Soaps And Hedgehogs

I know I haven't been here lately.  We (the family) went on holiday to Italy for 2 weeks at the beginning of June. It was the second time we have gone there in two years and have fallen in love with almost everything about it.  The food, people, wine, places, history...I could go on and on about what we love about it, but not just yet.  Hopefully I can go through the 1700 pictures we took and post a few of them.....

I did finally get to some soap making today,

I decided on the Goatsmilk Calendula since my stock has run down to one bar!

The horrors! I need to have more!! 

I love how ultra moisturizing this soap is, everytime I use it I feel like I am pampering my skin

way more than I deserve.  I also love how beautiful this soap is in the mold, and I guess

out of the mold, too.  Raw soap, before it saponifies, is super pretty with that beautiful shiny top. 

I wish it stayed like that.

This past weekend I went through my stock and began to think about what I would like to make for the fall and Christmas season.  Planning out soaps is almost as fun as making them, in my opinion.  I think I picked out some AMAZING fragrance oils and essential oils, and have some pretty facinating ideas about types of soaps that I will carry for the fall shows that I do.  I can't wait to see the fedex man pulling up in front of my house with my packages!! 

Anyway, I have been working on a little project for my daughter that has nothing to do with soaps.  In Italy, she proclaimed that she is addicted to anything hedgehog related.  She bought 2 leather hedgehog keychains, one for her and one for her best friend, and told me that for her birthday she would like anything hedgehog.  Well, she goes away to camp for a week starting tomorrow, and what's the good-mom thing to do?  Send her a care package, that's what. 

Inside were some bars, candy, sour patch thingies, and this:

A knitted hedgehog!  How awesome!  She's goona love it!

How could she not? 

The cats seem to love it.....

I know, I'm weird, somebody please commit me.....

XOXO,

Becca

In The Mold Right Now...

Sprechers Black Bavarian Shampoo...

Healthy Choices

This weekend I participated in a small craft show in a coffee shop in my wee little town.  I didn't sell allot of soaps, the weather was rainy with spotty freezing rain, and there wasn't many people venturing out of their cozy homes.  But, I did make allot of very nice connections, saw some good friends, got to see my mom. :)  I also publicly launched my newest addition in my line of products.  The Shampoo Bar.

For years I have tried many handmade shampoo bars that others have made.  I always became disappointed on how greasy my hair felt afterwards.  It felt funky and I couldn't leave my house unless I jumped right back into the shower and used the chemical-laden SLS commercial shampoo to strip all of the natural oils and gunk left behind from a basically great for me shampoo bar.  I do believe now that they had too much superfatting in them.  You see, handmade soapers leave in a bit of extra fat in their soaps to make them moisturizing.  This level can be any where from about 4-10%.  I usually leave mine at about 5-8% in my bars, my goats milk have way more, that's why they are SO moisturizing.  Shampoo bars, on the other hand have to be at a much lower %, like around 1-3%.  This way, the excess fat doesn't make the hair oily.  Who wants oily hair?  Not me. 

So, doing a LOT of research, I am a freak about researching, I developed a recipe for a new shampoo bar that had all of the unique qualities that I needed for my type of bar.  It had to be lightly moisturizing, lots of lather and make my hair SHINE. The oils that were needed were sunflower, coconut, olive and castor.  These wonderful oils turned out to be just the thing for a bar that is top notch not just for my hair type, but for many types including dry, normal and frizzy.  I have tested it out on friends, relatives and some complete strangers that have raved about how soft their hair is, and how shiny and non-frizzy it is. 

I am over the moon happy about this bar.  I am so glad I can produce a product so natural and healthy for my hair, and yours too!  I will be trying out other additives to expand my line of healthy shampoo bars like using beer and eggs for conditioning, and different essential oils for their unique qualities. 

**PLEASE do your own research on how bad SLS, parabens and the like are for our bodies.  Parabens (chemical preservatives) are used in lotions, shampoos, conditioners and many other cosmetics are linked to cancer.  SLS is a chemical that is used to make things like shampoo, soaps, toothpaste, motor degreasers and car wash detergents lather.  It also drys your skin (making lotion with those nasty parabens necessary) and is shown to be cancer causing.

Our skin is our largest organ, and absorbs almost everything we put on it.  Makes me want to nourish my skin, not poison it.  Maybe if we are more informed about what chemicals we use on our bodies, we can live healthier, longer lives.  Just a thought.... :)

XOXO,

Becca

 

Great Big Logs! Oh My!

Well, now, here I am, almost a month after I cut these lovely soaps and still haven't shown the pictures.  How bad is that?  OK, OK, I do have those pictures for you today.   They are terrible pictures, the weather and sun has been horrible in Wisconsin this month, not too many beautiful sunny days lately, but that will soon change and the most wonderful weather will soon be here.

These are the soap logs just removed from the molds.  I trim the edges  of the soaps, so that when used, they will be smooth and not sharp.  As you can see the soap gelled in the mold.  I like it when it gels, but it does leave a weird look to the top of the soap. 

