New Project: Liquid Soap!

I just realized I have not posted since before thanksgiving! (gasp) I have been THAT busy and I want to take a moment to sincerely thank each and every person who has bought from my shops in the past year. I am eternally grateful for your business as it has helped me and my family thru some insanely rough times I wont bother to get into here. Just know each dollar you have spent has HELPED me tremendously and it was all VERY appreciated. Thank you all SO MUCH! ((HUGZ))

I wanted to let you guys know all the exciting things I been up to since the "busy season" is pretty much over. Sales have went down to usual numbers and now I have time to catch up on some things I been dying to do like make LIQUID SOAP!!

I had quite an adventure making liquid soap yesterday I had done my homework for sure but you never know how something like this will go till you jump in with both feet. So I jumped!

I had what was supposedly a fail proof idiot proof recipe in hand that had been tried by others with success. This made me feel at ease a little bit more.




I mixed my potassium hydroxide and oil and stick blended the daylights out of the mixure till I got something I was pretty sure was trace...then I blended more. I wasnt taking NO chances with this one!! Everything I read said if you cant get the potassium hydroxide and the oils to trace then it WILL separate on you later on down the process.

The only part of this process that I dont think I fully "got" was the fact you really do have to keep this stuff HOT! I put it in a double boiler set up and had the water just below simmering...that wasnt enough, I needed to keep the water boiling the whole time. Once I turned up the heat I got better results.

I figured out from the "test" globs I took out of the "paste" I was cooking that I needed to BOIL the water that I was testing the globs in. So I had a ton of boiling water around the house yesterday LOL

I finally got tired of cooking this "Paste" I was supposed to be making after about 7 hours of cooking so I boiled yet more water and poured it over the paste I had made. I boiled this for about 15 to 20 minutes.

I broke up all the chunks of the paste in the boiling water as best as I could. This was the hardest part was breaking up this stuff so it could dissolve and thus make my liquid soap. I went and watched a movie and when I came back all I had to do was hit the whole mixture with my stick blender and it blended just perfect. AND to make it even better for my ego, it was just a WEEE bit cloudy. I was shooting for 100% clear, but you never know when this stuff sits for a couple of days it may be as clear as commerical dish soap! I am OK with partly cloudy though, as long as it isnt milky I am happy.

I have tested this so far in laundry : works AWESOME!
Dishes: I was amazed! It took the tea stain off my tea pitcher and commercial dish soap wont touch it unless you SCRUB with a scratchy pad. All I had to do with my soap was rub!

You could put this in a foamer bottle and make foamy soap for handwashing too! So many applications for this stuff the possibilities are really limitless and I am so rejuvenated and excited to be able to KNOW I can definitely make this stuff now!

I have in the works a new product I wish to announce here today! This week I hope to be unveiling my newest invention: ~JIGGLE SOAP!~ This will be similar to Jell-o as it will be jiggly and squirmy but it will be soap you can take in the shower with you. This will be 100% chemical free unless there is a fragrance oil to scent it but those are always pthalate free at least. This will also be 100% vegan! I will be making an experimental batch this week. I know it wont be till at least wednesday cause I have no car to get supplies till then...UGH!! but be on the lookout! I will most likely announce it here when I get this made. I am super duper excited!!!

I will also be coming up with an original recipe for shampoo. I am still researching oils and deciding what I would like to see a shampoo do, so that will be coming up in a couple more weeks as I get time. its definitely a top priority of mine to release a completely natural shampoo that works great!

I am so excited about all this, cant you tell! (jumps up and down and claps hands)

And, I am rapidly approaching 1,000 sales in Maylee's Garden on Etsy ! As of right now I have 982 sales. A lot of sales came in the past 2 months, I remember recently having my 777th sale and being all excited about it...and here I am staring at the big 1,000! I feel SO successful right now, and to make it special, I am gonna do SOMETHING nice for the person who buys that 1,000th product. I dont know what yet, maybe free shipping, free goodies...not sure. But I promise SOMETHING nice will happen to the 1,000th customer!


Again thank you ALL for your continued support of my little business. I truly enjoy cranking out all natural goodness for you all so we can all be healthier. I am so proud of what I have accomplished, and I could not have done it without each and every one of you who have supported me along the way.


THANK YOU!!!!

