Wool soap saver

I am sure you have one of these problems if you use bar soap:
1. The bar of soap slips all over the tub or shower and won't stay in the soap dish.
2. The bar of soap gets all mushy and makes a slime on your soap dish.
3. You have little slivers of soap that end up either dissolving in the soap dish as slime or getting thrown away.
4. Your wash cloth starts to stink like mildew if you try to reuse it a day or two.

I have most of these problems. But one day I discovered that wool is fairly mildew and bacteria resistant and makes a great skin exfoliator.
I decided to make some soap savers from an old felted sweater I had lying around. The wool helped with all the problems I had before. The soap wasn't slippery anymore. It didn't leave a slime everywhere. The slivers stayed put and the wool didn't start to get gross and stinky like a wash cloth.

Here's how I made mine:
I cut a rectangle of an old felted wool sweater, folded the ends up so there is an overlap.
Then I sewed the sides up and turned it.
All I have to do to change or add more soap is fold one side over, drop in the soap and fold it back.

Super simple and easy to do!
Try it!

It Just Felt Right

  I’m new to Alpacas. I’m not sure I have ever met one outside a petting zoo, but when I met Cindi Webber of Airborne Alpacas at the Clarksville Downtown Market selling gorgeous natural colored yarn in a rainbow of soft browns and creams I was intrigued.  I had been playing with felting wool for a couple months and when I asked Cindi how well Alpaca fibers felted, she felt confident they would felt well. (say that 5 times fast!).  I’m an artist and crafter that loves working in salvaged and “leftover” materials and when Cindi mentioned she had bags of fiber too short for spinning my heart fluttered.  She brought me a couple bags of this “leftover” leg and neck fiber to work with the next week.  I was amazed at how soft the fibers were and how easily they felted. 

  After the tedious process of skirting, washing, then carding the fibers, it was pretty straight forward to wet felt balls from the fiber using plain soap and hot water.  And once felted, these balls are tough.  I sell them as dryer balls as an alternative to chemical laden dryer sheets.  A few balls to a load are perfect for softening and helping to reduce static with no harmful chemicals or scents. They are great for people with allergies to dyes, chemicals, artificial scents or just for people looking for a more natural way to soften their clothes. And for those that just have to have good smelling laundry you can add a few drops of essential oils like lavender or rosemary and the balls will deliver the scent easily as they tumble.  And as anyone who has ever used Alpaca fibers knows, with use they will last years (maybe longer than your dryer itself!).  

  These felted Alpaca balls also make a great natural alternative to rubber and plastic balls for kids and dogs.  If it gets nasty and dirty from fetch out in the mud, just throw it in the wash with the rest of the laundry.  They won’t pop like a tennis ball and they casually brush a dog’s teeth as they bite down on the ball. With studies being done every day on how chemicals in our everyday lives can affect us negatively, it makes me proud to state exactly what goes into my felted balls. The list for the ingredients is short and sweet: 100% alpaca fibers. 

  Currently I am only selling my felted alpaca balls at the Clarksville Downtown Market because I don’t have many leftover to sell anywhere else!

Upcycled Southern Belle

a southern belle ballgown for under $100

before

For the past 8 years, our local historical society has thrown a reenactment ball to commemorate the battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862 here in Dover. Two years ago I went in a borrowed gown 3 sizes too big and the year before I went in a gown that was only about one size too big. This year, I wanted to do it right, but "right" came with a budget.  I wanted a fancy 1860's ball gown that would cost less than $100, but I'm a bit of a fashion snob and didn't want any old cheap looking gown. It had to be fairly historically accurate, or at least look that way. Since I can sew, I thought about making one from scratch, but new fabric prices had me choking a little and I didn't have enough of the right material in my stash, so the dress from scratch idea flew out the window. I searched for a dress that fit my budget and might be close enough to that style that I could make it happen by reworking.  I found a dress from TreasureChest01 on Etsy that was perfect.
     I took in the waist, added maroon satin from my own fabric stash to the lace at the bottom and sleeves and added bolder bows and buttons (also from my fabric stash) at the gathers. I  lifted the low back up to a more modest level and added a fancy brooch from my collection of vintage jewelry to the waist.  Using an old sheet and the eyelet lace trim from an old pillowcase I created a chemise (underdress). I took some maroon ribbon from my stash and threaded it through the eyelet holes to make a pretty accent to the top of the dress.
     Because of the fabric and notions I already had, I spent a whopping $39 total on a dress that I felt made a huge statement and looked great!  I decided to splurge on a vintage hoop instead of buying a cheap modern made one. The final result turned out to be a beautiful dress that showed up great in all the photos being snapped. I got many compliments on it and just had to brag about how I upcycled it for under $100.

finished ball gown for under $100

Display ideas for craft fairs

I thought I would show the results of my display search. Here it is. Lots of junk repurposed into jewelry displays along with some store bought ones I had already from previous years of selling. We were under some trees so some of the pictures had less than ideal lighting, but you get the idea. Happy hunting!

I used old crates and boxes to add height and
scarves for color

Me and Miss Priscilla ready to sell

We are ready for our closeup!

Close up of my stacked boxes

Shutters held earring cards, I hung a mirror from the canopy

an old printer drawer makes a great pendant box

an old stand up mirror and some scarves thrown on the canopy for color

I found the clear step display (right) at the Goodwill

My father in law helped me build the ring tray from an old board
the crates helped the necklace boards from blowing away in the wind,
a problem I had at the last show

Gonna have an Earth Day

     That was the title of  the play we did in the 4th grade, "Gonna have an Earth Day" and I played Small Voice, the one that finds out that one 'small voice' can make a difference.  It's been quite a few Earth Days since that play and now, I am going back to being one 'small voice' at this years Earth Day Festival in Nashville, TN's Centennial Park.  This saturday, I will be taking my salvaged jewelry and inspiring people to think about reusing everyday objects. 
     My main focus for my jewelry lately has become using objects that have lost their official usefulness.  I will be selling lots of button rings, earrings made from plastic bottles and containers, bracelets made from salvaged electrical wire, and pendants made with expired dog tags.    Now, when I throw things away or recycle them I think first, can I reuse this one more time before I stick it in the pile? Because ultimately, for most things anyway, reusing saves more energy than recycling. 
     I don't stop at the actual jewelry. Instead of putting greeting cards from Christmas and birthdays into the bin, I use the pretty blank parts as cards for my earrings and tags for my necklaces. I have about a dozen old peanut butter jars that I use for beads, wire scraps, and catchalls.  Old tins and sturdy boxes are used for shipping.  Clothes with holes or stains get cut up for jewelry bags and shopping sacks. My displays are made of an old pair of shutters, scrap lumber, an old art case, and a mismatched sheet for a tablecloth. I have driven my conventional husband crazy with all of my salvaging and hopefully it will payoff. 


I hope to sell lots at the festival on saturday, it is my business after all, but I hope that my creations will inspire people to think about what they buy and what they throw away as well.  Earth Day is a day for inspiration afterall, its a day when all us 'small voices' get together and make a difference.


     If you would like to know more about the Earth Day Festival in Nashville go to www.nashvilleearthday.org