Burnt Mill Candles and Soap

I made a mistake.

2012-01-19T00:26:00.000-08:00

Took me almost a whole year to notice I made a mistake. Some how I never noticed the Lick Me All Over soap wasn't on Etsy. I mentioned it in the soap package deals but there was no listing for it by itself. Wonder how many sales I missed out on because of that?!?! I did have it on my main website at least but still.

This scent is either #1 or #2 seller at every craft show so kind of a big oops!

New Year

2012-01-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted in ages! Got a huge holiday rush this year and I had a touch of burn out when it was over so I took a small break. Been working on cleaning my house up and I am about to start inventory so I can work on the dreaded taxes.

This holiday season I was experiencing some growing pains. My internet business more than doubled since last year which is a good thing. But I had a hard time keeping up with everything. I am at the point where I need help but there isn't extra money for help. I took some days off from my regular job to work on orders. The biggest help was my mom coming over more most nights for a few hours to label soap and help pack orders.

Put in some late hours and had little sleep for about 2 months but got everything done. How do some of you handle the growth of your business?

I am also at a cross roads where I am starting to split my focus between soap and photography. I went to college for photography and some how as life went along and bills had to be paid I took different jobs out of the field and I have found myself far away from what I wanted to do.

Been spending the last few months out taking pictures when I had some free time. I have a huge book of images from photo school and after but most are people type things and not what people buy for their walls so it is time to build some sell able stock. I started another Etsy shop http://mistyphoto.etsy.com and a Facebook page.

I have to say I am finding joy again while I am out taking pictures. It is good to get back to your roots.

Back to soap! I am looking forward to picking out some new scents for the year. This year my cousin is going to be coming over to help me. Thought it would be good to have a second opinion as some of the scents I picked last year weren't as popular as I thought.

Happy New Year everyone!

Black Friday-Cyber Monday sale!

2011-11-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

Starting now until midnight Cyber Monday 11/28 use the code take20 for 20% off at either Etsy or my website

Don't forget to stock up on Lumps of Coal soap for all the naughty people!

Thanks and Happy Holidays!!!

Custom work and new Stonehenge soap

2011-11-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

Loved how this custom cupcake soap order came out. Top 2 colors are Cinnamon Sugar and the bottom is Black Raspberry Vanilla.

Been busy restocking current soaps. In the last 2 batches of Stonehenge soap there were some really neat looking bars. The patterns in the soaps can be super cool sometimes.

gift basket

2011-11-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

Back from my Denver craft show. It was a good show! I was debating on doing this one or not. I gave up doing another 2 day show last year that was good in order to try this one out.

I ended up making in 1 day what it took me 2 days to make which was nice. This was also new clients. Not one time did I hear I already bought from your or I am still using what I got before.

Busted out a bunch of gift baskets and soap sampler packs as those make great gifts during this time of the year.

I was really loving this basket. Maybe I like the wire style basket better then the wicker type ones?!!? Just thought it looked classier. This one is still looking for a new home :)

Hello!

2011-10-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

Few pictures I took on my weekend trip.

I know I have been bad and not blogging recently. Just been busy and nothing too new to talk about. I took a weekend off and went down to the S/W corner of Colorado and took some fall colors pictures. It was pretty snowy but I actually think that made the fall colors pictures even cooler.

I have been busy making soaps but like normal it is mainly just restocking current soaps so nothing too fun to show. Lots of bath bombs going out the door as well but I keep forgetting to take pictures of some of them.

I am now in the middle of the holiday prep work. Have a bigger show in Denver Nov 5 so I am trying to get more lumps of coal soaps done. It is also time to bring back the soap sampler packs which I usually only sell at holiday shows since they make such great gifts. Also time to start getting gift baskets made up.

Fall Colors

2011-10-02T23:51:00.000-07:00

Finished my last outdoor show on Saturday, only 3 more shows to go till the end of craft show season. Took off most of Sunday to take fall colors pictures up in the mountains.

I am taking next weekend off to take lots more pictures in the S/W part of Colorado. Hope the leaves are still on the trees and looking good still, so keep your fingers crossed.

Here are a few of the pictures from today.

Trip down memory lane

2011-09-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

The giant blob!

Been making bath bombs this week and it reminds me of all the things I messed up in the beginning when I was trying to learn how to make them.

One I made ended up turning into the giant blob and took up a whole cookie sheet!

The bath bombs still give me trouble some days but never that bad at least.

Picture I took while at the Chile Festival craft show this weekend.

Chile Festival went pretty good. The attendance was way down from the year before but my sales were still good considering the lower crowd. Sure was a long weekend though 6 am- 11 pm sure made me tired!

One more outdoor show left which is this weekend and it is in my home town and only about 1 block from my house. So come to Penrose, CO Apple Day on Saturday, they even give out a free slice of apple pie to everyone.

Monkey Farts soap make over

2011-09-20T21:53:00.001-07:00

Above are the after make over

Blue one is the before

Next up in the mini make overs is Monkey Farts. Decided to kick this one up a notch with the colors. Next batch I might even change the colors again!

Monkey Farts has top notes of fresh bananas and juicy grapefruit; middle notes of pineapple, and strawberries; and a hint of vanilla as a base note.

I will be going MIA till next week. My really big craft show of the year is this weekend.
This one is a 3 day show with long hours as we don't pack up till around 9 pm at night so I won't have much computer time.

If you are in Pueblo, Colorado come stop by the Chile Festival!

something new! Tidal Wave!

2011-09-14T00:58:00.000-07:00

Introducing Tidal Wave! Let the waves roll in with this crisp, fresh aquatic fragrance. One of the cleanest, salty ocean type scents ever!

This one has something special in it as well. I used sand from Point Dume(Zuma) beach in Malibu, California for light exfoliation. This is the same beach Matthew McConaughey likes to surf on so there is always a chance his feet touched this sand.

Long ago I used a bar of soap that had sand in it and I loved it and this has been on my list to do for ages which is why I brought sand with me when I moved from CA to CO. That beach always had the best sand out of all the beaches.

Took me awhile to find the scent to go with the sand. I did a poll on Facebook to find out how much exfoliating people like and it seemed light was the winner so I took it easy on the amount of sand I used.

I do have to say this scent gave me some trouble when I was making it(think instant cottage cheese) so the plan I had with the colors went out the window, but I am still pretty pleased on how it ended up. Sure got lucky! This one will be available in a few weeks.

I will be at Florence, CO Pioneer Day this Saturday so come and say hi!

Summer medley time again

2011-09-10T01:49:00.000-07:00

I always put off making this one because it takes some work but it sure does look cool in the mold!

Enchanted Apple soap next mini make over

2011-09-04T11:23:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts again I was pretty busy and to top it off I have been having troubles with my transfer software for my camera. I figured out a work around till I get it figured out. I also spent last weekend doing an update on my main website which ended up taking me way longer then I planed since I hadn't done an update since April!!!! Still a few more things to get up there but it is much more current now at least.

Next up for my mini make overs is Enchanted Apple type. This one always ended up being too purple in the past I think. So did a small change up on the colors and I think it fits the apple more now. Enchanted Apple is a stunning blend of tart, crisp apples with the slightest touch of sweet vanilla. This is one of the scents on the lighter side for those who don't like super strong scents.

