In the Interest of Annie

400 Facebook Fans! Yea!

2012-02-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

This Giveaway is Closed.

To celebrate reaching 400 fans on Facebook, I am having a little giveaway. This is probably the biggest giveaway I have had so far, so hopefully I will have a lot of entries this time! I am having the giveaway here because Facebook has some rules, and I'm not really sure what exactly they are, so I'd rather be safe than sorry. It would kind of be ironic to have a fan giveaway only to have the page shut down!!

What am I giving away? Well, I am keeping part of it a surprise (because I LOVE surprises!), but I will tell you that (in honor of St. Valentine's Day) I am giving away one of my Red Velvet Cupcake Soaps!

How do you enter? Well, first you must be a Facebook fan (of course!). Then, comment here (and please leave your email somewhere so I can contact you!). You can say anything you want or tell me if you have some special plans for Valentines Day (please no TMI, thanks) if you need something to say. :)

You can get extra entries by posting the contest on Facebook or tweeting about the contest (make sure you comment back letting me know or put @pitterpatterndesigns so I can see the post). I will choose the winner Monday night. You won't get the package in time for Valentine's Day, but consider it a Valentine from me to you! ;)

Just a side note... I recently discovered Pinterest (crack for the creative mind). Come on over and follow me, and I promise I will follow you back. I love to see what everyone is pinning! www.pinterest.com/pitterpatsoap

Valentine's Day Soap and Other Projects

2012-01-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

I have not posted here in such a long time. The holidays were busy, exciting, and exhausting all at once. Although I thoroughly enjoyed them, I have to say that I am happy that the girls are back in school and we are back in some sort of schedule. I have been quite busy restocking soap and designing some new soaps for the coming year.

Red Velvet Valentine Cupcake Soap

These are soaps that have been freshly cut and will be cleaned up and ready in a few weeks. The White Tea and Ginger is a new to me. The scent is refreshingly sweet and pleasant. I colored the soap using rose clay and yellow silt clay. Although I usually opt for bright colors in my soap, I am really enjoying the muted, natural tones of this soap.

White Tea & Ginger

Lavender Herb

I also made a fresh batch of Bee Clean Soap. It is made with beeswax and honey, which gives the soap a mildly sweet scent. This is quite popular with those who don't like color and scent in their soap.

Now that I am back on schedule and have a bit of my sanity back, I hope to be posting many more soap creations and pictures. I have one more surprise that I have been working on, but I want to have it cured and cleaned up before I post pictures. So stay tuned...

Pitter Pattern Designs on Good Day Sacramento!

2011-11-14T21:44:00.000-08:00

My appearance on Good Day Sacramento. I am working really hard not to pass out, throw up, or anything of that sort. Overall, I had fun though. :) I still can't believe that guy took an actual bite out of that soap. He can't say I didn't warn him! Yeah, I let them keep those...

Cupcake Soap, Swirls, and Other Exciting News!!

2011-11-10T13:27:00.001-08:00

Raspberry Cupcake Soap

I have been extremely busy making soap of course, but also with some custom orders and getting a little PR. I also redesigned my banner for the blog and my Etsy shop. What do you think?!

These are the cupcake soaps I have been working on lately. I have been selling quite a bit wholesale and they are always popular during the holidays. I have added several new "flavors:" Raspberry, Georgia Peach, a redo of my "Fresh Pear" ( now Ginger Pear), and Chocolate Mint. These are all available in the mini size as well.

Georgia Peach Cupcake Soap

Ginger Pear Cupcake Soap

Chocolate Mint Cupcake Soap

Although I have been restocking most of my soap bars in my traditional loaf molds, I have mixed it up and redesigned a few soaps using a slab mold. I am having a ton of fun making all these swirls. There is just so much more room to work. Can you tell I am in love? <3 <3

Sparkling Ginger

Gardenia

I have been talking with the editor of a local magazine the last few months about doing a little feature on my cupcake soaps. So here it is in the November issue of Sacramento Parent Magazine!

This week has also been pretty exciting. A local news program will be having me on their show on Sunday (Good Day Sacramento - Channel 31 during the 7 o'clock hour). I am quite nervous, but luckily it is a very casual show. I don't do well with this sort of attention, so I am hoping I will be able to form a complete sentence, remember my name...you know, stuff like that. ;)

For those of you who are local (Northern California), I will be in Auburn the weekend after Thanksgiving (Nov. 26th and 27th from 10-5) at the Gold County Fair Grounds selling soap and bath goodies. Also, you can catch me at the City of Roseville Craft Fair. This event is at the Maidu Community Center in Roseville. After that, I will be focusing on my online orders, getting stuff together for my own kiddos and family, as well as planning my late Winter and Spring Soap. Crazy!!

My Memories Suite Scrapbooking Software Giveaway

2011-11-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it is November already? The holidays are approaching! Pretty soon it will be time to make our holiday cards and start our holiday scrapbooking projects. This is why I am excited to be hosting a giveaway for the My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software. This is wonderful software for scrapbooking of course, but also for holiday cards, invitations, and anything else where you want to add embellished pictures.

My memories sent me a copy of the software to try, and I had a blast playing around with their different layouts and embellishments. One of the best things about this software is that it is super easy to use. Everything is labeled and the layout is simple and self-explanatory. It is also easy to save your pages and albums for later use or to upload and print.

This is a scrapbook page I created using their super cute ready-to-use templates.

I also created a scrapbook page and holiday card using their "create your own" feature, which allows you to use their embellishments with your own layout.

I used their basic program to create a these pages, but it is easy to add more embellishment kits from their site. They have free pages to upload and add to your software, or you can purchase kits, which are quite affordable from $0.99- $6.99.

You can receive $10 off the My Memories Suite V2 software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store (a $20 value!) by visiting My Memories, purchasing the My Memories Suite V2, and using this coupon code upon checkout:

STMMMS13944

(I recommend copying and pasting it to avoid mistakes)

Now for the giveaway.

My memories is giving away a copy of the My Memories Suite V2 (a $40 value).

To enter follow the steps below:

(please leave a separate comment for each entry. Thanks!)

1. Visit the My Memories website and comment here about something you see that you love. (Please add your email address so that I can contact you if you win)

2. Visit the My Memories Suite Facebook Page, like their page and comment again, or tweet:

"I entered the @MymemoriesSuite #giveaway @pitterpatsoap"

for an additional entries.

3. Share about this contest on Facebook and comment again to gain yet another entry.

This contest will be open until Midnight (PST) next Thursday (November 10). I will announce the winner via Facebook & Twitter and I will send out an email as well.

Good luck!

Soapmaking Birthday Party!!

2011-10-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

We had a soap making birthday party for my daughter's 9th birthday this weekend. It was a lot of fun. I didn't get any pictures of the girls making the soap (I was too busy controlling the chaos), but I got a couple afterward. I only included pictures of my own children, but everybody made really cool stuff. Our theme was neon and peace signs (two of Julia's favorite things).

The soapmaking itself was chaotic but fun. I had all the girls add one color and one fragrance, which they used for one big soap and several small soaps. After the soap was cooled, we popped them out and the girls used the smaller soaps to swap with each other so they ended up with a few colors and scents. Here are what my two ended up with.

We put their soap in a paper bag and I put this in a larger bag along with their party favors. This was then tied up in a ribbon and put aside until it was time to go. It is my experience that once the party favors, etc. are opened and messed with, they end up being left, mixed up, or generally tossed around, so this final step prevented that dilemma.

The cupcakes were lemon with neon pink frosting. They match the cupcake party favors that I made for the girls. No one probably noticed this, but Julia was excited about it, and that is all that matters. All of the girls LOVED the pink frosting, and of course, they put it on their lips like lipstick. Silly girls!

Each girl went home with their soap, a cupcake soap, and a lip balm. I found these tiny little lip balm tubs (I want to squeal every time I see them). I put a little flower sticker on top, and they were perfect to go along with their cupcake soap. Since Julia is really into peace signs right now, I customized her label to include that along with her special birthday message.

The girls loved the party and requested a repeat next year! We had so much fun!!

A couple new soapies

2011-09-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

I just listed a couple new soaps in the Etsy shop. I redesigned the Cherry Almond, adding a little more almond, as the last batch was really, really strong on the cherry.

Turkish Mocha is a scrumptious combination of coffee and chocolate. I am already getting a lot of hungry customers at the farmer's market who want to eat this one.

I also made a new batch of Meyer Lemon. My first batch did not last long. I made the top a little more colorful this time. :)

I have a very busy weekend planned in the soap kitchen. I am providing mini soap cupcakes for a birthday party next week and have a fairly large wholesale cupcake soap order pending, so I really need to stock up on cupcake soaps. Yea!!

My daughter is also turning nine at the end of October. We have a very soapy birthday planned with melt and pour soapmaking for the girls and mini cupcake party favors (Julia wants neon pink frosting with neon yellow and white bottoms and green glitter). We are also making matching real cupcakes. I can hardly wait (Why yes! I do like to plan ahead. Just a bit). Of course I will take plenty of pictures. :)

What do you have planned this weekend?

