Florida Vacation

I'm  back from my ten day trip to Florida. We drove down, stayed at South of the Border. Continued down to Clermont for a night with family. We watched Ken's 80 year old uncle lliterally lick his plate clean. Off the next morning to New Port Richey to stay at Ken's brother's place for two nights. We went to Clearwater Beach and watched the sunset. The next day, we went to Pine Island for a few hours, then over to Green Key.

The next morning, we drove to Fort Lauderdale to visit with my mom and aunt, who were down on vacation as well. We stayed there for two days and it was windy and stormy our last day. Driving back, we stayed at South of the Border again, then drove straight through to home.

It was tiring especially with an eleven year old and a two year old.

I'm glad to be back home, in the studio. Go see what I've been making:

www.autumnequinox.etsy.com

Rainbow Sugar Scrub Recipe

Rainbow cotton candy sugar scrub recipe.

Sugar scrubs are a great, simple way to exfoliate skin.

This recipe makes approximately one half pint of sugar scrub.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
3 tbsp coconut oil
Cotton candy lip balm flavor oil
Food coloring
1 half pint mason jar

Melt coconut oil and pour into bowl with one cup of sugar and add 24 drops of cotton candy lip balm flavor oil. You can substitute flavor oil for an essential oil of your choice. Mix thoroughly.

Divide into 6 smaller bowls (approximately 2 tbsp each) and add food coloring to each bowl as follows:

Red: 1 drop red.
Orange: 1 drop red, 1 drop yellow.
Yellow: 1 drop yellow.
Green: 1 drop yellow, 1 drop blue.
Blue: 1 drop blue.
Purple: 1 drop blue, 1 drop red.

Mix each bowl thoroughly. You can double the sugar scrub recipe and use the same amount of coloring to get a more pastel look to your scrub and put it in a pint jar, or two half pint jars.

Scoop each color into the jar and pack down the mixture after each color.

Messy Bun Hat

 This is my own version of the trendy Messy Bun Hat. Please feel free to sell finished hats, but please do not copy, alter, claim as your own, or sell my pattern. Enjoy!

Materials
Caron Simply Soft Party Platinum
Caron Simply Soft Party Snow White
Hook size H (8)
Tapestry needle

Legend
St (s): Stitch (s)
Ch: Chain
Sl St: Slip Stitch
Sc: Single Crochet
Hdc: Half Double Crochet
Ch Sp: Chain Space 

BLO: Back Loop Only

Note* The ch 1 at the beginning of each round is not counted as a stitch. To join each round slip stitch in the first chain space and not the ch 1. You will then start your next round in the same first chain space. This makes for a more seamless look.

Platinum
Ch 24. Join with a slip stitch Ch 1.
Row 1: 34 Sc. Join with a slip stitch in first chain space. Ch 1.
Row 2: *Hdc in each of next 4 Stitches. 2 hdc in next Stitch. Repeat from * 5 times. Hdc in each of next 4 Stitches. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (40 stitches)

Snow
Row 3: Ch 1. *Hdc in each of next 9 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Repeat from * 5 times. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (44 stitches)
Row 4: Ch 1. *Hdc in each of next 14 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Repeat from * 1 time. Hdc in each of next 14 stitches. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (46 stitches)

Platinum
Row 5: Ch1. *Hdc in each of next 19 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Repeat from * 1 time. Hdc in each of next 6 stitches. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (48 stitches)
Row 6: Ch1. Hdc in each of next 4 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Hdc in each of next 19 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Hdc in each of next 4 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Hdc in each of next 18 stitches. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (51 stitches)

Snow
Row 7: Ch1. Hdc in each of next 9 stitches. 2hdc in next stitch. Hdc in each of next 19 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Hdc in next 9 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Hdc in next 11 stitches. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (54 stitches) 

Row 8: Ch1. *Hdc in each of next 19 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Repeat from * 1 time. Hdc in next 14 stitches. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (56 stitches) 