I have been busting out the fire starter orders the last few days. I guess that is the sign fall is around the corner right? I had to go up to the mountains yesterday to gather more materials for making them since I was getting low. I am lucky there are mountains about 20 miles away so I grabbed my niece and we loaded up on the pine cones and such. :)

something random

2011-08-26T00:34:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share my newest addiction online Pinterest!

It is sorta like an inspiration board where you pin things you see online or on their website. I can sit for hours and watch the stuff people are pinning on the main page.

Check out my own set of boards(I am just getting started)

I have already found many things that inspired me and recipes I want to make.

Anyone on it? if so let me know so I can follow your boards

By the way the above picture(self portrait) is of me wearing the temporary lip tattoos I mentioned on my blog awhile back. They were a touch dry to wear but sure did look cool.

new custom made business card holder

2011-08-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

Front

Back

Look at that detail

Check out my new custom made business card holder. It matches my logo! Norenwood made it just from having my business card.

They have some really cool wood signs in their booth. Talk about talent in cutting the smallest pieces of wood and putting it all together to make amazing pieces.

If you want to contact them norenwood@yahoo.com or 719-684-9565

Chuck Wagon Lunch

2011-08-12T23:11:00.001-07:00

My Grandma waiting for the food to be ready

Rustic tables

Cooking the corn

The chuck wagon

Saw a cool cloud/rain on the way home

Last weekend I went with my aunt and my grandma to a chuck wagon lunch. My grandma goes this every year for about the last 15+ years. I have to be honest the food wasn't that great but the point was to spend time with my grandma so that makes it worth it!

Have to love small town community events right?

new Patchouli soap

2011-08-05T20:02:00.001-07:00

Patchouli before

Patchouli after

So yep I am getting bored since all I do is restock current soaps. I don't get that much play time anymore as I keep up with the demand for the regular soaps.

So new plan is to do a few more make overs on current soaps. Some will be small changes some might be bigger changes.

First up was Patchouli. This one I didn't change too much just a slightly different base color and then I added a touch of the black.

No craft shows this weekend so I get a small break. Taking my Grandma to a Chuck Wagon dinner thing she goes to every year. Last year I had a craft show so I couldn't take her but I decided not to do that show so I get to go. I will try and take some pictures tomorrow.

New cupcake soap & craft show post

2011-08-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

Back from my Fairplay craft show. Sales were up from last year. Been a strange year, my good shows from last year are all up and all the new shows I tried out I barely got booth fee back.

So what happens when the booth next to you is a craft show friend and you both have the same tent(they were the ones that told me about this tent in the first place)? We made a nice shade walk way for the customers!

New cupcake soap scented Chocolate Cream Cheese which has top note of coconut; followed by a warm middle note of buttercream; and well rounded with a base note of dark cocoa.

Great blog to check out.

2011-07-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

View from my front door

Something I love to check out is The Billionaire Boys Club blog.

I ran into this site years ago after seeing something about it on TV I think. I will say I am not really a rap fan for the most part but this is great. He does a really good job of also posting futuristic and concept things that I find inspiring.

Where do you find inspiration?

By the way the picture above is what I took on the weekend. This is the kind of thing that reminds me I don't live in Los Angeles anymore, lol!

Going way back to my first soap & candles!

2011-07-21T22:12:00.001-07:00

Pomegranate my first ever soap that I made

First Candles

The one on the right was coffee soap and yes I put in way too much ground coffee they were way too rough!

Few batches under my belt I started figuring out the swirling some.
This one is Black Raspberry Vanilla

This post is inspired by Patrice from The Soap Seductions trip down memory lane post.

I had to dig deep in the images to find these. So I started making candles about 2-3 years before I started making soap. These are my first real candles that I made. Well tech all the chunks were the ones that I made first but they were so bad I chunked them up and made these.

My first candles were so bad I got sticks stuck in them trying to make holes for wicks. Another one I didn't get the wick in there good and like an idiot I poured it with the mold sitting in the sink and the wax poured straight down the drain and clogged it! I managed to fix the clog but then the sink wouldn't go back together cause the parts were so old so the apartment manager had to call a plumber. Shhh I never told them I had poured wax down the drain, lol.

Now onto the soap. First one I ever made was scented with Pomegranate see picture above. I sure have come a long way from these! My bars are now much bigger and these were made before they started making the addictive that keeps the soaps from turning that brown/tan.

We all had to start some where right?

Something fun

2011-07-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.violentlips.com/

Off topic!
Saw these lip tattoos on the morning news here a week or two ago and they look so cool. So my photographer brain was really wanting a pair cause I can already see taking cool pictures with them.

Last night I picked out a pack and you are all just going to have to wait and see which one I got and what I am going to do with them :)

Let me know if you decide to get some!

bath bomb hell

2011-07-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

All the rough spots on the above bomb are what happen when you are in the middle of making some and it starts to rain. The bath bombs suck all the humidity out of the air GRR!

A few of the ones going out in the order. Finally worked!

Well I had a rough week in making bath bombs. I had a large order in and figures it decided to rain everyday! Humid days=bad bath bombs.

We have been at dust bowl levels around here for months and then all of a sudden rain every day all week. Maybe I should have been trying to make bath bombs sooner so we could get more rain around here?

Glad to report there was no rain on Friday so I finally completed and shipped the order.

Craft show report

2011-07-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

Above is the new transport box my dad made. Top level holds cupcake soap, bottom holds bath bombs.

#1 item needed for hot summer craft shows is a battery operated fan!

Monument show before the parade was over & the rush started

Cooking right on my back wall.

Busy weekend! Sat-Sun I was in La Veta, CO at Art in The Park. The show was pretty good. It could have been a really great show but it ended up hailing on Saturday at 2 pm which was just when the crowd was getting big. After the hail everyone pretty much cleared out. The hail knocked all kinds of dirt onto my tent so now I need to pitch the tent and give it a bath before the next show. :)

Monday I was in Monument, CO. This is a much bigger area then the other show. It was sooooo hot on Monday I think the temp was at least 103 and then when you add being on a black top it was hot! To top it off the back side of my tent had a food vendor who was cooking food on stoves, so that was adding even more heat to my tent. Let's just say I was cooking all day and it has taken me 2 days to start to feel back to normal again.

The Monument show had a high booth fee and the sales weren't that great really. I made a profit but not much of one. Not looking like I will be going to that one again. Craft shows are such trial and error!

I get this weekend off from shows then I will have 2 more shows before the month is over. Already time to start booking the fall shows again!

I did it again

2011-07-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

Cupcake soaps left to right Hot Apple Pie, Ginger Ale, Key Lime Pie

So I keep doing this. I make something get it packaged up and then I remember that I never got around to taking pictures of it. Guess I will get pictures next batch cause I really don't want to redo them!

Busy weekend for me as I have one show Saturday-Sunday and then a different show on 4th of July. So much for a 3 day weekend off for me :P

To cut down or not?

2011-06-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

Above is the never ending baby trees coming up around the big tree

The other two trees.

