puffer face

here's where to find

www.akaisilks.etsy.com

i look worse today than the last two days. it looks like someone ran over my face. i look like a bulldog. oh well i always wanted jowls.

last night after a shower my jaw hurt so bad and a perc was barely denting the pain. i made TY lay down with me and eventually was relaxed enough to nap off and on then woke up when i felt our little earthquake

this morning just as sore and swollen. cant stand the thought of another day of percocet so TY has to go to the store to buy some ibuprofen. hope that helps. i'll be lopping off my own head soon.

in the early afternoon hours before i was near comatose with pain i did manage to list some custom made soap items, one is a complete spa set you choose colors and scents. surely i can fiddle around a kitchen during all the pain. gives me something to do. bending over to do dye work right now would be excruciating. jeez i cant wait for the next surgery. i'm getting old.

watched part of Princess Farhana's Underbelly dvd last night and just enjoyed the hell out of it. we recently met when she came to the big island for a bellydance retreat. i just adore her. hope to finish it today. it's a nice treat to sit down and watch bellydance for a while.

pain pain go away

lotsa photos coming

oh lovely sun, thank you for today. was able to just flow with the dyes, dried a lot of silk, took pictures of soaps, watched the trees dance..thank you thank you see it's not so hard to be sunny

here's some unlabeled photos of stuff coming up..will soon have custom made spa packages that include what you see or combos of..

soap's on you

lingering scent of nag champa and ancient sedona in the kitchen right now..my usual afternoon consisted of mixing and inhaling delicious fragrant oils and watching micas pearl in melted soap and shea bases. if you ever have a chance to melt down jewelry i think it would look like this. i wish i could figure out a way to dye veils with mica. the results would be eye splitting. the bases suspend the mica and it's similar to marbling paints on fabric..a touch of a spoon creates a new pattern. i should really document each stage. but my hands are covered in soap

clean up is always a delight, you just rinse your hands under running water. i've always liked working with liquids and waters, light and color. soap making is not a lucrative career decision but it soothes the inner beast to be able to work with the oils and micas. mmmm mica.

here's some of the latest crop of delights. fragrances used include dragons blood, ginger lime, coffee and chocolate, ancient sedona, nag champa, and juniper sage

the mahogany wafers had to be re-batched. i'm so bummed because they came out gorgeous . what i do is make the soaps, photograph them then re-batch them or keep them for our own use.

oh..i wear gloves when i make soap..just like when i dye veils (even tho the soap is very non-drying)

new soap scents ready when i get back

should be ready to cut and serve when we get back from desert dreamin..

patchouli
ocean
wildflowers
cafe mocha
musk
cinnamon coffee
more peppermint
aloe vera
lilac
peppermint blend
ginger spice
cherry almond
lemongrass spice
vanilla combo
lemon/lime/orange

no pics yet, i'll post one of the turtles:)

a new way to make some logs

i was not aware that the expression 'making logs' was a slang for taking a dump. my older boy made me aware of this a few years back.

well so i was busy making logs yesterday, some of my cold process soap has been curing for a matter of WEEKS (not easy for an impatient type who wants to see results asap).

www.silkandsun.etsy.com
you can also access akai silks by typing in www.silkandsun.com
Silk and sun is easier to spell and people dont cock their heads and say a-kay? i-k?

i thought you might like to see what a soap log looks like. this is Morrockin Vanilla, made expressly for bellydancers (well ..admittedly given a bellydance related name so I can use my PAID advertising on bhuz to promote it).

Zack was my helper , he turned away in shock at the smell of lemon but really dug the chocolate.

