A revelation: homemade body care products

Some of the basic ingredients needed for most homemade bodycare products

This summer I became vegetarian, or I should more precisely say, pescatarian, mainly for environmental and health reasons. This may have had some bearing on the story I'm telling you today, however I've always been in favour of natural when it comes to body care (I don't mean armpit and leg hair let grow wild...not that much natural!). However a month or so ago, I started considering going "no-poo" (tree-hugger's jargon for No Chemical Shampoo) when a friend revealed that she was ditching chemically packed haircare products after a lice spell - apparently lice really like squeaky clean hair washed with shampoo. I researched a little, and I have to repeat myself here, but I have to praise once again Pinterest for being such an inspirational and bottomless source of inspiration. I found a very basic hair washing routine, that has been working like a treat, of one tablespoon of soda bicarbonate diluted in water to wash and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in water to condition. That's it. If you can get over the absence of lather and perfume, this is for you...but you can add a little shine and scent by applying a tiny amount of coconut oil on the ends of your hair. My curls are back and I feel 16 again.

Next, I decided to give a go at making my own whipped body butter. This is the one homemade product I have been meaning to make for a long long time, especially since Little Monkey suffers from an annoying eczema patch that no commercial product managed to get rid of for any longer than a few days. This one has totally eliminated it in three applications. The three basic ingredients are coconut oil (which I also use a demaquillant and body cream), shea butter and sweet almond oil. All organic and relatively cheap to buy in bulk over the internet. For the recipe, I've used the one you can find on One Good Thing by Jillee, a resourceful blog full of incredible recipes for homemade beauty and house cleaning products. My only adaptation has been to put the oily mixture in the freezer for a couple of hours before whipping it, and adding Lavender essential oil to give it my favourite scent. This butter is my favourite little luxury I indulge in every day - and it doesn't make you any bigger for indulging!

The other discovery is a face cream that feels just as lovely, made with a basic oil mixture (coconut oil, Shea butter and beeswax), and some Vitamin E, chamomile infusion and jasmin essential oil. The recipe can be found on the Handmade in PA blog. Again, super simple to make, and it feels really nice on the skin. Also, you can change the infused herbs depending on your skin's needs (I used dried chamomile flowers for their calming properties and also because easily available at my local market).

But the real discovery for me has been a natural deodorant made with (guess what?) coconut oil, bicarbonate of soda (my other favourite thing in the whole world), cornflour (yes! You read well...this is to absorbe moisture), beeswax and essential oils (again, another lavender kick for me). This incredible, creamy deodorant is MORE effective than the equivalent commercial brands. I tried to do some maths to understand how much this deodorant costs, when compared to equivalent commercial brands, and I think this costed me around £1.50 per stick (I've used two empty roll-on deodorant containers). So, it is cheaper, it is more natural (even organic) and it works wonderfully, no "skunk effect" even after a whole working (and stressful) day. Buying the ingredients in bulk also helps saving. Again, the recipe can be found on One Good Thing by Jillee.

Add to this that I now clean my house with vinegar in which orange peals and cloves have been immersed for 15 days...lovely wintery smell and great results. At a fraction of the price and without nasties.

The basic ingredients for my homemade deodorant

I'm so passionate about all of this that I feel like I'm embarking in a war on corporations, chemicals and attempts to sell hot air at dear prices...and it's only started!!!

Feb13 Update:
I'm experimenting more and more on bodycare products and recently made lip balm (have a look at this, only a few ingredients for a wonderful, vaseline and other nasties-free lip balm) and solid lotion bars (check my post on them, with link to recipe - here).
I've been making lots of them to give to my friends as small presents, nicely wrapped up in brown packing paper with a ribbon, or I have sewn a sweet little pouch with oilcloth and cotton in which to put them...

March 2013 UPDATE! if you can't be bothered to make lotion bars or creams and you'd rather buy my handmade products, you can visit my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyVirtage - if you can't find what you are looking for, please contact me and I'll try and help :)

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Remembering summer: Super Hero Cape

Autumn already...wow! Where did summer go???

Well, I want to be positive today and appreciate how the summer sun has infused slowly slowly orange and red tones into trees and vegetables...isn't that one of the most magical things about autumn?

