Upcoming Events!

I have been so busy with the new little one, the 2 bigger kids and preparing for the upcoming holiday season!!!

Here are a list of my upcoming events:

Pop-Up Holiday Boutique 
Thursday, November 13, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. and Saturday November 15th, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
2111 NW Jessamine Way, Portland
facebook.com/papermoonshop

Lake Oswego Farmer's Market Reunion
Saturday, November 22, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Millennium Plaza Park, 200 First Street

Garden Home Recreation Center Holiday Bazaar
Saturday, December 6, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
7475 SW Oleson Rd., Portland OR 97223

Peppermint

Double Mint, Spearmint and Peppermint!

Rosalie Jane

I am on a bit of a soap making hiatus for a very good reason. Our beautiful baby girl was born June 20th. She was a little peanut, weighing 6 pounds 3 ounces. We are all in love! wish me luck when Joe goes back to work tomorrow!

The Best Time of Year!

Mother's Day

Fresh Ginger Lime

Wedding Shower Favors

Double Mint: Peppermint and Spearmint Essential Oil Soap

I LOVE this time of year! The promise of warm weather ahead, flowers in bloom and my favorite....farmer's markets! I am so blessed to be participating in the Sherwood Saturday Market almost every Saturday this season. It is such a lovely community and gives me the perfect opportunity to connect with local people and sell some soap too. There is even another soap vendor, but we are very friendly, so it has been great.

Even though I am making soap 3-4 times a wekk, I am still in love with the process. I also love the independence of selling my own product, which I am so passionate about. I love what I do!

I am also so excited to met the newest arrival to the Morris family. Our baby girl will be here in less than a month and I can hardly wait. We are all so anxious to learn more about her and see her face. I will tak about a month and a half off, and then she will be coming to the market with me. I am almost certain she will help me sell more soap....who doesn't love a newborn?

The Truth about Florals

Lilac by Bramble Berry

Goodness, was I ever afraid of floras when I first started making soap. The quick acceleration was just somethng I could not handle and I am still afraid of them to a certain extent, but I think I have a good handle on them now.

When I read reviews for Bramble Berry's Lilac, I was terrified. Almost everyone said this accelerated very quickly. One user even said that it should not be used in cp soap.....yikes!!! I have 16 ounces of this stuff and all I make it cp soap. What now?

When I made my 3 batches of Lilac soap, I was well prepared. I colored the majority of the soap purple, before I added the fragrance. I also soaped at 80 degrees and I reserved a small portion for the top, which remained unscented. I hesitantly whisked in the Lilac fragrance oil, terrified that it would seize on me, but all was good. I had plenty of time to put it in the mold without the slightest hint of seizing or accelerating. Whew! I then took my unscented portion, added some pink to it and had a lovely pinkish purple color for the top, which I had plenty of time to play with and make pretty!

So, that is my secret with florals. I leave a portion of the soap batter unscented, and then add that to the top so I can beautify the soap. With my floral soaps, I keep things simple. I always soap around 80 degrees  and whisk in the fragrance. With this method, I am always pleased with the results.

My Hubby Makes Soap for the First Time

I made my husband a Tea Tree Shampoo Soap about a year ago and he loved it so much, he wanted a whole new batch. This time, he wanted to make it himself. we used a recipe from the Soap Queen Blog called the Invigoration Shampoo Bar. The recipe is simple and I had all the ingredients, except for the tea tree oil, which he happily bought locally.

As you can see, Joe doesn't have much hair, so he will use this as a body/shampoo bar. He is already counting down the days until he can use it! Good job honey! I am so proud!

The Natural Approach

I love colorful, creative soaps, but sometimes I like to make a more natural soap. I guess that is why I love soap making so much. It gives me the opportunity to create a new soap, anytime I want. The pssibilities are endless.

Today I made a soap using 10X Orange Essential Oil. I enjoy using essential oils and fragrance oils, but haven't made an essential oil soap in a while. I also added orange peel powder and sprinkled red raspberry seeds on top for visual appeal. The orange peel powder adds some exfoliating properties, which I am excited about. Nature's Garden states that, "Orange peel is loaded with nutrients for your skin: Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Vitamin B1, beta-carotene, and numerous other vitamins and minerals. Due to its high flavonoid content, orange peel acts as an anti-microbial and anti-bacterial agent in skincare products." This all sounds wonderful!!!!

