PLEASE PRAY!!

Today tragedy struck close to home. Knowing that I have visitors from around the globe, I am asking that if you are a praying person, please pray for Connor. This is a young man, the son of our good friends Eric and Cherie', brother to Jo'elle, who was in a diving accident earlier today. He broke his neck and crushed his spine diving into the lake. He was air-lifted to a nearby hospital in Fresno, and the prognosis is dim. They say it's life threatening, and he has no feeling below the neck. The internet is a wonderful medium to get the word out fast. I know you may not know me, and certainly not Connor or his family, but if you can lift him and his family up in prayer tonight, it would be greatly appreciated. I will post updates as they come. Thank you so much.

Sincerely, Christine

*UPDATE 6/17, 3:00 pm

Connor apparently dislocated his shoulders upon diving into the water, hit his head on a rock, blacked out. He floated to the top, unconscious with a broken neck and crushed spine. He made it through the night, refusing the breathing tubes the Dr. wanted to put in. He is a strong young man. Connors dream was to be a firefighter. He now sees himself spreading the Good News to others from a wheelchair! He has a positive spirit that is infecting all those around him, and it's only been 24 hrs since the accident! At the moment, he is paralyzed from the neck down. But earlier today he felt the tape as it was pulled off his arm when they removed his I.V.!
Please keep him and his family in your prayers. Thank you!

*UPDATE 6/18, 6:52 pm .. (please note updated links to new site)

Please view the special blog set up for Conner here.

*UPDATE 6/20, 10:00 am
My daughter and I traveled to Fresno on Wednesday with two friends to see Connor and to support the family. The waiting room was filled with friends and family. It was a heartbreaking time, yet encouraging to see the love of Christ pouring out to the Williamsons during this tragic time. Catrina and I were briefly able to enter Connors ICU room, as he slept. How difficult it was to hold my composure, standing at the foot of his bed, as he lay there, in all appearances, healthy, handsome as usual, and silently pray. Connors family is so strong, yet their fears and sorrow at times broke through, understandably. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through. There are many new updates on his blog, posted by his father, as well as uncles. The love that all of these family members have for one another is so astounding... to me, it stands above anything else that is going on. I have personally experienced a family tragedy that shook the foundation of my family as I was growing up... you either pull together with love, support, faith, hope and all that can only come from God, or you let anger, resentment, pain and sorrow seep in every area of your life. Our family went that way, and it really destroyed us then, and no one really recovered. That's why my admiration for the Williamson family is so very high. Praise God they can embrace Him through all of this, although I know it isn't easy. Please continue to pray, pray, pray.
Go to the blog and read the latest news and pray. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Christine

STUFF ON MY WISH-LIST...

I found this great wooden soap mold from Bushy Mountain Bee Farm, and it has hinges for easy soap removal. It's only 19.00, which I think is a great price. Says the size is 3"x8"x12", so it should hold a 4 lb batch.Another great soap mold- called a Behive Tray mold , this one comes from WPS and it will hold 32 oz. of my honey soap and is only 7.00, which I think is a great price. Isn't it cute?
Here's a mold I think would be great for large bath bars- it's the Old Fashioned mold, also from WSP. Selling for 7.25, each of the 3 molds per sheet will hold a whopping 5.7 ozs of soap!
A few more soap molds for my glycerin specialty soaps... this one would work nicely for guest bars as well as for my samples as they hold 1.7 oz of soap: Laughing Face mold.



And for little girls, the Teddy Bear mold. This one's adorable, and I've been searching for something just for my kiddie soaps collection. Sold for 5.95- an excellent price, from Peak Candle, each cavity can be filled to hold 4.75 oz. , which is a lotta soap!



Not wanting to leave those dirty little boys out... a mold with 3 different dinosaurs! Also from Peak Candle, and selling for 5.95 and will hold between 4.0 and 4.25 oz. of soap. I can't wait to get these and make a wonderful bubblegum and beetle juice bar for the youngsters!

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And for a few novelty molds for my hemp oil* soap & pure olive oil soap, from Herbal Accents, and from Fine Art Molds the Icthus ><> 'Jesus Fish'. They produce finely detailed molds that are not to be found anywhere else. And the prices are very good... this one, for instance is only 9.95 per sheet with all 3 fish designs (4 cavities: 2 Jesus & 1 ea of the other two), each one making a 3 oz. bar of soap.
(* To read about the benefits of hemp oil in skin care products, click here.)


Shea Butter is a wonderful thing! Used in all sorts of bath and body products, it leaves your skin soft and supple. I would love to get this beautiful hunk- it's 5 lbs of pure, grade A, unrefined African Shea Butter, and Butters-n-Bars are offering it for 36.50. You can read all about the many benefits of this amazing product here.

THE BEACH...

