Craft time: Afternoon plans are carved in soap

Bars of Ivory soap plus some household items added up to an entertaining afternoon at the Crawford County Council on Aging on Wednesday.

Courtney Moody, the center's activities director, helped seniors learn the basics of soap-carving.

"As you can see, we're just using some everyday objects to carve these things," she told the 13 seniors who gathered for the class. "The cat is the most difficult; the seashell is probably the easiest. The bear's in between. ...

"I'll tell you what I used the most was the paperclip; for most of my cat, I did the paperclip. The knife I barely used. Your pencil is actually really great to help with some of the finer details, too. See what's most comfortable for you while you're doing it."

As seniors started carving, Moody walked around the room, offering suggestions, collecting soap scraps and just chatting.

Bonnie Bays said she was enjoying the class.

"I just became a member," she said. "This is I think the second craft I've done."

How was the work going? "Let's just say it's interesting," Bays said.

"Better at making a mess than anything," added Roxann Gerstenslager, who was seated next to her, as the two women laughed.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Craft time: Afternoon plans are carved in soap