Kids' Christmas Crafts- Make your own snow globe

 
Snow Globes


How to Make Snow Globes :


The shimmering magic of snowfall is always transfixing, whether it's outside your window or inside this classic toy. Homemade globes let you create a wintry scene straight out of your own imagination.



Almost any jar works for this project: Baby-food, pimiento, and olive jars are good choices. Look for plastic or ceramic figurines (metal ones are prone to rust) at flea markets and hobby or model-railroad shops. Synthetic evergreen tips are available at many floral-supply stores.



If the jar lids are not in seasonal colors already, paint them with oil-based enamel paint. Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough. With clear-drying epoxy, adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid, and let the epoxy dry.



Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water; add a pinch of glitter and a dash of glycerin (available at drugstores) to keep the glitter from falling too quickly. Don't add too much, or the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it's flipped. Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine. Turn the jar over and back again -- and let it snow.

P.S As seen on Martha Stewart












Read more at Marthastewart.com: Kids

Soap Nuts – Replace Your Detergent With The Perfect Natural Detergent

Going green is the need of the day today, but there are many reasons that hold us from using green products, i.e. unavailability, inefficiency and pricing. But what about a product like soap nut that is natural, highly effective, convenient to use and reasonably priced. Soap nuts are the perfect replacement for commercial detergent. Read on to know more.



Going green has become a buzzword today. Yet ask yourself how many products you actually use that are truly 'green products'. The answer may not be satisfactory. The fact is that there are still not many viable alternatives for manufactured products, both in terms of effectiveness and in terms of cost. Where we are trying to take an initiative, there are bound to be many compromises. However, at times it is none of these reasons but plain ignorance, or unawareness or distrust in the efficacy of natural products. We are so used to using our regular manufactured products that the idea never occurs to us that there might be an alternative. It can make a huge difference though.


Let's talk about a product that you know very well, that you use almost on a daily basis. If plastic is the biggest culprit for land pollution then what is one of the biggest culprits for water pollution? Yes, we are talking about your detergent. Is there really a green product that can replace the detergent? The answer is yes. This natural green detergent is the soap nut. It is a small, round fruit that grows on trees, the pulp of which produces lather on rubbing with water like soap, which cleans anything you wash with it. Soap growing on trees? Yes, that's true. The truth is if we take some small steps towards it, we will find that nature has provided for everything. In fact humans have taken inspiration from the creations of nature to manufacture products.

Now, coming to efficacy, is it effective? Well, not only is the soap nut very effective, but at the same time very soft on your hands. Unlike harsh detergents, it will not leave your hands dry and hard. It is a better alternative to detergents for many reasons. One of the factors that is worth highlighting is that it is a HE detergent, that is required for front loading machines and works very well with them.
Now, how to use it, you cannot stock some fruits in your home and keep on rubbing them one by one on the clothes you want to wash, of course not. There are a hundred ways in which you can use them. The soap nuts dry up to become hard. They remain the same for years if stored properly. The outer shells of the fruit can be made into a powder, liquid or the soap nuts can simply be tied in a pouch and soaked in the water. The saponin, the substance it releases that is responsible for the lather and cleaning, is all that is required for cleaning and hence, any way you use it is good enough. Though, it works best with warm water. So, storing and using it is as easy as your detergent.



Finally, natural products are expensive or so you thought. Soap nuts, however are as reasonable as your detergent, or may be less than that also. So, you have a product that is effective, convenient to use, reasonably priced and 100% natural. Now, using detergents in spite of the availability of soap nuts can definitely be classed as unawareness or is it plain ignorance?
SOURCE :www.articlesbase.com/shopping-articles/soap-nuts


http://www.tobiosoapnuts.com/


http://www.soapnutspro.com/ 

Soap making class at Sunflower day care, Park Slope- Brooklyn- NEW YORK

Kids from" Sunflower "day care having first introduction to glycerin soap making.

This fun project is perfect for kids of almost any age. These inexpensive yet lovely soap bars make perfect gifts for teachers, mom, grandma, or just about anyone. Plus, they're fun to use in the bath, too!

We had 3 projects:

1.They  embedded little toys- dinosaurs , frogs....

