Creating stuff

On Friday, our grandchild Rhiannon (14) came to stay.  We went for a walk and found horse chestnuts.  We brought a selection home to play with.

Rhiannon drew the different stages

Rhiannon is only 14, isn't this drawing fabulous?

Rhiannon remembered reading about making soap from chestnuts, so she researched it and began the process.  Apparently chestnuts contain saponin which is the soapy part of soap.

Rhiannon peeled the chestnuts then we put it in the food processor to grate, finishing it off by hand.  The it got put in a cheesecloth and covered with warm water and soaked for a couple of hours.  In that time the mixture separated.  She squeezed the grated chestnuts, mixed them with stuff from the garden (finechopped mint, rosemary and rosepetals) and pressed them into a silicon mould.

The result was a jar of liquid that could be used for washing dishes or clothes, and the solids pressed into soap.

The soap shapes are outside drying which could take a couple of days.  They look pretty.

More later...