I had to take some time away from production, but I was tickled to be able to start getting back into it today. I am going to have a booth at a craft fair in November and have a lot of goals. I had three new things that I wanted to explore and got to do all three. *happy dance*
I’ve been thinking about discontinuing the Goat’s Milk Version 3 lotions for awhile due to issues with the silky emulsifying wax. I am absolutely delighted with a new lotion that I will be replacing it with – Evening Primrose! Evening Primrose is thought to be an anti inflammatory with antioxidant properties. To top it off it has mineral oil in it, which usually isn’t irritating and moisturizes well without feeling really thick on the surface of the skin. I’ve been working on ideas for a line that might help people suffering from Fibromyalgia and other joint/muscle ailments. It will take awhile of testing to see if I think it lives up to the anti inflammatory possibilities, but I am so excited. It was creamy and it didn’t irritate my picky skin. This looks like it may work well for people with chemical sensitivities. *oh yeah – another happy dance* I was kind of surprised by how much evaporated during the heating process. I scraped every little bit that I could out of the measuring cups and pan, but somehow lost an ounce from my 16 oz batch. It worked out well in some ways since it allowed me to use the 4 oz jars without being at the brim and sloppy. I’ve used every container that I have and honestly prefer the jars for lotions (thank you Aunt Ina for the buzz in my ear!). The icing on the cake is that the finished product is pretty affordable at $4.75 in the combination I made.
I’ve been researching techniques and ingredients for painting accents on soaps for quite awhile, but was honestly worried about totally ruining soaps. *grin* I had a carriage soap that didn’t turn out well enough for me to be comfortable selling, so it became my guinea pig. I admit that it took about half an hour of playing with brushes and dye formulas to get a hang of some basic skills. I also will not subject you to a picture of that train wreck of experimentation. *cracking up* Unfortunately I decided to learn on a soap that has very fine details. It ended up reminding me of when kids are coloring and go just outside the line consistently. Lol. So that I could easily see my results as I tried different pressures I of course chose to use Santa Red. *rolling eyes at myself* I know it was a learning piece, but seeing this incredibly odd looking resulting soap is a knock to the ego if I’m being honest. *grin* I still need to wash with it to make sure that even with an explosion of Santa Red no one will come out of the shower bright pink.
During my childhood and preteens I was fortunate enough to have several family members and teachers that nurtured my creative nature. I was blessed enough to explore a lot of mediums and developed quite an appreciation for art. If my nose wasn’t buried in a book or geeking out with video games (I was better than the boys in almost all – girl power lol), I would be entranced by Bob Ross on PBS. Not only was his stoner personality thoroughly soothing he had an absolutely inspiring appreciation for nature. One Christmas my grandparents and mom spent a pretty penny (bless you guys even though you aren’t reading this) on a full Bob Ross paint set, easel, two palettes, and other supplies. I admit that I’m seriously critical of myself and my artwork is not safe from it. However I loved it and wish that I had kept painting instead of letting my doubts get in the way. While experimenting on the soap I was hit by how much I still love painting in any fashion. With my involuntary movements / tremor I can’t make a straight line, but there is such joy in every stroke. I’m so blessed to have rediscovered painting and can incorporate it into my new medium.
To top things off I experimented with making the ice cream cone soaps. I’ve read a lot of crafter reviews and learned that the best technique is to pour the cone color for the entire mold. After it sets remove the soap and cut off the ice cream scoops, setting aside the cone colored scoops to melt and use in the next. Tomorrow I will then pour the scoops after treating the point of attachment. I’m really hoping this turns out well, so it’ll replace the dessert cake soaps. The brown dye came out an interesting color, but I happen to like it, so it stays. *grin* I could say that I’m going to do pretty scoops – one strawberry and the other vanilla, by following the same technique as for the cone, but I’m honest enough with myself to know that I won’t. Lol. I’ve decided to try to do them as chocolate, that way if the FO’s vanilla content causes the scented scoops to brown, it’ll actually work out to my benefit instead of having to take a loss. I may experiment on my Christmas gift ones (I can’t wait to see how the little ones respond) and paint little accents like chocolate sprinkles or something else fun.
Overall I’m so happy with today’s accomplishments, regardless of the results. Top it off with several bottles of Fruity Patootie Bubble Wash for the event (a really good seller actually). Hopefully this is the beginning to a streak of production and successes. *crossing fingers*
Georgia's Pampering 