2. They learned how to layer different colors in one soap .

3. Added 2 colors simultaneously, and swirled.

After soap hardened , they were able to take home all soap they have been creating- surprise for the mom and dad.

This is what " Sunflower" kids created this time.

Next time we will make Holiday themed soap-  snow globe soap, PHOTO SOAP -will insert photo into the soap :)

SNOW GLOBE SOAP

PHOTO SOAP.

To be continued:

Paper Christmas ornaments

Sorry, blogspot is allowing me to add pdf file.

Please email me for 5 pdf files for this project

Email: tobioinc@gmail.com

Be Crafty- Go green. Paper Christmas Ornaments or Vase fillers- Wonderful projects for parents with kids.

For an ultra-custom tree, make your own Christmas ornaments with pretty colored paper and patterns to download.


MATERIAL:

Heavyweight matte paper in A4 or A3.

A color printer

A cutter and cutting board

Universal liquid glue

Scissors

REALIZATION

Download by clicking an attached links bellow.. They are printable on A4 sheets, but if you have an A3 printer, do not hesitate to vary the dimensions for balls of different diameters.



For the first 4 balls, trim the edges of shapes with a cutter, not to mention the broken tabs attached to this form. Cons to bend toward the lines to form triangles, squares and pentagons, and the tongue assembly.


Assemble the triangles and squares or triangles and pentagons to form the balls. Glue the tabs to the assembly. If desired, slip a ribbon tied in 2 before closing the last part of the ball to hang it in the tree.



For the 5th ball, cut rounds and place cons point bend on the lines in a triangle. It takes 20 for a round ball (there's a bit more on the page).



Gather round 5 star. Repeat to form another star, then assemble the two stars on a "belt"of 10 round between these two "poles ". Use the same principle as the ribbon for the other balls to hang it.


Created: Marion Taslit ( France)
Translated by me- Indra

CRAFT STUDIO FOR ADULTS, FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN, KIDS IN QUEENS, NY

TOBIO SOAP NUTS STUDIO
www.tobiosoapnuts.com
347-776-7938
tobioinc@gmail.com

“ With the rise of interest in aromatherapy and natural fragrances, homemade soap has increased in popularity. Herbs and essential oils play a large part in the finished products. “

ABOUT ME: I don’t recall how early in life my passion for crafting began, but I do know it was definitely genetic! You cannot grow up in a family like mine, with its knitters, woodworkers and embroiderers without developing a respect for human creativity. I have had interest in nature, botanicals, herbs, essential oils, fragrances, home remedies, spirituality( I am certified Reiki master / teacher – Energy healer, ).
I find that the more I progress along the technological path of today’s computerized society, the more I value those age-honored skills of the imagination worked out through human hands in the form I was born and raised in Western Northern part of Europe- Baltic State. My mom introduced me into crafts at my very early childhood - knitting, cooking, gardening. My grandma new all about natural remedies and herbs. Migrated to the New York about 14 years ago .Fluent in three languages: English, Russian, Latvian. Have worked with children in preschool as a teacher and supervisor for 5+ years( crafts, music , etc . ) Love working with kids at all ages.of arts and crafts.
When I’m not happily crafting I enjoy life in amazing city of New York with my three children, Helen, Ines and Oskar ( 27,26,20). They are also very creative and assist me with my classes when I need more volunteers.



Indra Tobio is the CEO & President of Tobio Natural Product Company, the TOBIO SOAP NUTS STUDIO owner, a wholesaler & retailer of soapnuts- Natural Eco friendly laundry detergent : www.tobiosoapnuts.com .
I have an extensive background in marketing, market research , Retail/Wholesale and have degree in Business Administration, Computer Science, Retail merchandiser/ buyer/ administration. I have been in retail business since I was 17 years old.

Currently an independent bath & body business expert and consultant/ teacher and Reiki Master /Teacher. Member of Indie Beauty Network.