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Yesterday my honey took me to Monterey. We had fun. People think we are crazy, but one of our newest fav things to do is go to the movies while in Monterey (we love doing this at Disneyland, too at the huge theater in Downtown Disney)... anyway, we saw Don't mess with the Zohan. Kinda funny, mostly silly. Afterward we hit up PF Chang's China Bistro... I had a dish called Vegetarian Ma Po Tofu, a super yummy tofu dish with broccoli, and brown rice. Hubby liked his meal too, which amazes me, since he really doesn't do well with new places. Afterwards, we headed towards Carmel, and found a great little secluded beach spot right across from the world-famous Pacific Grove golf course. He read while I kept surf-watch, as the waves were getting dangerously close... after about an hour we had to leave because they were 4 ft. from hubby's feet. I was tempted to quietly sneak away and watch, while the waves crept closer to him... but alas the evil little thoughts left me and I warned him it was time to go. Anyhow, it was lovely and the smell of the ocean was particularly incredible, with a faint orange scent, which I had never noticed before. So I thought it would be great to make an ocean-type soap, maybe include some dried kelp for scrubbibility and added nutrients. Any opinions on color, shape, etc. would be much appreciated and I would welcome your suggestions. Thanks! :)
Hope you are having a beautiful, peaceful day, where ever you are!
~Christine

HOW DO YOU MAKE SOAP? pt. 2...

Well, the soap turned out nicely. Here's some pics of it uncut and the final bars.

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Did everything turn out perfect? Well, yes and no. The soap is beautiful, replicated perfectly (a worry of mine when duping a recipe) and no major problems. However, I mentioned how my molds were 'pre-lined' prior to starting my batch yesterday, right? I had lined them last week, when I was sick and didn't have anything to do. I made templates of my molds, cut and folded freezer paper, and was happy with myself for getting a usually-dreaded job out of the way.
Well I made the templates by measuring- and drawing lines-
with a hot-pink Sharpie marker.
Note to self: Not a good idea.

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As you can see, the marker bled into my soap! Easily cut off, but not something I had wanted
to do, nor want to repeat in the future!
That means my other pre-lined molds will have to be re-lined! Bummer.
Oh well, every batch is a new experience.
These soaps are going to be ready July 6th.

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By the way, today I have my 6 mo grandson, Tyler.
I just had to include a snap of his cutie-patootie face!
Have a lovely weekend!

~Christine

HOW DO YOU MAKE SOAP?...

Every one always asks me, 'How do you make soap?', so I decided to make a little tutorial for those who wanna know. Now, hopefully when they ask, I can direct them here and they will be happy! :)

Today I am making Fresh Clover & Aloe w/Barley Grass Soap.
I get my oils pre-mixed from Mission Peak Soap, in Fremont. It's great to just drive on over (about 15 miles away) and pick it up. They blend a perfect mix of 5 different oils that create a very hard, lathery bar, and it couldn't be easier.

When I get the 5 gallon bucket home, I mix the oils by hand, as some are more solid than others, and measure out 4 lbs into small plastic pitchers. I also make a few 2 lb jars, for short- or 'test' batches. This way when I am ready to make soap, I just grab a pitcher, nuke it till it's about 110 degrees- give or take- and I'm ready to go, without having to lug out the bucket,
stir it up, measure it out, etc...

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Ok, next I measure my water into a large pitcher that's specifically only used for my *lye solution. I place that water into a heavy pot in my sink, and fill that pot with cold tap water. This will help keep the *lye solution cool when I start mixing the *lye in. It's especially helpful if I'm using milk or other high-sugar liquid in my soap making. Making soap with milk can get awfully hot and smelly and the water bath helps cool it quickly. I also open the window right over the sink to aid in ventilation.

Now I start taking the temp of both the *lye solution and the oils, and when they are both around the same temperature (around 107 degrees), I can begin.

* Why lye? click here to read about the important role lye plays in all soap making.

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It's also important to have your molds ready at this point. I also make sure all my fragrance oils, colors (if any) are out and pre-measured, as well as other additives
such as herbs and other botanicals.

After donning the ever-attractive protective eye goggles (and gloves), I begin pouring my lye solution into my oils. I use a large, stainless steel pot (lye and aluminum don't like one another), and begin whipping with my stick blender. Earlier in my soap-making career (6 mos ago!), I used an inexpensive brand blender, and had problems. Soon it died and I forked over the bucks for a good-quality Kitchen Aid, and don't regret that decision. Invest in a good blender if you are gonna make soap!

This batch reached 'trace' in only a few minutes. Trace is when it starts to thicken up, like pudding. If you lift the blender (in OFF position, please!), you can see a film of the saponified soap on the end of the blender. It also leaves an impression- a trace on the surface. This is when I added my fragrance oils, and if I were making another type of soap, I would add color and herbs, etc. at this point as well.