Platinum
Row 9: Ch1. Hdc in each of next 14 stitches. 2hdc in next stitch. Hdc in each of next 19 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Hdc in each of next 21 stitches. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (58 stitches)
Row 10: Ch 1. Hdc in each of next 7 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Hdc in each of next 19 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. *Hdc in each of next 14 stitches. 2 hdc in next stitch. Repeat from * 1 time. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (62 sts)

Snow
Rows 11-12: Hdc in each stitch around. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (62 stitches)

Platinum
Rows 13-14: Hdc in each stitch around. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (62 stitches)

Snow
Row 15: Hdc in each stitch around. Slip stitch in first chain space to join. (62 stitches) 

Brim
Row 1: Ch 8. In second chain from hook, sc. Sc in each chain across. (7 stitches). Slip stitch in the next 2 stitches on the hat. Turn.
Row 2: Working in the BLO, sc in each of next 6 stitches. On last stitch, sc in both loops ch 1 turn.
Row 3: Sc across. (7 stitches). Slip stitch in the next 2 stitches on the hat. Turn.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the brim is completely around the hat. Slip stitch the brim ends together. Weave in ends. 

©2016 AutumnEquinox.com

We bought a farm

I bought a home in 2014. It's an 1880s home on an acre of land. I'm converting it into a micro farm. We have chickens, an herb spiral, and about fifty tomato plants!

Oh! We also have a bee hive!

It's antler week

What a busy week! I have over 120 orders going out tomorrow! I am finally caught up enough to take an afternoon off and get some me time in. The show was fantastic! I can't believe they aired it multiple times including the five o'clock news!

Here's a peek at what I have been doing...

Making lots of antler earrings!

I'm going to be on tv!

The show is set to air tomorrow night!

WCSH Channel 6's show 207

It's kind of lonely sitting here in my loft. Work is busting at the seams and no matter how much I try to get out from under it, it just keeps piling up. I've hired someone to help during this time, but I'm thinking I should have hired someone sooner, so I could train them to do more than just prep work and shipping. Soldering well takes a lot of practice. I remember when I first started, I had more than a few rings come back that had broke. Rarely does that happen today. I can't believe I have been making jewelry and making a living doing it for over five years! There have definitely been some ups and downs, more downs than ups it seems the last year. I'm hoping that will change as the new year fast approaches.

Back to it. The rings are ready to come out of the pickle.

Late night

I'm up late making jewelry. The holiday season is just beginning, and if this is any indication of how the rest of the season is going to go, I'm going to need some help very soon! I've had help the last few years and even though she was a pain in the ass, the work got done.

I'm still working on getting Autumn Hoops up and running. That project has been put on the back burner until the holidays are over.

Still looking for a studio in the area to teach hula hooping too. Once again, another project put on hold. I've just got too much to do and not enough time to get it all done!

Hoe Down

It's been a busy few weeks! I vended at a festival last weekend and although I was exhausted by the end of it, I had a great time!

Four days of camping, music, entertainment and selling our goods! We sold everything from hula hoops, to clothes, flow toys, jewelry, accessories and home goods! I was lucky enough to be chosen to judge a contest and my son had fun playing with the other kids! No tv, no video games, just some bubbles, a squirt gun, and a parachute (the kind from gym class, remember?) We had fun! Another one in less than eight weeks!

Crochet Washcloth Tutorial

I love making these washcloths! They are quick and very easy to make. I use 100% cotton worsted weight yarn, although I have made them with acrylic yarn as well. I prefer using these in the kitchen to clean up with instead of sponges that harbor lots of bacteria. These can be washed over and over again. Below is a super quick tutorial on how to make these pretty washcloths.







Materials:

Worsted weight yarn
Size H/8 (5mm) crochet hook
Scissors
Tapestry needle

These washcloths are approximately 8 inches. You can use a larger or smaller hook and adjust the size to your liking, just make sure your beginning chain is an odd number so you can end the row with a single crochet.

