Natural Soap: "North Branch"

 A new soap, named for the town of North Branch MN. This soap's colors are meant to suggest a winter palette comprised of evergreens, berries and snow.  

Appealing to men and ladies, this soap is fragranced with Austrian Fir Needle essential oil (as well as a few others that will remain a mystery) It's superfatted with shea butter, mango butter and cocoa butter, to combat winter dryness.  Colored with clays: French Pink and French Green chosen for their lovely hues and skin-soothing properties.

Limited Edition, accepting pre-orders via comment & email.  Shipping 3-3-12.

Treasures in my jammie drawer...

Do you ever tuck treasured things away to be enjoyed at a later date, only to forget that you tucked them away in the first place?

I would try to fool myself in this way in my 20's and 30's, to no avail.  Now that I'm clinging to my 40's by the skin of my teeth, well let's just say that it's much easier for me to "hide" items from myself (often unintentionally)....but I digress.

I said all that to say this:  You'll never guess what I found in my jammie drawer today!!!  Give up?  

O.k., here's a hint:  I took a pair of winter jammies out for the first time in almost a year the other evening, and I notice that they had a wonderful smell (not the typical "drawer" scent that clothes pick up after that amount of time).  Being extremely busy and distracted as usual, I only gave it a fleeting thought and then it was gone.

Today I found the source: A flat black box that I initially thought was filled with costume jewelry....happily, it wasn't.  Look what was inside: 

I wish my reaction was on video -I'm tellin' you, I gasped audibly:
"Oh my gosh!"  Gasp!  I read the labels (yes, my green-eyed little readers there were multiple bars tucked away!)  Ahhh-haaa-ahhh! (that's meant to sound like the angel choir, in case you're wondering) You have to wonder about a grown woman who makes soap herself getting this tickled over a bar of soap, don't you?


I chose to use this variety because I'm trying desperately to re-hide the other bar, as it is my all-time favorite Cocobong soap: Sandalwood-Vanilla.  (I'm not sure, but I think it's going to be hard to trick myself again!)

Spanish Rose is the name of this beauty, and the fragrance reminds me of a soap we used when I was very young "Sweetheart" was the name.  Wonderfully floral, but there's something else too that my aging sniffer can't identify -I only know that it's wonderful!  The lather was exquisite, as was the conditioning (what else would we expect from Cocobong?), and the soap is truly beautiful.  I'm guessing that there's titanium dioxide in the white, because it is really a pretty snowy white.  

What a treat...an unexpected "find" and wonderful surprise!  Thanks, 'bongs! :)

Newbies and Smart Customers....

A quick update:  No, I haven't fallen off the planet! ;)   Just trying to keep up with increased demand due to increased sales at craft fairs, online, word-of-mouth....alas, blogging must take a backseat at times.

Two Newbies that are on the rack:

Lavender Swirl & Eucalyptus-Rosemary

Now about my "smart customers" -not only do I learn from customers all the time, not just what they want, but fabulous information they've read from experts that I really want/need to know.....to these special, thoughtful & caring customers :  My goggles off to you!  (I don't wear a hat)  Thanks for corresponding, suggesting, offering your ideas and suggestions!  

I was inspired by one of my newer customers....let's call her "Maria", who educated me on Dr. Perricone's stance regarding sugar and skin health (good info, and I'll be reading more -just as soon as I have a chance to order his book(s)....and then she inspired this new soap:

Spearmint-Orange

  I just received some 5x orange about a week ago, and hadn't done anything with it....until today!  I love the way my house smells after making this one.  Fresh and clean -sweet & citrus-ey.   This soap is packed with shea, mango & cocoa butters and I'm impatient to see it cut & smell it on the curing rack.

Thanks "Miss Maria" for your feedback, information and suggestions -I hope my fellow soapers are blessed with such customers, too.  It makes what I do feel really worthwhile! :) 

Natural Soap WINNERS and some "Pie Pics"

Busy as a bee making  Natural Soap "pies" today.  As promised, here are a few shots of my "Lemon" Natural Soap Pie.  I have to say that these are FUN! They are in my Online Store, and will be ready to use on Nov. 11.  They will be ready to ship (to the address of your choice) around Oct. 30

Thank you to those who entered the Christmas/Thanksgiving soap contest.  


