Felted Soap Fun!

I am totally in love with felted soap.  what is felted soap you ask...it's when you take wool and felt it directly to soap so it can be used as a washcloth soap combo all in one.  I found the cutest little farm who hand dies their Merino wool and sells it on line.  I use this wool an felt it to my Olive & Coconut cold process soap.  I scent it in Citrus and Jasmine which is a BB dupe which they call "Energy"  It is a great gender neutral scent and I have found that all customers like this scent.  I make my cold process soap and let it cure for 6 weeks then test it out in the shower.  If the batch is good it will be felted.  Once the soap is felted and dried  I wrap it in a cello bag, bow and handmade tag. Then just get the bar wet and give it a little squeeze and when the lather starts to appear through the felt you can scrub away.  It makes a great exfoliator and not to mention it's pretty darn trippy looking!  Enjoy a few pics from my last felting fun day!...

Latest Greatest!

I've had a couple batches that didn't quite turn out as planned...so what's a girl to do...rebatch.  Rebatching soap is also called French Milled or Hand Milled Soap.  You take the cold process soap you have made and grate it down by hand...then you melt it adding a small amount of liquid(I use Goats Milk)...then add some more oils.  This makes the soap very moisturizing and is why this soap is so popular.  The trade off is a little less lather but a lot more moisture.  So...my latest greatest is my Hand Milled Goats Milk Soap with added Sweet Almond Oil in "Peppermint Twist."  I used my savvy Christmas stamp for some extra bling.  What do you think?

Soaping Soap Queen Style!

Today I watched some Soap Queen videos and got motivated to do some soaping.  I tried her soap stamp project and found it a lot more difficult than she makes it seem.  Here is my final product but it didn't turn out exactly like her masterpiece.  I call it Friendship soap.

My newest soap adventure!

This is one of my new favorite soaps it is "White Tea & Ginger" cold process soap made with Olive & Coconut oils.  When I first smelled this scent I thought it was too strong but after soaping it in cold process soap it toned down and actually smells just perfect...not too strong but you can smell each note perfectly.  I wanted to have a swirl of pink and yellow but a nice fluffy top and this is what I got(see picture).  I got a thick trace for the fluffy top but because the soap was so thick I couldn't get it to swirl as I originally planned.  I did end up liking this one  which goes to show that sometimes mistakes turn out better than when we try to control everything.

available on esty/shop/jollybeesoap
as of 8/23/11 there are 6 bars for sale.
Happy shopping!

General chat...

We will be extracting honey from our bee hives on the farm in one week which reminded me of the time...

My hubby noticed one of our hives was dangerously tilted like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  He decided that the foundation they were on needed some adjusting.  I watched out the window like a curious bystander to see how this simple task would play itself out.  At first glance I realized her did not have his smoker.  I hadn't done any of the beekeeping at this point and was simply amazed he would venture near the hives without one.  I saw him take the first super off the top, then the next and finally the last.  I couldn't see real well since the bee hive was far from the house.  I did notice that his once white suit appeared a little darker than before.  Upon looking again it actually looked black and white polka dotted.  Then I noticed a little spring in his step as her headed for the house.  I really don't think there was a bee in the hive that didn't come with him.  I opened the window and asked if he wanted me to hose him off but he quickly made a loop around the house with the busy little bees following close at hand.  "Do you need the smoker" I asked.  Again, no answer.  I watched as he headed back toward the hive.  This time I took a seat to watch the show.  I was just thinking surely there are no more bees left in the hive when his suit looked almost completely black and he was headed for the house again.  I raised the window and he shouted "get me the smoker please"...well I don't think he really said please but it sounds better this way.  I ran and got the smoker, he headed back for the hive and he was able to calm the bees and finish his tasks.
Note to self...smoking can be good for your health...at least in the beekeeping world.

Looking forward to having some Wildflower & Clover honey on hand...I am down to my last jar and have lots of soap to make!

Today I opened shop!

Well, it's been a long time coming but today i officially opened my website store.  You can now buy my products online through ETSY at www.etsy/shop/jollybeesoap.com.  I have had a website for several years but needed to keep my business small while I was researching and learning so that i could make a quality product.  I have never had a cart on my website at www.jollybeesoap.com but had it available to show what I could make upon request.  I opened my store on ETSY to allow me to sell what I have in stock and readily available.  I still will do special orders if you email me at jollybeesoap@gmail.com.  I am excite to see where this adventure will take me and am VERY thankful for those of you who have been ordering via email for all these years.  You guys have given me inspiration to keep my small business growing to meet your needs.  Let me know if there is a product or scent you would like me to try.  I am always open to suggestions and trying something new. :0)
Happy shopping!