Handmade Holiday

I think handcrafted gifts are wonderful. This year about half of the gifts Jim and I are giving are made from hand. I made ceramic ornaments this year and last year.  I just feel that making anything with another person in mind shows love. I will post some pictures later.

Paper Presence

You can now find my soaps at Paper Presence in Beacon, NY! Here is the address:

Paper Presence

133 Main St
Beacon, NY 12508

(845) 849-2443

http://www.yelp.com/biz/paper-presence-beacon

Paper Presence has great greeting cards, note cards, desk accessories, gifts, baby and bridal shower items and educational kid's books.

 

They also offer custom invitations, social and business stationery. Great shop! The owner, Lydia, is extremely helpful and she keeps her store stocked with unique gifts!

 

Creative Collaboration!

Okay, first don't forget to come and support over 20 artists' at the first ever Women's building artisans' market. I will be there Friday 5-8 and Saturday 10-4. Yay! 373 Central Ave, Albany NY.

I will also have gift sets for sale. My Aunt Mary Louise embroidered me some gorgeous handtowels and my co-worker, Sue Gomes,  knitted me the most beautiful 100% cotton washcloths. Last but not least, Jim made the best cedar soap savers.  Aren't they great together? Nothing beats creative collaboration! I will also post some pictures of my ceramic soap dishes.

Jim made the gray one. It's really funny because you can tell I didn't make it. I glazed it, but chose a glaze I knew he would use. It's called burnished steel.

Donation

Hi everyone,
I donated some soap to the women's building auction. Feel free to place a bid!

http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/Item.action?id=120921404

Women's Building Artisan Market

Going out for First Friday? Need to finish some holiday shopping?
Don't forget to come see me and other wonderful artisans at the women's building next weekend.

Celebrating the talent and craftsmanship of local women artists, artisans, and crafters, The Women's Building Artisan's Market is a place to purchase quality items, connect with new people, and spotlight the tremendous ability of women artisans.

Join us December 3 (5-8 pm) & 4 (10am-4pm), 2010 at The Women's Building! Free Admission!

373 Central Ave

Albany, NY 12206

List of Participating artisans:

Alexandria Speller
All Good Bakers  http://allgoodbakers.weebly.com/
All Sewn Up
Decorate Yourself  http://www.etsy.com/shop/donnaford
Eardoodles by Rachelle
Echo Lake Forest Farm  http://www.echolakeforestfarm.com/
Feathered Nest Studio http://featheredneststudio.etsy.com/
Global Village Photographer   http://www.globalvillagephotographer.com/
God’s Love Photography http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gods-Love-Photography/128544883822408
Jacqueline Smith (Gargoyle Gallery)
Jan Lincoln http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=253764&id=662306696&l=9d23ee9327
Jenny McShan
Juliana Rose Barbaro   www.freewebs.com/julianarosebarbaroarts
Kathy Klompas   http://kathy.klompas.com/
Katlin Thomas
Laura Goodnough Jones http://www.wix.com/dorseyandjones/LGJ-Art
Livvy Lou’s Boutique  http://www.livvylousboutique.etsy.com/
Mary Pace   http://www.photocreationsbymarypace.vpweb.com/
Mr. Wise Guy  http://www.etsy.com/shop/MisterWiseGuy
Revel in Art  http://www.revelinart.com/
Theresa’s Handcrafted Soaps http://www.etsy.com/shop/TandJsoaps

It will be a great time!

List of soaps

Gearing up for THREE craft shows this week. Here is a current list of our soaps:

• Lavender
• Chamomile
• Cherry Almond
• Frank and Myrrh
• Nag Champa
• Honey Shea
• Oatmeal, Milk and Honey
• Vanilla Oatmeal
• Red Lychee Tea
• Black Tea
• Green Tea
• Matcha Tea
• White Tea and Ginger
• Coconut
• Sweet Pea
• Honeysuckle
• Coconut Lime
• Christmas Spice
• Brown Sugar and Fig with Tea Tree Oil
• Rain
• The Minimalist
• All Clear Facial Soap

1 for $5, 3 for $14 or 5 for $20

Plus we have handcrafted cedar soap savers, washcloths and ceramic soap dishes.

