Something Old, Something New

A new take on an old soap from a few years ago. Tree Hugger- an arborial delight scented with the fresh, clean scent of Fir Needle. 

Breaking in the new log splitter on a small tester slab. A big ol piece of equipment that does an amazing job of splitting up a slab. Love! I wrangled the Mr. into splitting the logs so I could snap a pic. lol!

The end results of the new and improved Tree Hugger.I'm experimenting a bit with a new bar size too.  I used the hanger swirl technique from Erin's book "Soapmaking Made Easy," and I'm pretty darn happy with the results.  Thanks Erin!

I finally got around to breaking in the new log splitter. I've had it for about a month and haven't gotten a real chance to use it  yet. I will still be offering rounds, but have decided to move over to a slab because I feel it offers so much more opportunity for textures and color work. I am experimenting with bar size and think that the bars above are just about where I want them. 

I also tried a technique from Erin's new ebook "Soapmaking Made Easy" and I think it came out really well. While I've been making soap for several years, I  haven't done a lot of color work until just lately. I did use clays and herbs, but I didn't so much attempt techniques really. Her book makes it very easy to try a few new things. I'm already rarin' to try the next technique on my list.

Saturday Afternoon Soaping

I spent this afternoon working on a soap using a technique from "Soapmaking Made Easy. " This is actually my second try, the first one got a bit too thick on me before I could actually try to hanger swirl. This is take 2 of the hanger swirl technique from Erin's book. I feel like this one went much better-I upped my water to 25% and found it worked well for me. I think I got some movement down in there, and I'm very happy with the colors and textured top. I'm hoping for this to be an updated version of a soap from a few years back-Tree Hugger with swirls of green, brown and white and scented with Fir Needle.

I Admit

Tree Hugger-an arboreal blend of eucalyptus and cedar perfect for any tree hugger. This blend smells like cedar after a rain; smoky, spicy and slightly sweet with a hint of camphor.

Okay, I admit that I was pretty darn excited (I might have done a very discreet happy dance inside) to quite innocently run across Cocobong's blog post last night. I had no reason to suspect it was a "review" post or that a sampling of my soap would be included, but there it was. I was so relieved to know that something I put so much into was received so well -because that's why we put our hearts into this mad obsession after all right? 

I have been tossing back and forth weather or not I wanted to keep Tree Hugger as part of my permanent line. I know I can do some tweaking to make it just a bit better-(now that I know the secret to get rid of the clumpy td and how much wheat grass powder to get a better green) and it has a special place in my heart with or without the wonderful Cocobong review + it sells well at market-I think I'll be keeping it around.:-))

A big shout out to Lynda and C'bong for their kind words of encouragement!

Just Listed!

Tree Hugger - 4.5 ounces $6.00

Tree Hugger- an arboreal blend of eucalyptus and cedar perfect for any tree hugger. This blend smells like cedar after a rain; smoky, spicy and slightly sweet with a hint of camphor.Unisex

 Barley and Hops-Fall Edition 2011 4.5 ounces $6.00

Barley and Hops- Fall Edition- Autumn-the season for tailgating, football games, the glowing orange orb of the Harvest Moon, bon fires that light up the West Texas sky, and the crackle of fallen leaves. The nutty maltiness of a fine Nut Brown Ale is complimented with an earthy yet zesty blend of  Lime, Patcholi and Clove- a perfect expression of Autumn.

Cinnamon Cajeta-4.5 ounces $6.00

Cinnamon Cajeta - a rich caramelly goat's milk base with a decadent speckling of vanilla bean aromatically complimented with hint of cinnamon. Perfectly delicious!

Just listed and there are only a few! Pick yours up today-remember that now through January we have $7.00 flat rate shipping making it easy to load up on bar soaps, shave rounds and all natural hand balms! Shop now!

Meet "Tree Hugger"- An Arboreal Delight!

  

Tree Hugger-an arboreal blend of eucalyptus and cedar perfect for any lover of trees. This blend smells like cedar after a rain; smoky, spicy and slightly sweet with a hint of camphor.

This soap is colored with cocoa powder, a bit of  td and the real experimental part was the wheat grass powder. In my head the plan was to have the green be a bit more green, but I think the pea green still works.

This beauty will be ready around October 20-and there are only a few. If you'd like to reserve one-drop me a line. :-))