I wanted to show off the finished soap. I covered the bar with a brown paper bag and a cute red checked ribbon. Didn't they turn out well?

Hot Process Handmade Gingerbread Soap From Scratch

It was a cold and damp day, so I thought it would be a great day to make more soap. I'm running low on basic soap, but I also need some holiday soap....so I'm made Gingerbread Soap!
In the above picture you can see the hard oils melting. I have coconut, palm kernel, shea butter, and palm oil. Off to the side (which you can't see), I have my carefully measured lye/water solution and my soft oils. My soft oils are olive, rice bran, and castor.
While the oils are melting, I got my mold ready to go. I put oats on the bottom of the mold. This will actually be the top of the soap.
I also added ground oats and cocoa powder. The oats are great for your skin and the cocoa is for coloring the soap.
This is my favorite part...right after I poured the lye/water mix into the melted oils. In the above picture I just turned on the stick blender.
This is what it looks like one second after blending.
Here you can see a light trace. If I were making cold process soap, I would stop at this point, separate the mixture and add coloring. Since I'm hot processing, and I'm using cocoa for color, I'm skipping this step.
This is what it looked like after it came to a medium trace and I added the oats and cocoa.
Now the soap is "cooking". You can see the outside of the pot starting to gel.
About 20 min. later. It cooks from the outside in, and when the white spot in the middle is tiny, or disappears, it's finished!
This is a crummy picture, but this picture was taken after the soap had cooled to 170 degrees and I added the Gingerbread oils to the soap.
I added oats to the top (bottom of soap), but most of it fell off after taking it out of the mold. Hot process soap is ready to use as soon as it's finished with the "cook". It takes several hours for the soap to cool.
All set to go! See the oats? This was the bottom of the mold.
All cut and ready to go! I like to let my soap sit for a week or so before using. You don't have to, but the soap will last a lot longer if you do.

Now you know what it takes to makes soap!

Is it Karma, or Carma?

I think it's Carma! Similar to Lush's Karma. If you love warm, earthy scents, you are going to LOVE Carma! This perfume is an arousing blend of Patchouli, Orange, Lavender, Pine, and Lemongrass Essential Oils.A little goes a long way, so you will enjoy this scent for a long time! Just rub a little on your pulse point and you are set to go!

I am launching a new line of perfumes, so come back often to see what's new!

Fall is almost here, and I can't wait!

Fall is my favorite time of the year! I love the colors, the smells, and the sounds of Fall. One of my favorite places to be (other than on my back deck) is is front of our fireplace. Our fireplace is in our family room, and we don't use this room very often. Why not? Well, it's sad to say, but we don't have a TV in this room, so we spend time in our finished basement, where our big screen TV is.
BUT....this Fall we are getting a flat screen TV! I can't wait....I have wanted one for almost 5 years now. I can't wait to cozy up on the couch, put my feet up on the coffee table, and watch my favorite show while a fire is crackling in the fireplace. Heaven! I might even have to keep these candles for myself!

I am always looking for creative ways to wrap my soap. I find it difficult to come up with wrapping that is attractive, but is also inexpensive and not time consuming. It's fun to get creative with a few soaps, but when you have to wrap lots of them, the creative part is finding a fast and cheap way to do it.
The soaps above are mine. These are round soaps that I made in a PVC pipe. They are made with beer and are geared more towards men. I wrapped the soaps with coffee filters and used a round sticker to cover where the filter gathered together.
I went browsing on Flickr and came up with some cute wrappings. Look how cute this is (above). Little bandanna's wrapped around block soap...adorable!
I love the way these soaps are wrapped. Each one comes inside a fabric bag. I like the wrapping around the bag too. I only wish I knew how to sew!
I have used these boxes, but have not wrapped my soaps. I like how each soap is wrapped in different wrapping paper. Clever!
This soap reminds me of my beer soaps. I love the color of the label and the wrapping texture!

**To find out more about these products, click on the picture.

Fall Forward! It's Time To Think About The Fall Season

Pumpkin Lavender soap! It sounds like a strange combination, but the outcome is amazing! I made one batch of soap and ended up making several more due to the demand!
Autumn Apple Soy Candle - A sweet, fruity scent with a touch of cinnamon....mmmmmmmmm! I made these in two sizes - 2 ounces and 4 ounce tin jars.
Pumpkin Spice whipped soap! I love this product! It's soft and creamy, and the best part is that you can use it as both a body soap and a shampoo! Just scoop up a handful and scrub away!
Pumpkin Spice handmade soap. This is soap is made with real pureed pumpkin, which contains rich vitamins which are great for your skin.
Last, but not least, are my new candles: Cranberry Vanilla, Iced Pumpkin, and Autumn Apple.