We use only the highest quality vegetable oils in our soaps. Some of the oils we use are: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Castor Oil, Almond Oil, Hempseed Oil and Organic Palm Oil from certified sustainable sources.

Yayy!!!

http://artisansmarket.tumblr.com/

Scent and Memory

Just thinking out loud (typing out loud?).

Have you ever noticed how certain scents bring back memories of certain places or people? I was thinking about this a bunch the other day. I can associate some of the soap scents with people I know. The other day I had some soap in the art room and one of my students came in. She said it brought back fond memories of her father. I think the whole concept is interesting. Maybe I could make a sculpture about it.

Some of the scents I have chosen for the soap where decisions I made based on people I know. My oldest friend used to wear Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea scent. She named her dog after it.

My Aunt loved Honeysuckle. I used to buy everything with that scent to give her.

I love Cherry Almond and it took me awhile to figure out why. My mom used to buy Jergens lotion and it has the smell.

Take the Handmade Pledge + Women's Building Artisan Market Blog

http://artisansmarket.tumblr.com/

Celebrating the talent and craftsmanship of local women artists, artisans, and crafters. The Women's Building Artisan's Market is a place to purchase quality items, connect with new people, and spotlight the tremendous ability of women artisans.

Join us December 3 (5-8 pm) & 4 (10am-4pm), 2010 at The Women's Building! Free Admission!


Our Etsy account will be up and running soon! http://www.etsy.com/people/TandJsoaps

New Photos and Soaps!

Jim took some beautiful new photos today. See below :)


Brown Sugar and Fig with Tea Tree Oil



Christmas Spice (Think nutmeg and cinnamon)

Matcha Tea (more of a lemongrass scent than the Green Tea)

Two of our Tea Soaps

Sweet Pea! Yummy.




Thank you!

Thank you everyone for coming out and supporting us today. Mom, Jeanne, Suzanne, Michelle, Christy, Tara, Marsha and Hailey! It means a lot to me.

Didn't know what to expect. I was put in not such a good location, but we did okay. If we did okay in a bad spot, then I have a feeling we will do better at the other shows. It was pretty motivating. They invited us back in March. I just hope I get a better seat. I am excited for the next two craft shows. There were some funny stories about today, but I will leave them up to Jim to tell you.


My First "Holiday" Craft Table



Cards and info

New business card and flyer for the women's building artisan market. So excited!!! There is a small typo with my last name, but I am so excited that I don't even care.

I got my offical authorization in the mail the other day. I felt so accomplished. After having HS art job cut down last year, I had a hard time coping and figuring out what to do. I have learned a lot in the past 2 months. Thank you for your help and support Jim and everyone else.

New soaps

So we are getting really good at this. We made coconut cold process soap with hempseed oil a few weeks ago.  I decided to PH test it since it was the first one with hemp oil. It was at a good number so I used it to wash my hands. I have heard that hemp oil is great in soap. IT WAS AMAZING! My skin feels amazing!!! I am going to make more. I want to take another shower just to use it. I can't stop touching my hands now! It had a fantastic lather.

Upcoming Craft Shows

Hi everyone,
We have our first craft show this weekend! So excited and so nervous at the same time. Hope you can make it! Remember to print out this flyer and bring it with you for double prize entries!

2010 Holiday Vendor/Craft Event for Pine Grove UMC Church

Saturday, November 6, 2010

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Pine Grove Church, 1580 Central Ave., Albany, NY  12205

Every Vendor will be donating an item or gift certificate to fill two Baskets that two lucky winners will take home that day, make sure you stop by for your chance to Win!!!!

Party of Gold will be there, bring all your unwanted Gold and Silver and get paid on the spot!!

 

Avon 

Tupperware

Pampered Chef

Tastefully Simple

Princess House

Arbonne

Allure Bath Accessories

Chocolate by Charlene

Butterfly Boutique

Mary Kay

Celebrating Home

Longaberger

Dove Chocolate

Just Jewelry

Wire Queen Gifts

Partylite

Stella and Dot

Miche Bags

Inspirational Touch Massage

Moon Pies

Stella & Dot

Chocolate by Charlene

Hula Fit

Handcrafted Soap

Fleece Scarves by Lynn

Erna's Homemade

Relay for Life Bake Sale

Food Truck will be parked out front!

Then in December

Do your holiday shopping!

