02.07.10
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal at 11:01 am by admin
Look at this…Fresh-picked cranberries from the Nova Scotia Atlantic seacoast!
To my loyal friends following this blog, I apologize for not updating it recently. I’m in Chicago working on a special textbook publishing project as part of my life outside soaping. The good thing is the time I’ve been able to spend with my family, but I’ve also been working long hours and hanging on by my fingernails. Life should return to normal soon, however, as I head home in a few days.
In the meantime, I wanted to share with you a brief note about one of the best parts of soapmaking, and that’s the interesting, literally fascinating, people you meet along the way. Recently I got an inquiry from one of those bright and shining stars, a woman named Jessie who lives in Shallop Cove, Newfoundland—an island 90 miles from the mainland in the Atlantic. She was trying to hunt down a body butter someone had sent her as a gift, and came across my Web site, http://www.annas-soaps.com. We corresponded a bit, and she sent me these photos of cranberries they’d picked along the seacoast because she noticed I make a cranberry soap. I thought my readers would enjoy seeing them as well. Imagine picking fresh, wild cranberries…along the Atlantic seacoast!
With her permission, I hoped you might enjoy a few comments about Newfoundland Jessie sent to me in the following e-mail.
“Sharon, Holy smoke what a wonderful e-mail. Our island sounds like a horrible place, but it is one of the world’s best kept secrets. Yes we take the good with the bad when it comes to winter and wind, but I can tell you that the people here are like no other crowd under the sun. Sharon, the people of Newfoundland are like no others. People come here and never want to leave. We have a wonderful university here called Memorial that is known far and wide for it’s oceanography programs and it’s science programs and students come from all over the world to study and many don’t want to leave because of the culture here.
“When our tourist booklets come out I will sent you one. One day this month it was warmer here than in Florida!
“Newfoundlanders are warm, caring, give-the-shirt-off-their-backs kind of folks. The Newfoundlanders are known for their hard working ethic, and splashed in there is their humor and their music and their rum. The only great ruckus that they can cause would be over their dart games—man, do they take darts seriously.
It takes 13 hours to drive from one end of here to the other (as they say here), with a population of only 500,000 souls. There are many artists here, but we are very spread out. I left a larger art community in Nova Scotia, which has turned out to be a good thing because with our rural community I am much more artistic.”
Well, that’s just a taste of the kind of correspondence I get and I thought Anna’s blog readers would appreciate the images it contains, as well as those beautiful cranberries. Thanks, Jessie!
Sharon
Permalink
11.05.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal at 10:51 am by admin
Talk about a soap good enough to eat…
This year I decided to combine two of my popular but similar soaps…Almond Goat’s Milk and Oatmeal Honey. So…introducing…(drum roll please)…Goats Milk Honey Almond & Oatmeal soap.
And this one I actually nibble on as I make it. It contains almond butter and goats milk, with honey and oatmeal, so you have rich, buttery ingredients for moisturizing, honey for healing and oatmeal for exfoliating. It’s on the drying racks and I can’t wait to try it myself.
The idea came to me because I usually make the almond goat’s milk soap only in the fall because it is so rich. But I really wanted a goats milk soap I could have available all year around. It seemed like a natural combination. I’ll let you know about the response when I get it out there around the time for holiday sales.
Sharon
Permalink
10.26.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal at 2:15 pm by admin
Today was a day for dealing with “special soaps.” Here is a new batch of my Ultimate soap on the left and Moments of Happiness on the right.
Today I made the second batch of Moments of Happiness, my new sesame oil soap inspired by a trip to Thailand last spring to visit son Eric and new grandbaby, Eva Leilani. The first batch is nearly gone, so this time around I changed the essential oil formula, but only slightly. I added a diffusion of calendula which is known for skin care. I also have a request for a vetiver soap, and since this soap contains it, I upped the amount of vetiver I used and will see what difference it makes. Vetiver is a very earthy, woodsy fragrance, but quite expensive. Well, it is for Eva after all, and you know about grandmothers and their granddaughters!
Sharon
Permalink
10.22.09
Posted in Uncategorized, Blogroll, Everyday Journal at 10:45 am by admin
Here’s another new product for the fall and holiday season. It comes courtesy of my Oklahoma soaper friend, Charlotte, at Laughing Rabbit Soap Co. Let me tell you that Charlotte is “Queen of Funny/Creative Thoughts,” and we often commiserate about various soapers’ blues topics … she keeps me going and maybe sometimes I do the same for her.