Like I said, the lighting is horrible in my kitchen when the sun's not out.  Here you can get an idea on how long the soap logs are when they come out of the mold.  They are 21" x 3 1/4" x 2 3/4".  That makes about 20 full size bars and a couple of sample bars.  The sample bars are nice because you can try before committing to a whole bar of soap.  Although, I haven't made a bar of soap that has ever gone to waste because I didn't like it!  I really do love all the soap that I make!  In the picture there is the Sandalwood Vanilla and the Rosemary Mint. 

Here is the Spa Bar soap that I made 2 days ago, and need to cut.  It is a green clay soap that draws out the excess oils that can lead to breakouts, and is great for detoxifying skin. 

Love it.  I always get a great feeling of rightness with the world when I know I have this soap in quantity.  I don't think I can ever live without it, and feel a need to have at least 10 bars of it or I kinda get nervous.  My friend said I can't ever die because she needs me to keep making this soap.  I guess I need to teach her how to soap so she can always have it.  ;)

Here's the cutting contraption that I use to cut my soaps.  It allows the soaps to be cut at any thickness that I need from 3/4 inches to 1 1/2 inches.  Those are the final cut Rosemary Mint bars that have been cut and smoothed again around the edges.  Nobody likes a sharp bar of soap!   

And if you are wondering what I have been doing when not soaping or dreaming about new recipes for soaps, working a full time job, raising 2 teenagers and whatever else life throws at me, we took a hike through the woods on Monday night and found these...13 ounces of nicely sized morels... YUM!

I do believe that these will go into a morel mushroom rissotto and also a handmade pizza this weekend.  Any other suggestions with what to do with them?  I would love to hear from you!

XOXO,

Becca

Busy Day Soaping

Thought I would share with you all my big soaping day since I kinda went AWOL for a while....

I got going on soaping today considering I have a small town show to sell at the end of April.  I looked at my inventory and thought it might make sense to make a few batches. 

I ended up making Rosemary Mint, Sandalwood Vanilla, Oatmeal and lastly, Goatsmilk Oatmeal.

I started out chopping up some baby mint leaves that I had just harvested from my garden a few seconds before.

 I added to the pile some corsely grinded rosemary that I took out my aggression on in the mortel & pestle...

 I melted my oils in my big soap pot and added the lye mixture to it and started to stir...

 As soon as it came to a medium trace, I added the mint and ground rosemary to the pot, and also added in the rosemary and peppermint essential oils.  I love this part, it smells sooooooo good....

Here it is all nicely poured into the mold.  This particular mold holds 6 pounds of soap which makes 21 wonderfully grand bars.  They are about 5-6 ounces each. 

Although I didn't get beginning pictures of the next soaps, I did manage to get two of the Sandalwood Vanilla soaps in the mold.  By the time I got to the next batch, the light was going away and my list of to do's for the day was not getting any smaller, but the time surely was.

I will take some pictures of them tomorrow when I unmold them and when I cut them.  I love seeing other soapers' pictures of their soaps and how they are made, I hope you love seeing my soap pictures.

XOXOXO,

Becca

Ohhhh, weekend! You are Finally Here!

Thank goodness it's Friday night!  I am so glad this week is done!  My husband left for business Monday morning for China and Korea, and has left me with the kids and laundry for the week.  He comes home Monday night, so that means the weekend is going to be LAZY!  Can't wait to be in my jammies all day, no dress clothes or shoes! 

Alright, enough is enough...

Soap tonight?  Yes please! 

Cherry Almond



This soap is one of my best sellers, by far! It has a strong cherry almond scent that is appealing to both men and women. It reminds me of a certain lotion that I believe most people will recognize right away. When people pick up this bar of soap, almost all say, "Ooooh, this is nice!"

I know I say this about all of my soaps, but this one is one of my favorite soaps.  It has always been in my line of products, and will continue to be a classic soap.  I have customers that stock up on this one at shows so they can have this all year. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 
Jammies, here I come!!!

XOXOXO,
Becca

Super Fresh

Good evening!  I hope your week is going by quickly, and you're ready to start the weekend!  I sure am!  This week at work has been long and stressful so far, and I for one am looking forward for this weekend!
I have tomorrow off, though, and hopefully (fingers crossed! :) am going to be creative in my kitchen in both food and soaping.  I found a recipe for slow cooker chicken chili that I am making for dinner, and as far as soaps are concerned... I have no idea, maybe some suggestions?????

Today's featured soap is picked because it is almost hot here in WI today.  We had a mild winter thus far, but temps in the mid 70's are hot compared to the normal.  When I think of this soap, it reminds me of summer because I grow the rosemary and mint that go into this soap in my garden.  I love going out there just minutes before I make the soap to pick them, knowing how wonderful it is to have really fresh ingredients.  That is really important to me.  I hope you agree, too.

Rosemary Mint

This is a truly refreshing bar of soap! You will really wake up when you use this bar in the shower every morning. You might even become a morning person! I used freshly chopped peppermint and rosemary from my garden, grown with no chemicals or pesticides.

Rosemary Essential oil is great for treating such problems such as acne, dandruff, dermatitis, eczema, headaches, memory loss, mental fatigue, migraine, muscle aches and pains, sinus problems, slow circulation and sore muscles. Peppermint essential oil is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti fungal, antimicrobial, antiseptic, and astringent.

One of my all time favorite soaps, I think.

Remember, shoot me some suggestions on soap ideas, please???

See you tomorrow!

XOXO,

Becca