My hair....

So, last October for my birthday, My girlfriend put some weave in my head. The last time I had weave was 2000. That was just braids. This time it was sewn in, alittle past my shoulders. She did a great job, I looked good. But.......

Hurt like hell! The braids were too tight, not use to the weight of the weave. Could not wait to wash my head. Needed to loosen the braids some.

Well, I left it in until January. When I took it out, OMG! The mess I had on my head. After getting my hair back to close to normal, (four hours later) I decided that I no longer wanted to be a slave to fashion. Hell, I am 42 years old. I am one - to damn old to try and "fit in", two - I am living life according to how I feel.

So, No more relaxers! Yeah, I may put on my wig (looks good on me), throw on a scarf (have many colors/types), put some braids in (when I can track my braider down), or do whatever, the bottom line is no more chemicals!

My kids think I am crazy. My braider said, "you sure you don't want to put a mild relaxer in"? My answer was, "Hell No"!!! I am not sure where I am going with this, not even sure how long I can stand it. But for right now, I am natural at the scalp, little perm left near the ends. I will get my ends trimmed soon. But for right now, they are fine.

Fashion/trends come and go. One minute I fit right, the next I don't. Who gives a flying @#$%! I want to do what I want and whoever doesn't like it can kiss my *%%. I can't post a pic just yet. Don't have any right at the time. But I will.

And to think, I went to school to do hair!!

Poofy/Loofah, whatever!

My daughter saw a soap like this somewhere. Of course, she says, you sould be able to make that Mom. She is my biggest hater/supporter. Love her dearly but........

Well, I came up with this. Loofah, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey fragrance. I have some tweeking to do for the next batch but other than that, so far so good. I have been getting alot of feedback on this one. The girls just love the colors, the scent - some like, some don't. So I will play.

This weekend, Walmart, here I come!! Can you believe they are cheaper than the Dollar store? I love how they have so many pretty colored ones. All like spring! I remember back when they were becoming popular, just one color. Boring!! I am lovin' this.

Who knows what else I can come up with after a trip to MY store!

Busy weekend

This is my Goat's Milk. I am waiting to hand paint these. I don't know where I will get the energy, but I will paint them. This maybe the only bars I ever do. But atleast I will try it.






Below are Angel Wing Bars. I love the scent of these. My daughter just loves the color! She is a pink girl. Has been for all her life. I guess they are okay. I am not crazy for the color but the smell is Great!

I love Roses! No matter what kind, what color! If it is a rose, Arnita is loving it. I have 5 rose bushes in my front yard. I have told people, if your gonna give me flowers, they better be Roses. Don't get me wrong, I love flowers. My small yard is filled with flowers every year. I have a Lily that most gardener's would die for. I guard the thing with my life! But I love Roses!

It was just a matter of time before I did a Rose soap. Goat's Milk base, fresh cut roses fragrance and real rose petals. I like the fact that the flowers stayed near the top.

I am not a beer drinker. But sometimes, I will have one or two. Not much more after that. But my brother loves beer. We have a brewer near where he works (southerntierbrewing.com). He has tried so many of their beers. I get a flavored beer every year for my birthday.

I brought this Raspberry Wheat beer. I like raspberries. This should be good, right? Wrong! I hated the stuff. Bitter, bitter, bitter. Couldn't even choke it down. Can't pour it out. No matter if I like it or not, that is a waste of money!!!

I push it from one side to another. I have done this for a few months.

Should I? How will it turn out? Never know until you try, right? well, I listened to that voice in my head. Goat's Milk base (loving the stuff), Southern Tier Raspberry Wheat Beer, raspberry fragrance, purple coloring. Here you have the finished soap!

Love the scent, the color, hopefully, the soap.

I will be doing more beer soaps. Southern Tier Brewing, is only maybe 20 minutes away from where I live in Lakewood, New York. They have great names for their wares like Hop Sun, Uber Sun, Cherry Saison, just to name a few. They are open year round, but have seasonal beers/ales. I will be trying some more of their products. Oh, soaping of course!!

This weekend

This is Chocolate Peppermint. Very ugly! The smell is great. I was really nervous about this one. Never know what your gonna get once you cut into it.

This is what I got. It is just beautiful! (even if it's just me). I don't know how the bottom layer formed but it adds to the whole picture. The smell was even better once the soap was cut.

Here a few pictures of some of the soap that I have made. I am not happy with the out come of the picture taking and some of the soap. But I will keep trying.

Above is my Chai Tea made from Goat's Milk. Below is Lavender Flowers, also made with Goat's Milk. Colored with Purple. This was my first try at swirling. I was very pleased.
Below is my flowers for a friend. I made this with Clear Soap Base. The roses are colored with Neon Pink coloring. Scented with Best Friends Fragrance. The flowers melted alittle, but I know why, made note of it so it will not happen again. (Hopefully)

Above is another picture of Lavender Flowers. Below is what I call Carnival. White Soap Base, Transparent cubes of Red, Blue & Yellow. Scented with Tahitian Vanilla. I put it in a cake pan to mold. The smell is to die for! I love any kind of Vanilla. I have yet to try this one. But maybe real soon.

And lastly, this is my Monkey Farts. Made from Goat's Milk, colored with Neon Green. I tried my hand at swirling again. I didn't get the swirl I wanted, but I am happy with the end results!

