Soaps what else!!  Actually it has been a rollercoaster ride, as something good happens like a superb market on Sat, then they cancel the next big one.  Been working on new web site, looking good and thank goodness the girls are now lending a hand.  My neighbour went off at 4am the other day and the dogs let rip, so I did not go back to sleep.  I sat reading blogs and looking at other soapers.  Found it interesting that one who I know is growing and has been going a few years longer than me. mainly sells fragrance soaps.  I find it interesting that the web pages says about ethical palm oil, but what's ethical about sythetic chemical fragrances on your skin?  However with the escalating cost of essential oil there are more fragrance soaps creeping into my portfolio.  Funny also that those with sensitive skin are so paranoid that they don't believe that they can use anything on their skin that has not been tested and proved by the medical people.  However my eldest gave some neem soap to a colleague, who admitted they nearly did not try it, but they did and they were surprised that not only did it clear up their spotty skin it did not strip or dry out her skin.  So I will go on pushing the natural and telling the truth about the not so natural.  Having said that I made Peony soap, fragrance.  I made it and as I expected it traced very fast, however it did not look right.  I think that the speed of trace, plus the oils were slightly too warm led it to look as if it was separating, so I just prayed.  Today I unmolded it and it is superb, not quite the difference in the two pinks I wanted but a lovely smell.  So I have called it Pink Peony.  I love Peonies and for the first time in three years my tree peony is in flower and the smell is amazing.

TROPICANA BATH BOMB

My First Tropicana Shea Butter Bath Bomb.  I have been trying various different ones and made this last week, the topping is made with shea butter icing sugar sls for bubbles and of course lots of sparkle. Smells of mangos, oranges, strawberries.  Made six and sold them all.  Had a dreadful weekend mud and rain, followed by two markets that were brilliant,  I am sure because the sun was out everyone was pleased to be out without getting wet!

Tropicana

Mud and Rain

Have dried out and removed the mud from the weekend at Singleton.  All the soap very kindly went tacky as it was so so wet.  However proves they are not dried out with no moisture left in them. If that was the case they would not pick up the mositure.  Been today looking at Soapqueen.com and other web links from their web page.  Found some wonderful people with wonderful information.  I found when I was looking to start in this country there was just no info. 

Today been struggling with but found a good receipe for liquid soap for hair shampoo.  Made it with coconut oil, jojob and castor oil and it looks really good.  It calls for the hot soap method and uses potassium hydroxide not sodium hydroxide.  First time I used it frightened me as the sodium hydroxide mixes but the potassium actually sounds like mini fireworks going off as it crackles.  So left the soap paste to go cold and will on Friday add some water and leave it to turn into liquid from the paste.

The handcream receipe has turned out brilliant.   First outing on Saturday and have added Neem for extra healing.  One lady tried it as she has dreadful dry hands due to excema and sensitivities and told me she found neem wonderful.  She came back half an hour later and bought a jar, the next day she came back and bought another jar as her Mum had said her hands had lost ten years off them in an hour.  So will keep this one going, anything to help those with those problems.  My Husband when I met him had hands full of plasters over his splits and my son suffers, but his is linked to stress with his exams, but the hand cream is working for both of them.

Launch

Went to a launch party for a lady who has inspiring ideas of getting true artisans together to offer under one banner courses.  I am sure it will be very successful.  Had a lovely week soaping, made Rose Geranium, three different molds, one I swirled the second one I pured two together and the third I did the Faux Funnel pour and they look and smell fantastic.  If only the rain would stop and the sun would come out, I have six dustbins and one water butt full and now it is just flooding the garden.  I need wellies for the chickens, even their run which has a water proof roof is flooding.  Roll on Summer!!!!!

What a week

Well we are on Wednesday and as I said to my children I have spent two mornings in class.  Meaning I have been looking and reading.  Tuesday completed my first faux funnel pour soap, yes it looked great.  Was worried about the colours as my mauve is over a year old and has a mind of its own and blue goes any colour but, so must get new colours.  The new ones I have red and yellow are great and the yellow has held up, the orange has got a bit lost, so need to pour more of the orange next time, the mauve did it's own thing between deep mauve and blue, but overall it looks superb.  Will upload pictures soon.  Then today I cracked the bubble topping of my bath bombs.  I usually just ice them which looks good but have been searching how to make them with shea butter and found it on Soap Queen.com. so thanks for that.  Needed some adjusting but the basic receipe worked.  So fab, these will be uploaded soon.  So now we have two different fantastic bath bomb cup cakes.

Soaps

I feel I should make a soap called rain.  I have seen enough of it out of my window to last me till November, but still it will rain.  Spent yesterday arguing with hair shampoo. I enjoy the challenge of reading discovering and finding out for myself, but sometimes I think I will have to give in and go on a course, but when I have done that I find they go over everything you know and you come out not a lot wiser.  So back to the challenge of the making the hair shampoo.  Perhaps I should explain at this point that I have made the shampoo, my kids all use it and say it is great but I am a perfectionist and to me it is not quite right and that is the bit I am trying to sort out, maybe I should stop and remember that what you buy commercially is actually not runny soap but chemically inhanced, somewhere in the begining soap was involved, but the final article if the chemicals where stripped away it would be hard to find the soap.

Inspiring

Following the Soapworks Challenge, today was posted six new weeks, one I was unsure of so I found a video on you tube and was blown away, now I can't wait to make the Faux Funnel Pour Soap.  I watched www.iamhandmade.com, loved the banter between them and the great soaps she makes.  Well inspired to begin a new week with new ideas.

