Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

Hey all  :)

Im Debs, I live in Penzance, down in lovely Cornwall (although not so lovely with the bad weather at the moment). Im 23 and a very creative person, well i like to think so anyway. I work for a photography company near St Ives which can get very boring sometimes so i find that losing myself in making things helps wash away a bad day in the office.

For the past few years, i've been dabbling in jewellery making. I had to find an outlet for my pent up creativity and found that i was drawn to all those wonderful looking beads.. eye candy if you like.. although, its not best to try and eat them, even if they do look alot like sweeties :) hehe

I did my first craft stall this time last year at my towns annual festival and it turned out pretty well, made some good money. I did the same stall again a couple of weeks ago and it turned out good again! I introduced my oil paintings to my stall this year, there was a lot of interest, but no bites. I've set up a website which will be online soon (www.bloostar.co.uk) with a shop so hopefully that will kick off.

I've been finding lately that im getting bored of the whole jewellery thing as a business, i like to make little things for friends for their birthdays and as christmas presents and stuff but not to sell to the masses.

I've always loved the shop "L___" and wondered how they made their soaps and lotions and scrubs so pretty looking and lovely smelling.. so i wanted to see if i could make something similar! Been doing lots of research and bought a couple of items from Helen so we'll see how it goes. I will definately be full of questions when i get started this weekend!

I seem to be rambling on a bit here dont i!! hehe sorry guys! once i start, there is no stopping me!

So in short.. Im a NEWBY!!  ::) :P

Cheers guys!

Debsy

Hi de hi Debs,

It's wonderful to have the enrichment of creative people in the forum.  A massive warm welcome here (as I have said, it's new but do keep posting, every post is really valuable).  What is the website about?  We would love to see some of your creations!

I know what you mean about pent up creativity.  Before I had children, not only did I have a treatment room but I also had an art 'studio' - but they soon became kids rooms, so the treatment room was moved to the garage (of course I converted first before you start thinking drafty and cobwebby, lol) and the art studio... well that went in boxes which ended up in the loft (I think the oil paints are rather less than useable now). 

I also used to spend many hours at a ceramic studio (my fave outlet of them all) but these days, that would require finding babysitters & by the time that's all sorted, your creative bubble gets somewhat deflated  :-[

My outlet is now creating concoctions & potions of my own, but as effective as this is, I find less and less time to do so, but no matter, I'm still loving every minute of what I'm doing now & starting this forum is like the icing on the cake  :). 

Hey, you think you ramble, check me out  :o , lol

Anyway, a really warm welcome from me and please keep posting & have no hesitation in making suggestions.  Oh yes, if you know anyone that might be interested in joining us it would be fantastic!!!!

Oh, just one more thing...


If you plan to have any more stalls or know of any up and coming fairs, let us know in the 'Craft Fairs & Events' Board

Thanks again!!   :)

the website is all about my creations!! hehe, i'll be selling all my stuff on there. i'll let you know when its up and running.

Also, i used a potters wheel for the first time on thursday!
My dad was once a potter and we got to use the new wheel at the school where he works and it turned out amazing! he was so proud *grin* so am gonna try to do more of that when i can!

Thanks for such a warm welcome :)
I feel alot of my time is going to be spent here!

Debsy x

Please do, I love handmade creations  :)

So you are no longer a potter's wheel virgin eh?  Isn't it therapeutic?  And after all the splodge and goo (a therapy in itself) a wonderful (but sometimes a scew wiff - i think thats how its spelt) creation.  Altough I do prefer sculpting with clay.  Ooh, I better stop ther otherwise I'm gonna get a hankering for the studio & I won't sleep :o

Anyway, it's wonderful to have you here and I look forward to chatting with you in the forum as I'm sure everyone else will.   :)

it is very theraputic!! i love it :)

i currently have a myspace page for some of my creations
http://www.myspace.com/bloostarjewellery (http://www.myspace.com/bloostarjewellery)

so you can get an idea of the sort of things i do there  ;D

(im hoping the rest of my soap stuff will arrive in the post today!!)

Cheers :)
Debsy x

WOW!!!!   :o

And you work in an office ?????

When in the world do find time to create such fantabulous works of art?????

I really look forward to seeing the site  ;D

Oh, by the way, I do have a couple L___-A-Like recipes up my sleave!  (hmm, that would be a good name for a board...  'L___-A-Likes')

nooooooooo you mustn't call it "L___-a-like" didnt you know that the word L___ is a swear word to us homemakers of soap lol.

debs your web site is fantastic, are your soaps going to be made from scratch with lye or are you using melt & pour? good luck with them though. any tips you need please shout as were all here to help each other, check out some of my items on www.temptationshove.com  (http://www.temptationshove.com) let me know what you think lol. honesty only though lol.
take care and once again good luck xx

Sorry, and I announced no swearing please - bad helen, bad. lol (but it is a good name for a board)

Oooh la la, dem naughty ones (soaps I mean)....  best not ask whether you created the moulds yourself , nor should we ask who your inspiration was,  he,he

hehe yes office life is so dull, i force myself to make time for creating things!!

Andrea, i love your soaps on your website! they look so colourful! As i am just a beginner, im trying out melt and pour first, then maybe when im a bit more experienced i will move onto the cold processing way! its a bit scary at the moment though  ::)

You're all so lovely  :D

Im about to go practise making my first soap.. wish me luck! hehe

Debsy x

how did your first soap go debs  ;)? easy i bet lol.
thank you for your kind coments but i have to confess something the pictures actually were off my brothers web page so there not my pics, but my soaps do look like them, well they do now hahahah. didnt to begin with, the insert was not central and the colour combinations werent spot on, but i do put a message on there stating colours and designs may vary from the picture due to soaps being made batch by batch, my way of getting out of it HAHAHA.

hope you all had a good weekend.!

Hi Debs,
just checked out your myspace page. Your jewellery looks awesome!! Have you been making it long?  Hope your 1st batch of soap goes well.  :)  Im jumping in at the deepend & going to attempt to make mine the cold pressed way. Abit daunting but hopefully should be ok.

Take care & goodluck  ;D
Georgina

thanks for the comments on my jewellery - been making for about 2 years now! :) if you're on myspace, add me  ;D hehe

Well, considering i dont have any fragrance oils or colours yet (damn post, taking so long!) my first soap turned out pretty well!!

I made a scrubber bar! hehe, just clear soap base with rock salt and dried rosemary.. used it this morning.. WOW! my skin felt amazing! My mould hasnt arrived yet either so i used one of my little 1 portion sized jelly moulds.. perfect shape to hold in the palm of your hand and scrub the whole of your body! im so proud of myself hehe!!

Hope everyones monday was better than mine!! lol

Debs x

so pleased your first soap went well debs, well done you, the rosemary sounds a good idea, did you blend it down into bits or just put chunks of it in? did it not all sink to the base as mine did the first time hehehehe, think i might do one of these myself instead of using a body scrub!!

some of the rosemary sank but the rest stayed at the top..
i didnt grind any of it, just stuck it in as is. But watch out, ive started to notice that its discolouring the soap...  :-\