Book Discussion October 1st!

League of Extraordinary Readers
Book Discussion
TOMORROW
Thursday
October 1st
Melissa Hayes' new home
7:30 PM

We will discuss The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout and The Hound of the Baskervilles (A Sherlock Holmes novel) by Sir Arthur Doyle.

Please come! We promise yummy refreshments and uplifting social interaction! (Even if you haven't read the books, we welcome your company.)

(You can find Melissa's new address on the R.S. calendar passed out on Sunday. Otherwise, please contact Melissa Hayes, Jeanne Grant, or Ruth Guerreiro for more information.)

Heart to Heart

I have taped the 2009 Relief Society General Conference. Several of you commented that you missed the opportunity to see it last Saturday. Let me know and I will schedule a time when we can watch it at my home. I know we all appreciate how important it is to listen/view/understand what the Lord would have us do at this point in our earthly life. AND, always remember you are seen and loved here in the Dallas 4th Ward!

Special Genealogy Fireside, Friday Oct. 9

Whether you are planning to attend the Great Family Search genealogy conference on October 10th or not, EVERYONE is invited to the special Fireside on Friday evening, October 9th at 7:00 p.m., at the Roundrock Stake Center, 2700 Roundrock Trail, Plano.

The speaker will be Steve Anderson, Manager of Marketing & Public Affairs for FamilySearch in Salt Lake City, speaking on "Why Family History Matters".

Vinyl Nativity Glass Block

Materials Needed:
Vinyl
Glass block
Wired ribbon (at least 2 yards to make a pretty bow)
Stencil paper
String of white lights (make sure the cords are white too)
Popsicle stick or credit card to rub the vinyl

Instructions:
1. Make sure the outside surface of the block is clean.
2. Place the vinyl on a table and rub the top of the vinyl with a credit card or popsicle stick, so the clear plastic tape on top of the vinyl (black part) will adhere to the vinyl.
3. Start at the bottom corner and peel the backing off slowly. If it does not come off the backing, rub the top again, so it will stick to the clear tape.
4. Once you have the vinyl off the backing, place the vinyl on your block. The small opening of the block should be at the bottom. Again, start at one corner or side of the vinyl and work your way across with one hand to get all the bubbles out as you lay it onto the block.
5. Rub the clear plastic tape (only where the vinyl is) with a credit card or popsicle stick to make sure the vinyl now sticks to the glass.
6. Pull the clear tape slowly off the vinyl.
7. Once the tape is off your block, you can rub the vinyl with your fingers to get out any bubbles.
8. Cut a piece of stencil paper to make a square the size of the inside of your block.
9. Softly bend/roll the stencil paper to fit into your glass block. Once inside, it should open up to lay flat.
10. Turn your block over so the vinyl is touching the table and the stencil paper is against the glass side with the vinyl.
11. Stuff your string of lights into the glass block so they will be behind the stencil paper once standing up. Leave the end of the strand and the plug hanging out of the block.
12. Wrap ribbon around your block and tie a bow at the top.

Where to buy materials:
The glass blocks can be found at Hobby Lobby.
Stencil paper, popsicle sticks, and string of lights can be found at any craft store, Walmart, etc.
Vinyl can be found online:
www.sayitonthewall.com
www.theletterfactory.blogspot.com (now closed, but might be open later)
www.ccvinyl.blogspot.com
www.pmkcrafts.com
www.adheringthoughts.com or click here for blog
www.vinylgiftsandmore.com (here's the same nativity scene pictured above)

Change of plans for FamilySearching group

Just an FYI that the FamilySearching interest group will NOT be meeting this month (September) due to scheduling conflicts (along with my having been out of town for three weeks). See you in October!

Domino Ornaments

DOMINO ORNAMENTS: To do PICTURE ORNAMENTS, you need a picture that is 1 inch by 2 inches. There are two programs that I have used: Microsoft Image Pro 9 or Microsoft Image Suite 2006 Editor. There is also Photoshop. The pictures are applied by putting a light coat of white glue with a foam brush. The picture ornaments are sprayed lightly with a clear acrylic sealer to seal. To do the STAMPED ORNAMENTS, you must use a stamp pad called Stazon, which is permanent and can be purchased at any craft store, I find it easier to ink the stamp and lay it on the table and push the domino onto the stamp for the best placement.