I began making natural bath & body products in my kitchen in very long ago as a way to make family and friends homemade, practical gifts. I've gained a huge amount of knowledge about soap making. As a soap making enthusiast, it is my goal to see that other people can also get into this hobby successfully, so I'd like to share my knowledge with others . Shortly thereafter , I began teaching classes. It seemed only natural for me to combine my passion for my new hobby with my training and love for teaching. Still taking some additional classes here and there to improve my knowledge ..It is never enough of learning ….. Working on my first book for Organic and Natural Eco Friendly bath and body product making , as well as natural remedies, and household natural cleaning. Full of recipes and easy to follow projects.



The TOBIO SOAP NUTS STUDIO features my soap, bath & body, and candle classes. Will be planning to invite other visiting & local Bay Area teachers. My goal is to provide a creative space that encourages both students and teachers to find and share their passions with others in the community

The TOBIO SOAP NUTS STUDIO offers the widest range of education to be found on making soap, candles and natural bath & body products. While some people take classes just for fun or to make natural gifts, the majority of our students are interested in making products to sell. The products that we teach people how to make include: Cold Process Soap, Hot Process Soap, Melt & Pour Soap, Transparent Soap, Liquid Soap, Lotions, Creams, Facial Creams, Face Serums, Facial Steams, Clay Masks, Mineral Makeup, Body Butters, Bath Salts, Body Scrubs, Lip Balm, Bath Melts, Solid Salt Scrubs, Sugar Scrubs, Fizzy Bath Bombs, Healing Balms & Salves, Herbal Extracts, Hydrosols, Massage Oils, Body Powders, Milk Baths, Natural Baby Products, Natural Perfumes, Natural Cleaning Products, Eco-Friendly Candles and much more!



STUDIO is located in Queens, NY. Rego Park, 99-32 66 Rd . 11374 Very convenient for all type of commuters, by train, bus or car.



CLASSES /WORKSHOP : Soap Crafting and Other Eco-Fun Projects

Making glycerin ( Melt and Pour) soap is fun activity to do with kids. Due to moisturizing effect of the extra glycerin, this soap is gentle on the skin.

This is a get- up –and – move – around type of class.
Recommended for age 6 and up
Students will learn:
• A brief history about soap and its origin.
• fun soaps
• flavored lip balm
• fizzy bath bombs
• bath toys
• soap crayons, puzzles, alphabet letters, image into soap( photo), ….
• day spa lotion
• natural bug repellent
• sun screen and
• eco-friendly household cleaning products.
• Special soap making techniques that will help you create perfect homemade soaps.
• Tips on using molds to shape the soaps
• How to choose ingredients for your soaps.
• How to use oils and other additives to create unique scents.
• How to attractively package your soap, whether you're selling them or giving
• And much, much more!
Ingredients:
These ingredients will be available for students to choose and create a safe, quality, natural body care product.
Glycerine - a natural moisturizing component of saponification.
Castile soap, unscented and safe enough to be used on infants
100% Shea Butter, Karite Nut from the Ivory Coast.- Skin moisturizer and a natural sun skin protector.
Jojoba oil
Virgin Olive oil
Grapeseed oil
Tea tree oil
Raw Honey
Beeswax
Cocoa butter
Ghirardelli Cocoa powder
Vitamin E
Organic oatmeal
Goat’s milk powder
Herbs- Lavender, Rosemary, Chamomile, Mint
Flowers buds – roses, chamomile
Organic Aloe Vera gel
Safe essential oils – lavender, orange, rosemary and many more.
Safe colorants-herbals
Bath toys –(extra fee for toys, rubber ducks, sponge capsules, special , season embeds- Santa Claus, snowman, snow globs ).
And many other safe essences of nature
Gift wrapping paper can be available.
*** For all other students at my studio fee for soap crafting class is 85.00 per class( material fee is included in price). Organic Snacks, fruits, and/ or light lunch is also provided ***

LUXURY ORGANIC GLYCERINE SOAP MAKING CLASS IN QUEENS, NEW YORK

Luxury Organic Glycerin ( M&P ) Soap Making Cass For Fun And Profit (REGO PARK)



Saturday, November 27th, December,4th From 11AM- 2PM IN Queens , NY “ SOAP NUTS “ Craft Studio

$85.00 ( Material fee OF $ 30.00 Is Included)

You will be able to choose your scents, colors and molds.

