My Adventure With Soap

Panning For Gold.... OR..... Fixing a 6 year olds mistake with a 4-Wheeler

2009-10-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

My 6 yr old recieved a four wheeler from his grandma. It was a great gift and he loves it. The mistake we made with it was not putting him through a more thourogh training before letting him have a go at it. This caused my soap making weekend to be a hole digging weekend.

Christopher ran into the outside faucet with the four wheeler. It seems that 6 year olds only know how to keep the trottle down and do not understand the concept of braking. We have now fixed this issue but to the detriment of our faucet and backs. I have to say Riley did a bulk of the digging and getting down in the mud.

Good News is the Faucet is fixed, and the 6 yr old now knows how to control his speed and braking. Hopefully I will soon be able to post on my new soaps I plan on having at the upcoming Dia De Las Muertas show in Bernallio.

2009-10-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

Oh it is the busy time of the season isn't it. I barley have time to breathe. Between making soap, festivals, work, and my little mans activities I barley know what I am doing. I am not near as organized as other soapers. I have a bad habit of not planning my soaps. I tend to make what ever comes to mind at the time not thinking about what holidays and scents are coming up. I am trying to turn a new leaf but it is taking me time to get out of my bad habits.

Below are some of my new soaps.

Monkey Farts smells like fresh bananas and juicy grapefruit, middle notes of kiwi, juicy bubblegum, and strawberries; and a hint of vanilla.

Butt Naked smells of granny smith apples and honeydew melon, middle notes of strawberries and pears, with hints of spice.

Jack O'Lantern Pie is a wonderful pumpkin cheesecake kind of smell.

Over The hill and Through the Woods smells of a combination of apples, oak, balsam, fir, and pine, with a background of cinnamon and clove. ( This is the last pictures)

I also have been busy trying to recycle different components. We have a ton of used keyboards (we also refurbish computers) and so Christopher (Up until he caught a cold lets hope its not the flu) has been busily pulling off the keys and removing the screws. We have some ideas on how to reuse the keys and the screws always can com in handy. I am going to let this be mainly his project and so what ever recycled art he makes and sells will go toward his piggy bank. He thinks this could be a good way to save some extra dough for his 7th birthday at Disney Land.

I am not sure how many keys he got off before I realized he was running a fever but he filled that box up. SO he is thinking magnets and jewelry, but he is open to suggestions. If anybody has any ideas how we could reuse the keys let us know.

I love coloring with Cocoa

2009-09-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Heather and Hyacinth

I have decided my favorite colorant is simply Cocoa. It always gives me such a nice chocolate brown to my soaps. It doesn't matter if I have added titanium dioxide or used a fragrance that discolors. I can always count on my Cocoa. It also seems that whatever other color I use it is always complemented with the brown the Cocoa creates. Plus Chocolate is great for your skin. Above is an example of coloring with Cocoa. This is one of my new soaps that I created for The Vintage Cowgirl.

Below are some more of my new soaps.

APPLE JACK PEEL

LAVENDER ESSENTIALS

Today I am going to make 6 lbs of Non-scented and Non-Colored soap. I know I know not very exciting but I have several customers who have such sensitive skin that any Fragrance oils and Essential oils or colorants really effect their skin. I actually love this soap though. I use Lots of Shea and Cocoa butter which leaves the soap with a slight nutty scent. Its very creamy and bubbly that you really don't miss all the other.

Some New Creations and some old complaints

2009-09-15T04:05:00.000-07:00

I have been busily been working on a new customers order and have of course been neglecting my blogging again. I really need more time in a day and it would help if I was oh say 25 and full of energy. I recently turned the big 4-0. Isn't it funny how any age with a zero at the end seems major. Or is that just me. I had a hard time turning twenty and thirty and now forty. I know, I know how could I have a hard time turning twenty. It was a kind of "Oh no I am not a teenager anymore and now I have to responsibility and still I can't go to the bar." Although I already was going to the bars. I think it was a more of the I have to take responsibility now. No more oh it's cause I am a TEENager. Thirty was hard because I remember my mom being Thirty and thinking that was old. Also twenty all of a sudden seemed so young and free. So I guess the years ending with a zero feel like turning points really.

I have also turned into one of those moms. You know, the kind that has their child into everything. I had Chris going to Chess, Soccer, and Gymnastics. Well I had to let him let go of chess (He wasn't that into it). The Chess coach said he was really getting it and would be able to do the tournament this year, but Chris really didn't care for it. Just as well he really needs to have some cool down time between activities and School.

I really have been busy creating some new soaps for a really cute store in Albuquerque. Vintage Cowgirl is the name of the Store and Joann the owner is such a fantastic person. I have created 6 different soaps that will be carried on a regular basis in her store. I am also working on creating a Vintage Cowgirl Soap. Below are a couple of the soaps.

LEMON VERBENA

GINGER PEAR

LICK ME ALL OVER

Her Store will also carry Lavender, Heather & Hyacinth, and Apple Jack Peal. After this weekend I will post more on her store. She is located in Old Town at

328 San Felipe St NW Ste H
Albuquerque, NM 87104.

Also I created a new bar called the Snazey Caffeinated Salt Bar. This is named after one of my customers that suggested it. It is a combination of a Concentrated Coffee brew and Grounds, Utah Red Sea Salt, and a load of Shea butter and Coconut oil. My Customer loved my original Utah Red Sea Salt Bar and thought it would be interesting to add coffee. Not only is coffee a great deoderizer but some people contende it helps reduce the apperance of celulite.

I added in a little Cocoa powder and some Chocolate Fragrance oil to give it a little of that Mocha Coffee scent. I have tried it in the shower and I must say I am a little addicted. It is scrubby, but I like it scrubby, and I love the soft scent.

OK now for an old complaint. My last post described a lesson I had learned from a fellow Etsian and Soapper. Well I recently ordered two soap from fellow soapers on Etsy and loved both soaps. My problem is I was promt in payment and giving feedback and glowing feedbackat that, but one of the fellow soapers has yet to give me feedback and does not respond to my convo's. Not that I really need the feedback but I see that this shop gives feed back all the time. I also have found out that the Soaper who admonished me for not being more freindly in my emails with her and done this to other soapers and has gone as far as threatning to give bad reviews. So my question is, is the soaper community becoming one or those communitys with jelousy and hurtful. The one thing I have always loved about the Soaper community is that we have always been supportive and helpful. Well I will now be a little more careful, but I will not give into envy. I love seeing others soapers work it helps me to be inspired and want to push the limits.

Valuble Lesson in Etiquette Today.

2009-08-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today I learned a valuable lesson in Etiquette. I lost a sale from a fellow Etsyan ( Is that a word). I was scolded for my lack of friendliness during a conversation through Etsy. The person decided that I was so unfriendly that she would rather buy from someone else. Ouch such a hard pill to swallow. I looked back at the email exchanged and did see where I wasn't exactly friendly. I don't believe I was Rude but I wasn't friendly either.

Below is the exchange (minus Names):

(Fellow Etsian)
Hello and greetings from XX. I don't recall ever seeing Shea butter priced so low and I want to know if I purchase tonight when will you ship it out? No worries because I always pay immediately...I am thinking of 1-2 lbs...........thanks

(Me)

Yes That will be no problem also I ship Priority

(Fellow Etsian)

Ok, but once you receive payment how long does it take you to ship out if i paid tonite?

(Me)

If you paid today I will ship tomorrow.

(Fellow Etsian)

I decided to go with another Etsy seller because you don't seem friendly at all. You never included any sort of greeting, didn't say your name and most of all you never bothered to thank me for stopping by...I consider all these factors before buying on or offline.Sorry

So you see here folks it is not enough to have a good product or good prices but you also have to have good customer service skill also. Looking back at this exchange I wanted to think that the person was being unreasonable, but really is it too much to ask to be treated well and feel that the shop is grateful for your business or even the least bit happy that you stopped by. I did not show that in any of my exchanges.

I know my reasoning for the quick responses. I was getting a large order finalized, finishing cleaning up for company and preparing my sons school supplies for first grade. So when I answered the email I wrote quick responses and sent them off. Looking back now I realize that I could have taken a couple of minutes (At most 2 min) and wrote a nice appreciative response.

Lesson learned I will now be more open and friendly thank you Fellow Etsian for a valuble lesson.

Soap, Sewing and Fabulous Christopher Pics

2009-07-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my new soap along with my ever so busy wine soap. The winery that I have keeps me on my toes and they are my bread and butter. They allow me to continue to create other soaps and body products.