TO FINISH BOTH DOMINOES: Lay 1/4 inch of "Tacky Tape" around the edge of domino - it has a pink protective cover. Peel off the pink cover, and use that to measure the amount of velvet ribbon you will need. The ribbon is 5/8th of an inch wide. Lay the ribbon around the double sided tape - meeting at top - do not overlap, as your bead will not have a level surface to adhere to. Glue long silver bead on top with either Fabric Tac or "Mighty Mendit" and shape an extra-long ornament hook as the hanger, bending the ends in slightly to stay in the bead.

WHERE TO BUY: Dominoes can be purchased at Wal-Mart, 1/4 inch "Tacky Tape" and 5/8th of an inch velvet ribbon at Hobby Lobby, The large, long Silver Beads were purchased at Hobby Lobby in the Jewelry making department, and the extra-long ornaments hooks at Hobby Lobby in the Christmas ornament area. Fabric Tac is at Hobby Lobby and "Mighty Mendit" at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Handmade Soap

Hand Made Soap

You can learn about more about soap making on soapcalc.net. You can also go to this sight and come up with your own recipes using different oils. Another good spot for recipes is thesage.com.  Basic soap is a combination of oil, water, and lye. You can’t make soap without lye. Lye causes the chemical reaction that turns the fat into soap.

In this instruction set you will find a basic recipe for soap using ingredients you have on hand or that you can purchase at a grocery store. Lye can usually be purchased at a hardware store. I have found it at C&S. Make sure you buy 100 percent lye. It will be in the plumbing department next to the drain openers. You can find fragrance oil at Super Walmart next to the candle making supplies. I found these fragrances work great but be aware that any vanilla scent will turn your soap brown, which is okay if you want brown soap. You can find colorants at Michael’s in the soap making section. All of these items can also be purchased on line at thesage.com or southernsoapers.com.

Along with the recipe ingredients, you will need to gather some basic soap making equipment. You will need a basic scale to weigh out the oils, lye, and water. You will need a small plastic pail for the water/lye mixture. You will need some newspaper to line all of your work surfaces. You will need some rubber gloves and safety goggles to protect your hands and eyes from the lye. You will need a plastic pail that you can put in the microwave to melt the oils. You will need an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature of your oils and your lye water. You will need a hand blender to mix the oil and lye water. You will need a spoon and a rubber spatula. You will need some molds for your soap. The mold can be as easy as a Velveeta box lined with parchment paper or a silicone pan.


Ingredient                                    Ounces                
Water                                               24.32           
 Lye - NaOH                                      9.245
         
# √ Oil/Fat                 %              Ounces               
1
Crisco                       50                     32              
2
Milk Fat (Butter)      37.5                  24                 
3
Coconut                    12.5                    8              

The first step is to line your work area with newspaper. You should even line the sink. Put on your goggles and gloves. Weigh out the water. You can use ice as part of the water. This helps the temperature to cool to the correct temperature more quickly. Put your water pail in the sink. Weigh out the lye. Add the lye to the water and stir. Step away from the lye/water. You can take off the goggles and gloves for a time. Weigh out the oils and put them in the plastic microwavable pail.
Put the oils in the microwave just until everything is melted.

At this point you need to take the temperature of the lye/water and the oil. Wait until the temperature is between 110-120 degrees F for both the lye/water and the oils to proceed to the next step. This is important! If the temperature is too high your soap will turn into an oily mess! Believe me, I have made a few too many oily messes before I discovered this.

Put on your gloves and goggles. When the oil and lye/water are at the right temperature add the lye water to the oil pail. Use a hand-held blender to stir this mixture. When the pioneers did this step it would take several hours to get the soap blended.  With the miracle of a handheld blender this step only takes about 3 or 4 minutes.  Blend the mixture until it becomes the thickness of a thin pudding or gravy. This is called trace. Add 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of fragrance oil and incorporate with the hand-held blender. Add any colorant, incorporating with the blender. Carefully pour the soap into the molds.  Clean up is pretty easy because you have just made soap.  Use plenty of warm water.