Maylee's 2nd Birthday

First we started off today by getting Maylee some cool new pants made. I whipped these up this morning. Next challenge was getting them on her body...not fun. Then the next challenge...getting that cute bow from julibeeKitsch in her hair. Juli, thanks for getting that here quick! She looks like a little birthday present with it on her head. LOVE IT!

Maylee always wants me to take pictures of her hands and feet...thats why her foot is in the picture LOL











So we go out looking for a "ride it" This is Maylee's word for anything that you can ride, like a bike, a tricycle, ect....We looked at thrift stores first cause I hate to buy stuff new usually...no luck. We went to several other stores, and found one ride it that Maylee would fit. it was a tricycle looking thing and was so cute but it tipped over a little bit with her on it, and she got so scared she really wasnt interested in "ride its" no more...so I think we will save the ride it for spring. Maybe then she will be more ready.

So now we still have money from the "Birthday Fairies" to spend on this sweet baby...what to do! Didnt take Maylee long to find something...a shopping cart full of pretend food. She would NOT let the shopping cart go. She pushed it from the back of Target to the front of the store, it had to be wrenched out of her hands so the cashier could scan it then she pushed it to the van...and played with the boxes of pretend food and the eggs all the way home. Its funny cause she tries SO hard to crack those eggs. Me and her have battled over the eggs in the fridge since she could walk. I open the fridge, she dives in for the eggs...every...time...

We made a stop at McDonalds to play in the indoor playground for a while too. Maylee dragged Tyler all up and down that thing. I think he liked it even though he complained LOL Maylee ate all her fries too! We did not make it to the donut place. We had so much to do and it was getting dark fast and Maylee was getting sleepy even faster!

So we STILL had money from the "Birthday Fairies" cause they was so darn good to Maylee! So we hit Toys R us...I know, I know...but it was fun! I havent been in there with money to spend in forever, so this was fun. I knew I could get Maylee pretty much anything she seemed like she wanted. So we started looking at the blocks. Maylee showed an interest in the big mega blocks at the last place we went...so I got her two bags of 70 mega blocks each. We also picked her up a broom and dustpan set. Maylee is ALWAYS helping me here. She unloads the dishwasher, she tries to sweep, she picks up her toys...she is so good. So I got her a little broom and dustpan so she can help mama easier. She is so cute with her purse, her cheese sandwich and sweeping the floor. My little multi-tasker!

So Maylee has a complete melt down in Toys r us crying and holding a small plastic outdoor chair above her head running away from us babbling...the cashier thinks quick and offers Maylee a balloon. This cures the tantrum FAST! I get the chair away from Maylee, and the nice lady hands her a balloon. We made it out of the store with NO problem cause she LOVES balloons in a major way. Thanks super nice toys r us lady for saving us!

So we get Miss whiney pants home, she is SO tired at this point, she has had maybe a 20 minute nap all day. We break out her other presents we got in the mail today and the ones I got last week for her. I have a lot of people to thank and a lot of people to give props to so hang on to your seat and please remember 2 weeks ago there was no way I could foresee that this child would have anything for her birthday. Each and every gift she has tonight is a miracle and proof that she and I are loved and HUGE proof miracles DO happen. Project a positive future and it will come true.

So here we go!

This is the AWESOME hula hoop made by my good friend Amanda who lives close to where I am. She was so kind to whip this up for Maylee in JUST the right size with the awesomest colors. This has tiny mushrooms on some of the tape that its wrapped with. Maylee loves them...and I love hearing her say "Muchwoom" I keep asking her what those things are just so I can hear her say it LOL
This was another gift made possible by the fairies. Amanda thanks you too and so do I...again!

Thank you AMANDA!

Amanda was also so very kind to make Maylee THE awesomest patchwork pants EVER!










You cant see them real good in the picture but I will post a pic of her in her birthday outfit she got. She was gifted an old school Strawberry Shortcake top from Tangled Hangers
and it goes perfect with these pants! My mom actually made me a shirt when I was in grade school out of this same fabric, so this top is pretty special to me.


TangledHangers also sent this amazing crayon roll! Maylee LOVES to color! This helps keep all the crayons from getting lost. It is the coolest thing, and so well made just like the top. Thank you SO much Heidi! your generosity will be remembered always!






Next Maylee opened her gift we got yesterday from my good friend Rachel of Wilmothfarms goatmilk soaps
She was so thoughtful to send a companion for Kitty. Meet Puppy.


Maylee kissed Puppy right away and held him a lot like she does Kitty. But then she seen the other stuff in the gift bag....the BOOKS!


















