how to prevent a soggy mess in the bath...

as i'm awaiting the arrival of new base oils (which in turn awaits the arrival of some much needed greenbacks)... i wanted to post about something that's very important to hand-made soap makers- and users- even if they don't realize it (yet)... soap dishes.

self-draining soap dishes are an important part of your hand-made soaps life because the longer your soap sits in a puddle of water, the short it's life span becomes. as a matter of fact, water- although extremely important in the use of soap, is very harmful to the longevity of any type of soap. especially hand-made soap because without all the added chemicals (think: commercial soaps) to prolong the life of the bar,  your soaps will become a soggy, slimy mess. this is particularly disappointing if you have forked out the big bucks for some lovingly crafted bar of hand-made soap.

so! on that note, i want to show you a few beautiful examples of self-draining soap dishes that are handcrafted and rather inexpensive, that will aid in the extended life of your soap. some of my personal favorites, too. :)

1. splintsanddaisies makes this simple wood dish- and i think it's lovely! i especially appreciate how the rails on each side are slightly raised to keep your soap from sliding off the dish. at $4.99 each, you cannot miss with this little beauty. check out  their shop on etsy.com.

2. dressgreen is another beautiful example of a simple wooden dish. i just love this one in particular. please check out their etsy shop.
















3. the brick yard makes a cute ceramic dish. a bit pricer than it's wooden counterparts, but too cute not to mention! i love the innovative 2-piece design. looks very durable, too. check them out!














 4. granddar makes spectacular marble and flagstone dishes- i just love these!! and the prices are reasonable, too. check out her impeccable work(wo)manship! $10. each.

well, these are but a few examples... but hopefully it will give you a good idea how to elevate your soap above the water in a fashionable way. for many more beautiful handmade soap dishes, as well as all sorts of other hand-crafted goodies, search for yourself on etsy.com. :)

CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS CUPCAKE SOAP...

i made this small batch last night... 

the dark portion is scented with vanilla and cocoa powder, while the top has real peppermint sugar crystals- which will wash away after a few uses, but can be used to exfoliate and soften rough areas, too. i have 18 large bars- and they will be ready for use 12/22, 

after they've cured a bit. 

aren't they pretty? :)

(note: the bottom will continue to darken over time due to the vanilla.) 

LEMON with CHAMOMILE -GINGER TEA & CALENDULA SOAP...

i made this soap last night at the same time i made the mint tea soap... it's a 4 lb batch- smells like fresh lemons- because it has pulverized Meyer lemons throughout! pretty calendula petals top off each heartily-cut bar. chamomile and calendula are wonderfully gentle and skin softening, which makes this soap good for every body! makes a beautiful gift, too. :)

ready after dec 21.

SPEARMINT-PEPPERMINT TEA SOAP....

just unmolded and cut, this soap is made with spearmint essential oil and peppermint tea, and boy does it smell refreshing! 

will be ready for use dec 21

LAVENDER-ROSE-VIOLET CREME SOAP...

  this is my newest batch of 25% olive oil soap... Lavender-Rose-Violet Creme. made with coconut milk, lavender essential oil and roses & violets fragrance oil- with lavender buds on the tops, it has a very nice, light floral scent. i am really pleased with how the coloring turned out. each bar is huge- almost 6 oz. but the bars will shrink a little due to water evaporation as they cure. 

ready to use after Nov. 28.

LEMON-WILD RASPBERRY SOAP...

made with fresh, pulverized Meyer lemons & wild raspberry tea. this soap is fresh smelling, big on lather, and oh yeah, it leaves your skin soft and sweet! containing 25% olive oil, its great for all your body parts... and the herbal tea gently exfoliates, too.  

ready: November 25.

CAFE-COCOA CREME SOAP...

freshly cut, and on the curing rack... these bars are the first from my new log mold (thanks, julie!). made from freshly brewed French Roast *bucks- double strength, fresh ground coffee for exfoliation, cream & Ghirardelli's dark cocoa powder... a wonderful combination for cleansing kitchen odors (think: fish, onions, garlic) off your hands, all-the-while moisturizing your skin and leaving a nice yummy scent! what more could you ask for at the kitchen sink? :)

each bar is a hefty 5+ ounces... 
ready: 11/23

new wooden soap mold...

i have always wanted a nice wood loaf mold, and now i have one! i bought it at candles and woodcrafts, and couldn't be happier. they have many choices of styles and finishes, and the prices cannot be beat anywhere. if you are a soapmaker and are in need of a new mold- log/loaf style or slab, please give julie a holler.

