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I Used To Do This...

So, I used to do this...

 

Fix the pant legs of models while on location in Florida.  Among other things....like prop shopping, ironing clothing, painting walls, decorating sets, making beds, booking dog models and soo much more.  I was a Photo Stylist.  This picture is from sometime in the late 90's, a black and white Polaroid that the photographer took to check lighting before the actual shoot.  This was in a park just outside of Miami in December.  I had left snowy Connecticut and my mittens behind and was enjoying the warmth and strange sight of Christmas lights on Palm trees while working a couple weeks on location for a discount retailer creating the photography for a weekly sales flyer (remember those?) and promotional poster for the stores.  I was working at the nations first digital photo studio.  It was state of the art, way ahead of it's time and awesome.  We had 6 photographers and 3 photos stylist, in house printing, art directors the whole works.  We photographed 30 page weekly fliers, promotional posters for the stores, a few yearly catalogs, signage and some packaging.    I was mainly in charge of the Home Fashions Department.  I had a HUGE prop room, ironing table that was 4'x8' and massive sets to build and work with.  I also crossed over and would work with the models, booking the hair and makeup, setting up scheduling and food styling too.  I did this for over 5 years with this company, and for 4 years before that with another.  I styled bags, luggage, bedding (LOTS of bedding), towels, shower curtains, furniture, rugs, packages of candy, clothing, underwear (on and off the models), camping tents, pet products, crafts, Halloween costumes, toys, sports equipment and on and on and on.  It was great.

Around The Studio

Hello.   I know that I haven't been posting in a while and some of that is because I have been blogging since 2009...what else should I blog about?  Have I run out of content?  Is anyone even out there, reading this?  I don't know.....

 

I post several times a day over on Facebook, you can find me there.  Although the content is less, there is more action. 

 

Casco Bay Soap Co. on Facebook

 

But none-the-less here are some pictures from around my studio I thought that I would share. 

 

@ My worktable....ribbon, some labels etc.

 

 

Gift tags ready to cut up and use.

 

Bars and bars of soap curing.  The back soap is Day At The Beach, front soap is "Casco" Bay Rum and there are a few round shaving bars too.

 

More soaps curing.  Blue at the top right is Sea Mist, there are a few of my new "50 Shades" soap and then Citrus Scrub bars.  Plus round shaving soaps and some Sea Urchins.

 

This 5 pack of soap will be part of a Farmers Market giveaway coming up soon. 

 

My new "photo booth".  I made this about a month ago and have been experimenting with new photos of soap etc.  I really like it. What I like best is that I have a dedicated area for shooting soaps.  No need to dig things out of a box and set up etc.  The table that this photo box is on is on wheels too, so I can easily move it around and/or out of the way.   I found the idea on Pinterest (you can follow me there too).

 

I hope you enjoyed some of the pictures, I will try to get some more up soon.  See you soon! 

 

Cookies!

Because there is more to life than just soap....from over at What Megan's Making: http://www.whatmegansmaking.com/2012/10/giant-chewy-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies.html Giant Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

 

I hope to make these this weekend, I love a chewy chocolate chip cookie!

 

Giant Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups rolled oats
2 eggs
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon milk
1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together brown sugar and butter until well combined. Add oats, eggs, molasses, and milk and beat well. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop dough and drop about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes, or until just starting to brown around the edges. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets then remove and cool on racks.

Testing Soap Fragrances

I've been slowing recovering from moving my house from storage to my new home, setting up my soap studio and unpacking boxes while painting and decorating the house.  I have finally caught up on my regular or" classic" soap fragrance inventory after the hectic rush of the Holidays.

 

I am making up some new soaps for you to try.  Find them first at the Farmers Market where I can get person to person feedback  I like to gauge the reactions of customers as they smell the soaps and offer me feedback.    For example, I made a Winter Grapefruit that sold, but sold slower than the other soaps.  It just wasn't as popular.  And my Frankincense & Myrrh soap sold very slow.  I think it was just not as Holiday-ish as folks were looking for, so I will not bring that back next year.  Now, my NEW Day At The Beach soap (smells like hot sand and suntan lotion) was SO popular I had customers put their name on a waiting list!  I now make that year 'round and always get a very positive reaction after someone takes their first sniff of that one.   I like to make small batches of the "new stuff" and see if you like it before committing to a large batch.