Below you will see my white Zinfandel. MMMM it is such a nice smell. Strawberries, rose petals, red raspberries really round out this wine, mmm Soap.

Below is a slice of cinnamon and chocolate that will tickle your senses. I love marble cake don't you. But this isn't to eat but to have a wonderful Shea butter soap rich shower.

Here is one of my bread and butter soaps. Black Mesa Winery's Black beauty soap.
With a generous helping of Shea and wine you can't go wrong and as their web site states "A little chocolate. A little sweetness. A little naughty – could lead to dancing!" This is a chocolate flavored wine that lends itself perfectly to soap. Wine is an antioxidant for the skin also and retains that quality in the soap.

I guess lately I have been feeling inspired on the sewing machine. The last show I did was the Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). To go along with the theme I made several white skull soaps and some Hemp oil melt and pour soaps. I left some unpainted and hand painted several others with soap paint that I ordered from PJ's Soaps. Unfortunately I really don't have any real good pics of those but here are the few that I did take. Most of these following pics I took with my cell phone which doesn't take the best pics.

Below is Christopher after working a deal with the face painting lady. Of course he traded soaps and lip balm for it. He so loves to be cool.

He is also a a great model for my items I sewed and since he loves to pose its actually fun for this guy. I love sewing Bags and they usually go over well at the craft fairs and what not. I have fallen in love with what i call a sling bag. It is similar to a back pack but only has one strap. Below is the latest that I finished.

One the strap I put a pocket that would be great for most sell phones or even an MP3 player.

On the front there is a pocket and then the bag actually opens up on the side with a zipper.

Inside is a small pocket but other wise its all wide open space.

My son seen a pattern for a Do-Rag (Or head Rap and he had to have it) He picked out the material and everything. Now he wants some shorts and a tank top. Isn't he a great model.

Published My first Knol

2009-07-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

http://knol.google.com/k/sha-marie-reid/making-natural-soap-and-its-history/32fkb2hqn5ywk/2#

Please take a look and comment. If you find areas where I need to make corrections please let me know.

New Creations - Don't Take Me for Granite and Rosy's Orange Crush

2009-07-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

Rosy's Orange Crush is as creamy as it gets. 50% Shea Butter and rose water make one fabulous bar of soap. The top has dried rose petals embedded for the extra touch.

The scent is of rose with earthy undertones. Not overly sweet but fragrant such as a freshly cut roses right after a rain.

The next soap is also very lovely, also made with Shea butter and coconut oil with soap is masculine soap but gentle enough for a woman. This Drakkar type scent is a sharp, spicy, lavender, amber fragrance. This masculine scent possesses a blend of lavender, citrus, spicy berries and sandalwood.

Perfect for either a man or a woman. It is really like the slipping into my husbands tee shirt and snuggling up on a rainy day.

Whipped Soap Finaly

2009-07-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Here I put on my trusty whipping attachment and whipped that color and the fragrance in. The soap at this point is to thick for the blender attachment.

Here the soap after whipping it a little more I determined that I should cook just a little more before adding the Glycerin.

Here is what it looked like after adding glycerin to it and about an ounce of stearic acid

After this has been thoroughly whipped in let the soap cure in a closed container for 24 hrs ( I actually think its better after 48 hrs).

Now you take a little at a time (I found trying to do to much at one time is a big mistake. Slowly add a little Glycerin to the soap as your whipping. You don't want to add to much because it will all collapse on you later. You want a stiff consistency more like uncooked meringue. Any thing less stiff and it will later collapse and separate.

Ta Dah all done.

2nd Edition on the Whipped Soap

2009-07-02T05:50:00.000-07:00

Here is more on the Whipped cream soap. This stuff goes through many transformations during the cooking stage. I may have forgotten to tell you that the entire time I have my crock pot on low and through our the cooking stage I stir the soap with my hand blender. Once the soap has gone from its separation stage it gets to a thick applesauce phase. I tried very hard to take clear pics so that you could see each phase.

It is important that you keep an eye on your soap through this phase I would continue to stir every couple of minutes.

Once you see this the soap will cook for a couple more minutes before it goes through the "I am going to puff up triple my size" phase.

During this puffy phase you need to continuously stir it down. I had the first batch go over the crock pot. This is one reason that you only want the oils to fill 1/3 you crock pot ( So for my recipe you need a rather large crock pot, I suppose you could also use the double broiler method also).

Once it has finished the Puffy phase and calms down it goes into a gel phase. I still cook this about another 30 minutes before emptying into a Tupperware container for curing. Below you will see on this batch I added the coloring and fragrance at this point. You can wait until after the curing phase and that way you can scent and color smaller batches. I will post the rest in a couple of days. See ya then.

Been so busy. Having fun and loving my new whipped soap

2009-05-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here is my whipped soap recipe.

Shea butter 5 oz
Olive Oil 3.2 oz
canola oil 3.2 oz
coconut (76 deg) 15 oz
Stearic acid 10 oz

stearic acid 2 oz after it sets

Sodium Hydroxide	1.63 oz

Potassium Hydroxide	5.34 oz
Total Water	41.93
Glycerin	2.28 Oz

The one thing I learned through my experimentation with making the whipped soap is that the stearic acid is very important if you want to have fluffy whipped soap. The other important thing I learned is patience. What seems to be too thick of a soap later will soften up and be way to runny. Do not add to much water and let the soap set for 24 hours before trying to whip (Actually 48 hours is better).

I used a crock pot for this but I suppose a double boiler could also work. Also this soap foams up to over double its size at one point so make sure you crock pot or boiler has the room. I melt my oils on high in the crock pot. This soap is made hot and actually seems to turn out better if the lye is poured in at around 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

At this point I turn my heat to low and pour the lye mixture in.

During this initial stage there are many things that happen. It immediately reacts and starts to thicken. It then turns into something that resembles apple sauce. Of course though most of this I use my trusty stick blender. Soapers best friend.

There will be more to Follow.

I also must apologize for not getting to this sooner it seems I have put the blog on the back burner but I really hope that I can get back to posting on a regular schedule again. I do promise to post more on the whipped soap by Wednesday.

Working on a Recipe for whipped soap

2009-05-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

I have been working diligently on a recipe for whipped soap that is stable. I whipped some not long ago if you remember (Scented with apple jack). Well, that batch did not stay whipped. So I have been working with the formulation and searching the Internet for clues. I think I finally have the answer but a few thing happened that have made me scratch my head and go Hmmm.

I plan on following this up and sharing with everyone once I know that my whipped concoction will stay after adding fragrance.

In the mean time enjoy The Chris G Show.

Patchouli Tattoo Soap

2009-04-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

I was never a big fan of Patchouli, but a one of Christopher's best friends mom loves patchouli so I had to try it out. The smell is light but un-mistakenly Patchouli. I actually have decided that I like the smell now. It has a very earthy smell, not perfumery at all.

The Chris G Show and Whipped Soap

2009-04-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

Well its official my house is messy. We decided to install wood floors and I can't tell you how disorganized that made my already disorganized house. I have been able to get some soap made. I made some whipped soap and so far so good. I have tried it in the shower and I must say with just a little tiny dip with your bath poof and it is suds galore. I am not putting it up for sell yet I want to see if it holds in the whipped form. I will be making some cream soap soon which is very simular to the whipped (Just not whipped).

The Cream and whipped cream soap I do in a crock-pot. They both use Potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide for the saponification process. After it comes to trace you actually cook it longer.

After cooking it for several hours its ready to whip. I use my kitchen Aid for this.

This batch is scented with Apple Jack and so far is very creamy and fluffy.

Christopher posted another web show in honor of Easter. Forgive me this was when we were putting in wood floors so the house is messy and the video editing once again is not great. Christopher forgave me, but he did say that I would need to improve.

Making More Cupcakes and Boxes for them

2009-04-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am selling what cupcakes I made and need to make more. I also have made some really cute cupcake boxes for them. These have already been sold by special request but I was really happy with how the boxes turned out. THANK YOU CRICUT. I love my new toy and it has been making my life easier in making tags, cards, and Cupcake boxes. I love the window feature. I used a cupcake design and then glued printed velum for the window.

Soaping Agian. Its Good to be back in the Saddle

2009-03-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

CLICK ON ALL PICTURES TO GET A BETTER VIEW

I Was busy of this last week. I also was inspired by Bramble Berry's Cup cake Frositing. I always make CP soap cupcakes for all my craft fairs and festivals. They attract a lot of attention and help produce sells mainly because people will want to ask questions which leads to me being able to show them other items. I decided to use the Bubble bath frosting to top them off this time instead of whipped CP soap. I really like how they look. So now I can sell a 2 for 1 Soap on the bottom and Bubble bath on the top. LOVE IT. Thanks to Anne-Marie and her hard working crew. The CP bottom is scented with 7up pound cake and the bubble bath is Carrot Cake. I will most likely make some bombs and regular Cup cake soaps.