HONEYED-OATMEAL BUTTERMILK SOAP... the pictures.

this is the cut bar from the batch i made last night. 

it smells of orange and almond... like a warm breakfast bowl! yum!! Ready 10/30

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REMEMBER TO KEEP ALL YOUR HAND-CRAFTED SOAP 

OUT OF WATER FILLED SOAP DISHES!

for some very cool, hand-made soap dishes that compliment 

your soap nicely, click here.

HONEYED-OATMEAL BUTTERMILK SOAP...

this soap was just made.. so you will have to wait until tomorrows posting to view the finished product, but here it is, right before being put to bed in the ice cooler. ingredients are yummy, and i have to say, my entire house smells so wonderful right now! in addition to making the soap, i had some orange-iced cinnamon rolls baking in the oven that i embellished just a bit (just for fun, pictures to follow!)

the soap:

HONEY: to moisturize the skin. adds a mild but wonderfully sweet scent.

OATMEAL: soothing, especially to irritated skin.

BUTTERMILK: extra moisturizing qualities, you skin will drink it up.

other goodies included are brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and      almond & orange essential oils.    i topped it all off with oatmeal and dried orange peel granules.

the cinnamon buns: 

i buy pillsbury orange cinnamon rolls. preheat the oven and melt about 1 tablespoon in a pie plate to melt. sprinkle walnuts and brown sugar all over melted butter. place rolls over that. bake according to directions. when done, place plate over top of pie plate, invert. drizzle with orange icing. i like to leave the icing on the stove while they are baking to warm them up; they drizzle nicely. sprinkle chocolate chips over all before serving if you like. i personally forgot to do this. 

whoops, sorry hunny! :)

BUTTERMILK PUMPKIN SPICE SOAP...

well i finally got around to making a fresh batch of soap thursday evening... and i'm so glad i did! fall is in the air and nothing represents it better than pumpkin! this 4 lb batch is made with loads of pumpkin, creamy buttermilk and pumpkin pie spice. the color and scent is all natural, and it smells yummy! when its fully cured in 4 weeks, it will be nice and creamy- and will make your skin soft. i love making all vegan soaps, but i have to admit that i also love using buttermilk for it's skin softening properties. 

ready on Halloween! :)

a mommy first...

As much as i love love love making/selling/sniffing/using/dreamingupnewsoap- i love my babies more. by 'babies' i mean my daughters. i have two. and in 3 weeks, our youngest will be moving away for 2 (or more) years! where is she going, you ask? she is leaving all her friends and family, all that she has known, loved and found comfort in, to live in San Francisco- in the Tenderloin District- doing missionary work with YWAM- Youth With A Mission. You see, she hooked-up with YWAM back in September of '08- serving 5 months- 2 of which were spent overseas in Vietnam and Thailand. She loves the street people of San Francisco, however, and upon her return, she applied for a staff position- and was accepted! Her heart is so geared toward loving these 'unlovable' people that she sold her car, quit her job (after working as long as she could, saving her earnings) and is moving up there. This is not a paid position! She needs to be fully funded to do the Lords work- being the hands and feet of God- something that most of us would not want to do, sadly enough, me included! We are so proud of her. If you have a heart for helping people but cannot leave it all behind to go live where the need is- perhaps you will consider helping another way? Carrianne has a blog set up- please go visit her there- on the blog you will find info on ways to support her. Also you can view what she did during her last missionary excursion- both in the city of SF and South East Asia. Most importantly, she will need prayer support! This is not the best of locations to send our precious daughter! Yet it is where her Heavenly Father is calling her to go- where the neediest of souls reside! If you are unfamiliar with the Tenderloin District of San Francisco, I strongly suggest you perform a google search, you will see what I'm talking about! Go to the blog, sign up for email updates and watch as God moves in her life, and in the lives of those she touches. Watch the next few weeks- new activity will be posted- and please pray for our baby girl!

Thank you!!! In Jesus' name, Christine

soap favors, the next stage...

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well i finally finished making, cutting and curing all the guest-sized soaps for wedding favors. today i began the task of labeling and packaging- 100, out of the 200 i need to have completed by june 5th. these particular soaps will be coupled with a business-card size refrigerator magnet- instead of the usual printed ribbon. i wanted the favors to be special, since the young woman getting married is so very special to me- so i had Vista Print print up some magnets that i designed right on their website- as a keepsake! along with the soap, which will eventually (and hopefully) get used up, they compliment each other nicely. they are all tucked into an ivory-colored organza drawstring bag. later, we will tie a small twig of manzanita branch and they will be ready to give!

here's 100 bars laid out, before & after labeling...


here's 60 in their bags, boxed up.
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more BAMBOO & HEMP, but with a twist...

i chunked up some of my green-swirled bamboo/hemp soap that were cut too small for favors, and made a big fresh batch to add them to. i think they turned out really pretty, don't you?
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another batch of wedding favor soap...