 
 
I cut the list apart, folded each name & put them in a hat.

My trust assistant drew two names out of the hat:

Congratulations to our lucky winners:

Since both ladies loved the Tannenbaum soap, I've they will both be getting that variety!  It's good to be the decision-maker! LOL

 

The Soap Sister goes High Tech? What's this world coming to???

Heirloom Soapworks now accepts credit/debit cards in-person! Yes, you can buy soap anywhere we are (craft shows, farmers markets, or out-and-about) with a swipe of your card thanks to Verizon Wireless and Intuit ...check it out:

  It should be way more convenient for customers,  and the best part is -it's simple!  Even I can do it....;)   

When is "enough" enough?

My big ol' shelf is almost full ...don't relax, Becky -keep soapin'!

How do you know when you've made enough soap?  Personally, I'm very un-scientific about the inventory-thing (what a shock, eh?)

I'm just curious to hear how some of my fellow soapmakers handle the issue.  My M.O. seems to be: soap like crazy....burn out.....rest/regroup/reorganize......run low on soap....repeat.  

My most recent goal is to keep my big ol' soap curing shelf full to the brim at all times.  I tend to relax and feel like I have "enough" and then realize that when you replenish 12+ retailers -suddenly "enough" isn't enough!

Am I alone in this struggle? 

"Molten" -fresh out of the mold...

More to come when the lighting's right....

Is it just me, or is there a creepy-looking face in that top bar??

Perhaps the eyes of a raccoon in the bottom one?

It really doesn't look that freaky in person, I don't think...

Natural Handmade Soaps: Newest Varieties

As the last days of summer break slip too-quickly by, I've tried to fit some soapmaking-time in between our summer activities.  Here are the latest limited- edition all-natural soap varieties that I've come up with:

I hope to post these on my website soon, for pre-orders, as there are precious few of each variety ("limited edition" is real): 

"Banana Blossom", "Buttercream Mint", "Rosemary-Lime", "Lemon Drop", "Vanilla Mountain", "Mr. Romance", "Lavender Ripples", and Lavender-Oatmeal-Poppyseed "Taters"

Happy Soaping to All!  ~Becky

All Natural Soap -or "What I've been up to"

A few pics of new natural soaps from Heirloom Soapworks:



 Soap Taters





Deep Purple




Mandarin







Sweet Blossom

 


Madagascar



I have the GREATEST great-nephews!

I really do.  But then I have some pretty awesome nieces & nephews, too -stands to reason their kids are cool.  But I digress ...

Last Tuesday my niece and my sister-in-law came to my came to my house, along with my three great-nephews and great-niece ...to see "Aunt B" make soap.

The oldest two are home-schooled & currently learning about chemistry, and are now pretty well-versed in the art and science of soap-making. -yay!  They listened attentively and chose colors and essential oils for fragrance. 

My eldest great nephew ...whom I've nicknamed "Schroeder" (a fabulous pianist at the tender age of 9 1/2) chose Eucalyptus essential oil + chlorophyll as his colorant.



"Schroeder's" Soap



 

"James Bond's" Soap

My second-eldest nephew  whom I shall refer to as "James Bond" (the real-life orinthologist, not the fictional spy) chose 5xOrange as his essential oil and Moroccan Red Clay as his colorant.

 After much talk of saponification (they LOVED that word), acids, bases, safety, ingredients, etc.  We got busy, combined their choices into two soap "logs" but and topped them as each preferred.  James chose a smooth top, Schroeder loved the peaks -but alas, that soap would not peak!

I wrapped the bars to insulate & harden ...and have now (after vacation) removed them from their molds and cut them into bars.  Nice work, boys!

