The Kassel Family Project Life 365 – Going Through Life One Blog Post at a Time

The White Cross Soap Experiment

Posted on February 3, 2026February 4, 2026 by Erica

I had a soap idea stuck in my head. So, I found a cross mold on Amazon and did an experiment.

After trimming the edges of the cross, it is a reasonable first attempt at the Sigma Chi White cross.

Then, I placed the cross in my one-pound soap mold and added a predominant layer of blue soap and a smaller top layer of gold soap.

I was super excited about how it looked in the mold and was even more excited when I took the soap out of the mold. For a crazy idea, it worked pretty well, and my Sigma Chi seemed impressed with the end result.

I have things that I can improve like trimming the cross, but this is my new Sigma Chi White Cross soap. Andy has requested that I make the soap look more like the Sigma Chi flag, so I will use a half gold layer and a half blue layer next time. I love it when a soap idea comes together!

Winter Court of Honor

Posted on February 2, 2026February 3, 2026 by Erica

Tonight was the Winter Court of Honor for Troop 706. John was recognized for 16 service hours.

We are coming into the last few months of John’s Scouting adventures. It all seems very surreal after twelve years.

Scenes from SEMO

Posted on February 1, 2026February 1, 2026 by Erica

Laura and her friends went to the SEMO gymnastics meet today.

They really went to get the Rowdy Pillow Pet, but they also had fun! And, the pillow pet is so very cute.

Soap Cutter

Posted on January 31, 2026February 1, 2026 by Erica

I made a three-layer soap loaf that is scented with a new scent from CandleScience called, “Rose Petals”. Obviously, the soap was inspired by Valentine’s Day.

However, I actually made the soap, so that I could try my new soap cutter! It did a great job and made a nice, straight cut. I am thrilled. Happy Valentine’s Day to me!

Bonus

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Erica

One bonus to making your own soap is that you can decide on a whim that you want your next soap to be a specific soap base, scent, and color scheme. This is triple butter soap base made from mango, shea, and cocoa butters, and the scent is called “Apothecary”. The soap smells fantastic, the colors are better than I expected, and the soap lathers well. I will consider this one a success!

Presenting the Eagle Project

Posted on January 29, 2026January 30, 2026 by Erica

John never showed much interest in earning the rank of Eagle when he started Scouts. He wanted to earn “fun” merit badges, go camping, and have fun with his friends. Well, he certainly did that for a lot of years. He has earned something like 40 merit badges, and he has done a lot of camping! He has also had a LOT of fun with his friends. However, at some point along the way, his thought process changed a bit. So, tonight, he presented his Eagle project to the Troop 706 Committee for approval. Will he actually finish his Eagle rank? I do not know, but I do know that his Dad, Laura, and I will do whatever we can to help. He has really matured in the last year, and I am proud of him for deciding to try.

Two-Tiered Tray

Posted on January 28, 2026January 29, 2026 by Erica

With Valentine’s Day decorations now complete, I officially have decorations for my two-tiered tray for all year long. It really has been fun picking out all the decorations over the last year.