Been to Market :0)

Been a while since I posted on my blog, things are getting busy, jugling motherhood, nightshift and a passion for soaping can be quite tricky at times :0).

I had a stall on the lovely Goldcoast of Australia last week and had a ball, It was interesting because I took a few pics of my table and after downloading them realised that I really need to take a look at how I am presenting my wares as it wasn't eyecatching at all. For starters I amgoing to have a look into a printed cloth for my table and my goal or hope for next year is to give up the stress of homemade labels and have some done for me :0). So with that said here are a few pics of my setup.............needs lots of work but hey my next Market post will be about change and improvements :0). Thought I would also post my fav soap at the moment....................Hemp oil soap with Lime EO Mmmmmmmmmmm I am liking this one very much I use it before going off to work as really do feel that the Lime makes me feel invigorated.

Poppyseed Markets

Well I am gearing up to do the Poppyseed Markets on the Goldcoast on the 17th of next month and fingers crossed it will be the market I want to anchor myself into :0) I work fulltime and my best money comes from working the week-ends so looking for an indoor market that I can do once a month, fingers crossed this one fits the bill.
Here is a new one for the market...............This is Chamomile and Calendula................It contains some EO and is supported with Chamomile fragrance form the wonderful Bramble Berry :0)

Just waiting for oils to cool/Brambleberry's Wakeup Rosemary

Im cruising around the net waiting for oils to cool. On the agenda is more Cool Waters and not sure what else guess it will be last minute decision (sometimes they are the best).
I have a number of Brambleberry fragrances that I still have to try and my latest was the wonderful limited edition Wakeup Rosemary which is 30% of essential oils these are Rosemary, Peppermint and Cornmint.

This soaped beautifully and at 1oz per pound it has a great presence :0).

This Weeks Soaping

Tried two new fragrances this week and both are just amazing I don't know if I will be able to give them a full cure before taking to the shower :0)
The first was from Elements and it is the Fragrance Heaven dupe of Lavender baby bathtime and what can I say but yumyum. All who smell it say it is sooooooo a baby fragrance so this should be a great one to take to the Mother and Child orientated type Markets :-)
The next was Bramble Berrys Cold Water and boy what a beautiful fragrance it is, I had read it could be temperamental in CP so had hubby all involved in this one should it start setting up on me...................Well what a dream to soap it took ages to trace, in fact it had me hanging around waiting to sculpt in the mold!!!!!
I sure cannot wait to get this one into the shower :0)

It has arrived :0)

I love to stamp soap and met the most wonderful graphic designer in Etsy chat and she designed a soap stamp for me which I am totally delighted with :0) Now I have to get soaping as have no soap soft enough left to stamp with :0).

Mango and Black Tea

Well I have lately been doing mostly remakes but today sliced off a few slices of my latest Mango and Black Tea.......One of the things I love most about soaping is the fact that even after a fair few logs I still get excited about cutting into a new log to see what it will reveal :0)

Dreamweaver Black Tea

Named this after the lovely Dreamweaver on Etsy chat, from whom I purchased some lovely teas. This is Brambleberrys Black Teas and it is just divine!!!!!

Been making soap :0) !!!!!!!

Well I have my first market this weekend and wonder just how it will all go, not too sure if my soap displays are going to be ready but not too concerned as it will just make the next time even better.
I am making soap at the moment to stock in the wonderful Handmade Heaven in Ipswich and thought I would share a picture of the log I cut into today. I am looking forward to being involved with this beautiful boutique shop full of handmade goodies from not only Ipswich and Brisbane but I believe interstate as well. Here is the link to the Handmade Heaven blog............ Enjoy  http://handmadeheaven7.blogspot.com/

This is fragranced with a lovely Honey Fragrance and think this one my just get the bees visiting!!!!!!

New Take on Green Irish Tweed

Well this is the third take on Green Irish Tweed and I think I am finally happy with it. Have done two logs for a new Market on the Goldcoast so will be interesting as Fathers Day is in September. I am hoping to tempt a few purchases for some fathers out there :0)

Sunday Morning

Oh for a quiet morning, kids sleeping, fresh perked coffee and a stroll around Etsy :-) gotta love it!!!!!!!
A few new soaps for an upcoming Market :-)

Melts are such fun!!!!

I have been making candles for about 14yrs now and have never before dabbled with Melts for the oil burner..............until just recently that is and what fun they are :0) I am hooked. Off to make more......

Isn't it great when......

You not only discover a fragrance that soaps really well but also smells amazing. Well This Lemon Verbena is one of those fragrances. Recently I bought a few oils from Sweetcakes and I am delighted with those that I have soaped to date :0). I am not great at describing fragrance but this is certainly no straight lemon scent it is softened somewhat with what I would describe as delicate florals.

Black Tie Affair Revamped

Last week I had a container of Activated Charcoal arrive and I am totally in love with it, it is so deep and totally black..............no muted shades of Grey with this stuff and oh those additional benefits to the skin as well :-). I have stock go into the Incube8r store on Saturday and I am really excited, I think this will be a great learning curve for me. I am a total lover of fragrance but of late have felt the growing demand for EO mixes. It gets me to thinking that maybe sales will be better with a mix of both Manufactured fragrance and Essential Oils on offer. To date I have only used Peppermint EO and Lime EO and love them both :-) I always come out of the shower feeling really invigorated after using my Hemp and Lime EO Soap.