I hope we'll make soap together again -perhaps as an annual thing.  There's so much chemistry involved behind the scenes that I personally don't give a thought to from day to day.  Not to mention marketing -packaging, photography, blogging, website maintenance blah blah blah.  Perhaps Aunt B still has a few "lessons" up here sleeve! :D

p.s.  The flower stamp is one I made (with the help of Hubby, of course)  I thought I saved the link, but now I can't find it.  If anyone is interested, I'll take photos of the process next time and post how to do it.  It's really pretty simple and I love the idea of an "original" stamp of my own. :)

My Problem with "Pretty Soaps"....

Because I've been on a "pretty soap" kick again lately, I'll be packaging some of the prettier varieties with plain cigar-band style wrappers to show them off.  Waddya' think?  Yes, yes, I  know...."she's at it again", but I just can't bear to stick them in a bag and cover 'em up!

I wish they made bags out of the smell-through shrink wrap, as they will need to go into something clear so they don't get all "funky" from people handling them!  Any ideas on that one, my soaping friends? 

SugarBaby Soaps

As promised, here's another photo of my SugarBaby "Oatmeal-Mango" Soap -designed specifically for babies, but great for anyone with sensitive skin:



I love the gossamer look of the organza bag....smell-through, see-through....I'm satisfied -at least for now.    Only time will tell, you all know by now how fickle I can be with my packaging.

This is "Girls' Weekend" for myself and my best friend Terese.  Hubbies are gone-a-hunting, so it's chick flicks, shopping, yoga & lunch out  -big treats for the Soap Sis!   Gotta go do my toes now -hope you all have a lovely weekend! :D

Science, Students & Soap -Oh My!

Thursday was a very fun and out-of-the-ordinary day for me:  I made a bunch of natural handmade soap!  Huh?  Why Becky, whatever do you mean?

What I mean is this:  I got to demonstrate soapmaking to 6 groups of very bright & amusing kids at my son's school.  The kids are part of a special program through which they get to participate/learn about extra subjects that aren't part of the regular curriculum -and this week the subject was Soap Making!

I'll admit that when I received the request from the sweet ladies who coordinate the program (Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Scott),  I had mixed emotions.... first:  "Oh how FUN!"   "This will be a blast!",   followed by: "Hmmm, I'll need to write some sort of information for the students"  "Hmmm...I'll have to get all my stuff transported" (Hubby was a GREAT help with that!)   to finally: "What if the kids aren't interested?"  "What if I forget something?"   Where does all that crazy self-talk come from?  It was a great time, I didn't forget anything, I think the kids learned quite a bit, and they seemed genuinely interested, were polite, respectful & fun!

We talked a bit about the History of Soapmaking, the Science of Soapmaking,  Soapmaking Safety,  Materials Used....and then they saw the "Cold Process" soap making technique.  The students chose the nutrients and essential oils for each batch, and they really got creative and chose some fabulous combinations.  Just take a look:

[caption id="attachment_617" align="alignleft" width="262" caption="Class 1 - Gentle Baby Soap with Mango Butter & Oatmeal "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_618" align="alignleft" width="298" caption="Class 2 -Lemongrass & Honey w/Brown Sugar"][/caption]

        

[caption id="attachment_626" align="alignleft" width="282" caption="Class 3, "Christmas", Bay essential oil, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, cinnamon honey & brown sugar"][/caption]

                      

[caption id="attachment_620" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Class 4: Ylang Ylang essential oil, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, poppy seeds and honey"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_621" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Class 5: TeaTree & Eucalyptus essential oils, poppy seeds, oatmeal & honey"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_622" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Class 6: Palmarosa essential oil, cinnamon nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, honey & brown sugar"][/caption]

                                                                                                                     Aren't these some great soaps? 

  

We're not quite finished with the "soap making" project, though.  In two weeks each student will get to design their own  packaging/soap label & the student-packaged soaps  will be donated to the annual "Mouse House: at the school.  (Something tells me these will go like hotcakes!)

I hope the students had as much fun learning as I had demonstrating; and a special Thanks to Mrs. Moore & Mrs. Scott for all your help!   (Wish you guys helped me all the time!)   :D  ~Becky

p.s.  The soaps we created on Thursday will be "cured" and  in the Online Store around Dec. 12th.