I feel as I'm starting to hibernate, with the days becoming shorter and the thermometer starting plummeting. So, to cheer myself and you guys up (hopefully), I'd like to tell you about a sweet little project that I thoroughly enjoyed doing about a month and a half ago. Also, you may want to make one of these as a quick fix for Halloween...
It feels quite nice to show you pictures of one of the last lovely, sunny days of summer, when we gave this super-hero cape to Stan the Little Man.
Good job his name is Stanley, really, as the S on the cape is just for him!

 

If you want to do something similar, you'll need to take your child's measurements from the base of  the neck to the back of their knees, as this is the perfect length for a cape without becoming a  nuisance to the little ones - remember The Incredibles? Capes can get stuck in action! :)
In my case, this measurement was 55cm (for a child of two).
Also, you'll need to measure your child's shoulder width and make the width of the cape a little wider than that (a couple of inches overall). And finally (and VERY important), the neck diameter. I suggest you take your child's neck circumference and add a good two inches to that too, so that it is not uncomfortable when the cape is tied at the neck. Or you can add an inch to the diameter. In the pattern I designed, the neck is open and fastened by Velcro, so think about what is the final neck opening size when the cape is fastened.
The base of the cape is wider than the shoulder width as that makes the cape fall nicely. Remember to add about half a centimetre all around as seam allowance (My apologies, I realise this is all a bit lose and if you don't have an idea of how to play it by ear, it will be difficult for you to do it. I suggest you do a quick Google search for patterns, or look on the always-resourceful Pinterest. I too loosely followed some ideas for this cape I found on it).
As for the materials, I used very lightweight cotton, in blue and yellow, as the last thing a child wants is to feel constrained by a heavy thing hanging from his neck. Also I used some orange scraps for the letter at the back.
I drew half the cape lengthwise on tracing paper, then transferred the pattern on the blue and the yellow fabrics as shown on the pic below.

I sewed a yellow circle (made by reusing the leftover circle of the neck bit) on the blue side. Then pinned and sewed a big orange S on top.

 Then, I joined the two parts of the cape, right sides facing, by sewing all around the cape, taking care of leaving a small area (about 10cm) open at the base of the cape for turning it inside out.

 

I turned it inside out, added some Velcro to fasten the cape at the neck, and top stitched all around to finish off.

 And that's the cape being worn by the super-hero himself, while on a mission to save the world!

Mini Mei Tai baby carrier for a doll

About a year ago I was introduced to the beauty of the Mei Tai, an oriental-style baby carrier that can carry comfortably newborns as well as toddlers.
I was always a fan of baby carriers (as you can learn from my post on the Mei Tai baby carrier I made myself a while ago). But I learn a lot more about them through a fellow Italian eco-mum, Tiz (she has four little monkeys though!). She makes lovely Mei Tai's, which she sells, and has also a blog worth following, My Mei Tai, which contains much information about ecoparenting, natural birth, baby-wearing, the lot.
Tiz is a generous type too, so from her blog you can download free instructions for making your own Mei Tai and even a mini version of it for carrying dolls (here; instructions are in Italian, I should add).
So, using her instructions I sewed my own mini Mei Tai for Little Miss' birthday (it only took a couple of hours...), and she has been sporting it quite a bit in town ever since: imagine people's faces when they saw my little girl trotting along with her dollie in her cute mini carrier.
Somebody the other day asked her:
"Aw, is that your baby you are carrying?"
to which she answered:
"It's not a baby, it's a DOLL".
She is quite an old lady into a little body, sometimes!
You can see I've added to Tiz' basic model a front pocket for all those little Lego bits, toy cars and animals, and minuscule pieces of paper Little Monkey LOVES carrying around. I've quickly cut and hand-sewn a felt strawberry on the pocket to match the fabric she chose for the front panel. The back panel, the pocket and the straps are in denim.

 

You can see how this can be a great way of involving a child when there is a new arrival in the family, and how children can learn to be caring through play and imitation of their parents.
You can find other  types of baby carrier for dolls on the Internet, including these you can find on:
Seven Thirty Three
A popular version by Oliver + S on Little Things to Sew
And patterns available on Etsy to buy, like this by 3Bean Studio.

Happy baby wearing!

