Fall/Winter Holiday Craft Shows

Man... A few months ago, selling at a craft show was a pipe dream. I had applied to one and had not heard anything back... Now look at me! I am booking craft shows all over East Tennessee!  I have been loving every minute of the show season... I really love connecting with folks who love my soaps!

My craft show set up!

I just wanted to give a quick update on where you can find me for the rest of the year:

Saturday, November 17
Christmas Stop and Shop
Townsend, TN
9am-3pm

Sunday, November 18
Tinsel Town and Tasting
Newport Civic Center
Newport, TN
12:30pm - 5pm

Saturday, November 24, December 1, December 8
Johnson City Farmer's Market
Johnson City, TN
9am - 2pm

And remember, you can always find me on Etsy at my Etsy shop!

Come back by on Monday to see what my awesome Black Friday weekend sale will be!!

Hot Process Goat's Milk Soap (In Pictures)

Here's a quick picture tutorial for my hot process goat's milk soap! Super easy... Just remember to stick by it and keep an extra eye on the soap as it cooks!

Oils melting! I used olive, castor, and tallow.

First, you will start off like normal, melting your oils in your crock pot or double boiler. When you make your lye solution, you will keep out part of your water to substitute with milk. (For example, if you are supposed to use 12 ounces of water, just 8 ounces instead, and keep 4 ounces of milk to the side) Please take loads of CAUTION with your lye solution, because it will be stronger than a normal batch! Put your milk in the fridge to chill it.

You can use a stick blender or a whisk. It will trace fast!

Once the oils are melted, add your lye solution (BE VERY CAREFUL! It will be extra strong!) and mix until traced. Your soap will trace faster than usual, because of the water discount.

Add your goat's milk!

Now, slowly add your chilled milk and mix together. Your soap may take on a neon yellow or neon orange color. This is normal, dont panic! As the soap cooks in your double boiler or crock pot, keep a very close eye on it and stir it often. Your soap will take on a natural tan color as it cooks. Remember, oil separation is normal in the beginning stages of hot process soap, so no worries!

Almost ready! It needs to cook a little longer...

Once the soap takes on a mashed potatoes-like consistency, you can add any fragrances or additives and toss the soap in your favorite mold. I added some ground oatmeal to this batch for some scrub!  Once cooled, your soap can be cut! Some folks like to use hot process soap right away, but I still let mine cure for 4-6 weeks.

Goat's Milk Soap with Oatmeal

Enjoy!! It may take a few times to get it right, but hot process goat's milk soap is fun, fantastic, and addictive!

Featured Post: Catherine of cwporche

Another great artist in our series of features Etsy artisans is Catherine from cwporche! Catherine hails from Erwin, TN; a small town nestled into the rich Appalachian Mountains. Catherine's shop boasts beautiful artwork and beautiful classic crafts, like handmade quilts and bunny rag dolls, as well as her famous felt mice! I could go on, but I will let Catherine take the wheel!
_____

Quilt: The Christmas Garden

I am Catherine Porche of cwporche.etsy.com. I am a passionate watercolor painter, quilter and crafter! I sew purses and little felt mouse figurines and sell any of it as well as accepting custom orders.
I have been sewing since the seventh grade and making and selling my mice since about the eighth grade (a long time ago!) My mom taught quilting classes, so naturally I learned traditional quilting. Rag quilts offer me more freedom and I've always loved the play of colors against one another.

For each of my artistic endeavors, even though they seem very different, my favorite part is being fully present in the portion in front of me. When I am imagining a mouse character I am dreaming up a back story and how to convey the costume well. If I am envisioning a painting, I let go of all my daily concerns and go where the paints take me. With formulating a quilt's color scheme I just mentally swim around in all the available fabrics until I am smitten with a collection I have made. That immersion in the process itself is such a joy to me; it is truly my favorite part!

Catherine's beautiful watercolor, "Led"

Being inspired to create isn't really how I feel about it. For me, it's more like a craving that must be satisfied. I yearn to make something beautiful or quirky or cute or comforting. I neeeed to make something, sometimes very small but I feel anxious until I can get to that part of my day. Beautiful photos and magazines of crafts, gardens and artwork are fuel for my fire but my favorite inspiration is the smile on the customer's face when they are loving getting it as much as I loved making it.