I also make a Bunt Cake CP soap. I did cheat and use melt and pour for the icing. This is scented with yellow cake, cinnamon bun and a little almond. I used cocoa in the Melt and pour for color.

Spring Soap Bars Cut

2009-03-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the new soap logs have been cut and I am not to disappointed although I had higher hopes for the Easter Lavender Bars. I really thought I would hate the Lemon Verbena but I have grown to like it. The Citrus Rock Garden bars are wonderful. They smell green with a hint of citrus. Very soothing yet eye opening. I am not sure how I am going to like the salt in them yet. A friend of mine purchased some Utah Red Salt and asked me to make him some salt bars. The Salt is supposed to have 50 trace minerals in it so I guess it would be like soaking in a mineral bath just in your shower.

Easter Lavender

Lemon Verbena

Citrus Rock Garden

Soap and More Adventures

2009-03-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

I have really been busy. Really to busy to even to make soap. It really has been awhile since I was able to make soap other than Wine Soap. I really need to batch up on the wine soap also. We been wanting to be outside more than inside. We borrowed my folks Truck and have done quite a bit of cleaning up around the house and took our junk (somebodies new Treasure) to the flea market. What we didn't sell there we donated to Goodwill. My son made quite a bit off his old toys so he purchased himself a nice inexpensive digital camera

have been enjoying the spring type weather and I must admit I have

Wow he's pretty good with it for only being 6. Maybe I will have him start taking photos of my soap. He took a picture of this tree which I thought (I am Biased) was quite good.

Here is a tree I found interesting.

I think we all have been bit by the Camera bug. Riley, Chris and I all love going on excursions and just photographing whatever catches our eye. Chris will even set up toys and then photograph them.

We also have been gearing up for Tee Ball now that Basketball is over. Here are my two guys practicing. As you can see Chris is needing a little help. He is tending to hit the tee more than the ball.

So in step Riley.

Well as you can see the stance is good but the ball didn't go far.

I did manage to make 3 logs of soap this last weekend. The first is a Soap loaded with Utah Red Salt that a friend requested. The other is my attempt at making a gloppy top. Hmmm not sure but with the Lavender essential oil and rosemary I think it will still be a keeper. I also made a lemon Verbena batch but it set up quickly so it is not exactly how I was imagining it. I think the lavender and the lemon logs will redeem themselves once they are cut. The Salt Soap is 70% Coconut Oil and 20% shea and 10% olive oil. The others all have Coconut, Palm, Olive Oil, Sweet Almond, Shea, conola, and Grapeseed oil.

I'm Back and ready to Post agian.

2009-02-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

I really had to take so time out. I also did not want my blog to become about my sadness with the puppies. To up date you both Maddie and Cody did not make it. For them the end was quite quick but for me and especially my 5 year old (Now Six, he had a birthday) it was very long and sad. The Vet said that we really need to wait over a year or more before we bring in another dog. The Parvo can live for a very long time in the ground. We took the puppies and Buried them in the country under a wonderful pinon tree. My son thought the place was nice and that they would like it there.

I really had a hard time with it and now I am trying to focus on all the wonderful healthy animals we do have. I thought it would be nice to introduce some of them to you.

This is Buster. He is a great friend with more love for his family than any other dog. He is very well behaved (except when he digs out of the yard to vist the girl down the road, which resulted in a large vet bill). He is getting old (over 12) and has hip problems but still loves to chase the Nitro Car. I don't know what we would ever do with out him. He is very protective over Christopher and always makes us feel safe and loved.

We also have Chickens Ducks and Geese. The Geese are cry babies and complainers. They love to throw dirt in to fresh water. I don't think that they could stand to see fresh clean water and not throw dirt in it. When we allow all the animals out the first thing the geese do is run around from pen to pen and trow dirt in all the watering troughs for the other animals. The other funny thing about them is I always now when my guy gets home because they immediately start honking up a storm. The ducks just follow the geese every where.

The Chickens are funny also. When let out they immediately run to busters kennel to see if there is any dog food. They will then immediately eat any food that he has left. Funny thing is that Buster will run to there cage to see if there are any scraps of leftovers they they did not eat. (The chickens get most our table scrapes). We have one red hen that came from my families ranch. She is a tad ornery. If a bird lands in the yard she will chase it tell it leaves and she basically is the boss of all the other chickens. The rooster before he got to the size he is used to run from her. She is my sons hen.

Also I have this really great 6 yr old who has his own web show now. He is very into iCarly and so he wanted to do his own web show. He wrote directed and starred in it. I did the filming. I really need work at filming and editing but I thought it was a great attempt for his first web show.

Update on Maddie

2009-02-05T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well I thought it would be good news for Maddie but looks like she does have Parvo. Once I got to the Vet I found that they hadn't tested her just the Poo. I asked them to please test her and sure enough my suspicions were proven true. So tonight we are disinfecting. We have to spray bleach around the property and wipe everything that Cody can come in contact with with bleach. Seems that Bleach is the only thing that kill Parvo. Right now Cody seems healthy but the vet states that she may just not be showing signs. The only help for Maddie is to remain on IV and Antibiotics and cross your fingers. I am not sure how long we can afford her care since it gets quite expensive and she could need this for several weeks and even then she might not make it.

Well I probably won't post on this agian at least for a while I don't won't the blog to take on a depressing nature.

Maddie

2009-02-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

Well I've dropped Maddie off at the Vet along with alot of Poo. I hope it turns out to be nothing but I will Update this post with the information.

I think I might Cry

2009-02-05T05:20:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post but I need to do this to kinda of get it off my chest. Maddie is Sick I am taking her to the vet today but she is acting just like the other puppy that we adopted. I am so scarred. If it is so then I will not be able to ever adopt another pup from the shelter. I just can't take it. I took her and Cody to the shelter on Tuesday for there next round of immunization and ever since that Maddie has not acted well. Having these puppies be so happy and healthy for so long I am just beside myself that they may now becoming ill. My guy and I have already decided that there is no way we can spend as much on these little guys if they are sick as we did on the last puppy. We spent close to a thousand on the last puppy and with Parvo its just really difficult to save them.

Well send Maddie and Cody your prayers.

Our New adopted Girls (Puppies)

2009-02-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

This is Oso the day we adopted her. We were at a craft fair and the humane society was having a adopt a thon. She died less than a month after we adopted her.

I am dedicating this to my new girls. We have been wanting to adopt a new pup for a while now. We did adopt a little girl last year and it was heart breaking. We named her Oso (Bear in spanish) since she looked so much like a little bear. She was a sweet little girl but unfortunately she had Parvo when we adopted her (Unknown to us or even to probably the shelter). We took her to the vet with in a couple of days because she was becoming lethargic. Sure enough she had parvo we spent a hugh amount on her to try to save her but it wasn't ment to be. My son was the smart one in the whole ordeal. He said at least she knew what it was to be loved. It took us all a while to get the courage to adopt agian but once we got the courage boy did we adopt. We now have two little girls. They are healthy and happy and completly torment the old man (Our other dog buster). Cody is a sweet cuddly girl who will lick you all over and just loves to cuddle (My son really likes this). She is a Australian Shepard mix with short little stubby legs (Looks like basset hound legs). The other little girl is Maddie (Named by my son cause she was mad at cody). She has got attitude. When she first met Buster she barked and growled. She tried to show him who was boss by putting her front legs up on him and growling. He just looked at her and then at me like what she's kidding right. She is a German Shepard mix. Well they are a handful and I didn't realize how much more poo there would be but there are no regrets. each is loved and even though they torment Buster (think he's around 12to 14) he seems to like the company (Sometimes).

Unique Gift box

2009-01-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

I decided to make another fabric gift box. I will be putting this one on Etsy. It is filled with 9 wonderful, extremely moisturizing Shea and cocoa butter bath melts. Very yummy. Each melt is at least 1.2 Oz. That is more than enough for one bath. I found this fabric and fell in love with it. It is definitely not your average fabric for Valentines day. I will be adding another unique fabric box sometime this week. I am not sure what I will fill this one with as of yet.

.

