With Heartfelt Thanks!

Farmhouse Soaps is now closed for the year.  

This will give me some much needed time to 

spend with family, 

reflect on God's goodness,

and plan for 2015.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported Farmhouse Soaps during this past year.

Because of you, Farmhouse Soaps has grown over 170% during 2014!

With that growth, came a few growing pains.  I extend my deepest thanks to all of you as I worked hard get through some of those growing pains and to keep soap available throughout the year.
I am looking forward to the coming year with so much excitement!

Not only will you see a new selection of fragrances, but also some new products too!

I am working hard to ~ 

• streamline the Farmhouse Soap product line,
• Offer a safe, online shopping experience,
• a new Etsy shop,
• Sample bar pack,
• a new botanical soap line,
• Baby bars, and
• soap making classes here in my farmhouse kitchen!

Most soaps will once again be available by  mid-January.  This will give me time to close out my inventory for the year and prepare for the 2015 soaping season!

I wish you and your family a very blessed Christmas.  My prayer is that you know the immense love and grace of our amazing God and that He richly blesses you in the coming year.

Thank you again, dear friends, for all your support!  Drop me a line and please keep in touch at buyfarmhousesoaps@gmail.com. I love to hear from you and know how you are doing!

With Warm Regards~

Christmas Orders!

Well, Thanksgiving is just two weeks away and then Christmas shopping gets into full swing.
It's been a different story here at Farmhouse Soaps!  I have been attending shows and events and filling orders almost on a daily basis. 

If you are thinking you would like to orders soaps for Christmas, please contact me as soon as possible.  I can fulfill orders now, or just set soaps aside for you to ship later.

I have updated my inventory so you can see what is available and exactly how many bars are in my inventory.

I have one more big show next weekend, so after that - I can't promise what I will have available.

Thank you all so much for ordering Farmhouse Soaps.  I hope you are enjoying them!

The Christmas Soaps are Beginning to Arrive!

While the fall leaves on the trees are at their peak of color here in Northern Illinois, it is sometimes hard to be thinking about Christmas.  

But when you make soap, you are always thinking way ahead of the current season.  As you know, soap has to cure for a minimum of 4 weeks.  So, that means to have soaps ready for Christmas gift giving, the soaps have to be made by now.

Here is a sneak peek at some of the Christmas soaps that will be available!

Sugar Plum Fairy!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

Coming soon:

Frankincense & Myrrh
Peppermint
Cranberry Harvest
Nutcracker Suite
Vanilla Chai


And we are constantly adding more wonderful soaps to our Signature Series. These are the soaps we carry year round!  Just recently added is Lavender Lemongrass.

Lavender Lemongrass

Thanks for stopping by and getting the latest soaping update.  I hope you will enjoy these new Signature and Seasonal scents!

Caring for your Hand-Crafted Soap!

Now that you’ve decided on your favorite scent (or scents!), here are a few tips to getting the most enjoyment from your new handmade soap.

Handmade soaps naturally have a high glycerin content, which is great for your skin – but it also means the soap requires a place to dry out between uses. The glycerin attracts water and if left in standing water, the soap will break down quickly. To prolong the lifespan of your soap, do not allow it to sit in a dish or container that is bowl-shaped, or that allows water to pool in the bottom. Also, beware of those indentations built into some showers as “soap dishes”; they rarely drain properly.

Instead, be sure to store your soap in a dry place out of the stream of water, and on a draining soap dish. 

A slatted wood or bamboo soap dish is ideal because it wicks water away from the soap, allowing the soap to dry properly. 

Alternatively, a “soap saver” (an oval disk with raised nubs) placed in the bottom of your favorite soap dish should keep it high and dry. (These are available at Bed Bath & Beyond for about $2.00 each.)

Unused soaps need to be stored in a cool, dry place – preferably, NOT the bathroom. A linen closet is great (plus, the soap will make your linens smell good!). If you need to transport the soap and are concerned about the scent migrating to other items (such as food), wrap the soap snugly in waxed paper to block the scent transfer.

