Soapy tips

Tips for painting on soap.

Tip 1: Remove any of the soap labels by shaving them away with a box cutter. Shave slowly to remove thin layers. 

Tip 2: If there is any soap name left, use a dishwasher scourer to 'sand' it back or use a very fine sandpaper.

Tip 3: Tip 1 and tip 2 gets messy with the shaving so add paper down to capture the loose shavings and shave into a dish.

Tip 4: Keep the shavings to melt down into re-milled soap.

Tip 5: Use a coat of modge podge first.

Tip 6: After the modge podge has dried, coat the top of the soap with a layer of white Gesso (Or black if you want a dramatic looking soap).

Tip 7: Draw your design onto your soap with a soft pencil and light hand. If you can't draw use tracing paper and carbon paper.

Tip 8: Carbon paper gets messy. The best tip is to trace onto tracing paper and turn the design over on the back trace over the design with 4b lead pencil and then flip the design over then 'trace' the design onto the soap. The lead pencil on the back will transfer to the soap.

Tip 9: Paint your design using acrylic paints. Don't get too fiddly with your design, unless you have the eye sight and patience for that; then go for it.

Tip 10: Finish off with a coat of modge podge and a light coat of all purpose artist sealer if you prefer.

One last note always use non-toxic paints. Mode podge and artist's sealers are always non-toxic and so is many of todays acrylic paints.

And there you have tips for painting on soap. The soap is used from the bottom, the design will stay on until the bottom of the soap is used up. Or if you use a very scented soap it can be for decoration only and added to scent the linen cupboard.

Wrap your soap up nicely and add a card for a thoughtful gift.

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Slow days

The weather has been hot, hot, hot. It's slow days here, pottering around in the cool of the house. I go out in the early morning in the cooler temps to see to my container plants. They need a good drink of water in this weather and I've been cutting back a lot of the plants. The heat loving plants are doing well: Basil is growing madly in the heat.

Some of the cuttings I've used for potpourri and I've dried a lot more of the kitchen herbs: Sage, Rosemary, and I have chamomile flowering now too. It took a long time to come into flower.

As usual I've also been stitching, painting and such. The tea towel in the first image was done using crayon tinting and I used a fine tip laundry marker for the out line instead of stitching. I have the finished tea towel up for sale in my easy shop: HildaandLillian.etsy.com

For those of us in the Southern Hemisphere I hope you are staying cool.

Spider web embroidery on a crazy quilt round robin 

I hope everyone is having a good day or evening where ever you are.

Fried Golden Chicken

Fried Golden Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Flour

Oil

Method:

Mix salt, pepper, and paprika in flour (I used about 1 teaspoons of paprika). Roll the chicken pieces in the flour.

Add 1/2 to 3/4 inch oil to a large heavy fry pan. Heat oil and place chicken pieces in hot oil ( oil needs to be smoking/sizzling - around 185 degrees c). Cover, and fry until golden turning once, 15 to 20 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot with mash or cold with salad.

Served with home grown salad mix and tomatoes

Have a good day or evening where ever you are.