I hope customers love this soap, because I made 3 batches tonight! I sure hope the smell sticks well. Some citrus essential oils are known to fade fast. This 10x oil is not suppose to do this. I also helped to anchor the scent with kaolin clay. This soap looks simply gorgeous and I just love with my natural ingredients color my soap the appropriate color. Win, win!

Sherwood Farmer's Market!!!

Love Spell (Nature's Garden)...a dream to work with and smells so divine!

Fresh Ginger Lime (Bramble Berry). I can never stock enough!

Sandalwood Rose

Sweet Meyer Lemon (Bramble Berry)...love the addition of poppy seeds

A special order for a 10 year old boy named Joe. His favorite colors are blue, green and pink.
Scented with Fresh Snow (Bramble Berry)

Oatmeal, Milk and Honey (Bramble Berry)

Lavender

I am thrilled to announce I was accepted into another farmer's market!!! The Sherwood Farmer's Market gave me all 10 dates that I requested and I could not be happier!!! I am going to be one busy girl, in fact, I will most likely be breastfeeding our newborn at the market. I will do so discreetly, but if you have to feed a baby, a farmer's market seems to be as good of a place as any. I did take the month after she was born off (July), but I will be back in action in August. That means that I have upped production and streamlined my processes.

I now make 24 bars at a time. I started with 8, so this is a big improvement. I bought 3 more molds, so I can make soap everyday if needed. I also make my soap labels as soon as I have completed a soap, instead of leaving it as an immense task for one day. I store the labels in a book until I am ready to package and because I switched to cigar band labels, it is so much faster!!!! I also came up with a solution for the dreaded sliding of the cigar band as the soap shrinks, which always happens! I purchased 1/2" velcro adhesive dots, that can be refasted as the soap shrinks. This has made me very happy! I sure hope this works!!! The glue dots I was using were not a good solution at all.

In the meantime, I have participated in a few small school Spring bazaars, that have proven to bring in a little money, as well as filling orders from return customers. Etsy has continued to be a slow source of income, but I am still happy to have my shop up and running.

I am now 25 weeks pregnant and feeling good! Our family is thrilled with the increased number of sunny days and we are already looking forward to the arrival of summer and our baby girl. Life is good!

Spring is in the Air

Summer Fling

Fresh Ginger Lime is my surprise huge best seller!!!

Somerset Rose on a Mommy date!

My Lion and Rose

 

 

 

 

22 weeks pregnant here. My hubby and I attended a cowboy/girl themed Bunco night with my
MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers). This is as western as I get!

 
This time of year is slow for this soaper. Not much action, but I am excited for spring. I am loving all the new fresh scents. I just used to new Bramble Berry fragrance oils that I am very pleased with Lettuce and Summer Fling. They are both so clean and spa-like, which is exactly what I was looking fir. I hope they are great sellers!!!!

Lettuce is described as: "Crisp and clean and everything green, this scent works great in CP soap for a light fresh fragrance. Hugely popular with our customers, it's a year-round favorite. In fact, one of our customers proclaimed it her 'all time favorite.' Try some today and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good romaine and iceburg can smell!"

Summer Fling: "This new summer scent from Bramble Berry is full of fruits and flowers. Smelling strongly of Raspberries and Peaches, this blend is toned down by the white notes of Magnolias, Lilies and Cyclamen. Not one to let a fragrance fall flat in the bottom notes, Summer Fling also has White Musk as a supporting dry down."

I also recently soaped Summer Melon Spritzer and my customers loved it. It is funny, because both my husband and I dislike melon scents, but based on great customer reviews, I tried it and am satisfied at how well it has been received. 

I participated in an event today, a Spring bazaar at an elementary school. The entry fee was fairly low and the money went to a good cause. In the first 2 hours, I had no sales! I had great table neighbors, so I had fun chatting with my new friends and considered the day would be a success if I covered my table fee. Luckily things turned around and I actually made over a $100, which is not a good day at all, but it is more money than of I hadn't gone at all. I try to always look on the bright side of things. You never know when a new opportunity will arise!

