Christmas

Have not written for a while been so busy, never thought I would be up at 1am making bath bombs for orders.  Can now put my feet up for a couple of weeks.  Thanks to all those who ordered off me and bought from the fairs, also those who came back with such wonderful positive feedback about the soaps, I have no doubts now about my soaps.  Bev.

I want to shout from the roof tops.

Life is very busy up to our ears in making as we make everything ourselves.  Today I have a parcel to post of body butter, made with no fragrance for a little boy who has terrible skin.  Spoke to his Mother who said because of my whipped oils he has been able to go swimming two weeks running, usually his skin cracks and he cannot go, I felt like Christmas had come early.

How to make Bath Bombs

Having been making lots of bath bombs and speaking to people I realise there is a lot of myth behind them. If you want to make some for christmas family, friends or for the school fete, they are quite simple.  I work with 100gm bicarbonate of soda and 50gm citric acid.  Always half of the citiric acid to the bicarb. The citric acid is much better the finer it is.  You mix these two together and this is the secret you need to mix them very well and when you have re-mix the more you mix these two the better.  Then add colour not too much as when the witch hazel is added the colour will intensify, also add at this point the fragrance/essential oil you want.  Then mix again, you can never mix too much.  Now with witch hazel in a spritz bottle you need to just put a few squirts and mix  mix mix.  The mixing is so important as you mix the witch hazel soaks into the ingredients and slowly makes them damper.  After a good bit of mixing see if you can squeeze the mix together like damp sand and it will stick, if it does, then mold it.  If not spritz again, not too much and then mix mix mix.  This should do the trick.  If like I used to get, you get your bath bomb growing spots like warts, then it was too wet and the fizzing process is starting, so mxing is the answer.

I love Chirstmas

I love Christmas and being able to make things and sell them, it makes Christmas come early.  It is so exciting coming up with ideas and finding things to make the bath bombs and soaps more Christmassy.  Friday our bath bombs with stars in them walked out the door, so have made some more and will be making lots more before I sit down to eat my Christmas dinner.

Cars

Found a great mold for a car, and made lots of bath bombs to treat the little or big man in your life.  Come in blue, green, pink or pale white and blue, or mango and white.  Upset my daughter as I dedicated the one that had it's bumper fall off to her because each winter she manages to skid and take her bumper off.  Bless her.

Folksy

Folksy now has the pumkin soap to wash the paint off after Halloween.  100% pure Olive Oil soap with lashings of real pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon.   Chocolate Orange Soap which smells divine.  Made with 85% cocoa.  It has to be smelt, if your a  chocolate lover you will love the smell of this soap.

Christmas goodies

Have caught up what was sold last week, Christmas soaps, bath bombs going out the door as quick as I can make them.  Been set a challenge to make Christmas puds, in soap, so off to do that today.

Chocolate soap

It was very hard to control the urge to eat chocolate when the smell of real chocolate and sweet orange essential oil going into the warm soap wafted out, like the smell or warm chocolate on a waffle. The smell was lovely the house smells of chocolate and orange.

Chocolate

Chocolate - why is it we go mad and spend thousands on chocolate at Christmas.
A friend of mine sells chocolate and she said that people buy around £60-80 chocolate in one go for presents. On the news they are offering to pay for people to loose weight but with this mamouth demand for chocolate over Christmas no wonder people put on weight. I suppose we starve ourselves being good all year and then let rip at Christmas putting the winter blues and Christmas as the blame. So what to do, last year I made chocolate lip balm which my daughter said her friend was trying to eat the other day because she could taste the chocolate, about to make more, then I have a request for chocolate foaming shower butter, I already make chcolate bath bombs so the next obvious thing is real cold press soap with chocolate - yes I am in the middle of making it as I write and I thought chocolate orange would be nice. So instead of spending £60-80 to put weight on you can spend £20 and get the luxury smell of chocolate, the relaxing, luxurious aroma of a foaming chocolate bath and NO weight gain. sounds good.

Updated web page

Updated web page with all the products including the Christmas wraps. Will put on in the next couple of weeks the Christmas hampers. Off to get some more as already have serval orders for the hampers.

Soap of the month

Soap of the month has to be pumpkin for October. Found the man at Slindon with all his pumpkins. I never knew there were so many different kinds, orange, red, blue, green. Am going to roast the seeds for the top of the soap and chop the flesh into the soap. Should turn out a lovely orange colour soap.