Step by Step instructions on how to make your own all natural soaps

I teach you all my insider tips and tricks that took me some time to perfect. All supplies are provided. You will learn hands – on 4 different techniques , will take home about 16 bars of soap

plus detailed hand-out with recipes, suppliers and more.

Parents with children welcome. Holidays are coming, make perfect gift for friends and family.

Each student will learn how to make four personalized batches, which yield at least 16 bars of soap.Retail price could be around $ 96.00. Your creations will make wonderful gifts!

This class is held in my Rego Park Studio, Queens, New York . Please call to register for class and save a spot. 10 Students per class only.

You will learn 4 soap crafting techniques:

Layering
Swirling
Embedding
Free style - adding herbs, botanicals , colors, scents.



PLEASE E-MAIL TO REGISTER FOR CLASS AND SAVE A SPOT.

Phone No. : 347—776-7938


10 STUDENTS PER CLASS ONLY. CLASS FILLING UP FAST. HURRY –UP.

P.S. LIGHT SNACKS, TEA, COFFEE PROVIDED.
9932 at 66 rd, 11374

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At the moment Buzz is only available to people who have a Gmail account, of which there are an estimated 170m users.

Glycerin soap

Glycerin soap

Known for its skin softening properties, glycerin plays a major role as a natural humectant. Humectants are substances that attract and retain moisture. For the skin to remain supple, soft and elastic, it is essential for the skin to remain moist and hydrated. Glycerin soaps aid in absorbing water from the air as it is highly hygroscopic. Handmade glycerine soaps retain the natural glycerin that is formed during the soap- making process. Glycerin is used in making clear soaps that are gentle on tender skin and children. But they tend to dissolve faster in water.

As we age, our skin loses its texture due to continuous exposure to the polluted environment and use of harsh chemicals. It then becomes dry and develops wrinkles. This phenomenon can be delayed by using handmade glycerin soap as glycerin has the natural tendency to retain the moisture in our skin by helping our skin to absorb more moisture from the air. It is an ideal choice for those with sensitive skin, delicate skin and for children too. Glycerin works as a soothing emollient.

Soap & Its Word Origin

Soap & Its Word Origin

This modest inquiry foamed up when someone asked me what the Latin word for soap was. There was none. Soap was unknown to ancient Rome. The Romans bathed in water: hot water in a caldarium; lukewarm in a tepidarium and cold in a frigidarium.
Calidarium was a Hot Place


The word root in caldarium or its rarer, longer form calidarium, namely Latin calidus ‘hot,’ has a host of reflexes in later languages derived from Latin. Think of French chaud ‘hot, warm’; Italian caldo ‘hot’ and Spanish cálido ‘hot.’ An interesting, partially hidden reflex shows up in the large boiling kettle or cauldron of witch stories and cannibal movies. Cauldron is from calderone, an Italian augmentative of a putative form like *caldario ‘kettle,’ so that cauldron’s basic meaning is ‘big kettle.’ The French word for kettle, chaudière, is from the same root.

strigil and aryballos (little jug of oil)
After the hot bath or after gymnastic exercise, Romans scraped off dirt and sweat with an instrument called a strigil (‘STRIDGE-ul,’ rhymes with vigil) that looked like a curved butter knife (Latin strigilis > stringere ‘to touch lightly, to scrape, to strip off.’ Without bathing at all, Romans also sometimes rubbed olive oil on their skin and scraped it off with a strigil.


Athletes depicted on rondel of pottery use a stlengis, the ancient Greek version of the strigil

The Romans probably borrowed olive-oil cleansing from their ancient neighbours, the Etruscans, who in turn borrowed it from the Greeks. Thousands of years before Caesar rose from the bath to have a slave draw a strigil down his torso to remove the oil and dirt, Greeks were using a similar instrument. The very ancient Greek word is a bit of a tongue-twister for us, stlengis. Here are its nominative singular and genitive singular forms in Attic Greek στλεγγίς, στλεγγίδις. Its root is unknown and the word itself was replaced later in ancient Greek history with another word for oil scraper, xuster ‘scraper’ from Greek xuein ‘to polish, to scrape.’
The early Greeks cleaned their bodies with blocks of clay, sand, pumice and ashes, then anointed themselves with oil, and scraped off the oil and dirt with a stlengis. They also used oil with ashes. Clothes were washed without soap in streams.