On a personal note, I am now 23 weeks pregnant with our baby girl. I feel great and so blesssed. Life is good, even though it can be super hectic!

Snow Bound = Soap Making Galore!

My snow angel....Somerset Rose!

My little Princess! She wants me to make a princess soap. 

Bastille Baby Bar, for my new baby girl.

Lavender Chamomile

Good Day Sunshine

Lavender Mint

In Beaverton, OR, it doesn't snow much, so when it does, everything shuts down!
Being trapped in the house the last 4 days means that everything has been reorganized, including my soap supplies, loads of time with my husband and sweet kids (sorry that I didn't get any photos of my sweet 5 year old son Leo), and lots of free time to make soap.

I remade some favorites, including Lavender Mint and Good Day Sunshine (Energy from Bramble Berry). I also have baby girl on my mind, so I made Lavender Chamomile (Huggies type from Bramble Berry), and a chamomile and calendula infused olive oil bastille baby bar! It is super fatted 8% and is 92% olive oil and 8% castor oil for bubbles. I left this one unscented, so it is super gentle and will let it cure for 6 months.

Now let me sing the praises of Lavender Chamomile fragrance oil! I use to use this Huggies soap on my babies before I started making soap. I always loved the scent so much (swoon). When I saw that Bramble Berry carried this scent, I had to try it. I was not at all disappointed and at all and this is one of my personal favorite scents. I will be using this one for myself. This scent is described as having  "top notes of Lavender, Chamomile and a bit of Orange and Eucalyptus. The blend is rounded out with Cedarwood, Musk and Hay, making it absolutely precious smelling." This is my favorite baby scent ever, but I hope that adults like it as much as I do because I hope to sell a ton of it....maybe as a spa-type scent!

New Business Card!

I am seriously in love with my new business cards. Thanks to Natasha Desiree of Little Paper Sparrow! It is just so sweet. I ordered a million of them, so I was hoping I would love them, and I do!

On another business note, my little company is now official. Lion and Rose, LLC is the real deal! I am now super motivated to give out these cute business cards.

On a Personal Note

We had a gender reveal party tonight for baby #3 and we are having a girl!!! I already have a wonderful son or daughter, so either a boy or girl would have been fine with me, but I am thrilled we are having a girl. Unfortunately, my son Leo, really wanted a brother, Poor little guy just couldn't hide his disappointment!

New Packaging!

Won't you call me Sweetheart? Valentine Soap

Hugs and Kisses

Star Anise and Sweet Orange

Spearmint, Grapefruit and Litsea Cubeba Essential Oils
Colored with Sea Clay

The most exciting new development is my new labels, Etsy Banner, and business cards! I am really working developing cohesive branding. Next up....this blog! I love all things vintage, so it only made sense to have a vintage vibe to my design. The new branding is the perfect marriage of modern, hip and vintage, all rolled up in one.  Thanks again to the wonderful Natasha Desiree for helping me achieve the new look!

I have been having fun with making new soaps. I have really discovered what sells, and so I have been focusing on making these soaps. I just need new avenues for selling. I would be set if I had one event every week. I need to make this happen. I also need some more wholesale accounts!

I participated in a wonderful women's luncheon yesterday, as a vendor, called the Wild Women's Society.  The theme of the meeting was about trusting your intuition. It was a fascinating topic, especially since the guest speaker was a well known psychic named Suzanne Jauchius. As soon as Suzanne found out I was pregnant, she said I was having a girl! The kids think I am having a boy, so now I am really interested in learning what gender our sweet baby will be. 

In addition to all of my fun and colorful soap creations, I have been experimenting with using all essential oils and natural colorants. I love having these options,  but wonder sometimes if I am trying to appeal to too wide of a customer base. Locally, what makes my soaps unique, is how they are all vibrant, swirled, and textured. Most soaps that are sold locally are more straight forward (no color or a single color, no textured tops, etc). Perhaps I should stick with where my passion lies....with design and artistry.  I have read that it is best to keep things simple and not provide too many options. This is difficult for me, but I am trying.