Just cut - Happy Swirling!

2011-09-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

My kids are all back in school (and adjusted), so I have been able to get busy soaping this week! This first one is Karma, and although karma is colorless, this colors came to mind when I got ready to make this soap. I believe the bottom portion will settle into a nice tan color and the top colors may mellow out a bit as the fragrance discolors. We will see...

My Oatmeal Stout Beer Soap has been such a hit at all my markets and fairs (who doesn't love beer, right?), that I added this Honey Ale to the mix. It was a fast mover for me, so it didn't go as planned, but it definitely has its own personality (my mom said the bottom one looked like an egg ;)).

I have also been running low on my Black Tea Shaving Soap. I cut this soap this morning, and I couldn't get over how cool the swirls turned out this time. Every bar turned out awesome. I am one happy soaper! I had to take several pictures of this one because they turned out so different. All of this soap will, of course, be available in the Etsy shop in about 4 weeks.

I am off to make more soap... I am taking a break from the market tomorrow to take care of some boring business stuff, but I will be back at it next week!

Just a little soapy goodness

2011-08-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

I have been really busy attending events in my area and my weekly farmer's market. I finally was able to catch up on my soap pictures and Etsy listings. I thought I'd share a few pictures. You can find all of these soaps in my Etsy shop. Happy Monday!!

Sweet Strawberry Cupcake

Sweet Strawberry Mini Cupcakes

Blackberry Sage Cupcake

Blackberry Sage Mini Cupcake

Sparkling Ginger Scrub Soap

Oh, and my Pumpkin Spice Soap and Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes are back for the fall and winter holidays! Yum!!

New Soap Mold Love

2011-08-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

The bottom has already turned a nice, rich
brown.

My dad loves to make things with wood: tables, desks, chests, etc. So when I mentioned to him that I might want to make a wooden soap mold, my dad graciously volunteered to make one for me. I told him it was no hurry, that I am perfectly happy with my log molds, but I would like to have a wooden slab mold in the future. So, a couple weeks later, he and my mom gave one to me for my birthday and bought dividers for it and everything! Like I said before, I have always been happy with my log molds, but with all the awesome soap swirling going around, I wanted to play. Thanks Dad!

This is my first soap with the mold, and I am completely in love. It was so much fun to have such a large area to work with. I can see that I will use this mold a lot in the near future. I just didn't know what I was missing!

I have also been working on some new lip balms. The tubes in the back are the new ones. I made up some new labels that are a little cleaner looking that the old ones. I have to take some product pics for the Etsy shop, and then I will be ready to add them. The new flavors are Acai, Asian Pear, and Creme de Menthe. I also made some in Butter Creme, Coconut, and Passionfruit Rose.

Cupcake soaps have been quite a hit at the farmer's market I attend each week. I make some this weekend in Blackberry Sage and Sweet Strawberry to replenish my supply. I am loving the new glitters I have been using. They add a hint of color along with the sparkle.

A few more pictures of the market this week.

My little helper

The Versatile Blogger - What a nice surprise!

2011-07-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

I came home from vacation to find that the lovely Emily from Soap and Restless presented me with the Versatile Blogger award. Thank you so much Emily!

The rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are:
1 – Make a post and link it back to the person who gave you the award (and include their website address)
2 – Share 7 random things about yourself
3 – Award 7 recently discovered bloggers with this award and contact them to let them know they have won

So, seven things about me...

1. I have the tendency become obsessed with certain activities (soaping for instance) for varying lengths of time.

2. I love to bake, and I am known for my Christmas cookies. :)

3. I am an avid reader. I often read when I should be doing other things.

4. I was very shy when I was little, and I still have to fight the tendency to be a bit of a loner (although my kids have forced me to be more outgoing than I used to be).

5. I used to be a teacher (despite my shy disposition). My favorite grade was Kindergarten.

6. I don't have a favorite color because I love them all (the brighter the better).

7. I have different colored eyes. They aren't really as dramatic as some I've seen. I get some really weird comments about them and sometimes some strange questions. The funniest was when my daughter's teacher said, "You have different colored eyes! Like a Husky!!" Australian Shepherds sometimes have different colored eyes (not Huskys), and I would love to have one as a pet someday. :)

The seven blogs I have chosen to give the Versatile Blogger Award are:

Soap is Beautiful
Casco Bay Soap Company Blog
Liberty's Yarn and Soaps Blog
Platypus Dreams Blog
Soapendipity
Dirty Laundry
Lovin' Soap Blog

I tried to spread the love to blogs I follow which haven't gotten the award yet (if you did, just some more love going your way).

Lotion Bars, Neon Soap, and Freshly Cut for Fall (Yes! Fall!)

2011-07-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

Coconut Lemongrass

I was a bit busy this weekend. I had an order for lotion bars, so I thought it would be the perfect time to add a few to the store and to bring along to the market on Friday. I made some Coconut Lemongrass, Lavender Herb, Passionfruit Rose, and Spun Sugar (my husband's request ;)).

Spun Sugar

Passionfruit Rose

Newly packaged Lavender Herb

I have been planning and starting to make soap for Fall. In the extreme heat it is difficult to imagine that Fall is around the corner, yet it will be here before we know it! I made some Berry Wine Soap and some Sparkling Ginger Scrub Soap (with pumice in the bottom layer). These I cut this morning. Obviously they need to be cleaned up a bit.

Berry Wine

Sparkling Ginger Scrub Soap

I have to give a shout out to Bianca over at Soap is Beautiful, who featured some of my soap in this recent blog post. Thanks Bianca! It is always a treat to be featured somewhere in the blogosphere. I really love her blog.

I continue to bring my soap to the Friday Farmer's Bazaar here in Roseville (California). Traffic has been picking up now that the word is getting out. I have so much fun talking soap with people passing by or just chatting with people in general. It is sure hot in our area right now, but I hear it will only get into the upper 80s this Friday. That will be a nice change.

Next week I will be taking a short break from July 17th-22nd, while we drive down to Los Angeles for my daughter's two year neurology post-op and Disneyland extravaganza. We are really looking forward to it. It will be a fun way to celebrate my birthday as well. I will be closing the Etsy shop while we are down there, but I will be checking my messages periodically.

I took some photos of my Neon Dream Soap, which will be listed by the end of the week. This soap is so much fun (I love color if you couldn't tell ;)).

Neon Dream

Musical inspiration of the day

2011-07-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

If you have not listened to these two yet, you should. They are beyond AMAZING!!

This is what I am soaping to today. I hope your weekend was a good one! :)

An eventful week- Happy 4th of July!!

2011-07-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

I have had a very eventful and exciting week! I spent most of the week getting ready for the new Farmer's Bazaar here in Roseville (California). I live extremely close to this one, so I was excited to check it out. Here are a couple pictures of my booth. I took these with my phone...

Luckily it was pretty shady and not too hot most of the time. I didn't really heat up until the end of the market at around 1:00. As this farmer's bazaar is a new one, the crowd was pretty thin. Since I was warned that this was the case, I was actually surprised by the amount of people who came by to talk to me about my soap. I am going to stick with this market through the summer because I think it has the potential to be really nice. There was music and some wonderful vendors there. I had a lot of wonderful conversation with people who work in the area, with some of the other vendors, and with people who came by to check out the new market. I am already looking forward to next week. This area is in need of some really nice farmer's markets, so I am excited to be involved in start of this one.

I was also really excited to be mentioned in the July/August issue of Saponifier Magazine, a magazine that is all about soap making. I submitted my bio and pictures a week or two ago, and I was really surprised to see them in this issue. I am beyond excited.

In addition, was interviewed by the delightful Betty Miller with Creative Soap Week. Check out my interview here.

And finally, my soaps can now be found in the Tiffany Berger Gallery on K Street in downtown Sacramento.Find more information (i.e. address/phone number) for this gallery on the side bar to the right. Tiffany is a jewelry artist whose jewelry has beautiful garden influences. If you are in the Sacramento area, definitely stop by her gallery and jewelry shop and take a look.

I am looking forward to the 4th of July, which is going to be low key and pretty uneventful for us. It is starting to get super hot, so we are just thinking of inventive ways to stay cool while keeping the AC usage to a minimum. :) Happy 4th everyone!

Out to Sea - Reconstructed

2011-06-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

The Out to Sea saga continues... OK, so I made some soap called Out to Sea. Those of you who follow closely might remember it.

The salt melted (disaster). I decided that I liked the good part too much to give up. I thought about it...and thought about it...and I thought of a solution. I still wanted it to look like a day out to sea. So I decided to scrape off the salt the best I could. There was still a little salt where it went down in the soap, but most of the surface on the top was scraped down to the soap. I had to do this gently because the salt literally disintegrated into a fine powder. This picture was kind of dark because I took it with only my kitchen light on, so although the soap looks like it is solid aqua, it still has that nice variation of color.

I piped on some soap, let it sit a bit and used a skewer to fashion some wavelike peaks of soap. This is what I ended up with. I think I might be happier with this than the original soap!

