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Inventory Brings Near Future Announcements

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Goat Milk Soap on April 11, 2009| 3 Comments »

We had some chores to run. Then we headed to our respective duties (mine in the shop, his working on mowers). Today is the day to spruce the mowers back up so they can start cutting the green stuff. Did I tell you that I love to mow? I can think like a crazy woman while mowing. I should carry a pad of Post It Notes and a pen with me when I mow. Ooops…I am regressing already! Help me!!!

Joking aside, I really do not feel well today. I hardly ever catch a bug of any sort. Oh, I will admit, I get the aches and pains occasionally, or perhaps a stomach ache, but to actually catch something from a germ, seldom. Today is quite different. The head is coming off. If you see a head rolling, can you send it to Ohio for me?

Joking aside again, instead of making soap today I decided to do a much needed inventory. The results are…wow! Announcements to be made here within the next several days and in the April newsletter, which you can sign up for by clicking on the newsletter link (envelope) at the bottom of the Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps home page.

I will drop a few small hints for now: more soaps going into the Brown Bag Special, more soaps added to the “Y” A Sale discount soap group, and a line of (10 I believe) new soaps to be added. More on that…I am excited!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend…I hope yours is as pretty as this one is right now.

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Organization and Cleanliness – Goat Milk Lotion

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Goat Milk Lotion on April 10, 2009| 6 Comments »

I have heard some lotion disaster stories lately, not very fun for the crafter, and thought I would help my fellow learning lotion makers just a tad here. And, for my friends and customers, you will get a hint as to how things are handled in my shop when formulating lotion.

For the lotion makers, it is all about organization and cleanliness।

When I make lotion I lay it all out beforehand, each and every ingredient and tool. The containers for the ingredients are scrupulously clean before I begin measuring ingredients. And before I work with the clean containers and tools in the shop, they are wiped down with clean towels soaked in alcohol.

The goat milk in my lotion is fresh and pasteurized.

Another hint, plastic lotion containers should not be reused. You can scrub, boil, soak, bleach, and cleanse with alcohol, and you will more than likely still find lovely unwanted growth in your fresh lotion batch when reusing plastic containers. Best to keep a stock of new containers on hand.

Never cap the lotion while the formula is still warm. This prevents water condensation from formingunder the cap. Before the product cools, shake it at least once (wear sterilized gloves or wipe the hands with alcohol first). Once the product cools, shake it once more before capping.

So to share some of the disaaster stories (I am sooo sorry), “My lotion exploded in the bottle,” “There were specks of mold in the bottle after a week,” eeewwww, “The product separated and I am not happy with it!” We all have batches that are not just right, I had one today. I will be purchasing new shea butter before any more lotion is made. Sometimes it goes grainy and is not suitable for lotion (but fine for soap), quality means everything. When making lotion, or any bath product, organization and cleanliness is key.

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Today’s Goat Milk Soap Unveiling

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Goat Milk Soap on April 4, 2009| 3 Comments »

The first is the Orange Cream goat milk soap, cut yesterday morning. Orange with a light vanilla scented topping. Good enough to eat? I love the color.

And I am not opposed to publishing the “oopsies.” In the Annie’s Goat Hill soap shop I do not have many throw aways, seriously, a total of 4 batches since I started making soap in 2003. After contemplation, I ditched the first batch of goat milk soap last year because the lather was too sticky (not even good enough to give to a shelter, always a consideration). I “people” test each and every batch at curing. