Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Poison Ivy soap recipe

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soap-main_thumbHow to Make a Natural Poison Ivy Soap
By JuDea Bentley from eHow.com

This is a very easy recipe for homemade soap that can be used for poison ivy or other uncomfortable rashes. This soap is also great for sensitive skin.

Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients:
2 cups melt and pour soap or re-batched soap. Or you can use  store bought soap.
4 tablespoons calamine lotion
4 tablespoons liquid glycerin
4 tablespoons finely ground oatmeal
microwave
plastic juice pitcher that fits in the microwave
A mold to use for the soap. I usually look around the house and see what I can find. A frosting can makes a nice round soap like in the picture.
Vegetable spray for mold
40 drops of rosemary essential oil

1. Cut the soap into small pieces. Place them in the pitcher. Heat on high for 20 to 30 seconds. Stir every 5 seconds. Repeat until all the soap is melted. This will be very hot when taken out of the microwave, so please use caution.

2. Allow the soap to cool slightly. Then stir in the glycerin, calamine lotion, and oatmeal. Then place the rosemary essential oil into the soap. This is a good preservative.

3. Next spray you mold with vegetable spray. I use a lot of household items for molds. The silicon cake pans are great for mold. The cake rosette silicon pan make adorable soaps. For the round soaps I just use a 16oz frosting plastic tub.

4.  After you spray the containers pour the soap in slowly. Let the soap sit until hard. What I like to do is to put the mold in the freezer for a few hours before I pop it out of the mold. If you should decide to us a frosting tub you can always cut the tub if you cannot get it to pop out. Then cut the soap into 1 inch thick pieces. Happy Soap Making!

Have you read?

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule. 

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence. 

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day. 

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home. 

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish). 

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers. 

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper. 

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.