Presenting New Lip Balm Flavors

Naked lip balm - no flavor

After a flurry of brainstorming and experimenting, I have come up with four fantastic new lip balm flavors, just in time for the holiday season. And I wanted to take out a moment to show them off. :o)

My first one is one that I have had in my head for ages: Naked Lip Balm! No flavors, no essential oils, just beeswax, cocoa butter, and coconut oil! It's perfect for folks who just need a basic lip balm, but want to buy handmade.

Tea tree lip balm

Second, it's one that my husband suggested: Tea Tree lip balm! My husband uses fabulous little toothpicks that have soaked in tea tree oil, and he begged me for this lip balm. I just had to oblige! Tea tree essential oil is known to have many properties to help your health, but I just like the taste. It's an interesting blend of herb with pine and fir and other needle trees.

Mint Tea Tree Lip Balm

Third, it's a combination: Mint Tea Tree lip balm! This one came after some brainstorming and combining of what I already had around, and this great lip balm was born! Mint and tea tree blend together perfectly; they work together to balance each other out.

Mint Chocolate... my fave!

And last, my favorite: Mint Chocolate lip balm! I am a HUGE mint chocolate gal, and I cannot believe that I have not come up with this combination sooner. I already have a peppermint lip balm and a chocolate lip balm... I guess if it was a snake, it would have bitten me ages ago. And best of all, I used cocoa powder in the balm for the chocolate scent, so the finished balm is a lovely chocolate color.

Come by my Etsy shop and check them out: SecondSpringSoaps

Felted Soap

I've been seeing a lot of felted soap lately. I've seen it on Etsy, and I saw TreatMeBathandBody felting soap on Instagram. What finally pushed me over the edge to try it was having more than two people asking about felted soap at Heritage Days last weekend. So, I grabbed a few skeins of wool yarn and some stray bars of soap, and went to town!

I started first by cutting the yarn and pulling the strands of fibers loose. I laid them flat and pressed them into "sheets", similar to the fibers that I've seen others using on YouTube. I then felted my soaps by using hot water and my hands... and voila!

Felted soaps! They look like mossy rocks!

I'm in love with the felted soaps! I am hoping to start listing them on Etsy before November, and I am going to have them for sale at the Greeneville Woman's Christmas Expo and Craft Bazaar the first weekend in November.

Happy Creating!

2012: A Preview of What's Coming

2012 is coming soon! How exciting! With only 4 days left in 2011, I thought this would be a great time to talk about all of the fun and exciting things coming up for Second Spring Soaps!

Right now (yep! right now!), I am prepping for both Valentine's Day and St. Patty's Day. A few weeks ago, I made some new two-colored soaps in great scents (lilac, honey/almond, oakmoss and sage...), and they will be going live online in just a few days! I've picked up some new yarns as well, for some crochet swag to go along with the holidays!

Oh, and debuting just in time for St. Patrick's Day... Beer soap! Beer soap is made with beer (no way! really?) for some great additions for your skin (barley, hops), but with no beer smell! So, dont worry, you wont be heading to the office smelling like you are coming off a bender.

Exciting news in the world of lip balms!! After many requests (a lot of them from my own sister), I am transitioning from round tins to the traditional lip balm tube! Whoo!! I'll also be adding lots of new flavors, such as a triple berry blend, peppermint, clove, lemon, and (drum roll, please!) chocolate!

There's even more surprises coming... new bath salts, new crochet accessories, and the addition of bath bombs!

Happy New Year!