Making perfume

Winter is coming! This morning the landscape outside my window had turned crispy white, beautiful... Moving on. It's perfume making time!

I am out of perfume. Empty bottle, nothing left. And at the moment I can't really go spend lots of money on new perfume (it's disgustingly expensive, isn't it?!). But though I've moved out from the city and turned into a lantis (the swedish equivalent of a 'hillbilly') I'm trying not to become a complete slob, and thus I still wanted new perfume.
Add to that my constant need to expand my knowledge base and crafting skills, a few very instructive sites on the basics of perfume making, and what do you get? But of course, perfume experiments on the way!

Measuring cups, essential oils (I just bought four little bottles to try... if this experiment is a success I'll buy more, I'm sure.), vodka, glass jars, and a notebook for keeping an exact record over the ingredients.

This is just plain vodka. In the first jar I used 1 dl, in the second only 1/2 dl (it dawned on me how much 1dl of perfume really is, I needn't make much while I'm just experimenting!)

Here I've mixed in the essential oils (the recipe I will keep secret...), stirred the mixture and closed the lid (the plastic is just to make it air tight).

As I said, I made two different versions. As you can see the oil floats at the surface, not mixing with the alcohol. The alcohol will however pick up the scent. Now it just needs to rest in a dark place for a couple of days, then I'll add a little water and a little glycering (which apparently should make the fragrance more durable).

I'll return to you with an update on the result once the ageing is done!

Making a dress form (duct tape)

Some time ago I came across something very inspiring. Some blogger (I'm sorry, I don't remember the blog adress or the name of the blogger!) had created a dress form out of duct tape, instead of buying a "real" and expensive one. Now finally I have been able to make my own (with the help of my darling husband, Marcus!) and I am happy to show it to you all, and hope to inspire others to try it too!

First I got wrapped in some thin plastic (the kind often used in the kitchen when wrapping foodstuff...), from the neck to below my butt. Then Marcus went ahead and wrapped me in duct tape, closely following the curves of my body and trying to keep it as smooth as possible. Then he cut the duct tape open in the back and I stepped out. I taped the back opening together again, stuffed it full with scrunched up old newspapers. Then i taped the rest of the openings (arm holes, neck and bottom hole) and put it on a metal stand (previously part of a large cd stand that we didn't want to use any more). And ta-dah! My very own dress form!

The best thing with it is how close it is to the original (me!). Also, the worst thing with is is how close it is to the original! There is nowhere to hide... the flabby tummy, wide thighs and uneven boobs, it's all there and clearly visible. But seriously, it's great and I recommend the technique to all of you!

The last pic here is just for fun. After having finished the dress form I wanted to see how it looked with clothes on, so I pulled some random items from my wardrobe and put them on. Afterwards I couldn't stop myself, I just had to start a new sewing project now that I had a dress form! But that will be saved for a later post, when it's all done.

That's all for now. See ya!

Link - 19th c clothing

My fingers are itching... I want to sew! Now! But wait, no... all my fabrics and stuff are still not unpacked. Darn it.

Aaaanyhow, here is a good tip for all who are interested in 19th c clothing...

Just click it, I promise you wont be attacked by nasty viruses or anything. It's from Nordiska Museet in Stockholm. Enjoy!

Update on house and home!

Hey you!
Once again, I'm sorry for not posting too often at the moment. We are now moved into our new home but we're far from done, there's lots of stuff left to fix and enormous amounts of unpacking left to do...

I'm still amazed at how beautiful it is here. I LOVE this piece of land, and I'm so happy to call it home. Here's the view from our living room window... Seems like we get a lot of fog around here! This photo was taken just the other night. It was even more gorgeous in real life!

Here's me, painting the garage. Unfortunately after three days I still had one wall left to do and then the weather put a stop to it. Rain, raing and then snow. And one's not supposed to paint while wet, nor in temperatures below 5 degrees C. So still, there is one wall left unpainted.

Working on the inside of the garage, learning how to use fun modern power tools and NOT cutting any fingers off! :P

 That's all for now. I have a couple of pics I wanted to show you along with some kitchen craft, but as it turns out my phone (in which I have the relevant pics!) has severe mood swings and is currently not speaking to me. So that will have to wait.

Until next time, take care!

Hugs
/Fny