To pick one favorite item from my shop would be like picking a favorite child. My favorite painting right now is "Led".  It seems mysterious and thought provoking to me. My favorite quilt is The Christmas Garden.  I think its a fun useful way to make a room seem ready for the holidays. And my favorite mouse is Little Red Riding Hood. I just finished her and hope to have her posted soon-she's so cute!

You can find more about Catherine here:
facebook.com/cwporche
 twitter.com/cwporche

Hot Process Goats Milk: mystery revealed!

Every soap maker, from the newbies to the seasoned soapers, either loves or loathes making goats milk soap. The milk can separate, curdle, cook, discolor, or stink! It is a big pain in the booty, but the outcome is so lovely! Goats milk soap is truly worth all of the sweat and tears!

After just a few craft shows under my belt, I began receiving more and more requests for these tricky suds. So, one evening, after apparently losing my mind, I attempted to make goats milk soap with disastrous results! My soap stank, looked bright orange, and was just a mess... So, bound and determined, I set out to perfect the art of making soap with milk, while hot processing!

Keep on the lookout for my tutorial!

Featured Post: Linda from SewUpscale

Every Friday through the holiday season, I will be featuring a different artist, craftsperson, or vintage collector from Etsy! I have met many wonderful people through Etsy, and I would like to take out some time to showcase their talents!

This week's feature is Linda from SewUpscale!

1.Who are you and what do you sell? Hi! My name is Linda Johnson and my shop is Sew Upscale. The main focus in my Etsy shop is quilted fabric postcards. I'm passionate about mountain landscape scenes. I also make small quilted wall hangings. I have a few vintage items and some destash craft supplies

2.What inspired you to get started in your craft/start collecting vintage? I've always loved to sew. I started out designing and making doll clothes when I was about 10 years old. I discovered quilted fabric postcards a few years back one day when I was searching the internet. I loved them and taught myself how to make one. Since I was still working full time outside the home at that time, it really fit me since they were small and relatively quick to finish. I hadn't actually seen any landscape postcards but that is what I started making. I have developed my own style which I think is fairly unique.

3.What is your favorite part of your process? Designing the card and choosing the fabric that creates that certain look.

4.What inspires you the most while you create? I would have to say it is the fabrics and remembering a scene. I see quilted postcards in everything.

5.If you could pick, what is your most favorite item in your Etsy shop? I actually sold my favorite postcard Monday but here is one I love also. It is a mountain scene with a hiking trail and a campsite with a campfire. It is so tranquil.

Linda's Postcard: Hiking and Camping

6.Got any social media links?
facebook- www.facebook.com/SewUpscaleQuilts
twitter- twitter.com/SewUpscale
blog- www.sewupscale.blogspot.com/

7.Anything else that you want to share? I can also take your favorite landscape photo and recreate it in fabric. Postcards are also sold at Mountain Made in the Grove Arcade in Asheville, NC. A new store opening in Black Mountain in March 2013, Faison O'Neil, will also be selling my mountain postcards.

Easy tent weights!

This week, I made my first tent weights! I thought I would share them with you...

You will need: 4 buckets, a small (read: 50 pound bag!) bag of Quikrete, Eye hooks, washers, and nuts.

What you will need!

Start by attaching the washer and nut tightly to the eye hook. This gives the eye hook something to hold on to, and your tent will not pull the hook right out of the concrete!

Next, fill your buckets about 3/4 of the way full of Quikrete. Make sure to wear eye protection and a face mask! Once the dust fades, bury your eye hooks in the Quikrete and just add water! No need to stir! (So easy, a toddler can do it!)

The Quikrete will dry in about an hour! Just add some strong nylon rope and voila! You have home made, fairly inexpensive tent weights for your craft shows!

I have about $16 in these weights, which is WAY cheaper than buying them for $40 at a big box store! I bought my buckets at the Dollar Tree for $1 each, the Quikrete was $5 at Lowes, and I bought 6 eye hooks for $6 at Lowes. I already had the nuts and washers on hand.
All in all, it was a fun, easy, fairly quick project! And best part: I will not have to borrow Jeri's tent weights any more! Ha!

