10th ave. soapworks

The end of 2011.  It certainly had its challenges. which gives me a greater anticipation for a change.  Bring on 2012!  As you know, I'm doing a thorough overhaul of my little soap studio.  My latest task has been going through every little box of soap that I've tucked away--soaps that were ugly, lost their scents, or for some other reason were too good to throw out, but not so good to be eagerly used. Enough's enough.  Some soaps just had to go, like the lavender salt bars that had perspired in the humidity of the summer and left a sticky mess or the experimental wine/chocolate fragrance blend that smelled more like vinegar than anything else. But there were many pleasant surprises.  The batch of Black Raspberry Vanilla that was supposed to be pink with white and black swirls.  The pink vanished almost immediately and I was so disappointed.  Look at it now!  I love the look.  And it still smells...

My Mister (Extraordinaire) has been busy lately.  He made a mold for guest-sized bars and I was able to squeeze in a little time this week to try it out.  I love it!  I scented the batch with a lavender fragrance oil.  It's a new one for me, but so far I like it. Each bar weighs about an ounce--you can see how teeny they are next to a regular-sized bar.  I think I'm going to be making a lot of these in the future--they are so darn cute!

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay Remember Christ the Savior was born on Christmas Day To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray Oh, tidings of comfort and joy!! The first verse of this carol sums up so well why we have a reason to celebrate this Christmas holiday.  May you have a wonderful one!

There has been a particularly nasty strain of the flu going around and it's hit hard here.  I haven't had much energy for anything fun and besides, I'm overhauling my studio and it's just not a relaxing, inspiring place at the moment.  But I wanted to do something soapy this afternoon, so I pulled up a recipe that I've been wanting to try for awhile--soap jellies.  Here's how I did it-- Combine 16 oz. of boiling water with 1 envelope (.25 oz) unflavored gelatin.  Add 4 oz. melt and pour soap, melted, then .4 oz. fragrance oil (I used Red Apple from Bramble Berry--yum!).  Be careful not to stir too vigorously, or you will have lots and lots of bubbles that will gel and leaves holes in the finished soap. I got a little fancy and divided and colored the soap with Wilton paste colors.  I poured one color and let it chill, then the other color.  And that's it!  They are slightly softer in consistency than Knox Blox/Jell...

 I've come to the realization that this soaping thing is getting Very Serious, and I am in need of more space.  My work table is becoming more of a storage table and my actual work space is getting smaller every day.  I'm not the only one that noticed.  Lookee at what the Mister did in my soap room this week! a coat closet that has held totes of cake pans for several years   Ta-Da!  I'm still arranging and re-arranging everything and filling up my new shelves. I've heard rumors of another shelf project and I plan on repainting the room so it should fit my needs better and look great for my upcoming year of soaping! And finally, one of my last batches of the year, newly cured.  It's scented with China Rain and I only have a couple of bars left--most of them were spoken for when I made it.

Last weekend was my last craft show of the season.  It was held in the little bitty town of Hollandale, WI, but with 35 vendors, crafts for the kids, and a visit from Santa, it was a busy place!  The more shows I do the easier it is to get ready, but I always get a little stressed the night before, making sure that I have everything I need and have prepared enough products....and the "right" products, at that. Craft shows are funny things.  There is always one item that is popular and that popular thing changes with every show.  I sold out of solid lotion bars within a few hours during one show recently and soap mats flew out during another show.  But the Hollandale show was a little different--the fragrance was "the thing."  Anything raspberry-vanilla scented was the hot item.  There must have been some talk (or, "the hens were clucking" as the Mister said), because a few customers weren't perusing the tables,...

The empty shelves in the grocery store baking aisle? My fault. Once a year every December, my kitchen becomes the sweetest, warmest, most popular place around. This year was no exception as a few friends and I got together for a day of serious Christmas baking.  Everyone brought ingredients for a few of their favorite treats to make together.  It's a rough job, let me tell you!  Not only do we have to sample everything for quality control purposes, but we share lunch, spend hours chatting and listen to Christmas music.  Oh, and we slave over two hot stoves.  But we buckled down and got it done in one afternoon. frosted flake wreaths Oreo truffles My mister and his little buddy hung out and watched football while we baked. Our work filled an eight foot long table, making our next job dividing up the bounty.  But now we all have plates and plates of Christmas goodies to share with our neigh...

As many of you have noticed, I disappeared from the blogging world for awhile.  I've experienced some complications on my Wordpress blog, so until further notice, I'm back on my Blogger site.  But it's nice to be back blogging again!  I've missed it. So what have I been up to lately?  Hoo, boy, a lot!  These Christmas season has been especially busy for me with frequent craft shows.  And just when I think I'm caught up and organized, I get a special order.  But I'm not complaining!  I love being busy doing something I enjoy.  One thing I've learned is that the most popular fragrances are always the ones that I just sold out of or didn't order this season at all!  It's all coming together, though. I thought I'd share a picture of a batch of soap I made just to try out a new mold.  I didn't want to wait until next winter!  I think they're just the most exquisite looking snowflakes, scented with Christmas Wreath, an everg...