I have being doing some crafts the last few days.

I finally got that pillow done and I made some handmilled soap!

I put the pillow on it's side so it would stick out more in a picture (I didn't want it to blend into the back ground with the afghan I made right on top of it.)

For the inside of the pillow I took an old blanket and cut it to size. Then I sewed it up in the middle of it in a bunch of rows (that way the stuffing wouldn't move around as much.) Then I stuffed it (I used an old wooden spoon so I could really get a lot in it.) After that I sewed the last open side shut. Then I just put it inside my covering and crochet around the pillow.

I'll attach a short clip link on how I did the little tassles on the side of the pillow if you would like to see that Click here.

Handmilled soap (soap making)

I took two bars of Irish Spring and cut it all up and put it in a pan.

I then added my goat milk (I love this stuff!) I had my stove on the lowest heat setting and with a wooden spoon I would mix it up so it wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pan (but at the same time I didn't want to mix it so much where it made a bunch of bubbles either. So, I only did it enough to keep it from sticking.)

After that I cut off some of my aloe plant and cut in long ways. I took a spoon and pulled out what I could to get it in my soap. You don't get a lot but its fresh! I even used my fingers to get some of it out (which I have been told will stain clothes so I was careful not to touch a bunch of stuff.)

Then I added some extra Virgin Olive oil (I put in about 3 teaspoon as it.)

It was time to get out some more of those wild strawberries of mine :)... I added about 10 of these little guys. All I did was take the green heads off and smash them up by hand and hand them (it's all cooking as I am doing this and I keep on making sure it's not sticking to the bottom of my pan.) After that I added some store bought honey. I only added about one tablespoon altogether.

The last thing I added was apricot seeds (store bought.)

I then pour them into the molds you see below. I put them in my freezer for a little over an hour. After that I sat them on wire racks to keep on drying.

Late last night I used the small bar and it was AMAZING to say the least! It still of course smells just like Irish Springs but it no longer is drying soap!

The color is still a greenish color even tho on the racks it looks more blue it's not.

I can't wait to play around with more soap making just like this. I love learning new things and putting my own twist to them. This was a fast, easy, fun project, and the end results was WONDERFUL!

*** a little note on handmilled soap. A wonderful lady name Sherry reminded me that if you add powdered benzion that it will keep your soap with foods so they do not go bad a very long time. I did not add them to this batch because I know I will use this soap up very fast but if you are going to make some up it's worth getting some so your soap can last for a very long time.