Tag: charity

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Texas Pioneer “Kids”

Texas Pioneer Kids CHA Donation
Texas Pioneer Kids CHA Donation- “It’s a Jungle In There” was created with my child for local fundraiser auction. She designed and I followed her orders. Fun times!

I have had a few questions about our “kids” line and decided to add our explanation to our blog to make it easier.  At this current posting time, we do not have a line of products that are designed for kids only.  All of our soaps, unless specifically marked on the package, are safe for all use on ages.  That means that as long as you only use it externally (on your skin only, please don’t eat my soaps) the entire family may use any soaps.  We will occasionally pour some soaps up into fun shapes or themes but we’re not ready yet for a kid’s only line.

What then IS the Texas Pioneer “Kids” label for?  Soaps created with my children for local donations, in short.  The nature of cold process soap making is not child friendly but my kids seem to love helping my mad scientist tendencies.  The soaping bug has bitten them also, I’m afraid.  They get to occasionally design their own soaps from start to finish and those become the “Kids” projects.  They will pick a melt and pour base, scents, colors, additives, and any mold they desire.  We work together on their projects but it is pretty much their soap.  I can only claim supervisor role as I try to make sure everyone follows safety procedures while cooking and the results are safe for use.  There are some fun and interesting results when the kids get in the kitchen!

We try in our family to teach our children to appreciate what they have and to give back to their community.  We have tied this to letting them have a creative expression in their soapmaking and then sharing it with others.  The “Kids” soap line is almost entirely donated to local charitable groups.  We enjoy spending time together in the kitchen, mixing up something fun, and making memories they can pass on to their future kids.  They select a bar or two to keep out of the batch as a keepsake and then the rest are made into gift sets for charitable fundraisers or we deliver the bars to a local charity or worthy organization.  I am working on finding a local nursing home or other ideas of places who might enjoy these.  Do you have any ideas?  I would love to hear them as the kids have summer soaping plans!

I hope this has helped clear the confusion and not created more.  I must now get back to the soap pot.  Another busy week is ahead!

Happy Washing!

Dorothy

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Where to find us update

Just two quick notes here between soap batches and cleaning up for the weekend.  First, we would like to let everybody know that we have launched our Facebook page after much feet dragging on my part.  And whining, complaining, and procrastinating, too!  What a great example for my kids, right?  I’m still learning how to really use it so please come check us out, like us, and laugh along with me as I figure it all out!  For those who have been so patient (and not so patient too!), thank you and I hope to see you around there in addition to the blog.

We will also be found at our local Family Fun Day on May 5th.  For CHA members, you can find some of our creations at the raffle table.  The kids had fun helping plan our donations and are excited to show off what they helped make.  They had a great time with the themes and colors.  We are not selling that day- just there for the fun and to donate some gift sets for the scholarship fund raffle.  Hope you enter and win!  I will post pictures of the raffle sets as we get closer for all to enjoy.

Back to the kitchen for me.  Enjoy your weekends, all!

Happy Washing!

Dorothy

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Fun and Worthwhile Evening

Last week, my children & I got the chance to enjoy a great evening put together by the teen librarians at our local library.  Elsie Elise & Patsy had set up an event for their teens that included a great potluck dinner celebrating each participant’s family heritages.  It was immediately followed by a session of soap making and handmade labeling- it was great fun!  Their goal was to create soaps to donate as Christmas presents to a local children’s home and they did an outstanding job.

I heard about the event thru Donna (Neighborhood Holiday Market last month) and had agreed to both donate some of my store’s soaps and come help them at the teen event.  I am so glad that I did!  They had done a wonderful job cutting out a variety of decorations for the bags & gift tags for the kids to label and getting everyone to bring a great dish (except yours truly who had a brain fart and forgot to bring one- still sorry about that!!)  My kids are still talking about me needing to make some of the dishes here at home for them too.  The librarians were extremely nice and let me little ones join in the dinner and festivities even though they were way out of the age range.  You made their night, guys!  They had a wonderful time and still talk about how much they enjoyed it.

Melt and pour at the library

After a delicious meal, we all went into their kitchen and made a variety of beautiful melt & pour soaps.  The library had provided everything they would need, from the base to the colors to the scents and molds.  The kids had fun mixing and matching their own scents & colors.  It was great to see some of the combinations they would imagine and how quickly they picked it up!  There were layered soaps created, beautiful simple designs that smelt wonderful, and some that were just plain fun.  All in all, I would say the teen librarians deserved a huge pat on the back putting together a wonderful evening.  I’m including some of the pictures of the soaps in this post for all to enjoy.

Melt and pour at the library

But where was the worthwhile part?  All but one soap per child were made to be donated to the Krause Children’s Center here in town.  Donna had found out about the library’s plan to create these soaps for a donation to the center and spread the word, collecting donations for the kids and promoting the center.  I was honored to both donate to and help others create presents for these kids; it was a wonderful opportunity for the kids also to take a moment, have a little fun, and make someone else happy.  Thank you so much to the teen librarians at CyFair’s LoneStar College and Donna for bringing this center to my attention and for giving so much of yourselves for their cause.  If you happen to be in my area and looking for a charity to support for the new year, please consider this one.

Happy Washing!

Dorothy

Updated on 1/5/2012 to correct the spelling of a name.  -Dorothy