So I have been at my new house almost a year now. Slowly working on getting the yard fixed up a little at a time. I have been planting things including 2 new trees, flowers, herbs, tomato plants.

But I have a small issue I am trying figure out what to do about. I happen to have 3 trees that are driving me crazy. I have no idea what kind of tree they are but they put off so many baby trees it turns the place into the jungle.

You have to pull them out before they get too big or you have to dig them out. Not long after taking them all out there were tons of new ones coming up. It is a never ending battle. They are even showing up in the yard of the neighbor who lives across the street. I am sure they aren't happy either!

They must be a pretty hardy tree type cause it has only rained 1 time here so far this year so they aren't getting water, yet they still grow.

So I am starting to decide if I should cut them down and start some nice new trees in their place. 2 of them don't really provide direct shade but the 3rd one(that does most of the baby trees) does provide some shade on the sunny side of my house.

I hate to cut down trees but I can't seem to win. What would you do?

new soap! Rise and Shine

2011-06-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

New soap!
Rise and Shine which has fresh orange notes, with additional notes of Apple, Grapefruit, Peach and Strawberry with just a touch of Loganberry.

cut pictures of lychee red tea and another new soap

2011-06-14T00:24:00.000-07:00

Above is Lychee Red Tea

Beneath the Stars

Cut Pictures of the new soaps!!
The colors mellowed out on the Lychee Red Tea but I am totally digging this color combo.

I also soaped Beneath the Stars again. This one has been all sorts of colors and even has had a name change in the past. I put it on the shelf and didn't make a new batch for about a year now. I decided to try new colors yet again with this one. Ended up with yellow, orange and black. I still need to cut back on the black more. I do love black!

Considering a name change again for the Beneath the Stars, last new name for it was Gnome Candy Garden.

Beneath the Stars is a blend of grape, peach, citrus, plum, rose and musk.

new soap! Lychee Red Tea

2011-06-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well I have made this in glycerin and it is a scent I really like but as part of my trying to change most of my glycerin soaps over to CP this was next on the list.

I had so much fun cause I have just been doing restocking so I haven't gotten to play with new colors for awhile now. I got in a new brick red color and decided to try out a new color combo of blue, yellow, white(inside), black and brick red. Sure can't wait to cut this one!

I did just read this scent is going to be discontinued, which I of course didn't notice till I already placed my order which just arrived 2 days ago. I will have to see how it comes out and decide if I need to order some more before it is gone.

I will try and post cut pictures later tonight or tomorrow.

back from the chili cook off craft show

2011-06-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

First show testing out my new qr code sign. See below if you want to scan it yourself with a smart phone. This craft show was an older crowd so only one person scanned it. She was pretty impressed that is brought up all the info about my company and no I didn't tell her to scan it she just pulled out her phone and did it.

This was a rare indoor show in the fire department as it was a fund raiser for the Howard volunteer fire department.

Saturday was green chili day. Can't say I am a green chili fan but the one I thought tasted the best got 3rd place.

Sunday was red chili day which I like way more. I picked DD and that was the one the judges picked as the winner so I guess I was better at guessing the red chili winner.

So I am a sucker for gem stones and rocks. Two of my best vacations have been when I went to Nevada and spent 8 hours a day digging for black fire opals. That is my idea of a great vacation by the way! Anyway I saw this rock on a vendors table and I had to have it I love pretty glittery things. :)

Show went ok not sure I will do it next year. I think I am going to do a new plan next year where I drop off some of the smaller shows like this one and save the money to get in the really big shows instead.

I am rusty at making camera soaps

2011-06-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Above how it should look.

this one is not so good

So I have an order in for camera soaps and let's just say I haven't made one for awhile and it shows! First picture is what it should look like and the bottom picture is what I made last night. Ya this one will be a redo! I have gotten out of practice painting with glycerin soap it seems.

This weekend I will be at the Howard Chili cook off, seems like it will be a rare indoor show. First time doing this show. I am trying out some new ones this year.
http://www.howardvfd.org/Chili%20Cookoff.html

scouted a craft show today

2011-05-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

So this is my ummm I forgot to take the camera with me picture!
I did get to wear my Scotch Lobster hat to the craft show. I am not a big hat wearing kind of girl but I burn pretty easy so I needed to keep the sun off me.

Went to scout a craft show I almost did but decided against it. Decided to see how it was before I do it. Old Colorado City historical days in Colorado Springs, CO.

This one has a way higher booth fee, you also need to have higher liability insurance which would cost me more. Adding to that venders were suppose to wear old west themed outfits which I own none. So all those things = high enough additional costs to make me have to think about if I would do it or not. Putting out all the extra money can be risky because Colorado weather in May is a crap shoot. Some weekends it is nice, some it is raining and others it can be snowing.

I was going to have all these cool pictures of the show but ya the camera was still sitting here next to the door. It was kinda nice to just go to a craft show and not be working for once. Getting parking wasn't too bad and there were lots of people around. The crowd levels were almost the same as the Chili Festival I did in September. Didn't see a ton of people spending money, well other then for the funnel cakes that is. Funny how even if people have no money there is always money for a funnel cake! People might not have been spending because we got there right around lunch time.

The large crowds can be good or bad as I have learned because it can make it hard for people to stop and shop as the crowd just pushes forward.

So turns out very few of the vendors followed the wear a western outfit rule. Funny how at some shows rules either are enforced or they aren't. Verdict is I guess I will give it a try next year as it is in a nearby market I haven't tried yet and there was only one other soap maker there.

Dragon's Blood

2011-05-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

Before

After

Well the newest batches weren't as cool at the ones before. I was being stingy on the red since I am starting to get low and I paid the price. I now have more of a pink/purple soap then the nice deep redish color I had before. 3 batches to sell before I get to fix the color again.

View at my craft show on Saturday

2011-05-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

So every show you do has a different theme usually such as my next one will be at a chili cook off. The one I had on Saturday was a car show. Sales weren't that good but they really weren't that great last year either. I did this one because it had a low booth fee, is really close to my home and my dad loves street rods so at least he could go look at cars.

I am thinking that is about the last time of doing that show though!

revisting Terrariums

2011-05-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

Before

Well if you have been following my blog for a long time you know way back when I got on this kick with my then boyfriend to make Terrariums after we saw them on Etsy. Well neither of us had green thumbs and all the moss died so they didn't really work. http://burntmill.blogspot.com/2009/04/terrariums.html

I still have the container so I came up with something new to do with it. Some of the sea shells I had gotten from my grandma were just too nice to put out in the sea shell garden. So I tried to do themes on each level. Right now it is sitting on the mantel above my fireplace, but I might put it as a center piece on my dinner table.

7-Up type soap cut

2011-05-17T00:08:00.000-07:00

Yep a little more on the black side then I was after but still looks good. Mental note next time back off the black color more!

7up type soap in the mold

2011-05-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

Made two new batches of 7-up type soap last night. The top looks great. Though I think I might have went a little heavy handed with the black on the inside. I will have to see what it looks like when I cut it tonight. I always have to keep telling myself a little black goes a long way!

