Love is in the air...

Last weekend, I got to spend some time with people I love.... celebrating their love.

Now... my friend has a wonderful sense of humor (DUH! That's why she's MY friend!) and I just knew I had to do something special for her to remember this most fabulous day!

She had chosen a peacock theme for her wedding. Peacock feathers on everything... purples and greens everywhere... and I just KNEW what had to be done!

Of course, she got the mandatory "Soapy gift" with her peacock theme..

... but I decided I would do something else, too.... something FUN!

I snuck "Norm", her ceramic peacock, to the wedding with me as my date. =o)

 

My friend had no idea Norm was there... and that's what made it PERFECT!

He made the rounds, and had his picture taken with lots of people...

 

 .... including the clueless Bride!

 I printed out all of the photos, and made them into a scrapbook album for my beautiful friend..

Those are her friends that flew from New Mexico just to cook the reception dinner! AWE-SOME!

..and had the scrapbook sitting on her desk Monday morning, with Norm sitting on top.

It was a fun way to spend a weekend! Running around a wedding, taking umpteen photos, trying to keep Norm from being seen by the bride! And so totally ME! (I love surprising people!)

I am happy to say that the "Norm Album" was a hit!!

The photo that undid my friend, and brought her to hysterical laughter, complete with tears??

(drumroll please) 

 Our employer... feeding Norm salsa...

Thenk yew.... thenk yew vurry mush! 

Bathing with beer....

So here we are... almost to the end of July, with summer just starting to come into full swing. (At least in my neck of the woods)

And in my neck of the woods, summertime is usually equated with BBQs and beer, backyard get-togethers with friends, camping, pool parties, and well.... more beer.

Seeing as how I'm not much of a beer drinker (anymore) and, thankfully, neither is my hubby (much)... I decided I'd make soap with it for my drunken friends. I also came to find out, that when I do purchase beer for making soap, I should simmer it right away and let it go flat (husbands are NOT to be trusted).

I have decided that I LOVE using stout in soap! It gives the soap a wonderful chocolatey color that makes it just look like you could dive in with a spoon!

This is not fudge... it really IS soap!

 So far, I've made 2 soaps with different stouts, one Oatmeal Stout and one Espresso Stout... and one soap with an IPA (India Pale Ale).... and I am addicted. Yes, I admit it. I will now join the 30,000 other people in the county in purchasing beer on the weekends.

The only difference, is that I won't be drinking mine. Ha! I'll be bathing in it, instead!

Can't get better than that, can it?? ;-)

Espresso Stout

I'm totally loving this soaping with beer thing. Seriously, I have to hold myself back from licking the stick blender... they look and smell THAT good!

 

Watershed IPA

So, even if you're not a beer drinker..... you can always be a beer bather! ;-)

Enjoy your summer! Cheers!

See you on Facebook!

Summer-Time Ramp Up

It's that time of year again!! SUMMERTIME!!

This is the time of year when I tend to get really busy. Weekdays are filled with day-job, kids, household chores, and making products.... while the weekends tend to be taken up with Craft Fairs, Open Air Markets and Summer Festivals.

I LOVE this time of year!!!!

I enjoy the hectic pace of making sure there is enough product for shows, the linens are cleaned for the booth, and foraging for enough snacks/water to keep me going throughout the day. (Not to mention, making friends with the neighboring booths so that I can take a restroom break!)

My  busy season runs from August through December... and while I enjoy doing the shows... the only drawback, for me, is missing out on time with my kiddos.

 

What are your favorite things of summer?? Favorite gatherings? Favorite family events? Favorite scents and sounds?

To me, it's watching while my boys run through the sprinkler, ice clinking in my glass of sweet tea... the smell of a campfire and crackle of the logs.... Memorial Day Family Reunion with my husband's family... Camping in the woods.... Time spent with good friends.... and Making SOAP!

Here's wishing you a wonderful kick-off to Summer!

Get out there and enjoy it!!!

Soap Challenge Accepted!! (week 6)

So Amy Warden (of Great Cakes Soapworks) has been issuing a weekly challenge to soapers far and wide. Last week's challenge was to create a soap using the Faux Funnel Pour technique. 