So moral of the story (which I have learned many times in my life): when it seems like things are hopeless, never give up! :) Ok, it probably wasn't quite as dramatic as all that, but I'm happy anyway.

I also made this one this weekend. This FO decided to accelerate on me big time. I wasn't sure about the turnout until I cut it this morning., but the soap fairies decided to help me out a bit I think.

Moonlight Pomegranate

Musical inspiration

2011-06-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not ashamed...I like to dance around while I'm soaping (OK, not during the crucial parts). My kids think that I am a little weird, and I often will hear one or more of them say, "MOM!!" when I get particularly into it (hey, I didn't say I dance well, just that I like to dance ;)). These are a couple bands that I have been in love with lately.

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing The Head and the Heart perform in Las Vegas when I went to see Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. They blew me away, and I have been hooked ever since.

My other favorite right now is Mumford and Sons. There is nothing about this band I don't like. They are intense, their lyrics are phenomenal, and the instrumentals are unworldly. Heaven...

Music like this inspires my creativity. It is like food for my brain. It motivates me.

What have you been listening to lately that inspires you?

Cherry Blossom, oh how I love you!

2011-06-22T16:24:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post with some pictures of my Cherry Blossom soap. I love this FO. If you remember, this is one of the Bramble Berry fragrances I tested as part of the S.O.A.P. panel. It is fresh, powdery, yet not overpowering. It is a dream to soap with too. I could go on and on. Anyway, here are a few of my product pictures. I listed this soap today along with Rose Petal and Meyer Lemon.

Cherry Blossom

Find this soap here

Cherry Blossom Soap Square

Frustrations, New colors, and Photos

2011-06-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

I have to start by saying that I am seriously bummed. Remember the Out to Sea soap that I posted last time? It definitely took a turn for the worse. I have started spraying my soap with alcohol right after I pour it and while it is setting up to prevent soda ash. I did it to this soap as well not thinking anything of it, and it made the dead sea salt on top melt right off! I guess I should have thought about this ahead of time. So, I am going to have to do some creative thinking and hopefully come up with an idea that will save the tops of my soap (luckily the soap part is fine). I haven't come up with anything yet, but I am going to have to let go of my original vision first. :( I am really sad because I really loved how it turned out. Well, live and learn!

Bye, bye salt!! :(

In the meantime, I have been working of a couple other soaps. I just got some neon colorants from Bramble Berry, and I couldn't wait to experiment! For the first soap, I decided to go all out and use almost all of them. It was just too hard to resist. This was a really fun one. I am thinking of a good name for it. It has to be something fun.

Neon Soap (No name yet)

I also made a new gardenia soap. I wanted it to have a bit of interest (I like to do something other than just white), so I held back some soap (I knew this FO was an accelerator) to do a cool design on top. This was coconut milk soap, I added a little TD to the white so it would be really white, and for some reason it was a little crumbly when I tried to cut it. I think it might be the TD that caused this, but I'm not sure. I left part of it to cut later. Maybe a little more time to set up (fingers crossed)? It is still fine, just a little rustic on the bottom. Oh well (sigh)...

Gardenia

I am listing these two soaps this week. Rose Petal and Meyer Lemon. Meyer Lemon has been popular already and I have sold quite a bit already. I do have to say that this is the best lemon scent I have ever smelled in a bath product. It is sweet, yet still lemony, without any of that Pledge scent that I like to stay away from. The Rose Petal is such a delicate, fresh rose. It really is very lovely. I had fun photographing these soaps this week, and I have been having a bit of fun editing my pictures as well.

Meyer Lemon

Rose Petal

Look for these last two soaps in my Etsy shop later in the week. :)

What's New

2011-06-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am being a bit redundant by posting here and my Facebook page, but I won't pass up any chance to talk about soap, so here I am. I have been making a lot of soap lately in anticipation of the markets and craft/art shows of the summer, but I've been having a bit of trouble finding places that are the right fit for my products, that don't require $20 in gas to drive there, etc., so I'm a bit disappointed in the season so far. I will definitely put out the word when I end up somewhere though.

Over the weekend, I made the "Out to Sea" Soap and Orange Grove. They both smell incredible. I so often wish that there was a way to transmit scent over the internet. Ah, maybe someday...

Out to Sea

Orange Grove

I also took pictures of and listed the Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcake Soaps in my Etsy shop. Again, these smell so delicious. I think I see an actual lemon cake in my immediate future. I am partial to anything lemon, and I am so happy to have found a lemon scent that doesn't smell like wood cleaner. They make me smile. Since I have been getting more orders for mini cupcakes for wedding and baby showers, I need to come up with some new flavors, so I'll be making more soon.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcake

Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes

I also just received my neon colorant sample pack (and some green and pink glitter!) in my Bramble Berry order this week, so stay tuned for some bright and crazy soap. I am doing some serious planning for this one. However it turns out, it's going to be fun! :)

Yea! Soap for me!

2011-06-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Last week I entered a contest by Soapy Joes and won! She sent me some very lovely soap and a lip balm. I feel that making soap is kind of like cooking food. It's nice to make your own, but it is even nicer when someone else makes it! Although the contest was last week, I had to wait to open my soapy goodness because we had a nasty flu going around my house. I didn't want to smell anything. I am so glad I waited because when I opened up this soap, it smelled divine! The first soap is called "Greek Isle Soap." It is such a clean and fresh scent, which I really enjoy. The second is "Mandarin Myrrh Soap." If I had to pick a favorite out of the two, this would be it. The scent is herbal yet very clean smelling with an underlying citrus note. Love, love, love. I really cannot wait to try these soaps. The lip balm, "Chocolate Orange Truffle," smells and tastes just as it sounds. All the yummy chocolate taste with zero calories. Yum!

A big thank you to Amber from Soapy Joes!

On a different note, I have put up a new listing in my Etsy shop for a pound of soap. I find that I always have several bars of soap with each batch that are a little under weight, so I decided to create a listing for a "grab bag" of these soaps. I choose the type of soap, but each one will have 5 different soaps and equal at least 16 oz. (but likely more). They are all wrapped up and labeled just like my regular soaps. Find this listing here.

Pound of Soap

I will be making more soap tomorrow. Pictures to follow.

Soapy Weekend

2011-05-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

We are having unseasonably cold and rainy weather here in Northern California. I have to keep reminding myself that it is indeed the end of May. So as it was raining yesterday, I had a sick child who just wanted to watch movies all day with her sisters by her side, and my husband was out of town, I decided to make some soap! You'll have to forgive the dull photos in this post. I don't get the best pictures on these overcast days. I should get a lightbox set up one of these days, but I really love natural lighting, so I keep dragging my feet.

This first one is rose. I haven't figured out what to call it yet. The FO is called baby rose, but I'm not sure if that is what I want to go with. It is a really light and airy rose, not heavy and super floral, and although I have shied away from rosy florals in the past, I really like this one. I guess that is one of the good things about waiting for soap to cure for 4 weeks, I have plenty of time to think about what to call it. Here is the cut soap.

I have been dying to try this swirling technique. I know it will take some time to get it just right, but I am pretty happy with my first attempt. This one is Meyer Lemon and I LOVE this fragrance. It is sweet lemon that avoids smelling like pledge (I find a lot of lemon FO smell this way to me).

Both of these soaps will be cured and ready to list in the shop in four weeks.

I also made some shampoo bars for my personal use. Several of the soap blogs that I follow have been trying them out. I have been thinking about doing it myself for some time, but I was chicken to try it on my thick, course, colored hair. Finally, after Cocobong posted this recipe and listed all the benefits of using a shampoo bar, I ran out of excuses and decided that I really want to try it out. I also convinced my mom to try it with me, and since her hair is the complete opposite of mine, it will be interesting to compare how our hair ends up. So in four weeks (after these bars cure) I will share my experience.

Finally, although I actually made these first, I made some salt scrubs and bubble bars. These are both going to take some time to perfect. Of course I will share the final result when I reach it.

Whew!! Yesterday was a busy day. I think I am going to make one more soap today and spend some time with the family. In a couple weeks, I am going to be selling soap and gifts at the Downtown Tuesday Night Market in Roseville on Vernon Street from 5-9pm. I hope I will see some familiar faces there. If it is successful, I will be spending most Tuesday nights there until the end of July.

***Update***
Here is my soap from yesterday: Cherry Blossom.

Spring Soap

2011-05-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like spring to inspire and stimulate creativity. I have been soaping a lot lately and I have quite a few batches of soap that will finish curing sometime next week. It is nice that the weather is finally cooperating so that I can take nice photos as well.

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey

Strawberry Lime Mini Cupcake Soap

Strawberry Lime Cupcake Soap

Lily of Valley

Grapefruit Lily

I also have some Red Apple Mini Cupcakes curing along with one I'm calling Renaissance Fair and a tropical soap (name pending). Am I finished? No way...stay tuned for more soap!

Giveaway Winner!

