Catching Up

Summer "vacation" will be over after today, when I return to the regular routine of School Food Service for another year.  It's been a rather busy summer, and looks to be equally busy this fall.  The fact that next weekend is Labor Day is unbelievable to me.  Where has the summer gone?

After spending a week in Boston for the ANC (Annual National Conference) for SNA (School Nutrition

Beautiful Day

Association), I came home to put finishing touches on wedding plans for one of my daughters.  Beautiful day, beautiful bride, and everything was absolutely perfect.  Even though I have been step-grammy to now 9 & 10 year old girls since they were 2 & 3 years old, it is now official when my daughter tied the knot.  Those of you who remember when Christina was born...she's going to Kindergarten this year!  My how the time has flown by, and Hailley is now 4!

Tomato Heaven

Then it was on to a week of statewide school food service training where I embarked on a graduate level course in Nutrition and Food Education, and taught two classes for the State of Vermont.   One of the days we took participants of the class to a local organic farm, and I was delighted with the hoop frame set up they utilize for growing tomatoes...it was definitely Tomato Heaven!   The classes were held up near where my daughter and the 4 grand girlies live, so I made nightly visits after classes were finished each day.

Diaper Cake & Purse

To round out the last weekend of summer vacation, I hosted a baby shower for my younger daughter, who is expecting in October.  The guest list grew, and the space in my house kept feeling smaller, so we borrowed a big tent for the yard, and after it went up we had two days of non-stop rain.  I was worried, to say the least, but the rain moved out and everything started drying out in time for the party.  In my ever creative mode, I embarked on creating a diaper cake for the shower, and when I found myself with leftover diapers I made a diaper purse, because every little girl needs a purse, right?

Soy Tea Lights

Today has been all about catching up with packaging, photographs, and listing items in my online shop.  Today I added soy wax melts and tea lights (boxes made in house) in some of my summer scents, and will be adding fall and holiday fragrances in the near future.  Also added are some fizzing bath salts in 9 oz. and 16 oz. bags.  The 9 oz. bags are handcrafted in house.

40% Off Summer Sale, 133 days until Christmas!

Don't you just love a bargain?   Let us help you get a head start on your Christmas 2014 shopping!  With 133 days left, everything in our SUMMER SALE section is 40% off.  Don't delay your purchases, some items are limited in quantity and will be sold on a first come first serve basis.

SUMMER SALE ~ 136 Days Until Christmas!

Don't procrastinate until the last minute to start your Christmas shopping for this year.  We are currently offering a 40% off sale in our shop!  Anything listed in the SUMMER SALE section of our shop is on sale.  Supplies are limited on some items, so make your selections early.  As we clean out the soap room additional items will be added.

Wedding Favor Sampler, Part 1

Favors in the molds

The work has started on the wedding favors that will be part of the favor samplers that will be going into the gift boxes for prospective brides in attendance at an upcoming bridal show.

Heart embeds were made with glycerin soap that has similar qualities to cold processed soap in that it is less likely to sweat.  The process was a labor intensive undertaking due to the fact that the molds had small indentations in the center of the hearts which needed some definition, so I went to task piping the red centers.

Once the embeds were complete, it was on to making the cold process soap for pouring the mini cupcake bottoms and piping the tops.

Curing Favors

After 72 mini cupcakes I ran out of molds and had to wait until they set up enough for releasing from the molds.  And the fun begins of creating the next 72 mini cupcakes!

Eventually these will be wrapped in organza bags before getting tucked into the favor sampler boxes.

Favors for Special Occasions, Parties, and Events

Birthday Party Bath Treat Favors

This summer has been a busy one for me both personally and professionally.  Additionally, the soap business has kept me steadily busy with retail orders, wedding favors, birthday party favors, bridal shower favors, baby shower favors, and wholesale orders.

Bridal Shower Heart Soap Favors

Currently I am working on gift boxes for an upcoming bridal event, which I am thrilled about.  This is the second year I've been asked to participate in this upscale bridal event.  Last year's request came with a very short time line to pull together a worthy contribution, but proved to be a valuable marketing tool for my soap business.  I can only hope that by having more time and thought going into this year's contribution, and developing a bridal sampler of favor themed products, that this year's contribution will net even more business.

Soy Candle Wedding Favors

In addition to soap, I have started pouring soy candles this year.  I had a wedding this summer where I free hand painted a custom design on the votive cups to match the theme of their invitations, and used a fragrance that the bride and groom both love.

Baby Shower Pacifier Favors

Custom design soap molds came into the picture when I came up empty handed with the availability of soap molds in the size I needed to finish my project.  I used a method found on You Tube using 100% silicone caulking and dawn dish liquid.  While this worked sufficiently for what I needed, I have decided that I will be investing in silicone mold making material that is available commercially for future custom mold making projects.

As the last few weeks of summer vacation rapidly close in on me, I've turned my focus toward autumn and Holiday themes.  Judging from the appearance of the leaves on some trees already (yes, some have already got patches of color emerging), I guess the change of weather and cooler temps is sure to take over before we know it.