Warli Art- DIY Sharpie Mugs

Hello Dearies!!! This is my latest obsession with a sharpie marker and white mug. This craft does not need a lot of time, time you may take to design the mug and bake for 30 minutes. 
However simple it may sound, there are a few pointers to keep in mind before you  bake these beauties. 
1. Sharpie markers come in different colors, tips and bases. Take  an oil based  marker. The regular marker fade away and even a slight harder scrub while washing will result in the design coming off.
2. Draw a thicker design, the thicker the lines the better they will look and stay longer.
3. Bake hot. Most people who do this craft will tell you to bake at 300-350 degree F for 15 mins, but baking at 400F up for 30 minutes did the trick for me. Each oven varies, so use your judgment as you know your oven well.
4. Hand wash only, Although the oil based marker is permanent after baking, why take chances. Handmade is so precious so skip the dishwasher and hand wash only for longer shelf life.
I am making these in multiples now, they are  sudden hit with all my friends and family. They do make awesome and quick gifts.

Sharpie mugs- DIY Craft

Hello Dearies!!! This is my latest obsession with a sharpie marker and white mug. This craft does not need a lot of time, time you may take to design the mug and bake for 30 minutes. 

However simple it may sound, there are a few pointers to keep in mind before you  bake these beauties. 

1. Sharpie markers come in different colors, tips and bases. Take  an oil based  marker. The regular marker fade away and even a slight harder scrub while washing will result in the design coming off.

2. Draw a thicker design, the thicker the lines the better they will look and stay longer.

3. Bake hot. Most people who do this craft will tell you to bake at 300-350 degree F for 15 mins, but baking at 400F up for 30 minutes did the trick for me. Each oven varies, so use your judgment as you know your oven well.

4. Hand wash only, Although the oil based marker is permanent after baking, why take chances. Handmade is so precious so skip the dishwasher and hand wash only for longer shelf life.

I am making these in multiples now, they are  sudden hit with all my friends and family. They do make awesome and quick gifts. Keep an eye on this space, you will be seeing a lot of warli and madhubani art done on these mugs pretty soon.

Name art-Personalizng mugs.

Hello Sweeties!!!! Look what a Personalize your own Mug kit can do in Ashland. My friend gave my kids these kits as return gift for her sons birthday. Not wanting to waste the kits with silly art I did both of my kids names in Indian Language formed like Ganesha, The elephant god.

The black outline is drawn with a sharpie marker and used the colors from the kit. The genius idea is not my original but sourced from a Facebook page. Thank You sir for sharing your talent with us.  

Hope to make many such personalized mugs for some holiday gifting!!

Rose Water Infused Cofee Soap.

Hello Dearies!!! I have made and send soap to a few of my trusted friends recently. I needed some opinion of how and what changes I needed to make. Some of them said no changed are needed while someone suggested if they had some kind of exfoliate in them, the soap would be a great scrub. Your wish was my command, I set the grey in my brain to work. I though of adding oats first, then backed out as I did not find any oats that were ground so fine. I searched my pantry to find any thing that would work, I found filter coffee, rose water, milled flax seed and some sesame oil. So with these ingredients, I set to work.

The wonder never ceases as I can mix and change according to my mood and fancy. Its as easy as 1-2 -3. Video link for melt and pour.
1- Melt
2- Add and stir
3. Pour and set in molds.

This batch I made is of rose water and filter coffee. I had made my homemade rose water that needed to be put to use, what better than soap. Next batch is likely to be with shea butter, cream, turmeric along with some sesame oil. 

Wish me luck and join me in this wonderful world of home made soap. The options and combinations are endless. Soap and lotion making has given me a good insight in things I can do and make in my home with everyday ingerdients. Do you have any tested recipes and home spa remedies that you have been practicing at home? Share them in Comments, looking forward to hearing all your tips and practices.

Valentine Roses- in new Avatar-DIY Rose Water.

Hello Dearies!!! V day is long gone and the roses are wilted by now, But what about the sentiments that go along with the V day gifting, have they also wilted like the roses. I get 3 roses every V day, and I gift a cake in return., That is set in Ashland. 

We do not budge with the whole spending and breaking the budget over overpriced emotions and things expressing love on one day!!! I visited the regular grocery store one day before Feb 14th, and was amazed to see people, all ages, young big, old buying stuff that was either red, heart shaped and over priced. Please do not get me wrong, but I fail to understand the hype behind showing love on one day and fighting the remainder of the year. 

A regular dozen rose bunch was priced at $50, normally it is for $15-$20. As not to dampen the spirit of showing Mommy a little love, I set the budget to $10 on roses and around $10 for the cake. I am not cheap in gifting, where I need to spend I surely do, but the hype behind some holidays conveys wrong message to kids is what I feel. I may be wrong, but then I am what I am!!!!

