Just wanted to pop in to let you know that I am going to be closed for shipping over the March break and the week after.
If there is anything that you are going to need over that time be sure to place your order this week, I will be sure that it is packed and shipped before the break.
Here are the dates
Closing March 12.10 until March 28.10
Shipping will resume on Monday March 29.10
At that time I hope to have a few surprises ready for you – some new ingredients, fresh content and recipes here and the old site down/new one up and maybe some new learning resources.
I hope that you are getting the nice weather lately – spring is just around the corner!
Have a Great Day!
Jan
BTW, part of my plans for this year is to expand on the how to guides and do some video and possibly online classes as well.
If you have a preference as to what you’d like to see, just let me know in the comment section below and I will add it to the list.
Every vote counts!
I am aghast that I haven’t made time to get down to some serious Christmas time soap making. This past week has been a whirlwind of driving in crappy weather and all that fun stuff that seems to always land right before Christmas.
Maybe this week I’ll get down to it (crossing fingers!)
I thought that you might like to see this recipe from last year. I gave this soap out as gifts and used it myself for quite awhile and never got tired of it, not once.
If you make it, send me your pictures! I’d love to post them.
So here it is -
HOLIDAY WOODLANDS SOAP RECIPE.
Essential Oil Blend…
I made this soap using the Angels Wings essential oil blend.
I used
4 parts fir needle
2 parts white grapefruit
1 part frankincense
That blend had smelled quite light and pretty to me as it was.
After I made the soap, I found that it became quite woodsy, it reminded me a little of opening up an old cedar chest, probably the combination of fir and frankincense. The frankincense really comes through although there is quite a bit of a smaller amount.
This makes a really nice man’s soap, but I like it too :0)
I also used the same recipe, but had to make a few changes, of course.
Here is the recipe that I used to make a 1lb batch.
HOLIDAY WOODLANDS SOAP TAKE 1
Castor Oil .5oz
Cocoa Butter 4oz
Coconut Oil 5oz
Canola Oil 4oz
Shea Butter 2oz
Aloe/Sunflower Oil .5oz
5 oz water
2.25oz lye
I used .5oz essential oils.
THE RESULTS
I love this soap!
I decided to mix a bit of green and red mica in.
I mixed up a small bit of each separately and drizzled it in using layers.
I poured a layer of the white base, then drizzled some red across the top, then some green.
Then I did another layer, finishing with a layer of the red and green.
I cooked it in the over at about 170* for 2 hours, shutting the oven off and leaving the soap in until a little after noon the next day.
A LITTLE WHITER
My daughter pointed out that the soaps would have been nicer if the base was a little whiter.
I tried to keep it white but I will have to try harder.
As it dries, it seems to be turning more and more beige.
Next time I’m going to try some vegetable shortening to replace some of the canola and see what happens.
I’ll keep you posted!
Just to let you know, here are the shipping dates over the holidays.
As usual I’m doing it a little differently so that I can spend a week after the holidays with no one home to do some catch up and organizing for the coming year. For some reason, I find it hard to focus when everyone is here for 2 weeks solid!
I apologize for any inconvenience the closing may cause, but taking the time now really does make a difference.
If you have your own business, it’s a great time to do your own catch up on anything that’s behind as well as brainstorming of new products that you can add and rethinking older products that haven’t been working so well.
SHIPPING WILL BE CLOSED FROM…
Thursday Dec 23 until Sunday Dec 27.
It will reopen Monday Dec 28, 29 and 30 to ship any parcel orders that have come in during that time.
Over the New Year, shipping will be closed Wed Dec 30 and open again on Monday January 11.
Please make note of these dates if you would like to have an order arrive during these times.
HOW TO COLLECTION – PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
SOAP NATURALLY
Makes a great gift for your soaping buddy or someone you know who would love to explore natural soap making and skin care over the coming winter months (and beyond!).
If you want the book wrapped, just let me know and I can pop a card in it too if you tell me who to make it to and from and any message you’d like included.
Great time to hit up the hubby for your special Christmas present too or buy it for yourself. By the time Christmas is over, you’re going to want to kick back with a good book and get inspired to make some great recipes.
Here’s your link.
Soap Naturally Book
INSTANT DOWNLOADS
If you’re on a budget or in a hurry and would rather not pay shipping, you can get these great little guides and download them right to your computer. Plenty of information to make some really nice homemade gifts – the Make It Special Collection contains a bunch of great ideas and illustrations on how to make your own natural skin care gifts and many more Christmas ideas for a homemade Christmas.
All About Making Body Butters
Make It Special Christmas Collection
Guess What? If you order either of the above, you will receive a link to order the second one for $5.
Speaking of Specials – This month you will receive 10ml of Douglas Fir Essential Oil free with any order of $50 or more. It’s a gorgeous Christmas scent, just right for the holidays.
NEW SKINCARE NATURALS SNEAK PEAK
If You Want a Larger Size, Try the New Site – I’m not doing an official release of the new site quite yet. It’s so close to being finished but there are a few glitches and quite a few things that I’d like to expand on – as well as some pictures that are placeholders for now.
The cart should be functional – some pricing may need to be adjusted – I haven’t ‘fine tooth combed’ it yet, but if you would like to order Douglas Fir in a larger size or access some of the new items that I have on the cart like dark cocoa butter, lemon 5x essential oil (which by the way blends fantastically with the Douglas Fir) Certified Organic Gold Ghana Shea Butter will be added this week, here is how you can do it.
Go to this listing page. http://skincarenaturals.com/shop/homemade-skin-care/
Scroll to the category that you would like to order from. Click on the QUICK LINKS link that you will see beside the category heading.
From that page you can either click on the ingredient name for more information and shopping link or you can order directly from the link on the page by clicking the size/price that you would like.
Minimum Order is $35.00.
JUST SO YOU KNOW: I would love it if you could help me to test the new cart, I will be sure to include a little something extra for your help and patience with your order.
I haven’t released it yet because I know that there are still items that need to be fixed there and maybe a little bit of cold feet – it’s been quite an undertaking.
You may find that some things look a little odd, some links may not work or I may need to get back to you if something is not quite right with your selection – in short, it hasn’t been debugged and there may be none, some or many items that need addressing if you order from it.
If you find something off, I would appreciate your letting me know. Some things I may already know and simply need to sit down and fix, but there are sure to be things that I have no idea of.
At any rate, if you want a sneak peak, you can go to that link and navigate around from there. As always, your suggestions and comments are very welcome.
AND A CHRISTMAS FREEBIE
This isn’t skin care but I am happy to be able to tell you about a free list that I have put together to help anyone get organized for Christmas.
I put it together after waking up at 3am one morning totally stressed about what I had to do, and realizing that I didn’t even know what I had to do. Since then, it’s been going great.
It included my own ‘Big Christmas List’ of things to do before Christmas as well as a bunch of free recipe booklets for things like Christmas dinners and making Christmas Candies and treats for the holiday (and maybe even before!)
You can check it out and sign up completely free here.
The Big Christmas List
I hope that you are all enjoying the season and are looking for a great year in 2010.
Have a Shiney Day :0)
Janice
