Grapefruit Delight

The Fine Art of Soapmaking

Grapefruit Delight

Girly Girl Citrus Smoothie

This is the soap we made from the last post! It won't be ready for about 6 weeks but it will be worth the wait! This one is made with Grapefruit, Lime, Coconut, Verbena Fragrance.  It smells delightful!

Pictures on how we make Cold Processed Soap!

The Fine Art of Soapmaking       

                                              

THE SOAPMAKING PROCESS

The process involves mixing Lye into water.

These are the oils we use to make the soap with before we melt them down.

Coconut, Palm and Olive Oil  (olive oil not in yet though)

The oils completely melted before we mix in the Lye

This is what the mixture looks like when the Lye water is mixed in.

These are the wood molds we use to pour the soap in.

(scented with Grapefruit, Coconut, Lime & Verbena)

This is after we poured the soap mixture in.

(actually this the about 8 hours later)

I hope you enjoyed our Soapmaking Tour!  

Stop back by to see the finished soap. If you are interested in purchasing this soap 

or 

any others please visit us @ www.mossycreeksoap.com.

(this particular soap will not be ready until Oct)

How did your childhood friend change your life? What memories do you keep?

Last night I spoke to a friend I had not spoke to in 23 years.  Wow! I couldn't believe it was that long ago. On a whim I decided to look for her. Thank goodness for Facebook!  To my surprise she was living a mere state away.  We spoke only for an hour but managed to get the finer points of our missed years. She is now the proud momma of 7 wonderful children with the oldest being “20”!!! OMG! Are we really that old? And the answer is yes.. I guess we are!

She lived only a few blocks away and we spent our summer playing in the weeds pretending to be Super-Hero’s, Wonder Woman I believe was our favorite.  Those days we played outside all day until our parents would call for us to come in.  We didn’t sit in front of TV playing video games.. we played outside in the weeds, roller skating or playing in her pool.  Those are the memories that will stay with me for life. 

Today I proudly watch my daughter play with her best friend just about the same age. I can only wonder what their future holds for them? Will they keep in touch? What will become of them 23 years from now?

Don’t let 23 years pass you by before you find your special childhood friend… Find them today before 23 years pass..I went to Facebook.  There she was, like she had been there forever.

Share your story about a childhood friend that you remember… 

Deflation? What does it mean for small businesses?

Food for thought? News reports deflationary times ahead. Lets start with what does deflation mean:  It's the danger of  falling prices, (according to Wikipedia)  "In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services.^[1] Deflation occurs when the annual inflation rate falls below zero percent (a negative inflation rate), resulting in an increase in the real value of money – allowing one to buy more goods with the same amount of money."

What does that mean for those of us who have small businesses? Well lets dwelve a little deeper into it.   The Effects of deflation: decreasing prices for goods and services (ok that's not so bad), cash money increases in value over time, discourages savings & decreases in investments (BAD~ fewer loans available), enriches creditors at the expenses of debtors (interest rates increase~ most of us), benefits fixed income earners (not most of us) and finally it is associated with recession & unemployment.  This does not sound like a good environment to be running a business?

What can you do to safe guard your business? These days it's very hard to decipher what information to act on and what information is purely scare tactic.  I can tell you that I for one will be limiting my large expenses to ones I know I can sell easily because if deflation happens I could be stuck with very expensive supplies that I can not get rid of at a profit.  I have been in the process of diversifying my talents as well.  Specialization may also mean stagnation in the future.

Some important things to do to prepare for deflation:

• If you carry a large inventory of supplies, try to reduce it and buy only what you know you can sell at a reasonable rate to make a profit. If you have large inventory reduce it now. Or if you have a high specialized business and need an item that is already scarce~ purchase them now because it may not be affordable later or not available at all.