I did bake a boxed mix cake and  piped some rosettes with my loved whipped cream pudding icing.

 But the star for the day is DIY Rose water. While growing up, having rose water  at home was a regular thing. My mom used it in sweets, in bath water and even applied on her face to cool off in summer. Rose water is  a natural toner and very useful as a medicine and beauty product.

I have been reading a lot about wellness and using herbs and pantry items to create different skin care lotions. I plan on making a glycerin and  rose water potion to reduce dryness and anti skin aging for the spring months when my skin tends to get very dry and  develops dry patches. Keep reading this space for more on that.

I use the three wilted roses that Mr. Ash and kids brought for me on the V day. There is something about V day roses, they are more fragrant than the regular ones. But come June and my home grown tube roses would also be just as good. Making rose water is as easy as  boiling water.

I refereed to this website for making the rose water but seeping for 3-4 hours was not for me. So instead I boiled the petals with water and cooled it; I got a beautiful colored rose water in less than 30 minutes. The kitchen smelled like a rose valley, which was an added bonus.

You will need;
3 Roses- I had 2 red and 1 white- Pesticide free and if possible organic.
1 cup cold water 

Wash and rinse the petals of the roses. In a pot, take the washed petals, immerse in the cold water. You do not need a lot of water, just till the petals soak. Boil on low heat till the water boils and the petals give away most of its color. Mine took about 10-15 minutes.

Once you achieve the desired color, turn off the heat, and let cool for another 15 minutes. Strain and use the liquid. The rose water can be stored in a food save bottle in the fridge for about 10 days. Put it in a spray bottle and  freshen up dull skin or add in the bath water to experience a Cleopatra style bath. Whatever you decide to do, do let me know how you did it and how it helped you.

DIY Felt Flower Pins and headbands

Hello dearies!! Today is no food post, But a different kind of DIY. Ever since I came on Pintrest, I am going crazy with ideas and things that can be done from nick knacks around home or for few dollars. I am all for frugal shopping and hobbies. Any hobby that requires me to spend a ton on materials is a turn off for me. Hobbies that start and end at Dollar stores are win win for people like me. Trash to Treasures are also big YES!!!!

When I was in school, I made book marks from wedding invitation cards. A hobby long forgotten was reminded to me by dear fried Radhika who blogs at imprints handmade. Another surprise was I received  a package from Neelam of Kane's Coop, she send me some small containers to store and gift the lotion for the upcoming holiday season. She also claims that the postal services added an apron for Ms. Ash. With so many good wishes and love send my way, I better get started with my gifts. So I raided Pintrest for some ideas. I saw number of handmade flower pins, some for little girls and some for big girls. I settled on making few flowers using some felt pieces which were left out from another craft project, my needle and thread and some pins from a craft store and making these. They would go in goody bags which I will start putting together with my homemade soap and lotion boxes. I will seal the goody bag with these pins, So I think I will. I am blessed with some very nice people who wish me well, care for me and even though having never seen me, know what I would like and send generous gifts. I love them not for the gifts but for what they mean to me. This is the faith that keeps me going on. Positivity is spread by thinking good about your enemies and wishing them well, however mean they are to you. At some point in life they will only think of how good you have been to them.

Source

This is a very easy flower to make. I will do a step by step once I get over "I did it" excitement part. What is the recent hobby you have taken up? What is your stress buster thing? Share with me if you have any crafting projects going on. I would love to learn  a new skill from you.

Lotion Bars with 3 simple ingredients.

Fall is in the air and in Ashland!!!  Really every thing is falling in its place for sure. School started and routine fell in its place, kids  went back to school falling deep into the books. With fall comes the worry of chapped lips and cracked heels for most of us. I usually hunt for coupons during this time of the year to stock up on the usual petroleum jelly, moisturizing lotion and Aveeno Lotions. Why you ask, because peeps in Ashland are blessed with rough a d dry skin. My Munchkin gets irritated with rashes and red blotches due to dryness. He itches till the point it starts bleeding. Donut refuses to apply any cream or lotion as it makes him sticky and shiny all day and kids kind of make fun of him. My hunt for an all body suave ended when I came across two of the most helpful sites. Wellness mama and crunchy betty. I mean they are the best when it comes to wellness the pantry way. If you remember I made home made lotion and lip balm not many days ago, I made them again and again. This time I set them in these cute molds from IKEA. I wanted some thing to carry with me in small boxes which were not messy, easy to carry and would not leak or spill in my tote. These lotion bars solve all the hurdles and they work from hair to cuticle. Apply bit of it on wet damp hair and say bye bye to frizz., apply on cracked heels at night and say hello to pampered feet. The recipe is simple and needs only 3 simple ingredients. The oils can be changed as per your likes

Source

You will need;

 Bees wax

 Coconut Oil

 Olive Oil

 All the above 3 in equal parts.

