The Hat City Scissor Squad

Hear ye hear ye, the first ever meetup of the Hat City Squad was a Success! A bridled success, but a success none the less. Of the 7 members who said they were coming, 4 showed. Not great, but we had fun anyway. Mary, Sarah, Heather and Michelle crafted it up, scissor style! Sarah knitted something super secret for her secret knitting pal, Michelle made beaded napkin rings, Heather knited some lovely handwarmer-glove things, and I (Mary) made some beady earrings! We had a great time and are all looking forward to our next (hopefully a bit larger) meeting!

Well our first 2 big meetups have been a lot of fun. We've met some new people, hung out with old buddies and knocked back a few pints to boot! Our first big meetup was at Hat City Ale house. I've posted some pictures in the Meetup Album. I made a new bracelet from a swarvoski crystal bracelt my Aunt gave me. It was elastic and it hurt. OUCHY! So I took it apart and attatched the bead to a silver chain bracelet instead. COMFY! Anne showed everyone the wonders of Japanese craft books, Sarah and Eva knitted it up, Michelle made a fancy necklace, and Isaac and Melissa made earrings together (isn't that so cute?) Can't wait till next time! Wahoo.

So Anne cleverly suggested that we begin to have meetings in a more habitual, scheduled manner. We've decided to make it Tuesdays at 7:30 at Java's. A good choice!

I am proud to announce that The Hat City Scissor Squad won first place at  the Hat City Ale House's Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest with our creative collaberation, "Vagina Pumpkin Girl". For now I am censoring her pumpkin vagina (I know, it's a crime) until I find out from Typepad wether or not this sort of thing is OK.  Here is close up of our first place lady:

Eva, Michelle and I also made our own pumpkins, and HERE THEY ARE!!!

Eva's free from art pumpkin

Michelle's Mr. Pumpkin Head

Mary's Kill Bill pumpkin

Yes it certainly was a Bonanza of bountiful bath goodiness. 1 hour of eating, 2 hours of blabbling, about 6 hours of SERIOUS crafting and viola! Soap up the wazoo. Not to mention bath salts, bath teas, milk bath, face scrub, body scrub, lip balm. We had a grand old time. After a trip to the nearby middle eastern restaurant for some Baba and Filafel we were on our way! Anne was the woman with the plan, toting endless info, glycerin, molds, scents and some seriously appreciated lip balm tins. She made some really macho man soaps using very earthy scents and green clay. We tried to persuade her to make it into Man Soap on a rope, but she just wasn't having it. Mitch was the lady with the pad. Her house rocks! Two microwaves are essential to making 9 pounds of melt and pour soap in one night. She was also smart enough to provide bowls, spoons, ziplock bags, common sense, and a lot of wacky preggo hormones. Just call her scrub machine. She dried orange peels for weeks in order to create a faboo facial scrub and also made a great foot scrub that is all minty and eucalyptas-ey. It tingles!! (hmmm can it be used other places than feet??) Lauren was a trooper and showed up after a long day of hairdressing with some really impressive packaging ideas. She found a lot of great bottles on the cheap at Pier one and dressed them up with this really cool wire garland that she also found there. Lauren and Sarah were both kicking our asses with their bitchin bath salts. Lauren made this awesome Bath Salt we called Limey Coco a GoGo using Ginger Lime fragrance and coconut extract. Sarah, Queen of the soap molds made a Salt called MIdsummer Night's Bath using the perfect mix of floral extracts and then colored it to make it look like yummy blue and pink rock candy! Eva also poked her head in for some knitting and a brew. Mary made lime milleffori and upon sudden inspiration created some yummy soap cupcakes complete with candles and sprinkles! And the best part? We all saved a bunch of cash for Christmanaquanzakah!
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Bath Salts Hat City Scissor Squad Style:
2 cups Epsom Salts
1 cup sea salt (some coarse, some fine)
1 tablespoon baking soda to spread your scents evenly
1 tablespoon glycerin for sparkle!
1 tablespooon sweet almond or coconut oil for some moisturizing
MIx it all up in a bowl along with some liquid soap coloring and your choice of fragrances or essential oils.