Christmas

Three months to Christmas, the down side is it is one month to the clocks changing, however this means halloween and bonfire night. Something to look forward to. Making soaps with halloween theme.

Soaps - folksy

Have listed more soaps and bath bombs onto folksy. Fun penguins for little ones bath times and strawwberries for the girls. Will be at Pulborough market this Saturday.

All soaped out

In two days have completed three large blocks of soap, numerous small soaps, four candles and dozens of bath bombs. Taking more orders everyday and swopping soaps for christmas presents. Making up Christmas baskets to sell at markets. Pulborough market on Saturday till 12 also the Harvest Day on the field. Don't miss us.

Fairies and marshmallows

I have just been making bath butter/shower cream and using Rose Geranium, the colour is pale pink and it looks like fluffy marshamallows and reminds me of fairies dancing in a container. Walking yesterday I came across a fairy ring of the red toadstalls off to take a picture today.

Molds

Am looking for animal and vehicle molds for Christmas for the kids.
Have lots of orders to get done and out in the next couple of days and things are gearing up for Christmas. Bought some lovely trug like baskets for soaps for Christmas and some jolly little bags with snowmen and santas on.

Soaps

Managed to find three moulds which are meant for candles but give gorgeous shaped flowers for my glycerine soaps, so will be making those for Christmas. Went to the florist wholesaler and they were putting out their Christmas goodies, fatal, found some lovely trug like felt baskets to put soaps and candles in for Christmas plus other goodies. Now need to make candles and soaps both matching in smells. Great fun, just finding the time. Had an order from a gentleman via his young lads they want some fun bath bombs in their Christmas stockings so looking at that.

Fairies

Rather than soaping which I need to be doing I am icing cakes.  Years since I have done it and I had forgotten what a nightmare.  The fairies on the cakes are great, the letters have been a nightmare to get cut out and then the icing I had forgotton that it has a mind of it's own.  Was advised to ice while frozen now panicking as they are sweating - we have 24 hours, I am sure I get three more from one of the big supermarkets.

Weddings

Delivered wedding favour soap which Bride was pleased with and made her a wedding cake out of soap as a present, it looked really good, white soap, white rose on top and surrounded by little silver balls.

Weekend over.

We had a very busy weekend, with Saturday being the nicer day and I was worried we would not have enought soaps but we did.  Need to make lots of soaps this week.  Off to deliver wedding favour soaps and am aiming to make the bride a small wedding cake in white soap.

Why?

Why does the clock turn so fast when you have so much to do and when you have so little it goes so slow?  Racing against time to get things ready for Amberley tomorrow, made royal icing and it was good with the chocolate, then made some with rose pink and it thinned it and it has not held the shape properly.  Always the way when busy.  Anyway they are drying in the sun at the moment and I am sure they will be great when dried.  Look on www.justbevangelicsoaps.co.uk to see the iced bath bombs.

BEER WHISKY

Just re-batching soap with beer. Busy doing labels and making bath bombs for the weekend. Chocolate bath bombs made, just making chocolate lip balm.

Polo

Just been to my first polo match, which was great until the rain and wind unleashed themselves.
Should have taken soap along for all those matcho guys to get the mud off with.  Years ago I had some real leather shoes and used saddle soap which they use, but not for washing.  Was thinking and decided to have a go at making coffee soap and more deep smelling for the men as most soaps are aimed towards the ladies.

Blogs/Folksy

My kids are computer whizz not me, I grew up before calculators, when we had adding machines.  If you wanted to talk you waited until after 6 or the weekend, if you had a phone if not you went armed with a hankie full of sinfectant to the local call box on the road.  I always got muddled about which button you pressed when they answered, cut my mum off often.  Now I am so excited, I chat to all sorts of people all over the world, and today some lovely person included me in her folksy blog and said how much she loved my ice cream soap - they look more like cup cakes now and sell so fast.  The iced bath bombs are catching on and for Christmas I have lovely Snowmen fabric to wrap them in and also snowmen soaps to make.  Wow I am excited about Christmas and it is still August.