Valentines Gift Box

2009-01-13T19:02:00.001-08:00

Oh how I had been waiting for my lovely Ballotine Boxes to come in. I am going to fill them with my Flying high heart soap, a foaming soap (Organic, Antibacterial, and scent) of your choice, a Lotion (so thick and Creamy) scented of your choice, and two Lip balms flavored( Or unflavored) of your choice.

This will all be put into the lovely pink ballotine box with chocolate crinkle paper to cushion it. Tied with a chocolate Ribbon and topped off with a small silver fabric rose.

I will make special boxes up for people upon request. If there is a particular soap you see at www.BodyNaturalSoap.etsy.com, or www.abodynaturalsoap.com that you would perfer Or if you would just perfer a different combination of items then let me know and I will make it happen.

Valentines Soap

2009-01-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

I am planning some really nice valentines gift packs and this is one of the soaps that I will be offering with it.
I may take some different pictures of it but right now I am going with the black background.

This soap is all Cold process and was made in two steps. It really is a nice sized soap weighing over 6 0zs. It is scented with Passionfruit Rose. The gift baskets will be based on this scent including the lip balm.

I will be putting them on Etsy and www.abodynaturalsoap.com with in the week. I also plan on some gift baskets where you can have a choice of scents to choose from.

Mixed Bag and Recycled Paper

2009-01-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

We decided to go sledding up in Angle Fire NM on New Years Eve. We sled for about 4 hours before heading home. Whats nice where we live is that we are not far from a lot of attractions and places.

On the way up we noticed someone sculpted some snow bears. They were really cute. Really put to shame our snowman

I decided that I would try also to do something with all the junk mail I have been getting. So ta da recycled paper.

I was really happy with how it turned out. My first sheet is like heavy cardstock. I loved the way it worked in the printer also.

Presenting My Foaming Soap

2009-01-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

I had been wanting to try liquid soap for so long and now I like it. My son loves washing with it. Its nice to have on the sink for him . Its definitely not as messy as the bar soap gets after he's done. I also noticed that he doesn't overuse. Before he would have the water running full blast while soaping his hands under it. I think now that he sees the foamy lather right away he doesn't feel the need to use to much. He also loves the Strawberry smell (that's the scent I used for his) and the reddish lather. He claims its Lava. LOL

I added it to my main web site and plan to add it to Etsy some time today.

Lip Balm

2008-12-31T06:18:00.000-08:00

I added Lip Balms to the store last night and changed the appearance to reflect upcoming Valentines day. I will be adding the lip balms to Etsy and to Shop Handmade. I used some of my yellow organic Bee's wax, Shea butter, sunflower oil, sweet almond oil, and vitamin E. I will have a variety of flavors to choose from.

Apple Candy, Black Cherry, Bramble berry, Blue Berry Delight, Bubble Gum, Red Licorice, Jolly Rancher, Wild Chery

I Also believe I have perfected my organic foaming facial wash and my foaming antibacterial Hand wash. Both are liquid soaps using potassium hydroxide to produce the liquid soap. I will be offering both of these along with a choice of lotion or creame , lip balm choice and a large bar of soap in my Valentines gift box. I am starting the second phase of the soap so I should have pics of that soon. I hope I am out of my soap rut.

I wanted to thank Anne-Marie for her post of late. They have really been inspiring. I have decided to use the vision board here at home. I may take it also to work with me (They are understand I am quirky). Just the idea of it motivated me some.

I think the holidays for the soap business can be difficult. That is the time you really want to spend with your family and just wind down. Its also for some reason the most emotionally stressful. It is also the most opportune time to take advantage of sales. I didn't prepare this Christmas but I seen all the wonderful soaps and such with all the holiday scents and themes. It all looked so wonderful. I find that most soap makers are artist and that makes for some really fabulous soaps with very unique looks and smells. Every one of you inspire me. I Hope the new year is good to us all.

Very Funny dog

2008-12-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

The Best Holiday Fruit Cake Every

2008-12-22T04:28:00.000-08:00

Fruit cake recipe

1 cup of water
1 cup of honey
4 large eggs
3 cups flour
2 cups of dried fruits
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
lemon juice
nuts
1 gallon whiskey

Sample whiskey to check for quality.
take a large bowl.
check the whiskey again to be sure it is what you want, checking it twice makes a difference for this recipe.

pour one level cup and drink.
Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer. beat 1 cup butter.
in a large fluffy bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again.
Make sure the whiskey is still O.K.
Cry another cup. Turn off mixer.
Break 2 legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Mix on the turner.
If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
This is Important!!! Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something, who cares, you know what I mean.
Next, Check the whiskey again.
Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or whatever.
What ever you can find, throw it in.
I sweep the floor and add.
Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.
Dont forget to beat off the turner.
Throw the bowl out the window.
Check the whiskey again.
At this point rename the recipe.... Fruit cake surprise!
Go to bed, If you can find it.
Who the hell likes fruitcake anyway?

Author Unknown ~ I can imagine that you could substitute any alcohol according to your taste.

I have been in a soap rut lately. I have been keeping up with my winery soaps, but have been unable to think up anything else. I do have plans for Valentine gift set and hopefully will start that soon.

NANCY JUDD ~ RECYCLE RUNWAY

2008-12-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

Today I met with a couple of wonderful ladies regarding a business I am thinking of opening (not soap). It just happened that one of the ladies really had a very unique business already. Could you imagine a business where people and companies commission you to design VERY UNIQUE clothing and then they never even keep this clothing. IMAGINE.

Her elegant couture garments can be seen on display at various airports throughout the country. Each exhibit is educational and explains our need to recycle. She also is involved in giving numerous presentations and workshops.

I wish I wasn't at the meeting for me, because not only is she a very fascinating woman that I would have loved to interview more than I did she is extremely down to earth and really a little to modest.

Don't believe me take a look at her web site and if your in a area that has one of her displays visit. RECYCLE RUNWAY - http://www.recyclerunway.com/index.htm

Hope she doesn't mind but I thought I would put a little eye candy on this blog to entice you to her site

Now looking at this dress would you say Hmm ... old shower curtian.... and aluminum cans.
Her mission statement says it all.

MISSION

Recycle Runway strives to change the way the world thinks about the environment through innovative educational programs and couture fashions made from trash. Elegant garments created from recycled materials are exhibited in high-traffic airports to grab travelers’ attention and inspire personal action. Community-based presentations and workshops launch young peoples' imaginations while providing information on how to conserve resources on a grassroots level. Recycle Runway partners with businesses, non-profits, governmental agencies, foundations and individuals who actively support environmental conservation.

DEDICATED TO SANTA

2008-12-15T04:14:00.000-08:00

I am feeling real guilty because I haven't kept up with my posts, so I think I will dedicate this to Santa. My son (5 Years old) wrote his first letter by his self to Santa this year and I think he did well ( I did notice we need a little practice with the numbers). He did need some help with his spelling but overall I think his writing and reading is really coming along. If you click on the images they will open in a new window and are clearer looking for some reason (mom).

Really slow motion car crash

2008-12-11T04:30:00.000-08:00

This Video was taken not far from my house. I lived in Wyoming a good portion on my life, but I am original from New Mexico. This says it all about what a little snow can do to New Mexico drivers.

The car that you watch flip over seems to be in slow mo but its not.

BEE'S WAX WINNER(S)

2008-12-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

I decided to give out 4 oz of the Bee's wax 2 oz to Soap Kitten and 2 oz to Enchanted. Actually my son pulled the 2 names out of the hat together. It seemed like karma since they were the only ones to post to the blog. So SoapKitten and Enchanted I will contact you to get your mailing info.

BEE'S WAX GIVEAWAY

2008-12-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

I decided to give away 2 oz of my freshly shredded Bee's Wax. All you have to do is comment to this blog, or add me to twitter each consists as an entry. The random winner will be announced Monday evening.

This Bee wax still smells of honey and would make a wonderful all natural lip balm.

BEE'S WAX IS COMPLETE AND BEAUTIFUL

2008-12-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

I finished the filtering the Bee's wax and it turned out really bright yellow. Just beautiful. Those little guys are miracle workers. They build such sophisticated homes, take care of all the flowering plants, and providing us such wonderful products such as honey and Bee's wax. Bee's wax is used in numerous products such as:

accordions, archery wax, Balms, baking, basketry, batik, blacksmithing, bronze preservation, candles, candy making, chocolates, soap making and cosmetics to name a few.

I have one bee keeper (Brad's Bees at http://bradsbees.com/) who I buy my wax from and then several small keepers that I trade my products for their wax. Every keeper I deal with does not use any antibiotics or steroids with any of their Bee's. This is important because whatever the bee's come into contact with is going to transmit to their honey and their wax. I love dealing with the local keepers because I know how healthy their bees are and how they render their wax.

