Soap Stuido, A Glimpse

I have been organizing the new soap studio...and while it is not completely done (I am still making soap in my home kitchen) I have started curing soaps in the studio, storing soaps on the shelves and shipping orders.   Here are a few photos I thought I would share with you.

Soaps all cured and ready for sale.  I keep all the individual fragrances in separate plastic tubs, labeled for easy identification.  Did you know that I have over 1300 soaps in stock right now!?

Soap ends/slices.  I save the ends of each log of soap and package them up in clear takeout containers.  I sell them as Soap Slices as a kind-of pot luck of soap fragrances, you never know what you will get!

Soaps curing on the rack.  Each batch of soap is on 1 tray.  The soaps cure for 4-6 weeks, which means the water is evaporating to create a hard, long lasting bar of soap.  Here I have Oatmeal, Honey & Milk soap along with Walk In The Woods, Karma, Goat Milk Unscented, Unscented w/ Oatmeal and much more.

A collection of my fragrance and essential oils.

I track all the batches that I make.  I write down the date made and how many batches to keep track of how often I am making a certain type of soap.   This also helps me track my ingredients for the year, how much I used etc.

That's all I have for now.  Work continues in the soap studio.  I still have a whole wall to paint, a counter top to install, a large central worktable to be built and some shelving to add. 

WOW.

Wow.  I found this incredible product.  Peanut Butter Flour. The idea here is that you are saving a ton of calories by not eating any of the oils found in peanut butter.  I have added it to my breakfast oatmeal and made an incredibly delicious peanut butter/vanilla shake (almond milk - less calories, light ice cream - also less calories, and the peanut butter powder).  I haven't found it locally (health food stores or other) but ordered it online via Amazon. Yum!

40 Things Before 40...

I turn 40 this year.  I actually feel like I am part of a club.  I have lots of friends on Face Book that have been turning before me and almost every week I wish another classmate or friend a Happy, Happy Birthday.  I have some fun things I would like to do before my big day (which is early August) and need some help adding to my list.  Any ideas?

Forty Things Before Forty Years

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4 Watch 4 new movies at other peoples suggestions.

5 Try 5 new cocktails.

6 Buy 6 new pairs of super awesome earrings.

7 Compliment 7 strangers.

8 Leave 8 lucky quarters on the ground.

9 Read 9 new books.

10 Learn to say hello in 10 different languages

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12 Try 12 new foods I have never tasted before.

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14 Buy 14 new CD’s

15 Tip a waitress $15 above average

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27 Clean my closet and give away 27 things.

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30 Avoid anything with modern technology for at least 30 minutes!

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40! Make 40 cupcakes!

You see the pattern here, right? HELP!  I need your ideas. Lay ‘em on me!

Happy Mother's Day

Kidnapped By Life...

I've been busy.  My life has kidnapped me and I had several days (weeks really) where I had to take time to work on "life" stuff and push my businesss/house/fun/husband stuff aside.  I have been working a little bit on some soap making, soap studio improvements, blogging, farmers market meetings, farmers market selling and much more as best I can. 

I finally decided that I need to find some time to work on that list I have of things I want to do but have been putting off.  One of those things was to find some time to get outside each day and enjoy!  I found a new favorite space to walk and reflect.  Here are some pictures I snapped today.

Oh, there are more items on that list.  Much, much more.  I will be sure to work on it and share some of it here with you.  Do you have a list?   What is stopping you from chipping away at those items?  I say, get started, now! Ready?  Go!