Craft show report

2011-05-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

Well I am back from the first craft show of the year. It went really good. Sales are up from last year and I am getting more and more repeat customers. Since moving from LA I have had to rebuild new local customers so it is nice to see it is starting to work. I am hoping that sales being up is a sign on how the summer shows will go.

So I have talked about this before but the Bee's are always poking around my booth because everything smells like flowers and is colorful. Well I paid the price this weekend when I got stung on my leg while helping a customer. I love bees but darn that hurt!

I was also so tired after this weekend and my dad reported sore muscles this morning. Seems we are out of craft show shape! lol

Got some good feedback on the new scents for the year. Hot sellers from the new ones were Floral Bouquet, Lick me all over, Blue Hawaiian and yes even the Beer was popular. Seems I will have to make more of the stinky beer soap!

Fire Starters, new Summer Medley soap

2011-05-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Campfire season is almost here and these fire starters are heading out for a mothers gift order to a mom who loves to camp. Making fire starters is a messy job! The wax bounces off the pine cones and goes all over, can't you tell?!?!? I also always end up with wax on me some how. :)

Posting pictures of the newest batch Summer Medley soap.

the many colors of Love Spell soap

2011-04-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

This was a total color mess up because I was trying to make it the same blue as the bar above but used the wrong blue and it ended up turning white.

New batch is a soft purple with a soft blue swirl.

So over the years I have changed the colors of this scent with nearly every batch. Thought I would show the history leading up to the newest batch.

Wonder what color this one will be next!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Getting all set up

Glitter eggs!

I love to color eggs. I don't have any kids but my nephews and niece were more then happy to come hunt for eggs at my house. The Easter bunny also left them 3 baskets.

I do have to say I think I snacked on too much candy myself in the last day. Good thing this is only 1 time a year!

Zombie Punch soap

2011-04-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

Half way done with the swirl

Swirl done

Finished!

Made a new batch of Zombie Punch. This is on my list of personal favorite scents. I can't get enough of this scent in bath bombs either! I used flaming red oxide and activated charcoal for the colors.

Zombie Punch is a sassy, citrus blend of lemon, lime and orange juice, apricot and papaya nectars, and garnished with fresh pineapple slices.

follow up on colors

2011-04-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

Blue Sugar type before

Blue Sugar type after

Coconut after(use to be solid white with glitter)

So not all soaps that start pretty stay pretty. Blue Sugar type is a tough scent to soap color wise. It is a darker oil and has vanilla in it so it will shift. I used vanilla stabilizer to try and keep the shift from being too bad. But over time this bar got a mind of it's own and has totally changed.

Same goes for the coconut bar which I have discontinued. Started out a pretty white but is now an odd combo of white and strange brownish see picture.

I figure even with the Blue Sugar shift it is ok cause it is a guys soap and it still looks male friendly. Yes I would have liked it to stay the nice pretty blue/white/black but I can live with it.

Can't win them all I guess?!??!

Sale!

2011-04-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of some spring flowers I took on Friday.

I am having a sale! Come try out something new! use the code "SPRING" for 20% off good on either of my sites till midnight April 17. http://burntmill.etsy.com or http://gotsoaps.com/

New ones this year include beer, tooth fairy taffy, blue Hawaiian, floral bouquet, cream soda, lick me all over, blueberry slushy, facial bar, a walk in the woods and even a new cold process version of monkey farts.

Bingo!

2011-04-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

Getting my bingo cards ready

Bingo time! (Me)

My Grandma :)

Well I took a night off from soap making to go play bingo with my Grandma and Aunt for the night. None of us won but I was 1 number away during one which is the closest I have ever been. My Grandma got 1 number away in one round then 2 numbers away in another so she got pretty close too!

Now back to soap I go, looks like tonight I will be making 3 batches of lavender. I have more supplies coming in this next week so then I will be really working on stocking up the normal soaps I carry. I am about a month away from my first show so time to get on it!! :)

Beer Soap

2011-03-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

Took my turn at making some Beer soap. I have a large number of male buyers so I was looking for a few new scents to offer this year and decided on one scented like Beer.

I can't say making this one was fun, let's just say when beer mixes with lye it makes the most putrid smell you can imagine. Yet some how after it is all done it doesn't smell bad.

I had to give this one out to a tester since I am not familiar with the scent of beer. My tester reported back that he liked it so I am now adding some to my line to see how it sells.

Beer is a truly unique fragrance, it is a combined aroma of malt liquor straight from the tap, with a fruity twist. Combined notes of malt liquor and hops with fruity notes of strawberry, pineapple, apple, and raspberry.

Spring is in the air!

2011-03-20T16:42:00.001-07:00

The weather if finally warming up some and I can already tell my mood is improving. I can't say I enjoy winter, I do miss the weather from my time living in CA.

So this is my first spring in my first home and I am starting to see all kinds of flowers popping up in the yard. (see picture) Did some more raking today and found even more. Can't wait for everything to bloom.

I think I am all nuts about flowers and gardens right now. I have all kinds of seeds ready to be planted once we get past the snow days. Going to plant some lavender, strawberries, CA poppy, Russian sage and a top secret pumpkin seed. I already have my next Halloween pumpkin planned out and I have to grow a special pumpkin for it.

I have even been using the Floral Bouquet soap because I think I am really craving the smell of spring/flowers.

Who else is ready for Spring Flowers?

Cream Soda soap

2011-03-15T00:54:00.000-07:00

Next in my Cola/Soda line is Cream Soda.

An old fashioned soda shop classic having all the bubbly notes frothing over the glass with the truly characteristic, caramelized sugar and vanilla cream aroma.

Sent off 3 craft show applications today, getting closer to those starting again.

I have a new apron to wear at the shows and my new business cards are on the way.

Sea Shell Garden

2011-03-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

So I have a house to decorate now but since I don't have extra money to really do cool stuff yet I got creative. My grandma had given me a number of boxes with sea shells in them so I turned them into a sea shell garden.

Don't mind the brick that is on the list to work on this summer.

Blue Hawaiian soap

2011-03-06T11:38:00.001-08:00

New soap!! Posted this on facebook earlier :)

Blue Hawaiian begins with mouth-watering top notes of juicy orange, lemon, and maraschino cherries; followed by tangy pineapple, acai berry, and sea spray; well rounded with base notes of sweet coconut, vanilla rum, and fresh ozonic notes.

Tooth Fairy Taffy

2011-03-03T23:33:00.000-08:00

Tooth Fairy Taffy is a luscious blend of confectionery sugar paired with fruit syrup of wild berry, orange crush, black cherry and tangerine molded into vanilla taffy to create a sweet tooth, bubblegum dream! Top notes: confectionery sugar, wild berry, orange crush. Middle notes: black cherry, tangerine splash. Base notes: sweet bubblegum, vanilla taffy, musk.

This is another of the soaps I made a solid color since I didn't have any other straight pink soaps.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently I have been making lots of new soaps but some I am still seeing if they shift colors or not before I photograph them. I am also trying to get back into working out since my foot injury from last year is finally healed I think. But that extra time for working out has cut into soap making and blog posting.