The photo taking is not something i'm used to, normally i do flying objects and fluttering silk so i'm getting to know the macro function on my new badass camera (oh wait it's Twu's camera..errr) . It's sort of like taking pics for dollhouse miniatures, you have to think like an elf and take pics of big towering slabs of silky soap.

soap. i'm hooked. i have small slivers of all flavors at every sink around the house. i have a bag that holds shavings. my hands feel soft and don't have that filmy tightness from using commericial crap. i look forward to washing my hands and smelling a burst of fragrance from something that is handmade.

i do melt and pour too. you'll find most of those with the molded shapes.

slipping into bliss

my husband was delighted because he found a bottle of half used dial soap in a box we hadn't unpacked yet. GET that commercial crap outta my house baby!

i admit, i'm hopelessly in love with handmade soap now. i buy from others and i make my own. tonight i popped out of their molds three new ones, a merkaba clear , a lime mint scrub bar, and a chocolate coffee bar with sugary flakes on top that actually exfoliate.

it's the kitchen witch in me and i can only blame it on the many raindrops that glisten our island, when i can't dye silk, i need something to do. so i started stirring and working with scents. the colors oh well i can mix those while blindfolded (but better not). i'm in love with the excitement ..i feel like i just discovered bellydance again.

we spent a good portion of the day near the beach today. i was taking pics of scarves near a gorgeous fallen tree completely weathered by sun and salt, Zack was playing with daddy, then we switched off and Zack let me chase him around while daddy went surfing. A local gifted us with a large bag of tangerines, I gave some of them out to others in the parking lot and we came home and had a fresh dinner. Made more soap. Washed away last week.

For those following the anti-d update I was suffering the worst case of pms demonness or SOMEthing but for the sake of those i lived with i popped an anti-d and feel so much more myself again. my mom keeps telling me..hey a diabetic shouldnt try to go without insulin just to prove something.

i'll be out again tomorrow doing errands..i'm so sorry as i'm behind on emails again. you know who you are. i love you all. thurs i am taking Lewis to the vet, he's scratching a lot and he's just susceptible to skin disorders poor ole goober.

hope you are living in bliss

how turtles give peace

Turtles glide gracefully thru the water, completely at peace.

there wasn't much more about today that mattered as much as making turtle soaps. that statement is probably not grammatically correct. but all day my hands couldn't wait to mix and stir and color and add and create little mini turtle soaps. they have a lovely honeysuckle scent. as what happens with the veils and supplies, i ran low on soap supplies and am awaiting a shipment but my impatience led to using what little was left to make some quickie turts. i made some chocolates too. compared to making veils, this work is much less tiring on the back and truthfully , at times, just as enjoyable. i have a mini lab in my kitchen. bring the rainy days

logos and labels and mermaids oh my

Many thanks to http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6168834 for working with me ASAP on a simple logo that will be used on soap labels. Turnaround time was fast, communication was excellent, I now have a cute and useful logo to stick on soap labels.

And for those of you who were stuck in the drama mud over this..booo on you. Hope your day improved. Your negativity resulted in approx. $640 sales for me. I know it's hard but learn to be nice.

mixologist part 1

gawd i'm glad xmas is over. i know, bah humbug but i cant stand all that anticipation leading to people returning things they didnt like and abandoning xmas trees out in the street. it's so depressing to see trees without roots.

anyways i feel a fire under my ass and no i'm not sitting on the yule log, i'm ready to charge into more projects. i hope fed ex arrives today

i've been dicking around with other types of mixes for a while now..soaps, potions, scrubs, butters..like most women i have a fascination with brightly colored bottles that promise to melt away my ass fat and i'll optimistically stand in the humid bathroom scrubbing, washing, patting, rubbing, soothing, inhaling all sorts of scents. who cares if it works. it's all about ritual.

so, also for a while i've been selling silk related goods to spa outlets..gift bags, gift scarves. it's been nice pocket change. but i decided well hells bells why dont i make my own potions? i certainly know how to mix things and blend (dyes) ..so i went on a spree and bought fistfuls of things like shea butter, palm oil, plumeria, coconut, clary sage, all the names you love to read about. i'm a kitchen witch. no i dont cook but i can mix. i'd probably be a great bartender.

in a flurry to do something new but related , www.silkandsun.etsy.com is open but empty. no products yet. i've been marketing soaps and stuff, on the sly, for a while at local events..but for fun i'll package them (that is fun) and take some pics, and you'll see them in the store. why not!!