Found this box for my table..

so I thought I would give my table a revamp to go alongside my new packaging..I have got some lovely gingham fabric which I shall make into a tablecloth and just have a change..what do you think?

Enjoyed my day yesterday...

despite the awful rain and high winds! felt so glad that I was in the craft tent and not outside with my gazebo with  all the wind and rain blowing full pelt! The event wasn't as busy as expected still lots of people about but not so many as last Saturdays so got a chance to chat to customers about my products and just general chit chat..I did quite well considering and there was another soap lady there she didn't make anything herself she bought it in from an ex employer from L**H
I have met her before she's a nice lady but her soap looked and smelled very artificial I used to be a big fan of those products years back before I started making my own soap but then my opinions have changed ..big time
Anyway I was looking at her stuff and picked up a soap with sponge inside it very similar to those loofah soaps which are nice to look at and have never tried so can't comment  anyway she said I don't know how they do it how on earth do they get the sponge and loofah inside the soap I just though bless...it's not up to me to tell you( I have got a mean streak sometimes haha) but she should do her research if she is selling the stuff.. that's the real beauty of making your own products because we can talk forever about how we make them and exactly what goes into them..
Oh I also changed some of my packaging so didn't get annoyed with sniffers..pics later x

Starting to get really busy..,,

Busy is good I know but the trouble with me is everything is coming at once it's all or nothing....
Anyway I am making a start so I thought I would show you a few soaps that I have been doing I also have made a batch of lavender which isn't in my pics

as they need to be cut.

I have got my first big show this coming Saturday and then another big show the following Thursday then another craft fair on the Saturday I usually do my Bude market on the Friday but that's had to go by the by for this week..You know when I first started making soap   I never thought I would be selling so quickly! Everything has just gone mad but a good mad if there is such a thing..

August is going to be really busy and could do with being in two places at once literally..I have been accepted to do a fab craft fair and was accepted the other night after taking a few soaps to show and after a lot of compliments got accepted oh yes said I not realising that I have another big show the very same day the start of craft fair anyway going back to fab craft fair I don't really have to attend the fair myself 24/7 it's run over 8 days all I do is set up my table mark everything with a price put spare stock under table the fair is manned by 5 peeps 2 at the till and 3 wandering about filling up and looking after stock etc all bags tissue paper is all included there will be 26 tables in a hall I will have to cover two shifts we all have to take turns but I don't mind but had better check my diary first! I really like the sound of this and have agreed to go for it but need to get cracking with making more soaps etc because while my table is sitting in the lovely craft fair I have a big show and the following day my Bude market... so how's that for forward planning haha

Anyway if you don't here from me for a while you know where I'll be either out and about or in my kitchen making stuff..

Hope your all keeping busy too!

helloooo

Hi everyone..another beautiful day here in the UK I hope all fathers are enjoying there day!
Just a little update I'm still doing my market in Bude which I enjoy especially when the weather is this good having said that I got sunburnt just a little on my back but Polly's body butter came to the rescue Polly is miss polly ( she is on my blog list )and her butter is fab! I am usually very careful and slather myself in sun screen and even though I was under my gazebo I still copped for it but then I go wandering off chatting to people so I am not fixed under my gazebo(how boring would that be)so it serves me right! like I said I love Polly's butters and they have lasted for ages..I have beem making a few soaps and have a few pics to show you
enjoy spoiling your loved ones.... until the next time x

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather we are having in the UK at the moment..
I feel like I have been neglecting my blogging and I have but I'm here now anyway I have done my usual fortnightly market and still very slow customer wise I think everyone had gone to the beach and I honestly don't blame them this weather doesn't usually last for long does it?
I also did a garden fete on saturday very English it was set in the most beautiful grounds and gardens with a lovely old manor house I thought I had died and gone to heaven as the peeps running the show couldn't help me enough..when I got there at midday it was roasting and I was led to my table and gazebo which was there set up and just waiting for me to put my stuff on!I got help with bringing my boxes out of the car and straight to my table was this really happening! to say I was over the moon was an understatement and wish all craft fairs could be like that but hey dream on ha ha....the people were very friendly and had lots of money to spend and praised my soaps none stop (I have also made bath bombs and lip balms which also went down well) I have got bookings for autumn fairs and another booking for July so a great day all round my biggest regret was I forgot the camera grr I really wanted to show you this paradise it's always the way though never mind I will be back next year for that event !

Another farmers market done and dusted...

