Valentines Melt and Pour Soaps

Spring Inspired Valentines Soap

I melt my soap using the double boiler (dish over pan of simmering water)

but some people choose to use the microwave, either are just fine :0)

I used Food/Cosmetic Grade Liquid Colourants and Cosmetic Grade Fragrance Oils

 Valentines Layered Soap with Spring Inspired Embeds

Valentines Soap Cupcakes

 Sorry...it's a bit difficult to read this...the soap icing/frosting is made by melting white melt and pour soap.  Once melted, add 1 tbs of liquid castille soap to each ounce of melt and pour soap...add any colourant and whisk with an electric mixer until it resembles icing.  I made 2oz and this was plenty, enough to make some little wax tarts...see below

And these are the "tarts" from the left over icing with a few embeds thrown in there!

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Gel Polish Manicure and Pedicure Experiment

Ok, so there's a new type of nail polish on the market now, its a cross between a regular nail polish and a gel, so it needs to be cured in a UV lamp...although application is the same...clear base coat of UV gel, 2 layers of colour and 1 layer of top coat...each coat needs to be cured separately under the UV lamp.  The great thing about these new gel polishes is that they last for up to 3 weeks on the hands and 6 weeks on the toes!!!! and are chip and smudgeproof, no more waiting to dry once its cured, you are ready to go!

So these are my first experiments, using  with Cuccio de Pronto Clear as a base coat, Chijue Gel Polish No  and Christrio Gelaquer Permashine as a top coat...strictly speaking, you are not supposed to mix products from different manufacturers...but I have not had any problem as yet...basically you need to prep the nail first by
1) washing your hands
2) apply sanitiser...I used the antibacterial gel
3) push back the cuticles and lightly buff (to avoid damage) the nail plate
4) brush the residue off, use a wipe to dehydrate the nails
5) apply base coat, cure, apply one coat of colour, cure, another coat of colour, cure, top coat, cure and wipe the dispersion layer if necessary and done!

On my toes, I added some rhinestones by sticking them to the final top coat and then I gently applied a little more of the top coat over the top of them before curing...they may move around a little as you apply your topcoat, so you may have to move them back to the correct position with a little birchwood stick before your final cure...and thats it

UPDATE:

the gel polish on my nails peeled after about one week..hmm..not really that impressed to be honest

the toes were going to last for ages but I got bored and soaked them off (took about 10 mins) soaked cotton wool in acetone and wrapped each toe with the cotton wool and silver foil, popped my feet in a plastic bag (heat helps the gel polish to come off as well)

Gel Polishes on Amazon - Fraulein - these have Soak Off Gel Polishes have good reviews and are between £4 and £5 a bottle Pin It

Gel Nails

Sorry its a little blurry, but these were my Christmas artificial gel nails...I used natural tips, Christrio Gelaquer Soak Off Builder Gel 2 coats and their Permashine Soak Off Topcoat...once cured in my UV lamp, I applied 3 colours of polish, some silver glitter with a striper polish and a few rhinestones...love it and it lasted ages!

Gel Polishes on Amazon - Fraulein - these have Soak Off Gel Polishes have good reviews and are between £4 and £5 a bottle Pin It

Sewing

Ok, so here is most of the sewing I have done this year...NEW LOOK 6977, MCCALLS 5248, SIMPLICITY 2374, WOMANS REALM (Vintage) L109, SIMPLICITY 2666 & NEUE MODE 23273...click through to flickr here as I have labelled the pattern for each photo!  I am a beginner seamstress, self taught (with the help of youtube and sewing sites) and I absolutely loveeeeee it!

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Organic Fertiliser Plan for Container Grown Vegetables

Ok, so a lot of my seedlings are now young plants...yay!... the fertiliser in the original soil only lasts for 4 to 6 weeks and it's time for me to think about how and with what I intend to fertilise them with.  Regular fertilising is extra important for container gardening as nutrients are easily leached out of the soil during the watering process.

