My First Promo Offer

   As I have mentioned, I will be at an Arts and Crafts Festival on November 16th, held at Metro Life Church on Winter Park Drive in Casselberry. Recently, I have made a lot of soap and have some new varieties available. Two new ones are lemon soap and sheep's milk-oatmeal soap. They will be available at the arts and crafts festival along with all the other soaps and homemade items.
   The promo I am offering is this; For the goat's milk-oatmeal soap bars that are $3.50/bar, I will sell them at $3 a bar. The Fancy Soap that is $3/bar will sell for $2.50/bar. Here is the promo code:
Jesus is the Lamb of God. Either tell me the code or write it on paper and show it to me. Offer good on November 16th at the Arts & Crafts Festival at Metro Life Church. Some of the proceeds from the goat's milk-oatmeal soaps will still go to Sanctuary Ministries, a ministry designed to serve women who have chosen to go through their pregnancies and deliver their babies in spite of the many reasons they could have used to have an abortion.
   Other soaps available will be:
Volcano Soaps (4oz., 5oz. and sample sizes)
Lemon Soaps (contains lemon rinds - 4 oz. bars and sample sizes)
Sheep's Milk Oatmeal Soaps - (4 oz. bars and sample sizes)
Glycerin Soaps (last a long, long time- various sizes and shapes)

   Other items that will be available are:
Crocheted Afghans
Doll House Items
Knitted Christmas Stockings
Cat and Bird Toys
Girl's Bracelets

 

Soap Plant - Chlorogalum pomeridianum

  Here's a different way to make soap. I haven't tried this yet, but I find this fascinating. I am so intrigued by this plant that I would consider growing my own if I could find some seeds or bulbs. This plant grows a nut like fruit (although it isn't in the nut family) that is used like soap. It even has some of the ingredients that soap has, built into the plant. How amazing! The Native Americans used this plant for soap. How cool is that?

New Business Card

Here is the pic of my new business card

Goat's Milk-Oatmeal Soap, 5 oz. bars or 4 oz. bars?

  I am about to make Goat's Milk-Oatmeal Soap and will pour it into a mold when it is finished mixing. I can cut the soap to make it 4 ounces or I can cut it up to make it 5 ounces. I wonder which one is preferable? Either way, the soap will sell for $0.875 an ounce. I don't have to cut it up until Monday. Four ounce bars are $3.50 and the five ounce bars will be $4.25 ( a little discount) or, if they come out too uneven in size, I will sell them by the ounce. I haven't decided on a price for sample bars, but probably will go with $1.50.
   Some of the money made from the Goat's Milk-Oatmeal Soap goes to Sanctuary Ministries, a ministry that serves pregnant women who refuse to have an abortion.

Exciting News About Soap Wrapping

   I am getting ready to sell my soaps, but they have to be wrapped, which always produces more than one dilemma. When soap is being cured, it needs to be exposed to the air, and once it is cured, it should not be covered with anything that would keep air out.
  I have a few options on wrapping soap, but each one has a problem. I usually wrap my Goat's Milk-Oatmeal Soap in wrapping tissue, which provides the air it needs to have around it, but, the soap is completely covered in tissue and you can't see the finished product. To some people, that really doesn't matter though.
  In wrapping Fancy Soaps, the goal is to have the customers be able to see the shape of the soap, with all its unique details. If you wrap Fancy Soap with tissue, you can't see it, although the scent might still come through because the tissue is porous.
  One thing I have noticed is how some people sell their soaps with just a paper band around the bar of soap. I have been doing that and really like that idea, however, it is hard to put a band around the Fancy Soaps because of all the details that don't fit evenly under the band. Plus, it covers some, of not most, of the design of the soap!
  So, another idea is to wrap the Fancy Soaps with cellophane or cling wrap. But, as I already pointed out, covering soap with anything that is not porous will keep the air from circulating around the soap, and it could cause the oils to turn rancid, if left too long in the cellophane. But, I have overcome that problem! Tonight, as I was trying to wrap some odd shaped soaps, and being rather unsuccessful at it, I decided to wrap a rectangular shaped soap, but, I am leaving the sides open. I am not being a cheapskate when I do this, so when you see my soaps with the sides left open, you will know why.
  Leaving the sides uncovered helps keep the air around the soap bar more easily, plus, it lets you smell the scent of the soap. Also, if it is covered with cellophane, the design of the soap will show through! It looks very pretty and yet it will not suffocate.

New Soap Idea

   I was thinking about the different soaps I can make this week. What kind will be in demand most, and do I have enough in my reserve or will I have to make more. The soap that is in demand the most is the goat's milk-oatmeal soap so I find myself making this one more than any other type. However, a thought came to mind last night about another type of soap. I have never heard of soap made from sheep's milk, but then again, sheep's milk is hard to find.
   I am going to receive some sheep's milk this week, and might try using some to make a batch of sheep's milk-oatmeal soap. What do you think? Why I even have a mold for sheep!
   The cost of sheep's milk-oatmeal soap would be somewhat higher than goat's milk-oatmeal soap, mainly because of the cost of sheep's milk. If you have never tasted sheep's milk, you should try to find some. It is very sweet and creamy. It is more digestible than cow's milk.
  So, if you come to the Arts and Crafts Festival in November, that I am part of, you just might see some bars of sheep's milk-oatmeal soap. Of course, they will be in a bin all to themselves! I will report the results of making sheep's milk-oatmeal soap in a later blog.

New Soaps, New Sizes, Snow-globe Soap, and Strawberry Plants

  I am excited about the way the new size soap turned out. I made goat's milk-oatmeal soap in a different shape, turning out to be around 5 ounce bars. Something to wrap your hand around now. I also made, in the same shape and size, Volcano soap. These soaps will sell by the ounce. For example, a couple of bars are 4.75 oz, so I will sell them at .75 cents per ounce and will have them weighed out and wrapped with the price on them to sell. A bar with that weight comes out to $ 3.56 cents. A portion of the money made from the goat's milk-oatmeal soaps still goes to Sanctuary Ministries, which is there to serve women who will continue to carry their babies until they are ready to be born. Many will give their babies up for adoption (which is a great choice) while others will keep their babies and raise them themselves.
   I love the feel of the Volcano soap and it is really made with the product called, Pumice, which comes from volcanoes. It is an ingredient in Lava Soap as well. I have used Volcano Soap on my face, and my face is very sensitive to whatever touches it. However, I would not recommend you do this unless you feel comfortable trying it out. Goat's Milk-Oatmeal Soap does a good job on the face. In fact, I know one man who uses it to shave with!
  I finally got around to making the Snow-Globe Soap. It is a clear soap with a round ball inside (the ball has a picture inside it) and is shaped like a snow-globe. Next will come shell soap. It will be clear bar soap with shells (that are made out of soap also) inside that you can see.
   Finally, I am very excited to announce my tentative plan on starting a nursery. I will grow plants that will be sold locally. I am looking forward to planting Alpine Strawberries, which come in the colors of red, yellow, and white. They are smaller than regular strawberries, but I'm sure they taste good. They will be good to put into salads. Also, I will plant heirloom tomatoes. Everyone needs tomatoes, whether to make tomato sauce with, or salsa, or just to put into a salad or cut up and eat with mayonnaise! Yum!