Sharing Work Spaces

 

Our basement is divided into two spaces. The other side is the finished space with carpet, furniture, shelving, and a tv. My work space is in the unfinished part. I have been working on my soap kitchen for the past few days and I thought I would share my progress. Above it is what you see when you walk into this part of the basement. To the left is a long table which holds my hot plates, wax, and all the things I need to make candles.

 Here is the "room" to the right. The counter top and sink were donated. We paid for the lumber and the labor to install them. We also had to purchase the faucet, which reaches all 3 bins! I had shelves installed above the counter just to hold my fragrances and essential oils. I wanted it only "one bottle" deep so I could easily find the oil I wanted. My soft oils and other ingredients are on the shelves. Under the sink are my 50 pound tubs of coconut and palm oil.

 I wanted a dishwasher so we install the least expensive one made....lol! It turns on, you can control the on/off heat and light/regular load. That's it, and that's all I needed. Our handyman made a box for the dishwasher and some shelves for "stuff". It's bare plywood which I would like to paint this spring/summer. The brown box in the corner is our furnace. As I said, this is a very rustic kitchen, but when you are slapping soap around and tossing candle wax, rustic is the best!

 At the end of the counter is a microwave which I use to melt butters, and oils. I also have my ipad stereo on top of the microwave. I have to blast music when I soap! My husband surprised me with some rubber mats last night. They are much more comfy to stand on than the thin rug I had down before!

I just love my sink! It was filthy when I got it and had paint splattered on parts. It has lots of love dents all over it, but it works perfect! I use the left side to wash my pots and pans in, and the middle is where I cool my lye. The right side is for draining items that don't go in the dishwasher.

Thanks for reading! I would love for you to share your workspace too! Leave a comment, and a link, so we can all share.
Elizabeth

Too Early For Halloween?

I know it is early for Halloween, but when you make soap, you have to plan WELL in advance!

 Soap needs several weeks to cure, if not longer, so planning ahead is needed to keep up with the demands and to be ready for a holiday. Above, and below, is a picture of my Boo Berry soap. It is scented with Blackberry Fizz, which is a very nice deep berry scent.

I wanted this soap to be for Halloween, but I wanted it to be more versatile. I added purple paper and a black spider to the package. After Halloween I can simply replace the wrapper not associated with Halloween.
I think they turned out cute! I will bring a few into the shop and the rest will be sold on Etsy and other outside shops I sell at.

Candle sales are starting to pick up. The top one is scented with pumpkin spice and the bottom is carrot cake. I wanted the topping to look like cake, but I'm afraid it might look like puke! What do you think? It smells awesome!

Missing in Action!

Sorry I have not been around! My birthday was on the 18th of July, and I received a Ipad2 for my birthday! My husband was so thoughtful and he knew how cumbersome it was to carry around my heavy laptop.
I don't have a connector for my camera, so I haven't been able to download any pictures from my ipad. Hopefully this will change soon!

I thought I would show you a few things I have been working on. Above is my body wash. I have tweaked my recipe, so now I can scent a bottle as I go, which means I have a larger variety of body washes to offer! Yea!

This is my coconut lime verbena soap. I have added a new recipe to my line and now I have soap made with lard. Now, before you say "yuck", the lard doesn't add any scent to the soap, but produces a very creamy, full of bubbles soap....they really are beautiful soaps to shower/bathe with!

I am getting ready for Halloween....I know it's early....but not for lots of people! I made a Dragon's Blood soap that I named Vampire's Kiss. It is a heavy, spicy scent that guys just love! The second picture is another cupcake soap I made using the cold process method. The top is piped cold process whipped soap that I used a pastry bag to pipe on the "frosting". The bottom is regular cold process soap.

I have delved into the art of whipped soap! This is whipped soap made from scratch, so it doesn't have any harsh chemicals in it. This is my first batch above and I added in french green clay so I could use it as a shaving soap. Whipped soap if fun to make, but it takes a long time and then you have to wait weeks for it to cure before you can use it! Ugh....I am not a patient person! I put the whipped soap in tubs and they are stacked on a shelf...out of sight...out of mind!

Last, but not least is my new mold for my solid lotion line. They fit perfectly inside this 2 ounce tin, which is what I have been looking for!
Solid lotions are used by placing the bar in your hands and gently rubbing the bar. The heat from your hands slowly melts the oils which you then rub into your skin. I love to use them on my feet and elbows. During the winter, I use them all over!

