January 28, 2012: All of the SUDSon

Soooo.....aaap. When I set out to learn how to make soap, I did not know the adventure I was in for! Let's just say that it is certainly put both my creative and science skills to the test.
As a biology teacher, I spend a good amount of my day (and year) discussing the chemistry of living things. Hmmm... sounds so interesting huh? Well I really do think it is fascinating. Even better now that I can apply it to making natural soap in my kitchen!

Ever notice that cleaning a greasy pan with just plain old water does not work to well? The problem is that water is polar (the molecules act like little magnets - with opposite charges at each end) which causes it to be attracted other things polar but repel things like oils and greases which are non-polar. This is why water and oil "don't mix." If you add some soap though... viola! You can clean your pan (or your greasy hair or body - gross)! Soap acts like a mediator, causing oil and water to "shake hands" and get along - mix. Why can soap do this, you ask? Soap has a polar end (which connects to the water) and a non-polar end (which connects to the grease) creating a link between the two. The process of making soap is fantastic! The website that I used (mostly) to learn is How2Soap. The video below explains the basic ingredients:


So, the ingredient, Lye, is 100% NaOH (sodium hydroxide), which is a very strong base and can cause severe burns. When a base, such as NaOH, combines with an acid, such as HCL (hydrochloric acid) it undergoes a neutralization reaction. (NaOH + HCl --> H2O + NaCl.... OR sodium hydroxide and hydrogen chloride will make water and salt! - aka.. not harmful!)

So, the oils that are used in soap-making, contain molecules called "fatty acids" which are non-polar, and, obviously, acids! So the reaction between the lye and the oils is a neutralization reaction that creates soap and water. During the "curing" process, the water evaporates. The remaining soap molecules contain the fatty acid end (non-polar end that will like the grease!) and the polar end (that likes the water!). The entire process of making soap this way is called "cold process." Viola!

The video below explains the basic chemistry of soap:


So my next step (next day)... is to make soap! Stay tuned!

January 27, 2012: Unlock Your Talent!

Diggin' this necklace. The cool thing is that it didn't take much time at all. (Good thing because Friday nights I do ski club with RHS and I don't get back until late...) Soooo... as you can see... it is a simple silver chain with a set of keys, a heart shaped lock (from an old diary or something), a green glass bead and a cut-out piece of aluminum with the word "talent" stamped in it. I liked the combination because it speaks to the whole point of Period Ten - "unlock talent"Ummm yeah... so... that's really it for this one! Enjoy!

January 26, 2012: Fabulously Female

In my life, I have come across some of the most inspiring women. I am lucky to be surrounded by girls who are talented, confident, creative, smart, athletic and hysterical. My grandmother, my mother, my sister and all of my close girl-friends have these characteristics. I often wonder how I could spread the word to girls everywhere that YOU can make a difference, YOU can be great! Well, my brother-in-law was perusing a skiing website and sent me a link to She Jumps.org. He texted me the site and said "seems cool and women with similar goals as you - check it out if you get a chance." So... I did!



I played around on that site for a while and got inspired, not only to get back on my snowboard, but to find more sites that empower girls. Maybe the word is already getting out and it's like a girl revolution! haha! So, while watching one of my favorite YouTube channels (if not my absolute favorite) ThreadBanger, I saw this video:



As you can see it references "I AM THAT GIRL." So, naturally, I visited the I AM THAT GIRL site and found that it is also all about empowering girls to be leaders and to be their best! I looked into starting a chapter but it looks like that is only available for colleges. Hmmmfff. I emailed the director to see if there is any chance that it will start in communities and even high schools? We shall see.

(Disclaimer: I noticed that I AM THAT GIRL does strongly support Planned Parenthood, which I am honestly on the fence about (honestly... sitting on the fence!) so my endorsement of the organization should not suggest anything about where I stand in the Pro-Life/Pro-Choice debate. If I am anything I am Pro-BeInformed)

Rock on girls! Please leave a comment if you know about other organizations that promote (excuse the cliche...) Girl Power! I am passionate about girls having confidence and pursuing their dreams.

January 25, 2012: Now this looks li(p)git!

Making your own lip balm is the perfect blend of art and science... which makes me a happy girl! As you are well aware, I have made two batches of lip balm prior to this one. Ironically my favorite so far was the first one... orange and peppermint flavor... silky smooth... Hmmm... Beginners luck?
What made this batch satisfying, however, is that I had professional containers! I ordered these containers on BrambleBerry.com. I also added more Shea butter to the recipe and slightly more of the color (fondant coloring - as explained in earlier post).

