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Oh My Goodness - It's been awhile!

Hello Friends - Long time no see!  Life sure has a funny way of keeping us guessing, doesn't it?  My soaping has really taken a backseat to life in general, but I'm ready to start dipping my toes back in again.  Now that my husband and I finally have our house fully to ourselves, I've been able to devote an entire finished room in our basement for my soaping area.  It's not fancy, but it's a big space and it's ALL MINE!  I can't even describe how excited this makes me, but there's no need - you get it!   Since the first of this year, I've been struggling with my health; eventually anything beyond the daily basics had started to seem way too overwhelming to tackle.  We'd adopted a young shelter dog just before Christmas -  (Rhett Butler - yes... Rhett Butler! ) but despite how much I loved him, it became too much for me to walk and play with him every day like he needed.  Rhett was blessed, as were we, to go to another family with two young
Recent posts

Bubble Party!

Hey All -  I want to share some pictures of the beautiful bridal shower my sister and I put on for my niece last weekend.  I've had the opportunity to make bridal gifts the past few years for my daughter's bridal showers, but "The Bubble Party" was a brilliant idea - courtesy of our bride, Lauren.  She asked me if it was possible to do a "create your own" bath boutique for her bridal shower.  YES!.. And it turned out to be such fun! Her idea was to have a hands on fragrance bar where her guests could create a personal gift for the bride, as well as something to take home for themselves.  I made three batches of CP soap and Lauren chose to make bath salts, sugar scrubs and body butter, with an assortment of fragrance and essential oil choices. We rounded out the theme with sparkling wines and adorable "bubbly" decorations! This was a party for all ages - both my grand mother and my grand daughter were each able to make something lovely.

Personal Renewal

 Hello All - Again, it's been awhile since I've posted, huh?  My life has taken some unexpected turns since January, that's for sure.  I believe in divine intervention, and I experienced one of those times in life that try your spirit. In January I made a job change that I believed would be a great opportunity.  Guess what? I could not have been more wrong ,  Within a few weeks, I knew I'd made a big mistake without a backup plan in sight.  In addition to the financial wake up call I was facing, my self confidence and gumption took a major hit. Although I had to give up my farmer's market gig, I refused to deny myself the physical pleasure and mental escape making soap provides me. It took me some time to believe something better was on the horizon, but it was and I'm so grateful!  I had been focused on money, but for me the true reward I've received has been the people.  What a difference it makes to be surrounded by positive, supportive co-workers in

Vegan Readers - Beware....You should skip this one!

            Using Rendered Fats - 2016 In giving thought to reducing the amount of palm oil in my soaps, I've been considering experimenting with lard.  I will admit, yes, my very first thought was "I don't know...kinda gross!"   But I've had some good conversations with other soapmakers in recent months who have had super success with using both lard and tallow.  Some, like friend and colleague Amy Warden of Great Cakes Soapworks  are making the switch to rendered fats exclusively.  While I'm not ready for such an undertaking, I've been curious enough to give it a try.   I spent a day researching and playing around with Soap Calc and came up with a recipe using these percentages:     30% Olive Oil     25% Coconut Oil     20% Lard     15% Rice Bran Oil       6% Castor Oil       4% Palm Kernel flakes (ok..I was still worried they would be too soft without a little palm :) I used a 30% lye concentration and added 1 TBSP goat's mi

What a year!

Goodness - November and December have just flown by for me this year!  As you can see, I am literally out of soap!!  I usually take a soap making hiatus in January to recharge, take stock of my inventory and get the creative juices flowing again after the busy holiday season. I've enjoyed the heck out of my farmer's market and sales events this year, and have a few changes in store.......  I love hearing from all of you so keep in touch - Please follow my blog and Facebook page for updates in the coming months!  I'm sure to be back at it again in a few weeks - or less :) Wishing all of my friends the Very Best in 2016 in all that you do!

Christmas Cuts

Just thought I'd share the photos of my cut Christmas Soaps.  They turned out well and smell super!  I hope I sell them all tomorrow ! Happy Friday  Everyone  :)

Sharing some Blue KC love

So, this is what our little community looked like on Sunday night before the World Series finale.   And here we are today, gathered to welcome home and celebrate our Champion KC Royals team! I wanted to share a tiny bit of the contagious energy that's in the air today.   There is no doubt that this city is pumped!!!