Another quick project: upcycling an old vest

This old white vest of mine was crying for the bin...it really was, however it is made of a nice sturdy cotton and I use it all the time for doing yoga.
So, I couldn't really throw it away...how about upcycling it?
Sometime ago I had bought a set of 10 fabric paint pens at the Pound Shop thinking they must have been of the dodgiest type, however for some crafty jobs they could be just right. In fact, to my surprise, the colours turned out pretty nice.
At the bank holiday weekend, while Little Monkey was covering herself with watercolours, I thought I'd give a go at upcycling my vest, carefully covering all its tough stains with a hand-painted blue and purple flower.
This is the result:

 
And this is me, all stiff, strangely leaning to one side and wearing a sporty vest with some office trousers: so classy! *irony*...sorry for the terrible picture, but I hope it gives the idea...not too bad for a half hour job, uh?!

A quilted bed for dolly

Last weekend has been incredibly productive for me. Three projects in three days (thanks GB for the the August bank holiday!) and, obviously, none of them is something I had to do, but more like something I wanted to do...
Last week, my Little Miss was cuddling three toys (her favourites these days are a little baby doll, a rug doll we found in a car boot sale which somehow she named Luisa, and a little red plastic fish that has now lost an eye in battle). She was then trying to put them to bed covering them with a little towel.
Mmmm...I thought, dolly really needs a proper bed!
So off I went making this:

My first EVER attempt at quilting. I have been researching on quilting techniques for a while now, as I have in mind a new project which implies quilting. So, this has been a tiny practice before going much bigger. Not perfect, but hopefully dolly can see the love in it!

I have decided to make the quilt free style. The fabric has been chosen by my little one. I have sewn the quilt to the bottom of the padded bed just to make using it easier for her little hands, and also not to lose pieces only to find them under the sofa in a few months time. For the same reason, I have applied Velcro to the back of the pillow (made from an old pair of leggings).

The back of dolly's bed

So, what do you reckon?
Worth spending a few hours of your weekend making?  Would you buy it if you saw it in a shop???
I would love to hear what you think of it!
Have a lovely first week of September!

DIY Soap Pouch

Are you a soap lover like me?
I really can't stand slimy shower gels, and I adore that clean, antique scent a bar of soap has, especially if we are talking lavender and natural oil soaps. That scent reminds me of my grandma too! I always look for bars of soap in market stalls...BUT (and there is a BUT), soap can get a little yucky when left in a soap holder after a few uses...
I stumbled across the lovely idea of a soap pouch on Pinterest (where else?!); the original was a very simple pouch made out of towel by Whimsy Love. I love the idea because the pouch acts as your sponge as well as eliminating soap-related mess in the bathroom. I added to this basic idea a couple of elements.

I've also used a microfibre towel as my base material, as it dries quicker than ordinary towel and it's softer. At the bargain price of £1 at the Pound Shop (and I can make another 5 with the amount of fabric it had), it's even better!

So, I wanted to make it slightly prettier (you can see the little trim I added to the edge of the pocket), and more practical, so I added a loop to be able to hang the pouch in the shower (=easier to dry + no yucky mess).
If you want to do the same, remember to add first the trimming to the edge of the pouch your are going to see, then the loop (I've used herringbone tape for a strong loop that doesn't lose shape when hung wet with the added weight of the soap bar), then sew the raw edges, as illustrated below.

Now you can turn the pouch inside out, place your soap bar in, and enjoy your soft soapy moment!

Sorry for the fake soap, it was past midnight, I couldn't find a new bar in the whole house, and I certainly didn't want to take a snap of the used one I had in the shower! 

Travelling with children: two 30-minute ideas to entertain them on the way: I-Spy bag and Crayon Roll

I know, the summer holidays are almost over, BUT...you may be thinking of a small trip before heading back to winter life?
If so, and if you have a toddler like I do, you will know what I mean when I say I DREAD travelling...especially flights and car trips, and I'm lucky because my girl is not a hyperactive kid...
So, before leaving for our trip to Sicily a couple of months ago, I looked up on the Internet for ideas of simple things to make to entertain toddlers (I don't like electronic stuff for small children).
If you have time before leaving, why don't you have a  look at my Car Cosy? It could be another good travelling toy...
I only had an afternoon to make my toys before leaving (as usual, I should say), so here they are:

I-Spy Bag

I won't get tired of referring to the wonderful projects of Homemade by Jill.
Her I-Spy bags appear so neat and precise that I would just suggest to have a look and follow her tips on how to make some. Check also out Gluesticks' I-Spy Dry Erase I-Spy Bag Tutorial, she gave me some pretty good ideas too (including the use of a dry erase pen to cross off found objects on a picture).

