Back and ready to ROCK!

We are back! 

Soap guild conference was wonderful! I attended so many great classes and met so many inspirational soap makers. I will be featuring some of those amazing soapmakers in future blog postings.

I want to share a few Soap Guild photos before I knuckle down and get back to work!

Beautiful riverboat outside the Red Lion Inn  where the conference was held

The highlight of my day!! Meeting the Bramble Berry Team!
Anne-Marie is so down to earth and her team is A-Plus!

Loved Meeting soapmakers that I have been talking to on line!
This is Ada from soap much love, Me, and NaYeon from Castle Lake studio

I loved meeting Debby May from Wholesale Supplies Plus.
I also loved that the owners of the companies I buy all my
oils from are interested in meeting us soapmakers!
I mean the owner of Walmart has never thanked me
for my business.

Me, Ada again, And Holly from the Lotion Bar Cafe.
Now
talk about a fun woman, Holly is a riot!

Getting my Soapmaking Certification was just awesome! I was
nervous! We tested at 7 AM and I am not really "brainy" until much later in the
day!

Enough about the conference! For now anyway!
13 days until the new store opens!

Soap Challenge Week 2 Milk Soaps

Well here we are into week 2 of the great cakes soapworks soaping challenge and this one was truly a challenge for me. Not just to make a soap using buttermilk as the liquid but just finding the time to do it!
You see we are in the process of opening our second store and we have been busy! Just in case you haven't been to visit us yet we have our first store in Carbondale, Colorado and this one we are looking to Rifle, Colorado. Supply this beautiful valley on both ends!
Here is a fun pic of  the newest potential home for Zoe Life Naturals. EEP!

Can I see myself putting flower pots on that ledge and possibly a chair to sit in and catch the sun in the mornings??? YES!

More about that after we have details nailed down. So on to the challenge!
I decided to do a Buttermilk and Calendula Castile soap. Unscented and Uncolored and round shaped for my baby line.

Prepping the molds that my better half made for me.

Milk soaping takes a little more prep than a regular batch because you have to freeze the milk first.

Adding a little Tussah Silk so the bar will be AMAZING! 

From a soapers perspective this is a beautiful sight. Smooth and creamy and still at a light trace! You can tell just by looking at it that its going to be a good batch. YAY!

Into the molds it goes!

Happy Soaper!

Cutting day!

Beautiful Baby Buttermilk Castile Bar with Calendula.

You can find this in our Carbondale store in about  4 weeks.
Can't wait till I get a chance to do this weeks challenge. Piping soap! think cake decorating with soap!
Be blessed,
Donna

April Soap Making Class Schedule

COLLAGE CREATIVE COLLECTIONS
SPRING 2012 CLASS SCHEDULE
Collage is happy to present our Spring 2012 schedule of classes. Please have a look and sign up for all that interest you. All classes will be held inside Collage at 1154 Hwy. 133 in Carbondale.
Please Call Us At 970-963-9488 Or Stop By The Store To Sign Up!

BEGINNING COLD PROCESS SOAP MAKING
SATURDAY, APRIL 21ST – 10 AM TO 1 PM
INSTRUCTOR: DONNA ROBERTS COST: $65 PER PERSON – LIMIT OF 3 PARTICIPANTS
 CLASS FEE INCLUDES EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED TO PRODUCE 8-10 BARS OF SOAP. THIS IS A 65.00 VALUE!
 PLEASE WEAR LONG SLEEVES, LONG PANTS, CLOSED TOE SHOES AND BRING AN APRON.
 IF YOU BRING A FRIEND YOU BOTH SAVE $10 OFF CLASS FEE.
 ALSO RETURNING STUDENTS SOAP FOR $55 THIS IS A $10 DOLLAR DISCOUNT FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION!
CLASS DESCRIPTION: IN THIS CLASS YOU WILL LEARN A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOAP MAKING AND YOU WILL GET TO DESIGN AND MAKE YOUR OWN TRADITIONAL COLD PROCESS LOAF OF SOAP. WE WILL BE USING LYE IN THIS CLASS SO NO LITTLE ONES PLEASE!
BEGINNING COLD PROCESS MILK SOAP MAKING
SATURDAY, APRIL 21ST – 3 PM TO 6 PM
INSTRUCTOR: DONNA ROBERTS COST: $65 PER PERSON – LIMIT OF 3 PARTICIPANTS
 CLASS FEE INCLUDES EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED TO PRODUCE 8-10 BARS OF SOAP. THIS IS A 65.00 VALUE!
 PLEASE WEAR LONG SLEEVES, LONG PANTS, CLOSED TOE SHOES AND BRING AN APRON.
 IF YOU BRING A FRIEND YOU BOTH SAVE $10 OFF CLASS FEE.
 ALSO RETURNING STUDENTS SOAP FOR $55 THIS IS A $10 DOLLAR DISCOUNT FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION!
CLASS DESCRIPTION: IN THIS CLASS YOU WILL LEARN A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOAP MAKING AND YOU WILL GET TO DESIGN AND MAKE YOUR OWN TRADITIONAL COLD PROCESS LOAF OF SOAP. WE WILL BE USING LYE IN THIS CLASS SO NO LITTLE ONES PLEASE!
INSTEAD OF WATER WE WILL MAKE CREAMY LUXURIOUS MILK SOAP. DONNA WILL HAVE COCONUT MILK OR GOAT MILK FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM.
Note: Fees for classes and supplies are due at the time of registration. Participants need to provide full name, phone number, and email address at the time of registration. Refunds will be given for cancelled classes in the event they cannot be rescheduled.