Hope these little tips will help you get the most from your hand-crafted soap experience!

An Exciting Time of Year

As the Fall season is upon us - this begins an exciting time for making soap!  Fall scents like Autumn Essence and Pumpkin Caramel are a fun addition to the soap collection.  These are listed under the Seasonal Soaps category and will be available until mid-November.

Pumpkin Caramel Soap

Autumn Essence Soap

Within the next week, it will be planning time for the Christmas soaps. Oh, I love to plan soaps for Christmas!  My favorite time of year - for soaps and just because it will be Christmas soon!

Coming November 1st will be:
Oh, Christmas Tree
Sugar Plum Fairy
Frankincense & Myrrh
Orange Pomander
Cranberry Harvest
and a few more scents I haven't finalized!

I am also planning on adding bath salts and body butter this Christmas Season.  There will be gift packs, giveaways, and more!

Fun, fun, fun - can't wait to share what else I am planning for Farmhouse Soaps!

Marianne

Photoshoot Complete!

I do love to photograph my soaps outside ~ and the weather has been less than cooperative!  My wonderful daughter Lea does all my soap photography.  And once again, she didn't disappoint!  Let's take a tour of some of the new soaps that are part of the Farmhouse Soaps Seasonal and Signature Series!

Black Raspberry Vanilla!

Sands of Morocco - a wonderful earthy scent!

Patchouli ~ Yes I loved it in the 70's and still do!

Autumn Essence - will remind you of that wonderful outside fall smell!

Oh my - this is as yummy as it sounds!

Candy Apple - sweet and a spicy scent of cinnamon!

Sage Meadow - Sweet and Subtle

Pumpkin Caramel Latte - same wonderful scent as Pumpkin Caramel but with a swirl of white!  Whip or No Whip?  LOL! :)

Cinnamon Swirl - just like Sunday Morning Cinnamon Rolls!

Available Soaps!

Whew!  Thank you for your patience!  Here are the soaps that are currently available:

• Farmhouse Cider
• Oatmeal Milk & Honey
• Sands of Morocco
• Pumpkin Caramel
• White Tea & Ginger
• Pure Castile
• Coconut Lime Verbena
•  Eucalyptus Spearmint

Available the week of September 15th:

• Autumn Essence

Available the week of September 22nd:

• Candy Apply
• Cucumber Melon

Available the week of September 29th:

• Patchouli
• Pumpkin Caramel Latte
• Cinnamon Swirl

Thank you for your patience and continued support of Farmhouse Soaps!

Getting Braver Bar by Bar

Making soap can be an intimidating process.  I remember when I made my first batch of soap at home....on my own.  I had taken a class years - yes, years - before and just decided at the time it was too much work so I shelved the idea of making soap at home.

But then I decided I was ready to tackle that first batch - going solo in my kitchen - yikes, oh ya - it was scary!

What if I drop the lye water - how do I clean it up?
 
What if I get a chemical burn on my skin - will it be okay?
 
What if I can't get the temperatures to match - what do I do?

What if I have an epic fail!!!!!!!

What if, what if, what if!!!

Good gravy - I just finally jumped in and made a basic 4Lb batch of soap.

Honestly, easy peasy!

Then.....I began to get braver and my daughter made me an 8# mold.  Wow, I could make a double batch all at one time - that's cool.  But that meant doubling my formula and working with that many more elements. Oh my - can I do it?

Honestly, easy peasy!!

Then.....today, I got really brave.  I melted enough oils to make one 8Lb. mold and two 4 Lb molds - yep, 16 Lbs. of soap at one time.  I did my calculations and once the oils were all melted and blended I separated my oils into two batches. 

Honestly, easy peasy!!!

I divided my melted oils into two pots ~ made the first 8 Lb batch of soap....Patchouli with a beautiful brown sparkle mica swirl.
And yes, I do remember the smell of Patchouli from the 60's - I liked it then and I still like it now.  This is gonna be a popular soap - I'm sure of it!

