Buy Local Lincoln County

Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 15, I will be on "Buy Local Radio" to talk about Calise Soapworks & Such. Buy Local Lincoln County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting small businesses within our county. Here is an interesting quote from the Buy Local Lincoln County Website:

                 If everyone made a 10% shift in their discretionary spending
                 (groceries, dining out, clothes, entertainment and recreation)
                 to local retailers, over $10 million of additional income
                 would stay in our county. (This small shift in spending would
                 equate to a $44.57 per month local purchase per Lincoln County
                 household.)

Join us tomorrow at 8:30. Tune into 1230 AM KCUP Radio. If you are not local, you can listen online! http://www.kcup.net/ streams live online. Just scroll down the Home Page and the link is on the right hand side in red.

I'll be offering a special incentive to listeners, so tune in!

Happy day,
Jill
Got soap?

Giftable Wednesday- Barefoot Surf Boutique- Juanita Browne

Today's Giftable Wednesday features Juanita Browne from Barefoot Surf Boutique. She and her family work together making the old new again by creating a unique variety of bags, clothing, and accessories from both new and upcycled materials.

This sweet and simple burlap purse is just the perfect mix of shabby and chic! Carefully handcrafted from an upcycled coffee bean bag.

Fun & Fashionable Upcycled T-Shirt Scarf.These fun and funky scarves are beautifully versatile... wear them as a one of a kind headband, or as a belt to add a unique flare to your attire. They are perfect for all seasons and are sure to be a favorite accessory for years to come!

Cozy Upcycled Felted Arm Warmers with Cute Felted Flowers

Upcycled Purse

Button on serged flower in a fabulous two tone red design. Use the flower to add a super splash of color to purses, backpacks, denim jackets, etc.... by simply attaching the flower to a button.

Check out her etsy store and facebook page!

Happy day,

Jill

Calise Soapworks & Such

Thank You Bramble Berry!

Much to my surprise, I received an unexpected delivery Friday. The outside sticker gave me a huge clue as to where the box came from, but I hadn't ordered anything. Hmmm.....

The suspense was building as I opened it. Notice the branding?

Wow! A thank you for participating on the Fall S.O.A.P. Panel.  

I now have a couple of fun, creative soap recipes with samples of what the finished product should look like, some activated charcoal (one of my fav colorants:), a fragrance oil and a gift certificate! A great haul for participating in something fun and rewarding. Thanks so much, Bramble Berry! 

Jill

Calise Soapworks & Such



Giftable Wednesday- Whimsy Art Glass- Mary Young

Do you have hard to buy for friends and relatives? With the holiday season is right around the corner, I thought it would be neat to offer some gift alternatives to the big chain stores. Also, you can add another dimension to your gift when you can tell a story about the artist.

Mary Young at Whimsy Art Glass creates fun, useful treasures that won't break the bank. Here are some of her great creations:

Rainbow Heart Window (or anywhere you need some love) Hanger

Mary makes beautiful candle holders (my jar candles happen to fit into them perfectly:) that throw specks of colored light onto the walls when the candle is lit.

A fun, curvy flower display.

Here's a kitty that would brighten up any window or wall.

Mary also makes soap dishes!

You can also find Mary on facebook. She ships nationwide. Let her know if you are looking for something special. She'll be happy to create it for you!

Happy shopping,

Jill

Calise Soapworks & Such

Final Thoughts on the Fall Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. Panel

First of all, I want to give a huge ThAnK yOu to Bramble Berry for selecting me to choose the fall fragrances. It has been a blast and an amazing experience!

Soaps are in scent order from #1 (red & beige in the front) to #8 (the last soap on the right).

What I learned:

You may end up liking a fragrance even if you don't like it initially. That's how I felt about #2. My initial reaction was not so lovely, but it is now my second favorite! It fragrance has developed wonderfully in the soap and I think my customers will love it.  

Yes, you can make cp soap pops! If you want to swirl, you need to pour at a thick trace or the depth of the mold blends the colors together. Also, I did cpop the soap pops. This made unmolding easy, but you do need to be careful not to leave the oven on too long or you end up with dimpled soaps like the blue one or pink one.

Soaping is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you're gonna' get!

Happy Soaping!

Jill

Calise Soapworks & Such

The Bold and the Not So Beautiful

Making amazing, innovative soaps and beauty products involves an extensive trail and error process. Many products require several tries before they are perfected. I went through at least 20 lip balm formulations before I came up with the perfect, lip smoothing recipe. Here are a few examples that evolved into amazing products eventually...

Cupcake Soap 

As you can see, soap icing takes some practice to master.

Felted Soap

My early attempts resembled soaps with appendages, but the practice paid off.

Cold Process Handmade Soap

Every once in awhile, a fragrance makes my soap look rough around the edges. The scent in the above picture made the top of the soap brown and all of the tan in the soap was supposed to be white. This soap smells amazing, but it looks like something only a mother could love :). All the trail and error is worth it, though, when I end up with some really incredible looking soap.

Practice and patience does pay off.

Calise Soapworks & Such- making the ordinary extraordinary!

Testing, Testing S.O.A.P. Fragrances 7 & 8

The third time is the charm! Since I CPOP (cold process oven process) most all of my soap I figured whipping up these Soap Pops for Bramble Berry's Fall S.O.A.P. Panel would be a breeze. Well, there is a bit of a learning curve for CPOPing single cavity molds (tips below).  First, the good part- thoughts on the last two Bramble Berry Fragrances.

Scent #7-  Evergreen Boughs

Initial Reaction- inviting and full bodied. Full of spruce, juniper and fir and maybe just a hint of citrus (bergamot?). #7 brings back childhood memories of hiking through the snow on a crisp, wintry day to find the family Christmas tree. 

After Thoughts- This scent soaped beautifully. It did set up a bit fast after pouring, so it may speed trace a bit with warm oils. So far, there is no noticeable discoloration. Colored with chromium green oxide.

Scent #8-  Hearthside

Initial Reaction- this reminds me of a campfire, fireplace- smoke and leather. Warm & intriguing.

After Thoughts-  I was worried that this fragrance would be lost in the soap. It actually disappeared when I first mixed it into the soap batter. Surprisingly, after unmolding, the fragrance is holding strong. This fragrance had a long play time. I had to wait about 10 minutes after pouring before the soap was firm enough to hold up the craft sticks. The uncolored soap has turned a nice light cream color so far. Colored with gold mica.

I'll update in a few weeks on how the scents and colors are behaving. I'm also going to play around with my leftover fragrances in some other goodies. I am having a blast so far. Thanks, Bramble Berry!

Tips for CPOPing Single Cavity Silicone Molds

11 minutes seems to be the magical number to leave the oven on at 170 degrees for molds about 3 ounces in size. Then, turn the oven off and let soaps sit in the oven overnight or several hours until cool.

For more noticeable swirls, pour at a thicker trace into deep molds.