This is a lovely Black-Raspberry Vanilla scented soap with a purple swirl. Wild raspberry tea added for a scrubby effect- and extra glycerin to moisturize. Each bar weighs in at approx. 1.85 oz- that's a good-sized sample that will last for several showers. Smells heavenly! Can't wait to label and wrap all these bars up in their beautiful cream-colored organza bags!
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New soap... HEMP & BAMBOO WITH MINT...

I made 4 lbs of soap yesterday for wedding favors for our daughters best friends upcoming wedding. This is a hemp oil, bamboo (fresh, clean scent) bar. I swirled a fresh green color, and added Moroccan Mint Herbal tea throughout for a gentle scrubby effect. I am very happy with it. It's the first batch of 5 total batches for this event.

And now for something completely different...

I love shopping on Etsy. Have you heard of Etsy? It's a wonderful online experience for shoppers and sellers- and the best part is, it's all handmade goodies! It's really an amazing place, so much so that time seems to simply vanish whenever I go there. You can search for things a variety of ways, including location, color & categories (more than you can imagine, probably). Jewelry, clothing, housewares, furniture, fun and whimsical stuff- the talent here is astounding.
Oh, and I would like to personally recommend a few of my favorites from time to time- starting with a little shop of gorgeously-made crocheted hats, scarves and such, called Creative Hook. Here's a sampling of her amazing work- and she custom-made it for me in less than a week! Please go on over and have a look- you won't be disappointed in Creative Hook!

HARD AS STONE...

I am a wimp when it comes to being cold. I am not used to the chilly weather here on the
Central Coast of sunny California! Of course, it does get cold but usually not this cold. And I made a big boo-boo. Not anticipating this weather way-back in August, I moved my big 50 lb boxes of oils out to the detached garage. I had pre-filled several plastic pitchers with the appropriately-weighed amounts of each of my soaping oils- Coconut, Palm, Olive and Canola. Now I used up my last pitcher and have been dreading hauling everything outside, into the freezing-cold storage room. But I bundled up, loaded up and out I went. After carefully pulling out ALL the boxes, setting up my pitchers, weight chart, scale and large metal spoon & ladle, I opened the first box; coconut oil. Or should I say 'coconut brick'. This stuff was completely impenetrable. :( Oh how I wished I had poured it all into jugs way-back-when, in the warm summer months. I don't know what to do now. Any suggestions? Am I overlooking a completely logical way of removing very precise measures of my oils, now that they are in this frightful state? Help!!

Angels...

These little glycerin goats milk cherubs and angel hearts have gilded wings. Scented with maple sugar fragrance, the soaps are pretty to display, lovely to smell and give a wonderfully rich lather. Goats milk is skin-pampering and gentle to all skin types , too.

Christmas Vanilla Cupcake Soap!

VANILLA CUPCAKE SOAP

I finally made soap!! woohooo!!..

This is a new batch of Hot Process/Crock Pot soap. Superfatted with Castor Oil (for loads of lather), Glycerin (very moisturizing) and Shea Butter with Aloe (skin loving emollient), this is a sweet-smelling treat in the bath or shower. Would make a wonderful gift all by itself, these bars are a generous 5+ ounces each. Ready to use now, because the HP method eliminates cure time, but the bar will get harder- which prolongs the soaps life- as it sits another week or two. I added candy sprinkles to the top, but those will wash away with the first use... looks pretty though! The vanilla will eventually turn this creamy-colored soap brown, but that's the color of vanilla beans anyway, and I think it will still look lovely! :) Enjoy. For sale tomorrow on at the shop.

THERE'S A WINNER!!!

I have come to a decision. After careful consideration of all the entries (5, to be exact!), my first choice for my favorite new soap idea is....

Vanilla Cupcake Soap! Thanks for this great suggestion, Princess Nikki, I can't wait to make this and send you 3 big bars! Contact me to leave your mailing address, but it will be several weeks (for curing of the soap), but pics will be posted ASAP.

I also have a runner-up...
Angela with her suggestion of Swirly Chocolate -Peppermint Soap!
Please contact me to leave your mailing address, you will receive 2 bars when this is done! Thanks for giving me this great soap idea!