WELLL.... I started giving these away to my colleagues in school the following day and this led to an interesting conversation. I walked into the AP Environmental Science class and they were studying toxicology. The teacher asked me to tell the class that I had been making my own lip balm and how I was doing that. I told them that I used beeswax, olive oil, sweet almond oil, Shea butter and fondant color/shimmer... the teacher mentioned that sometimes the icing coloring contains toxic chemicals! Yikes! Well I went on a wild goose chase (internet variety). Although the amount of fondant coloring that I used (LusterDust) was soooo small... I was still curious. After all, if I am making my own bath and body products, I want them to be natural and safe.
It is incredibly difficult to find out what is even in Luster Dust... Really... Just give it a try! One ingredient, carmine, is used in red Luster Dust... and many other red colored, well, anythings. This ingredient is isolated from beetles that feed on cacti ("dried female insect Coccus cacti (cochineal)")! Here is a great website for looking up cosmetic ingredients -especially when you don't have a clue what they are and can't even pronounce the names. 
I was grateful to have walked into the AP Environmental class when I did because I really did learn quite a bit in my search. The most important thing I got out of it though... Is that when all else fails... be informed. We have access to so much information. Always check, double check and cross-reference your sources. 
The AP Environmental class was watching this video. It is from The Story of Stuff Project. It is very informative and can be scary! While searching and learning though, I also found the critique of this video. I found the critique to be very intriguing also. So where many sites say that carmine is an unnatural and harmful ingredient... I am not sure that pigment produced by beetles can be called "unnatural"... Just sayin'. 
At the end of the day I concluded that I will do the best that I can to make my products as safe and natural as I possibly can. At the same time, I am not going to stir up a scare about products because they use big words in their ingredients. For example, olive oil is "Olea Europaea Fruit Oil" and Shea butter is "Butyrospermum Parkii." Hmmm.

January 24, 2012: Picture Perfect

How exciting to have a camera that is appropriate for this day in age! I have truly been inspired by the photography that some of my students have done. I also grew up down the road from Peter's Valley Craft Center, of which my mom was the Director for many years. This led me to be surrounded by amazing artists. Among them was Bill Abranowitz (absolutely amazing... check him out!). Reluctantly I will share of the brilliant photographs that he took of me and my sister back in the day.

I have little experience in the area of photography but I truly admire and appreciate it as an art form. So my new camera will help me "play around" with photography a little better :). My first run with the new camera, fittingly, was done in and around Peters Valley. This is a truly fantastic place where artists come from all over the world to create, learn, teach and spread the joy of art. The physical aspect of Peters Valley, location, architecture, natural landscape, etc., holds a vast amount of history, which also draws people from all over. Peters Valley is right in the heart of the land that was confiscated during the Tocks Island Dam Project. It is truly worth the ride... even if you can't ride a bike there like me :)!

Below are the pictures that I took. The resolution is actually awesome but I had to make it smaller to upload the video. Enjoy!

January 23, 2012: Happy Braid-Day to Me!

Oh yes... on this day I turned 31 (YIKES!). Thank God I can honestly say that I have quite a bit to show for my 31 years of life so far :) More to come! For my birthday I went to NYC with my mom for the evening for dinner and... some serious jewelry supply shopping! Our favorite place to go is Metalliferous. Unfortunately it is not open on weekends so we decided this was the perfect day. We also visited another favorite - Beads World at Broadway and 38th. Finally, before boarding the train to head home... we went to get me a NEW CAMERA!! Which I plan to use to take quality pictures of myself. No, not real. I will be taking pictures of the things that I create as well as my nephews, memorable moments, family, friends, landscapes, etc! Cannot wait! Stay tuned.

So when I returned from the B-day extravaganza, I was quick to use some of my new clamp-ends and magnet clasps. These two wrap bracelets are made with copper-colored satin cord. One is done using the braid technique described in the January 22nd post. The other is a 4-part braid with a chain weaving in and out of the stitches. Both are closed with magnetic clasps that I have mentioned in other posts.

January 22, 2012: A tail of leather

First, let me apologize for the late posting! Where have two weeks gone!? Honestly... these two weeks have been quite a test of my ability to pull this off. Between a birthday, grading and going quite a bit above and beyond what I owe my district (but I am truly happy to do it!!).... I have had to scrounge time to create much less actually update Period Ten. But here I am :) and I am hoping to see the Giants win the Super Bowl later so let's do this....

So, as I have mentioned before, I really enjoy using the beat up leather from old belts. It just has at the look and feel that you can not get from new leather that you might order new. This leather is actually from the same belt that my "wrap-it-up" bracelets were made from... and there's still plenty to go! This braid looks similar to a fishtail braid that I use in my hair (how to tutorial). Previously, I did not know how to get this look with other material (than hair). I found this tutorial on... what else?... Pinterest. It shows you how to do this with paracord, which is used by the military, firefighters, law enforcement, etc. I will follow up with a story about a student who taught me all about paracord at a later date (when I make a paracord creation!). I chose to use the leather strips that I love so much :) 

The closure for this bracelet was the most difficult part. I ended up using a vintage clip-on earring finding as a hook. Check out the close-up photo.