Picture Friday- Weird Soap

Finally Friday and picture Friday!

I thought I would liven it up today with some strange soap pics. Yes you can make soap look like anything you want. I tend to go for a more natural look but look what I found on the web.

Yes I love my beloved phone so much I want my soap to look like it

Sushi Soap

Hand soap? 

This is actually kinda cute, would be fun to do with the kiddos

Oreo Soaps

Soap on the wall, kinda freaks me out. Is this like when banks put the pens on a chain so you won't steal it?
Put the soap on a stick. I figure if someone would steal soap, they probably need it. Let them have it!

ICK!! Freddy Krueger Soap?? I have a hard time even looking at this!

Hope this gave you a little chuckle and have a great weekend! 

Donna

PS: I will blog about the week two soap challenge tomorrow!

Spotlight on Hemp Seed oil

Hemp Plant

Depending on what era you come from you may have a preconceived notion of what "Hemp" means.
I live in Colorado so we are very fond of our hemp clothing and to be called a "Hippie" is a compliment!
 I chuckle because I keep trying to tell my better half that the products we make that contain  hemp don't have Marijuana in them, but I still think that he has this image of me down at the pot dispensary getting supplies. LOL Could you just imagine!

So let's talk about Hemp for a minute and why its AWESOME! 

How you get it:

Hemp oil or hempseed oil is obtained by pressing hemp seeds. Cold pressed, unrefined hemp oil is dark to clear light green in color.

 What it does for our skin:

Hemp seed oil replenishes our (EFA'S-" That's geek speak for Essential fatty acids"), which helps our skin hold moisture, making it a natural humectant. The effectiveness of our barrier function is what determines the moisture level of our skin, thus the health, softness and smoothness. Essential Fatty Acids (EFA'S) specifically Omega 6, Omega 3 and Omega 9 preserve this barrier.

Hemp seed oil is made up of 80% essential fatty acid, the highest amount of any other plant. Hemp seed oil prevents moisture loss on a physiological level; it does just not merely "coat" the skin as do other oils. It contains the ideal ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 based on our cells needs. Hemp so closely matches our own skins lipids it is able to penetrate inside our cells and lubricate the surface between them, thus bringing the EFA's within our body. For this reason EFA's have been proven to play a preventative role in skin aging and a healthy moisture balance.

Not only does Hemp seed oil contribute greatly to the barrier function and appearance it also has other skin benefits such as offering relief to acne, minor abrasions, psoriasis and eczema. Hemp is also the only plant oil containing Vitamin D, which is necessary for Calcium absorption, especially useful to vegans. Using Hemp seed oil is a great way to achieve soft, smooth and hydrated skin. Sound good? 

So what do I offer that has this amazing oil in it?

My new favorite soap Western Hemp. 

I love this bar! Huge fluffy lather and so moisturizing and my extra special ingredient Pure Tussah Silk! This may actually be one of my best!

And My Robins Wrinkle Cream (of course i'm putting hemp in that one!)

Both of these are available on line at www.zoelifenaturalproducts and in my store.

So a few funny factoids to close my post today.

1. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp.
2. Ben Franklin started one of the first paper mills that made hemp paper.
3. Lipton Tea has been using hemp in their tea bags forever.
4. The original Colonies were required to grow hemp for the British Navy.
5. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper.
6. Betsy Ross sewed the first American Flag with hemp cloth. 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK! 

Donna

Soap challenge week one

So the week one Challenge thrown out by Amy over at GreatCakesSoapworks was to do an " In the pot" swirl with one more color than I have ever done.

If this is the first you have heard of this I have accepted a challenge to do an assigned technique every week with about 65+ other soap makers and have decided to blog all about it!

And If you are also wondering what in the world a "in the pot" swirl is, basically you have your soap base and you take out as many "servings" as you intend colors. I put them in red solo cups.

 You mix your colors individually in those cups and put them back into the remaining soap base still in your pot. Once around the pot with your spatula will start that swirl and when you pour it into the mold it completes the swirl.

 I did a 4 color swirl last year. you may remember it.

My Energy 4 color swirl. I was a bit more conservative back then! 

Anyway to add one more color made me a bit nervous. It's hard to get all that swirled in time to still get it into the mold before it gets too thick to effectively swirl.

So my beloved better half Alfred graciously took photos while I soaped and he got a little distracted and started taking pictures of the soap lab, the ceiling, my messy lab floor, the poster of Elvis I have hanging on the wall. Subsequently, he filled the camera full and I was not done soaping! I had to stop and clear those silly pics off the camera and my soap became like cement! 

Here are the pics!  

Getting all my colors lined up

Adding Pure Tussah Silk. Makes for such a wonderful bar!

Hand stirring my fragrance oil in. Don't want to get too thick too soon

Pulse and stir, pulse and stir!

getting the colors stirred

putting the colors back into the "pot"

At this point I knew I was in trouble! Soap should not look like that!

But being the artisan I am I forge ahead!

The sorry, sorry results of that batch

I knew I could do better so I did it again and this is the result of my second attempt at a 5 color swirl

I used cranberry fig in the first bars and they may to go into my "too ugly to sell at full price bin"

 The second batch is scented with one of my favorites. Sage and Lemongrass.

 Ah! My house smells amazing with that soap curing downstairs!

I was pretty happy with the second attempt at this swirl and you can find these bars for sale in my Carbondale shop in about 4 weeks.

This challenge was alot of fun to do and I look forward to my next challenge coming this Sunday. 

I hope you are enjoying our release from winter! I think today was an amazing 71 degrees!

Be blessed,

Donna