How does one find balance to fit everything in a day?!?!?

new soap lick me all over

2011-02-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

Lick Me All Over is a wonderful exotic fragrance with base notes of raspberry, cantaloupe, and watermelon, middle notes of jasmine and violet, and fresh top notes of grapefruit and kumquat.

Poppy seeds are included for exfoliating.

Sometimes when picking out colors for soap I take into account color combos I don't already carry and that is how this one ended up being a straight purple.

Sometimes a swirl isn't needed to make a pretty soap :)

What is your style?

2011-02-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

This post is thanks to Patrice's comment on my 7-Up soap picture from awhile back.
"This has the all the earmarks of a Misty soap"

That comment made me remember that I spent a year in photo school trying to learn really what style meant. It was a very hard thing to pin down when you were really just learning what you liked to take pictures of. I ended up doing something that wasn't at all my style because I didn't know what my style was back then but it taught me the general idea of what style is.

I ended up taking pictures of semi trucks that had lines on them and the trucks had to be parked just right so that the lines would match on the trucks. Can you imagine how hard it was to find all of these things together at the same time! I remember having to go to industrial areas and asking permission to go onto the lots, using ladders and anything else I could do to get the shots(I had to have 12+ different ones!). I attached a few pictures so you get an idea of what I did.

My real photographic style came out after I took lots and lots of pictures over time.
If you want to see my current photographic style check out my photography website. (check out all the galleries)

Style is being able to tell someone's work just by looking at it.

I think the same thing happens with soap, the soap I made when I started is nothing like what I make now. At some point with maybe 20-30 batches under my belt I could start seeing what my style is now coming out.

I think there are a number of soap makers who if you saw the bar but not the name of the maker you might be able to tell who made it. With soap it can be things like whipped tops, the colors or swirls, the line, the way bars are cut, even down to how someone packages them.

What is your style? (this applies to all types of media)

Floral Bouquet

2011-02-07T00:45:00.000-08:00

New soap! Floral Bouquet smells just like a Flower shop; a unique combination of carnation, tulips, roses, and the ozony base note of fresh greenery.

This is the scent I mentioned on facebook that I usually don't like floral scents but this one has won me over. It is a dead ringer for walking into the flower shop and more on the carnation side which I like. So I guess I have to say I don't hate all floral scents now :)

out with the old

2011-02-03T00:07:00.000-08:00

Blueberry Slushy

So it is time to decide what new scents I am going to carry this year.

Time to stop making some of the under performer soaps as I will call them. Going out(when supplies are gone) will be leather, cucumber melon, warm vanilla sugar, coconut, mulberry, basil nectarine, storm watch, enchanted apple & zombie punch(still undecided on these last two) and maybe some others.

Going to be lots of new scents this year starting with Beer scented soap for the guys. Cream Soda & Blueberry Slushy(see picture) to add to my cola/soda line. Many others that you will see when I get them done.

Also returning will be some of the scents I added right towards the end of the year that ended up being a hit including Plumeria, Wild Mountain Honey and Lilac.

One thing I do notice when I pick out new scents is I like fruity scents so my shopping cart will be full of them and nothing else, lol. I then have to go back and edit some out and go look for other non fruit ones.
I think if you look at most soap makers you can kinda get a feel for what they like themselves cause I think we all do this to some extent.

go away soap gremlins

2011-01-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

Ok who wants to take a turn hosting the soap gremlins for awhile?

Let's see started with a batch of Cherry Cola soap that came out too soft, then it turned to my BRV soap where my new purple turned pink which I could live with. But 1 of the 3 batches of the BRV I made that night came out way too hard for some reason. I make everything the same every time(except that cherry cola where I had an oil mix up). Next up yes I am not done yet, my new batch of wildberry zinger tea soap pretty much broke into pieces when it came time to cut it. See picture. I can still save this batch though it will just be a confetti type soap instead of the nice even ball shapes.

I think I need a vacation or something! lol

7up type soap cut pictures

2011-01-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

Still undecided on if the scent is the same or not. In the glycerin version you can pretty much smell the bubbles that are in 7up and I am not sure the cold process version has that same impact or not.
Going to have to send a bar to a client that has ordered whole batches of the glycerin version to see what they think. By the way it does smell good just not sure it has the 110% I was looking for.

7up type soap make over time!

2011-01-15T01:16:00.000-08:00

Next up in the switching from glycerin soap to cold process soap is 7-up type soap!
Here is a sneak peak in the mold. Sure hope this scent holds up good. I will post cut pictures soon.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Anyone doing anything fun?

Mistletoe rename winners

2010-12-26T22:09:00.000-08:00

So I decided Walk in the Woods was the best name and two people suggested it so two of you win a free bar of soap! Audra MacIsaac and Kakers are the winners!

Well finally done with the rush of the holidays. All I can say is I am low on lots of soaps again but I need a small break before I head back to soap making! Also my least favorite time of the year is coming TAX time :(

My goal for next year is to be more organized with my records so I don't pull my hair out at tax time!

soap renaming contest time!

2010-12-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

So now that the holiday rush is almost over(that is why I haven't posted in ages). It is time to find a new name for the Mistletoe soap so I can sell it year round. For those who haven't smelled it I would say it is almost like a pine scent.

"The complex woodsy notes of mistletoe fragrance oil blend perfectly with the light wildflower scent to give the fragrance amazing depth. This lovely 'stroll through the woods on a cool Autumn morning' fragrance is a beautiful pine with greens and a barely-noticeable drop of spice for warmth. This combines perfectly with evergreens, blue spruce, holly, green ivy and dewy ferns."

So help me rename it! I will give away a bar of soap of your choice if your new name is picked.

something new!

2010-11-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how many years I have been planning a facial bar but I just kept putting off making it for one reason or another.
So now I am introducing my new facial bar that is unscented and has lots of Activated Charcoal and Moroccan Red Clay so it is great for your skin!

Activated Charcoal: pure carbon that is specially processed to make it highly particle absorbent. Activated charcoal is used to absorb excess oils and impurities, neutralize poisons and toxins from the skins surface and a mild exfoliator.

Moroccan Red Clay: is gentle clay, making it suitable for sensitive skin. It helps stimulate circulation to the skin while gently cleansing it. Moroccan Red Clay comes from deep beneath the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and is a mineral rich. High in silica, magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, and sodium, this clay is surely one of the finest treasures for pampering your skin. Its extraordinary power of absorption makes it more effective than other clays for cleansing, detoxification, and general skin treatment.

cupcake machine

2010-11-23T23:33:00.001-08:00

I am a cupcake making machine!! Good thing I can't eat these is all I can say!

Starting making some gift baskets for the holiday craft show I have this coming Saturday. Starting to get the hang of the bow making.

Black Friday sale week!
Enter code FRIDAY1 in my Etsy shop or on my main website for 15% off good till midnight Cyber Monday 11/29

Dragon's Blood soap 3.0

2010-11-18T21:37:00.000-08:00

Dragon's Blood was the next one I changed to cold process. It is still curing and I have to say the color is getting cooler everyday. Not sure if it is done shifting color or not yet but we will see.

New soaps!

