1000 Markets!!

I joined 1000 Markets a few days ago, and I'm really excited! I love their format and I'm looking forward to running my shop there.

It's free to list, and you only pay a percentage of what you sell.

Click on the picture to see what's new in my shop!

POLL: Name This Soap

I'm having a hard time with the name of this soap. Will you please help me out? I have some choices above, but if you have another name in mind, post it here!

Here's the description I have for it:

Tomato Leaf Herbal Handmade Soap is a light, fresh, airy and herb-y scent. It is a blend of all kinds of melons and tomatoes with lemon-lime top notes, fresh leafy herbaceous middle notes and a wonderfully rich and earthy base. My Tomato Leaf Handmade Soap is made using the freshest ingredients, including Tomato Paste!

Tomatoes are a wonderful source of carotenoids like lycopene, beta-carotene, and vitamin E, which have been know to be effective antioxidants.

Let me tell you about my dog, Finch! Finch is a Cairn Terrier. Many people don't know about this breed, but when I mention that "Toto" On the Wizard Of Oz movie, was a Cairn Terrier...they nod their head "ahhhh, yes! Finch is 4 years old but someone forgot to tell her! She acts like she is still a puppy. See the blur of her tail? EVERY TIME you look at Finch, her tail starts wagging. She is happy all the time....I wish I could bottle her energy and happiness....I'd be rich!!
Finch lives and breathes to play. Her favorite is her frisbee. The one pictured here is how the frisbee starts out. It's a little dirty, but it's intact. Finch loves to grab the middle of the frisbee and shake it. Eventually the fabric gives away and just the rim is left. Finch doesn't care....she just shakes that rim!

In this movie you can see what happens, over time, to her frisbee. It's also interesting to see how she carefully carries her frisbee. This video was taken last winter, after a big snow.

Bright Sunny, and Oh So Yummy Cold Process Soap!

They really are as bright as the first picture! I used a yellow swirl to color the soap. The fragrance oil was tinted, so the swirl is not as noticeable, but I love how it turned out! It is scented with Mandarin Tiki. The smell is divine and the cold process method was perfect for this soap!

Chocolate and Peppermint Cut and Sliced!

They smell just like a Peppermint Patty! Rich, smooth, decadent!

I Was Accepted Into Trunkt!!!!

I'm so excited!! I was accepted into Trunkt yesterday!!

TRUNKT

I haven't decided if I should upgrade to the premium level. It costs $199.00!

Some Of My Favorite Shoe Items From Etsy!

That 70's Shoe Clock at SpareTime
Inkadinkado shoe stamp at luvmypets
Vintage shoe shine kit at generation3

Can you see the shoe theme?? My husband is the owner of Mark Lemp Footwear, a manufacturing company of women's shoes. I'm drawn to all shoe items! :)

Update! I Cut The Log And The Soap Came Out Perfect!

I wanted the bars to look like an apple with a stem...Apple Jack!

Apple Jack!

Here's the red poured into the mold.
Green on top.
Fresh out of the mold! I'm going to let it sit for a few hours before slicing.

Christmas In June! Cold Process Soap

I have a hard time picking a favorite scent, but I think it may be Gingerbread! I could use it all year!
They came out quite yellow, although I didn't add any color. I'm hoping they cure to a nice brown!

Dragon's Blood Cold Process Soap

Decided to make the colors black and red.
This is more of a brick red.
I love the fresh poured look!

The swirls came out great and the scent is warm and spicy!

Whew! I Just Finished Another Batch Of Cold Process Soap!

Ok, here we go! I have measured out all the oils and the hard oils are all melted. See the pen in the picture? I like to check off the oils I add to makes sure I don't miss one!










In this picture, I have just added the lye to the oils. They are the same temperature right now.














Here I have added the color. I diluted the color and used a dropper to add the color. Don't ask me about my "mustard" colored soap I made the other day!







The color is all blended now and it's coming to a nice trace. Right after I took this picture, I added the poppy seeds. They came from my very own
garden. Here I have just poured the soap, textured the top a bit, and sprinkled some more poppy seeds on top. The piece of cardboard that you see to the right of the mold goes on top. I then take several blankets and cover the whole thing up for 24 hours.












Here it is! All cut and ready to go...well...not yet...it has to cure for about 3 to 4 weeks!

Pass Me A Beer Please!

I made this beer soap using Schafly beer, which is a local St. Louis brewery. It has a slight nutty scent, which I think will appeal to guys who do not like strong scented soaps.













I used both a plain blade and a crinkle cut blade to slice the log.
















It had a pretty color right after it was poured!

Wasabi Anyone??

I'm having such a good time making soap! This soap is Cucumber Wasabi and Cilantro! I colored with with green and swirled in the yellow. I think it turned out great!

The last picture is right after it was poured. I like the finished color better.

Is It Fall Yet?

I made a fresh batch of Pumpkin Spice soap the other day. I just love this scent!
Here is the color I used. It's a brick red.












Here it is in the mold. It's not really as pink as what is showing.
























Cut and sliced! It smells wonderful!!

Freshly Cut!

Freshly cut and will be ready in about 3 weeks!
Made with Fresh Grass and Tomato Leaf Fragrance Oils.
Any ideas on what I should name them??

More pictures of the process

Here are a few pictures that "vanished" when I was uploading yesterday. This picture is when I JUST turned on the stick blender. See the little bit of white around the stick? That's the first sign of the lye reacting to the oils










This is when I just put the mica in. It's such a pretty color!





















This is the mica. It comes in a powder and to mix it better, I took a few tablespoons of oils and mixed it all together in a little tub.

Planning stages

I've been researching making cold process soap for ages now and I'm finally ready to get my feet wet (no pun intended..lol). I have all my equipment except for my stick blender and some of my oils, that I'm picking up the week. My mold is to the left, and I can't wait to use it! Below are picture of CP soap. These are images (free) that I found on the internet. Don't they look beautiful!!