I call my bee's wax organic for these reasons. No chemicals, no pesticides, no steroids or antibiotics, just pure organic Bee's wax.

The one thing I found very interesting is depending on what plants the bee's are pollinating also transmit to their honey and wax. Honey will taste differently depending on what pollen was used and the wax will be a different shade. I recently obtained some Bee's wax from brad's bees that was maroon. It is gorgeous. I think I will use it in lip balms with clear tubes.

Here is a picture of my different shades of bee's wax that I recieved from Brads bee's. The one on top is the maroon one that I am really thinking on how to use it (Really leaning towards lip balms).

I have recently rendered my own wax (stuff I receive straight from the hive from my friend bee keepers). It was a messy process but The wax turned out wonderful. A really bright yellow.

Here you can see the un-rendered raw wax. It still had quite a bit of honey in it. You can also see the wonderful wax candles that my friend gave me. I don't think I will ever use them they are just to wonderful to look at.

Here you can see the honey seeping out.

Here is all the wax melted in my large now wax dedicated pot.

Here is the final filtered wax. Its really lovely.
Some of the wax I will shred and offer for sale on www.ABodyNaturalSoap.com

With the wax shred you weigh it just like you would for the wax beads for you formulas.

Soap Saftey and Girls-Are-Meaner Soap Cut

2008-12-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

Here is my Girls-Are-Meaner Wine Soap that I made last night. I had to do something different with this batch. With my first Girl-Are-Meaner Wine soap we decided it needed a little more spice. So on the second batch we added some Bay rum Fragrance which must have had some vanilla in it, because the soap turned a ugly tan. So on this batch here I countered the browning by using the room temperature process (as I call it). This is where I let the lye solution and the oils get down under a hundred degrees. Its kind of like making whipped soap, but not whipping it that much. This creates a light soap, so that even when you add color its more of a pastel color than anything else. This process is very time consuming because you have to use a mixer to continuously whip the product so that the heat doesn't brown the soap. I was afraid that this batch would not harden so I added a little salt. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out although I think that I didn't need to add the salt. I finished this batch last night at 9:00 pm and removed it from the mold by 4:30 am. That is pretty quick and I am going to contribute it to the salt.

Last night while I was mixing the soap (Using the mixer, not the stick blender) I noticed little flecks of raw soap would every once in awhile fly out of the pot. Well that should have been my clue to stop and put on my safety goggles. I didn't and a small bit of soap got into my eye. I have to say that I hesitated because I didn't want to leave the soap but the pain started and so I immediately began flushing my eye. My eye feels a little uncomfortable but is fine, thank goodness. The moral of the story is that I became careless and did not put on my normal safety gear. I was feeling inspired and wanted to dive right in. Well I learned a valuable lesson, no matter how experienced you are (or inspired) with your craft, Safety should come first.

It would have taken me less than 5 min to put on my long sleeve shirt, gloves and goggles and i did not do it. It could have been worse. Saving those 5 min. could have cost me a urgent care visit or worse an eye. I pledge to now to take my 5 min and don my safety gear.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

New Soap Added To Etsy

2008-11-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

Today I spent a little time with my new Camera. Oh it makes taking pictures so easy.
I added a few items to Etsy also. I plan on adding them to the web site soon.

In The Pink Citrus (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18004911)

Himalayan Sea Salt Spa Bar (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18008966)

Lavender Scrub (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18024594)

Hope Everyone Had a Really Great Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T16:27:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I had a really nice one with my Little Man, My Sweetie, and my little brother (Although he's not that little). Christmas also came early for most of us too. My brother stayed home with my son while my sweetie and I went black Friday shopping. We got some great deals on camera's. We got home and gave my brother one right away. He really seemed to be happy. Now I wish we had picked up 5 more. They are really great camera's. In fact I was actually about ready to take it back when I seen the great quality pic's it took.

My sweetie decided to take me shopping today again. To my surprise it was to get a new camera. I guess he seen how much I liked the one we bought my brother.

Ohh I love this little camera. So much better than my old one. Right out of the box I took a picture of my soda can and it was so vibrant and clear. The other pics are of the reflections in a puddle of water in a parking lot. It was starting to get dark and that made me even more impressed. I guess 12 MP can do that. At this point I would recommed the kodak Easy Share Camera Z1285 to anyone. I will spend all tomorrow taking pictures of my soap and updating my site.

Another wonderful thing happened I recieved my first Etsy customer. She purchased 4 of my Blue Draccar soaps. THANK YOU whiteweberjm for being my Number one Customer.

Gassner Custom soaps is having a Give away

2008-11-26T16:28:00.001-08:00

Woo Hoo Take a look at the loot over at Gassner Custom Soap Blog. It really is a good one.

Cut into the Blue Lagoon

2008-11-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

I feel a little better about my soap now. But not that much though, because the waves are missing (I guess its the calm blue lagoon). I really expected the center to be a bit more consistent like it was with my Strawberry cream soap. Oh well can't win them all. The soap is still pretty wet. I added the amount of water I would for a regular batch and then at trace I added in the oat milk. I should have subtracted the water. It will take this soap a bit longer to cure. I think this is the perfect candidate for my Fan experiment. I will weigh each bar and half I will leave to dry normally and the other half I will put in front of a large fan. I will weigh them each day and see what difference there might be.

THE BLUE LAGOON

2008-11-24T19:25:00.000-08:00

Ok I took my boy's eczema soap out of the mold today. It is still to soft to cut so I am not sure how the insides are going to look but I am a little confused at the overall look. It is not quite all that I was going for. I really wanted a ocean kind of look but the waves seem to have disappeared and now I am not sure if it can be the blue lagoon. It smells real good. Since this is for a boy not quite yet a teenager I went with the Drakkar scent from Brambleberry, but added some almond to tone down the mature scent. It turned out great. Its kind of like a preteen cologne scent now.

I just hope the soap redeams itself once its cut. Stay tuned.

I have also added My Strawberry Days Cream soap to my Store.

Both of these soaps are great for extremely dry, itchy skin. Both were made specially for friends that had eczema. They are light on lather creamy on the skin. Neither will strip your skin but will moisturize and sooth. The most active ingredients are Cocoa butter, Shea butter, and Oat Milk.

Finaly out of my slump and Having a sale

2008-11-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

I have updated my shop online so it looks more in line with the holidays. Let me know how you like it. Also 10% off all sales from today till Black Friday.

Remember if you have something in particular in mind I can work with you in making it. I specialize in making wine soaps. They are made with actual wine and scented and colored for that wine.

I feel like lately I have been in a slump. Not only with my soaps but also with my house. This weekend I decided to do some changes. I painted the far wall of the master bath using a lime washing technique. I really like how it turned out. It really lifted my spirits and it did not take long. Now the bathroom looks so much fresher.

I then decided to work on the lights for the workshop outside. We looked everywhere but could not find any lights that we liked with out spending a fortune. Then we seen these lights on sale at Lowes 2 for 19.99. I liked the glass but the rim of it looked like cheap plastic. While my baby was getting spray paint to touch up his rims I noticed this spray paint that looked like hammered cooper. Perfect. So I painted the lights and I think it turned out great. Felt like some of my creativity has came back.
Didn't the lights turn out really good. They now look like quality lights and I didn't have to spend a fortune.

Soap For Excema

2008-11-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in the post before this one that a friend asked me to make soap for her niece. This soap was made specifically to be gentle for sensitive skin and excema. I scented it with my winnings from Bramble Berry. The scent is a lavender Strawberry mix and it really is fit for a little girl (or a big girl for that matter). Well the soap was a hit and now I have an order for a soap just like it, but for a boy. I am thinking Blueberry or something similar. Any Ideas?

Here are some pics (not very good of the soap)

I have determined that there is a fabulous artist in my midst. My Son. They are studying the letter C at school and so he was supposed to draw something beginning with the letter C and then tell a story about it. Well I let him do it on his own and what he did was amazing. He drew a cat on white paper and colored it and then he colored a yellow piece of construction paper and glued the cat on it. Well above what I sure the teacher required. He just finished testing and is real excited that he will be moving on to the 1st grade next year. He amazes me always.