Impression from an ancient Greek signet ring shows an athlete holding a strigil (or xuster) and, to the left in this photograph, standing on a small table is his aryballos or oil-jar. On the right is a leather canteen of water that would not look out-of-place in a cowboy movie.

When Greek males set off for morning exercise on the palaestra, they or their slave took with them a tiny container of olive oil attached to their stlengis. Olive oil was rubbed on the body before the exercise began and then scraped off, with the sweat and dirt, after the exercise.
Ancient Greeks did their push-ups ‘in the rude,’ as Victorian prissy-farts used to whisper. Our word gymnasium is merely a Latin version of the Greek gymnasion ‘nude exercise place’ from gymnos Greek ‘naked.’ In botany, a gymnosperm is a plant which has naked seeds, like the pine tree and the hemlock fir. The generic name of the little oil container carried by exercising Greeks was aryballos. Below is a charming little oil phial shaped like an owl that can be found in the Greek Antiquities Department in room 40 on the first floor of the Louvre museum in Paris.

Owl-shaped Protocorinthian aryballos, ca. 640 BCE. Greece. Dimensions 1 ¾ in. Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Denon, Sully, Louvre, Paris, France.

Latin: Sapo, Saponis
The first appearance in extant Roman literature of a ‘soap’ word is in the writings of the Roman encyclopedist Pliny the Elder (23 -79 CE). His only surviving opus is The Natural History, an utterly non-scientific amassing of lore and ancient Roman knowledge riddled with folk error. It is a preposterous farrago of illogical nonsense but one of the most influential volumes in Latin. The reader gets to peek into the minds of first-century educated Romans and read what they believed about their world.
The word is sapo, saponis and Pliny tells us that Romans soldiers borrowed the word during the Gallic Wars: sapo, Galliarum hoc inuentum rutilandis capillis ‘sapo, invented by the Galls to dye hair.’
Later, the Roman army found Germanic tribes like the Teutones using sapo (the same root as English soap and ancestor of the modern German word for soap, Seife) to dye their hair red, but not to cleanse themselves or their clothes. Sapo did not take on the meaning ‘soap’ in Latin for hundreds, perhaps a thousand years.
Of what ingredients did sapo consist? Animal fats were boiled with ashes and the resultant medium was mixed with whatever dye materials were being used. The Teutonic color most desired was red and the chief colorant was a dyestuff that is with us still, henna. The Romans imported henna from the Middle East where it is extracted from the leaves of a tropical plant, Lawsonia inermis. Hinna is the Arabic name for this plant. Roman traders, who, as sutlers and victuallers, usually accompanied Roman armies in order to sell things both to the soldiers and to their defeated enemies after the battle, took a supply of henna with them on all trips to the outer marches of the empire.

At the Wotanning Salon
To dye their hair red, Germanic tribes used several other local plants in their sapo mixture, but not henna, since it is killed by temperatures below 15°C. Among the northern European dye-ingredients that could produce reddish hair were walnut-shell extracts mixed with powdered iron oxides. Why did those proto-krauts love red hair? Well, for one thing, their main god Wotan was usually depicted as a hypertrophic Viking on steroids with fiery red hair and a voluminous russet beard in which most of the population of Latvia could hide.

“Gibt es etwas komisch über den Namen Wotan?”

History of Soap
From an internet history of soap: “A soap-like material found in clay cylinders during the excavation of ancient Babylon is evidence that soap-making was known as early as 2800 BCE. Inscriptions on the cylinders say that fats were boiled with ashes, which is a method of making soap, but do not refer to the purpose of the “soap.” Such materials were later used as hair styling aids and hair dyes. . . The ancient Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, a medical document from about 1500 BCE, describes combining animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to form a soap-like material used for treating skin diseases, as well as for washing. . . At about the same time, Moses gave the Israelites detailed laws governing personal cleanliness. He also related cleanliness to health and religious purification. Biblical accounts suggest that the Israelites knew that mixing ashes and oil produced a kind of hair gel.”
One question that arose when I was discussing the origin of the word soap: If the Romans borrowed the Teutonic or Gallic sapo, were the early Germans and Gauls washing with soap, as we now do, long before the Romans? One Germanophile who is always rootin’ for the Teuton said yes. History says no! Sapo was goop that one rubbed into one’s hair to dye it. While performing this capillary function over centuries, some unheralded shampooer discovered that the goop, perhaps minus the dyestuff, rendered one's sooty bod all clean and lovely. Thus was born modern cleansing soap.

