Soap is coming along. ..

So... this week I got to make surprise visit to Jenny's.... While I was there I got to peek in on our soaps that are curing..

And to my pleasant surprise they're coming along... we have learned some valuable things in our race to make the perfect soap concoctions...

1) Pica (who we have lovingly started calling Rufus the doofus) will eat anything and everything he can get a hold of.... including lavender and our strawberry cream soap!

2) The cream and milk base soaps stink to high heavens but get better as they cure

3) Hot process method may not be our favorite or prettiest method... but it's instant gratification.... and we love that! And at times need that.... yeah we are those people... waiting for soap to cure is easier when you have work to distract you....

4) The "lye dance" is the best and we can't wait to do it again!

5) We want to be Soapysmiths when we grow up!

And 6) honey slows down the curing process... or we botched the batch.... we are still waiting so see what happens to our lavender earl grey and honey infused soap...

I hate the waiting game!...

Well friends until next time...
Keep the gloves and vinegar handy... you never know when you can help a soapysmith out!

vacation, the "lye dance", and homemade sugar scrub recipe

Luci and I had a wonderful vacation last week, making wedding favors for a friends wedding (80 cds certainly didn't sound like a lot before we procrastinated, lol), making bridesmaids candles, and stirring soap like nobodies business!! We even learned a new dance in the kitchen, called the "OMJ did i splash the lye" routine. Vinegar is your friend, my friends.

I'm really enjoying this DIY kick for soaps and beauty projects.. today I was looking for a recipe for Melt and Pour soap base from scratch, and everything I found had some strange chemical that I don't care to own. Dissappointing. My version of DIY should only use things i can pronounce, or easily cook up from the contents of my kitchen cupboards.

A common ingredient I found in my quest for DIY M&P was propelyne glycol. Sounds yummy, huh? Even though the FDA says its ok, I'm not going to store a jar of it next to my peanut butter.. but to be fair, Sodium chloride sounds gross too, but you can't live without it (salt). But to err on the side of caution, I'd rather not use something remotely connected to anti-freeze in my soaps. Makes me wonder what other delicious chemical cocktails I consume on a regular basis, and if I'll regret it down the road.

But on a more positive note, I made a sugar scrub that was absolutely wonderfully easy and feels Glorious on my skin and crave hot fluffy buttermilk pancakes:

2 tbs each of white sugar, brown sugar
1 tbs each of honey and olive oil
Splash of maple extract (optional, for fragrance)

Stir together, adjusting oil so it doesn't pool on top. If it does, add sugar.

Optional: adding a tiny splash of hand soap makes the end result less oily; I prefer it without soap

wedding party candles for Jamie

Wedding party gifts! Coconut-lime and uber vanilla soy wax candles... i need to make these more often, Luci's car smells delicious!

Big dreams and big things!

Well we are finally doing it! We are taking action on a dream we have together and I couldn't think of anyone else I would go on this amazing journey with!!

My best friend Jennifer and I share a love for handmade crafts! Something that we are both very good at, I guess that's why we love it so much!! We are creating the company garden bugs that will allow us to share are creations with the world (well eventually we can)! Jenny and I have known each other for more than half of our lives, and have always had crazy hair brain ideas but have never acted on any of them! But we are here, and we are taking an awesome chance together. I am so excited I could squeal, I look forward to see where our venture goes!

Our main focus right now is soap and candles! We have been on vacation for the last week together being mad scientists of sorts and producing as much as three different batches of test products in one night! We are getting better with every batch! We are also, having a blast while doing it!!

We currently have 5 different soaps curing! The wait is excruciating! We also made some bath bombs, lavender salve and bath jellies!! Once we get all of our creations out of their molds we will definitely post the pictures!!

I just want to thank you for taking an interest in what we are doing!! We will try to update once a week on our adventures in soap land!

Until next time, make your choices and take your chances smiling the whole way!!