Thursday, January 31, 2008
"Soap making is
part science, part magic, and part artistry." - Marge the Happy Soaper
I
read that on a forum I belong to, and couldn't agree more. Except she left out the "part fun" part!
There's definitely science involved, the whole saponification process is pure science, using
the right amount of chemicals (sodium hydroxide/lye), water and oils. You have to know what you're doing or it's
not going to become soap.
The magic comes in when it's all mixed together and
turns to gel, cools and then turns to soap. I can't help but peek under the blankets still when it's going through
all that. I love watching the process. It's also "magical" to me how much heat the soap creates
when it's going through the gel stage (ok, that's science too!). And the scent becomes amazing. When
I'm making new batches sometimes I'll wake up at night and just take a deep breath, it smells so good in here.
Part artistry is where even more creative fun happens. Rather than just make the
same old recipe and just change the fragrance, I try to think of new things to do to make each soap different and pretty,
if possible. Sometimes it's as simple as sprinkling something different on top, sometimes it's playing with
the top to make swirls, sometimes it's more involved than that, but it's always FUN.
Always.
Valarie
the Happy Soaper!! : )
5:59 am cst
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Soap travels the world...
We've had some exciting things happening here lately.
I just finished an order for wedding favors and shipped that off last week. The wedding is a "destination wedding"
in Mexico. The bride said they were inspired by my Lime Margarita soap that they love,
and decided to create gift baskets for their guests with a "relax and have fun" sort of theme. They turned
out beautifully, 1/2 size bars of Lime Margarita soap in green organza bags and a cute tag. The box smelled heavenly!
And then I received an order from a lady in Finland. Wow...Finland! She heard about my soap from someone's
blog. It's so fun sending packages around the world.
And then the next day I got a wholesale order
from a woman in Norway who owns a gift shop in an exclusive suburb outside of Oslo, and wants to put Real. Simple.
Soap. in her shop! She ordered a nice assortment of scents, and I got that package shipped off. The fun
part about that order is that most likely people from all over the world will be shopping in her store, so who knows what'll
happen from there.
5:23 pm cst
Saturday, January 19, 2008
New Soaps!
I worked a bit on the website today, adding some new soaps, even though they won't be ready for
another month yet. I can't help it, I'm excited for these new soaps and wanted to show you what's
coming up!
One that is ready is Key Lime Pie. Mmmm. Smells just like
one of my favorite desserts. I sprinkled a bit of graham cracker crumbs on top after I poured it into the mold so it
has a little bit of pie crust effect. The graham cracker crumbs will just go away after a shower or two, but I like
making the soaps look cooler than just an ordinary bar of soap. It's part of the fun.
Cleopatra's
Treasure is another new one that's curing. It smells heavenly, and I tried a new (for me) thing with this
one too. I took Chamomile flowers and infused (steeped) them in the warm olive oil for many hours before using the oil
in the soap. Infusing oils with herbs is something I've been reading about but had not tried. It was fun,
and should give the soap even more great benefits for your skin.
Tall Tale is curing too, that's
the one made with Anise essential oil, and is useful for both hunters and fishermen. Anise is supposed to attract fish
and cover human scent, something hunters are always trying to do before going out. You could always add a few slivers
of the soap to wash water for the hunting clothes too, it just might help.
Another soap that I think will
be very helpful for people with skin problems is Force of Nature. It's been in the news a lot about
how all the anti-bacterial products we use are not really helping us at all, but helping the germs breed stronger, more resistant
strains. This soap is full of good natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral ingredients. There's
even a story behind part of the soap...the "Four Thieves" blend of essential oils that I used in it. You can
read about the thieves blend on the Soap Ingredients page.
And there's more new soap curing (yes,
I've been busy)...but I still need to take pictures, maybe tomorrow. I finally got around to making a new batch
of tea tree oil/Emu oil soap, and it'll be named Knockout, because it helps knock out skin problems such
as acne. I have customers who swear by that soap for acne problems, and Emu oil is fantastic for your skin.
Oh, and last week I also made a soap with three milks...coconut, goats' and cows' milk, and a fabulous
honey scent. Tres is what that'll be named, for the three milks.
Part of the fun of
making new soaps is trying them out as soon as I possibly can. I usually have some end slices that dry out fairly quickly,
so I get to try them before waiting the six weeks for the full cure, thankfully. I don't think I could wait that
long!!
I hope you're keeping warm, we're going through the usual Minnesota cold spell, with wind chills
possibly as low as -35 to -50 degrees BELOW ZERO this weekend!! Right now the temp is -3 with the wind chill
of -19. Time for a nice, long, warm shower with a new soap!!
3:55 pm cst
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I had a good laugh this morning...
I was sitting here
at the computer and my daughter came out of the shower. She went downstairs and came up with her outfit for the day,
all on hangers, and said "I put my clothes down in the soap room last night so they'd smell extra good today!"
I just gave her this sort of puzzled look, and she said "Mom, it's the first day of classes and
I have to make all new friends!"
I haven't laughed like that in a while! She starts the new
semester of college classes today, and whenever she goes somewhere, people are always saying how good she smells (actually
her clothes) because our house just smells like soap and it sticks to us. But she had to make sure she smelled "extra
good" today to meet new people!
What a kid! Thanks for the laugh, Taylor!
6:02 am cst
Thursday, January 10, 2008
It IS worth it!
Last week I was telling a
friend how busy the soap business keeps me. It really is a second job, but like any small business, the hours are many
and the pay, so far, non-existent. It all goes right back into the business. Pretty much every day when I get
home from my full-time job I am working on something to do with soap. I'm either making it, cutting it, wrapping
it, printing labels, cutting labels, organizing, getting ready for a show, working on the website, doing paperwork...you
get the idea.
I was discussing all this with my friend, and I said that I hoped someday it would
all be worth it, meaning that someday I want this business to grow enough to BE my full-time job. I'd like
it to grow enough to employ other people too! But mostly I was meaning that I financially wanted all
the hours to be worth it.
Well, today I got a new meaning and a new clarity that yes, it IS worth it now,
and I don't mean financially at all.
I got an order from a lady not too far away, and she said this, which
I put on the Testimonials page: "I got a bunch of soap before Christmas, and my husband LOVED the peppermint soap. He has a lot of sinus
problems and had surgery this last spring for it, but he said that soap in the morning made a huge difference in how he felt
all day with his sinuses and headaches, like it 'cleared him out' for the day. : ) Plus it smells fantastic...
our whole master bath and bedroom smells like peppermint! I was going to ask too when you thought you might get
the oatmeal/milk/honey back in stock? That's what I've been using for my boys, my oldest has raging eczema and that
soap has done wonders. I did order the goatsmilk one this time, so that will be great too for his skin I bet."
Wow. As I was driving back from sending her package off at the post office it really hit me that yes, it IS worth
it, because just look at that...I've helped a husband start his days off much better, and helped a little boy find
relief from his itchy skin.
Can it get any better than that? : )
4:41 pm cst