Wow busy week - Fighting lazyness

2008-11-19T04:07:00.000-08:00

So its been a week since I posted last. That is too long. I have been really busy making soap for the wineries. The one thing about soap making is that you have to stay 4 weeks ahead of possible orders. Since I am having to shrink rap the soaps for the Wineries I want the soaps to be as dry as possible, so I stole my sweeties huge fan. I am not sure if it helps and maybe with the new batch I make tonight I will run an experiment. I will weigh some of the slices and leave half in front of the fan, and when its time for wrapping I will weigh them again. I figure the ones in front of the fan should have lost more weight, but will see.

On another note, I made some soap for a friend that has a niece with excema. I really hope this helps. For people with excema its important for them to find what triggers it, and alot of times the triggers are chemical. Over the counter soaps have a lot of detergents in them and I found with my son that the chemicals in the grocery store soaps triggers his excema, among other things. To me its like a skin allergy. My son had excema and so does his dad. Some of his outbreaks were pretty bad and the doctor prescribed a cream. After a little research I found out that almost all the creams contained steriods and some even caused cancer. This was not what I wanted for my son, but I also didn't want his poor skin to crack and be so irratated and sometimes painfull. That is when I started makeing natural products for him such as soap and creams. So far He hasn't had an out break in over a year. The other thing I had to understand about his excema is not to over wash him. Over cleaning can strip the skin of healthy oils and cause skin to become irratated and therefore cause an out break.

For the excema soap I use minimal palm kernel oil and no coconut. I also use olive oil and canola, and grapeseed. I add in honey and oatmilk. I call it oatmilk because I am not sure what else to call it. It is the milky water that comes when you boil oatmill in water. After boiling the oatmeal in water (about 5 min) I strain it for the oatmilk.

Tonight I may post pics of the soap. This last week I seem to be having ambition problems. The lack of it anyways.

Christmas Card Box Tutorial

2008-11-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with everyone this wonderful Tutorial I found through MySweetThrees Blog. This is a wonderful tutorial on using up all the left over Christmas cards. I think these would made wonderful packaging for soap.

Follow the Link http://mysweetthree-kristin.blogspot.com/2008/11/make-something-monday.html

She also has a wonderful Blog.

Craft Fair

2008-11-10T04:19:00.000-08:00

Wow the craft fair turned out really great. As usual I took my camera and did not take any pics of my table. I keep meaning to do this but I always forget.

This was my most favorite craft fair ever. It was the smallest as for number of vendors (and price) but the flow of people was steady all day. I sold the most at this fair than I ever have. The Bee Magic Cream was a hit ( I will be putting this in my shop real soon). I guess because winter can really dry your skin. I thought it was my last craft fair of the year, but I was invited to another this next weekend. This one was so great that I am really thinking about it.

I have got to say thank you to all the vendors and people of Los Alamos. It was also a very fun time. All of the vendors were so great. I came away with some of the best earings , necklace and the most cozy shawl ever. Ya, I spent money there too.

Craft Show Today

2008-11-08T04:52:00.000-08:00

Well I have been really busy the last few days getting ready for this craft show. It will be the last of the year and I am glad for that. I figured I would post a few pics of the stuff I am taking before I jump in the shower.

Here is one of my San Juan Winery soaps ready to go to the craft fair.

This is my Bee Magic Cream. I love it. I use it at night to remove my make-up and as a cold cream and for keeping my feet and elbows nice and soft.Straglers

The pic above are soaps I am getting ready for the Black Mesa Winery. In the back ground you can see all the wonderful eggs I collected this morning. The Hens have been busy.

Here are some of the soap dishes I made for the show.

Here is how I make my tags. I print them out on mailing labels and then stick them to heavy scrap book paper (decorative card stock). I then use decorative scissors to cut them out.

Here is some of the soaps packaged and ready to go.

I WON!!!!

2008-10-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

I Won the most fabulous items and all I had to do is go to one of my most favorite sites and comment on one of their posts.

If your a soaper even as a hobby then you know Bramble Berry and you know who the Soap Queen is. If your new to soaping and you want to find the best supplier on the net then head over to Bramble Berry other wise you should check out her Blog The Soap Queen and Teach soap for some really cool ideas and recipes. Anne Marie is (AKA The Soap Queen) is always coming up with cool ideas.

Here is what I won and I am so excited because Bramble Berry's stuff is always the highest quality. I started out soaping using her fragrances.

SMELLY CHICK IS HAVING A CONTEST

2008-10-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Smelly Chick is having a Great Give away Hurry on over to her site and check out the details. It is real easy to enter. When you do enter tell her I sent you "k" ;)

Hurry you only have until Nov 3.

I Was Awarded The Friendship Around The World Award

2008-10-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

I am honored to be nominated for this award by Corrie of Lomond Soap. Go check her site out she has made some really interesting soap of late and had a cool party recently. Also she is the creater of the cool funnel swirls.

The rules for acceptance of the award are as follows:

Pick 8 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on their creativity, design, interesting material and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

So the blogs I really enjoy and think deserve this award are:

(Lomond would be one but I don't think I can pass it back)
http://ragtreepeople.blogspot.com/
http://www.smellychicksonline.com/
http://soap-queen.blogspot.com/
http://digitalpolaroids.blogspot.com/
http://gracefruit.blogspot.com/
http://thesoapbar.blogspot.com/
http://www.birchbarksoap.com/
http://www.threefatesdesign.blogspot.com/

Trip to the Wines of the San Juan In Blanco NM

2008-10-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Wow what a Saturday I had. I did not realize what a all day drive it would be. I am so glad I did it though. There is nothing like presenting your work to a client. I think they really enjoyed my interpretation of their wine in soap.

Girls-are-meaner we have decided needed a little spice added to it but I believe I have that covered. I find it is real important when designing soaps for a particular customer to not make to big of batches at one time. scents and color can fade over the curing time and you may find that something was lost during that time. They were still pleased with the coloring and the scent. I found that making the drive down to present the soaps also helped in giving it the special touch.

I have to say that if ever around the Navajo Lake or Blanco area you have to stop into this winery. It is absolutelyy gorgeous. Its nestled down in a valley surrounded with cottonwoods and grapevines. The look is rustic and very inviting. I loved the wine tasting room and Jerusalem (She is this wonderful dog that is absolutely the best).

Also I have to give credit to Three other young men who were on this all day trip. (Three hours there and Three back not counting stops). I had my sons half brothers and him along with my hubby. They were all troupers. Here are some pics of the trip.

New Wine Soaps - Wines Of The San Juan

2008-10-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here are my New Wine Soaps. These come from a fabulous winery named W ines Of The San Juan.

I have to say Girls Are Meaner is absolutely delicious. I really like Sweet Jenner Rose but Girls Are Meaner is really my fav.

Check out their web site and order some wine http://www.winesofthesanjuan.com/.

I am also thrilled to be able to call one of my soaps Girls-Are-Meaner.

Huge Hit in My House Pumpkin Cake

2008-10-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

I always start making this around this time of year. Its a huge hit and after Halloween you can get lots of fresh pumpkin for cheep.Now the poor pumpkins that didn't get turned into jack-o-lanterns can now have some thing else to look froward to.
The dishes I cooked them in I got from Micheal's for 1.00 a piece. They are dish washer, microwave and oven safe. I just love them they are adorable.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup vegetable oil (I add 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup apple sauce to add moisture and cut the fat)
3 eggs (Straight from the coop)
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch bundt or tube pan.
Cream oil, beaten eggs, pumpkin and vanilla together.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until just combined. If desired, stir in some chopped nuts. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

For the Icing I used:

1/3 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound (3 1/2 cups) sifted confectioners sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Cream butter, salt, and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Add 3 tablespoons milk, beating until smooth. Beat in more milk until desired spreading consistency is reached. Makes about 2 1/3 cups of frosting, enough to frost tops and sides of of an 8-inch 2-layer cake or a 10-inch tube or bundt cake, or about 1 dozen cupcakes.

I also added cinnamon to mine. I am not sure how much I did it to taste.

Salt Bar Results

2008-10-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well here are some of the pics of the salt bars. The weird thing is I started using one and now that I have got it wet and actually used it it seems to be better, not crumbly at all. The bars hardened very fast. When I say fast with in 5 hours or less. When I cut in to them the ends crumbled in half right away. Even the pieces that stayed together seemed crumbly.

As I said I decided to at least see how the soap would lather so I used one of the half pieces. It actually lather OK and after using seemed as if it was not crumbly. Today that piece and another that I wet seemed much more together and actually salvageable.

Now my only questions is how can I do this better and what to do with the bowl of crumbles. Any suggestions?

On the lighter side I decided to try felting for the first time. I went down to the local weaving shop and got the materials. I decided to felt one of my partial bars that I had laying around. I like it, I think it turned out cute, and its an easy way to make scrap soap pretty.