Patchouli Soap just poured into the 8 Lb. mold

Then I used my remaining oils to make two 4 Lb. molds of Coconut Lime Verbena.  This is such a favorite and I am making it often so I don't run out again. Lesson learned!

Coconut Lime Verbena just cut from the mold

And there you have it.  I was so worried about doubling my batch, but it really was simple and easy.  It saved me so much time and in the span of 2-1/2 hours I was able to make 16 pounds of soap - 44 bars and some samples to boot!

Why do we set ourselves up to think things will be so difficult??
Rhetorical question of course.
It seems so easy to convince ourselves that we can't do things, so we don't.
But when we try, what do we discover - easy peasy!

What's next on the soap-making-adventure horizon?? Who knows. 
But I do know one thing - I won't be nervous, I won't talk myself out of it, I will jump in and......     
                    Just do it!!

Hope you are having a glorious Labor Day Holiday!

Soaps Are Almost Done!

Many thanks for all your patience while I got my soap inventory back up and on the shelves.
While I am thrilled that I have been able to share my soaps with so many wonderful people, I felt so bad that my stock ran so low!
Well, problem solved.  I have been making soap almost every day and will continue to so that by the end of September, I should have a constant supply of all soaps available.
Have a look around at the Signature Soaps and Seasonal Soaps tabs and see what is new and what is on the horizon.
But for now, here is the soap schedule when most of the soaps will be available.
Thank you for your patience and I look forward to serving you soon!

Sending Apologies, But Yet Oh-So Grateful!

Dear Friends,
Just a quick update on the Farmhouse Soaps inventory.

While I am down to just two varieties ~ Sandalwood Vanilla and Pure Castile ~ know that I have over 250 more bars curing as I type this.
I am been making over 20 bars of soaps (sometimes more) every day and the hard part is waiting.  I am looking to have my inventory up over 500 bars as we come into the fall and Holiday season.

When producing cold process soap - the curing time is at least 4 weeks.  While there are other methods of creating hand-crafted soap, I believe the cold process method provides you with the best possible bar of soap.
A bar that is completely safe to use, that is hard, that will last long and retains all the moisturizing qualities that hand-crafted soap should provide!

So, while I am so very grateful for all the recent orders, I am so sorry that my stock has run so low.

Although - I guess that's a good thing, as Farmhouse Soaps is becoming popular and I am happy that you are all loving the soaps you have purchased!

Thank you for your business, your patience, and your encouragement as Farmhouse Soaps continues to grow!

Coming later - a sneak peek at some of the new soaps.  Black Raspberry Sorbet - oh my goodness - it came out beautiful and smells SO good!
Blessings!

Ahhh- What Happened to My Soap???

This is the phase that soap goes through that will scare the bajeebers out of every first time soaper!

I remember it well! I was making my very first batch of basic soap. I was SO proud that everything went just perfect. Although I was shaking like a leaf and so nervous, every step promised the perfect bar of soap.

Then it happened........about 30 minutes after I poured the soap into the mold, covered the top, and then covered with a towel to insulate it - I went and took a peek!

Eeekkkkk! What happened to my beautiful creamy-looking soap I made??
GEL - PHASE!!!

While I didn't know it at the time, a quick look on Google calmed my worst fears - that my soap was not going to fail.

Gel phase is the phase that occurs about 30 minutes after cold process soap is poured. The soap begins to REALLY heat up and is an early phase of the saponification process, the soap batter temporarily becomes a very warm transparent gel and slowly returns to being opaque, more solid, and cooler. 

So, while a completely normal phase of the soap-making process, it is sure to fire up every first-time soaper!

Farmhouse Soaps featured at the Nicholas Conservatory in Rockford, IL

Farmhouse Soaps are carried exclusively at the Nicholas Conservatory Gift Shop in Rockford, Illinois.

If you have never been to the conservatory - you must go!

It is a stunning greenhouse/conservatory, rose gardens, lagoon, beautiful walkways - all along the Rock River in Rockford!

Plus, my daughter, Allison, works there and would be happy to give you a personal tour!

Farmhouse Soaps featured at the Nick Gardens Gift Shop!