Thanks for your patience during posts. I promise to not wait so long between posting!

Cupcake Cold Process Soap

Happy Easter!

 Happy Easter!
It will be a quiet Easter for me. My hubby is out of town and won't be back until Monday. Both kids live out of town, but my son came home with a few friends this weekend to see the St. Louis Cardinal's play.
I have orders to fill and new products to make that are going to be featured in a new shop next month, so tomorrow will be another busy day.

Cairn Terrier in the Snow

We've had a lot of snow lately. We usually have one or two snowfalls, but it seems like we've had more than usual this year.
This video is Finch in the snow. Finch is a Cairn Terrier (Toto on the Wizard of Oz) and she is obsessed with any toy that she can carry around in her mouth...lol!
I couldn't get her to go outside to "potty", so I grabbed the frisbee and threw it into the yard.....and then I couldn't get her to come back in! If you look closely, you can see how ratty the frisbee is. For some reason she has to grab the inside of the frisbee and shake it to death. She does this with all frisbees and you can imagine my shock when I bought Finch a rubber frisbee and she managed to fold it in half! That's for a later video. :)

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'm in a contest! I would love your Etsy Vote!

Time to Vote!

I've been entered into Etsy's contest!! Come see all the wonderful items for Teachers!
My Lemongrass Basil Soap Set is in the contest and I would love your vote!
*the soap has sold, but there is another one in my shop*

VOTE

Monday Finds With All Kinds Of Yummy Things To Eat!

HowlingWolfSauces's.Etsy.Com
I gave these to my husband and son for Christmas last year. I can honestly tell you that these are the BEST sauces in the world! We used them on chicken, port, and as a dipping sauce. Yum!!
DoubleDippedSweets's
Having tasted Double Dipped's dipped apples, I can'n tell you enough how GOOD these are! They are also HUGE, so be sure you have someone to share it with you!

frankiesfoods.Etsy.Com
This looks like I could just pop it into my mouth! Not only does this look delicious, but the photography is amazing! This shop is brand new, so make a new seller's day by purchasing from their new shop!

Now, I'm hungry!!

My Husband Is Goose Hunting And I'm Shopping!

This sweet monkey is from TheWillowtree's shop. Click on the picture to visit this adorable monkey! I might have to get this for my daughter for Valentine's Day!
I just love this stamp from NoraJane! I'm going to ask her if she can make a custom one for me!
Last, but not least, is my most favorite item....I think these are so cute! I can see these placed at each place setting for a dinner party! You can find these at FayeHubele's shop!

Black Friday!!

Black Friday sale in my shop! My sale starts at 6am and ends at midnight (CT).
20% off EVERYTHING in my shop!!
*discount will be refunded through Paypal after payment is made.

Time to shop in your jammies! Don't brave the cold, get stuck in traffic, or carry those heavy bag all around a crowded mall!

A Breath Of French Air - Your Online Bath and Body Shop

Browsing For Christmas!

It's time to start thinking of Christmas. I like to take my time and really think over all my choices carefully. I think my DH would like these from mountainriverflies. My husband loves to fish and I think these would make a great stocking stuffer!



My son loves to BBQ and I bet he would really like some homemade BBQ sauce from

HowlingWolfSauces!

My DD might like this for her apartment. She really needs artwork for her walls! This is from

jermantowicz

For myself, I would love to have this. We have two little Cairn Terriers, and this would be perfect! dogartstudio painted this.

Frustrations of blogging!!

Ugh! I have been trying and trying to change my blog so that I can have 3 columns. Somehow I changed it so that I didn't have ANY side columns! Being short of time, I just grabbed another template and settled on this one.....like the changes?
If anyone can help me, please let me know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And The Winners Are.....

And the winners of my contest are.....................................drum roll..................

Bree ($10.00 FREE merchandise from my shop!)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=81855

ClearPink (FREE bar of soap!)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5587991

Cottonwoodherbal's (10% off anything in my shop)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5717395

Congratulations!!!!

My First Batch Of Cold Process Soap!

I cranked out my first bath of Cold Process soap! I made my soap with olive oil, sunflower oil, palm kernal oil, and shea butter. It's scented with clean cotton...yum!
This picture is right after it was poured.










I pourerd the extra in my bumble bee mold




















This is how it looked after 20 hours.