The Final Patchouli Orange Vanilla Soap!

The soap turned out great! The brown swirl will darken over the next few days due to the vanilla content.

I love the ground vanilla beans in the dark swirl  and on top! What do you think?

Spring Has Arrived

We are still experiencing snow in ice in the MidWest , but in my soap kitchen, Spring has arrived!

 This green and yellow soap is made with 3 different pear fragrances. The scent is light and fresh and perfect for Spring!












The swirl was to be light and airy, but as soon as I poured the fragrance oil in, the soap thickened up
and I jammed the soap into the mold. Not a bad
outcome!

 I made this soap just yesterday. When I added the coloring, I thought this soap would be bright neon pink! The soap IS very pink, but not as bright as the batter looked!
I scented this soap with fresh strawberry and iced pineapple fragrance oil







I think it came out perfect!

I will be listing the Pear soap soon, along with Cucumber Mint. Cucumber Mint which was made with real pureed organic cucumber!

Learning how to take pictures

I have wanted a new camera for several years now, and I finally received a new one for my Birthday! It has many bells and whistles, which is fun, but it means I have to learn how to use all the bells and whistles!
I tried my hand at taking pictures off the auto setting.

We went to the Americana Music Awards in Nashville last month. I took this picture inside. I obviously need more time on the camera!

This is a better picture!

I plan to use this camera for product pictures and videos for YouTube. Here are some pictures I have taken using the camera.

I love how clear the pictures are. Now I just need to work on lighting and staging!
I have been quite busy lately. I am placing my product in another St. Louis retail shop, and between filling this shop, and keeping my other retail locations stocked, along with my Etsy shop, I can't seem to catch up!
I made quite a few hot process soap batches so I could stock up on soap. When everything slows down, I will get back to making my favorite cold process soaps!

The top green soap is Eucalyptus Mint and the bottom soap is French Blend (lavender, tea tree, and clove). They don't look as pretty, but they sure smell good!

A mistake I was willing to make

Last month I had a couple contact me regarding a soap they would love to have. They asked me to make a blend of lemongrass and patchouli soap. The shop was slow, so I thought, "why not?". The contact was made on Facebook and the couple said they wanted quite a few bars, and a friend of theirs even piped in and said they wanted a few bars too.
So, I happly made the soap. I let them know they were made and I would post the listing in a week or so. The soaps were made using the hot process method, so they were available much sooner than my other soaps.
Two weeks later I posted the link to the soap. It has been two weeks now and they have not ordered the soap.
So why did the mistake (of making the soap before payment) turn out well?  The blend is amazing, and because I used the hot process method, I was able to superfat the soap with lots of extra cocoa butter! The soap smells amazing and I am going to add this blend to my soap line.
Now, I did make a mistake by making a product that was not paid for, which you should never do. But....I knew ahead of time that I may not sell the soap to the person who requested the soap, but I was willing to take the chance.
Sellers are often asked to make a product on Etsy. It happens all the time and most sellers are happy to purchase the materials, make the product, and then list the items for sale. But what if the buyer doesn't come back to purchase? Can you sell the item to someone else?
I always make sure I have the buyers money before I even start making the item.
I guess I don't always follow my own advice, but I do have a nice batch of lemongrass patchouli soap now!

Elemental Swirl

I participated on Amy Warden's soap challenge this week using the Elemental swirl I think they turned out great!
The top part is outer space and the bottom represents the earth. The soap bottom is scented with a citrus blend, and the top is scented with Watermelon.

Thanks for looking!