craftgrrl | Ivory soap does NOT melt - but it does look like whipped marshmellow!

Has anyone ever tried to grow their own loofahs? They look so neat; I was wondering how well they'd do in my climate (Victoria, BC) since most sites I found said they are popular to grow in places like Florida. According to this site, our growing season is roughly 200 days long; the first frost is Nov. 5th-ish, and the last April 19th-ish, so I don't think that's a problem, but is it hot enough? Any first-hand experience would be GREAT.

So this isn't just a question:

I finished one incense burner for my relaxation basket that I posted about the other day.

I "primed" (heh, used white paint) the burner, then put on a black coat, then two of silver. I then used BODY TATTOOS for the chinese characters! I couldn't find any rub-on ones that weren't mad expensive, or not really ugly, so I bought those cheap water-applied ones from the dollar store. Just used the method on the back (soak w/ wet face-cloth for 15-20 seconds), and peel off the back. After they dried I put on a few coats of Modpodge so they're less likely to get scratched. I have yet to test to see if it will catch fire or anything, but I think it'll probably be ok. It looks so much cooler than it looks in those pics, I swear. My mom gasped. :D (No, I don't know what the characters say, and no, I don't care. I see all these "Engrish" shirts all the time where they bastardize English, so they can bite me)

Something else I made to give to my little cousins are these water bombers.

SO EASY AND CHEAP TO MAKE, AND SO MUCH FUN! Buy a cheap pack of sponges and some zipstrips. Pick 2 or 3 in colours you like, and cut them into strips (I think I got 5 from each regular size sponge). Restack so they look like normal sponges, then put a zipstrip around the middle and do it up as tight as it will go. Tada! These are great because they don't hurt if you get hit w/ them, but will get you quite wet.