Mountain View Bulk Foods Craft Show

One of my favorite local places to shop is our local Amish market, Mountain View bulk foods in Chuckey, TN. They make fantastic breads and bakery goods, and my husband adores their jerky.

I am excited to announce that I will e attending their craft fair this weekend, Oct 27 from 9am-7pm.

If you are in the area, come by and see us! There will be great artisans and crafters and delicious food!!

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!

Heritage Days 2012

 Heritage Days was last weekend in Rogersville, TN. I've been going to Heritage Days since I was very little and it was always my favorite part of the fall. I've always dreamed of having a booth, and after 28 years, I finally did it! And it was a blast! I cannot wait to go back next year!

My booth set-up! Too bad I didnt get my banner in there...

It isnt Halloween without Candy Corn soap!

Bath Bombs: Rose, Vanilla, Lilac, Green Apple, Blue Coconut

Regular soap, goat's milk soap, and lip balms

Cupcake soap! Loads of people thought they were edible!

More soaps!

Soap displays (aka, why my Dad rocks!)

With two days until Heritage Days in Rogersville, TN, I thought I would take a moment to brag on my sweet and creative Dad. I have been scouring East TN for months trying to find the perfect display, to no avail. I knew what I wanted... I just couldn't find it! That's when Dad stepped in...

My dad made me some fantastic displays put of some salvage wood in his workshop! The displays are 16 inches long by 4 inches deep and over a foot high! They are exactly what I needed!

I cannot wait to display these beauties this weekend!

2012 Greeneville Woman's Club Holiday Expo and Craft Bazaar

I am super excited to announce that I will be showing at this year's Greeneville Woman's Club Holiday Expo and Craft Bazaar! This will be my third of four shows this season... for someone who was a total newbie to craft shows just two months ago, I have really jumped in head first!

If you are interested in learning more about the Expo and Bazaar, here's a link to the event page on Facebook! I am so excited that my bath and body products will be there. My friends Jeri and Lisa will also be there, so if you happen to stop by, go check them out, too!

I'm off to wrap a bajillion soaps! Happy crafting!

Less than 2 weeks away...

Heritage Days, my biggest show of the year, is less than two weeks away! (12 days, in fact!) I have been making more soap than I can store, and ended up buying a second crock pot to cook my hot process soap in. Whew! I am looking forward to January!

I thought I would give you guys a sneak peek at my latest little creations: soap cupcakes. My hot process soap is the perfect consistency for piping soap to look like icing, so I just HAD to take advantage!

You will be able to grab up these yummy soapy treats in my Etsy shop in mid October, but for now...

Top: left- pumpkin cheesecake, right- lemon berry
Bottom: left- pomegranate/vanilla, right- country Christmas

S.O.A.P. Testing Reveals!

Here's the reveal!!

Enjoy!!

Heritage Days, 2012

I'm excited to announce that I have been accepted to show at Heritage Days in Rogersville, TN on October 13-14, 2012!! Come out and see me!

Brambleberry S.O.A.P. Team, Fall/Winter 2012

I am so excited to announce that I have been chosen to be part of the S.O.A.P. testers team for Brambleberry.com! I was over-the-moon excited about getting chosen... To be part of such an elite group really validates me as a soap artisan!

Brambleberry sent me a huge package of 10 mystery fragrance oils, all smelling like the delicious smells of autumn and winter. My job was to evaluate the fragrances at first sniff, then test them out in a few different mediums, like cold process soap, bath bombs, or candles, and report back on the fragrances (how they performed, scent changes, my favorites, etc.).

So, after loads of thought, I decided to test out my fragrances in cold process soap, and I took video of the entire process!

Part One of Three: Making my base soap

Part Two of Three: Fragrance Oils #1 - #5

Part Three of Three: Fragrance Oils #6 - #10

I've been taking photographs of the different soaps as they cure, and I made a small bar of soap off-camera to act as my control bar to compare each fragrance to. I plan on making a fourth video in the next few days to see the results of my tests... I cant wait to see the final products!!

Stick Blender Goodness

I have finally broke down and got myself a stick blender!

