Sun in Vermont

I'm so happy to report that we have some sun here today! I love the way it looks on my Asian Plum candle! I have been playing with pouring candles for about a month. Gosh! It's just another fun side of the lotion & potion party! As in all things, pouring a good candle is not as easy as one would think! I love finding my way through it, though!

Asian Plum is a yummy fragrance. Clearly, I am finished with winter because, every fragrance I use these days has to take me to a warm sunny place in my mind! I've been focusing on florals and greenery, hoping that they will carry me through these last weeks of winter!

I'm giggling as I write that we are due for another 10 inches of snow tonight! Max will be thrilled!!

I Can't Help Myself

I've been enjoying sharing notes with Carrie-Gigi from Under the Willow. You should check out her site, it has great stuff! She is the owner of Bella-Cinderella, a beautiful Yellow Lab. We have joked that she and Max should meet. Well, here is Max's best smile for Bella! I promise not to indulge myself with another post about Max for the rest of February!

ps. Ella was also doing her best grin that day!

Gone Polar

Max the yellow Lab has become Max the Polar Bear! We are up to our ceilings (really!) in snow.
For all of you who can lay eyes on a blade of brown, tired looking grass...I'm jealous. I have no choice but to put on my snow gear and go enjoy it!

A Bar is Born

My very first batch of cold process soap is "off the rack" and ready to test. The recipe is pretty straight forward, lots of grapeseed oil, some sunflower, mango butter and castor oil as a super fat.
I love it's color and the fragrance is Energy from Bramble Berry, which is a huge hit with the girlfriends!

Speaking of the girlfriends, they'll all be the recipients of a bar so that they can put it through the testing process and let me know what they think. My sweet hubby and first born, Austen, have also offered to lather up and fill me in! I have lots and lots of ingredients that I want to work in and more bars on the rack. Stay tuned to my etsy shop... they'll be listed soon!

Spa Night & a Lunar Eclipse

Sometimes, I am torn between crafting soap and mom stuff. Sometimes I'm working under a deadline and my super-patient kids are so understanding and helpful that I know I'm the luckiest mom ever. (The same holds true for my wonderful and supportive husband. Just last night he was with me at 2 am putting the final touches on an order that needed to be delivered this morning!)
On Wednesday night, I had the chance to pamper the kids with a warm foot bath, foot massage & pedicure.

All of the kids sat in front of their own little bowl and dropped in a Mint Chip Bath Bizzy . After some fun fizzing and bubbling, the kids dunked their piggies in and sat back for a nice soak! I put on some great spa music and lit some candles. They really loved it!

When the soak was over, it was time for a relaxing foot massage with some Tingle Foot Lotion, which I include in my Pedi Kit on etsy. It was so great for me to have some time to massage those little feet and watch them just relax and enjoy it. I really loved taking care of the boys' feet, since they are so much older and not so quick to cuddle! :) After all four were done, the girls had some nail polish applied to their toes and we were ready for the eclipse.

Needless to say, it was a little late for everyone! They boys saw the full eclipse but didn't make it to the re-emergence. The girls saw the first bite taken out of the Moon. I saw the beginning of the re-emergence and was inspired by the lovely rusty color that the Moon reflected. Perhaps there is a new soap recipe in that image!

Cora's Birthday Bubble Party

We had Cora's birthday party on Saturday and we made (what else?) soap!! Cora had several friends here, so Austen, Peter & Gerry stepped in as fabulous bubble helpers!! It's so fun to watch little kids get excited about creating soap. Since this was my second party in two weeks (!) I had a chance to really notice what it's like for them. When they come down to the bubble lab, the first thing we do is run through all of the senses that soap involves. (We've decided that it hits 3/5 although you could argue that the "oohs and aahs" qualify as hearing!) Then we talk choices.
Clear or Opaque? Scent? Color? How does the scent you choose influence what color you choose?
They really get into it! At this party, Cucumber Melon from Bramble Berry was very popular. Interestingly, some thought that was a "pink scent" and some thought definitely green. Blue Cotton Candy was also a big seller. (Of course, it wasn't always blue!)