 

 

Yesterday, the "Good"... Today? The "Bad" and the "Ugly"

I don't know why it's so hard to admit that a batch of soap is "doo doo"?   Maybe it's the way we, in my family, were raised..."Use it up, wear it out, make it 'do', or do without."  (My parents were raised during the Great Depression -BELIEVE ME: "Re-Use and Recycle" are NOT new ideas!)  At any rate, I think that's why I find it almost impossible to throw any handmade soap out. 

Case in point:   The Christmas Tree debacle of 2010 -quite possibly my biggest "flop" of the year (debatable, though)   Here's the deal, I over stirred (soap is too light and "whippy")  which, I think, has caused it to remain "soft" (ick!)  The color is just "o.k.", without the red dots the whole project seems anemic to me....blech!  Just take a look and see for yourself: 

 

So there you have it -a picture paints a thousand words, they say.... Thoughts of  faith are interrupting my rambling today...I'm getting something here, I think.   You know, I'm like that broken, cracked-from-the-fall soap.  We all are,  according  to  Rom. 3:23.   I'm not perfect, I've made bad choices, I haven't turned out as I had planned, (in truth, I'm broken) but here's the deal:  I want to be useful anyway...I want God to use me anyway...I know He can....I know he used/uses we broken ones all the time to tell of Christ's love and redemption.  He came for me, for you, for "broken ones", you know, because I can no more make myself right than my pitiful green soap can fix itself.   But God, through Jesus, is the Great Re-Batcher!  I've read about it.  And I've seen it.  And I love it -it gives me hope!  Melt me down, Lord, and make me new!

Does my soap have to be perfect in order to be used? Naaaah.  I'll be showering with this ugly green soap 'til July! LOL!  Must we be perfect to be used? Nahhhh.  The Lord will be re-batchin' this ol' soap-maker 'til the day she dies! (Thank You, Jesus!)

Happy Soapin' folks!

Catmint...who knew?

I just love happy surprises, don't you?  Although I tend to go about many projects "bass-ackwards" as my Dad used to say,  often times there are happy & interesting details discovered along the way!

For instance, this "Catmint-as-soap colorant" experiment of mine:  I only decided to use it because I can't identify Nettle, as many of my wise soap sisters can...plus, I have 7 HUGE plants in front of my porch.   I knew that it was non-toxic, that you could put it into tea.  That was the extent of my knowledge.

 However, after steeping, grinding and adding it to my soap, I then decided to do some additional research.   I've learned since that Catmint (Nepeta mussinii) made into a tea is great to help you fall asleep!  It also has the same component that drives cats crazy in Catnip. (Maybe that's why the neighbor's cat risks life and limb to come to our yard?)  Check out this link for all the info:  http://www.djroger.com/catmint.htm

Probably more than you want to know about this lovely plant, eh?  I guess the happiest surprise is the lovely green that it seems to have given my soap!  I'm anxious to see how the color looks when the soap is cut, as well as how it "holds" in the final product.  I've scented this HP batch with cornmint EO, so it should be a very refreshing & cooling soap. 

Hoping to cut & photograph it this weekend.

 

Catmint Experiment

Inspired by my soapin' buddies Jen of Jenora Soaps, and Ambra from NaKin who have both made green soaps recently with much success -I've harvested (actually hubby did it for me) some Catmint from my flowerbed, and am brewing a "tea".

I plan on steeping and then blending in the leaves ala Cocobong's nettle technique (after all, she is a whiz at all things soapy!)  Since I'll be using my concoction in HP soap, I'm hoping to cook it down pretty good & add it after most of the lye has cooked out...hoping that this will help the color "hold" better.

 I have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE as to what I'm doing!  I'm feeling rather like a mad scientist about now, and it is fun!  I've read that this "catmint" (sorry, don't know the real name -would need to call my sister for that) is o.k. to put into tea, so I'm thinking it would be good for soap?