However, it is not what you would think. I have actually been given a used stick blender from my dad! Even though the stick blender is second hand, it works really well with soapmaking. I have already used it once, and it looks like I am never going back to the whisk!

My new to me stick blender is a Braun 200 W blender. It also came with a chop attachment, which is convenient! The bottom P's of the blender comes off and is dishwasher safe, which makes it great for cleanup.

When using a stick blender to make soap, you want to make sure that you "burp" the blender before you start using it. When you burp the blender, you tap the blender in the oils lightly to bring out any air bubbles. This prevents any splashing made by the blender. Always make sure to "burp" your stick blender before mixing!

Featured in Etsy Gifts!

I am so excited to announce that I was featured in Etsy's email, Etsy Gifts on Sunday! My green apple bath bombs were featured in a collection of bath and body Christmas in July Gifts! <3 You can view the email here.

What a fantastic opportunity! <3

Christmas In July 2012

This year, I have decided to join in with my Etsy bretheren and I am participating in this year's Christmas in July sale!

You can catch my entire shop discounted to 10% off from now until July 22!

Take advantage of this great offer!

PS: I'm so sorry that I have been neglecting my poor little blog! Look for more exciting content coming soon!

Lip Balm Tubes

I love my lip balms! Seriously! I use my lip balms all the time, and I usually have at least 3 floating around in my purse. However, after talking with a few customers, it has come to my attention that most of my customers prefer my lip balms in tubes, rather than my lip balms in tins.

So, I am officially taking my lip balm tins off the market, and making all of those great flavors in lip balm tubes.

The flavors and balms will be the exact same. Just the packaging will change.

I am also going to be debuting some more lip balms made with natural flavors, such as lemon, lime, clove, and licorice!

My plan is to have the current flavors replaced on Etsy and Zibbet by next Friday (June 22), and my new flavors will start to roll out starting on Monday, June 25.

So, if you prefer the lip balm tubes, make sure to grab them up before they are gone!

Summertime Lip Balms

If you are like me, and you are hopelessly addicted to lip balm, then this PSA is for you!

Lip balms are wonderful! They help to soothe capped or sore lips, and they keep our lips soft and supple! Lip balms can come in a variety of fragrances and with different ingredients, but handmade lip balms are quite different from the store bought brand. My lip balms are made with a combination of beeswax, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, or cocoa butter to create wonderful, natural balms. The addition of edible fragrance oils or edible essential oils gives a little flavor to the balm.

My lip balms are pretty solid in their tubes or jars... However, in the heat of the summer, the balms can sometimes become mushy... And no one likes a mushy lip balm!

So, when you order lip balms from me during the hot summer months, before you open the seal on the tubes or tins, just pop your lip balm in the fridge for about an hour, and the balm will harden right back up! You can do the same thing for your store bought lip balms when they get left in hot cars... we've all been there!

Happy summer, everyone! Keep those lips moist!

Blackberry and Sage soap preview

Today, I cut one of my finest loafs of soap to date! Actually, it started off as a disaster! My purple colorant morphed into pepto-pink, my green faded to cream, and I spilled a few ounces of soap batter all over the counter! (it's always a good idea to keep some vinegar handy for spills like that!) By the time I slopped the soap into the mold, I was so frustrated that I could have tossed the whole thing!

Instead, on a whim, I decided to oven process my soap. Basically, I put my soap in my warm oven (under 200 degrees) for 2 hours, then let it sit undisturbed overnight, forcing the soap to go through the gel phase.

And my results were worth it! My fragrance is strong and stable, my pink colorant has really popped, and the creamy color seems to have recovered some of the list green! I am over-the-moon excited about this soap!

Look for it in my Etsy shop in 4 weeks... But here is a preview to hold you over:

Michael's Clearance Score!

Before my trip to Mississippi, I wrangled my toddler and took a quick trip to Michael's craft store to stock up on some yarn. I knew that the car ride was going to be at least 8 hours long, and I figured I would need a way to keep busy, and my crochet needle was the way to go!

So, I kept my kiddo happy with music from my iPhone and picked out 8 gorgeously colored skeins of yarn. And then I did what I always do in craft stores: head to the soap making department!