Looking at the pictures gives me hope and encouragment. I know that I love doing this and have sooo many ideas running in my head. I may not be selling any of it anytime soon, if ever, but I sure will still making soap for many years to come!

Last night I was busy trying my hand at sugar scrubs. I made quite a few. My favorite is the Peppermint. I could not wait to try this. I love sugar scrubs!

I felt so good after trying this scrub. The peppermint made my skin tingle. My skin was soft and smooth after. I was so excited that I made 5 more. All 5 were different scents.

I even tried my hand at the labels. Still not to sure which I want to go with but wasn't that disappointed with any of my tries.

Tonight, I think I want to try a salt scrub. I have never used a salt scrub before. I see this as a good time.

I will let you know how it goes.

Tea time

Sunday was a tea day. I tried my hand at adding tea to my soap. I made a Chai, Green Tea and Rooibos. I like the coloring that I got. But I need to find a way where all the tea does not float to the top or sink at the bottom. The house smelled just wonderful. I am a tea drinker so it was a nice way to enjoy three kinds of tea at the same time.

I also need to find a better way to package. I am shrink wrapping but do not really enjoy this method. I am going to buy some soap boxes today and try that.

Everyday is a learning experience. I love the hands on learning.

Amazing day..

I had an amazing day yesterday. I had three people asked about my soap. I got rid of 5 more bars of soap. It was the best feeling in the world.

After everyone left the house, I sat down and had to think about what's next. I have so many ideas going through my head. What do I want to do next? How can I improve this or that. This is a amazing trip. One I am glad I am taking.

Today, I am meeting with another lady who has an interest in the soap. I am taking her four bars of soap. I hope that this will be another networking avenue.

Happy Valentine's Day....

Yesterday was Valentine's Day! I spent the afternoon doing what I love. Making soap and candles. I must say I was on a roll until about 9:00 P.M.. I was making stupid mistakes. I think I just was done!

What I did get done was some nice looking soap. I made a Monkey Farts with a slight green swirl. The smell was great but the swirl was not what I was looking for but I am happy with what I got. I also made a Hawaiian Ginger out of Goat's milk. I like the smell but the Mica didn't come out that good. I realized what I had done. I will be fixing that the next time I do that one.

My candles turned out better this time. I made three different kinds. The house smells so good! I didn't get any flowers but it sure smells like it. Much cheaper too! I enjoy working with the soy now. I read a couple more blogs and websites on the "How to" tip. (Thanks Patrice!) Now comes the testing. The other candles that I felt I messed up, smell and burn great. My friend just loves them. She had come over to check out some soap and liked the candles.

I am getting the hang of all this. I am really enjoying myself. Not only with creating but reading what others are doing.

I may have missed the holiday, but I enjoyed my day all the same!

Happy, Happy...

Well, I just got a call asking for more soap!! This makes me so happy. I am more encourged than ever. I spend alot of time studying and reading about soap making. I have spent alot of time, more time than money, trying to get it right. But today, when my girlfriend called and asked for more Black Linen and Amber soap for her husband, I was just tickled. I made it out of a honey base. Her husband used the other bar up real fast.

She wanted more of my Lemongrass soap. This gives me hope that I am on the right path.

I am waiting to hear back from some others. Hope I get the same results.

This past weekend...

I was trying my hand at making Soy candles. Well, I need to work on it some more. I mean, they came out okay but I am not happy with the end results. So this weekend I will be at it agin.
I like the smells and coloring but I have to work on the sink holes and air bubbles. I really want to get the hang of this. I love Soy candles and enjoy making them. I guess I will just work and work on them. I will not give up.

Yesterday, I spent alot of time reading the blogs and other pages of others. I find more interesting information. I have pretty much given up watching T.V.. I find more enjoyment out of being busy either working or reading. I sometimes have the T.V. on just for the sound. But I went out and bought myself a Ipod. downloaded the music and now I am ready to go!!

This morning while the kids are having their snack while watching Sesame Street, I will be ordering soap making supplies. I have pretty much used all that I had. I did inventory, so now I am ready!! This is gonna be a soap weekend. I must be ready for it. I am thinking about atleast 10 new soaps. Next weekend, I am gonna bite the bullet and try my hand at Cold process. I must try all methods. I have been doing Melt & Pour, while I very much enjoy this, I must move to the next step.

I have a feeling that Naphyri will come to light. I have nt given up the idea. Naphyri is the name of the business I want to have. Selling my candles and soaps. Funny, I came up with the name before anything else. But I believe that this is destined to be. when I first came up with the idea, I was reading a book and the main character was using soap that she made. Then my girlfriend gave me a magezine to read, there was a story about Soy candles. It is all around me, so I feel that they were all signs. Crazy huh?

Friday Morning

It is Friday morning and I am so glad for cartoons! I am not like this every morning, but today I am. I worked late last night and not on my soaps or candles. One of my mothers has changed her hours so I work more nights.

But, Saturday is coming. Thank God for the weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but I have fallen in love with my soap making. I can't get enough of it. I wish I would have started this alot sooner.

I have always done some type of craft. I would always look at someone elses work and say, "I could do that". But I never really looked at handmade soap. I did candles. That is how I started, looking at candles. I thought I needed a new hobby. Candles was on the top of my list.

Looking for candle information on the internet brought me to soap making. It has been soap at the top of the list ever since. Oh, I have made some candles, but I have made ALOT of soap. My grandkids get a kick out of looking for the "Big truck".

I just wished someone would have told me soap making was addictive!