2011-04-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

I picked the winner for my 100th sale giveaway, and the winner is....P.S. (#3), who said she "likes scrubs [as] a great way to keep an all over smooth body glow." Yea! P.S., please send me an email at pitterpatsoap@gmail.com with your address, and I will mail you your prize. For those of you who entered, I thank you for playing. I enjoyed reading all of your comments! :)

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

I have been dying to try this lemon cupcake recipe from The Soap Queen blog. I added just a little Easter touch of my own. Of course I had to test one out, and they are melt-in-your-mouth good. Happy Easter everyone!!

SOAP Gift Collections

2011-04-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the packaging and photographs for the collections I created out of the S.O.A.P. fragrances (just in time for Mother's Day. I am pretty happy with the result. Since I made all the products without color, I brought in some color with the packaging. Bramble Berry will not reveal the fragrances picked by the panel for another week or so, but here are the fragrances and the product pictures.

Secret Garden (#4)

Baroque Brocade (#5)

Cherry Blossom (#6)

Orange Grove (#6) - I'm being stubborn and

still calling this Orange Blossom :)

Eucalyptus Blossom (#8)

Melon Mint (#9)

Honeysuckle Rose (#10)

Of course I left off the first 3 since you knew they were gardenia, but they are also available in gift sets in my Etsy shop. I only have two gift sets for each of the fragrances, so when I say limited edition, I mean it.

I am also having a giveaway to celebrate my first year on Etsy. If you missed that post, please stop by and enter! I will pick a winner Thursday of next week.

Giveaway!!

2011-04-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to have a giveaway to celebrate a little milestone of mine. I have reached over 100 sales in my Etsy shop after less than a year, and I am super excited. So, I am giving away this Positive Energy Cupcake Soap. It is one of a kind since I made it with leftover soap from a special order. I also have mini cupcakes like this one available at my Etsy shop. It is made with one of my top selling fragrances and you will just want to eat it, but don't. To enter, just comment below about your favorite bath and body product to use in the shower, bath or after your bath. I will announce the winner next week, which will be picked by a random number generator. Good luck! I hope I will have a lot of entries!! :)

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

2011-03-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter turned six today. We decided to make a peanut butter and chocolate cake. This is a fairly easy cake to make, especially if you cheat a little (like I did today ;)). You'll need two round cake pans and the chocolate cake recipe of your choice. If you are running short on time, just grab two boxes of chocolate cake mix.

Bake the cake as directed and cool completely. Cut the tops off of the cakes and put the top sides together with frosting. Frost the entire cake with the peanut butter frosting recipe below and sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup (2 sticks) butter room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
course salt to add saltiness (if desired)

Beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in confectioner's sugar on low until combined and beat on high until fluffy and smooth (approximately 3 minutes). Add a sprinkle of salt, if desired.

YUM!!

S.O.A.P. - The Wrap Up

2011-03-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

I am finally finished testing all the wonderful fragrances for the Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. Panel. I ended up testing them in three products: cold process soap, lotion bars, and since I had some left over, bath fizzes. I am going to create some really nice gift sets with all the things that I have created during this experience. They will be available as soon as the fragrance names are revealed. :)

As I mentioned in my last post, some of the cold process soap discolored unexpectedly. Most of them remained white or ivory, but as you can see below, #8 and #9 turned a medium tan color (#5 was orange when poured and turned a dark tan). I do process my soap using the CPOP method, which may darken it more than if I did regular cold process soap. I was very pleased with how these fragrances held up under the soaping process. The only one that seemed to change was #9, which I felt mellowed quite a bit in the soap.

There were really no surprises in the lotion bars and bath fizzes. No discoloration occurred, they did not cause any problems, and all the fragrances blended well with the ingredients used. I did notice that several of the fragrances smelled less strong in the lotion bars than out of the bottle, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

I am really glad that I had the opportunity to work with some unique fragrances while on this panel. I feel that I have a new appreciation of florals and I am able to single out individual notes within a fragrance better than I could before. I will take this skill with me as I pick new fragrances for my customers. Thank you so much Bramble Berry!

Did you miss my other posts about the S.O.A.P. panel?

Out of the Bottle Impressions
Testing Day One - The Trace
Testing Day Two - The Day After

Black Tea Shaving Soap

2011-03-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

I had to wait to take some pictures of the soap I made the other day since it has been gloomy here in California. We do not usually get this many rainy days in a row! Here are some pictures of my black tea shaving soap after it was cut. It will be several weeks before it is ready to use. It smells so nice and manly. :)

I had to include this picture of the precut soap. I thought it looked really cool.

Tempering Butter 101(shea, mango, and cocoa)

2011-03-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

Although I am in love with lotion bars and lip balm, I felt that mine were turning out slightly grainy. It isn't something that completely ruins the products, for as soon as they warm up the graininess goes away and it melts into your skin, but I have not been entirely happy with them. I learned that the culprit is my butters. This has nothing to do with the quality of the butters, but more that the fluctuation in temperature causes the butters to crystallize. The best way to get rid of the graininess is to temper the butters. Maintaining a high heat for a prolonged amount of time causes the crystals to melt completely, resulting in smooth butter (hopefully). Each butter has a slightly different process, so I will share a little on each one.

Shea Butter: Heat to 170 - 185 degrees. Maintain this temperature for approximately 15-30 minutes.

Mango Butter: Heat slowly to 100 degrees. Maintain this temperature for 45-60 minutes.

Cocoa Butter: Heat slowly to 100 degrees. Maintain this temperature for 45-60 minutes.

Slowly melt the butter, lifting the thermometer

out and away from the pot occasionally to

get an accurate temperature.

The most difficult part of this process is maintaining the temperature. I heated my butters in a pot on my gas stove on low and stirred and watched until it was melted, all the while constantly watching the temperature. With the shea butter, I slowly raised the temperature until I reached the desired 175, then eased it back down. The mango and cocoa butter, in order to maintain 100 degrees, I had to alternately turn the burner on and off as the temperature climbed and decreased (usually in about 10 minute intervals). It was kind of a long, tedious process, but I hope it will be worth it when I have nice, smooth lotion bars.

I have also reformulated my lotion bars, adding mango and vitamin E to create a more moisturizing bar that has more "slip" on the skin.

Rainy Day

2011-03-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

What else would I do on a rainy day? I made a bunch of custom mini cupcakes for a couple wedding showers and some new manly soap. I will post some cut pictures tomorrow.

Can you guess what I am making?

Pictures tomorrow. I can hardly wait!!

These will have orange frosting when they cure. I am
always anxious as I wait for the color to change!

These are actually pink, but the color looks
weird in this picture. It is very gray outside
today.

S.O.A.P. Testing Day Two - The Day After

2011-03-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

I do apologize that I didn't post this sooner. Now that I got rid of that nasty cold, I can smell again (thank goodness!). I found that most of the fragrances had nice staying power in the soap. Some smell even better and more floral, and some mellowed a little, but there was nothing too surprising. 7-10 where tested in a separate batch. These heated up a little more than I would have liked. This was due to my error only and it didn't seem to change anything about the fragrances. On the left are plain white soap without fragrance in which to compare the color of the tested soap.

The gardenias were very interesting to me. Since I knew what they were beforehand, I was really able to judge according to my knowledge of the flower. After reading my initial impressions, you may be surprised by my findings.

#1Gardenia: This stayed a very light ivory, mellowing a little in the soap. Although I think this is nice smelling, I do not think it smells like gardenia at all.

#2 Gardenia: This settled into a nice ivory color the next day. Smells much like it did in the bottle. I really like this fragrance a lot. Although this doesn't smell the most like gardenia out of all three fragrances, this is my favorite of the three. It is such a pleasant scent and does smell very much like the flower.

#3 Gardenia: This soap is also an ivory color. It still has some spots throughout due to that weird clumping thing it did when mixing in the fragrance. It wouldn't bother me much, but they are there. This didn't change tremendously the day after, but enough that I like it slightly less. It almost has a sour note at the end, and although I do like the fact that it smells much like the flower itself, I actually prefer #2 to this one. I know, I was surprised myself!

#4: This is also ivory. The lily smell in the soap mellowed slightly, but it was able to retain the green note that I enjoyed so much. Lovely. I really like this one.

#5: This one was still orange the next day (as you can see in the picture), but since I had to wait a few days before writing this up, it has darkened into more of a dark orange tan. This has mellowed in the soap. It is not quite as sugary sweet and I detect more of the floral notes in it than I did straight out of the bottle. It is still a little sweet and sugary for my taste, but much nicer in the soap.

#6: No color change to this soap at all. You can see that it is the same color as my control bars. No real change in the fragrance that I could detect. I'm still thinking freesia. A very delicate and pretty fragrance.

#7: This one also appears to be an ivory color. It isn't quite as strong in the soap as in the bottle. Still very citrusy. I still say orange blossom. I wish it was a little stronger in the soap, but this may change as it cures (I hope!).

#8: This one is interesting. Looking at the pictures, you would say that there was hardly any color change. It is nearly as white as the control bar. After the last week, it has darkened into a tan color. I will revisit this when I show the cured soap. I thought it would be best to photograph them again after another couple weeks. The fragrance is much the same as it was in the bottle. No big surprises.