Making melt and pour cupcake soap:

1. Take about a pound of white melt and pour soap and melt it
2. Add your scent when the soap gets a bit cool (if it's too hot it will burn of your smell) I used vanilla and coconut, but I bet there are better scent combos for it.
3. Pour the soap into cupcake cups in a muffin tin (just like real cupcakes)
4. Let that soap cool completely
5. Now melt about a half pound of white melt and pour soap
6. Add a few drops of red soap dye to make it a nice pink (or blue or purple etc, whatever gets your motor running)
7. Add some scent when it gets a bit cool
8. Now stir the soap until it starts to get gloppy
9. When it's gloppy you've got to work QUICK. Start plopping glops onto the cupcakes and shape them with your hands to make little hills on them. Don't worry they SHOULD look messy.
10. You may have to re-melt the soap a few times before you get all your cupcakes, you may run out of soap, my advice is to relax and go with the flow at this part of the process.
11. Once the tops are cool melt about a 1/4 pound of soap and try to dye it the same pink (it's tricky)
12. Now here's the secret to make them glossy... Add JUST a little dash of coconut oil to your soap.
13. Use a spoon to pour the hot soap over the tops (like a glaze)
14. Now add your sprinkles QUICK QUICK QUICK while the glaze is still hot
15. Now you CAN stop here, let them cool, impress your friends, but if you want to add candles just take the remainder of cooling gloppy soap from your galze and use it like play-doh to stick on your candles.
16. That's it! Your all done Baby!

The First Annual (though after this we might want to make it monthly) Secret Scissor Sister Swap!

We got together at Christine's house for the greatest swap EVER!  We were each assigned a secret scissorina and charged with the duty of making something spectacular for her for under $10!  The results.... were no less than astounding!!!!

We started with Anne, who received a bee-yoo-tea-full bag from Edie!  It was made with some lovely silky purple fabric her brother brought her back from Asia!  (Hong Kong to be exact?)

On to Jennie!  Michelle made her an awesome monogrammed knitting bag and a slew of homemade bath goodies!

Lauren D. opened up her parcel to find an amazing shawlette from Anne!  In her favorite colors, no less!

Julie received a monster pouch full of monster-y stitch markers he had devoured a la Sarah!

Lauren L got just what she needed!  Mary made her a loverly tatoo themed knitting needle case to hold all her runaway needles!

Eva opened up a package to find a gorgeous handknit green pouch filled with yummy candles from Jennie!

And here's Michelle checking out her stash from Christine!  A luxuriously soft handknit pouch made of Blue Sky Alpaca Silk (collective drool) filled to the brim with goodies!

Edie was delighted by the bag that Lauren D made her!  Handknit, lined and covered in beads and the cutest embroidered flowers ever!

And I think we are all still laughing our asses off from Christine's handmade gift from Julie!  THE most kickass monster EVER!  Our lovely hostess has recently had her 5th baby (can you believe it????), so this monster came with a little something extra! 

Check it out!

She had a C-Section... Can you tell????? 

This had us rolling on the floor.  Freakin AMAZING!

And here's our booty all sprawled out on the table.  (Wow.  That didn't sound good....)

Mary wasn't able to come on account of a nasty cold!  You can see the ridiculously beautiful necklace that Lauren L made especially for her on the left of the table (towards the back!) Mary has to provide a better pic - this sucker deserves to be modelled in its own post!  Kay wasn't able to join us, but her gift to Sarah is in the pic too - some really lovely handwoven fiber art jewelry!!

This was a great idea!  We had such a blast making these treats and then sharing them with our fellow squadders!  We all agreed by the end of the night that we are running with a very special group of scissors!  (And not the kind that they give to the special kids at school that can't really cut anything, either!)

What a fantastically talented group of ladies this is!  Great job, everybody!

BRILLIANT!

Sale alert!!! If you are a joann fabrics preferred customer (if not go to www.joann.com and sign up).  Sat. march 25th and 26th is coupon commotion.  They do it once a year in march and it is truly awesome.  13 coupons for 40% off of just about everything.  There are so many bargains this weekend that I stock up for the year!  In addition there are so many clearance items in the store plus they are 60% off.  I got a sewing machine cover for 35 cents!  Happy shopping!

After too long a delay (sorry gang!), I am finally posting some pics up here for y'all!

We had a great time at Christine's - tons of deelish food, vino, chit chat and STUFF!

This says it all...

Round One ... Sewing!

Round Two... Soap Making, Cooking, Jewelry...

For some reason I don't have pics of the random stuff round - which was also very much fun.

Eva and Gracie!  CUTE!

Another successful Scissor Squad par-tay.  Here's looking to Autumn for our YARN swap! Oooooh.  Drool.

This truly deserves it's own post...

So, Jessica showed up to the swap bearing an amazing treat...

A cucumber shark swimming in a sea of hummus.

Well, Michelle had her eye on this bad boy aaaaaaaaaaaall afternoon.  It wasn't long after the drinking started that a plan was devised.  She would demonstrate to us the proper way to devour a cucumber predator.

Here sharky, sharky, sharky....

CHOMP!

Umm....

Are captions really necessary?

Yeah.  I don't think so either.

Todd is one lucky man.  Wouldn't you agree?  ;)