Celebrate the Fall Season!

Gosh, It's Been Awhile!

We had our first Happy Hour Craft Night at Show Me Handmade! We served cookies, Missouri wine, cheese, crackers, and fruit.
We had several groups of friends that came together and took their classes together. Haley taught Calligraphy (book marks) and Winnie taught how to wire wrap earrings, using real stones and sterling silver wire.
MJ, and her daughter, took the wire wrapping class together. I just love this picture!
Lots of chatting, eating, and drinking went on.
I can't wait for next month! We will be announcing our next Happy Hour Soon.

Thunderstorms in St. Louis!

I so wanted to take new pictures today, but I don't think I can with this storm!
Want to know what's going on in St. Louis right now??

click here!
Storm

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I don't usually do anything special for the 4th, especially now that the kids are out of the house. I just got a call from my daughter, who lives in Chicago, and she is coming home for the weekend! I can't wait, as it's been a long time since she has been home.
Sarah doesn't know what her plans are going to be, but rest assured...she's going to get some mommy time!
Within walking distance is a wonderful home town celebration. There's a parade on the 4th, a pet contest, lots of BBQ, many rides, and three nights of fireworks. I'm sure we will be hitting some of the "celebration"!
Happy 4th!

New Lip Balm Flavors and Labels

I thought I would share some of my new lip balms with all of you. Above is a group picture of Orange Sorbet, Lavender Mint, Vanilla Bean, Banana Coconut, and Marshmallow Fluff.
Banana Coconut
Vanilla Bean
Marshmallow Fluff....my favorite!

I'm working on lip balms for the Fall. I will have Pumpkin, Candy Cane and a few I will disclose soon...so stay tuned!

Lip Balm Flavors - What's YOUR Favorite??

Lip Balms are one of my favorite things to use and my most hated thing to make. I love, love, lip balm, but making them is such a pain in the arse...lol!
Being a "mom and pop" shop....or should I say just a "mom" shop, I have to make, label and wrap each and every lip balm. I usually make them in large batches so wrapping them is quicker....but I still hate doing them.
I just made:
Lavender Mint
Vanilla Bean
Orange Sorbet
Banana Coconut
Pink Lemonade
Marshmallow Fluff

What do YOU love to use, but hate to make??

Etsy Weekend Deals!

Etsy featured my SAFE Team in their Etsy Weekend Deals! They featured my Intoxicating Beer Soap that's made out of real beer!
It's time to relax this weekend! Come see all the wonderful bath and body products featured! Weekend Deal

**What does Beer soap smell like? Well, soap made with beer does not have a scent! The beer I have here is scented with Sea Moss, which is a fresh clean scent...perfect for guys and gals!

Can You Picture The Scent?

I added candles to my Etsy shop awhile back. I have always wanted to make candles and after lots of testing (which was fun!) I listed my candles. I think bath products go well with candles and what better way to pamper yourself!

The problem I have this that I love so many scents, so I get carried away when ordering my oils! I also have a hard time narrowing down the size of candle. I decided to offer tea candles, round tin candles, and glass candles. Tea candles are nice to have around and are pretty inexpensive to ship. I am offering glass candles because they look really nice I am selling them in my shop...so no shipping costs!
One of my favorite scents is Tomato Leaf. It sounds like a strange scent, but it's really a nice FRESH scent! My son was home last weekend and after smelling this candle, he said, "wow, that really smells like a tomato vine". This coming from a young man that won't even walk into a bath and body shop! He even took one home with him. Now that's an endorsement!

How much do you love bath and body? Now you can buy at 50% off!

Coming June 1st - A MONTH long hunting game! Every day I will "hide" a word, number, or symbol somewhere in one of my Etsy listings. I will post the "search" every day and the first person to find it in my shop will receive that item for 50% OFF! I will post the "search" during various times each day so everyone had a chance to find it. Check back every day for the new hint!
So, be sure to check out my shop at ABreathOfFrenchAir every day for fun discounts!

Fun With Flowers In St. Louis

One of my favorite things to do is walk around my garden and capture the beauty of my flowers! The above picture is one of my dwarf Iris's. I planted the bulbs 2 years ago and this is their first time blooming. I'm in love with blue flowers these have become my all time favorite!
I tucked this Hosta in my back bed 2 years ago. I had no idea is was going to get this big! I take pictures of my clogs next to the plant for comparison. It will be split this fall!
I plant most of my plants by seed and this Columbine too 3 years to bloom, but it was so worth the wait! The details are just amazing. I planted these as "extra's" since I had so many plants come up, and these are planted under my window boxes in the front of the house.
Another true blue Clematis! This one trails on our white banister in the back yard and blooms for a very long time!