#9: This one has also turned tan after time. You can see that it was white in the picture also. The fragrance is still very melon to me. It seems quite a bit more mellow than in the bottle and less sweet.

#10: Stayed a nice white color, maybe yellowed a touch. It has mellowed in the soap in a very good way. I can smell more of the rose coming through and it has lost much of that OFF smell. It still reminds me of the woods though. I like it.

My favorites**: Hmmm. I have a very difficult time picking favorites, but I will give it my best shot. I do not have an intense dislike toward any of the fragrances, so that is a good thing. :) My least favorite would be #5 - too syrupy sweet for me. I like all the others in varying degrees. Here are my top five in descending order (drum roll please...).
#2 (I felt I had to choose only one of the gardenias...#3 came in closely as a second gardenia)
#4
#6
#7
#10
Weird that they followed the chronological numbering...

I plan to do another post once they have cured a bit more. You will see the color changes I was talking about above. I will note any further changes in the fragrances then. I also have made some very nice lotion bars with these fragrances. I got sick half way through making those, so I will post on those next week!

**I reserve the right to change my mind after these babies cure... ;)

See my previous S.O.A.P. panel blog posts:

Out of the Bottle Impressions
Testing Day 1 - The trace

Spring Awakenings

2011-03-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

grape hyacinth

I have been hibernating the last few days trying to get rid of this yucky cold I have, but today is beautiful. On my way to pick up my young one, I couldn't help but notice that my plants are starting to emerge from the ground and the blossoms are blooming all around us. Here are a few pictures that should make you smile. They definitely helped me shake this cold off and enjoy the day. Enjoy!!

irises starting to peek through

my neighbor's plum tree blooming

hyacinth

hyacinth just starting to open

not open yet, but still pretty

Unfortunately, this also means I need to pull weeds. I think they are taking over...

S.O.A.P. Testing Day One: The Trace

2011-03-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

I shared my first impressions about the S.O.A.P. fragrances the other day, but this post is all about the trace and pour in cold process soap. I am predominantly a cold process soap maker, so this is the process I am most interested in testing, but I also plan to test them in some lotion bars later on. As I am not used to making such small quantities of soap, I consulted Bramble Berry's Fragrance Calculator to see how much fragrance to use. In this test I used .5 oz. of fragrance per roughly 9 oz. of soap. I also made a small test log of soap (without fragrance) so that I would have something in which to compare the soap samples (color, consistency, etc).

I started out using large paper cups for this testing, but I quickly realized that the fragrance was going to leak through, so I switched to large plastic cups. This picture is of course before I made this discovery.

My testing set up.

I mixed the lye water and oils at 110 degrees and started mixing the fragrances at a light trace. Here are my notes on the behavior of the fragrances in cold process soap:

#1 Gardenia: There was no discoloration to the soap right away, but it accelerated trace rapidly and was quite hard immediately after pouring into the mold.

#2 Gardenia: Soap turned a light ivory. It caused moderate acceleration in trace.

#3 Gardenia: Very slight acceleration occurred and little white clumps formed in the soap. I was quickly trying to work them out before I poured, but as I had more soap to mix and pour, I just poured into the mold. This is something I would like to compare to the other panel members. Did they have the same problem? The soap appears to be an ivory color.

#4: Very slight acceleration in trace, and the soap started turning a bright yellow.

#5: Very light acceleration if any. The soap immediately turned a bright yellow color.

#6: No acceleration to the soap and no discoloration.

fragrances 1-6

#7: No color change, and no acceleration.

#8: There was very slight yellowing to the soap, but absolutely no acceleration.

#9: Soap was a medium yellow after mixing, but again, no acceleration.

#10: There was no color change with this one, but there was slight acceleration.

fragrances 7-10

As you can see, everything behaved rather nicely. That first gardenia was a little sketchy, but I did get it into the mold. The second gardenia (I still think this might be Bramble Berry's former gardenia scent ;)) accelerated, but was not something that would cause major problems if you were making a pretty straightforward soap (swirls might be a challenge), and the last gardenia was a bit perplexing with the white clumps. Everything else was pretty much flawless. I do have to confess that I did these in two separate batches (1-6 and 7-10) because I was limited in space with the molds I used (I wanted to make two separate bars per fragrance). I did a modified CPOP (cold process/oven process) method as well. Each batch went into a 170 degree oven for 15 minutes to ensure a nice gel. Then the oven was turned off and they were left alone until the next day.

I will write another blog post soon to tell you how they did the next day out of the mold (color, fragrance, etc.). I have caught a nasty cold (boo!), so I want to wait until my olfactory senses are back in working order before I share my findings.

You can find my first blog post about the fragrances here.

S.O.A.P. Out of the Bottle Impressions

2011-02-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

I received my S.O.A.P. fragrances on Friday, and I really could not wait to get started with my testing. I spent Friday night and all Saturday sniffing and comparing the fragrances to what I know and getting the opinion of a few family members. These are my first impressions out of the bottle. I wanted to post these before I tested them in soap so I could compare before and after. The first three are gardenia (we were actually clued in on that fact). The remaining seven are a mystery. I thought that I might smell some of them and know instantly which flowers they resembled, but I was wrong. It is very difficult to identify these fragrances, even though some are familiar. So instead of trying to positively identify the flower, I am giving my impressions with some flower possibilities.

Gardenia #1: Light and pleasant. In my opinion, out of the three this one smells least like an actual gardenia flower. It is definitely something I would like to use though, as the scent is not lingering or overpowering.

Gardenia #2: This one is more earthy than the first. I also feel this one smells more true to the gardenia flower than the 1st. It smells very much like the former gardenia scent offered by Bramble Berry, which I have used and love.

Gardenia #3: This is my favorite out of the three gardenias. Out of the bottle, it is spot on like the gardenia flower, especially in the finish. As gardenias are one of the few flowers I am extremely familiar with, I am positive about this one. Love it!

#4: Very pleasant. It starts off strong like a lily and finishes very green smelling. It created a very nice visual of the flower and the greenery. I really like this scent.

#5: Very strong and syrupy sweet. It reminds me of honey and cloves, some kind of syrupy, toasted dessert or of some kind of liqueur. I really have no idea which kind of flower it could be, maybe honeysuckle or something similar? I am very curious to smell this one in soap.

#6: I really like this one. A clean, fresh floral...freesia comes to mind. It finishes really powdery and clean.

#7: Sweet and citrus. It could easily be orange blossom or some other citrus flower.

#8: This is very different than the others. I feel it is much more masculine and peppery. I can smell spice and possibly cloves? I'm not sure what flower to compare this to right now.

#9: I immediately thought of melon when I first smelled this one. It is quite sweet. I also smell a hint of peppermint. Hmmm...Jasmine, maybe? That would be my best guess.

#10: I was hit instantaneously with the feeling of nostalgia when I smelled this one. It reminds me of OFF bug repellent in a way, which I hate to say because you might think, "uhhh, yuck," but it is not an unpleasant smell to me. I think of the outdoors and camping. I am calling this one Citronella Rose for now because those are the two most predominant scents to me.

Wow, I have a whole new respect for those who did the first S.O.A.P. panel. However, I am very inspired to do some gardening and to pay more attention to the scents of the flowers I encounter. I am sure that I am way off on some of my guesses. I am quite curious to see how my impressions of these scents will change after they are in soap and if I will be able to more easily identify the flowers.

I am testing these fragrances this week, and I will, of course, share my results with you here. Stay tuned...

S.O.A.P. Panel Update - Guess who made it?! ME!!!

2011-02-21T12:37:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to say that I have been picked as a member of Bramble Berry's S.O.A.P. panel! Of course I couldn't wait to announce this on Facebook and Twitter as soon as I heard, but I thought I should make it official by writing about it here. I will soon receive some fragrances in the mail to test and evaluate. I am extremely excited to get started! I will keep you updated and share my impressions and experiments here. It is going to be extremely fun, but I also realize it is quite an undertaking. I feel a tremendous obligation to not let my friends at Bramble Berry down. A little birdie told me there are going to be no less than four gardenia fragrances in the mix. Good thing that is my favorite scented flower of all time! Stay tuned...

Bonsai Goat Milk and Funnel Soap

2011-02-14T10:12:00.000-08:00

I tried a new technique of soapmaking a couple weeks back and now I am in LOVE!! I have been wanting to try funnel soap for some time, but I was a little intimidated and unsure that I would be able to get the effect I was looking for. I am so glad that I decided to just go for it. I knew that I wanted this soap to look a little more earthy because the fragrance is called Bonsai, which makes me think of bonsai trees (of course), bamboo, and the outdoors in general. When I first take in this scent I immediately think ginger, so I wanted that color in there as well. I knew that if I used goats milk (which I've also been wanting to do) I would get a tan color without having to actually use a third colorant, so I decided that was the way to go. I did a lot of research on this method before attempting it. This tutorial was very helpful and detailed.

This is what the soap looked like in the mold. It is so pretty. I found it very difficult to wait the appropriate amount of time before I cut it. So exciting!