My haul! :oD

You can imagine my surprise when I saw all the new soap fragrances and new packaging that Michael's in carrying! New fragrances in larger bottles, new colorants in bright packaging, new molds and cutters and all kinds of things to make me feel giddy!

Then... it hit me... Michael's has a clearance section!
So, I raced with my son and my buggy full of yarn, only to find that the supplies that had been replaced were all marked down considerably! So, after I stopped squealing, jumping, dancing, and receiving strange looks from the other customers, I had scored 6 bottles of rose fragrance oil, 5 bottles of plumeria fragrance oil (my husband's favorite!), 3 bottles of pearberry fragrance oil, 3 tubs of pearl shine, and 4 tubs of glitter!

And I scored them all for... $0.79 each!

$0.79!!

I've already started making pearberry scented bath bombs and drying rose petals for soap!
And I'm already making plans to visit a few other stores to see if I can get this lucky again!
Life is great!
Happy Creating!

Wordless Wednesday

Tutorial: Homemade Deodorant

Homemade deodorant? Man, Milly must have really gone off the deep end...

Nope! I promise! You are going to LOVE this homemade deodorant! There are no aluminum or any other nasty additives. And it actually works really good! It took me about 10 minutes total to make my deodorant, and I even had some left over... Plus, it is super cheap!

Your Supplies

You will need:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
3 tsp coconut oil (you can use shea butter if you prefer. I havent tried it, though)
1-3 drops of essential oil or body safe fragrance oil
Mixing bowl
Container (I used an empty deodorant container and it's working great)

1. Combine the dry ingredients together.

2. Add your coconut oil and fragrance. I combined them together using my hands, but a spatula would work well, too. The coconut oil may melt a little if you use your hands.
3. When it is fully combined, spoon the mix into your container. Put the container in the fridge for an hour or so to harden your mix.

When using your new deodorant, make sure to apply it lightly. A little goes a long way!

Deodorant! :o)

Crinkle Cut

I recently purchased a brand new soap cutter... I've been using knives and dough scrapers for so long, that I had almost forgotten that there are really cool crinkle cutters out there! For months, I have been drooling over crinkle cutters online and searching through thrift stores and kitchen supply stores for a crinkle cutter, only to find one in my local Michael's when I was not even looking! Score!

Before the cut!

I have finally gotten a chance to break the cutter in on a new batch of Sandalwood soap. For my sandalwood soap, I used freshly rendered tallow (big thanks to my meat cutter bro-in-law for the suet cuttings!), olive oil, and coconut oil, with some gold colored dye and sandalwood fragrance oil.


I added an interesting touch in a moment of worry. Usually, when I use a large amount of hard oils (tallow, coconut), I get loads of soap ash. In order to combat the ash, I wrap up my loaf in saran wrap... but I found out that I was out! So, instead, I covered the top with bubble wrap, and it made a great looking honeycomb effect! Awesome!

After the cut!

So, after letting the soap sit for about a day and a half, then a few hours in the freezer, the log was ready to cut... And I think that the combination of the bubble wrap/honeycomb with the crinkle cut has given the soap a whole new look!

I am in LOVE with the effect!!

Look for the soap in my Etsy shop and Zibbet shop around mid-June!

Vacation Time!

I just wanted to let you all know that I will be out of town this week. My parents, my sister, my son and I will be visiting my grandparents in Columbus, MS. We are really excited to go and see our family!

We are leaving Monday evening, and we will be back late Thursday night.

I will have my laptop and iPhone with me, so I will still be in contact with everyone. However, any orders that come in after Monday at 5pm EST until Friday will be shipped on Friday. I am sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.

I hope you all have fantastic days! <3

Celebrations!

Wow, my soap shop venture is really taking off!

On facebook, my fan page has recently topped over 200 fans!

At my Etsy shop, I'm up to 59 sales, each month being better than the one before!

I'm starting to branch out, opening shops at Zibbet and preparing to open one at TheCraftStar. I've also started accepting Direct Checkout through my Etsy shop, so now you can buy without using PayPal.

Things are going fantastic! Loving all of the love!