Now as you know, I am new to all of this and still finding my feet but from the information I have gathered here is my plan for the veg


*To apply bi-weekly Ready to Use Liquid Organic Fertiliser (shop bought) - this is 1/2 a capful per plant and is alreaddy diluted mix of 10% 5-2-5 - this I will use right the way through til harvest on the non fruiting veg which need regular fertilser (as some only need to be fertilised at the time of planting so check for individual veg) and on the fruiting veg e.g tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes etc...will switch to Organic Liquid Tomato Fertiliser (shop bought) weekly if I remember rightly - once the plants have flowered - this will encourage the fruits to set and grow to nice juicy sizes.

*To apply a weekly Foliar Spray - I intend to make two types - one which is higher in Nitrogen for the Non Fruiting Veg and one which is higher in Potassium and Phosphorous for the fruiting ones.

Natural Foliar Spray Recipe 1 for Non Fruiting Veg
1 tsp of Neem Powder ( to 250ml of hot water)
1 tsp of Alfalfa
1 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar to preserve the mix a little
brew overnight, strain it very well so that it will pump through the mist spray this time!
Neem has an NPK of 2.0-5.0//0.5-1.0//1.0-2.0 and for Alfalfa is below
This, plus the cider vinegar will also help as a preventative treatment for insects and fungal diseases

Natural Foliar Recipe 2 for Fruiting Veg
1/2 tsp of dried Alfalfa  2.7//0.5//2.8
1/2 tsp of dried Seaweed Powder 1.0-3.0//1.0-2.0//3.0-5.0
1/2 tsp of dried Comfey Leaves 1.8//0.5//5.3
1/2 tsp of Blackstrap Molasses 0.7//0.5//3.2
1tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
250ml of water
made as above and again the cider vinegar will work as a preservative and anti-fungicide

Tips for using foliar sprays: apply in the morning when humidity is higher (due to dew) and more easily absorbed, only use in temps up to 72F, don't apply in direct heat of the day/full sunlight, it may scorch the leaves although my recipes are so lightweight, that I think they will be OK :0)

Side Dress - adding fertiliser to the soil
A great link  to which veg benefit from side dressing and when to apply


Again, I intend to use a mix of Alfalfa, Seaweed Powder, Comfrey and also Wheat Bran which has an NPK of 2.6//2.9//1.6 for the fruiting veg and Wheat Bran and Neem for the non fruiting ones.  I am guessing that Alfalfa, Comfrey, Wheat Bran and Seaweed are all quick to decompose and therefore fertilise the soil as they are all also used to activate and speed up the composting process! I will make the mix up together beforehand and just lightly sprinkle in around 1-2 tbs per container and gently mix into the soil. Pin It

Nasturtiums - Companion Planting

Wow! these babies grow like the clappers! they're great for impatient types who get bored waiting to see growth!  Anyway, I decided to start some off these to place in with some of my Veg as companion plants.  

For those who do not know, companion plants are ones which grow well together either to

1) enhance growth and flavour

2) repel non beneficial insects

3) encourage beneficial insects

Nasturtims are a useful companion plant for lots of veg inlcuding radish, cabbage, collards, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, broccoli, mustard greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, beans, melon, pumpkin and squash.  They repel bugs, beetles and aphids and in addition to this their flowers are edible, often used in salads!  

Nasturitums are annual plants, whch  grow best in poor soil, with little water and no fertiliser which is not possible when growing alongside other plants which need the opposite.  However, I still intend to use them :0)

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Tomatoes, Aubergine and Sweet Peppers Week 5

Top: Gardener's Delight Cherry Tomato Plants

Bottom: Left & Right: Traffic Lights Sweet Peppers

Centre: Aubergine Black Beauty

Ok, so here is a quick update on these plants, I started them early in February as I simply couldn't wait to sow some seeds!  Next year, I think I may start them off mid March, giving them 6-8 weeks of growing before our last frost date which is early to mid May.

Anyway, I have been growing these under lights since germination, they have had a great start, been fed the chamomile and seaweed tea plus a weak solution of all purpose organic liquid fertiliser once a week.  This week, my instincts told me they need to be in natural light now, OK its still only March and so the window sill light is not too strong, but the temps seem to be OK for them.

So all being well,  here they will stay until I start to harden them off mid April and after that they will be ready to be put in their final containers and go outside into the mini greenhouse until harvest time...I can't wait!!!!!

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