Wait for 24 hours before you cut the soap. Allow the soap to dry for 3 weeks before you use it. It needs some time to complete its chemical processes and to dry out.

So, what happens if you have a big oily mess? Don’t panic. Just wait a few hours and take the oily mess out of molds .   Use a mixer and mix it up just like whipping up mashed potatoes.  If the soap is too thick put it in the microwave for a few minutes.  Put the soap back in the molds and bake it in the oven at 200 degrees for a couple of hours. Take it out of the oven and let it sit over night.  Cut the soap the next day.  You can use this soap 2 or 3 days after it is cut because the oven processing has speeded up the chemical process. I’ve never made a soap mistake that I could not redeem by this method.

After you learn to make basic soap you can get artistic!  Good Luck.

Family Picture Pillow

From Hobby Lobby Joanne Poulsen purchased TransferMagic Inkjet Transfer Paper. This paper is located near the fabric paints. Joanne found a decorative pillow at Tuesday Morning which had a stain on it so it was discounted. Joanne just placed the picture over the stain and sewed it on.

If making a decorative pillow, follow the instructions below using a light colored piece of fabric to transfer the image onto. Afterwards, cut image to size and sew onto deocrative pillow. If making a picture pillowcase, transfer the picture image directly onto the pillowcase. Either way use trims, laces, cording, etc. to border the image and add decoration to the pillow (pillowcase).

Printing & Transferring Instructions using an Iron:
1) Printing and Preparing Image:
*The white/non-glossy (without purple line)is the print side of the paper.
*For top loading printers place paper in tray with the purple line away from you. For bottom loading printers, place paper in tray with purple line up.
*Print design on the paper as a MIRROR IMAGE (reverse image).
*Prior to printing, print a test on economy grade paperfor layout/design.
2) Cut Out Design
*Cut out design leaving a narrow margin around edge of the image.
*Round off edge to avoid corner liftoff after washing.
3) Preparing for Transfer:
*Empty water from iron. Preheat iron to cotton setting. NO steam.
*Fabric should be 100% cotton or polycotton blend.
*Lay fabric on HARD SMOOTH SURFACE. NO ironing boards.
*Iron fabric first, if necessary to ensure flatness.
*Let fabriccool before ironing transfer images. You may use a thin pillowcase to protect your ironing surface. NO towels.
*Place transfer paper with printed image facing down (purple line up) in desired position on fabric.
4) Ironing/Transferring Image:
*Apply hot, dry iron and apply pressure while ironing over paper. The trick is in the pressure applied and the ironing time.
5) Peel:
*Allow fabric to cool completely, then smoothly and evenly peel away backing paper.
*To faciliate peeling, gently fold the fabric near an edge of the transferring image.

Decorative Christmas Plates

Supplies for the Project:
*Mod Podge or other decoupage sealer/glue
*Foam Paint Brush
*Clear Glass Plate -- note: I find these at yard sales, the dollar store, and other discount stores for very little
*Print cotton, or poly/cotton fabric
*Razor Blades
*Newspapers
*Coffee can or other object with a large diameter

Directions:
1) Wash and dry the plate.
2) Lay the plate on your fabric and move the plate around untilthe pattern you see see through the plate looks good.
3)Cut out the fabric. Leaveabout one inch of fabric beyond the edge of the plate.
4) Over newspaper, "paint" Mod Podge on the FRONT of the fabric. Make certain to coat the fabric well.
5) On another sheet of newspaper, lay the plate face down.
6)Spread the fabric over theback of the plate. You should pick up the plate and look through it to make sure you have the fabric positioned the way you want it.
7) Smooth out the bubbles in the fabric. Along the edges, smooth the fabric over the rim of the plate.
8) Once you have the fabric smoothed and you make certain it is adhering to the rim, place the plate face down on a coffee can, or some other object with a large diameter, to dry. The Mod Podge will dry in a few hours, but if you can leave it overnight the excess fabric will be easier to trim.
9) Once the fabric is dry, trim the excess fabric from the rim with a razor blade.

If you have gotten Mod Podge on the front of the plate, you can scrape it off with your fingernail or rub it off with a dry, plastic dish scrubber.

The plate can't be submerged in water to wash it, but you can wipe off the face with a damp cloth.

