Dana’s Designs

06/30/2025

I had the privilege of making 100 guest size soap bars for a wedding where the bride and groom are surfers and dog lovers and the wedding was taking place on the Oregon coast. The groom’s mother sent me the image of the couple with a surf board and I had a stamp made with the figure of the dog added. I packaged them up individually with a soap pad and added a tag indicating the ingredients and who they were from. I thought they turned out great and I think my customer was pleased too! Thank you Doreen!!

06/14/2025

Making another batch of goat milk lotion today. The texture is actually between a lotion and a cream but I like it in the jars as opposed to a squeeze bottle. Every piece of equipment used is washed and soaked in a bleach solution beforehand and surfaces are wiped down with a bleach solution. It is extremely important to prevent any bacteria from the mixture, especially with goat milk, nobody wants mold in their lotion! I do pasteurize the milk, that’s the first step in the process. Small batches is the name of the game for me to control quality and to provide an array of fragrances.

06/13/2025

I was going to donate these last 3 bars of soap to a fundraiser for the Montana Great Pyrenees rescue I follow. I have great respect for this breed, both for its working ability and its loving loyal nature for its family. And, rescues of any animal hold a special place in my heart. So I looked at the 3 bars of soap and said to myself “you can do better than that!” I absolutely love the t-shirt I found, the colors are great and the print is awesome! Hope they have a successful night next week!

05/23/2025

Made a few ear wires and hoops this morning out of argentium silver wire. Into the oven they go. The heat makes the wire harder and elevates the tarnish resistant properties of argentium. If you take care of your jewelry and don’t expose it to moisture or chemicals, pieces made out of argentium tarnish at a much slower rate than sterling silver. It’s a little more expensive but if I’m going to make a piece out of high dollar material, it’s going to be argentium.

05/23/2025

05/22/2025

A herd of 50 mules heading to another pasture today. These are fun but quite labor intensive to do. I find it very satisfying to decide what colors and then try to combine them in a realistic coloring for a mule. Many thanks to Gayle Stegmann at Gem State Mule Co. for this order. Check out her page, she’s got some beautiful animals.

05/16/2025

Awesome!

Erna Valdivia just became the first African American teenage girl to compete in the Tevis Cup, a one-day, 100-mile race across the Sierra Nevada, and she did it on a horse her mother rescued. - Just Perfect ❤️

Erna Valdivia chuckled in disbelief while shaking her head. The 17-year-old has recently made history as the first African American teenage girl to participate in the renowned and challenging Tevis Cup, a 100-mile endurance horse ride across the Sierra Nevada completed in a single day.

It's physically and emotionally exhausting, but she is the best said Valdivia, as she pats Love Story, the horse rescued by her mother, who runs the Love This Horse Equine Rescue in Mojave.

The white mare was on its way to the slaughterhouse when she was rescued. At first extremely frightened and unapproachable, she developed a unique connection with Erna, who eventually began riding her.

05/16/2025

Took a trip to where John is working. Can’t really do any soaping here but I did bring wire, tools and a few beads to have something to do. The first picture is a raw lepidolite crystal wrapped in copper wire. I can’t wait to get home and make a purple leather cord for this. The second picture is a pair of small argentium silver hoops with sapphire beads and a Larimar on argentium silver wires.

05/07/2025

05/07/2025

05/03/2025

Pouring a large batch of soap today so I had to make my own molds. They ain’t fancy but they will do the job.