Plants for Soaping

For some of my soaps, I like to add in extras, like dried herbs and flowers. For my sister-in-laws wedding favors, I added bits of rosemary to the rosemary-scented soap, and I have been known to color soap with parsley, tumeric, paprika, and kudzu.

Pink and Red Rose Petals

Currently, I am growing some marigolds to cut and dry for calendula petals, along with loofahs, and I've been looking around to see what other plants I can dry...

My in laws have lots of plants and flowers around the farm, but this past weekend I had my eye on a deep red rosebush and a bright pink rosebush! My husband and I collected handfuls of rose petals, and we have laid them out to dry in prep for a layered rose soap.

Orange peels

We've also started looking at our groceries to see what we can use and reuse. We recently replanted the heart of our last batch of celery, and it is growing back more celery! Yum! We also just bought a big bag of navel oranges, and we're saving and drying the peels to use in soaps and bath teas. Dried orange peel can be found in the spice section of the grocery store, but it is WAY cheaper to dry out your own peels! I've dried orange peels before, and they got very hard as they dried, so I am going to run them through my food processor after they are dry to get them to a finer consistency. 


Happy Creating!

New Fragrances and... Bath Fizzies!

It's that time again... The exciting moment when I place an order for new supplies! My favorite time of year! As always, I placed my order with AromaHaven.com and it arrived lightning fast! I ordered Sunday night and my package was on my doorstep by Tuesday. They have fantastic customer service!

I am so excited about my four new fragrances, and I have big plans for them! The first one on my list of "must-haves" was Blackberry sage. I have heard loads about this rich, herbal fragrance, and was dying to stick my nose in it! :o) The blackberry is a sweet, light high note, followed by the rich, warm, herbal scent of sage. It is going to make a lovely soap, but I am really dying to try it in wax tarts (which I am hoping to expand into this summer!)

My four new scents!

One fragrance that I definetly wanted to invest in is a rich Christmas scent. Last year during the holiday season, I snagged a great 3-D Christmas tree mold, and I am already anxious to give it a try. So, my second fragrance of choice is one called "Country Christmas." I've actually smelled this in candles before, but never placed it. The scent is a great mixture of all of the wonderful things about Christmas: mulberry, cranberry, pine, and rich spices.

Third, and the one that I am most anxious to soap with, is a simple fragrance called "Granny's Green Apple." It is the perfect representation of a granny smith apple, to the point where my mouth waters when I sniff! A few months back, I had an interesting idea for a Halloween soap based off of the poison apple from "Snow White", and I cannot wait for you all to see it! (Hint: no poison, just loads of apple goodness!)

My fourth and final fragrance was a tough one, but I made the perfect choice... My in-laws own a dairy farm in East Tennessee, and every summer and fall they attend county fairs and participate n dairy cattle shows. My mother-in-law has been encouraging me for the past three years to set up a booth to sell my wares, and this year, I am going to do it. So, I will be making dairy cattle inspired soaps! I just needed to find the right scent... and I found it in "Clover Fields and Aloe." It is light, arid, and reminds me of the sweet smells coming from the fields after a cool rain.

Bath fizzy base... I cannot wait to dig in!

Along with my new fragrances, I picked up two pounds of premade bath bomb base. For months, I have been researching how to make bath bombs and bath fizzies, and I've been weighing my options between premade bases or bases made from scratch. Once our move is complete next week, I'll be making my first bath bombs, so look for a blog post soon!!

I am so excited about my new supplies, and my hat goes off to AromaHaven and their fantastic products and services! Thanks so much!

Happy Crafting!

Make it MiO - A review

I have always had a tough time drinking straight water... I've tried all kinds of water flavorings, but when I tried MiO for the first time, knew I was hooked!! First, I fell in love with the Peach/Mango and the Sweet Tea, but then, I became addicted to the Green Thunder MiO energy(which is supposed to be an apple/citrus combination, but to me it tastes like those old candy sticks that you would lick and dip in the powdered candy... NOM!).

I am a fan of the MiO Facebook page, and a few weeks ago, they announced a free giveaway of their two newest flavors: lemonade and blueberry lemonade! Freaking blueberry lemonade?!? Sign me up!! I stalked their page for three days before I got my free sample confirmation...

