Evergreen Breeze

Well, here is one of the results of listening to good advice from Linda Stevens of Upland Soap Factory. She said to get rid of all those little bottles of oils that have been sitting on your shelf eating up your profit margin.

These great smelling babies were made from a combination of fragrances I had in my supply cabinet. I used Evergreen Breeze & Sweet Pea from Planet Earth. I also used a small amount of Cedarwood from Rainbow Meadow.

They get their color from parsley powder but how long the color lasts is still on the table.

Peaches & Cream Soap

What do you do with left over cream from a tea party? Do you continue to use it in your tea or coffee and pack on more calories? I think not! I know, I'll make soap with it. How will that turn out? Only one way to find out and find out I did. It came out beautiful, not brown at all. Thanks to information I received at the workshops I attended at the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Conference this May. I used a peach fragrance from Brambleberry. My soap smells fantastic and has just the look I was going for. I did use a bit of Coral Peach colorant from kangaroo Blue to give it a slight blush.

Just Soap

Soapmakers! We're always looking for the best fragrance, best ingredients and best natural skin safe colorants but I'm wondering if I'm the only one who didn't have a soap that was just soap. No extra emollient oils, butters or additives to make it "better". Just ordinary, made from 3 or 4 basic oils that's kind to the skin, soap. Because we all know that the glycerin will be there, no matter what, and that's what gives our soap it's special qualities...as we love tell our customers.

Since I had to make such a basic soap for my Advanced Soapmakers Certificate Exam with The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild I have decided to keep that in my soap inventory. When I was making it I noticed how fresh & clean it smelled. And to me it was darn pretty when it came out of the mold and smelled even better than when I poured it. I just wanted to share my wonderful new discovery with everyone. Wonder how this will go over at my Farmers Market, where the first thing a customer does is puts the soap to their nose to smell.

This Time, Lotion

A few weeks ago I took a lotion making class at The NY Open Center with La Shonda Tyree from Homemadesoapcoach.com It was a fabulous class and her instructions were so thorough that I was able to go home and make lotion right away. Of course I had bought most of the ingredients before hand but just didn't know how to start nor did I have any idea about preservatives.

I whipped up a 32 oz batch for my own personal use. I used sweet almond oil, Shea butter, hemp seed oil, castor oil and Optiphen as a preservative. Lime essential oil from Brambleberry and coconut fragrance oil to scent. It turned out thick, rich and creamy. I tell you it is out of this world, but before I market it for public use I will first have it tested at a lab.

Liquid Soap - Take One

This is the result of my first attempt to make liquid soap. I have to admit I was hesitant to make it at first but I got lots of advice from online friends,books and recipes. Last year at The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Conference I saw a demonstration and that gave me the confidence to try for myself. I must say that I've learned so many different skills form attending the conferences these past 3 years. The information is invaluable and has been extremely helpful in my business as well as personal life.

This soap is scented with lavender essential oil and lemon essential oil. It Will be used as bath gel, hand soap and dish washing detergent.

Blackberry Sage

While at the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild last year I met Lori from The Scent Shack and purchased Blackberry Sage fragrance oil from her. The coloring in this soap is an attempt to show how the fragrances blend into each other to create a third aroma.

Plumeria

I first made a small batch of this soap using a sample of Global Gardens Plumeria that I received in my Goodie Bag last year at The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Conference. It was a such a hit at my Farmers Market that I immediately contacted Kelly Bloom from Southern Soapers to send me more.

After making a larger batch and receiving more rave reviews I decided to keep it as a staple, especially after a customer from Hawaii said it reminded her of home.