In a recent e-mail, Charlotte came up with this concept and most of the wording, all in jest. She said she was on her way to the LR soap studio to produce her mythical herbal elixir to cure all ills. She was kidding, but to me it sounded like a plan, so I hit my own soap studio and, voila, a new brew, not yet perfected, but the first phase is finished and in the tins.
Introducing Sweeter than Heaven Infused Herbal Elixir, Skin-softening, stress-relieving, miracle-working, youth-restoring, weight-reducing, money-making, handcrafted (by elves) herbal infused elixir for skin, lips, joints, aches & pains.
For this batch I made an infusion of calendula in olive oil and almond oil. I added shea butter and a few other ingredients including essential oils. It was a quick-and-fun inspiration, but Charlotte and I now have concocted plans to make it even better with additional herbs and essential oils. So watch for phase II, and look out world!
Permalink
10.19.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal at 12:40 pm by admin
Here’s the recently completed Hazelfield Farm Gift Shop. Just behind are fields of flowers, now gone for the fall, and meadows with cows grazing contentedly.
Wedding, anyone?
I’m pretty sure we do not celebrate nearly enough. But last weekend here in Owen County, Kentucky, we sure did.
There are some places and times that hold value above and beyond, and I tell you, I sit in the middle of magic. All around me are people with extraordinary gifts of laughter and appreciation and art. Here in the hills of north central Kentucky exists a network of people and places that exude creativity … so many different abilities … music, fine art, crafts, food … it’s all here and I’m privileged to be where I am.
Another New Beginning
Hazelfield Farm is known hereabouts for its organically grown flowers and vegetables (see www.hazelfieldfarm.com), and my friends Teresa and Raphe have become the first choice of brides, receptions and other events where flowers are needed. Everyone knows they will have fresh, home-grown, and absolutely gorgeous blossoms. Over the years, the farm has become a destination in its own right. People come from miles away to see the acres of peonies and lilies and other flowers they grow.
This year they completed a new gift shop built on the farm to accommodate this growing trail of people who appreciate the uniqueness and beauty of Hazelfield Farm. And this past weekend was the gift shop’s grand opening. Several artists gathered to exhibit their work and participate in an event which will happen a couple times a year from now on.
A great place for Teresa’s antiques
And Anna’s soaps too.
We had Stamper Stained Glass, Larkspur Press books and cards, Leslie’s hand-bound books, Jan McKenzie-Keene paintings, Stacy Fitzgerald jewelry, Chance Mobley Massage, Angie’s hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns, and Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare soaps and products. Teresa finally has a good place to display some of the beautiful antiques she’s collected over the years, and for the opening, she made a table of her favorite bulbs. You’ve got to know Teresa’s choices will be spectacular, so I have to say, I gorged myself on the bulb table. Now to find time to get hundreds of new bulbs into the ground.
Just Fun
Some events a soaper attends are pleasant and some are work. This one, of course, was downright fun as I knew it would be — good, creative people getting together and celebrating what’s best about being alive on a fall Sunday in Kentucky.
I took a few extra photos for my friends scattered across the country who miss the turning of the seasons. Of course, leaves are only beginning to change here in spite of recent cold temperatures, but you can get the effect anyway. So here you go, Shari. And if anyone has a chance to make next spring’s Hazelfield Farm festival, I can confidently promise you a good time!
Permalink
10.10.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal, Tips for Beginners at 2:33 pm by admin
Note how thoroughly the darker brown swirl continues through the Green Tea soaps. Contrast that with the more typical swirl of Lavender Mint at the bottom.
Since I’m very cautious about color in soap, I lean toward lots of swirls using natural spices or minerals. Making a good, artistic swirl is a problem, however, when you’re trying to do them with a 27-lb. batch poured on its side. With a little practice, anyone can do it with tiny batches poured on their backs in the mold. I’ve had to content myself with spots and blurs of color, and the occasional happy accident of course, since moving to my larger, more professional molds.
Basically, there are two ways to get a good swirl … either in the mold or in the pot, and they each have a different look. What I developed with my most recent batch of Green Tea Mint soap was unique to me, and I haven’t read about it being used by other soapmakers using molds of this size. Now maybe it was a fluke … we have to leave room for that possibility. But I loved the results and was totally surprised at the quality of the swirl throughout the entire 96-bar batch.
A New Technique
In this case, I had used green tea in the lye water to lightly color the basic batch in the soap pot. I poured about 2/3 or 3/4 of the batch into the mold. Then I added some vanilla to the remaining soap still in the pot. As all soapers know, vanilla will darken your soap quicker than anything, but in this case, it was OK … the effect I was going for was a light tan base with a darker swirl.