For the lotion bars, take bees wax, olive oil and coconut oil in same proportion and melt in a glass jar in double boiler. if you want to add in essential oils or essence add in after the base oils melt, once all is melted, set in molds. or in small jars. use as you like.

So what are we waiting for, welcome to the wonders of your kitchen and get set go on making all natural, easy on your pocket and good for you treats.

Homemade Lotion and Lip-balm totally Natural and Organic

 Hello Dearies!!! Today I bring to you some homemade natural and  beauty enhancers from your very own pantry. I also have a confession to make. I am addicted to something that is not harmful but dangerous in many ways!!! I am not on drugs nor am I an alcoholic, but yes I am addicted to Pintrest. And this is what happened to me when I bumped  into Wellness Mama. This Mama is AMAZING!! she makes everything natural and homemade, using everyday products and oils we have at home. She makes her own baby wipes. Impressed. not yet, run over to her space.

I also tried making her lotion and it won many thumbs up from my elder Donut who does not like any cream or lotion either coz its too creamy or too sticky. Most Winters I worry about his lips chapping and his skin turning into a dessert for camel rides. I am also not blessed with a glowing skin, so my search for one lotion for all ailments from cracked heels to chapped lips is always on. What I loved about these lotions is that most ingredients are very easy to get, except for bees wax which Mr. Ash ordered for me online. I am super impressed with the variations I can use from my pantry and mix and match the oils and essences. This winter is going to be soft and glowing in Ashland. I followed Wellness Mama to the T and stuck to her recipe except the addition of Shea butter and Cocoa powder to the lip balm.I needed to do that, it's just me that if I change the ingredients, I get creative satisfaction of doing something different. I will update you on the progress of my cracked heels and chapped lips after using these lotions for  a while, and keep watching this space as I am seriously thinking about sharing the lotions and soaps with one lucky reader soon. Just that I need to be super confident about the product I am making. There are no side effects as the oils are pretty much used in everyday cooking, like olive oil, coconut oil, bees wax imparts a  soft honey scent and addition of shea butter only adds in the effect.

 You will need;
take a glass bottle and a wide pan with 2-3 inches water, keep the water to boil. in the glass jar take;
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 th cup bees wax
2 capsules Vit E oil

1tsp rose water-Optional-
*I used this

2tsp shea butter-Optional
*I used 2 tsp as I have the shea butter which was costly. so thght will use little than none

When melting, stir often and then when the whole thing has melted, store in a glass jar and use little as it will go a long way. I added cocoa powder to the lipbalm for a brown tint.

 I know I am teasing you now, but I have given you all the resources to go ahead and curb your fear of making such treats from your kitchen. This really does not take any time, as it is only melting the oils and letting them do their own thing, I made these in less than 20 minutes. If I can do it, so can you!!!!! Thanks again Wellness Mama for doing the work for us.

Home made Goatmilk Lavender Soap

 

Hello Dearies!!! I am like most crafty girls. Anything new I see my friends doing, I Need to know how and what they did. Creating with my hands de-stresses me like no spa can. I mean I like pampering and all that comes along with it, a sap day out, with friends and then chit chat with snacks is my dream day. But with busy jobs and hectic life, such things are a dream for few of us. I saw my friend N do these soaps. I simply awed at her skills, the bar of soap never looked so pure and unique. A weekend trip to Amish Village in PA, USA also added insult to injury when I saw the homemade soaps they were selling for $3 each. The stuff used for flavoring and scent were our daily spices and oils. There were clove oil soaps along with some peppermint soaps. I have few of these oils in my pantry for various reasons like some old medicinal uses. Indian homes believe strongly in home remedies. Clove oil is recommended for toothache and eucalyptus oil for cold and sinus.
The wonderful world of soap looked too good to miss out. So I visited my local arts and crafts supply store. With my 40% weekly store coupon, I came back with the goat milk base and the mold. I had few essential oils and olive oil at home. My SIL had gifted me the aromatherapy oil set with the guide book, and the bottles.

I am all set. The wonder never ceases as I can mix and change according to my mood and fancy. Its as easy as 1-2 -3. Video link for melt and pour.
1- Melt
2- Add and stir
3. Pour and set in molds.

This batch I made is of lavender oil and cedarwood oil. Next batch is likely to be with lavender oil and Shea butter along with some sesame oil. Wish me luck and join me in this wonderful world of home made soap. The options and combinations are endless. If I get good feedback from the free samples I am giving away;  I can even do a small giveaway around Diwali time. So stick around to enjoy a piece of my craft.