Genealogy News & Events

If you are considering going to the Great Family Search genealogy conference, hosted by several area Stake Family History Centers, the pre-registration deadline is October 1st. After that date you will not be able to order the $2 syllabus CD, or a boxed lunch. There is a limit of 500 people to the event, and you don't want to be turned away if you're not pre-registered! Download the registration form at www.GreatFamilySearch.com

Unfortunately, due to some scheduling conflicts (plus my having been out of town for the past 3 weeks) the FamilySearching interest group will not be meeting in September.

Super Saturday Success!

We had a wonderful turnout at the Super Saturday Christmas in September activity today. Thanks to all who came and participated. We enjoyed yummy breakfast, socializing, making new friends, and creating cute crafts! We were having so much fun that we forgot to take pictures when everyone was there. But here are some before and after shots.









A big thanks especially goes to Karen Bateman and Bonnie Muir for organizing the event.

Still to come: Instructions and pictures of each craft

Last-minute update for Nativity Blocks

Sisters who have signed up for the Nativity Blocks for Super Saturday: A few things . . .

1. If you want to have a big bow at the top of your block, make sure your ribbon is at least 2 yards long.

2. Could you please bring some scissors to share? (Please tie a small ribbon on the handle or something to identify yours.)

3. It's best if you can buy your string of lights before Saturday so you won't have to untie your bow to add the lights later. See previous post about where you can find them for a good deal.

We ARE Friends

In studying the Relief Society lesson for this Sunday, Chapter 40 in the Joseph Smith manual, I came upon a great poem by an unknown author-

"I saw him once, he stood a moment there,

He spoke a word that laid his spirit bare.

He grasped my hand then passed beyond my ken-

But what I was, I shall not be again."

We are constantly given opportunities, by the Lord through this church organization, to rub shoulders, socialize (remember Super Saturday on Sept 19th!!!), serve, and become friends. Since I have had this calling, and have rubbed shoulders with many of you, I feel I will not ever be the same again. I am better because I have you as my friends!

Scout Shirt Round-up

The cub scout pack and the scout troop are in need of scout shirts for the closet. If you have a shirt that your son has outgrown please contact Angie Alford.

Sweet Surprise

For any of you who store or use massive amounts of white sugar I found a great deal at Sams Club on Coit Road. You can buy 25 pounds of white Imperial Brand Extra Fine Granulated Sugar for $6.01. That is less than half of the regular price. I think they are changing the packaging or the brand Sams carries.

Update.

I went in to buy some more sugar and found the price is up to $11.32. I guess it was a pricing error. I hope at least some of you got the good deal.

Recipe for dessert from Book Club

No Bake Double Good Dessert

Ingredients:
Chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos), crushed
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
12 oz. frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:
Crush cookies, reserve about 1/4 cup.
Add melted butter to crushed cookies and press to 9x13 pan.
Cover and put in freezer while preparing everything else.
Beat together softened cream cheese and powdered sugar.
Add peanut butter.
Fold in whipped topping.
Spread on top of crushed cookies.
Sprinkle with left-over cookies and drizzle on chocolate syrup as desired.
Freeze 1-2 hours.
Thaw 10-15 minutes before serving.

Source: Allrecipes.com (click here for original recipe, picture, customer ratings, and suggestions)

Reading for September

The Doorbell Rang
by Rex Stout

and/or

The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes)
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Lights for Nativity Glass Block

FYI for those who have signed up to make the Nativity Blocks:

Hobby Lobby has 20 light sets for $1.27 and 35 light sets for $2.99 but you can go to HobbyLobby.com and print a 40% off coupon this week which makes either light set very cheap. You should buy the white wire sets, not the green wire sets as they show much less. Sister Bateman was able to use the 35 light set very nicely, but only loosened the cord and did not unwind, so it stuffed into the glass block nicely.

Super Saturday Sign-up

Don't forget to sign up for your Super Saturday Classes. Check your email for a list of classes and prices. The Deadline to sign up is Saturday, Sept 5th. You will need to pay for your classes by Sunday, Sept 6th. Super Saturday is September 19th from 9:00 AM until 12:00 PM.

Cooking 101

Cooking 101 will now be meeting every other month. Since we had a class in August, the next class will be in October. Stay tuned for when and where!