2010-11-11T23:25:00.001-08:00

Lilac

Plumeria

Rootbeer (next in the soap make overs)

Wild Mountain Honey

Mint

A touch behind on taking pictures of soaps so this should catch me up some!

soap makover

2010-10-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

So my new goal is to work on switching a number of glycerin soaps over to cold process. Doing all these shows I see the cp soaps sell a ton better then the glycerin so I have decided to try some out in cp soap and see if they sell better. Some scents just don't work in cp soap so those will stay glycerin.

Well first up in the makeover was Blue Sugar type figured that was a good place to start since the male friendly soaps move really good. I had this one in glycerin but it would hardly get picked up, so will be interesting to see how it does at the show I have this coming weekend.

Pumpkin has been carved

2010-10-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

Bring on Halloween!!! Just finished my pumpkin!

Candles

2010-10-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon Pumpkin Pie

Vanilla Bean

Gingerbread

Bayberry, Holiday Wassail, Pumpkin Pie, Gingerbread

Well these are some of the recent candles I finished. Most were for an order and some of the others are to take to the holiday shows.

Small soap break coming cause I ran out of lye! Crazy how fast I went through 50 lbs of lye, but more is on the way! Guess it is ok cause I need to get back to bath bombs, glycerin soap and making up some gift baskets.

I have some new soaps to show in a few more days just have to get around to taking all the pictures.

Give away winners!!

2010-10-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

So I picked 3 winners out of 109 entries! I used random.org and my mom was present to make sure I didn't cheat :P

Winner 1 is #71 Dana Austin
Winners 2 is #41 is TopHat
Winner 3 is #15 is Jen who on twitter is readingisadrug

Thanks to everyone that entered!

Lumps of Coal new pictures

2010-10-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

The store finally started putting out some of the Christmas stuff so I was able to buy the things I needed to jazz up the lumps of coal soap pictures!

Don't forget to enter the soap give away! Look below!

give away time!

2010-10-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

So I was looking back and it has been over a year since I did a give away! I can't believe how fast time has flown by since then. So time for another one I figure.

I am doing a give away it will run for 7 days I will announce the winner on Wednesday 10/20/10 around 11pm mountain time. I will use random.org to pick the winner.

The prize is 1 person will win 3 bars of my soap and they get to pick the scents!

So how do you enter you ask!?!?

Well head on over to my etsy store http://burntmill.etsy.com/ come back here comment and tell me which 3 bars of soap you would like if you win.

One Entry per person please.

Also leave some way for me to contact you should you win (email, twitter or such).

Limited to US and Canada only.

While you are here don't forget to follow my blog(see button on the right), twitter or facebook so you will know when I do another give away.

Good Luck everyone!

GIVE AWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Lumps of Coal soap

2010-10-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

So here is the second new mold I got! These are a great gift for someone who has been naughty this year!

Be on the look out very soon I have the feeling I might do a give away!

car sign

2010-10-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

My car got two car door magnets today.

Might as well promote while you drive right?

Fall Colors

2010-10-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

So I decided I needed a day away from soap making. I have been eating breathing and thinking soap for months! So decided to head up to the mountains to check out the fall colors. See link below for all the pictures. Above are just a few from the day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49486087@N07/sets/72157624965798209/

Figured might as well put some of the stuff I learned in photo school to use and keep those skills sharp.

What do you all do to get some "away" time?

cupcake 2.0

2010-10-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Cheesecake

Mystery Scented

Lychee Red Tea

See holes in the frosting!

So finally time to show one of my two new molds!

I made the cupcake soaps that the Soap Queen showed on her blog but they haven't been too great at the shows. They do sell really good but the main problem is the frosting is just a touch soft and let me tell you everyone has to poke them to see if they are real. I even have people more or less poke way into them like the pictured one. So it was time to make a change to the cupcake soaps so they would be more user friendly.

Really digging the new cupcakes I just need more time to come up with scents and color combos. I had a few at the last show and sold out right away so I think these will be a good change.

Chile Festival part 2

2010-09-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

So this picture was on the front page of the Pueblo Chieftain today it shows the crowd better and you can see my booth too! I have a different tent from most people it is rounded and has a shade awning that goes out the front. I highlighted it in red :)

See tons of people, and when it got dark it was even busier!

back from the chile festival

2010-09-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

The pictures are from before it really got busy!

Whew what a long weekend of selling soap and candles! The Chile festival went really good and I ended up selling a ton of soap over the 3 days.

The size of the crowd was insane it never seemed to end starting from 10 am going all the way till 10 pm! Odd to say this but I almost think it was too busy, the crowd more or less just kept pushing forward making it hard for people to stop and shop. I moved my tables back as far as I could to let people stop better. I think the sales would have been even higher if people had been able to stop better but I am still not complaining! You would get dizzy watching the crowd go by the booth. I have no clue what the numbers were on attendance but it had to be really high each day.

Next up is Apple Day this Saturday it will be nice to only have to go one block for a craft show. I happen to live in downtown of my small town so that has some advantages.

Tonight I was in pouring more apple themed candles and I need to knock out some cupcake soaps as I pretty much sold out this last weekend.

update coming after the weekend

2010-09-22T22:15:00.001-07:00

ok I really wanted to do a blog post showing the new molds but I just can't find the time. I have a million things to do still for the show this weekend and I have to start loading up tomorrow night. So please check back after the weekend and I will update how the big show went and maybe show those molds finally!

See you at the Pueblo Chile Festival!

small change to display

2010-09-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the first show after making a small change to the display. Now the top of each level has been painted pink! The main reason was the display was heating up pretty good during the hot shows so hoping the pink helps reflect some of the radiant heat. Matches my colors better as well I figure.

Just got confirmation that I am officially in the Pueblo Chile Festival this next weekend. Nothing like them waiting till it was less then a week away to let you know you are in it. Show attendance should be 100K+ so this will be my biggest show and I have no idea what to expect. I have been trying to prepare for this show for awhile now ended up making 600+ bars of soap getting ready for it. Still trying to work on some more bath bombs, candles and glycerin soaps before the show is here on Friday. If you don't have it you can't sell it so still doing a big push to get as much done as I can!

Got two new molds which I am testing and I should have some early pictures in another day or two for everyone to see.

Candle Time!

2010-09-08T20:09:00.001-07:00

L to R
2 Vanilla Bean, 2 Chocolate Cappuccino, Green/Red Apple, Red Apple

2 Blueberry, Green Apple, Blueberry

Working on stocking the candles up they tend to sell better in the fall so time to get ready for the rush!

Going to see a number of apple themed candles coming as the town I live in has Apple Day and I will be setting up my booth that day. So time to bring on the apple scents like red and green apple, hot apple pie, and nutty taffy apple.

Apple day is a blast everyone in the town bakes an apple pie for a contest and then they give away a slice of apple pie to everyone that comes to Apple Day. Can't beat free apple pie right?!?! ahhh small town life so different from my time in Los Angeles!

new soap pictures

2010-09-06T00:12:00.000-07:00

Nag Champa

Patchouli

CoconutFresh Laundry

Fixation(male friendly)Finally got the pictures of the new soaps taken!