And now, its here!

I was so surprised with my sample... I figured I would receive a sample similar to what you get shampoo samples in (you know, the flat, plasticy samples that you squeeze out?), but I got a whole freaking bottle!! I almost danced right there at the post office!

My sample of Blueberry Lemonade!

How does it taste?

Pretty cup of yummy!

Freaking amazing! When you first taste it, the blueberry is the high note (first thing you taste), and it is light and sweet. The tart of the lemon comes next, but it is not overwhelming. The two compliment each other without overpowering. And if you are like me and like a light touch of MiO to your water, this flavor is perfect with just a small squeeze.
And did I mention that the color of my water is a gorgeous violet color?

I have tried all of the MiO flavors except for the new Lemonade and the Orange/Tangerine, and the Blueberry Lemonade blows them ALL out of the water! I have a new favorite!

Make sure to go and like the MiO facebook page for a chance to try out their latest flavors!

Wordless Wednesday

Handmade by me!

If you are familiar with the inner working of Etsy, then I am sure that you are familiar with the recent controversy that has been swirling around in the forums. (If not, check out this Regretsy post and this update.) I have been torn on the controversy, keeping mostly to myself in the forums and watching others talk it out.
However, I have been suckered in by a passive protest. Now, a group of sellers has began changing their avatars to pictures of their hands, to show that their work is all handmade. I just could not resist!

The hands that make!

I want all of my readers to be reassured that the work at Second Spring Soaps is all handmade by me. I design and make all of my bath products in my little home. You can check out these facebook photos of me making soap if you want, or watch some of my YouTube videos.

For what it is worth, my heart is broken over all of the Etsy shenanigans. I would have felt much better if Etsy would have apologized for its mistake, and I believe that most of this would have blown over before now. I honestly believe in handmade, and I try my best to support others who are trying to make this world a little more unique. I just... I dont even know. I hope that the handmade community can survive.

Tri-Cities Flea Market

Our local farmer's market will open next weekend, but my husband and I are already craving fresh veggies... So today we piled into the car and headed down to our flea market!

Just as I had hoped, we found quite a few veggie vendors, and scored some new red potatoes, a basket of cucumbers, and juicy, full tomatoes!

Benjamin was quite pleased!

Farewell, Spring Semester... Hello, Moving Day!

With only finals week left to go, I am looking forward to my summer vacation! I cannot wait to spend my summer with my son, playing outside, picking blackberries, and selling soap at our local farmer's market! I am also looking forward to the Fall semester, when I will start taking business classes in earnest, and I will take my first accounting class... Kind of scary, but I am excited!

The only thing I am NOT looking forward to is our summer move.

Packed and ready to go!

My family and I are fortunate enough to live in family housing at East Tennessee State University, where I attend. However, our apartment complex is fairly old and in need of some renovations. So, for the summer months, we are being relocated to another apartment on campus. While I am excited about the new apartment (and the washer/dryer that comes with it!), the process of packing up our things has me panicky. Not to mention, I am also having to pick up my business and move it, just to move it again come August when the renovations are complete! Argh! Stressful!
In preparation for the move, I have limited myself by not making any new soap for the past few weeks, so I do not have to worry about moving any soft soap. My tasks for this weekend include wrapping the last few bars of soap that have finished curing and packing them away. I've found that packing my soaps, lip balms, and other things in rubbermaid shelves has made the easy to transport and lift, as well as keeping them at hand in case any new sales come in during the move.

Plus, once we are moved and (kind of) unpacked, I can start making more soaps!! So, be on the lookout in my Etsy shop and my Zibbet shop for new creations!

I guess I have put off packing for long enough... Happy Creating!

Wordless wednesday

Blackberry Winter

Photograph by Cassie at
LifesSimpleMoments.etsy.com

Here in the south, springtime cold snaps can be called one of two things: Dogwood winter, or Blackberry winter. Dogwood winter comes first, usually in early April, and the cold snap is signified by the blooming dogwood trees that dot the hills and valleys. Blackberry winter happens a bit later, usually in early May, and all of the blackberry bushes bloom with their small, white dots of flowers.