I am very please with how this soap turned out. The awesome thing about this kind of soap is that each cut of the soap is truly unique. The pattern is determined by where it is located in the mold. I had a hard time picking my favorite. This is the soap right after cutting it. You can see how the parts that were white in the mold darkened a bit because of the milk.

It has a couple more weeks to cure before it will be available. Do I see more funnel soap in my future? Yes, I believe that I do!!

S.O.A.P. Panel Entry

2011-02-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

Brambleberry is choosing some soap makers for their S.O.A.P. panel to try out some new floral scents. Although I never really thought of myself as a floral scent lover in the past, I have found several from Brambleberry recently that I have fallen in love with and that have made some awesome soap (my latest being White Magnolia). It would be really great to be picked for this panel because I could further develop my sense of what I like in a floral scent and could fulfill some requests from customers that I have had lately. With Spring on the horizon, this is just the kind of thing that will inspire my future projects. So as there are many people eager to participate in this soapy honor, I hope to be chosen, but I will be anxious to witness the chatter among those who are testing these new florals. It is always a fun time.

As part of my entry, I was asked to talk about my favorite Brambleberry product. This is a really difficult task, as anyone who has experience with this company knows, because everything they sell has impeccable quality. I have tried scents and oils from other companies, and I always go back to Brambleberry because the others just come up short in comparison. So back to my favorite product... Yesterday I posted everywhere that my favorite scent right now is Cherry Almond, which I love. I also thought it would be appropriate to choose a favorite floral. If that was the case, I would without hesitation choose Grapefruit Lily. It combines my two favorite things in a scent, citrus and floral. I never get tired of this scent and I have used it in several products with yummy success.

Coconut Head

2011-01-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

photo by YimHafiz on Flickr

I have very thick, fairly coarse hair. As a teenager, it was tolerable, but after having children, it has become even more coarse and wavy (and not wavy in a beautiful, Pantene commercial sort of way). I have tried many products, whose claims to make my hair sleek and straight without the frizz have fallen short of my expectations. I find that after I painskakenly achieve a straight look with a flat iron, I walk outside and **poof** my hair expands to twice its original size and my annoying waves return. So, I usually end up with my hair in a pony tail. Recently, my mom read an article that suggested coconut oil as a means of keeping away the frizz. As frizz occurs because the water particles in the air are absorbed by the hair shaft, in theory, the coconut oil creates a barrier and blocks it from being absorbed. Since I really do not like a lot of product in my hair, I like the idea that it is natural, it will not dry my hair out even more with alcolhol and chemicals, and it is pretty inexpensive when you compare it to all the other hair products out there.

Coconut oil is readily available in most grocery stores and natural food stores. You need very little, so a jar of oil can last a very long time. Just put a very small amount in your hand, rub in between your palms to warm it up, and work it evenly throughout your dried and styled hair. Of course you want to make sure you do not use too much, or you will get stringy, oily looking hair (not the look you are probably trying to achieve). After a night out in foggy weather, I found that my hair was virtually frizz free with only a few soft waves. I was very pleasantly surprised.

I've Been Busy, Busy, Busy!

2011-01-25T11:48:00.000-08:00

I know. I am a bad, bad blogger. It is horrible that I've gone this long without posting anything, although I promised I would. No excuses, but I have been productive in other areas. Enjoy the pictures of some soap I've been making...

Cherry Almond Shea Butter Soap (click here)

Cherry Almond Shea Butter Cupcake Soap

This one is similar to the popular "Pink Sugar" fragrance. I think it is like cotton candy for grown ups.

Spun Sugar (click here)

I am not usually a huge fan of heavy florals. This one is nice and light. I love it!

White Magnolia Shea Butter Soap

Sweet, but not too sweet. This also is available in a lotion bar.

Lychee Red Tea Shea Butter Soap

Fresh and sweet... (also will be available in mini cupcakes! :))

Fresh Pear Cupcake Soap

All of these soaps will be available in my Etsy shop in February. They are pictured in the order they will appear in the shop. Also joining these soaps will be some new lotion bar fragrances (cherry almond here). I am working on labels for those and they will be available really soon.

Happy New Year!!

2010-12-30T14:38:00.000-08:00

I have been taking a much needed break, and I will be back to blogging and soap making next week. Yea!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I am wishing everyone love, joy, and contentment in the new year!

These are my little Christmas angels...

Soap Swap/Elise's Recipe for PBJ & B (Peanut Butter, Jelly & Banana)

2010-12-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to receive my soap from the Brambleberry Soap Swap. It was definitely an early Christmas for me! It was really nice to see what other soap makers are making and to smell some scents that I haven't had the opportunity to sample yet. I am anxious to try some of these soaps too! Brambleberry also included some yummy fragrance samples in my package of goodies.

Top:

Go Boise Blue by Auntie Lu's Scrubs and Suds

Summer Fling by Lotion Bar Cafe

Middle:

Lavender by Palin's Pantry

Mango Sangria by Sweet Peas Soap

Bottom:

Kentish Rain by Goddess Herbals

Pinapple Cilantro by Cindy's Soap

Samples from Brambleberry: Mangosteen and Sheer Freesia (Mmmm!)

Top:

Christmas Garden by My Angel's Call

Bay Rum Soap by Lucinda's Nice Things

Middle:

"Sun Soap" ????? (there was no name or soap name on this one)

Pumpkin Pie Cybilla by www.lovinsoap.com

Bottom:

Cranberry Fig by Anne-Marie Faiola of Brambleberry

Hot Chocolate Swirl by Emma

On a completely different note, I just had to include this recipe from my youngest daughter. She came home from school the other day and insisted that we make a recipe by Zefronk (Disney Channel). So, here it is a recipe for Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Banana.

Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Banana

Ingredients:

Hot Dog Bun

Banana

Peanut Butter

Jelly (any flavor)

Smile (optional but recommended)

Put Banana in the bun like a hot dog, spread on the peanut butter and jelly!

ENJOY!!

A Whirlwind in Las Vegas!

2010-12-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

My husband and I just had a blast in Las Vegas over the weekend. We took a short trip in order to see Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds play at Planet Hollywood, but of course we had to have a little fun along the way.

We stayed at Paris Hotel, which was a spectacular site in itself. This place was very unique, the prices were reasonable (a must with us), and the rooms were really lovely. I couldn't resist stepping in one of the shops and checking out these cool Primal Elements soaps. I do not do too much melt and pour soaping myself, but it doesn't mean that I am not impressed by those who do!

There were a couple places I must mention because they were spectacular in service, atmosphere, and food/drink. First, was the bar Pour 24. If you enjoy a good beer, this is definitely a must. Situated inside New York, New York casino, this bar had a wide variety of beer and other drinks (you will have to excuse these terrible pictures. The lighting was very dark in here).

The restaurant that stood out among the rest was Serendipity. It was very cute with bright colors and decoration (which my husband pointed out was much like the inside of a teenage girl's bedroom. Ha ha, that must be why I liked it so much!). They had honestly the best Eggs Benedict I have ever tasted. Not only that, but the coffee was excellent as well. It seems that they are well known for their hot chocolate, which we did not try this time, but it looked really tasty. I think almost everyone else in the place had ordered it.

Since our visit was extremely short, we did not spend a tremendous amount of time in the casinos. We are not really big on gambling anyway, so we mostly just walked around and took in the sites during the day. Of course, we finished off with our reason for this visit, a mind-blowing performance from Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. We had so much fun, and it was amazing, as expected. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but I am so glad we were able to go!

New York, New York Casino

They Aren't Exactly Rodents, but They're Cute!

2010-12-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

These cute little critters were another gift to my rodent/little animal fanatics. They were really fun to make. I got the instructions from this book, which had very detailed and easy to follow directions and illustrations. I changed up the colors a little bit, and they were a big hit with the girls.

There are a ton of other cute animals to make. I also made the koala, parrot and frog and gave them as gifts. I think the cat and the raccoon (or fox - my girls corrected me on this already) turned out the best though.

I actually attached these as zipper pulls for the mouse picnic I posted last week. They would also be great as gift toppers, stocking stuffers or just by themselves. I am in the process of making my gifts for this year, so hopefully I will have something to post about them this week. Everything is in different stages, but nothing is complete...yet.

Stuff Your Stocking!

2010-11-24T16:57:00.000-08:00

Lychee Red Tea Lotion Bar

I listed a bunch of stuff on my Etsy site today. Everything I listed could be used as a stocking stuffer too, which makes a great a pre-Thanksgiving post. I have been going crazy lately with lotions and lip balms (both of which I need to use often), and I made some very adorable snow globe soaps. They were very difficult to photograph well, but I did the best I could. I am personally stuffing my stocking with these things this year.

Find this here

I made three flavors of lip balm: Butter Creme, Passionfruit Rose, and Sweet Strawberries and Honey. I absolutely love all three, but if I had to choose a favorite, it would be the Passionfruit Rose. I personally do not like sweeteners in my lip balm, so these only have the flavor oil. You can definitely taste those, but you don't have that extra sweet aftertaste.

Find this here

Find this here.