Maylee looks a lot like me right here...laying back reading a book. She is so cute. A mini me! She read ALL of the books, and then she read the sweet birthday card Rachel sent! Isnt she adorable!

Thanks so much Rachel! I have a video of Maylee taking your magnetic numbers and kissing each one as she sticks it on the fridge, then she starts all over kissing them again as she puts them in her purse! Its so sweet! I will get it uploaded soon I promise! She loved all her stuff SOOO much!



Next we move to our next gift which came in the mail today JUST in time... it was so cool to see this pile of boxes on my porch today! I felt like it was some big holiday! Well it was, it was sweet baby's birthday (smiles)



This next gift was from Momwithahook AKA Sara. Sara also sent a BUNCH of AWESOME stuff for me too and Sara I cant thank you enough. I even was gifted a skirt from Akattywampustale
AKA, Olivia. It is the skirt pictured here. I ADORE this skirt!! I have a short story abot her skirts... I always have loved her skirts. ALWAYS. I am always broke and if I do have money I wont buy nothing for myself, but I look at Olivia's skirts and just totally admire the vast amount of creativity that goes into each one. This skirt that Sara sent is the second one of Olivia's I own (giggles) I love it that the things I like so much seem to find a home here in my closet somehow...Anyhoo back to Maylee...



Sara sent the most adorable gnome house and 3 cute lil gnomes! I LOVE toys like this so much for Maylee, we are gonna have a lot of good times laying with this for sure!

The coffee can is the gnome "house" and the gnomes go in there. We are gonna have so much fun with this! Sara, We love EVERYTHING you sent us! Bless your sweet heart mama. May you be blessed beyond your wildest dreams!


So we get to opening more presents, YES there is MORE can you believe it!

This was from Heartfelt3 Felt crafts
I was in awe of the quality of the counting cookies set, and the adorable realistic felt play Donuts! The donuts look good enough to eat! The cookie set came in a drawstring bag with Maylee's name embroidered on it, AND if that wasnt cool enough it came with a cookie cutter too! I think this would make an awesome gift for any child. If you have someone in your life hard to buy for, or a kid that has everything...think about this. I bet they aint got one of these felt food breakfast sets! Thanks so very much to Heartfelt3 for being so sweet, and getting this to our house in a bit of a time pinch. Thankfully mail takes only one day to run in state!


Next we have a wooden board game I bought last week from WishesAndWhimsies on Etsy. This gift was made possible by my great friend Mari. Thank you Mari!

This game is so fun, we played it for a little while. Maylee dont get it cause she is SO sleepy, but we will work with her again tomorrow. The colored "Guys" go on the same colored dot on the board, its a matching game. Each "guy" is stamped with an icon such as a flower, leaf, muchwoom, ect... and you just match them up! SOOO fun!






Maylee seemed to just want to line up the guys in a row, but she sure was cute doing it!

Thanks so much WishesAndWhimsies for the quick shipping too! Your game is BEAUTIFULLY made! We will be enjoying this for years to come, and it will hopefully be passed down to Maylee's children she has when she is 30+ years old if I have anything to do with it....






Next is the most ingenious idea ever...the felt board/chalk board combo play mat. Its chalk board on one side felt board on the other. It came with two pieces of chalk that so far have NOT got broken YAY! And it works great! This was purchased from the creative genious known as Rorygirl on Etsy. She has a shop full of other cool goods too, I highly recommend you check her out too. This board is VERY well made, was shipped out super quick and works great! We are gonna have a ball playing with this, and will save paper too when teaching Maylee her numbers and letters. Have I menitoned Maylee knows some of the Arabic alphabet?? Yep, Noor taught her and she can say the names of the letters just by him pointing to them. Some she dont know but she knows enough of them I can brag LOL


I THINK this is it LOL If there is anyone I forgot I am So sorry! and I will revise this post if there is anyone I did forget. I am so grateful for everything Maylee got, and so grateful for the gifts of love from her "Birthday fairies" and from Mari and from all my sweet customers who have made purchases during this time to make this birthday happen. I was able to keep food on the table, gas in the van AND get all this and normally I do good to keep the basic necessaties going so this birthday was truly a miracle in every way. I am so thankful right now, and I will never ever forget how this all came about and the people who made it happen. I pray that next year we can have a birthday this good too!



Project a positive future, dwell on your success. Believe with all your heart tomorrow will be a better day and it will happen.