All in all it was a great success! The girls also got to take home Pink Princess Foaming Hand Wash so that they can stay fresh and clean. In a sad transition, Cora and the rest of us fell victim to a rough stomach virus just hours after the party. We are all recovering and using more hand wash than ever!!!

Happy Birthday, Cora!

Wednesday was a really special day around here. We got 12 inches of snow, so the kids had no school. The bubble lab was in high gear. Most importantly, Cora turned 7 years old! She is just getting over a nasty bug, so she was pretty quiet all day, but she managed to perk up when Gerry got home so that we could open her gifts and share her birthday dinner.

Austen, Peter and Ella were so excited to celebrate Cora's special day. From picking out gifts the week before, to wrapping and card signing, to helping make her special dinner (which was breakfast!), they were into every part!

Cora loves her Princess Barbie Horse Drawn Carriage and her new Webkins (a pink horse named Jessica.) She is finally feeling well enough to go to school and tomorrow we'll have her friends here for some bubble making and pizza eating. My job today is to figure out how to make a tiara shaped cake! :)

Maybe It's My Sweet Tooth

There are times when it's a little rough to live in Vermont. Usually, it's bad weather that starts the complaint ball rolling. In the past 4 days, we have been presented with about 18 inches of snow. It comes in a big dumping and then we get a day to clean up... rinse and repeat. Right now it is "snaining" which is a slick combo of ice and rain and snow. Although I'm hankering Spring and could start in about how this is really just too much snow, I find it kind of cozy and nice. I mean, a snow day from school puts all of the kids in a great mood, so why not embrace?

So yesterday, while we anticipated more weather I went to the Bubble Lab and whipped up some more SoapCakes. I actually had to because I have an order for them, but I must admit I LOVE making them. I think it's about my fondness for patisseries that makes it so fun to put SoapCakes together! I was especially tickled when Cora (who is 7 today!) thought that they were real and edible. Not to worry... I stopped the disaster before it occurred! Anyway, I can't resist posting the latest batch. If you pop over to Etsy, you'll see them listed there, too! :) I love having fun! :)

Happy Birthday, Cora!!!

Libby's Birthday Bubble Party

My oh my was Saturday a fun day in the Bubble Lab! Libby Papp and her 2 friends came over to have a bubble class for her birthday party. Her mom, Ramsey, was such a sport to be the first Bubble Party customer! It was so great to teach the girls how to make soap! We chose our medium (clear glycerin soap), and everyone selected their own color and fragrance. Cora and Ella came downstairs to see what was going on and Libby and Ramsey were kind enough to let them crash the party!

After the soap was in the molds, we all made a bottle of Bubble Bath! Hopefully the girls have enjoyed a great soak in the tub with their new bath & body products! Happy Birthday, Libby!

High Honors

The more bubbling I do, the more familiar I get with some of the leaders of the Soaping Community. Anne-Marie Faiola is the owner of Bramble Berry Supplies
in Bellingham, WA. She runs an amazing soap supply company and is a wealth of information about handcrafted bath and body products. In a word, she's a dynamo.

I was totally flattered that she chose to feature one of my SoapCakes on her blog, The Soap Queen.
Believe me, she is royalty! Thanks, Anne-Marie for the shout out!

Patriot Love

It's hard to write about the Patriot's heart-breaking loss last Sunday. I can honestly say that I have never been more proud to be a fan or more proud of my family. Even though it was a huge blow to watch them lose the Superbowl, my boys (including the big one) have been able to look at this past season with excitement and pride and look ahead to next season with a twinkle in their eye! Go Pats!

Ready For Spring!

I know it's only the first week of February, but I am already looking forward to spring! I've spent the past week lining up all of my favorite spring scents for soaps and bubbles. It's got me thinking Spring.

I love it when new ideas just pop (spring?) into my head! This time, I was spending a lot of time with floral fragrances and eo's and decided that I should try to make a bouquet of flowers out of soap. I dug out some flower molds and got to work. Although they aren't perfectly perfect, they are coming along nicely and I think in the end they will be darn cute! They are called BubbleBlossoms. You can find them on my etsy site.

Ironically, even though I am wishing for green grass and warm air, we are in the middle of 2 days of weather. Right now it's all snow, but we've seen the full range in the past 24 hours. The kids are hoping for another school day. We'll see!