Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung! I've been working on the beds for the past few days. Most of them have been neglected due to my ankle surgery last Spring. My favorite flower , or at least the one I love looking at the most, are the Red Hot Pokers (pictured above). I cleaned out the dead leaves and I can see lots of new growth at the base. I started these by seed, and have divided the plants several time. The stems can be 3 to4 feet tall and the bloom is about 5 inches tall. A very stunning plant!
Peeking out are my Sweet William. Not many came back last year, so I will have to sow more for the upcoming year. They are in the very back of the yard, so I can't see them unless I am in the backyard with the dogs. I need to move them closer to the house.
Cleaning out all the grass, I noticed lots of baby Gallardia's. They bloom all summer long and will grow just about anywhere...we have a few growing in our grass last year!
It was fun getting my hands in the dirt. Nothing replenishes the soul as peering at a worm at eye level!

A Rose As Rosey As A Rose!

My sister wanted some English Rose Body Butter, so I ordered some fragrance oils from Bramble Berry. The scent was so heavenly that I decided to make some soap with it! I wish I did not have to wait 4 weeks before I use it. I'm pleased with how they all came out. I crushed Rose Petals all over the top. I know some people do not like dried flowers in their soap, and these will wash off after one or two uses.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!! I'm spending the day with my family today. My DD came in from Chicago and we are having friends and family over for dinner and fire works.
The picture above is a Columbine bloom. I started the plant, by seed, last year and it bloomed this year!

Peppermint Chocolate Cold Process Soap Steps!

There are lots of steps I take before I get to this first picture, but they involve measuring, measuring, measuring...oh...and wearing lots of safety gear (which I still have on).
In this first picture, I have just added the Lye/Water mixture to the Oils.

In about 10 seconds, this is what it looks like!

Here I have divided the soaps. I want to swirl and I need two different colors. I am adding chocolate to this pot.


Here they are all colored and ready to go!

After they have traced and are ready, I pour one color into the other!
Here it is in the mold. As you can see, I'm pretty messy! LOL!
Cut pictures tomorrow!

St. Louis Summer

I'm having such a hard time with posting pictures and lining up the typed words, so I decided to list the flowers at the bottom.
Pictures starting at the top are: Sweet William, Salvia, Red Hot Pokers, Peony Poppy ready to pop, Speedwell, and Gallardia. All started by seed...by me!

More pictures of the process

Here are a few pictures that "vanished" when I was uploading yesterday. This picture is when I JUST turned on the stick blender. See the little bit of white around the stick? That's the first sign of the lye reacting to the oils










This is when I just put the mica in. It's such a pretty color!





















This is the mica. It comes in a powder and to mix it better, I took a few tablespoons of oils and mixed it all together in a little tub.

My Little Bit Of Spring!!

Life in crutches makes it hard to see all the glorious signs of Spring! I peeked out my front door yesterday and caught a little bird "tasting" my Weeping Cherry Tree! Of course, it flew off before I could take a picture, but I couldn't help capturing the beauty of the tree. I can't wait until I can "fly" off these crutches...and the time can't come any sooner! :)