I poured the final 1/3 or 1/4 with the added vanilla into the mold, moving it around as I poured. I took my spatula and did a quick north/south and east/west pull through it all, which creates the swirl-look, and walked away. The next day when I cut the slab I was surprised to see how well the swirl continued throughout the slab, and was not just on the top. Something worked just right! This is my best guess at the technique, but I’m anxious to try something similar again. I’ll report back on it when I can.
Sharon
Permalink
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal, Farmers Markets at 2:27 pm by admin
Three times during the summer/fall, we have night farmers’ markets in Owenton where I live. They’re always big-festival events, looked forward to by the whole community, who turn out in droves. They bring lawn chairs and sit out on the courthouse lawn to hear local musicians and have supper catered by several local caterers. Sales are good for market vendors so they like it too. All in all it’s a “good time had by all” kind of event … usually.
Last night was the final night market of the year, and it rained all day. I think we got 4 or 5 inches in the past 36 hours. Normal people would assume the market was cancelled. Well, about 5 p.m. the rain died back to a drizzle, and when I looked out my soap studio window (across the street from the courthouse), the apple guy was there and a veggie vendor was there and the bread lady was unloading. I ended up going outside with them in spite of misgivings. Soap does not do well in the rain!
The musician for the evening did not show up, nor did the food (supper) vendors. It was only five or six regular vendors, and of course almost no customers. Who’d have expected us to set up in all that rain? However, by dark, I had made $31, and the veggie guy $50, and everybody else a little bit too, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Mostly the vendors all sat around and had a good time. Somebody went home and got lunchmeat, and the bread lady opened a loaf. Somebody else had a bottle of wine in her car, so we sat and drank wine and ate chips with homemade salsa and sandwiches on the courthouse lawn (in a dry county).
I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, and I expect the stories will grow after being retold a few times. Well worth it!
Permalink
10.07.09
Posted in Blogroll, Everyday Journal, Farmers Markets at 11:36 am by admin
Notice the colorful, natural leaves scattered through this handmade paper. Wonderful!
Soapers are well into thinking holi-daze, and I do mean daze! In the midst of fall festivals, we’re frantically trying to think about gift packaging (gotta be new and sparkly) and whether we have enough of that favorite soap to last through the end of the year (probably not).
This fall’s gift packaging takes advantage of my spring Thailand trip with some handmade mulberry paper bags, ribbon and tissue. They’re gorgeous! They have natural leaves and colorful bits scattered through them…really spectacular in person. The only downside is the paper will absorb moisture (no plastic in these babies) and can get beat up if you use it for display for months at every farmers’ market like I have.
I also found some perfect clear acetate boxes and pretty bags which are new and different. Oh, and some gorgeous sheer ribbon that doesn’t hide the soaps. So the last couple weeks I’ve been wrapping as well as soaping, but am not near to being ready for gift season. I hope you think these are as pretty as I do.
Sharon
Permalink
09.07.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:26 am by admin
Just a note…I added Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare to Facebook today. Please become a fan if you’re interested. What I’ll try to do is let people know where I’ll be or new products when they are finished. Here’s the URL if you need it:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Annas-EsSCENTials-Bodycare/261607955466?ref=ts
Sharon
Permalink
08.18.09
Posted in Uncategorized, Blogroll, Everyday Journal, Farmers Markets at 12:09 pm by admin
This weekend I take our newest soap to market, “Moments of Happiness.”
And here it is … representing my fondest memories of my Thailand family including new granddaughter Eva, and of beautiful Thailand itelf … presenting my newest soap, “Moments of Happiness.”
It turned out to be a beautiful soap … a soft golden color with a lovely dark red/orange swirl, and the scent is (I hope) a good Asian one too. It is slightly “exotic” with a fresh, uplifting touch of lemongrass to finish. I wrapped it with gorgeous handmade mulberry paper brought back from the outdoor Thai market and a label of optimistic sunrise colors of the east.
The soap cntains a good amount of sesame oil, as well as shea butter and, of course, rich olive oil. And this week it makes its debut. Today I created a small sign announcing our newest soap, which gave me a chance to print a couple of my favorite Eva photos too (one on each side).
A new sign with a pretty little girl’s photo as a bonus
I hope this soap is loved even a tiny bit as much as what inspired it.
And, by the way, I got to spend another couple hours online (via Web cam) with little Eva this morning. I saw her turn over and sit up by herself for the first time! Also, she got her first two teeth last week and has learned in two days how to zip around the apartment in her car (or walker), crashing into furniture and shrieking with delight as she does so. One thing I can say for sure is that this child is loved.
Sharon
Permalink
« Previous entries