You basically divide your soap batch into different colors and then pour one after the other into the same spot in your soap mold, creating a neat pattern. (She has a video on her blog post for the challenge)

I had never done a Funnel Pour before, not to mention a Faux Funnel Pour, so...... Challenge ACCEPTED!!

Since I was new to this technique, and not sure how much time I would need to get all of the colors into the mold.... I decided that I would use a tried and true fragrance oil that I KNEW wasn't going to accelerate on me, or cause me any issues. "Energy" was the perfect choice for this challenge. Because of it's citrus-y notes, I wanted to do bright fun colors. Something with pizzaz!

in the mold

I also wanted to liven things up a bit with more than just color. Let there be GLITTER!!!!!

Now, I've done glitter on the tops of soaps before, but I really wanted to change things up and try something new. So, I added ultrafine iridescent glitter to just the white part of the soap... right IN the soap batter itself.

I have to admit, I wasn't sure what it was going to look like once I unwrapped it...

You just never know what you're going to get until you slice it open and take a look at the inside.

OoOohh!! Glitter!

 I have to admit, I am quite pleased with how these turned out! Though now I'm sure I'll be asked to do them in the team colors of the Universities (since this one has the green and yellow of the Oregon Ducks, it's already become a prized possession of Duck fans that I know)

  Thanks for taking the time to look! Happy soaping!

Be sure to head over to my FB fan page to see more!

Moving... Post-Chaos

Okay, okay... So things haven't gone quite as planned. You know the saying, "Best laid plans...." Anyway, I'm back... and I'm going to try to do better.

We've moved recently, and I've had a heck of a time getting my workspace organized with work, kids, chores, etc... But I've made enough of a dent in the post-move chaos that I can start soaping again! **Insert giddy laughter here**

This move has confirmed for me that I truly am a soap addict. I really hadn't thought about it before, I just knew I loved to make soap... but once my soaping equipment and oils were all packed away and out of reach.... OMG! Panic Attack!!!!!!! I knew that I was too busy to make anything, but I couldn't even if I wanted to!! EEK!! 

I had soaping withdrawals! Where were my spatulas?? Which box were my fragrances in?? WHERE WERE MY SOAPING SUPPLIES!!! ARRRRGHHHHH!! 

Oohhh.. Look!! Glitter!!!!!!!

So now that things have finally calmed down, and I've dug through enough boxes to get my supplies in some sort of relative order... I am back to soaping. (Well, WAS back to soaping, until I realized that I am now at the bottom of my bucket of Shea Butter. *facepalm*)

Lime in the Coconut

Being without Shea Butter is okay, for right now.... I've gotten a few batches under my belt in the new house (a few of which have been milk soaps, YAY!) and fed my addiction for the time being. My only consolation at the moment, and the only thing keeping me from frantically ordering Shea Butter online, is the upcoming Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Conference. I know that I can hold out on purchasing more oils until after the conference. (I've got to make sure I can pay for my hotel room and buy from some of the vendors while I'm up there!)

Patriotic Pride

Until then, I will play around with taking photos of curing soaps, and try to get them listed for sale on my website.

New Year... New Resolutions!

Okay, okay.... I know I've been lax (to say the least) with my blog posts. Uhmmm..... yeah. How about a do-over?

With the new year here, and things finally coming together a bit with my business... it's come to my attention that I really should actually START blogging. I mean, you guys want to be kept in the loop, right? So that is my resolution for the new year... to TRY to remember to get on here and post pictures and updates of what I'm doing.

2011 ended with a bang at the Christmas Craft Fair. (As well as in my neighborhood, with the idiots down the street setting off propane bombs) So many new items and re-worked products. I'm finally getting things the way I'd like them to be. The packaging is more professional and the products themselves are continuing to evolve into something spectacular!

Why yes, that *IS* Hot Chocolate soap with soap marshmallows!


2012 promises to be a doozy of a year! Stand back and watch me go!! (Or you can come along for the ride if you want!)