Sandy's Soap Box

Will My Hands Ever Be the Same???

Sandy — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:54:00 GMT

I have gardener's hands and there's nothing I can do about it. Grime is permanently imbedded in my index fingers and my cuticle looks like I use a machete for a manicure. What nails I have are ragged and perpetually dirty despite my best efforts. What's a girl to do?

I say celebrate and wear it proudly! My hands are a testament to my love affair with dirt. Oh I have gloves, really nice nitrile ones, and I wear them for dragging hoses and unloading bricks. But when I'm on my knees with packets of seed or bedding plants; when the Stargazer lilies just have to be moved to a sunnier locale, the gloves come off and the hands dig in.

At the end of the day my hands need more than lotion. I often use the Healing Touch Herbal Salve that's been a Greencastle staple for many years now. It's greasy, but soaks in quickly and helps heal my torn up cuticle and ease water-chapped skin. A simple salve, with a thicker, more hand-friendly feel can be easily made at home.

You'll need:

Ingredients

3/4 oz shea butter
2/3 oz jojoba oil
1/3 oz good quality olive oil
3/4 oz white beeswax flakes or pellets

Melt all ingredients together in a double boiler and add a few drops of essential oil. Lavender is always good or whatever you like. Pour into a tin or small jar and use for garden ravaged hands.

Try to avoid recipes that call for vaseline or mineral oil. These are petroleum products, and while they may feel good at first, they are ultimately drying and create that "must have more" sensation.

Recently I came across a fragrance oil that smells just like freshly turned sod. One whiff and I expected to see little red earthworms pop up. I suppose this is one of those smells like patchouli...love it or hate it....but I couldn't wait to get it into a bar of soap. I made a special Gardener's Bar with extra shea butter for softening and a bit of pumice for scrubbing. Response has been mixed, but personally I think it's terrific. It smells clean to me...... but remember, I'm the one with the forever stains on her index fingers. It's the weeds dontcha know.....there are just so damn many of them!!

Happy Digging from Sandy @ Greencastle Soap reminding you to

Think of Us When You're Naked!!

The Weather Report & Brief Musings on Running a Small Biz

Sandy — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:03:42 GMT

A good friend of mine served some time in the Army. Her last assignment kept her in Hawaii for 4 years, poor girl. Arriving home to the Pacific NW early one March she observed with a shiver, "Oh yeah...I remember: Fall is cold and dry, winter is cold and snowy, Spring is cold and we, and summer is cold the second the sun goes down."
She's right of course. No matter what the calendar might say, as a life long resident of the NW I'm telling you that summer in Spokane, Washington doesn't arrive till a few days AFTER the 4th of July.

So after a few days of glorious Spring sunshine we are back to cold and wet. Right on schedule. In an uncertain world it's nice to know some things can be counted on!

We've been busy here at Greencastle Soap. Our Spring arts & craft shows went quite well despite the roller coaster economy. (Personally, I'm just not participating in this recession) I'm so grateful to all my longtime customers who care for their skin enough to keep stocking up, and keep me from having to get a real job! (That's a joke as any of you self-employed folks will immediately know.)

On my office door is a photo of a woman rock climbing. She is harnessed and hanging in space reaching for a toe hold on some terrifying precipice. The caption says, "Oh sure....but does she have the guts to run her own business?" I get that.

When I made my first batch of soap so long ago I had no clue that it would lead to this interesting and often challenging life as a fulltime soapmaker. What a wonderful ride it's been...even the days when I'm ready to become a Wal Mart greeter rather than have to face the bills, the show schedule, the soap kettle, the myriad decisions that any small biz owner must face every day. Who am I kidding..... I wouldn't have it any other way!!

Happy (cold, wet, muddy) Spring Everyone...now go get your hands dirty doing something you love!!

IT'S SPRING!

Sandy — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:48:31 GMT

   I greet Spring with mud on my shoes and hope in my heart. Hope that I'll survive the Mud Season, living as I do with 3 cats, 2 weiner dogs and Luis, all of whom track in dirt at an amazing rate..... sigh...

    The flower beds are muddy messes, but we have tulips up about 4 inches and a few brave crocus blooming in a sheltered corner of the porch. I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt...got big plans about moving some lilies and dividing up the iris that have thrived along the driveway.

