but it is apparently hemorrhaging from all the extra attention.

 This teal pot is unfinished, I have only really worked on the petals. The stems are only there for spacing, mostly; I haven't begun to shade them at all. And there is one more side that has no flowers at all...yet.

 I was going for a watercolor kind of look. Definitely not my forte. I think I may have liked it better before I added the brown sketches. I got the idea from a plate at Target.

This last one is unfinished, obviously. I have only done the background and the lip. But I like it.

A Washing We Will Go!

So, I had this genius idea to make a little wash-cloth pocket for bar soap. Ya'know, so it will lather up nice without slipping away. It actually worked out pretty well. BUT! You have to wring out the washcloth when you are done, or it kinda fuses to the soap, and neither dry. I think to upgrade this, if I make it again, I would  add a sort of plastic lining that has small holes in it.

Here's what I did:
I took a hand towel and measured around the large bar of soap my husband likes to use.
I cut an over-sized strip from the hand towel and hemmed the raw edges.
Then I folded one side over, so it would come to the top of the soap edge. I (took out the soap), held it in place and stitched the edges down (with a machine).
Then I folded the top of my "envelope" down enough to hold the soap in, but allow me to get it in and out, and I stitched it down.
The End.
  If you want more details on exactly what I did, let me know.

Homemade Deodorant

I finally made my own deodorant! I really like it. It doesn't have an annoying scent that alerts me of my current perspiring condition. I just put it on, give it a few seconds to absorb into my skin, and then go about the rest of my day. I have heard a few tell of the need to re-apply, but thus far I have found myself in no such circumstance.


For those of you who are interested, here is the recipe:

• 1/4 c. baking soda
• 1/4 c. arrowroot powder (if you can find it, otherwise use cornstarch)
• 6-8 Tbl. cocnut oil (solid state)

mix it all together. Can use hand blender, wood spoon, I used a pastry blender and it worked great! It should be about normal deodorant consistency. If it is too dry, add a little more coconut oil (i used about 7 Tbl.), if it's too wet, add more arrowroot (or cornstarch). You can even put it in your old deodorant containers! 

They say it lasts 1 person about 6 months. Here's the problem thought: Coconut oil has a very low melting temp. (76 degrees or something). So, you need to keep it cool. It's fine if you have good A/C, but if it gets too warm, yup, you guessed it! Stick it in the fridge! I would take an alternative for traveling, unless you are prepard to baggie it, and fish it out of the ice chest!  If you have any other questions about it, then check out this link: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/02/homemade-all-natural-deodorant.html

www.passionatehomemaking.com is credited for the recipe and photo.

the wide-mouthed half-pint jars are a good allt. to old doedorant containers