Row 1: Ch 25. Skip first st and sc in next stitch, then dc in next st. Repeat this pattern for entire first row, ending with sc. Ch 1, turn.

Rows 2-20: Repeat sc, dc pattern, ending with single crochet at the end of each row. Ch 1, turn.

Sc around edge of washcloth. When rounding a corner, 3 sc in corner stitch so washcloth will lay flat. Tie off ends and weave into your new washcloth!

Copper Etching Tutorial

So you want to learn how to etch copper? Copper etching is a great way to embellish an otherwise plain piece of copper. It makes for wonderful creative pieces of jewelry and the possibilities are endless!

To start, you'll need a few inexpensive, household items. You'll be dealing with a chemical called ferric chloride, so you'll want to use personal protection such as rubber gloves and some form of eye protection. Ferric chloride is a corrosive material, which can cause burns and can be fatal if ingested. You'll need to wash it from your skin immediately with warm soapy water and soak any clothes that may come in contact with it.

• Rubber gloves
• Eye protection
• Glass or plastic container
• Cellophane tape
• Sharpie marker or nail polish
• Nail polish remover
• Steel wool
• Copper sheet
• Ferric chloride

The first thing you'll need to do is put on personal protection. The copper pieces need to be cleaned thoroughly to remove any dirt and oil before the process can begin. The process will not work well if the copper is dirty. Oil from your skin can interfere with the etching process, so you'll want to wear gloves when handling the copper to be etched. Lightly buffing the copper with steel wool will ensure the success of the etching.

After you've buffed the copper, use a black permanent marker or nail polish if you prefer to draw out your design. I prefer using a sharpie permanent marker over anything else because I have more control over my design and if I mess up it's as simple as buffing again with the steel wool or using a little nail polish remover to erase my mistakes. The ferric chloride will etch away the areas surrounding the drawn design, resulting in a raised relief. After you've drawn your design, turn the piece around and completely cover the backside of the copper with nail polish or permanent marker. This will ensure the backside of the piece does not get etched when placed in the ferric chloride. If the backside is not covered, your piece may be too thin when the process is complete.

Pour enough ferric chloride into your glass or plastic container to just cover your copper piece. Cover the back of your copper with cellophane tape and leave enough on each end to be able to secure it to the sides of your container. The ferric chloride etches best if the copper is suspended in the solution. This allows the debris from the etching process to fall to the bottom of the container for best results.

Place the copper piece into the ferric chloride just enough to cover the area to be etched and secure the extra tape to the sides of the container to suspend it. Give it a little agitation to cover the piece and let it sit for about 20 minutes agitating gently every once in a while. Lift the piece out of the solution to check it's progress. Repeat this every 20 minutes or so until you've reached the desired depth of the etching. I usually leave my pieces in around 2 hours or so to get a nice deep etching.

Once the piece is etched as deep as you want it, remove it from the solution and wash it with soapy water. Remove the residue from the tape and the marker on the back of the piece with nail polish remover and buff with steel wool.  Lightly buff with steel wool to bring the shine back to the copper and embellish your new etched piece with a patina for contrast if you prefer.

That's about it really. I hope you've found this tutorial useful. Ferric chloride is also called PCB Etchant Solution and is available from some electronic stores like RadioShack, but you will have to ask for it as they don't stock it on the shelves...Sometimes it's kept "out back" and you'll need your ID to buy it.

Etsy's Quit Your Day Job Series!

It's up! Go take a peek here!

Easy Melt and Pour Soap Tutorial

I really enjoy making melt and pour soap. It's easy, there are no caustic chemicals involved and the soap is ready to use as soon as it's cooled off. I like going through my kitchen cabinets to see what kinds of natural ingredients I can use to color and lightly fragrance my soaps as the possibilities are endless. I have sensitive skin, and it gets really dry in the winter months. This soap is wonderful for all skin types.