    Speaking of Dirt...we have a new soap curing now on the drying racks. I made a Gardener's Bar with lanolin and shea butter and used a fragrance oil that smells exactly like freshly turned sod! Reactions have varied...the gardeners among us seem to like it, the men are intrigued and folks who don't like patchouli don't like this scent either. For coloring I tried a moss oxide pigment which made a lovely muted avocado green. I like it.

Soap coloring can be tricky and I am frequently asked about the bright swirls and other effects we have in our soaps. Here's the low-down:
Soap colors can come from
A) synthetic dyes, very potent FDA approved substances that we use when we want brilliant color
B) natural pigments that achieve lovely colors but can take a lot of pigment to accomplish
C) stuff you find around the house, like cinnamon, curry powder, instant coffee, crayons (not recommended) liquid food coloring, cocoa powder, tumeric, paprika or tea

Play around! See what works! We recommend mixing whatever colorant you choose into a few tablespoons of raw soap first and then add it to the batch. Remember, the color the raw soap is in the pot may not look ANYTHING like it will when it's cool, so take notes!

We've added a couple other new "flavors" to the line this Spring. Raspberry Green Tea has been a big hit at local shows as well as our new Island Lime, a tempting combination of Coconut, Lime Oil and Verbena . Peppermint with Loofa has morphed into Oatmeal Mint, with a pretty pink color and a good sprinkling of finely ground oats.

Coming very soon is Patchouli Rose, which, believe me, is NOT your gramma's rose soap!

Happy Spring my friends! Plant something, even if it's a pansie or a primrose. Better yet, plant something you can eat. Put your hands on the Earth and give thanks for 6 inches of top soil and a little rain. We're all in this together!

Take good care,

Sandy

It's Snowin' in the City....

Sandy — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:01:47 GMT

    It's snowin' in the City and the streets are brown and gritty.....

    I wish things were brown and gritty! Since December 16th Spokane has received over 77 inches of snow...a whole winter's worth and we're just getting started. It's an astounding amount of snow even for this Pacific NW city.
    Bullit, the resident Dachshund, and I were snowed in here at the soap shop for 3 days. As a friend of mine rightly observed, "sometimes the best stories aren't a bit fun while they're happening." I suspect that's overwhelmingly true for many residents of my town right now. 'Long about next August we can all enjoy re-telling the winter of 08/09, when roofs collapsed all over Spokane and school didn't start after Christmas till halfway through January.

In the meantime here's an easily made concoction for super dry winter hands:

Ingredients:

2 parts cocoa butter (use deodorized unless you want the smell of cocoa)
1 part shea butter
1 part mango or hemp seed butter
2 parts coconut oil
Your choice of essential or fragrance oil (Lavender is always nice)

Melt all oils and butters together in a double boiler. Add several drops of essential or fragrance oil. Pour into jar or flat tin. Rub as needed into dry winter skin. Optionally,use a hand mixer to beat the melted oils and butters on low speed till mixture cools. This will result in a fluffier cream.

2009 promises to be an interesting year, don't you think? I wishyou all good health, fulfilling work and loving relationships.

We've got some great new soap "flavors" planned for Spring, so check back soon.

Cheers, Sandy

ps: if you got an extra snow shovel send it our way ;-)

Holiday Time!

Sandy — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:33:46 GMT

    Soap making classes have been going well. It's always so interesting to see what other people make! Sometimes the oddest sounding combinations can be the most delightful. Clove and tea tree??? Who'da thought??
    As the holidays approach we are busy making Candy Cane Soap and Holiday Spice. Last year we made our first batch of Mocha Mint and that's been a hit. Soap that smells just like a Peppermint Patty! Coloring it was a challenge however since it tends to "tan" as a consequence of the mocha oil we used. You soapers who have used anythig with a vanilla base will know what I mean.
    I recently went a bit wild with one of my oil suppliers and as a result we have some yummy new fragrances to play with: Raspberry, Ginger Milk, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Egyptian Musk and Myrrh to name a few.
    I can't seem to bottle up Clove and Cinnamon fast enough and the Bayberry fragrance is going well too. I splurged and got some real Frankincense e/o, and a Tangerine e/o that makes my mouth water. Can't wait to try them out.
    The price of Patchouli remains sky-high which is a drag because it works so well in cold process soap and blends with almost everything. I recently made a test batch of Patchouli with Grapefruit, Orange and Vetiver. I like it , but then I've been wearing patchouli for over 30 years. (Yikes! Does that date me or what!)
    If you're making soap for Christmas gifts better get it on the drying racks NOW. Hand made soaps need to cure for at least 4 weeks before they are used. Like fine wine, cheese and women....soaps get better with age! I must be nearly perfect!

