Honey Mint Soap

My Honey Mint soap is finally ready to sell. I will list it in my Etsy store within the next few days. I still have to take pictures, etc.

Women's Shaving Brushes

Today I finished the prototype or original for the resin shaving brush handles I am going to create. I used polymer clay and embellished the base with flowers and leaves. I was trying to create a look similar to handcarved wood or ivory. Tomorrow I will build the mold and then try and cast my very first shaving brush handle. IF it turns out the way I envisioned it, I will be able to cast handles in many different colors, based on the availability of resin colorants.
I will post a picture of the finished product soon.

Thrifting Finds

As promised here is a photo of most of the items I found while thrifing this past weekend

Starting at the front left: a bone china cup without handles. (It has undecipherable Japanese or Chinese characters as a pottery mark). Next, a cute floral design cup, made in Japan, three (3) porcelain spice jars, featuring the blue onion pattern. Even though, these don't have any pottery mark or identifying mark, they are almost certainly made in Germany, as the writing on the lids, Kümmel, Curry, Nelken (caraway, curry, cloves) is in German. I will not put these up for sale in my Etsy store, until I can find out some more info on them. Next to them, 2 vintage Trader Vics salt and pepper shakers, an Otagiri, Japan, large mug/stein featuring an embossed sea gull/ beach scene, a Royal Sealy sugar jar, featuring a pink and yellow rose design and lastly a footed, cup without handles with a pink rose and border and gold plated rim, without a pottery mark.
Most of these items will get listed in the near future in my Etsy store.

Pink Shaving Brushes

Yesterday I finally finished my first 2 pink shaving brushes. They turned out quite nicely.
The reason I started making pink brushes is that shaving items for women are very hard to find. Even though women are expected by society to shave, there are only a few products on the market, and if one can find something, it is definitely over priced. Just try googling "women's shaving brushes", or "pink shaving brushes" and you will see what I mean.
To obtain a quality razor, I always have to go into the men's shaving section, and the shaving store at the mall is definitely for men only. Men have to option to go without shaving if they feel like it, women don't have that luxury.
While in the last few years handmade women's shaving soaps have become more widely available, the other items, such as razors and brushes, etc. still have limited availability.
Because of this, I have decided to focus more on women's shaving items. In the near future I will have more colors and matching sets of cups and brushes and even razors available in my Etsy store.
Keep checking back for new products. Here is a picture of the 2 shaving brushes I just finished. They are not available in
my store yet, as I have not had the time to list them.

New Thrifting Finds

I went thrifting this weekend and found quite a few items, which I will post pictures of and write about in a future post. The one item I am really excited about is a HOBO International cognac leather purse, which is in pristine condition. The purse model is Hobo Lola in cognac leather. It retails for $158 and I found it for $2, yes, 2 dollars!!! It is exactly what I was looking for, because it is really plain, without any embellishments and it perfectly matches the color of my pair of Pappagallo woven oxford shoes. The reason I am so very excited about this is that I have a horrible time finding a purse I like, because most of them are too ornate. They have too much gold or silver, or too many tassels, etc. on them for my liking. I prefer classic, or as my daughters call it, a boring plain style, which seems very hard to find. So now I can finally retire my worn out black plain and boring Coach purse, which I have been using for years, whether it matched my outfit or not. I think the fashion police, aka my daughters, will be happy :)

Brooch Bridal Bouquet

This beautiful bouquet is handmade with silk and satin flowers and highlighted with rhinestone, glass pearl and aurora borealis glass beads. It is made by my youngest daughter, who has decided to make bridal items and sell them, so she can support herself during her last year of undergraduate architecture studies, and hopefully save enough money to pay for graduate school. Here is her Etsy Shop link: www.floweredsplendor.etsy.com
Please take the time and look at it. She will be adding more related bridal items soon.

New Soap!! Honey Mint soap made with Honey from Uppsala, Sweden.

Here are a couple of pictures of the soap I made today. It is honey mint soap, made with honey from the linden tree blooms of linden trees, that are growing in the backyard of a family friend in Uppsala, Sweden. The honey tastes sooo good, and I am sure it will be equally wonderful (just not tasty :) )in the soap. The soap will be unmolded tomorrow evening and cut into bars and then needs to cure for 3 to 4 weeks. It will be available for sale in my Etsy store in about a month, so check it out.