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Soap

2008-10-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

I needed a break from sewing and decided to tackle a new soap. I had never made salt bars before and had heard that they were difficult to master. From al

l the articles I read most soapers use either 100% Coconut or real close to that for the lather. I have a hard time using that much coconut oil just for the fact it can be so harsh. So I went 40% Palm Kernel ( I Have A Ton Of Organic visit me at www.abodynatural

soap.com), 20% coconut, and then I split the difference between soy and olive. I was worried with it setting to quickly so I let the oils and the lye cool down to under a hundred (Plus this helps to create a light soap).

I decided I didn't want any colorings so that the pink in the Himalayan salt would be what gave it color. My son said it looked like a strawberry shake. Hmmm I scented it s

age but now maybe I should have scented it strawberry.

So far so good. I haven't cut it yet but I hear that it can set real hard so I will keep an eye on it.

Diaper Bag For niece

2008-10-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Wheww. Finished a diaper bag for my niece. Her baby shower is the day after Halloween. My mom-in-law helped me pick out the material. She is young (niece not Mom-in-law) so I wanted it to be hip. It took a couple of days to complete but I think it turned out real nice.

I used the simplicity pattern #2924

I think she will really like it and at least its unique. I know the pics really don't look like it but its denim with this shiny copper pattern on it to look like snake skin. The model is my son not my nice, I did say she was young but that would be ridiculous.

Balloon Fiesta Albuquerque NM.

2008-10-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to share with everyone the pictures we took at the Balloon Fiesta. Although I Also want to wish my sincere condolences to the family a friends of the Hot air Balloon pilot that lost his life this weekend and the prayers for the other pilots speedy recovery. I thought about putting up pictures of that Balloon but I decided that I myself would prefer not to.

Please enjoy what pics I do have. I believe that you can click on the pics to open a larger image of them.

Found Problems with Fragrance and my Balls

2008-10-08T04:08:00.000-07:00

So Last night I made some more wine soap and with some of the soap left over from previous batches of wine soap I made Soap balls. The Balls are not real uniform mainly because they are going to go into another batch of soap. So I will have balls in my soap. I did get a little creative with a couple, but I knew another challenge was facing me.

Well lets get to my learning experience. I have been pretty lucky as a soap maker and have not had very many failed batches. Lately though I have had some difficult ones. The first batch of wine soap I ever made was difficult. I thought it might have to do with the wine itself. That really didn't make since to me since I have made soap using many other liquid additives. But I thought Wine does have alcohol and more sugars than other liquids I used. Well now after several batches I am to the conclusion that it is my fragrance. Below is an outline of the symptoms.

Batch 1:

Oils and lye mixed fine along with colorant Mixed in fragrance and wine at same time.

Batch started setting up extremely quick and had to glob (is glob a word) it into the mold. I assumed I had played around with the coloring of it so much that by the time I got around to the fragrance and wine that it was already setting.

Batch 2:

Everything went well put ingredients in at the same way as before but this time did not play around with the coloring since I figured out how much to add from last time. I got the soap into the mold just fine and as I was getting ready to go relax the soap started to separate. Arggg I rushed it back into the pot and started with some heavy mixing. As soon as I got it back to where it should be It started hardening quickly. I globbed it back into the mold and hoped for the best. The next day I cut it and it was fine. Couple weeks of curing I PH tested it and it turned out fine. No problems

Everything went well put ingredients in at the same way as before but this time did not play around with the coloring since I figured out how much to add from last time. I got the soap into the mold just fine and as I was getting ready to go relax the soap started to separate. Arggg I rushed it back into the pot and started with some heavy mixing. As soon as I got it back to where it should be It started hardening quickly. I globbed it back into the mold and hoped for the best. It did get very hot and I at one point thought I would have a volcano on my hands. The next day I cut it and it was fine. Couple weeks of curing I PH tested it and it turned out fine. No problems a really lovely soap.

Batch 3:

I assumed on batch 2 that I added the lye to the oils to hot and that was what was wrong so with batch 3 I made sure that the oils and lye were at a good temp and tryed it again. Seperation agian!!!!!!! I also with much handeling and cussing (not outloud I have young ears about)got this soap to also work. Now I had decided that it was the alchohol or the fragrance to blame.

Batch 4:

Last Night I decided to tackel the wine soap agian. This time I added color at light trace and then the wine. Everything is fine soap looks beautyful. OK trace is about light to medium and looks like everything is going real well......UNTIL I add the fragrance. The soap immediatly starts to seperate and the thickness is completly gone. So Now I know the culprit. MERLOT WINE FRAGRANCE. I put my trusty stick blender to use and whipped that soap back into shape and once it got to a heavy trace agian I poured it into the mold and hoped for the best. This morning the soap was great, although lighter in color than it should be, and I have a light ash on top. I can wet wipe the ash away so that is no prob. The color maybe I will have to wait until I cut it to really know.

I don't know if I can find a replacement fragrance This one is fab in cured soap it smells so good just like red wine. I may have to fight with it on every batch. This last batch really wasn't much a fight now that I expected it to happen and was ready. So I may keep the fragrance. Hmmm I'll have to think on it.

Bad week - Productive weekend

2008-10-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

I had a real bad week last week. Actually it wasn't so bad tell the end Just a real emotional time. I was so glad it was over. Saturday I went to the wine and Art Fest here in Espanola NM. Wow it is so amazing the amount and quality of artist we have in Northern NM. I seen pottery, Glass work, paintings, digital art, sculptures, wood work, tin and just about any medium you could imagine. I really should have had a booth since there wasn't anybody with soap, but I have been so busy getting ready for the Los Alamos Fiesta. Next Year for sure. While I was there I stopped by the Winerys booths and gave them my pitch. They all loved the idea. Whoo hoo 3 more Wineries for soap. I also stopped by Black Mesa's booth and found out that the soap has been going so quickly I am going to have to double if not triple up on my batches for them. So this weekend I made more soap and packaged up 30 bars of the cured black beauty soap so I can get those over to black Mesa. I also made a few more bags. Hopefully I can get some pics up. I am going to make more soap tonight hopefully if everything works out well. Check out the pics of some of the artists at the fiesta.

http://www.evartsfestival.org/artists.html

Ooooh Nooo I've been Tagged

2008-09-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

So one of the many people that I look up to in regards to thier art (RagTree) Tagged me.

Now I have to give up 6 secrets. I would have posted sooner but I had to spend some quality time with my mom. She lives in Malaysia and I only get to see her once a year. Plus I was avoiding the deep dark secret thing. Like Ragtrees sewing machine I keep those skeletons in the closet.

Here They Are.

1.) I was never as artsy or creative until I quit smoking (1 year ago day after thanksgiving. Now I am Obsessed by arts and crafts.

2.) I am a bit of a obssesive person (now anyway since I quit smoking, see above). I get an idea in my head and I can't wait to lock myself away working on it. The most recent thing is the shopping bags.

3.) I love country life. I wish I could just live off the land (Not have to work for anyone but myself, although I love my Job). It seems so pure and simple. Work hard eat, don't work hard don't eat.

4.) Strangest Job I ever had was reptile populations studies in Mississippi. Catching snakes and hiking. Also my favorite job (not the best pay though).

5.) I have a burning desire to start and brick and motar buisness (not related to my soaps.). A Computer repair and ect. type store.

6.) I secretly envy everyones elses art. The envy does lead to inspiration so I embrace it.

Wow kind of feels good to get that off my chest. Whoo I feel free now.

Now everyone go look at Ragtree's site and check out the latest envy I have her Art Cards. She is the one who tagged Me

This time some sewing and soap

2008-09-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

So I hadn't really been sewing much lately. But Now I have the bug . I found this site that gave me the idea of using a plastic shopping bag for a pattern. I spent all last weekend sewing and making soap.

Both my honey and my little man were out of town for the weekend so I was able to totally mess up the house spreading out all my crafts. I had soap in the kitchen and the dining room table was taken over with my serger and sewing machine. I had fabric strung out through out the entire living room. I really just took over the whole house. I was in complete heaven.

The first Shopping bag that I made has many mistakes, But the rest of them turned out pretty good. See I can learn from my mistakes (or at least some of them). So all of the bags I made are with recycled fabric. The first one I am giving to my mom since it was fabric from her table cloth that she has me hem. I really like the fact that they can be turned into their own pocket for storage. They hold a lot also the one has a Huge jug of orange juice and gallon of milk in it

One of the bags is actually a trick or treat bag for my son. He picked out the fabric. It looks like it has webs and spiders hanging off the sides.