Started back into candle production this weekend I should have some pictures of those tomorrow.

neon mail box

2010-08-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

Check out all the neon goodies that were waiting in the mail box for me today. It was time to restock the neon colors :)

So not all batches go according to plan. Made a batch of orange soap well round one was too boring so I thought let me make a ton of orange slices. It looked great in the mold but it didn't do good when the cutting time came. The bottom came off and some of the orange slices fell off and to top it off the cutter messed up some by slicing them too thin. I think I can save 1-3 bars then maybe it will be round 3 for this batch. Maybe the third time is the charm?

500 bars and counting

2010-08-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

Made about 500 bars of soap in the last 2-3 weeks! All I can say is I have a ton of soap and no social life now! lol

Still haven't gotten down to the photo area to take pictures of the new bars but I should soon.

Almost done with the CP soaps then I move to the glycerin soap, bath bombs and candles.

my favorite Bramble Berry product

2010-08-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

So remember back when I won some Bramble Berry loot from The Soap Queen?

Well that loot package actually started my journey into making glycerin soap. I got a free sample of the glycerin soap and after I poured that one sample I was hooked and had to buy a bunch! Well also in the same package was what has become my favorite scent Lychee Red Tea.

When this scent gets picked up at the craft shows it always gets a double smell I think it catches people off guard on how nice it is plus it is very strong which I love. I happen to have eaten the lychee fruit before as they are very popular in the Los Angeles frozen yogurt shops. So I am able to describe to people what a lychee actually is which is a nice bonus. It is a very complex scent that really grows on you and one you should try out at least once!

I would love to be on the Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. Panel to check out the new scents being tested for 2011 but since I have won other loot from Bramble Berry I am sure others would enjoy the samples even more then me so I wish the best to those who are lucky enough to enjoy the samples! :)

so much soap

2010-08-23T19:30:00.001-07:00

I have made a ton of soap and now I am running out of room on the rack! Still lots to go! The list never seems to end of soaps I need to make and I haven't even started into the glycerin soaps. Also really not looking forward to putting labels on all these soaps. Will have nice pictures of the newest scents I am making in a few more days.

Side note almost got the downstairs work area ready. Got my new double burner so I can make candles and have a mini oven top down there. The goal is to get the crafting out of my kitchen so I can have a normal kitchen again. Some how the soap making takes over the entire kitchen and leaves no room for food prep. I also scored a great big work desk at the goodwill for $20 loving all the space that thing will give me to work on.

lavender

2010-08-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well I can't seem to keep Lavender or Stonehenge soaps in stock. I have a really big show at the end of September so my new goal is to make 3 batches a night so I can attempt to be ready for it. First up was Lavender and I actually ended up making 4 batches of this one and I am still worried that won't be enough!

Up tonight will be the Stonehenge then I will work my way out from those two scents. I also have some new scents I would like to make in cold process soap such as fresh laundry, coconut, eucalyptus, and patchouli and more I am sure I can't remember off the top of my head. A few of those scents I carried in glycerin but I have decided to change them to cold process since they sell pretty good overall.

well off to soap making I go!

Picture is the new look for the Lavender soap

new soaps/colors

2010-08-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

Storm Watch

Stonehenge type

Blue Sugar type

Mulberry

Fresh Bamboo

Few updated soaps changed colors some on the Stonehenge and the Blue Sugar soaps. Also 3 brand new soaps Mulberry, Fresh Bamboo and Storm Watch.

Loving the Bamboo one I used translucent green so sometimes the bar is white or green depending on how you catch the light.

tent 2.0 & double rainbow

2010-08-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

Well back from the craft show and I have to say it was fair. I am slowly learning the things that make a great show.

#1 some sort of event to draw people other then the craft show its self
#2 having the tents pretty close to each other and having good flow of the traffic

This weekends show the booths had too much space between each booth and too much space to the booth across. In the picture the row you see left side is actually the back of the tents not an actual row.

People would cut between booths or go up one side of a row and not even pay attention to the other because they were so far apart. All of that = not enough traffic hitting the booth. Also this show had nothing else going on to attract people so there wasn't the crowds I see at shows with more going on then just the craft show.

This first summer of craft shows is a learning curve for sure I am slowly making a list of ones that are a waste of time and ones that are really good.

I also had to buy a new tent as there always seemed to be super strong winds at most of the shows and my tent frame was barley holding on then to top it off at the last show the zipper broke on the main curtain and when it rains that is a bad thing! So these pictures show my new tent which has a super duty frame and comes with vents in the roof which will be nice as it can get hot sitting in the tent all day!

Cool thing I saw a double rainbow on the way home and the bottom rainbow towards the top of it the colors started repeating again. Never seen anything like that before.

Oh almost forgot I ended up getting a free plug on the radio. They had a country music station broadcasting live from there and the guy happened to be out walking around at one point when he went live. Well he was standing near my booth and because I have a banner(no one else did) that he could read he mentioned my company name and even chatted about my soap for men(another sign he could read). Can't beat free advertising right?!!?

easter island guys are back!

2010-08-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

I finally got the photo area set up(see bottom picture) so I had a million pictures I have been behind on taking. Here is round 3 of the Easter Island creepy soap guys :)

Lots of other new soap pictures coming I just have to get around to downsizing them and such so check back.

I have craft shows the next two weekends. First up is in Beulah, CO and that show should be interesting as the name of my company is the road in that area. When I lived in CA no one knew what the name was but here even when I am 2 hours away from that road people ask me about the name Burnt Mill and if it is after Burnt Mill Rd which by the way is a little country road in the middle of no where!

I can only imagine how many times I will be asked this weekend and how many times I will say my Grandma has a ranch on Burnt Mill Rd and that is how I came up with my company name :)

rain & soap=pack in a hurry

2010-07-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Back from the craft show for the Fairplay Burro Days. Sales were really really good in fact I am super low or out of a number of soaps and I had one customer buy every bath bomb I had with me so out of those too! So needless to say I will be making soap every free minute I have which hasn't been much lately.

Top picture was earlier in the day then all of a sudden it started a blowing rain right into my booth and as you can guess rain and soap isn't a good mix. But I am prepared for that with a fast grab of a large tarp I can cover all the soaps. So how fast can you get packed up right!?!?! Bottom picture has my dad in it as we worked to get packed up before the rain really started coming down.

Also I was pretty much stuck with another soap maker one booth over again. Not sure what it is with these shows 165 booths 3 soap makers and they have to put 2 next to each other. Guess I will never understand that. I still do pretty good because mine are different but sometimes you get the buyers who see the other booth before mine and buy there then get to my booth and say they wish they saw mine first but they already bought. What can you do right!?!?

Well off to cut a batch of Stonehenge soap which reminds me I would say 85% of the customers where guys or buying male friendly scents this weekend it was crazy! I think it has to do with the sign I now put up to highlight I carry scents for guys it must be working. I am thinking tonight I will be making a fresh batch of lavender soap as that was another hot seller this weekend.

still moving

2010-07-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Soap and Candles are finally set up in their new room

Storage room for molds, colors and scents still lots to upack

Bottom picture is going to be my new work space!