Nick Conservatory Entrance

The conservatory and lagoon

Inside the conservatory

The Soap Shop's Been Busy!

Whew! It has been SO busy here at Farmhouse Soaps!  

I have been selling soap non-stop for the last few weeks which has resulted in my inventory running unexpectedly low.

While I am thrilled that my soaps are becoming more popular and that they are off to new homes - I must send an apology to those who wanted soap, but are finding quite a few of my more popular scent are sold out.

Coconut Lime Verbena Soap Cut and Curing!

Know that I am busy, busy, busy creating new soap every day - sometimes 2-3 different kinds of soap are being made in a day to replenish supplies.  The difficult part about making soap is that it has to cure for a minimum of 4 weeks.

Why does soap have to cure??  Great question!
As the soap cures, most of the water used in the formula evaporates out of it. Cured soap is harder, milder, and more "finished."   Curing soap allows for the water to evaporate and the soap to harden. A harder bar of soap will last longer, lather better and just be overall better soap.

While the saponification process is complete after about 48 hours and the soap is safe to handle, it is still very, very soft.  If you were to use the soap after such a short time, you could end up with a bit of a gooey, very soft bar of soap. 

Curing just makes for a better bar of soap!

So, much like baking bread and waiting patiently for that first warm slice - patience is key with soap.  If we are patient and wait those dreaded 4 weeks - we will have a wonderfully hard bar of soap that will last a long time in your soap dish!

Thank you dear friends for your patience!  Know that I am upping my inventory to be sure to not run out again.  In the meantime, do have a look at the soaps that are available in both the Signature and Seasonal Soaps section of the blog here and be sure to check out the "coming soon" scents!

All the Best ~

Time to Get Going Again!

It has been a few months since I posted here and it is time to get the soap making process going again. 
Taking a few months off is always a blessing, but in all honesty, I miss making soap!
I have just opened a new Farmhouse Soap Facebook Group that I invite you to come by and join.  I have daily postings all about the soap making process as well as what inventory is available!

You will still find all my soap offerings and information here on this page.  Instead of paying for a website, I have chosen to just keep a blog.  That keeps my costs down which I can pass on to you. While you can't physically place an order here on my blog, I do provide an email address that you can use to send me your order.

Soap orders take a 24-48 hours to process and once processed will be mailed out the following day.  I use First Class mail for small orders and Priority for larger orders so that you will have your soap typically within a couple of days!

I am getting ready for the upcoming fall and winter season.  So stay tuned for lots of wonderful new scents, colors and body butters!

Thanks for checking in and I promise to have more regular updates here during the weeks ahead.

Soap ~ The Way is Should Be!!

Soap is not what it used to be!  Now we have "Beauty Bars."

But, what exactly is in a beauty bar!  Even the most expensive bars that are now commercially available, no longer contain the very essence of what soap should be!

Commercial soap companies are not even allowed to use the word soap any longer because it is truly not a bar of soap.  Most of today's commercial soaps are detergents with all the wonderful, natural, skin healing properties removed.  They are a combination of synthetic materials and chemicals. 

When you purchase a bar of hand crafted soap, you can be assured that all those wonderful oils are still present in that bar of soap. That the glycerin and nonsaponified oils will moisturize your skin naturally.  The essential oils will provide wonderful aromatherapy as well as benefits to the skin.

Soap is made from fats or oils and lye.  Most soaps are made with the cold process method: heating the fat or oils, slowly adding lye and water mixture until it thickens, adding essential oils or fragrance oils and natural colorants and then pouring the liquid into molds.  The soap is removed from the molds once hardened, about 24 hours.  After it has cured for about four weeks, it is safe and ready for use.  During the soap making process, the added lye is neutralized by the chemical reaction that turns the fat and lye into soap - this is known as the saponification process.