This latest soap was supposed to be a swirl but the fragrance sped up on me and I ended up pretty much having to dump my black part on top of white that was quickly setting up. So I got a coathanger and just swirled it arond then sculptured the top a little..................wasn't sure what on earth it would look like but was quite pleased with the outcome................Going to make another batch up next week and hopefully I will be able to replicate this look.

Lost two photos :-)

The other day when posting about swirls I had uploaded three photos but only one appeared on the posting so here I am giving it another go :-)
Did it :0) Two men fragrances here first is Green Tweed from Elements very yummy and the second is Southern Gardens Burberry for Men and it sticks forever. I have soap made with this fragrance from Nine months ago and it is as strong and fragrant as the day it was cut :-) . Off now to do a Pop mica swirl with a new fragrance I have which is a dupe of Vera Wangs Pink :-). I soaped a dupe of her princess a few weeks back and it really is beautiful. Oh how I love fragrance..............Staff at work tell me that they always know when I am working as they can smell the soaps as they walk past the office door :-) At least I am smelly in a nice way LOL

Into the swirl of things

Swirls are such fun I love the anticipation as slicing into a log wondering what it will look like

Lots of Soap and Candles to come :-)

It has been a busy time here as I am preparing to stock my soaps and candles in a great shop here in Brisbane that is a franchise from Melbourne. Great concept...........All Aussie Handcrafts and no commission taken on sales............Just a weekly rent and I am contracted to three months rent. Am I excited.... HECK YEAH LOL it makes me feel like I may possibly make one of my first goals. That goal is to be able to give up one nursing shift a week to craft. I also have a fab Etsy photographer going to take some pics of my soaps and candles for me so slowly I will revamp my Etsy store as well. I am not a great photographer and have decided to give that headache away.
So new pics coming in the next few weeks :-) until then it is my pics. I have done a few new soaps and the one I am going to share today is fragranced with a dupe of Lushes Karma...........I am yet to rename the soap.

My leave is over :-( boy did it go by fast. I achieved some exciting things while on holiday.........the biggest I think was the decision to approach a cool new store here in brisbane called in.cube8r the concept is you rent space..............no commission just a weekly rental!!!!. My Soaps and Candles will be going into the store in June and I am really excited about this next step :-)
Check the website out I think it is a great idea and is now being franchised from the original Melbourne store
http://www.incube8r.com/

I had intended on making loads of soap and candles while on holiday but found I really needed to just chill out and recharge as it had been a year since I had taken a break and that was to move house!!!!!!.
So I have a few new pics but not the zillions I had intended on having :-)
This was a soap inspired by my daughter who is a big fairy and pink fan...........So along came this soap for little Abbey :-)
I am needing to go get ready for work so will post a few more tomorrow.

New Soaps

Well today I cut my latest two logs of soap. They are worlds apart in style but that is what I love about the world of soap............No rules just whatever I feel like putting my hand to :-)

The first is fragranced with Cannabis Santiva which to my nose is a patchy sensuous type fragrance and I have other soaps fragranced with this that I made nine months ago and I think the longer this fragrance matures the deeper and sexier it becomes. Yip I like this fragrance :-)

This next is a remake of Green Tweed which is very popular..........Already six bars are on pre order just by the fragrance alone!!!!! I love it when soap just sells itself :-)

WooHoo Front Page of Etsy

Wow this bought in over three hundred views and 7hearts.......Thanks to BillyMac for such a wonderful Treasury :-)

Special Request

This soap was made to go in a bathroom with cream and gold tones

 I scented it with a Musk fragrance and Oly Moly it smells so good when the day has warmed up, I am a big musk fan and always on the search for musk fragrances :-)

The Proud Mum

I have been so proud of my son Lucas he has achieved his junior blackbelt at the age of 11yrs and is now working towards his orange adults belt. What blows me away with this kid is his passion to share what he knows with others and is currently assisting and teaching two nights a week. He spends lots of time encouraging the new whitebelt students telling them of his experiences and what he has gained by perseverence. Love this kid to bits :-) I just hope his passion for sharing and encouragement follows him into adulthood.

I'm in a treasury!!!!

Wow this is my first treasury please go take a look and help bump it to the front page :-)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=123837

Oils are Melting

Well I have oil melting as I speak and lye cooling and I just really don't know what to soap :-) I have a few new fragrances to check out but it seems I am not inspired with an idea of how I want it to look yet LOL
Easter break is here............I am working so no holidays for me. Lucas my son has just gone over to a friends to play and is having is friend back tomorrow night for a sleepover. His is the most social calender in the house, not expecting visitors fingers crossed cause Im still in my PJ's :-).
I will leave you with this photo of my latest listing on etsy..............Woohoo 4 followers this morning........Thanks my fellow Etsy Artists I love how people are so supportive in th is community



This is my tribute to Summer Gone it is fragranced with White Peach and smells just like a fresh juicy peach

My Very First Post

Hi!!! I am Lyn and I love soaping and making candles. Do I have enough time in my life for this?............Not really but I am going to make it LOL. My Ironing pile is proof of that!!!!!!.
I have made candles for about 12 yrs and three years ago started soaping.............I was totally hooked with my first batch and haven't looked back. I don't have a look or style that I am aware of I guess I like to experiment with all kinds of looks and colours in my soap...............you never know what will come from my soaping pot. Here are a few soaps to brighten up this posting :-) hope you enjoy them

This is a rendition of the well known perfume and is just beautiful, I love to use this in the shower after a long walk with the dog!!!!!

This is a lovely Lavender softened with the fragrant notes of Manuka Honey

Hubby gets the thumbs up after showering with this fragrance!!!!!