This Lychee Red Tea Lotion Bar joins my other two varieties Lavender Herb & Honey and Girly Grapefruit to be one of my favorite products. Anyone would be happy to find this in their stocking.

Find these here

I made these little cuties for a local craft show, and since I had some left over, I had to post them on the Etsy site. I made some for all the little ones I am giving gifts to this year. I am using them for gift toppers, but they would make a great stocking stuffer as well. The larger of the two features a large standing doe and the smaller dome has either a baby deer or a sitting doe.

Find this here.

Find these here

Lavender Herb Complexion/Shaving Soap

2010-11-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

Lavender is always a good scent in soap. This Lavender Herb does not disappoint. Combined with the kaolin clay, which creates a really thick lather, makes this soap great for your face or for shaving. This is the last cold process soap I am making until after the holidays. This is a super small batch. I made it for a special request.

Find this soap here.

Spearmint Eucalyptus Shaving/Complexion Bar

2010-11-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

So, I have been wanting to try some shaving soap for sometime. I kind of wanted to make one in a mug, but then I thought, "what about me and all the other ladies that would like a good soap for shaving our legs?" I decided to make it in a bar instead. There are a lot of really nice clays that you can add to soap to make it nice for shaving and I finally settled on kaolin clay, not only because it makes for a nice shaving soap, but also because it is mild and beneficial for all kinds of skin. I wanted a really luxurious bar, so I also made this one with coconut milk.

I love mint and I love eucalyptus, and this scent is a perfect pairing of the two. When I smelled it, I automatically thought snow, so that was the inspiration behind this bar of soap. I think the dusting of mica on the top really makes it.

Find this soap here.

Mouse Tea Party

2010-11-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

I promised more rodents, so here they are. This is another Christmas gift to my girls from last year. I found a tutorial for this pyramid purse (find the link here). The matching picnic blanket gives them a place to sit (only one of which survived the year - the other is in the toy abyss), and the figures are fashioned from Fimo clay (love that stuff!). You can just let your imagination go for that part! The most useful tool that is readily found around the house was a bamboo skewer for detail (and I used a glass to flatten the plates). I suppose if you got really serious about your Fimo creations, you would get some more sophisticated tools, but I wanted to use what I had lying around. Follow the instructions on the Fimo packaging to harden the clay, and you're finished!

When the mice are finished with their picnic, just have them crawl back into the bag until next time!

Felted Rodents (Squeak!)

2010-11-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

I love making gifts for my friends and family. Last year I made a good portion of the Christmas gifts. I plan to make most of my Christmas gifts this year as well, so I thought I would try to share most of them here (and I promise... not all of them are soap!).

I have shared in the past that my younger children have a rodent fixation. They also love anything and everything in miniature. Last year I decided to felt them little rodents (guinea pigs and mice specifically). They were fairly easy to do if you have the right felting materials. Each guinea pig is about 1" long and the mice are about 2". The mice are made entirely out of wool roving. The eyes are made with seed beads and I used embroidery thread for the whiskers and paws. This one has his tail curled up on his back (although it makes him look a little bit like a hunchback in this picture).

The guinea pigs presented a problem. How was I going to make their little feet? I tried to use wool, but they looked really funny, so I made some little feet out of Fimo clay and glued them on with fabric glue. I've seen other felted animals that are a lot smoother than mine, but the girls love them. That's all that really matters.

This one is my favorite

This will not be the last rodent DIY. Later in the week I will show you the rodent picnic I made for the girls out of Fimo clay. You'll love it!

New Soap for Winter

2010-11-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

These two soaps have some of my favorite things, mint combined with chocolate and beer. Luckily, these are two separate soaps!

This Oatmeal Stout Beer soap is nice in smell and texture. While I was making it, my house smelled so good. One of the best things about this soap is that it is made with actual beer! It was all my husband and I could do not to eat this stuff. Now that it has cured, it has a really nice, warm smell that is much more masculine than it was initially. Find this soap here.

This next soap combines everything I love about winter, which is probably why the name is so fitting. The smell and appearance remind me of hot cocoa and snow, warm and cold. I also added cocoa and espresso powder to accentuate the already chocolaty smell of the scent. Espresso powder wakes up your pores as the mint wakes up your senses.

This Winter soap is listed here.

Lotion Bars

2010-11-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

I finally got these lotion bars perfected, packaged, and ready for public consumption (hopefully!). I am every bit as excited about these lotion bars as I am about soap, and that is saying a lot. I have been using these bars for a few weeks now, and I can see a dramatic change in my skin. I tend to have dry itchy skin, especially on my lower legs, and guess what?? Dry skin no more!!! I also like the shape of them as they are the perfect shape to cup in your hand while you apply it to your skin.

Lavender Herb and Honey can be found here.

Girly Grapefruit Lotion Bars can be found here.

A Little Last Minute Wickedness...

2010-10-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

PREORDER - Lenore - Neo Vi...
FableAndFury
$19.00 USD
Electric (Smoke Series) - ...
HRPhotoandDe...
$15.00 USD
Vampire Red Goth Clock
EyePopArt
$50.00 USD
Skull Tile Coasters, Skele...
lterrill9
$16.00 USD
Noir PETITE BirdCage Veil
MarlaJDesign...
$23.00 USD
Black Metal Bat Skull Neck...
billyblue22
$30.00 USD
Black Cat Original Photogr...
fosterbk
$18.00 USD
Laudanum - Tobacco and Bla...
scodioli
$7.00 USD
ON SALE Gothic Spider Ring...
Jenifersfami...
$21.25 USD
ivory pillar candle with d...
hannaya
$20.00 USD
Halloween Tag Mix
brandywine
$10.00 USD
Dusk And Her Embrace Long ...
ZenAndCoffee
$26.00 USD
Anatomically Incorrect Bla...
PearsonMaron
$8.00 USD
Horrible soap.
swanmountain...
$2.00 USD
Two New 18 inch Handmade C...
MARIESCOSYCU...
$30.00 USD
Whoo owl ring cherry red a...
idlehandsdes...
$35.00 USD

Am I a little obsessed with these treasuries? Yep. They are so much fun! I find the coolest stuff by just picking a theme and hunting around. I was feeling in the Halloween mood today (I finally got around to putting up my Halloween stuff), so I decided to do a Halloween themed treasury. It's a little late for shoppers but fun nonetheless. See something you like? Visit the treasury here.

Ginger Pear and Neroli Soap

2010-10-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

I know I already posted about these soaps, but I took the pictures for my Etsy site today. The sun was shining and it was a pretty good day for taking pictures outside. I am very excited about these two creations. I have already had about half of my ginger pear batch reserved for purchase and I am sending part of my Neroli batch for the Bramble Berry soap swap (probably early next week). I am very excited about the swap. I know I am going to get to try some extraordinary creations from other soapers.

I listed the Ginger Pear today, and I will list the Neroli tomorrow.

Find this Ginger Pear soap here.

Find this Neroli soap here!

Find the Neroli soap here.

Winter Grapefruit

2010-10-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Just listed this soap on Etsy today. Winter grapefruit has the sweet/slightly bitter smell of grapefruit with just a hint of pine tree. I love this fragrance. I seem to have a thing for grapefruit scent, as this is not the first grapefruit scent I have used (see Girly Grapefruit). The swirl on this one turned out rather nicely too... I really like this soap (Although I think I say that about all of them, don't I?!)

Find this soap here.

No picture of the packaging quite yet, but I will add that to the listing soon.

New Projects

2010-10-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging lately, as I have been really busy getting ready for the holiday rush. I have several new projects in the works!

I cut this soap this morning. It is called "Winter". The scent is an intoxicating combination of chocolate and mint. I added a little cocoa powder and espresso powder at trace to accentuate the chocolate scent and added Spearmint Eucalyptus to the top to highlight the mint. I am in love! I can't wait to try this soap once it cures.

I have also been experimenting with lotion bars. I have wanted to try making these for a while. I like the idea of using the bar instead of all the watered down lotions. I often get too much lotion and then I take forever to rub it in. These bars allow you to use very little and it lasts and lasts. I am exploring ways to package these babies and then I will likely add them to the shop (and take better pictures!!).

I also put together this basket for the school raffle this Friday. I think it turned out really nice. It has a pumpkin theme with a pumpkin pie soap, a pumpkin pie cupcake soap, and some harvest sugar scrubs. Yum. (Of course, I'm looking at this picture and it looks like I put the label on upside down. I think it was just turned the wrong way in the photo...doh!)

What did you do this weekend?

2010-10-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

OK, so I didn't actually do this project this weekend, but I did do it on a weekend, so I think it still counts. A while ago, I showed you how I covered my daughter's wheelchair armrests with the same basic method that you would cover a chair. I promised on that post that I would be doing my kitchen chairs. Well, I finally did it! I have learned a few things since then and I think it turned out really well.

