Incense

Making incense is fun and easy. It does, however, require a sacrificial grinder (so be forewarned)!

Whenever I make my incense I find myself pondering how the ingredients would be worth their weight in gold two thousand years ago. When the “three wise men” in the bible allegedly brought jesus frankincense and myrrh, they were bringing him valuable bling. Nowadays, I suspect it’d be an iPhone, bluetooth headphones with Swarovski crystals on them, Louboutins,* Louis Vuitton luggage, and a Lamborghini.

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Soap!

Hot weather is a good time for soap-making. It makes it easy to mix the oils: leave your shea butter and coconut oil on the porch in the sun and they are liquid in 10 minutes. Molds dry quickly in the heat, and the soap doesn’t have any problem gelling – in the winter I have to leave it in the oven overnight (risking a soap volcano!)  Summer soap just sits on the counter overnight and it’s ready to go in the morning.

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Things That Delight Me – 1: Prep Sheets

I do a lot of projects involving nasty gooey things – ranging from benzoin for candle-making to epoxy resin for cold casting, and tuna fish or onions for lunch. These are all things that you want to cut, spill, mix, chop, and whatnot, without making a mess of anything that’s expensive to replace. For example: shaving partially cured epoxy resin off of a granite counter-top can distract you from real fun.

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