danithmabob

I decided to use the last of my silicone and make a second soap mold. Sometime mid-January I'd like to pour some more soaps. I ran a poll on Deviantart for a 6th scent to add to the line-up, and Lavender won. When I make soaps again, this will be the final scent/color lineup:

Black Raspberry Vanilla (Black Soaps)
Brown Sugar & Fig (Bronze Soaps)
Eucalyptus & Spearmint(Emerald Green Soaps)
Fresh Vanilla(White Shea Butter Soaps)
Juicy Cranberry (Red Soaps)
Lavender (Pastel Purple Shea Butter Soap)

The new mold that I made to go with the dragon was a kitsune. I kept it simple and round... with the exception of the ears. They stick out. I tried making fox ears that layed against the head, but it just didn't look right. I worry that this may have been a mistake, because I don't think that it will be very nice to use as soap with ears sticking out. I also worry that though I made them fairly thick, that when cast as soap they may be rather breakable. Could be a problem for demolding and shipping :-/

Another issue that I ran into was that I used all the rest of the silicone that I had left. It was *just* enough to cast this second mold. The bottom of the mold is very thin along the bottom, with the deepest part of the mold being a mere 1/16-1/8 inch thick. This won't effect the soap itself, but I fear that the mold may not be very durable. If it lasts through 15 castings I'll be surprised. (I made over 100 dragons on the first dragon mold. It's still holding together, but it was a very thick mold.) Until I get my soap supplies I won't know the final weight on the kitsune, though I did try and keep it of a similar volume to the dragon. The dragon casts a soap that's 4.3-4.5oz.

Between the fragile mold and concern about the ears, this may end up being a very very limited edition soap. When I finally get my soap supplies, I'm going to cast a single kitsune, see how it demolds, then try and break off its ears. Depending on how easily they snap, I'll decide whether or not it's something that can actually be sold or not. I have no doubt I'll be able to snap them off, but it is going to depend on how much effort it takes. If it takes a bit of effort, then they'll probably ship just fine :-)



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Apologies on the lack of art posted to this journal of late. Most of what I've been doing the past few months has been exclusively book related. I'd prefer that much of the book be a surprise. :-) Once I finish, I hope to resume normal sketch posts and the like. For now, everyone gets to deal with mah craft binge instead! :-)

I did draw a bunneh oekaki on the NDA oekaki boards. Click to view animation. :-)

• 17:37 This afternoon went nuts! #

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• 10:35 Monday, Monday! There was a bottle of Pepto Bismal on my desk mysteriously this morning. Bwah? #

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• 17:05 Heard a great phrase on NPR this afternoon: "Personal experience of God will always trump people's dogma." #
• 08:29 When the Zicam RapidMelts say not to take them on an empty stomach to avoid stomach upset, they are NOT MESSING AROUND. #
• 08:52 Sounds like a plan! I'm sick at the moment and Ron's mom is coming in Sunday, but I have the week following Christmas off. Sometime then? #
• 13:14 is totally freaking out because Ron's mom is coming into town in three days. #
• 13:19 Has anyone else noticed that NyQuil's "new and improved flavor" really isn't? #

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• 17:47 Unexpectedly the only doctor here today. Madness and busy busy busy all day. Ugh. :sigh: #
• 22:10 omg three appts tomorrow. >< I was supposed to do chores and get presents out the door. Aaaaaaaaah #

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Thanks to everyone who participated in the flavor choosing for the lip balm. I won't be able to order any supplies until after the holidays, but I figured I'd get a head start on some label preparation. 4 of 9 labels for lip balm tubes. :-) Firebird Flare is obviously still a work in progress. These are going to be printed at a very tiny 1.7" x 2".



Other flavors will include:
Basilisk Blood
Fenrir's Folly
Gryphon's Glee
Pegasus Pinion
Serpent Spell (sea serpent)

• 08:52 Does anyone else think the Devourer of Souls sounds like Hedonismbot from Futurama? #WoW #
• 08:59 While I don't foresee getting rid of my iPhone, I highly approve of Google naming its OS Android and its phone Nexus One. #

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I think the most emotionally challenging aspect of the holidays is that everyone important who has died on me has died between Winter Solstice and approximately New Years.

In some senses I think I dread the holidays because of that, but other times I wish I could lose myself in the festivity.

• 12:55 Watched a Leonard Cohen concert on TV last night... he still sounds great at 75! #

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Since the soaps went over so well and I had so much fun making them, I thought it might be fun to experiment with other bath and beauty products. I've been looking into chapstick/lip balm making. One of the fun things about lip balm is that it's not only possible to add a fragrance (like soap and lotion) but flavor as well! To this end I'm curious which supplies I should be purchasing if I decide to make some lip balm in the new year.

Chapstick / Lip Balm Flavor Poll.
If you have the time/inclination, please stop by and vote in the poll. It would be much appreciated! It's possible to check as many as you want, but if possible, please narrow it down to the ones you would like most. The purpose of this poll is to help me narrow it down to the 5-10 most desired flavors so I will know which flavor oils to purchase if/when I make my lip balm. :-)

(All of the lip balm will contain the same basic ingrediants for the lip balm base itself before flavor oils are added, including fruit oils and beeswax!)

• 07:43 I'm so behind on everything. Need to order Xmas present for mother, ship others, get cards ready for xmas and babies!, clean everything! #

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Etsy Update
I updated the etsy shop with several items, including dragon soap, glass pendants, and plastic cel phone charms. I've had such fun making these! There's something that's just plain nice about the act of making things with your hands. I also played with some watercolor paintings while I was on my crafting binge, though sadly the results were kinda muddy. It's something to look into in the future!

If you are interested in any of these things and place an order with the etsy shop soon, chances are still fairly good that it will arrive in time for Christmas (within the US).

Soaps
I didn't think I'd be able to, but I was able to manage to get a small quantity of dragon soap ready before the new year! If you missed out on the first batch, there's now a total of 20 soaps available. Brown Sugar & Fig, Fresh Vanilla, Cranberry, and Eucalyptus & Spearmint soaps are now in stock. (No lavender or black raspberry vanilla this time around :-( When I get some more time next year I will try my hand at soap making again!)


Glass Pendants
All of these glass pendants have already found homes from my DA journal post yesterday, but they're still kinda pretty to see.


Plastic Phone Charms
These phone charms have artwork on one side, and a solid colored back on the other. (Back color of the plastic matches the border around the artwork) They are glazed on both sides and is very shiny! The lariat has a touch of glitter thread woven in.

• 08:44 8 hours of sleep >>>>>>>>> than 3 hours. Feeling much better today. Hate how busy I am though, so much I want to do! #

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• 08:06 Conscious effort to be positive. Ironically (maybe?) sad that it has to be conscious, but sometimes that's what it takes. #

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• 09:07 Mentally hyper yesterday and today for emotional reasons. I am very much sticking my head in the sand and going lalalala. Someone slap me! #

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• 14:11 wants to know how we ever survived before every answer was just a Google search away. Seriously. #

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• 06:50 I always fret about presents I have gotten for people. What if they hate them? What if they think they're dumb!? /stomach flop #

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• 07:44 Little bitter. Little grumpy. >_> Not that great of a morning. /hunkers down to get over it #
• 09:54 Oh it's nothing dire, at all, folks! Just one of those 'wake-up, blink, see something, mumble, wander off mildly irritated' things. XD #
• 09:55 But thank you for the hugs. :3 #

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