Rain

Well I wanted rain for fresh water for the soaps and also for the chickens, but now I am thinking I will have to make wellie boots for the chickens.  I can't let the bantams out as the feathers around their feet get so wet and muddy, they definitely will need boots, then I will have to sit and knit woolly jumpers for the winter for them.  Next thing is perhaps chicken soap - wonder what they would like? 

Honey, lavender and goats milk.

Honey plus lavender plus goats milk, what a wonderful combination.  The honey is theraputic and healing on the skin, the lavender is relaxing and also good for the skin and goats milk is the nearest ph to our own skin and very good, make a lovely soap for those with sensitive skin.  This soap will be ready on the shop in two weeks time along with Patchouli and Basil, this has a lovely deep almost woody smell, but very senuous.

Soaps

Just made more dogs soap which has neem oil and is wonderful for coats and keeping lice, nits, ticks, fleas at bay.  Our animals have had no problems this year with any fleas, long may it continue.  Ask what my son would like and he said a citrus burst so just made a soap with sweet orange, lemongrass and grapefruit, smelt wonderful.

Pleated muffin cases

Anyone out there help, I am looking for the pleated souffle/muffin cases.  I can get brown or white but want other colours.  Also anyone know any good sites for christmas boxes, packaging in the uk.

Chocolate teasers.

Looking at real edible cup cakes gave me the idea for my soap cup cakes.
Round chocolate soap balls on top like malteasers, then drizzled with real chocolate, how
indulgent, sumptious and self indulgent without the weight problem.

Wet & Windy

Wet and windy it might have been yesterday but our gazeboo was the envy of most, it has buttons to push and it goes up automatically, so while we sat in the dry others were trying to work out wich plastic pole went where. We survived the rain, no bath bomb fizzed off and the gazeboo did not fly off. We had a good day and sold a lot of soap and bath bombs. As they had a doggy show the dog soap was a great hit.

Winter

Winter - Christmas, hate to remind everyone, however the weather is certainly leading us that way. The Weathermen say no Indian summer which will make the winter long, so, to help you get through the winter why not book a party. We will offer a hand and neck massage or you can have demonstration of icing bath bombs and you can have a go and take your bath bomb home with you. The hostess gets a gift and we will even bring a bottle of wine along with us. Sounds a real treat for a dark evening and a way to relax with friends after a long day. We are booking through September up to the end of November. We find the later dates go very quickly so please book early not to be dissaponted.

How to make Bath Bombs

I make and sell my bath bombs and the more original the better.
Bath bombs are simple to make, they just take citric acid, bicarbonate of soda and then you add colour, perfume/essential oil and mix very very well together. To get them to bind you spritz with witch hazel, slowly, mixing all the time until it is like damp sand, then put into your mould. If they start to bubble either the mix was to damp or the weather is damp, excess moisture in the atmosphere does affect them.
Then put somewhere warm to dry. If you wish you can then decorate them with Royal Icing as on my bath bombs.

Sunshine

The sun makes you feel so good, hopefully none of those black clouds will appear today. I want it to dry up for my day on Saturday in a field at Ashington under
a gazeboo, if it is still damp the soaps may react and the bath bombs could go off.
Off to make Rose and Honeysuckle soap today and if it stays dry more bath bombs.
Have a great day.

Soap Factory

Sat wrapping soaps and bath bombs, the kids said it looked like a soap factory.
All ready hopefully for the hundreds to buy the soaps on Sat.

Wonderful Smells

People often say the house smells lovely, this morning got up and could smell the Rose Geranium soap I had been packing last night.

The 24 bath bombs I iced last night add to the smell, they look like giant iced gems, great to watch them fizzing away in the bath. I don't thinks there is anything more relaxing than a hot bath and watching a bath bomb it really takes your mind off the day. Off to make six cold press soaps today as they are going out the door faster than I realised.

Weather

We have been spoilt nine weeks no rain now it will probably rain till next April.
I hate the fine rain that stays all day, the chickens huddle together protesting about having to stay in their run, my neighbour laughed when I put the large umbrella up for them, I now put the cover from the trampoline over them. Doris is over her broody time and now laying again, as the whole neighbourhood could hear this morning. Noisy or what!!! Our plum tree has kindly given us about three to four plums each year, this year it nearly fell over with the weight, I have made six pounds of plum jam there are five plum crumbles in the freezer and some already eaten, plus all the ones we gave away to friends. This weekend we are attending a carnival and if it is raining we won't be there, although soap goes with water, it does not go with rain.
The last outing we had where it had rained we were in a marquee but all the packaging was feeling damp and I did not dare pull the bath bombs out, people look at me strange when I say I can't put the bath bombs out, but can you imagine having two dozen bath bombs on a table all fizzing at the same time, early fireworks. Made six lavender and six dewberry yesterday, now have to make the icing to ice them before the weekend. Sat the evening wrappping two dozen soaps need to make some more this week.