I know I haven't been posting but I have been beyond busy. I am working 2 jobs and did a craft show this weekend and on top of that I am trying to paint and move into my new house. I am behind on making many batches of soap but nothing I can do till I get the move done. Thought I would show you how it is going so far still have lots of unpacking and organizing to get done but at least the stuff is over at the house now.

So hang in there with me I will be back to regular posting soon I hope :)

PS about time to put in more supply orders so any scents you want to see? also starting to think about fall scents.

Newspaper Feature!!

2010-06-24T18:30:00.001-07:00

Here is the story out of the Canon City Daily Record today
click on it to read it better

testing a new soap mold

2010-06-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

Easter Island Faces scented in Stonehenge type

Here is the early look at the new mold I am testing. Round one was toooo boring! I had thought about trying sandpaper on it to give it more texture but that didn't work and the color is way too light. So tonight I shall attempt round 2 of testing.

Thinking this will be a nice gift set of soaps for men but I will also probably do custom orders for different scents as well.

new soaps

2010-06-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

Cranberry Crumble

Monkey Farts

Forbidden Fruit

Have a few new soaps done. Cranberry Crumble and Monkey Farts.

Also pictured is the newest batch of Forbidden Fruit. The Forbidden Fruit one came out a little different then my normal as I was making this one during my interview for the local newspaper. It was hard to talk and concentrate on making the soap look the same as I usually make it but I think it came out pretty cool and pretty close.

I should have a link to the story in the newspaper on Thursday or Friday unless the story is delayed again(was going to be this last Saturday).

I am working on a new soap from a really cool mold I got a few days ago but round one wasn't cool enough so still working on the finished design on that one. Early peek at round one in a day or two so check back. Here is your hint it will work really good with the scent Stone Henge yet it has nothing to do with the real stone henge....

silvercliff show update

2010-06-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well today's show was a bust. Rained for about 3 hours, was nice for about 30 min then super high winds came in so we packed up early and left.

The show really had no traffic and only about 5 other vendors. Looking like I am not going to bother going back on Sunday cause there is still rain possible and Sundays are usually slower which wouldn't be good at all. I did get my booth fee back and a little extra so might just call that good.

So much for my pretty mountain view I was waiting for the darn clouds covered them pretty much the entire day :(

Anyway here is a picture of me in my booth from today and one of what little I could see of the mountains.

Now the fun part unpacking everything any volunteers to help!?!?!? :)

big things in the works

2010-06-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

I know it looks like I have been slacking again but I have good reasons. Trying not to get my hopes up too much in case it doesn't work out so I haven't mentioned this yet but I am in the process of buying a home! I spent the last week helping to get the house scraped and painted which had to be done for the loan. Estimated close date is June 25 so keep your fingers crossed for me! You should see how nice and big my work space will be and after living in 1 bedroom apartments my whole adult life it will be a big change.

I also start working full time again on friday and I have a craft show in Silvercliff, CO this weekend so lots and lots going on. The show this weekend is at the place I showed awhile back on my blog. Can't wait to get some great pictures of the booth with those mountains in the background.

Just thought I would update you all on what was going on :)

male clients

2010-06-01T09:55:00.001-07:00

Crackling Firewood, Stonehenge type, Blue Sugar type

I have to say I notice a number of other soap makers don't pay much attention to the male clients needs or just have one scent and call it good. The funny thing is there really are a large number of men who do like handmade bath products and at the least you will find a women who and I am quoting now "needs to get something for a stinky husband/son".

I have worked to expand my male or unisex scents and it is paying off. I have even really set out to highlight them when I do craft shows by making a big sign that says scents for men with a big arrow pointing down. I started making this sign when I would see guys sorta look but move on so I thought at least if I point them to the area I have scents for them they are more likely to stop. After adding the sign I did find lots more men would stop and check things out and buy as well.

By the way it isn't just soap the guys like they even buy the bath bombs! So today I am acknowledging the male clients and saying thank you :)

Leather and Vanilla Bean

2010-05-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

Few new pictures for you all to see. Leather and Vanilla Bean soaps as well as the Zombie Punch bath bombs.

bath bombs!

2010-05-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

The show this weekend was fair it was mainly a Car Show that also had a small craft show area. They placed all the craft tents out of the direct foot traffic so I felt that kept some people from coming over. Booth fee wasn't very high and I got a few new customers so you really can't beat that I guess.

Bath Bombs were moving pretty good this weekend and the new ones in Zombie Punch moved the best. So tonight since I wasn't in the mood to make soap tough I really need to make some I decided to make bath bombs. Did some in Zombie Punch, Lavender, and Black Raspberry Vanilla.

Tomorrow night I should be setting up the photo area and getting some good pictures of all these bath bombs as well as pictures of my new soaps that are scented in Vanilla Bean and Leather.

a special candle project

2010-05-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago my neighbor passed away, his wife had passed away about 4 years earlier. I pretty much grew up playing at their house as much as I did at my house they were basically like my grandparents even though they weren't related.

Well now the house is being cleaned up by their kids for a big estate auction. His wife was real into canning and had tons of empty jars as well as ones filled with fruits and other good things. I decided to borrow two of the jars before they were taken(shhh don't tell) to make into candles for their kids. One of the lids still has her writing on it so I think this will make a great keepsake for the family.

First one I made and is pictured is scented in Granny's Pie Crust and the one I am pouring right now will have a small touch of the pie crust as well as Strawberry Fields so it should smell like strawberry pie. I did color the second one with a touch of pink, but as you can see from my hands the pink all pretty much ended up on me. That pink dye and I never get along as it seems to get every where!

I will be giving these to them on Sunday. :)

Reminder this Saturday I will be at the Abbey Antique Car/Craft show in Canon City, Colorado.

check out what the view will be...

2010-05-16T23:06:00.001-07:00

Today I was bored and decided to take a drive up into the mountains to take pictures. I really didn't have a game plan on where I was going but I ended up in the area of where my first craft show in June will be Silver Cliff/West Cliff Colorado. Let me tell you the views from this show will be out of this world. Sure will be rough to look at these mountains for two days :P

This is just a tease as the mountains stretch across the whole valley pretty much and I will get better full view pictures when I am at the show.

This link gives an idea of how cute the towns look and I have to say I am now really looking forward to doing this show
http://www.sangres.com/colorado/custer/westcliffe.htm

new Soap trailer and banner

2010-05-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

So ended up getting a trailer today to haul all my soap stuff in since I had a car and a truck packed full. This will also help keep the rain off things(it rained last show) and make it so two vehicles don't have to be taken to shows that are longer distance.

My new banner came by UPS today this one is 10 feet x 2 feet and is for the outside top of the tent. Trying to do more things to bring attention to my booth and thought this might help. Sorry for the not so great picture of that one but it is raining outside at the moment :P

Been working on Bath Bombs this week. The pictured ones are Zombie Punch and 7-up. Have some in Summer Medley and Whipped Cream almost set up and tonight have to decide which two scents I will make next.

Really been digging the Zombie Punch scent I think it is the fact that the base of it is papaya and it has me thinking I might need to make a soap that is straight papaya. Too bad I decided this after I just placed my supply order!

Anyone else like Papaya?