By the way, I didn't know I-Spy bags before stumbling upon those (I don't think they are very well known in England, or in Italy), but I think it's a simple and wonderful little game, that can entertain a child as young as two for a long time and improve his concentration skills. The game simply consists of looking for some little objects within the bag, hidden among some neutral material (rice in my case, or poly pellets, if you can find them), and cross the objects off a list. You can play the game against time, or you can look for similar objects (e.g. all the green ones, all the animals, etc.).
The bag is made of cotton fabric (or fleece, as some other tutorial on the Internet suggests), and a clear plastic vinyl window (I've cut mine out of a plastic envelope some crayons originally came in), inside there is rice (as said, you can also use poly pellets, but I couldn't find any in the time frame I had, and rice seems to be a more environmentally friendly option too...just remember not to wash the bag, though!) and a number of trinkets I found around the house, including a 5p coin, a tiny peg, a bead...but the majority of my little objects were novelty buttons, which I bought over the Internet. My Little Miss loves to look for the little pink rabbit in particular...The bag is not exactly square, I didn't measure the fabric (yes, I know, terrible corner-cutting attitude), but the finished bag is 12 x 13 cm, and it works quite well with Little Miss' little hands.

Because she is only two and can't read yet, I've taken Jill's suggestion not to write a list and took a picture of the objects instead (the one you see below) before I put them in the bag and sealed it. Then I printed the picture off and laminated it, in a size small enough to fit in the back pocket of the I-Spy Bag (but you could simply print it on photo paper or card, the laminator simply makes it more resistant: you can use the picture to identify easily and cross off any found object with a dry erase marker, and use it over and over again). I made a number of copies so that if we lose one picture we always have a spare.


The whole I-Spy bag took me no more than half hour to make (excluding the laminating and cutting pictures bit!), and I'm so glad I made it (in spite of my husband thinking it isn't a very interactive game), Little Miss' loved it and we spent over half hour on the plane looking for objects and classifying colours and learning new words (including "purple diamond"). And it's also a useful little game to keep in my bag for unexpected waiting at the doctors', at the station, etc.

Simple Crayon Roll Tutorial

A VERY simple project, this one, to make a roll to carry crayons with us when going around (before I used to shavel them in my bag!). Little Miss' loves drawing, so it was a no-brainer for me.
This project took me less than half hour to make.

All you need is:

• 19cm x 22cm of felt (this will make a roll to contain 9 crayons)
• a stripe of cotton (or another fabric that won't stretch too much) measuring 50cm x 3cm
• matching tread.

Felt is great for this project because it doesn't need hemming, so just procede to fold the longer side of the felt by 6.5cm to create the pockets for the crayons.
Pin the fold in place.
Sew the edges of the pocket to the back.
Now sew at regular intervals of 2cm each to create 9 pockets as shown in the picture (you can see mine was done in a rush, I didn't even measure properly the pockets!). Go over each seam twice to make them stronger.
Now fold the other side of the piece by 3.5cm to create a flap that will prevent the crayons from falling. Sew close to the edge along the top to fix the fold.
Your crayon roll is done. Now to be able to tie the roll, you'll need your stripe of cotton (you could use instead a strong ribbon or a herringbone tape, but I wanted to add a touch of pretty to the roll).

Now, take the stripe of cotton, and fold lengthwise as you would to make bias tape (i.e. you could use a bias tape maker, or fold the edges towards the centre by hand and iron as you go...I did it, and then I run to the shop to buy a bias tape maker!!! you do the maths). Fold in the centre lengthwise, and press. Sew along the open edge.
Now you can stitch the tape you obtained to the back of the roll, somewhere above the pockets and below the upper fold as illustrated below.
And that's it!
Remember to take some colouring books with you and you are set for your next trip!