Celebrating the talent and craftsmanship of local women artists, artisans, and crafters, The Women’s Building Artisan’s Market is a place to purchase quality items, connect with new people, and spotlight the tremendous ability of local women artisans. Featuring products ranging from beautiful handmade organic soaps to stuffed animal kits to photography, there is something for everyone on your list— or a special treat for yourself!

Join us December 3rd (5-8 pm) & 4th (10am-4pm), 2010 at The Women’s Building! Free Admission! Be entered in raffle giveaways just for coming!

Adoration of the Soap



Frank & Myrrh

Inspired by the classic yarn regarding a trio of Asian magicians and their gifts of perfume and incense bestowed upon a newborn baby.  This scent is absolutely enchanting.  Also, the swirling organic imagery acts as an abstraction of all the flying and magic associated with the holiday season.

Labels

So part of this project was finding the right label. Although my photos looked nice, the label was too "handcrafted". Jim spent some time playing around and came up with new labels. What do you think?

Also, we made new tea soaps the other night. Green and Red. I LOVE how they came out, so I decided to make another batch of the black to match. We did that today. It will be light cream on the bottom and a medium brown on top. I put the actual teas into the soap. Those are the flecks you see. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Why use handcrafted soap?

Just in case you are wondering why you should use handcrafted soap, I have compiled a list for you:

1. Commercial soaps are made with heavy petroleum based detergents that are not good for your skin. They will aggravate any skin problems.
2. Do you feel itchy when you get out of the shower? It's because of these detergents plus scent and foaming chemicals. A good bar of soap does not need to have a ton of lather.
3. Glycerin moisturizes our skin. It is made in the natural soap making process. Commercial soap makers use a heating process that takes the glycerin out. They then turn around and sell the glycerin as a separate, expensive beauty product.
4. YOU control what goes in your soap. I use olive and coconut oils. They are great for your skin.
5. They are made with love by a local craftsman or woman. Each soap maker is different and each soap is like a miniature artwork. Treat yourself and support your local soap maker.

The older I get, the more skin problems I have. I was breaking out for years. I thought I was using the wrong face soap. I kept changing my soaps and moisturizers thinking that was the problem. It wasn't. It was my soap. I started using handcrafted soaps I bought at craft fairs and from little shops. My skin cleared up. The texture of my skin is even better.

My new mission

My new mission in life...part time art teacher...part time cleaner of the world! Anyways. I know I have been really passionate about this lately. Of course I want to thank everyone for thier guidance and support. Especially Jim for not killing me. :) Lovvveeeeee yooouuuu!!!

Things are moving!

Making soap has become my new form of therapy. I love doing it. I tried the bird soap with two colors. Love it! Also I will post pictures of the two cold process soaps Jimbo and I made. The marbled one is Cran-Apple and the Brown one is the black tea. I still need to clean up the edges a little. So excited!

Two tone glycerine soap. Rain scent. Very fresh. I LOVE this mold!!!

New Cold Process soaps. Olive and coconut oils. Marble came out nice.

I love this mold! It's hard to see, but this is a pumpkin spice shea butter soap we made today.  We also made a marbled cran-apple cold process. Yummy!

yippeee!

All of our supplies finished coming today. It was like Christmas. I loved smelling all of my fragrance oils, looking at the Micas and checking out the different melt and pour bases I ordered. I also made a cold process batch of black tea today. My house smells so good right now! I don't know if I will be able to wait a day to look at it. I didn't do such a good job explaining everything to Jim, I want him to read my soap making books. That and watch the soapqueen blog made by the owner of brambleberry. She is awesome and explains everything so clearly. Supplies I ordered from there are top notch and they came with a cute little sample of rain fragrance. Here are some pictures from today! Jim took them as I made the soap.

 I used  olive and coconut here. You measure oils by weight for soap making.

We will update again when we unwrap the mold!

















 



Welcome!

Welcome to our new blog!  A few weeks ago we decided that we may want to start a home soap making business. This blog will record our successes, trials and tribulations. We will practice both cold process and melt and pour techniques.  We are artists at heart and new to the business world...so this could get interesting.

I think Jim is going to kill me if he hears anything else about soap tonight. We will be uploading a few different ideas for packaging. Please give us your input!

I have attached a few pictures for you to look at.