In fact, last week as I was walking with my Mom and son, I noticed that a wild blackberry bush had not yet bloomed, and I mentioned to my mother, "We're in for a cold snap." She glanced down at the purple blackberry vines and agreed. Little did we know tyhat the cold snap was less than a week away!

So here we are, huddled against the cold and wind in the last week of April, and all I can think about is the middle of July, when the blackberries are warm and juicy straight off the plant, the berries bursting in mouths, and staining lips and fingers...

Summer cannot come fast enough! Enjoy your Blackberry winter!

Reused Crayons

My little man, who turns 21 months old this week, is really getting into drawing with crayons! At least twice a day, he comes and gets me and asks "color, Mommy?" How can I resist that?!? And as much as my son loves to color, he's really rough with the crayons. Loads of them have broken tips, or have broken into two or three pieces, making them hard for him to hold.

So, this weekend, we took all of those old crayons, and remelted them into new ones!

You will need:
crayons

Crayon bits in the mold

a heat-safe container (like a silicone muffin pan or muffin tin. Fun shapes work great!)
oven

First, you will need to break up your crayons into medium-to-small sized chunks. You can mix colors together like I did (I mixed my yellows/oranges, red/purple/pink, and blue/gray), or you can keep your colors separate. Make sure that you remove all of the paper and adhesive from the crayons!

Next, just toss the crayon pieces into your mold. Put your mold into the oven and set it to the lowest possible setting. I melted my crayons at 150 degrees for 10 minutes, and they came out perfect!

Finished new crayons!

Once the crayons are completely melted, just remove the mold and let the crayons cool to room temperature before removing them. Your colors will blend together and make great patterns! My son adores his new football-shaped crayons... great for his little hands!

One thing that I notices after coloring with the new crayons, there was a thin layer of uncolored wax that formed on the top of the crayon while it was still in the mold . I just used a butter knife to scrape it away.

Happy coloring! :o)

Wordless Wednesday

Green Thumb

It is Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and with the warming weather, my mind has turned to gardening... We live near a wooded area and I am already planning on picking lots of honeysuckles and blackberry leaves... and there are hundreds of dandelions and nettles all around us in Tennessee... But I've always wanted a big garden, but apartment life isnt really suited for it.

Loofah seeds!

However, a month or so ago, I ordered some loofah seeds from Amazon, determined to get those little suckers to grow. I soaked them for two days in water before wrapping them up in a wet paper towel with a little bit of potting soil. After just a day in the paper towel, all of my little seeds had germinated and were ready to plant!

Four little sprouts!

My little loofah sprouts have all popped up from the soil and are looking green and strong! I'll keep them in this starter pot for the next few weeks, then separate them into their own, individual pots, and put tomato cages with the plants so that the vines can crawl! They need well-draining soil and lots of sun...

I am hoping to have a good crop of loofahs, so I can use them in my soap!

Lye Safety

The chemistry behind soap making is fascinating! Cold process soap is made by combining oils and caustic soda (aka, lye or sodium hydroxide), which produces glycerine, which is the cleaning agent found in soap. Sounds fairly simple, right?

Well, lye can be a dangerous chemical if handled the wrong way. Once mixed with water, lye can cause severe burns, even peel paint off of wood! When working with lye, always make sure to wear long sleeved shirts, pants, and closed toe shoes. You will also need the following safety equipment:

• thick gloves
• eye protection (glasses alone dont cut it!)
• optional: face mask or other respiratory protection

When making soap, you will need to mix lye and water together before adding it to your oils. There are a few rules to remember:

1. ALWAYS wear your safety gear! 
2. Use #5 plastic containers to mix your lye and water in. NEVER use glass! Not even Pyrex!
3. Never use wooden utensils to stir your mix with. The best ones I have found are silicone spatulas.
4. ALWAYS pour your LYE into the WATER! Lye --> Water! If you mix this one up, you could have a lye volcano on your hands... not cool!

Lye is a dangerous chemical and should be respected and treated with care. Please always take care to avoid burns. If you happen to be burned by lye, run the affected area under cold running water for at least 15 minutes. You can also use vinegar to wash away the lye (and neutralize it).