So, this is what the kitchen chairs looked like before. They were OK, but nothing really exciting. This is microfiber, which does clean up fairly easily (if you don't have children who spill on them daily). I was tired of having to use copious amounts of carpet cleaner while scrubbing the heck out of these things weekly, so I decided to find a really pretty fabric to cover them and then put vinyl over that. You may find this unappealing...but then I would guess that you were a person without children (or that you had really tidy children, which I do not). Practicality rules at this house.

I found this really pretty and
neutral fabric at IKEA.
I really like their textile patterns.

First, I removed the seats and stapled the fabric all around, just like with the wheelchair armrests (although this was much easier because I had more area to work with. See my posting with the wheelchair covers here.
Then I just did the same with the vinyl over the fabric. One VERY useful tip I learned since then is to use a blow dryer to heat up the vinyl slightly when doing the corners. This allows you to get a very smooth corner, which is easy to do with regular fabric and not so easy to do with vinyl.

Ta da! Here is the finished product! It is so much easier to wipe down, and I am happy. The same could be done with oilcloth, as I did with the wheelchair (and you would have one less step), but I had a difficult time finding a neutral oilcloth that wouldn't clash with what I already have going in my kitchen. Many oilcloth patterns are very traditional (which are still really nice if you have the decor to go with it!). You can find more contemporary laminated fabrics but I found them to be a little pricey. I did six chairs with two yard of fabric at $6.99 a yard and two yards of vinyl at $2.99 a yard. I also had a lot of both left over. So it cost me less than $20 to do all six chairs (not too bad!).

Soap Preview

2010-10-07T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have been making soap like a crazy person this week! I have a couple of holiday craft shows coming up, and I signed up to participate in a soap swap with some fans of Brambleberry (my favorite soaping supply company). I am very excited about everything. So this week, I made a couple of soaps and I am experimenting with a mold that I love.

Earlier in the week I made this Ginger Pear soap. This is a favorite scent among family and friends. I have switched to CPOP (cold process/oven process) for a while. I am getting better results with it right now, and I especially like how my soap turns out when I am doing something more on the herbal side. I don't know exactly what it is, but I like it! I used nettle leaf powder and paprika infused olive oil to color this soap, and I am really happy with the result! This picture really isn't doing the soap justice. I will take more time when I take the final photos, but I am just too lazy to do it right now. It is also really overcast this week, which messes up my natural light.

This next one I am going to use for my Brambleberry soap swap. It is scented with Neroli. I CPOPed this one as well. My inspiration was the neroli plant and its blooms. It turned out looking really fresh. The smell of this one was pretty overpowering when I was making it, but it has calmed down a lot overnight and smells wonderful.

This last little guy is the coi fish I have been experimenting with. Isn't he cute? I made some green ones the other day too, but I think I'd like to try some really bright colors.

Of course everything will have to cure for several weeks and I will have much better pictures then, but I thought I'd give you a little peek!

A Bookshelf Fantasy

2010-10-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Found it here

I dream of one day having a library full of books. I love the smell of the pages and the look of them all stacked there, waiting for me to read them all. I would also love to have one of those ladders that slides across the top, and I can just see myself sliding from side to side with the wind in my hair... Does this make me a little weird? Maybe, but I want it just the same.

I have come across some amazing bookshelves that have stoked this fantasy recently.

This is a color coded library. So pretty...

Found this here

Could it be? Library AND wine storage? I would never leave my house...

Found this here

Some unusual bookshelves...

Hamster bookshelf

Hidden bookshelf (I love)

I came across this on a site titled...bookshelf porn (couldn't really put it a better way myself).

notice the ladder ;)

And this one is just too cool not to include...

Alas, I will have to wait until the children are grown and I can afford to create my ultimate library. For now, I will settle for my little bookshelf (and maybe a step ladder), my many piles of books, and the list of books within my Kindle to get me through.

Dear Liza Creations

2010-09-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

It is my great honor to write about a friend of mine who creates unique, one-of-a-kind quilts for little ones. Jennifer Ciplet, founder and owner of Dear Liza Creations, crafts these extraordinary quilts with modern fabrics and design. The mother of a sweet little girl, and one on the way, Jennifer wants to emulate in her quilting, and in her mothering, these essential values: authenticity, environmental stewardship and creativity.

As the daughter of an avid quilter, I can appreciate the time and love that goes into each of these beautiful pieces of art. I love her quilts and her message, so I just had to share them with you.

Jennifer quilts without a pattern, so each quilt is truly a one-of-a-kind work of art.

Visit Dear Liza Creations on Etsy.

Sweet Strawberry Cupcake Shea Butter Soap is Back!

2010-09-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

This batch of Sweet Strawberry Cupcake was made with a different colorant, so is much lighter in color this time. The result is a very girly, delicate soap. I am really loving these mini cupcakes, and I am selling them in a gift set of three. I also made a small batch of bar soap this time (for those of you who are not thrilled with the cupcake thing). This soap is extraordinarily sweet. My girls LOVE it!

Find this soap here

Find this soap set here.

Find it here.

Red Apple Soap

2010-09-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

To me, there is nothing more refreshing than a crisp, fresh red apple. They remind my of fall and the trips we have taken to apple hill. This soap is completely inspired by those juicy red apples from the inside out. I particularly enjoy this apple scent because it is not overwhelmingly sweet like candy, but amazingly crisp and fresh with just enough sweet. I love it. Find this cupcake here.

I have gotten several requests for party favor cupcakes. Since my regular cupcakes are a little on the large side, I have started making these mini cupcakes that are perfect party favor sized. They come in a set of three and total around 6 oz. of cuteness. Find these here.

I am not completely happy with these pictures. Natural light is my lighting of choice, and as fall is upon us, they are coming out a little dull. Just as I get summer natural light mastered...

Finally, my bar red apple bar soap. This came out several ways. I did three loaves and they all came out different! Some are quite layered, and some are swirled a bit. I kind of went crazy that day.:)

Again, I am wishing I had a smello computer. I really think someone should invent one. These smell delicious. Find this soap here.

Amazing Paper Art

2010-09-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

In the evenings, when I am not reading, I do a lot of art surfing on the web. I have come across several artists recently who create works of art out of paper. These particular artists blew me away! There are so many gifted artists in this area. These are only a few that caught my eye.

This first artist, Peter Callesen, creates these amazing miniature sculptures using only a single sheet of paper. The amount of detail in these sculptures is nothing short of amazing, and to think that he not only uses only one sheet of paper, he uses only the paper immediately surrounding the sculpture itself!

Everyone has fond memories of cutting out paper snowflakes at school for the winter and the holidays. Aoyama Hina, has taken this craft idea and transformed it into an art form. The intricate detail is exquisite.

These cute scenes from Anastassia Elias are made from a recycled toilet paper tubes. Below is a paper quilled snowflake by Stephanie Sanchez, which I think is beautiful.

Artist Yuken Teruya makes everyday objects beautiful. Here he makes a toilet paper tube come alive. Below, he discovers new life in a McDonald's Happy Meal bag.

Pumpkin Pie MMMMM!

2010-09-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Pie Soap

Pumpkin Pie...the staple of holiday celebrations everywhere. I can't smell it without my mouth watering. With just a dollop of whipped cream on top...MMMMMM! Yummy! This soap has all the warm spicy smell of a pumpkin pie without all those calories. You can find this soap here.

If this isn't enough holiday yumminess (no, I really don't think that is a word) I also just listed a Pumpkin Pie Cupcake soap that I have a really hard time not biting into.

Pumpkin Pie Shea Butter Soap

Find this soap here.

Another Bird Story...

2010-09-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

So about a week ago, my husband was out in the garage and heard something scurrying back in forth outside in the roof gutter. Assuming it was a rat, he proceeded to climb up a ladder to "take care" of it. Despite the love of rodents our children possess, we do not want rats circling the house. EEWW!! When he got up there, he saw this little bird skittering back in forth along the gutter looking terrified. We felt so bad, we had to get the little thing out. I got a stick and tapped the end of the gutter to get it to go toward him, while he caught it and started "talking it down". The poor thing was very scared. Although it was a baby, it was a rather large baby morning dove. It could almost fly (at least it was flapping its wings like crazy every time we let it go! We put it in a box and dropper fed it some water (it was very thirsty) and let it rest. When we opened the box to check on it a while later, it flew out, managed to get a few feet off the ground and flew straight into the sliding glass door! We felt SO bad. While it got out, we did manage to see some sort of injury under its wing and it was very easy to catch after giving itself a concussion. So Aaron (my husband) called a local animal shelter and they said to just drop it off. Apparently they had quite a few morning doves for the poor thing to play with. The girls were all happy to hear it, as they wanted to adopt it forever. It was a cute little thing. It seems that our house is a popular place for local birdies to nest.

Positive Energy Soap

2010-09-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

When I finished this soap, I thought, "this soap has some positive energy!" The happy colors combined with the Yuzu/Energy fragrance oils used in this soap just makes me happy. I used a combination of really luxurious oils in this soap, and it gets really smooth and silky in the shower.

The embedded shapes in this soap are coconut milk soap. It was a really fun soap to make. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Find this soap here.

Also listed today: I love Yuzu Shea Butter Cupcake Soap.
Find it here.