What's new?

Things are moving right along. I am able to use my right arm again. And even though it does not fully straighten and I am only allowed to lift very light things, I am happy to be able to type and and write and do other small things. In the meantime, while I was bored to death, I went thrifting. I found a bunch of stuff and will post pictures asap. I was also given a dining room table and chairs by a dear friend who moved away. It needs a remake and I found an example online of what I want it to look like. I also planned overhauls of the office area and the kitchen in my studio. Yep, lots of ideas and plans. That's what happens when one can't do anything and has too much time to plot. I will post pictures of my recent thrift store finds soon, and I will also document the new projects, once I start working on them. Can't wait to get started!!

Back in Business! New Pink Soaps.

Today it has been 2 weeks exactly since my surgery. Everything went well and I am on the road to recovery, even though it will be another 3 to 4 months until I am even allowed to lift even the lightest thing. My biggest problem, as anticipated, is extreme boredom. There is only so much one can do with the left hand only. I am sick and tired of taking it easy and reading and watching tv etc.,so today I decided to drive myself to a couple of nearby thrift stores. I also put my Etsy store back online. I made enough soap before my surgery, so I don't have to worry about running out. All I need is help with the packaging. I made several kinds of soap. Besides for the regular Prickly Pear, Tea Tree Oil & Shea Butter shaving soap, I also made a pink Pomegranate, Vanilla, Lavender shaving soap and a pink 100% Castile soap. Both are made with Pink French clay. The great thing about pink clay is that it is very mild and does not dry out the skin, so even people with dry skin will be able to use it. The pink clay makes the castile soap not only a pretty color, it gives it purifying properties for people (and babies) with even the most sensitive skin. I reformulated the pomegranate shaving soap and according to everyone I have given it to test, it has a more luxurious and silky long lasting lather than its predecessor. And let's not forget, it smells oh so good! Well, if you have read this, check out my Etsy store (even though the new soaps are not listed yet) www.xclusivedesigns.etsy.com

What to do with my time.

So tomorrow is the big day. I am finally having surgery on my right arm, which has been hurting furiously since May of 2011. After many doctor and specialist visits, many, many tests, physical therapy and cortisone injections, the medical community(and more importantly, my insurance company), have finally come to the same conclusion I did over 6 months ago: my arm is not getting better without surgery. Since I have multiple problems in that arm (torn tendons, bone spurs, ulnar nerve compression), I opted for having 2 surgeries at once, so I don't have to go "under the knife" twice. That way I have a scar on each side of my arm I can brag about. Of course this will prolong recovery time to at least 3 months before I can lift even something light :(
And unfortunately it is my right arm. By trying to prepare myself and using primarily my left arm, I have come to the realization that I might as well have a foot on my left wrist, because that's how bad my dexterity is with that left hand. Just trying to use the mouse on my pc with the left hand, makes me want to scream.
This means all project will have to come to a screeching halt, and let me tell you there are many! My Etsy store is in vacation mode and even though I made plenty of soap beforehand, I will need to wait until my youngest daughter comes home from college for the summer to do all the packaging and shipping for me.
So what am I going to do with myself? I cannot stand to stay in bed for longer than a day, and that is even when I am quite sick, so what am I going to do for 3 months without being able to work on my projects?
I guess I will dream up new ones, watch lots of home improvement shows and read a lot of books?! That will get old after about a week!
I started making a list of things to do while laid up, but could not come up with a whole lot of stuff that sounded even remotely interesting.
I also have been practicing to drive with my left hand only, which went fine, as long as I don't attempt to parallel park. Yeah, that did not go so well. I guess I could always just drive forward :)
Well, anyways the soap is made, and I now have all the time in the world to go thrifting.
So wish me luck, because the surgery is on a Friday the 13th, and even though I am not in the least superstitious, it is amazing how many other people are and have told me I would be wise to reschedule. There is a bright side to this: if many people feel like that, surgery volume for that day should be low and my surgeon will have all the time in the world to concentrate on getting things done right with my arm.
From now on posts will be shorter and fewer, because I am an impatient person and have no desire to have to type my ramblings with one finger.
But maybe I could get a secretary? :)
So if you read this and have suggestions and or comments, please leave them, because I am sure I will be bored out of my mind.