By the second century CE, the Greek physician Galen recommended soap for both medicinal and cleansing purposes. But, after the fall, collapse, and shrinkage of the Roman empire, personal cleanliness took a major dive. Soapmaking, as a means of sudsing and cleansing the human body, was nowhere to be seen during the Dark Ages. What do you suppose hastened the Valkyrie-like ride of incessant plagues, vectored by lice and mice and filth back and forth across the continent of Europe? High levels of personal sanitation? No. Soapmaking only became an established craft in Europe by the seventh century CE. Very gradually more varieties of soap became available for shaving and shampooing, as well as bathing and laundering. England did not have soap-making guilds until the 12th century.

Etymology of the Word Soap
The ‘soap’ etymon (a technical term in linguistics for ‘word root’) is widespread in Indo-European languages. Hittite is the earliest Indo-European language we have found, in records written in cuneiform on baked clay tablets. Hittite is an extinct tongue spoken by a people who created an Anatolian empire in the twentieth century BCE that lasted until the twelfth century BCE. The Hittite verbal root meaning ‘to cleanse’ is sap. Sapiya was grease mixed with ashes, possibly a Hittite hair-dye medium. The word occurs in some Tartar languages and so the hair-dyeing goop may have been an early import to Greece and Rome and to the Teutons, introduced by early Hellenic trade with the East.
Modern English soap and Old English sap ‘resin’ are direct cognates of all the Germanic and Scandinavian ‘soap’ words. Modern German Seife is related, once we remember the Germanic /f/ for /p/ shift. One example: Latin piscis is German Fisch. Modern Dutch is zeep; Danish sæbe, French savon; Swedish såpa; Estonian seep; Finnish saippua; Modern Greek sapoúni; Roumanian sapun; Swahili sabuni; Italian sapone.
As one might expect, scientific English retains the full Latin form, so that, for example, the Botanical Latin name of the soapwort genus is Saponaria. Still an important process in industrial chemistry is saponification, the hydrolysis of a fat by alkali with the formation of salts of the fatty acids together with glycerol — essentially what happens when soap is made from ashes and heated fats.



© 2009 William Gordon Casselman

Soap Making Class - Organic Glycerin Soap

Soap Making Class - Organic Glycerin Soap- Rego Park- NY

February,2010 CLASS SCHEDULE: For Students and seniors 20 % Off. Organic Glycerin Soap Making Class, $85.00 ( Material fee of $30.00 is included) February 12, 2010 Friday 11AM-2PM & 6PM-9PM February 14th - 11AM-2PM February 20th & 21th 11AM-2PM Private classes are available at $ 40.00/Hr . Call to arrange your private class. Have you ever wanted to take a soap making class with other like minded individuals? Well, now you can. This class is held in my Queens, Rego Park , New York studio,conveniently located by Queens Bld/66 Rd (by train 67 Ave station ) I am English and Russian speaking. Founder and owner of Tobio Natural product Company ( www.tobiosoapnuts.com) and years of making our Organic and Natural own bath and body products . Now bath and body product making classes are coming, such as lotion, cream, bath balls, sugar scrubs, lip balm making classes, business classes:How to turn your passion into business and make very good profits by selling your own hand made skincare products....Keep my email and number :) Everybody will take home at least 16 pcs of soap for your loved ones after this class and handouts . Coffee, tea and treats are provided.Come -warm up on this cold winter day, have some fun, meet new friends !!!

Email::tobioinc@gmail.com or call: (866)733-2496 to reserve your spot.

www.tobiosoapnuts.com