Nov
1
Crafty Keepsakes
Filed Under Fun | Leave a Comment
Homemade toys not only save you money, but they can become a one-of-a-kind heirloom for your family.
By Pardis Amirshahi
Craft by Anu Slorah
The first toy I made for my child was a small fish. I stumbled across a spare piece of peach-colored felt, so I cut out two fish shapes and sewed an eye on each with embroidery floss. The whole process took less than 15 minutes. As I was cutting the felt, my two-year-old recognized the shape, picked up one of the pieces and started making it swim along in midair. Success! My heart melted as I watched her, and I was officially hooked on the idea of making toys for her myself.
Although I’ve always liked crafting, I used to reserve the activity for when I wanted something that was out of my price range or unavailable in stores. Both my grandmother and mother started knitting and sewing out of necessity, not pleasure, so I never thought of making crafts or toys for my own (or my child’s) enjoyment.
But when I made the fish, that idea flew out the window. With a 50-cent piece of felt, I learned I could create a priceless treasure that both my daughter and I could enjoy. And years down the road, if that little fish holds up, it can become an heirloom to pass down through the generations. Read more
Oct
1
Good Clean Fun
Filed Under Fun | Leave a Comment
Make your own natural bar soaps for the perfect holiday gift.
By Sara Snow
After years of taking a backseat to liquid pump options, bar soaps are finally making a comeback. Browse any specialty or gift shop and you’ll find a multitude of cleansing bars that are both beautiful and eco-friendly. Pump soaps require a lot more packaging—plastic bottle, plastic tube, plastic pump—than their old-fashioned friends, which usually come wrapped in a single layer of plastic or paper.
With the holidays approaching, now is the perfect time to jump on the bar-soap bandwagon and create your own fragrant works of art. Not only are bars of soap a good green choice for the home, but they also make special gifts when wrapped in brown or decorative paper and tied with a bow. Plus, by making your own soaps you can control the ingredients and keep the product natural for your friends and family.
For the soap recipes, start with a basic soap and add ingredients from there. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can start from scratch and make your soap the traditional way, with fats, water and lye. Or you can do it easier (and perhaps safer) with our melt-mix-pour method. This will allow you and your kids to personalize the soaps you make by simply mixing your favorite essential oils, exfoliators, moisturizers, herbs and flowers into a basic store-bought soap. Read more