We'll see, I guess.  Here's what it looked like boiling.  I got some really wild aqua colored foam that didn't show up in the photo.  I'm hoping to make the soap tomorrow afternoon.

 I'm thinking of fragrancing the soap with Cornmint and maybe a bit of Eucalyptus. 

Please stay tuned...I'll post pics of the final result -good or bad!

"Deep Purple" HP Soap

 Here's my latest purchase: A pretty purple Crock Pot from Walmart -on sale for $18.00! (I got two...to facilitate my new HP passion)
But check out the purple (alkanet infused) oil -had to take a pic. Funny it's the first batch in my new crock.
Here's how it looks this a.m. I'm actually pleased with the look. I'm getting used to and rather fond of the HP marbling. It's fragranced with French Lavender (of course) and smells divine, courtesy of the HP.

Summer Beauties (not soap)

I snapped a few pics of the lovely flowers that are in full bloom here in the midst of the sweltering heat and humidity.

Today, even as I type, I'm making a batch of lye soap.  That's a no-brainer, but later I hope to make a batch of  "Beach Blanket Bingo"...using my new suntan lotion-smelling fragrance oil.  I feel a bit decadant, making a custom soap for myself.  I do that for other friends and family members all the time, but I tend to use bars that are cut wrong, or have other "defects"....that's a bit silly, isn't it? 

I'm thinking of adding honey to half of the batch to get two different hues to swirl...maybe a line of cocoa in the middle -I've never tried that.  Adding the colors has certainly re-kindled the soaping excitement for me!

I'll post the results tomorrow, but for now, enjoy the flowers!

Happy skin,     ~Becky

Stampin' Soap

I wanted to show you the results of my "Making Memories" magnetic stamp set purchase.  I found this fabulous tip on the Addicted to Soap Blog.  I've tried stamping my soap before using my hubby's leather stamps, but it was really hard to put words together...letter #1 ~STAMP!~  ....letter #2 ~STAMP!~....letter #3 ~STAMP!~   Let me just say right now that I do NOT possess the patience for such an endeavor!

The stamp set is pretty cool, although I am going to have the hubby glue the letters onto a wooden block for me.  It will be more stable and hopefully the letters won't shift around at all.  There are several of each letter, so I may be able to get more than just one stamp out of this set.  Maybe next time I'll break down and have a custom stamp made, but this was so cheap compared to that! (Michael's has 40% off their stamps and stamp sets now!)

I liked the way this photo looked so much that I put it on my website header.  BTW, I'm going to try to go without "tweaking" the website for a month.  Can you even imagine that?  It's going to take a lot of "grrrrr" on my part,  but I have realized what a gigantic waste of time it can be.  I'm just never satisfied, I guess. 

Ready to make some new colored (naturally) soap.  I received my alkanet root powder, and my carrot tissue oil and boy I am just so excited to try them!  Hopefully my coconut oil will be in tomorrow, and I can get back to soaping.  I'll post my experiments soon...my ideas have really been percolating!

Happy Skin, all! 

Ylang Ylang-Lavender w/Bentonite Clay & Madder Root

As promised, here is a photograph of my first colored soap at 48 hours.  It seems to be holding the shade that it had at 24 hours.  I suppose that's normal? It has really been fun experimenting with the color.  This color has really grown on me and I must admit that the soap has quite a bit more eye appeal than my plain cream colored version!

I really need to make some of my Citrus Grove soap, but I think I'm going to wait for my carrot tissue oil to arrive, as I am very impressed with Jen at Jenora Soaps  lovely yellow "Lemon Poppyseed" soap.  If you haven't seen it, you really must check it out!  I never realized what lovely colors could be obtained while still using only all natural ingredients.  I may try to find a nice orange colorant to layer in that particular soap, as it is a lemon-orange-grapefruit mix.  Also plan to try the cornstarch to see if it helps hold the citrus a bit more. Very exciting!

 My head is spinning right now with all the ideas, but I love that!  Thanks again to all you natural colorant soapers out there whose lovely work has inspired me to step out of my little "cream colored comfort zone." : )