The Crafty Corner

Well, I have yet to delve further into the gourd project (I've been gearing up to turn our gourd harvest into birdhouses, bowls, shekeres, and more), but I finished making a mosaic candle holder. I previously mentioned starting this project and having trouble gluing the glass beads to the glass jar (I used a glue gun, in accord with the directions for this project, which I'd found on the internet http://www.mycraftbook.com/craftIdea.asp?craftID=11). As it turned out, my concerns about losing the beads as I grouted the jar were well-founded. However, I only managed to lose one bead, but I had to glob on the grout rather thickly and was unable to wipe as much off as I would have liked. Also, I think my grout was not wet enough, which made it more difficult to apply, and it is still shedding some sand. The grout was also supposed to be a darker color, and I wonder if the lighter color is due to the dryness of the grout.

If anyone has some comments or suggestions that might help me out, I'd love to hear them. Right now, my plans are to try this again, using a stronger glue and wetter grout.

In other news, Jeff and I are strongly considering going into the soap-making biz. A local company called "Better for Babies" is looking for a new soap supplier, and we happen to make soap. We just ordered the supplies needed to try and re-create the soap products that this company has been selling. Keep your fingers crossed! This may be our first opportunity to generate some income from one of our projects (besides the egg bartering we did last summer). As some folks on Facebook already know, we are trying to come up with a name for ourselves. Jeff and I kinda like "Freaky Farms", which is something Jeff came up with when he created the web address for this blog. We are currently soliciting feedback on this name, but feel free to make suggestions of your own too. Great suggestions so far have been "A Good Lye" and "Jeff and Annie's Little White Lye." However, we're looking for something that would be appropriate to use with other products we might sell, as our farming projects develop and expand.

Hope you had a fantastic freaky friday,
Annie