Colorado Trip: Craft Time!

Of course there was tons of knitting over the week.  Goes without saying with Sarah and I!  But we also played with new projects!

One of Sarah's projects lurking on her to-do list (and mine too!) was to make bath bombs and bath melts.  She had found a Craftsy course ("Blissful Bath Bombs" by Alia Einstein-Diez) which covered melts, bombs, tarts, and other yummy good-for-your-skin bath stuff.  I've found similar things via Pinterest and had also been wanting to experiment.  So while the guys were watching bowl games on New Year's Day, Sarah and I played in the kitchen!

These are super duper easy to make - melt, mix, cool, refrigerate, done!  We actual made 3 batches over the course of the vacation, and used several different scents.  Because we can :)  The blue ones pictured below are peppermint scented.

Part of why we made so many batches, besides giving us a chance to try out a bunch of flavors (scents), was that we learned a little each time we did them.  Our first batch was pretty soft, was hard to remove from the mold (especially the more detailed shapes), and would actually start melting in your hand.  So a few of the things we learned:

• The more solid the melts, the easier they are to pop out from the mold.
• Using a liquid scent and a liquid colorant made them very soft.  There is dry colorant available too, but what we had was liquid.  Cut down a little of the oil to help things solidify a little better.
• Tapping helps the air bubble rise up.  It's like how workers set concrete, you know?  The vibrations help the air bubbles rise in the mixture, so that the brick (or melt, in our case) is more solid.  We had laid our silicone molds on a cookie sheet, so tapping on the sheet for a few moments after pouring helped vibrate our trays enough for the air bubbles to rise up.
• If the melts are still soft, just keep them stored in the fridge until ready to use.
• These also work well in the shower.  Just rub over the skin as you would a bar of soap!

Of course, pets rule the house, so someone had to come supervise.  Since what we were making wasn't really edible, Frank (a German Shepherd) wasn't too curious and was more interested in the football games with the guys.  Buddha (the pibble) took over kitchen management :)

 

Like I said, I'd seen variations on this on Pinterest, too. I like the instructions Sarah had, though, since they had so many variations all in the same workshop. 

If you're interested in what's out there for free though, here's what I've found:

• Porphyrogene has an organic Bath Truffle recipe, similar to the bath melts we made.  I'm curious how the honey helps; I've heard it's good for your skin.
• TLC has a Bath Bomb recipe, though theirs look much neater than ours do!
• Of course, a Martha Stewart version - Bath Fizzies
• Martha actually has another bath fizzy variation too.
• Also along the same lines, but not quite the same, a Detox Bath recipe.

Zach had his crafts going too.  He is branching out with his chain maille work, not just armor, and has made some absolutely beautiful pieces.  So, am taking the chance to brag on my guy again :)

This one was my Christmas gift.  That is a quarter next to the chain in the in-progress picture.  Very very tiny links!  This one was one he designed mostly himself, and I love it.  The flower is a kit (yes, he made the flower too) and then he made the chain and attached it all.  There were several measurement sessions with "Close your eyes!  Can't look til Christmas!" as he was determining where he wanted the chain to reach.  It's a silver clasp, a silver colored flower, and brass chain, if you want materials.

 

This second piece was the one he was working on while we were in CO.  It's the same weave as the other necklace - Byzantine weave - but it's called Graduated Byzantine because every couple repeats, you change the size ring you're working with.  So, the larger, heavier rings are centered in the front and decrease around to the clasp at the back.  This one's all in copper.  Aren't they both gorgeous?

 

Bragging on Zach for a moment!

So, I'm not the only one in the family with a geeky, crafty hobby!  Zach has started learning chain mail!

He took a class back when he was a kid in Boy Scouts and had always been kinda interested in it.  So, in looking for something to keep himself busy and to learn something new, he decided to pick it up again.  There are TONS of good references online, lots of videos on YouTube and so forth.  He's been burying himself in the computer from time to time learning a new weave (I still call them "stitches") or browsing the galleries on some of the bigger sites looking at inspiration projects.  

And there are some absolutely lovely pieces!  People work more with jewelry-sized projects nowadays.  Smaller, more portable, less supply costs, and (let's face it) how many people wear chain mail shirts nowadays?  Still, there are some very impressive pieces, both in the costume category and in the jewelry one.

The best moment so far, though?  We were getting ready to wind down for the night, close up downstairs and head up to bed.  Zach says, "Just let my finish this row."  Both of us are quiet as it sinks in that he has just used one of the classic knitter's lines that he teases me about!  One of those, "who's going to mention it first?" sort of moments.  Classic :)

And in all this practice, he has finished his first project!  He's working on a shirt as a long-term project, but from time to time will put together swatches to play with other patterns.  He was learning a new weave and was realizing that it was almost as long as a bracelet for me.  So, he measured my wrist and worked a length long enough to fit me.  I got to choose out a clasp and a charm to make it more decorative.  I love it!  

 

For technical details, it's 17-gauge steel wire worked in 3-in-1 Half Persian Weave.  With a copper clasp and charm, it's a lovely contrast of metals.  I am quite fond :)