Bath Bomb Cup Cakes

Just made lovely smelling cup cake bath bombs, complete luxury to watch it floating and fizzing in the bath as the smell wafts around you, allowing you to completely unwind and relax. Great fun to make will be putting these on folksy with my other ones.

Glourious smells

Well the utility room smells divine. Made bath bombs yesterday and as they dry they smell delicious. The top of them is a new to me but having a go. It is realing icing however you cannot eat it once on top of the cup cake bath bomb but they look sooooo divine. Wondered what it would be like in the bath - royal icing - great fun, it just melts away and of course the bath bomb softens the water and our skin and egg white has been known for years for putting on the face in a face pack so good for the skin. What a real luxury. Brides, not only can you have white icing cake, but you can have it in the bath as well. Going to try to do a manly one, why do they have to be left out?
The only thing that stops me is when the imagination runs dry, so if you have any ideas let me know and I will see what I can come up with. The two little chicks are great, bullied by the bigger ones but they actually manage to go between the bigs ones legs and grab some food, so they are catching on fast.

Bath Bombs

Bath bombs have been around for years, but now people are not interested in just a bath bomb, so we have been using the skills of our ice-cream soaps and making bath bomb cup cakes, they will be up in the shop shortly, but what an indulgence. I am looking forward to slipping into a hot bath with one of these and think of the weight loss, all those goodies and no fat content.

The chickens are behaving we had to put Doris into the naughty room or solitary confinement for a couple of days as she would not let anyone else into bed at night. Sorted now, she did not like being away from the others. Sitting in the garden today I heard a noise like a cat purring had a look and it was two of chickens dust bathing and positively coo-ing like purring, obviously happy hens.

Not a happy soaper!!!

When it comes to web pages a lot of us are in the hands of others, we pay out a lot of money to set it up with all toing and froing to make sure it is right and lets face it what we want is not always what we get. Then we trust to the people that it works and does it@s job. I have nearly missed a order for 50 soaps if it had not been that the person e.mailed me to ask about them and then tried to buy them on line and could not. Having had the web shop for several months I wonder how many others have had trouble and given up. You just wonder how we can make these people accountable, we are paying their bill each month but without knowing they are not keeping up their end of the bargain. What makes it worse is when they tell you how well they are doing and treating their staff to a day racing!!!!! Rant over, but I will let you know if I get compensation.

Shampoo Bar

Shampoo bar was an outstanding success, it travelled Malaysia and Thailand, it washed the hair, it washed the body and it washed the clothes. The neem, peppermint, nettle, cinnamon, cloves and rosemary have certainly reduced the bites from unacceptable insects. Neem helps with healing as well as skin problems.

Bats

Wondered what the dog and cat were looking at and saw a tiny bat trying to get into the shade. Resuced him and took him to the Bat hospital, if he recovers from a hole in his wing as they don't know if there is any infection they will release him back at the house in a weeks time. Keep your fingers crossed.

Washed the dog with dog soap he smells lovely, no ticks or fleas yet so obviously working. I put neem neat on the cats as they don't appreciate being washed.









Had a lovely order for wedding favours and we are doing hearts in cold press soaps wrapped in gingham to go with a wedding on a farm how great is that.

Mini Soaps

I was asked for wedding favours at a set price so I had great fun in making mini ice cream soaps the size of petit fours. They look so cute, great for the kids as not too big, made some more jelly and custard soap as the kids love that one, one told me it lasted her three months, not bad going for £2.00.

Soaps

Last sat sold out almost, it is great getting repeats who apprciate good soap.
The ice cream soap has been highlighted on Folksy as one to take away on holiday.
They have been great fun and sold loads of them. Just made nettle, lavender and kelp soap, at the moment the kelp and nettles have given it a strange green colour but as it cures over the next four weeks it will go lighter.