Wednesday, November 24, 2010

My New Soap Molds

I have been running out of soap so fast that I just had to make some more molds yesterday. So yesterday we ran to Home Depot for some boards and nuts and bolts. I finished them just last night.


Here they are all put together for the first time earlier today. Each slab mold makes 14 bars of soap.



Here is the first new batch of soap in the mold. It is Rose Geranium and Rosewood. This batch also went into heart shaped silicon molds. Hoping those come out nicely. Two slab molds full of my Dark Stout Soap followed. I use less liqiud when I making batches like these that need to be cured quickly. Both of these batches will be ready to ship in time for Christmas on December 15th. In the mean time I still have 2 bars of the Dark Stout Soap in stock. Plus some left over Guinness for Thanksgiving! Have a good one.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Holiday Soap on a Rope Ornaments

Seasons Greetings! Hope you all have your plans in order for an enjoyable Thanksgiving break if you are here in the US. I have been very busy here trying to make sure I have plenty of holiday gift offerings in my shop. I have a new section dedicated to these most recent creations:



Many of my Holiday items this year are soap on a rope ornaments. These make great stocking stuffers or gifts for family or coworkers. I had fun with the holiday scent blending. The reindeer above, as well as the start and bells from that batch were scented with Lemon, Mandarin, Tangerine, Star Anise, Clove and Patchouli essential oils. The gingerbread men of course were scented with Ginger essential oil as well as Cinnamon and Clove essential oils. This is how I make them:

First, I slice thin sections from soap slab.


Then I cut the pieces with a cookie cutter.


Next I poke a hole through the ornaments and string them with hemp. Ornaments are hung to cure.

No waste! Left over bits go into the crock pot for a melt down.

Gingerbread bits make a great matching bar soap after being poured into the slab mold and cut.


Hope you find something you like.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Herbal Events in Central Florida this Sunday November 14th

This Sunday is a great day for herb lovers in Central Florida. I have two events to share with you whether you are in the Daytona Beach or St. Augustine area.

The first is my Salves and Balm making class at Maggie's Herb farm in St. Augustine. From 10-2 I will be teaching how to make a black drawing salve like the one pictured below from my Etsy shop. I have called the farm to confirm also that their lovely pink rose bush is in full bloom and ready for us to make a beautiful salve with. I will also be demonstrating how I make lip balms with essential oils of Sweet orange and Peppermint. There are still 6 spots available in this class so round up your friends if you would like to get in on this herbal adventure. The fee is $35 and you can call the farm to register. 904 829 0722.



The other great event that is happening on Sunday is the "A rose by any other name" fundraiser for the new Rose and Herb Garden in down town Daytona Beach. The event will be held at the corner of Orange Ave and Beach Street. My friend Ciana from Green Halloween Daytona is organzing this event. She and I had too much fun organizing and preparing for Green Halloween that we got our wires crossed and we doubled booked me for a workshop at the garden on Sunday as well. Hallogreen was great fun by the way. Here is Moira with Rae Rae, the enviropal.



Back to the Rose Garden: you are all extra lucky, because of the mix up I recruited Ralph from Deep Woods Herbal Research Inc in Daytona to come out in my place and give an herbal talk for my slot at 2 pm about herbs for cold & flu season. Ralph is a very knowlegable herbalist who learned from his father who was an herbalist as well. The fee for this workshop is only $5, it's a great deal. Or come earlier at 12 and for $5 you can also learn about quality Rose Gardening with expert Dana Venrick.