Well the weather wasn't as kind to me as the first market and had to borrow a gazebo as it just started to rain as I was setting up ggrr.. anyway Neville(manager of the market) came to the rescue with a spare gazebo which nearly took off with a massive gust of wind and nearly ended up in the canal at least it didn't and we could laugh about it..not many peeps about but surpringsly I did better this time but I was prepared with my lavender soaps and they flew out the baskets and again soaps from my bargain basket disappeared as fast as I could say lavender soap(mm wonder what it is about lavender that appeals to peeps so much) don't get me wrong I really do like lavender but preferably blended with another or several essential oils but hey ho each to our own and I'm truly not knocking peeps for buying it not at all... and I have to keep my customers happy I want them back!
Aaww I saw loads of doggies again and even had my fix of cocker cuddles and held back those tears...so all in all I had the best of both worlds made some dosh met and chatted to loads of lovely people and out in the cold fresh air and it did stop raining for me .'.til next time x

A couple of soaps to show you..

I told you the other day that I had a go at making a soap using a beautiful strawberry & kiwi tea and how the lye just ate it up

..well here it is and it has got clay in it too which doesn't show up at all.I can see a hint of red in there but it is only a hint but the soap smells good.I was experimenting with some left over e/o that's why I have come up with this unusual blend.

The second soap is swirled with cocoa powder and T.D. and a dash of strawberry POP mica which turned orangey the fragrance is lovely and it it a favourite of Beth from the arty soaper so thanks Beth I love that e/o blend too and can see why you love it so much...

I haven't started making body butters yet but the weekend is coming so will roll up my sleeves and start making some...so watch this space x

Got another fair coming up..friday

It certainly comes around quick..again at Bude (every fortnight until September)I have been experimenting with a few soaps, this time I used a delicious tea which I bought at the Bude fair the last time..it's a gorgeous tea ,strawberry and kiwi but the lye didn't think so as it ate it up grr but as you soapers know nothing escapes lye, anyway I watched this fab deep red tea turn black,brown,orange and eventually settled at a coffee colour so that's the colour of my batch I even added a touch of clay but made no difference to the colour whatsoever..I will post some pics later on and you can see what I mean...
I am also seriously thinking of making some butters/lip balms to add to my soap collection so will post pics again later on this week I'm glad I have all these things to think about it helps me take my mind off things x

Post arrived today and it was the best parcel...

Aren't these so pretty?

The first thing which struck me when opening my parcel was the gorgeous aromas arising and that's even before I took my products out of the box,the next thing was the beautiful packaging with matching ribbons and everything...I was keen to try the body butters... well were do I start !the fragrance is to die for but the texture is something else and I think this will last me forever as I only needed to use a tiny bit and my skin was drinking it up.. it's fab and absorbs beautifully and doesn't leave any greasy feeling at all and I applied it to sunburnt skin and it's just so so gorgeous..Polly also included a selection of her beautiful soaps and the fragrance matches the body butter which is also another great idea to help you smelling lovely all day long..

So if your thinking of buying someone a special present or why not treat yourself ...just look at what Miss Polly has to offer you can find her if you scroll down the right hand side of this blog

First fair...

Went really well..I enjoyed the social side of it and sold soap yaaa! not loads of it as there just wasn't the people about..this is just the start of the season so it's very early days I have booked in for the following fornight as it runs fortnightly and will book for the season which ends in September and when you see the setting you will say I don't blame ya! Bude is beautiful and I often walk down here with my doggie and talking about dogs I have met loads of cockers I adore those little doggies and of course all dogs and animals I have met friendly peeps who have been so complimentary and to hear people say how lovely my soaps are I had a lump in my throat and it gives you such a confidence boost! The number of times I was asked for lavender soap and of course did I have any ..nope I also had a basket full of bargains(that what I called it anyway) and boy did those soaps fly also soap dishes too.I was talking to a lovely lady who runs a B&B and she wants to take an order for her welcome pack to give to guests so it's not just about selling it's also about who you meet and future contacts..anyway here are a few pics

A dummy run...

Just sorting things out ready for my first craft fair tomorrow in Bude which will be down by the canal let's hope the weather holds..

What a brilliant idea..

Why don't you follow too...

showing off....

Well, yesterday I went with my son to pick up his new car it's a little beauty I'm not one for cars as long as they get me from A to B but this one is lovely and goes like a little rocket even though it's getting on in years..ideal car for all this sunny weather went for a spin with him and at first I said ooh I could do with a ..and my son said what a scarf I said no a flippin neck brace as he put his foot down my head nearly flew off haha but he soon got used to driving it and it's so much fun,driving along with the wind blowing in your hair..

mmmm chocolate

Ha ha thought I would catch your attention if I mentioned chocolate! I felt in experimental mode yesterday and had a play about using cocoa powder and titanium dioxide not new I know but my pattern surprised me..fragranced with black pepper,lemon and niaouli strange combo I know but I did say I was experimenting my son says it smells like cola .. it does smell good

a few infusing oils just sitting in the sunshine...