Soap challenge week four

I joined the soap challenge and it has been interesting looking at other soapers and how they do their soaps.  The last challenge was beer soap and I love the ones who did it with other alcoholic beverages.  My beer was a different one to previous I used Porter beer from Hammerpot Brewery in Littlehampton a local brewery to where I live.  I like to use local ingredients where possible.  They make their beer with chocolate and coffee and I continued this theme and the soap smells - well I would have thought - a mans dream, beer, chocolate and coffee.  Made in plastic drinking cups it has the shape of a cup, it also has betonite clay and can be used either and/or washing / shaving.  The soaps is very gentle, smooth and the betonite clay I am told aids with the shave, being female I don't know.  Any men who wish to try and give me feedback let me know.
 www.greatcakessoapworks.com

April

I am hoping as the season for outside events begins that the weather will warm up and the sun will shine, it makes everything look so much better.  I have been following a particular Amercian blog and enjoyed reading hers and also her soap challenges.  I think it is really good to meet people, like the Laday I met yesterday and realise how far you yourself have come.  I have been soaping for three years now and love it.  The house work went to pot a long time a go and having just visited a relation whoose house is spotless , (I used to worry about my own)  but think that I would rather be thoroughly enjoying and being totally absorped in my business than doing the house work (i'll get around to it). I enjoy looking at other peoples soaps and talking to people who are just begining and helping them as when I began I rarely met anyone who made or sold soaps.  I still rarely meet anyone who actually makes all their own soaps like I do.  Having said that, why do poeple have to say they are handmade giving the impression that they made them, when they know they bought them in?  Anyway I have some big fairs in May and the May Chang and Lavender is looking great, white with a mauve top, the Rose and Patchouli, now my favourite looks great and I am really pleased with the new Rose geranium and it's pretty flowers.  The cup cakes are looking good and yesterday the reacation that people cannot believe that they are not real edible cup cakes is so inspiring.  Wow it is so great to do a job that you love.

March

What wonderful weather we are having, the soaps are drying beautifully and love this warm weather as much as me.  March has been full on creating, we have strawberry gateaux with strawberries inside, strawberry cheesecake (admission I forgot the strawbs inside) but it looks and smells great, black forest gateaux. I was worrying about how to do the gateaux, with the edible one you have the chocolate and cherries, so I put cherry smell into the red soap, I love the smell of the cherry blossom we have, then I grated dark chocolate and added chocolate fragrance to the other soap  poured them together over the setting white top and it has turned out brilliant.  We have white soap on the top looking like cream, with red cherries on top, the red and chocolate mingling in the middle and then white cream near bottom.  The Soapworks of America had a challenge and I have swirled soap before but never more than two or three colours, so I did four colours.  It is amazing however I am extremely critical on myself and feel that the mauve is a bit to overpowering, having said that when I made a dark mauve soap before and I thought it was horrid it ran out the door and I had to make more. If I lived in an ideal world I would spend all day making soap.  Today I made three Rose Geranium - one with flowers, one plain, and one with rose petals.

Blogs

I often read other Soap peoples blogs I find it interesting that sometimes, whilst their soaps look amazing they have problems to.  Been onto the Amercian site of Great Soapworks which was good to look at and made me think so have set my daughter and her boyfriend the challenge of making a video of how to make our bath bombs, will see what they come up with.  Just finished icing 150 ready for the next couple of shows.

 Mamouth soaping day - completed lots of soaps yesterday.  Baby soap, Lemongrass and Ginger, Patchouli and Orange, Strawberry gateaux and twelve cup cakes.  They will just be ready for Easter but also for May bank holiday when we are at the Food and South Downs Fair in West Sussex.

 All with lots of sparkle to please us girls.

Lambs

Nothing to do with soap, well they could be if they wanted to use the dog soap, would be really good for their coats.   I went  walking with the dogs and it was so lovely to see the lambs in the field running around.  The week has been busy, met a lovely lady called Claire who works for Womens Wisdom and she has put me in touch with someone who may be able to help me with my packaging and printing allowing me the much needed time to make more soap, which then brings me onto needing somewhere to move to as home is getting too small or should I say I am taking over too much.  The web page is finished all but one picture and I am wating for the sun to shine again to get that one.  I also spent Friday learning about "Google" which adds to my knowledge gained while re-vamping my web site so if I keep going I will be able to change jobs to a computer person, no never, love making the soaps to much for that.  There is a special offer on the web site, not telling you, you have to look but it is a freebie!!

Acne

I have read over the last two weeks two separate cases regarding Acne.  One person said the first thing on their mind in the morning as they awoke was how bad their skin was.  Another person it seems was taking medication which inturn caused severe depression leading to the person taking their life which is extremely sad.  I make neem soap, I made it first for my son who at fifteen was really spotty, not dreadful acne, but realy spotty teen syndrome.  I have continue to make and sell lots of this soap and I get comments back like "I did not think it was working until I ran out".  "Did not think my son was using the soap so put it away, noticed his spots were getting worse and he said it was because I had taken his soap away".  Another Lady emailed me and said that she had a problem with her hands which no Doctors prescription had solved but the neem soap did.  So if you read this and you have a problem with your skin why not give it a try, it will only cost you £3.50 and if it does not work for you then you have at least tried.
http://www.justbevangelicsoaps.co.uk/

PICTURES

It has been a busy few weeks with making more soaps, hand creams, baby bottom creams and then spending two days as a person who is not IT trained, not of that age I grew up with computers, I have re-done my web page.  I am so proud as an "oldy" (above the age of 21) to have done this, the girls then tweeked a few pieces for me, whilst one of the boyfriends laughed at the way I went about finding things on the computer, well I find them so it must be ok.  Please do look at what we have added, all made by me and no nasties in any of them.