I also made a few soap bags. I am running low and I am going to have to

pick up the pace if I am going to be ready for the craft show.

I also made soap. Lots of Black Mesa wine soap. Wow their wine is really good. I like their whites and blushes. I have always been a blush wine drinker more that a red wine. But thier red wine is really killer also. I am also making them some small hand soaps for samples and to put in thier bathroom. Due to the nature of wine drinking your supposed to smell the wine. So I had to celophane the soaps. I hope that that doesn't cause a problem down the road.

I am having a sale on organic Palm Kernel Oil

2008-09-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

I am running a 10% off sale on Palm kernel. If you are buying 1LB increments enter 1LBPALM, and if your buying 5lb increments enter PALMKERNEL in the promo box. Normally my palm Kernel runs around 3.50 a pound if buying in 1 lb increments and 3.25 a lb in 5 lb increments. Visit me at www.abodynaturalsoap.com

Wow what a week

2008-09-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

This last week seemed to last forever. I think I either have a cold or allergies. I feel like crawling into bed. Can't do that though I am to busy at work. We have the budget year end and so there is so much to tie up so that we don't have any carry over. Today we also have a chance to do some maintenance on the laser area which has been needed for a long time. For those of you that don't know I am a Laser Tech. We have a few large lasers and experimenters from around the world come to use our equipment.

Anyway, I also spoke with the Black Mesa Winery and they loved the Soap I designed for them. I will give them the 10 bars I have, and then this weekend make around 50 more. Yay soap. I also am going to make some small sample soaps that they can place in their bathrooms. I will show those as I make them toward the end of the weekend.

Wow the owner of Black mesa is quite a artist if you have a chance you really should browse their web site.

I guess this weekend is Wine, soap and dancing ( If these allergies let up).

Something Other Than Soap - Play-Doh

2008-09-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

So my son asked to make Play-doh today and I thought what a great idea. Homemade Play-doh is a easy thing to make and even young kids can get in to the action. The recipe I like requires the stove but I do have a no cook recipe.

Recipie 1

1 cup of flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons tartar
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup water
food coloring

Make dough

Mix all the ingredients in a large pan
Cook the ingredients on medium heat for 3 minutes or until consistency is that of mashed Potatoes
let the dough cool then kneed it tell smooth and add color. Trick with the food coloring in not dying you hands is to poke a little hole put the drops in and then pinch the hole close. Fold the dough several times before really kneading it.
Store bag in resealable bag or covered dish and keep in refrigerated

The no cook recipie is

4 cups flour
1 cup salt
13/4 cups warm water
food coloring

Mix and kneed for 10 min
refigerate

cupcake soap pics

2008-09-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

OK I am not the best camera person but this time

i tried to take a progression of images. Any way here is the cupcake soaps.

This is the silicone cupcake holders

Here is the whipped soap mixing.

After the soap got to a consistency of pudding I put it in the silicone cups.
I then colored and whipped the soap some more tell it was the consistency of Icing
Here are the cupcakes all done. I added some sprinkles for looks.

Serious soap porn

2008-09-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Etsy :: audieaumbra :: Handcarved sunflowers soap

Wow amazing very talented soap artist. I am in need of this soap.

Soap Cupcakes

2008-09-11T04:16:00.001-07:00

So I decided to make a dozen little cupcakes last night after my son went to bed. For some reason it took forever. I normally love working with soap using room temperature lye and oil. Mainly because it gives me time to work with it and be a little creative. Last night though it took forever for it to stiffen up for the icing part (or at least it seemed like it). I took quite a few pics and will post them tonight.

These will be my attention getter's for the craft show. Last craft show I had the cupcakes and a bunt cake soap. They drew people to my stall and ususally they purchased some sort of soap.

I used a 7up pound cake scent from natures garden for these. They deal more with candels but they have fragrance oil for soap also.

Upcoming Show

2008-09-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

So I am getting ready for a small craft fair and have been really busy. So far I have only done two other shows and those were a lot of work. This one is a bit smaller and only one day. It also is closer to home and indoors, so that in itself is nice. I really hope to get a little more local exposure.

I'm sure you all seen on The Soap Bar the wish paper. I put in for my free sample and this thursday I am going to order some I think it is the cutest stuff and will go over real well at family holidays.

I am hoping to make a couple of batches of soap this weekend but we also have the statefair and my little boy and Big Boy (Hubby) are really looking foward to the food and rides so it will be a tough fit to do the fair and the soap. I want to make some more oatmeal and honey soap. That always goes so quickly.

I also plan on trying to get a few more listings up in Etsy and my online store

Visit me and give me suggestions on both please. I am great at desighning soap not so much at web sites.

www.abodynaturalsoap.com
Or at etsy user name BodyNaturalSoap

Both are in early phases of developement

Wine Soap 2

2008-09-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

OK finished taking pic's of the wine soap. I really like the smell but the chocolate undertones of the wine didn't come through as much as I would have liked. I really needed to add more cocoa than I did. Maybe I will order a chocolate scent. As the soap first started to set I thought oh no I need more color but now as it is curing I am starting to like the color. I added in a Merlot wine scent from Natures Garden It really has the deep grape wine smell but lacking the slight alcohol notes you would expect with a wine. Granted I did not want it to smell much of alcohol. So when making the soap i used half of the liquid for the lye solution (water) and then add the other half Slushy (Frozen, this way the sugars don't scorch) wine once trace started this gave the soap a more realistic wine smell. I did lose the chocolate tones as stated above but I will remedy that next time by adding more Cocoa.

Wine Soap

2008-09-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

Ooooh I am really excited I get to experiment with wine today. Now who wouldn't be excited about that.

About a week back I had spoke to one of the owners of Black Mesa Winery about making a soap using one of their signature wines. He found the idea intriguing. We both thought his chocolate wine would be the most interesting. This wines name is Black Beauty and believe me its yummy. It says it all on their web site

" A little chocolate. A little sweetness. A little naughty – could lead to dancing! Black Mesa's best seller.
GOLD Medal winner at 2007 "Wine Tasters Guild International Wine Competition"I will post any results I found including pics in making the soap as soon as possible.

I will now go forth and make soap and if it wasn't so early in the morning I might be tasting my ingredients. Mmmm chocolate wine I already feel like dancing.

Lavander and Rosemary soap

2008-09-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

I decided to divide up the lavender and rosemary into two batches. The first batch of soap I decided to go all natural. What I mean by all natural is no additives and colorants. It makes for a plain looking soap but I prefer that. I ground some of the fresh lavender and infused it in my olive oil for 2 days. I Ground some more of it and as my soap was just about to go into the molds I add it and some Lavender EO. After putting the lavender into the molds I then topped it with lavender flowers. I must say the soap smells wonderful. Below is the result.

I also decided to make some whipped soap using a combination of the lavender and rosemary. I like making whipped soap normally because it gives me time to play around with it. The cool temperatures of the lye and the oils create for a slower reaction. One of these days I will try to get some pics of the process and post that.

I did grind up the fresh lavender and rosemary together and add it to the soap as I blended it. I also added colorant and some Lavender and rosemary EO to this Batch. I love the pastel colors of whipped soap. It is still in the mold so All I have is pictures of that and not the cut bars. Will post those later.

I had a little extra as usual and had to put it in to a small square mold.

Lavander and Rosemary

2008-08-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

A friend just gave me a ton of fresh lavender and rosemary. My brain is whirling with all kinds of ideas. I may have to search the web a little to settle on what to do with this fragrant batch. I do have some Lavender EO and Rosemary EO. Hmmm. Any suggestions would be great.

I did just finish up a tea soap. I used a organic Jasmine and Green tea from the local herbalist. This is such a fragrant tea that the first batch I brewed I ended up drinking and really had to refrain from consuming the second batch. Pics of that soon.

Introduction

2008-08-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

This is my first ever Blogg. I decided to start a blogg so that I could share my experience and learn from others about one of my passions """Soap""". When I say soap I mean Natural Cold Process Soap. I am a little into melt and pour also but mostly CP.

I may also post once in a while on my other love and that is polymer clay.

Here is one of my creations:

This particular soap is made with a process called whipped soap. Where the lye solution and the oils are all room tempreature. I enjoy this process mostly because I can use a little more creativity. I like to break out the cake decorationg bags and go a little wild. I used a imitation of Drakkar for the scent.

I have this soap in my web store www.abodynaturalsoap.com

I Welcome all comments and thank you for visiting.