Spring Forward!

I don't know if it's because of all the dreary days St. Louis has had, or because of the upcoming snow storm forecast for tomorrow, but I am itching for Spring. I worked on my Spring line today and decided to play with some soap base. This soap was made with Tulip fragrance oil, but it smells more "green" to me, so I'm going to market it as a unisex (hate this term!) scent.

I colored the bars with teal mica and used clear soap for the middle. I love the contrast with the clear soap! I named the soap Spring Forward.My lip balm inventory is very low, so today I made several batches. Cola is a new scent and it smells just like Coke! I also made Cucumber Slices, Birthday Cake, Snickerdoodle, and Dark Chocolate.

I found these mugs at a local store, and immediately thought CANDLES! I made two of each: Blue = Clean Cotton, Yellow = Lemon Poppy Seed, and Pink = Peppermint Bark
All of these will be added to our new shop at Fusion, which is located in Chesterfield Mall (second floor, next to Sears), and to my Etsy shop.

Felted soaps!

I have always wanted to try felting soap, so awhile ago I took a stab at it. The process is not hard, but takes a bit of time. The soap looks HUGE before felting!
Here is the soap after a few minutes.
I love how the colors pop! I used some hot processed soap that I shaped into an egg shape. The surface of the soaps were too rough, so I felted them. I think they turned out beautifully!

Fusion by Show Me Handmade's Opening Feb 2rd!

With less than two weeks before our soft opening, we have been busy getting Fusion by Show Me Handmade ready. After many late, late, nights, it's all coming together! Above is a picture taken late Friday night. We are filling in the colors for the leaves, which is our logo.
The same logo, although smaller, is behind the cash wrap. The cash wrap, along with most of our displays came from another shop in the mall that had closed. We "obtained" all the displays, slat walls, and anything and everything else nailed down. I love the cash wrap and especially the stainless steel top!
Here we are using an overhead projector to line up the logo over the cash wrap. In the background, you can see the slat wall progression.
Not a great picture because of all the displays pushed together, but you can see the new wall colors.
Another view of the cash wrap and the slat walls to the right.
Finished logo....almost finished...!

We are still looking for partners for Fusion by Show Me Handmade! If interested, click Fusion By SMH.

Fusion by Show Me Handmade - Opening Soon in Chesterfield Mall

Just a sneak peek into our new shop! We are opening up a shop in Chesterfield Mall, located in St. Louis, MO. We just received our keys and will be very busy painting, painting, painting!
It's a huge shop! The above picture shows one of our partners, Becky, standing by some of our displays. The space is 3700 sq feet.
Here's a picture showing what the shop looks like standing at the front door. We will be hanging wood slat walls on the walls.
Here you can see the front door. The display window is behind the red curtain.
Many changes are coming and I will update pictures of our progress.
Grand opening is Feb 13/14!

Sugar Scrub Cubes! Have You Tried These?

Have you heard of sugar scrub cubes? They are single use sugar scrub! Just take one, to two, cubes into the shower. Gently rub the cube on your skin. The cube will break up and you will have a handful of wonderfully scented sugar scrub! Rinse and you are finished.
Sugar cubes are fun to make and I had a lot of fun at Christmas time make my Candy Cane cubes.

I'm back!

I'm so sorry I've been missing in action! Life became very busy around the holiday's and I'm just coming up to the surface and taking a much needed breath.
There is so much to talk about! First, I want to share my new SOAP KITCHEN! Dh's friend put this awesome kitchen in for us. He built the wall you can see on the right, added 3 outlets, added lighting, counter, shelves, and the awesome sink! The shelves in the background were added when we built our house 8 years ago. Brad gave us the sink (3 sinks!), the counter top, and the wood to make the shelves under the counter.
Since taking these pictures, I have added a microwave, which is tucked into the back corner of the counter. I still need to add more shelves above the sink and add more shelves to the back shelves. It feels great to have everything I need in one space!

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!