Melt and pour soaps are readily available at your local craft store. They usually have everything you need to get started in soap making like molds, fragrances, exfoliating additives and soap safe colors. Regular food coloring is not recommended as it can stain. I like to use a mixture of a suspension soap along with clear glycerin soap so my additives stay suspended and don't sink to the bottom.

Some basic items you will need for making soap are:

Melt and pour soap base
A measuring cup
Kitchen scale
Microwave or double boiler
Spoons
Soap molds
Additives (optional)
Soap safe coloring (optional)
Fragrances or extract oils (optional)
Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle

Measure out how much soap you want to make. For this recipe I am going to be making four bars of soap...Two rectangle bars and two round bars which equals approximately 12 oz of liquefied soap. For the recipe shown, I am using 5 oz of goats milk suspension soap base and 7 oz of clear glycerin soap base.


I like to use the microwave to melt my soap. You can also use a double boiler, but never place soap directly on heat as the soap will burn and it will smell bad. Melt the soap in the microwave for one to two minutes. Take out and stir. If the mixture is not completely melted, place it back into the microwave for ten to fifteen second intervals until it is completely melted.


Let the mixture cool for a minute or two until a thin skin appears on the surface of the soap. stir the soap base and add in the coloring, fragrance, and any other additives you prefer. For this recipe I used two tablespoons of maple syrup and one teaspoon of vanilla. Some ingredients involve a lot of vigorous stirring so I will spritz the soap base with rubbing alcohol before I pour it into my mold to remove any frothy air bubbles.


Pour the soap mixture into your molds evenly and quickly spritz them with rubbing alcohol to remove any air bubbles. Allow the soap to set up for a few hours before removing from the molds. A quick tip to remove soap from the mold easily is to place them into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. They should then pop out with ease. Never place your soap into the freezer to cool, it will "sweat" profusely when it is cooled down and you will be left with a dewy, moist soap that doesn't look very pretty.

Below is a list of natural ingredients you can find right in your kitchen to color and lightly fragrance your soaps:

Oatmeal
Cornmeal
Honey
Coffee
Activated Charcoal
Blueberry or Strawberry Seeds
Pure Maple Syrup
Vanilla
Wheat Germ
Sugar
Sea Salt
Cocoa
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Have fun!

Crochet Star Stitch Tutorial

I love how pretty this stitch is! It makes great blankets, scarves and washcloths! You should know basic crocheting before attempting this stitch. It can be difficult to see the eyes of the star from the wrong side.

The completed star is done in 2 rows.

Make a foundation chain.

Row 1: Draw up a loop in 2nd ch from hook and in each of the next 3 ch. You should have 5 loops on your ch now. Yarn over and draw through all 5 loops. Ch 1 for eye of star, then draw a loop in eye just made, then in same ch last worked, then in each of next 2 ch. Yarn over and draw through 5 loops on hook. Ch 1 for eye of star, draw a loop through the eye just made, then in same ch last worked , then in next 2 ch. Repeat this for the entire row, ch 2, turn.

Row 2: The ch 2 counts as 1 hdc, hdc in first eye, 2 hdc in next eye and in each eye of star. Repeat across, ch 3, turn.

Row 3: Draw up a loop in 2nd and 3rd ch from hook, sk first hdc, draw up a loop in each of next 2 hdc, yarn over and pull through all 5 loops. Ch 1 for eye, then draw up a loop in eye just made, in last ch worked and next 2 ch. Repeat this across, ch 2 and repeat row 2 instructions.

My Ring Made It To The Today Show!

What an exciting day today! My ring was featured on the Today Show around 9:40 this morning!

Autumn Equinox on the Today Show

Etsy on the Today Show!

Monday November 9th! I was chosen to send a ring to be potentially be shown in the segment! I'm hoping it makes the cut!

This could be a terrific opportunity for me! Am I prepared for it? Not in the least bit!