Testing new pumpkin and spice scents!

I've spent the last couple days testing pumpkin and spice scents for our candle melts and during this time I've learned that 99% of these type of fragrances are predominately cinnamon blends. Now I like cinnamon, but what's happened to clove, allspice, or nutmeg(one of my favorites)? They probably don't sell as well (big sigh.) Oh well, I do have a couple pumpkin scents that smelled yummy when pouring my testers. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will throw well in our melts.... To be continued!

New candle melts scents added!

New candle melts scents added to our web store, and all other scents (except Lily of the Valley) are back in stock. New scents include the following: Bartlette Pear, Clean Cotton, Twilight Woods, Ripe Cantaloupe, Lemongrass & Sage, Black Raspberry Cream, Sliced Pineapple, and Apple Harvest. For descriptions see web store;)

If you notice, many of the scents we carry are single notes fragrances which make for easy blending. For example if you like apples and oranges, blend our new Apple Harvest with our California Orange. Like Lavender blends ? Try blending our Soft Lavender with our new Clean Cotton, or classic White Gardenia or.........you get the idea. The blending combinations are endless.

Fresh Soap!?

I was recently at a local market when I heard a fellow soapmaker promoting their product as being "freshly made." Ahh, fresh soap! Sounds so good doesn't it? And watching how people were responding to this marketing angle it was working! I mean we all love fresh things like fresh baked bread, fresh picked vegetables, or fresh bottled milk. So why not fresh soap? We'll because like a fine wine, soap is best with aging, or what is known in soap maker's lingo as "curing."

Curing is a very important part of the soap making process and should not be overlooked by the serious soapmaker. Curing allows freshly made soap to lose the excess moisture leftover from the soap making process thereby causing it to become harder, longer lasting, and better lathering. Curing also allows time for the soap to become milder (ph lowers naturally with cure time) and thus much gentler on the skin than a piece of freshly made soap. The curing process usually takes about 1 month to six weeks and sometimes even longer depending on the soaping method used and the oils used in the recipe. And there's just no good substitute for the time spent curing soap if one wants to produce a premium soap. So leave fresh for bread, vegetables and milk, but buy soap that has aged some if you truly want a premium product.

Some of our Almond Delight soap on the curing rack. The card notes the date it is ready for sale.

Two Best Sellers Back in Stock!

Our Best Selling Almond Delight (made with freshly ground almonds) and Oatmeal, Milk & Honey (made with whole ground oatmeal, local raspberry honey, and creamy goat milk) are back in stock!
Almond Delight- Oatmeal Milk & Honey

Mango & Cream

Yum! Coming July 17th our Mango & Cream scented soap. Ever have a mango shake? Well this delicious fragrance reminds me of just that. Ripe, succulent mango blended with sweet vanilla cream makes for one dreamy, tropical treat!

Growing like a weed!

I blogged about my daughter's new herd sire, Abraham, last March.
Look how he's grown!

Then
(2 weeks old)

Now
(3 months old)

Then
(2 weeks old)

Now
(3 months old)

Two new soap scents coming in July!

Two new soaps scents coming in July!

Mmmm. My kitchen smelled so good when I made these soaps last week.
I can't wait till these are ready for sale!

Introducing Lemon Verbana a fresh, citrusy, slightly herbal fragrance that's very reminiscent of the actual plant. And, by far, the best Lemon Verbena fragrance I've smelled.

And Simply Clean a refreshing, yet relaxing blend of lemon peel, cotton blossom, English violet, white musk, and Egyptian Corn Mint. Seriously, "clean" never smelled so good!