Ok, now since I started this to get new soap ideas in the first place, I wanted to let everyone that contributed ideas know that I loved all of your suggestions. I will be making all of them eventually, over the next few months and would love to send you a bar of 'your soap'... for free!

Thanks everyone. It's been great fun for me!
I will post each and every new soap as they are made. ~ Christine

WHO WILL THE WINNER BE? ...

Ok, it's been a while since this contest began, and I had 5 suggestions- all of which I loved. I will list them here and will let the winner know by Friday. Soap making begins on Saturday, so please check back.

#1- Liz said: Sandalwood-Vetivert-Patchouli & Baby Powder-Good & Plenty

#2- Starla said: "Snow"- Peppermint & Sugar

#3- Princess Nikki said: Sugary-Vanilla Cupcake Bar & Burning Wood (campfire, perhaps?)

#4- Angela said: Swirly Chocolate & Peppermint

#5- Janet said: Tropical Plumeria, Mango, Hibiscus

I also had two other suggestions for Eggnog & Rum and Chocolate Orange.

Thanks, everyone for taking the time to participate. These were all great ideas! I'll keep ya posted... ~Christine

CONTEST!

I need new ideas!
Do you have an idea for a special soap? A favorite scent, design, special ingredient or quality you are looking for? Here's how the contest will go.... From now until October 15th*, leave your ideas in the reviews (comment) section of this posting only (below this post). Then, during the week of October 16 through October 22*, I will pick my favorite idea... or two, or three! If I pick your idea, I will make that soap, post about it with pictures and your name as the winner, and you will receive 2 big bars of that soap! Remember your comment has to be on this posting only.
Please include your name, email address (I will need to contact you if you win, right?) and the name of your suggested soap idea.

OK, let the contest begin! :)
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* UPDATE!
Ok, I have noticed that not too many lookers (lurkers?) are entering my contest! :(
So! to make things a bit more interesting, I am giving the winner three (3) big bars of soap! But there's a catch... you've got to tell your fellow bloggers to enter in this contest! I will keep it going until the 31st of October, and will pick the winner during the first week of November.
Ok, now, here we go again... :)

** UPDATE #2!
another contest, unrelated to this one, except for it's at the shop of a fellow believer and fellow etsy artesian! check out the beautiful prints at her etsy shop, then go to her blog and comment there.

And remember, this is the last week for my soap contest... hint, hint ;)

what about new soap?...

i have been out of it. i feel so bad about not making any soap for so long, but i have been sick for 6 weeks and just haven't had the desire to do anything, much less make soap. recurring UTI's and upper respiratory infections aren't fun, but please don't give up on me, i love making soap and WILL return! :)

i will keep my commitment to the contest, however, even though i didn't get too many replies. the ones i did get are great enough, though and i am excited about choosing a winner and making soap once again! a few new ideas stirring, too. contest is still open, so please- no matter where you are, you can participate. it will be fun! i had someone suggest 'eggnog soap' which i thought was a terrific idea, but she didn't post it to the blog, so i can't include it in the contest. anyway, just wanted to update this in case anyone was wondering. im still breathin'!

FESTIVAL NEWS...

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Well, my first ever festival has come and gone. It really was quite an experience. I met so many wonderful people, learned so much about what people like (and don't like) and had lots of fun. I invited all my customers to come, but only got 3 shows! We planned on selling out... ha! so I brought over 360 bars of soap. I wound up selling about 140 bars, several soap dishes and gave away a few freebies too.
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Lots of people stopped by to say how wonderful the booth smelled, and how beautiful it looked, so that was very encouraging. Also, I think people just like sniffing soaps much more than anything else, because I had lots of sniffers.
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And about half were men, so this is certainly not just a female thing! Even kids. All in all, it was a fun day. It went super-fast... setup, tear-down. Just all a breeze.
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I wanted to say THANKS A MILLION to Ginny and Catrina for their phenomenal help!
Boy, these girls stayed all day (one with a gorgeous baby!) and helped bring in some sales (Ginny's the hard-sell, not my strong point, but she sure has a knack!).
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And Gary, my hunny-buns... he was a great help, loaded, unloaded, and everything else in between, all without complaining. And he stayed the distance too. Love that guy! And to my other great gal-pals for showing up (yes, even bought some soap), Marianne G with hubby D, Cherie', Jo'elle and Granny... your support means so much to me! And a very special thank you to Cheryl W for her work on my banner... it turned out great!

Thanks, Ladies! Love you guys! :)

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