#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--A FELTED SOAP PROJECT FROM AUTHOR KIM RICHARDS

Kim Richards is an author, editor, and book formatter. She writes horror, fantasy, science fiction, erotica, nonfiction, and children's books under her name Kim Richards and two pseudonyms: Sharie Silva and Kim Bundy.Learn more about Kim and her books at her blog.  

Besides writing books, I’m a BIG crafter. I have so many obsessions—sewing, weaving, calligraphy, leather and wood working are just a few. Recently I ran across something simple, yet elegant:  felted soap. I’d like to show you my process and see if it sparks your interest.

 

I like felted soap because it’s a fun, relatively easy project that makes something luxurious for yourself or as gifts. It’s supposed to be mildly exfoliating too. 

There are just a few supplies:

Soap bars of whatever size you’d like to use.

Nylon stocking or fine net

Wool roving. Using wool is a MUST. 

Hot water. (You may want gloves to protect your hands from the heat of the water.)

The neat thing about felting the soap is the wool’s natural shrinking properties are what’s necessary to encase the soap. You want to use strips pulled apart just enough to see the soap through. Then start wrapping it around the soap bar. Keeping it tight as you wrap is helpful to the shrinking process, but you don’t need to tug on it hard. Change direction as you wrap second, third, or fourth layers of wool so you cover any corners and there aren’t many gaps.

Next, cover it with the nylon or netting.  You can tie it off if you like or just hold it. The idea is to keep the wool and soap together.  Next, put it in a bowl or sink of hot water and press it down gently so all the wool fibers are submerged. Squeeze it in your hands a few times. It won’t take long for you to feel the wool tightening up. This is when you want to begin massaging it. This agitates it just enough to push the wool fibers as they shrink around the soap. It’s normal for it to get soapy. You actually want it to do this.

 

Continue working it for about 12-15 minutes. At this point you should not see any stray strands of wool or the soap beneath. If there are, simply get it back in the hot water and massage it longer.  Give it a quick rinse under cold water, carefully remove the nylon/netting and set on paper towels to dry. How long drying takes depends upon the temperature of the room. You can set it in the sun or run a blow dryer over it if you like. I prefer to just leave it overnight. 

 

Tie it up with a ribbon or toss it in a basket for a nice gift. That’s it! Easy and fun. 

 

Fighting for Home
Descendants of the Amazoi, Book 1

In 300 B.C.—the Greco-Roman Age—tribes of warrior women thrived near the Black Sea. The area is now modern-day Turkey. The Greeks called them Amazoi (meaning Mankiller). Inspired by their story, Fighting for Home sings the tale of one tribe as they battle to save their way of life. 

 

Healing magic is real! Ilenea and Saphira, the wolf sisters, battle close to home with others of their generation. A healer priestess named Essla travels to a temple of Artemis at Anthela with her male slave, bringing a call to arms for the pending war. She meets and falls in love with a Roman General. Whatever the outcome, this war changes everyone.

 

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