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After adding the FO, I stirred by hand, so as not to further thicken the batter, then poured off
2 cups into a prepared measuring cup that contained my powdered barley grass.

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I then poured the remaining soap into the prepared mold, smoothed the top, poured on my topping, smoothed that out, and put it to bed.

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I insulate my soap in an ice chest in my kitchen. It stays there for 24 hrs as it continues the process of becoming soap. It will heat up significantly- which is called 'the gel phase', and by this time tomorrow, I will unmold (hopefully!) a perfect, 4+lb batch of soap. After that, it will be cut into bars, set out to cure for 4 weeks and then it will be ready. Tomorrow I will have more pics of the soaps birth, so please come back!

Thanks for reading this post. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or otherwise, please leave them here!
Happy soaping!
~Christine

WHOLESALE SUPPLIES PLUS: New website...

If I could get excited just a little bit here... my favorite suppliers Wholesale Supplies Plus, just made a website improvement that is gorgeous! So easy to navigate through and tons of features. Even if you aren't into making your own B&B products, you probably will want to once you get a look at this place. There's extensive recipes, a resource library and demo videos, aside from the tons of supplies, and the forums are a wonderful place to get instant support and answers to just about anything in the industry, too. The owner, Debbie May, even has her own blog, too. Prices are the best around, but their customer service tops them all. They are still working on the site, as it just launched today, so give them 2 or 3 weeks to have it all put up, but be sure to stop by and have a look now.
I happy! :)

On another note...
I have been sick and so the thought of making soap (or doing anything) really hasn't been too exciting to me. Today, however, I am getting excited. I plan on 2 batches to restock my dwindling supply. More Pomegranate White Tea and Green Clover, Aloe & Barley Grass, coming up...

Hope you are having a wonderful, sunny day in your neck of the woods.
Christine
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FINALLY TOOK THE PLUNGE... (aka- 'What, no soap again?')

I have a few favorite things I like to do, and one of them is blog hopping. I love reading blogs from soapers and vegans! I am somewhat of an addict, of the closet-variety. I guess my family sees me at the computer and thinks I'm actually working or something! ha! :) Well as some might already be aware, I have been vegetarian for 10 yrs. I have wanted to become vegan for many of those years, but just couldn't do it for more than a week or two, at the most. A month ago I received a copy of the RAVE Diet, along with the DVD Eating, in my mail. I ordered it as a gift to me! I read the book, watched the DVD, and halfway through the movie, I got up and threw out my brand-new carton of egg beaters, a half doz eggs, and all the cheese. Oh yeah- and this hurt too- I also tossed out my non-dairy hazelnut, fat-free coffee creamer! Why toss that? Because it has casein, a milk derivative in it. How can that be considered non-dairy? Ask the FDA. Anyhow, I am loving this diet, and hubby watched the DVD and decided to quit all animal products, including dairy and eggs! woohooo!!! this is exciting.
Well, back to blogging... I found a wonderful little blog today and this girl is from my neck of the woods! It's called Vegan Eats & Treats. She is a terrific writer as well as cook, and shares loads of great eats, proving that vegans food choices are wide and varied, and limited to only your imagination! This is very exciting to me! I have also decided to quit using milks in my soap making, and will sub coconut milk in it's stead. :)

Here's some pics I took of the pretty flowers hubby brought me yesterday. I've been sick for over a week now, and hurt my back yesterday morning, so he went shopping at Trader Joe's for me and surprised me with these beauties, sitting on my mac, just so I wouldn't miss them. What a guy.
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ANNIVERSARY, NOT SOAP RELATED...

It was one year ago today that something happened... I ran over my beloved cat, Kobe. I wanted to put a little tribute to him here, because even if no body else reads this post, I want to acknowledge his existence- as well as his passing. He was a beautiful Maine Coon. Black, with gorgeous red high-lights, he had long hair, a fat tummy and waddled when he walked. He also had a mean streak, really only liked me- some of the time. He was an indoor/outdoor cat. I wished he was strictly only indoors, but when we got him, his habits were already established. He liked to go out to potty every morning, and on warm days, he would stay out on the lawn, on his back, tempting anyone to rub his belly. But no one dared! Anyway, Kobe had always waited in the driveway for me, and always came to the drivers side door, to greet me and walk me to the front door. A year ago today it was really hot. I had to go out and my car was parked in the blazing sun. I sat in the car, engine running, to let the a/c cool the car off before taking off. Kobe, unbeknownst to me, was walking around the back to see me- probably wondering if I was coming out or not. I didn't know he was there, and he was slow. I started backing out... the rest is too horrible. I was depressed for months. I still can't think about it too much. Unless you've been through this before, you just don't know the horror of being the one behind the wheel.
I really miss my ol' boy.