Category: Where to find me

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Soap garden growing

So this beautiful weather has been great for the soap garden in addition to my spirits.  We’ve been busy here helping those little green sprouts pop up and attempting to keep them weed free.  Well, as much as possible.  The cilantro, sage, and some of the flowers have really taken off now.  With any luck, and no record-breaking drought here in Texas this year, these little guys might actually make it into the soaps!  I’m really hoping to get to work with them soon.

What on earth would possess me to add some of the garden bounty to my soap?  Why not?  There are many items we use in soap making for aromatherapy in addition to their coloring abilities.  Vanilla is a prime example of an additive that both changes the smell and will most definitely darken your soap.  Calendula flowers will create a pretty color while lavender ones can make a great texture change to the soap.  I wanted to use some of the fresh herbs and flowers in soap making while being able to honestly say whether or not they were grown pesticide free.  Growing my own lets me control exactly how they are treated.  If I want pesticide free flowers or truly fresh-cut herbs in my next batch, I just step out back and a cut off what I need.  No guessing or hoping about what might have been added to my botanicals.  Although I do have to guess about the weather for growing them and Texas weather tends to keep all of us guessing!

The sun is rising here now and I must get back to the soap pot.  Hope your weekend is a pretty out there as mine looks to be.  Donna’s Market is going on this weekend and you can find some of my info there at her booth.  She will be taking any orders you may have for me Saturday while there.  I will be in my regular weekly spots until CHA’s Family Fun Day in May where you will find me again!

Happy Washing!

Dorothy

Posted on by — Leave a comment

What’s in stock now

As promised, here is the current stock list and spring sale prices.  Soaps are a minimum of 4 oz. when cut and individually packaged.    All Texas sales will include sales tax.  Online sales will be quoted shipping at order.  Gift sets and custom orders available upon request.  Looking for a specific scent?  Let me know!

Chocolate Soap $3.50/bar- 18 bars available

Vanilla Soap $3.50/bar- only 4 bars left

Homestead Soap (Unscented, no additives) $3.00/bar- only 5 bars left

Cedar Soap $3.50/bar- only 1 left

Olive Oil Castile Soap $3.50 bar- 9 bars left

My milling of the beer soap (see previous post) will push it into April before it will be ready.  The honeysuckle should be on this list before the end of spring too!  Those who put in preorders will be notified as soon as they are ready to ship.  For you guys, there are the Teakwood & Moroccan Mint on the way too.  Why am I excited about these guy scents?  Because of the poor men who would come to me and say they don’t want to smell sweet or like flowers!  They want something with a bit more manliness to it.   These are definitely more manly and the ladies have all responded with two thumbs up so far.  My personal favorites for the guys- beer (Texas Suds here since we do local beers in it) and teakwood- woohoo!

I am interested in your feedback, commenting here or emailing me privately, about loyalty programs.  I have pondered these programs many times and find some attractive to me as a customer while others were too involved.  I’ve seen the buy one get one free deals, the offer for a discount off your next order, frequent shopper discounts or freebies, collecting points to redeem, and the “members get advance notice” ideas, just to name a few.  I will take advantage of some of these as a customer while others just seem to be too much trouble.  What is better to your family?  Do you think the programs are worth it?  What are some of your favorites?  Or are they a way to help justify higher prices?

Due to schedule conflicts, I will not be able to attend Donna’s Spring Market this month.  I am adjusting my calendar while we handle the recent family death and will keep you posted where you will be able to find me.  I can still be found locally at my regular spots and always available online!  Now the sun is rising again and the soap molds are calling me.  I must submit to their siren song.  Hope your day is a beautiful as this one looks to be here!

Happy Washing!

Dorothy

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Back at it!

Thank you to those who waited so patiently while we were closed last week and those who reached out to help us.  Your understanding and kindness were greatly appreciated!

I will post a quick inventory update later this week- how about that?  Two posts in the same week?!?!?  I know that I promised a complete update on what I have on hand and will get it done this week.

While we were closed and going through things, I did play with the beer soap.  I confess.  It was begging me, pleading with me.  My first pour of it had resulted in a pretty swirl that reminded me of cream being swirled into coffee at first.  Unfortunately, my color swirl failed and I felt it got ugly- fast!  I left it sitting for the first few days while I was getting a hold of things personally.  I could smell the soap when I was near it and it taunted me.  The color just got to where it flat-out annoyed me and I decided to mill the soap.  For those who don’t know what milled soap is, let me explain.

Milled soap, which does go by other names, is simply soap that was created, shredded down at least once, remelted, and remolded.  You can shred and remelt to your heart’s content.  Honestly, a lot of the soaps you purchase in the stores are milled.  Done well, you can create a beautiful, compact bar of soap and have a chance to use more “perishable” soap add-ins.  For example, you can use botanicals or scents that might not survive the harshness of the cold process of soapmaking.  This is a great technique for your ugly soaps too!  I grabbed out my grater and took no prisoners that afternoon.  Those defenseless shreds found themselves dumped into the soaping crock, melted to gooey blobiness, and then unceremoniously plopped into molds.  Tons of fun!  (Is blobiness even a real word?  Don’t know but it’s fun to say.  Try it like “blob-E-ness” and see for yourself.)

I must also confess to being hooked on this scent.  The beer soaps are usually compared to the smell of something baked and fresh out of the oven.  No, you don’t smell like a freshly opened bottle of beer!  This scent has that same warm, yeasty hook to it and then something special.  I swear I’ve got to get some of this onto the hubby- fast!  It might be a hard call between this beer soap round and the Indonesian Teakwood for my favorite manly scent.  I will let you know and would love to hear your votes!

The sun is now up here and I must go water the garden and feed the animals.  May your day be great, life go your way today, and your troubles be small.

Happy Washing!

Dorothy