Just though I'd share this little pic of infusing oils ,they just caught my eye because they look so pretty when the sun is shining through the glass jars...
Anyway as promised earlier here is a pic of another soap which was made yesterday using infused calendula petals that had been infusing away for a few weeks..I placed a few 'fresh' calendula petals on the top.Fragranced with orange,grapefruit and rose geranium essential oils..

Goats milk ..ha.. more like yuks milk...

I have felt the urge to make goats milk soap for ages now so decided to have a go yesterday..I used frozen goats milk and half water added small amounts of lye and mixed it really well it took a lot of patience and thought I had done well ha..what I didn't keep a check on was the temperature of the oils compared to the temperature of the lye/goats milk/water combo it was all going too well until I started to bring it to trace and there in the bowl staring back at me was a massive lump of rice pudding mix arrgh I did everything I could to save this I bunged it into the crock pot and let it cook and when it didn't taste like a battery (after doing the zap test)I poured it into my mould only to find about 1 inch of oil sitting at the bottom of the crock pot... ooh I thought you aint getting the better of me and left it overnight dripping in oil .This morning it has set but it's going for a rebatch when it's hard enough..so the moral of this story is to soap cool when using frozen goats milk..I had read up on this before I started but in my excitement of not have orange foul smelling lye from the goats milk I simply forgot to watch my oil temps...
I also made another batch without added goatsmilk... pics later

a few soaps

I hope you all enjoyed your easter break and that you didn't eat too much chocolate.

I made a few soaps over the easter weekend the white and green clay soap (last pic) is HP and the T.D.(titanium dioxide) can be a right pain and you can see it didn't mix well hence the white speckles so if anyone has some tips about this I would be very grateful the others are C.P.

It's all happening ....

Well after telling you about my table top last week and meeting a lovely lady who was the most helpful person I have met regarding craft fairs I will soon have loads of fairs lined up for the summer months ahead and like Samantha from scentsations soaps I don't really know where to start haha just need to keep cool and plan ahead and start by making a brand new range of soaps. The trouble with me is I keep thinking that it takes at least 4 weeks to cure cold process soaps and what happens if I have a fair every week or every other week and I have sold most of my soaps? that's what I like positive thinking(that I will sell them all)anyway I guess I can fall back on HP as they can be ok after a couple of weeks.
The first fair is at the end of April and runs every fortnight it's a farmers market in Bude full of lovely holiday makers in a lovely position down by the canal.I will keep you posted on the future fairs that I have to get my applications in, they are quite big so doing the Bude markets will be a learning curve.I forwarded my website to all the contacts and got lovely replies back so much so that I had a lump in my throat ..I really am getting soft in my old age...

The lovely pink is made using POP mica raspberry and I am happy with this colour but again I have previously made a soap with similar colours but used alkanet for colour and I absolutely love that soap...this one smells good too will see how it fairs in a few weeks

Just a few soaps

Well I thought I had better try those POP micas out and obviously didn't use enough for the apple & grape coloured ones but smell great

..I have previously made a similar cp one with GF colours and that one has more colour strangely enough similar colours that one will be in my shop next week

Card I am using is Kanban 300gsm

I get mine on ebay but any craft shop will sell cardstock

little boxes tutorial

All my things together to make little boxes.

Craft knife,sharp scissors,pencil,steel edge ruler(preferably) cutting mat (or anything which will protect your table) and old box.

what I have been doing today

Well I did a table top sale ..nothing as exciting or profitable as a craft fair or market but I can honestly say that I enjoyed the social side of things and it could possibly lead to a proper craft fair or two..I got loads of compliments about my soaps and even sold a few but I am so pleased to have met contacts.I met a die hard craft fair 'expert' who certainly knows her stuff she gave me loads of ideas of who to get in touch with because every fair that I have tried for here in Devon/Cornwall have been booked up and I know the reason why now is because the crafters as she calls them book up for the next event whilst they are at the craft fair..so I think I'm well in with her hahah...anyway the next craft fair could be in May and have given my details to the person who runs it so that's good..I have come back with bags of delicious fudge and home made cakes so my diet has gone out the window for another week all freebies and swaps they were such a friendly bunch in Bude..also the car boots are starting up and there is one just down the road from me and it get packed with holiday makers and the advice given to me was to get a gazebo style tent so that I stand out and not just get lost with the other peeps who sell junk sounds stuck up saying that but you get my meaning.

I have been making a few boxes to put my soaps in..I think they make a nice little gift but I'm not selling these seperately

well I am finally into blogging

It's been a lovely sunny day today the best day so far this year!
I have made a couple of batches of soaps 2 hp and 1 cp two batches are still curing so will get some pics on soon.

I have added a new soap on my site and there is also a small gift link nothing massive as yet but you know what they say from little acorns....