Although hand crafted soap is more costly to purchase, it will last a long time, is not drying, is beneficial to your skin and can be taylor-made to suit your needs.  A Pure Castile soap, which is made from 100% Olive Oil with no fragrances or colorants is ideal for babies, toddlers, children and the elderly. It is an excellent choice for those with psoriasis or eczema.
It has a wonderful lotiony lather that will moisturize your skin. There are soaps with additives like oatmeal and cornmeal to intensify the cleaning process - great for gardeners!  And there are soaps that simply smell wonderful.  Even though you might be buying a bar of soap because it just smells wonderful, you will also be guaranteed a bar of soap that is moisturizing and good for your skin.

Companies are not allowed to use the word soap unless it is truly a REAL handcrafted bar of soap. - See more at: http://blog.poppysoap.com/2013/06/27/organic-handmade-soap-versus-commercial-soap-aka-skin-detergents/#sthash.54jQ7sOQ.dpuf

Companies are not allowed to use the word soap unless it is truly a REAL handcrafted bar of soap. - See more at: http://blog.poppysoap.com/2013/06/27/organic-handmade-soap-versus-commercial-soap-aka-skin-detergents/#sthash.54jQ7sOQ.dpuf

Companies are not allowed to use the word soap unless it is truly a REAL handcrafted bar of soap. - See more at: http://blog.poppysoap.com/2013/06/27/organic-handmade-soap-versus-commercial-soap-aka-skin-detergents/#sthash.54jQ7sOQ.dpuf

Why I Love to Make Soap

This journey into soap making actually started years ago.  I took a class at a local CSA.  They were offering a class on making goat milk soap.  I loved the experience.  It touched every creative bone in my body.  

Colors ~ scents ~ swirls ~ bars ~ shapes

the possibilities literally were endless!

Then time marched on.  I always loved hand-crafted, natural soap, but somehow between the moments of homeschooling, being a mom, working part time, taking care of a small farm....I just never got around to it.

Then last winter, our hands were so dry and cracking, we knew we needed to get away from commercial soaps.  We started to shop at a local soap shop.  We loved the smells, the colors, the feel of the soap.  And then it hit me.  Why am I not making my own soap?

You really need very little to get started.  

• You don't need a mold, you can use a shoe box.
• You don't need exotic oils, you can use olive oil.
• You don't need a PhD, just a little training and a lot of research. 

I scoured the library for every soap book I could find.  There were dozens and dozens, but I kept coming back to one book.  One that was user friendly, easy to understand, explained things well, and had good pictures.

 I have since bought about a half dozen books and do enjoy the different recipes and scent variations. Here are some of my favorites: 

So, it has been a year that I have been making soap.  We use essential oils, blends of essential oils, skin-safe fragrance oils and lots of wonderful natural colorants.  I am forever amazed at the versatility of this wonderful craft.  You can make a soap any color, any fragrance, and any shape!

I get excited when I gather up my soap making supplies.  


What color will I use?
What scent will it be?
Will I do a drop swirl or spoon swirl?
Should I blend multiple essential oils?


I think this is why I love making soap so much - you can let your imagination go wild!

I have, however, settled on a traditional 5-ounce bar shape.  While you can make cupcake soaps and multi-colored soaps, I somehow love the simplicity of the basic bar size.  I think that is just what we are used to and it brings a sense of old-fashionedness to the soap. So, while the bar may be a standard shape - the soap itself - well, there's nothing standard about that!

I hope you will pop over to the Signature Soaps and Seasonal Soaps and see what is new.  New scents and colors are arriving daily.

I will also be showcasing my soaps at a local indoor Farmer's Market in March and a wonderful craft fair in April.  Then it will be a few months off to make more soap and get ready for the upcoming fall and Christmas season.

No rest for the weary, that's for sure.

Signs of Spring!

As I look out the window, winter is still very present here in Northern Illinois.  We just got over some sub-zero temperatures and we have about a foot of snow on the ground.  But today the sun is shining and my kitchen smells like spring.

Some of the spring scents have arrived!

Lilac in Bloom
Sweet Honeysuckle
Rose Geranium
White Tea & Ginger

These scents are so light and fragrant - I just can't wait to see how they come through the soap making process.

I will have some pictures up soon! They really are very pretty and smell so wonderful!