 

Find Bergamot & Grapefruit (and nice fresh, sweet and tart blend) this weekend at the Brunswick Winter Market.

Coming in just another week will be Vanilla Verbena (sweet lemony sugar blend, I really like this one).  Vanilla Verbena will be a brown soap due to the vanilla fragrance, yum!

 

 

Wouldn't this be nice!?

 

 

Snow Soap

Lots of snow in my backyard means it is time to scoop some up and make a few batches of my Limited Edition Snow Soap!  I replace the water in my recipe with real melted snow, add some wonderful fresh fragrance and a pretty blue swirl and there you  have, Snow Soap.   Much anticipated by many, I have already received eager requests for more as those that held onto bars from last year tell me they are running low and NEED more, soon! 

 

 

Here is a quick shot of my snow soap fresh out of the mold.  It will be ready in about 5 more weeks, so hang in there, it's coming!

 

Beer Soap!

Sold out of my Beer soap over the holidays, people just really seem to love it!   I think I am going to have to make constantly as part of my regular soap lineup.

Boiling up some Gritty's (a local Maine brew) Pub Style beer today to help get some of the sugar and carbonation out, they can be a bit funny with the lye during the soap making process.  I will then refrigerate and wait about a week before I actually make it into soap (this will help make it a bit more flat and really cold).   I add real ground hops, sometimes a bit of honey fragrance or oats and make a fun bar of beer soap!

 

 

Find it with me at market and soon on the website!

 

 

 

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

 

 

2012 was a wonderful year for Casco bay Soap Co. and I know that 2013 will be even better!

Merry Christmas!

Hot Chocolate

A re-post.  But I LOVE to make this!  I am making up a few more batches of my homemade Hot Chocolate in between soap making to give as gifts.

 

Plain and simple, I love hot chocolate. For those of you that know me personally, I love to cook & bake. Food to me is creative, a visual treat and a comfort. During the holidays, I made a big batch of hot chocolate mix, kept some for my own personal use and gave some away little glass jars to friends. I wanted to share with you the recipe that I use, it is from Epicurious.com It may have few extra steps, but it is well worth it.

 

 

Ingredients:

4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split crosswise (see tips, below)
1 1/2 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process

Directions:

Place sugar in large bowl. Split half vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape seeds into sugar, and add pod. Work seeds in with your fingers. Cover snugly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.
In food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and milk chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. (Process in two batches if necessary.)
Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend.
Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to six months.


To serve:For each serving, heat 8 ounces milk in small saucepan over medium heat until scalded (or microwave 2 1/2 minutes at full power). Whisk in 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix. Serve with unsweetened softly whipped cream or marshmallows.

Tips: •Save the other half of the vanilla bean for another use, such as a second batch of vanilla sugar, which keeps indefinitely and can be used in baking, coffee, or simply to sprinkle on fruit or waffles.

Even better top with your own homemade marshmallows. I will post that recipe down the road. I have made them a few times and boy, are they good. Melt in your mouth, pillow soft, and boy do they toast up nice over a campfire....

Rich and steaming, a mug of hot chocolate will help soothe away the winter cold. We are expecting a winter storm in the form of 8-12" of beautiful snow in the next day or so, a mug of hot chocolate is just what I will be mixing up. Keep warm!

FREE Shampoo Soap Bars!

Be sure to stop by and check out the blog Barefoot By The Sea and their Holiday Gift Guide.  Casco Bay Soap Co. Shampoo Bars are a featured give away!  AND enter to win 2 FREE bars of my Shampoo Bars sent to you, anywhere in the USA!  Winner will be selected on Dec. 12th.

From the blog ~ "I'm so excited to kick off the start of the holiday guide!  I've got some fabulous shops, artists and products I'm excited to introduce you to!  We've also got some great giveaways planned so stick around over the next couple of weeks!

http://www.barefootbysea.blogspot.com/2012/11/casco-bay-soap-co-feature-and-giveaway.html