• Know your demographics~  While most of the populous will be in down spiral, he upper income earners (fixed income population) should come out of this fine. What this means to you now is don't continue to fight for bottom best prices instead offer a non-competing product.  Something of value that they cannot get anywhere else. Create a value over price. For an example in my Middle Georgia market I can successfully sell my soap at $6.00 a bar.  Not too bad for my area but lets say you are in California,  prices for soap can range anywhere from $9-12 for the same sized bar.  What I am saying is that if you are selling below market for your product you are competing for a demographics that will potentially be out of a job when deflation happens.  Which means you will have to either go out of business or start vying for the upper demographics.  Why not start now and create a demand before deflation happens?? If your prices are already too low~ increase them. But do it now while you still can. Your current customers may not like it but you will recover in the future by changing your demographics.

We as small business owners do not have the funds to bounce back easily but if we prepare for the future we can position our companies properly now so we ensure success for decades to come.

Cold Processed Soap "Book Review"

This book is available on Amazon.com

When I first started making Melt & Pour soap and wanted to learn how to make cold processed soap, I searched for soapmaking classes in my area.  To my surprise the nearest one I found at the time was California!  That's a long way from Middle Georgia.  So, After discussing it with my husband, we decided to venture out on our own.  My first stop as usual was the book store.  We have a great relationship anyway, if you ever visit me you will understand what I mean. My book shelf is loaded up with everything from Roman Civilization to How to Expect When you're Expecting. 
  
Anyway, this time I had to order online because for some reason the local bookstore did not have the selection of soapmaking books that I would to like see (only 1).  So.. Off  to AMAZON.COM.  What's great about Amazon is you can see what others think about a certain book and maybe even be able to peak inside a few.  I reviewed what the buyers had to say and pick through the bad ones too.  The one book that I bought and that really helped me was... Drum Roll Please!  "The Everything Soapmaking Book", by Alicia Grosso who by the way lives in California.  Buying a book was so much cheaper for me than a flight, hotel stay and classes out of town. I elected the cheaper version.

Wow, what a great book for beginners!  She starts you off making 1-2 pound soap recipes to test the waters.  I would like to add one though..  Don't give up!  1-2 Pounds of soap is very hard to do, because for one it doesn't generate the heat like a large batch would, it will set up much faster and you have to move very quick.  Do your research 1st and find out which fragrances/essential oils will speed up the trace too, I would not suggest using one that makes your batch go to trace quicker than other ones. Most suppliers have the information listed under the item descriptions as to whether or not it's one that will push your batch to trace quicker.  But..now back to the book.  Alicia does have some really good starter recipes in the book and work very well.  I still refer to book every now and again for information.  This book includes everything from Cold Processed Soapmaking, Hot Processed, Soap Casting (MP soap) and all the way to making your own polymer clay stamp making for your soap!

So if you are just starting out..Go online to Amazon.com and invest in this book!  It's a must read for all beginner soap makers!  You won't be disappointed.

How to make Starfish Soap

How To Make A Fabulous Star Fish Soap

1 Starfish mold (5) cavities

5 oz of Melt and Pour Seaweed Soap cubed ready to melt

.12 oz Salty Mariner Fragrance

11 Grams of Clear Blue Soap Bar 

.15 ml of Titanium Dioxide Powder (color)

1 sm spray bottle of rubbing alcohol

1 Dropper for Fragrance

1 Stir Stick or Spoon

1. Brush inside of the molds with a light dusting of Titanium Dioxide Powder
2. Melt your soap until completely melted (use 30 second bursts in microwave)
3. Add color chip to melted soap
4. Mix in fragrance when soap has slightly cooled
5. Pour into Mold and spray with alcohol (to get rid off outside bubbles)
6. Let cool until completely solid and cold to touch, press gently on the backside of the mold to release.
7. Use a brush to smooth any clumps of the titanium dioxide powder on the outside of the soap

Yield: 5 Starfish soaps

Sharing what you LOVE

When I started doing spa parties as direct seller, I began learning the art of teaching others.  It wasn't always smooth or enjoying on my part.  I can remember a few times I was so nervous that my voice would shake and my hands tremble, but I got through it.  I perfected they way my parties went and found a new confidence that I did not have before.  In all of this I discovered that I like sharing (teaching) more than anything.  So it's natural that I would be teaching others how to make soap and I am enjoying every minute of it!