Be well and keep on soapin'

~sandy

Off to the Barter Faire!

Sandy — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:55:59 GMT

Once a year when the leaves are beginning to fall with a vengence it's time to unplug, if only for a few days, from the business of making and selling soap. The Okanagon Family Barter Faire takes place some time in mid October and is a long weekend I look forward to all year. An event unlike any other the Barter Faire is a chance to get away from everything electrical. No phones. No screens. No power. Bring your own water. The gathering is huge. Bigger than one can imagine. Kinda of like camping with 10,000 of your best friends. The secluded site, a mere stone's throw from the Canadian border, is filled with camps of every description:motorhomes and trailers, dome tents, pickups and vans, dwellings constructed from tarps and tapestries. "Drive on the dirt. Walk on the straw." Leave your attitudes behind and for a few days immerse yourself in smoke and drums and the thrum of a village sprung from nowhere. The tribe is gathering. May we be blessed with dry weather and open hearts. See you in a few.
~sandy

A Year Gone By? Oh No!

Sandy — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:09:58 GMT

    First, let me apologize for leaving the same boring rant on this site for a whole year. My bad! I promise not to do that again.
    We've had a great time with our soapmaking classes this past year and have had fun experimenting with different coloring agents. We've used paprika, tumeric and curry to give our soaps some lovely pink and orangish hues. Cocoa powder mixed with a little raw soap and then swirled into the mold made some of the most interesting designs we've ever seen in soap. Add some pure peppermint oil and a coffee/chocolate fragrance oil and you've got Mocha Mint, a new soap that has been a real hit at arts and craft shows.
    My daughter Camille got married this summer and I have to say she spent my money well...on food and champagne! In my book a mark of maturity is when your chief aim is to take good care of your guests rather than indulge yourself unnecessarily. She and her husband Willie threw a terrific, well organized, wedding and reception and I couldn't be more pleased with them all.
    We've had a busy run of arts and craft shows this summer and were fortunate to have cooler than usual weather at each one. I'll bet that never happens again, but boy was I grateful!
    Even though it's only late August we'll soon be making Candy Cane soap for Christmas shows. Since the soaps must cure for at least a month before we sell them, now is not too early to get a few batches on the drying racks. Holiday shows will be happening before we know it...or as the sign says here at the soap shop: WARNING! Dates On This Calendar Are Closer Than They Appear! Ain't that the truth! The kids are back in school, or soon to be, pickups are parked all over town with firewood heaped in the back and I see "Huckleberries For Sale" at pull-outs along the main streets.
    My garden is a weedy, overgrown mess but the tomatoes are coming on strong and I have to make zucchini bread tonight! Either that or get a second refrigerator.....
    Be well everyone and check back soon. Make me keep my promise!

~sandy

Happy Solstice!

Sandy — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:28:18 GMT

    Happy Solstice! As the mid-summer sun heats up here's a simple recipe for a spritzer that will help keep you cool.
    In a spray bottle mix 1 part Witch Hazel (found in most drug stores) with 3 parts water. Add a few drops of your favorite essential or fragrance oil and shake well. The witch hazel adds a cooling evaporative element that will not dry your skin like alcohol can. Take your spritzer to the beach and spray your face, the baby's toes or the dog's belly. Can also be used as a spray to freshen bed linens.

Natural Bug Repellent
   Use 4 ounces of an inexpensive oil like grapeseed or soybean and add 10 drops each of lemongrass, eucalyptus, tea tree, cedar and lavender. Lemongrass oil contains a type of citronella and will discourage bugs from bothering you. I like to keep my Bug Off Oil in a small spray bottle for ease in using. Just spritz and rub! No nasty chemicals and a heckuva lot better smelling!

In the Pagan world, Summer Solstice is the time for all those plans and ideas that were hatched back in the early days of spring to begin to blossom. Just as the seed that once shivered under the snow now stretches toward the heat of the sun, so can we reach to accomplish our goals.
This is a time of fullness, of watching our gardens and our lives swell with promise. Celebrate the abundance of life, feel the heartbeat of the Earth!