Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Citronella Soap recipe

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Try this citronella soap recipe for a great summer soap.  Citronella is a fantastic insect repellent now that warm weather is arriving and  crushed pennyroyal leaves smell very minty, creating a fresh soap for hot weather!  This soap is not recommended for small children, as citronella oil can cause skin irritation on sensitive skin.

Citronella Soap Recipe – (Melt and Pour)
From Pure and Natural Soaps

1 cup grated Castile soap
1/2 cup water
10 drops citronella essential oil
5 drops eucalyptus essential oil
1 T. dried, crushed pennyroyal leaves

Mix the ingredients into the melted soap/water mixture. With an electric mixer, whip the soap until it has doubled in volume. Spoon the soap into the prepared molds, pushing it into the molds as best you can (the beating action cools the mix, so work quickly). If the mixture has cooled off and thickened so much you can’t put it into the molds, hand mold the soap into large balls.

With the arrival of the Japanese Encephalitis Mosquito, it has become important to make sure those pesky mosquitos are not snacking on you.  Japanese encephalitis symptoms include Headache, neck pain, and Nausea. .  Japanese encephalitis does have a vaccine and you should contact your local medical professional for information on obtaining this vaccination.

But how else can you protect yourself against mosquitos? Keep mosquitoes away from exposed skin by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and socks, you can even wear a mosquito net hat.  Tuck shirts into pants and pants into socks to cover gaps in your clothing where mosquitoes can get to your skin.  For a natural repellent use essential oils for making your own Mosquito bug spray repellent. Add oils to water and spray into the air or add small drops to your clothing.  Use a Necklace or Bracelet oil diffuser to help repel mosquitoes naturally.  Insect bracelets and necklaces are great for children too.

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Cross Stitch Ice Cream and Frozen Treats

Summer is the time for sweet treats, whether eating them or stitching them. This collection of patterns is full of designs that are good enough to eat. Almost. 

This year of ice creams from Simone Balman Art is lots of fun, and you could also stitch up these treats individually if you’d rather. The full piece is 210 by 300 stitches, though it’s not full coverage. It uses 25 colors and comes out to 13.6 by 20.1 inches, or 34.5 by 51.2 cm, as shown on 14 count fabric. 

These mini Popsicles from Mariana Gonclaves ART as super sweet and quick to stitch. These would also be a fun border to another summer project. The full design is 43 by 46 stitches, which is 3.1 by 3.3 inches, or 7.8 by 8.3 cm, on 14 count fabric. 

Sam X Stitch has this fun sweet treat sampler, which again would be fun to stitch as individual pieces (maybe on napkins?). In all it calls for 18 colors and measures 153 by 153 stitches. That comes out to 10.93 inches or 27.75 cm on 14 count fabric. 

Another great sampler is this one with ice cream and other sweet treats from Cute Patterns by Maria. At 119 by 132 stitches total, working the full pattern would be about 8.6 by 9.4 inches, or 22 by 24 cm on 14 count fabric, and it uses 33 colors. You can also stitch individual designs, which range in height from 35 to 45 stitches, and in width from 11 to 28. 

This collection of four sundae patterns from Stichrovia would be fun to make for a kitchen or a teen’s room. Each pattern is around 40 by 50 stitches, so they should fit in a four or five inch hoop if worked on 14 count fabric. 

Or stitch up one of the treats from Stitch Chart Studio‘s collection of seven ice cream cross stitch patterns. These range in size and in number of colors needed, but most would fit in a five or six in hoop (and one in a four inch hoop).