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!