I invite you to share with us what you know?  Start off by gathering your ideas, put everything on paper and then go look for opportunities to share what you know..

Do you believe? Is the world you live in the same as mine?

Do you believe that just one person can make difference?  Well I do.  There are many times we sit idly by and watch things around us change.  Sometimes we feel that it wouldn't make a difference other times we just too busy and then there is the fear.  Fear of failure, fear of retribution and fear of making our voice heard.  These are trying times and many of us are seeing changes around us that we don't understand.  Why wouldn't something the government be offering be good for us?  Right? Well as I said before times have changed and not always for the better.  While in our history our government has protected us from items that could harm us but isn't it getting to the point now.. That we again over doing it for fear of retribution?  As a society we policing our selves to the point of stagnation. While we are seeing small increases in our economy the bigger questions to ask is at what cost? The cost we have endured so far to too great? Do we feel power less to do anything? With these questions looming in the air, are you going to sit idly by and watch your world around you change~ or~ are YOU going to do something about it? What ever the cause to you, your mission should be to up hold what you believe in and FIGHT for it~ Don't let it slip through your fingers, don't constantly let someone else make the decision for you because of your fear of failure. STAND up and be Heard!  This is what AMERICA was founded on.

This is my story~ This is my Voice and while you may not agree with me I am speaking up for my rights!

I have offered safe products that help you look and feel great. I pride myself on the safe products I make, and on how they help enhance your life. But my ability to continue to create the products you love is in jeopardy because of a bill introduced into Congress by the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics. It’s H.R. 5786, and it’s called the “Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010,” but don’t be fooled by the name.
Even though the name sounds good, this bill would make it difficult if not impossible for you to continue to enjoy the cosmetics made by thousands of very small woman-owned companies like mine, that make our products with love, attention to detail and safe ingredients. A few of the adverse effects of this bill, if it becomes law are: (1) you will have to pay higher prices; (2) you will not be able to buy as many products made with natural ingredients online or at your favorite boutiques and specialty stores; and (3) you will not be able to decipher a product label.
Won’t you join me in opposing this law, taking a stand for woman-owned small businesses nationwide, and advocating for the right to continue to make the products you love so much? Here’s what you can do:

Please sign the Petition Opposing the bill. (You do not have to sign in to sign the Petition.) The petition is easy to understand, with 7 bullet points quickly describing how this bill would hurt my business without any benefit to you, my customer. As I write this note to you, over [insert number] companies, customers and other interested parties have signed the Petition!

If you are on Twitter, please follow the #OpposeSCA hashtag. This is an easy way to keep up with the latest news and blog posts on the issue. I hope you will comment on some of the posts written by me and my beauty industry colleagues, and even ReTweet us from time to time we advance our interests together.

Vote “Opposed” in the Open Congress poll. This poll is maintained by a non-profit organization, and it housed on a page displaying the image of Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a co-sponsor of the bill. You do have to sign in the vote, but it only takes a second, and our elected officials look at these poll numbers so every poll vote counts!
By the way, if you have time, please forward this note to your friends and family members in other states. The bill is co-sponsored by Reps Jan Schakowsky, (D-Il), Ed Markey, (D-Ma), and Tammy Baldwin, (D-Wi), so you can focus particularly on those states if you’d like, but don’t be limited by that. Elected officials in all 50 states will likely be asked to vote on this bill!

Thank you for your time, interest and participation, and for allowing me the privilege of voicing my opinions!  

Sincerely Yours,

Michelle Rhoades, Owner

Mossy Creek Soap

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