Summer Sugar Scrubs

I haven't make sugar scrub in ages and now is a great time to get our legs and feet ready for the summer!

Today I made Mango Papaya (orange) and Jamaica Me Crazy (green) In the first two pictures I have already melted the butters and oils, and added color and preservatives.

 

Here is am mixing the oils with a hand mixer. It's best to cool the mixture before mixing or you will be mixing forever. Ask me how I know!

You can see that the mixture is getting thicker and the color has muted some.

I have just added the sugar. I took a quick picture and then mixed and poured quickly.

Here is the final product of my Mango Papaya (the pictures of the Jamaica Me Crazy did not turn out)

I added poppy seeds to the mixture and sprinkled some on top for visual appeal.

I let the mixture set over night. You can see the difference between this picture and the one below. If I held this container upside down, the scrub would drop out. After sitting for a few hours, you can hold the jar upside down and shake it, and the scrub will not move!

Here is the Peach sugar scrub I made the other day. It smells delicious!


To use: Scoop out a small amount of scrub. I prefer to use a spoon to keep water, and germs, out. Scrub lightly and rinse off. Pat your skin dry. Easy peasy!

Is is a Cucumber or Cantaloupe?

Is it a cucumber or a cantaloupe? I planted several cucumber plants this summer and they have produced quite a few cucumbers, even though we have suffered through extreme temperatures for most of the season. We had long skinny cucumbers and some fat cucumbers. Was I surprised when I opened this cucumber up! The inside smelled just like a cantaloupe, seeds and all!
This cucumber/cantaloupe was quite small, and there wasn't enough fruit to really eat, but I did scrape some off to taste. Yep, it tasted just like a cantaloupe!
A few days later I found another cucumber and sliced it open thinking that this one would be orange too....no.....just a fat cucumber!
Now I am looking for a recipe for cucumber soap!

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??

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Storm

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??

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!

I'm going to miss Summer!

I love Fall. In fact, it's my favorite season....but I'm going to miss Summer!

A Morning Walk Around My Yard

A Few Cold Process Soaps I've Been Making

Blackberry Sage - I love how the swirls came out and the lahter...omg...the lather is so pure and white and plenty!! I added some black mica to the purple hoping do get a dark purple. It's not as dark as I had planned, but I love how it turned out!
Red Clover, Ginger, and Wisteria. I love these swirls too! My house smelled so good for weeks!
I'm not sure what to name it...any ideas?
Green Tea and Lemon. This batch was rebatched and I added more lemon EO to the batch. Reminds me of a glass of sweet tea!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!! I'm spending the day with my family today. My DD came in from Chicago and we are having friends and family over for dinner and fire works.
The picture above is a Columbine bloom. I started the plant, by seed, last year and it bloomed this year!

I Was On The Front Page Friday!

I had so many wonderful Etsians tell me that my soap was on the front page. What an awesome coummunity Etsy is!

Summer In St. Louis!

A beautiful blend of Jasmine and Sandalwood! The colors were supposed to be purple and green, but the purple turned out my "gray"....but it still has a wonderful scent!!

Salad Anyone?

I colored the base with a light green and the smaller swirl with the same color, but more concentrated. It's scented with Avocado Mint!

Flowers and Soap in St. Louis!

I love taking pictures of my flowers and my soap....so why not take them together?
The flower above is an Endless Summer Hydrangea. This is its first bloom! They were planted last Spring, and about 2 weeks later we had a killer frost which severely damaged the plant and because of this, didn't produce any blooms.
Hmmmm...I wonder what soap I can use with these flowers?
Oh, the soap is called Tangerine Twist and it's handmade using the Cold Process method!

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.

St. Louis Summer

I'm having such a hard time with posting pictures and lining up the typed words, so I decided to list the flowers at the bottom.
Pictures starting at the top are: Sweet William, Salvia, Red Hot Pokers, Peony Poppy ready to pop, Speedwell, and Gallardia. All started by seed...by me!

Random pictures of my garden

Just some random pictures of my garden. Since I'm still in a walking boot, I haven't been able to do much gardening this year, but I do enjoy taking pictures!
Can you tell I love blue flowers?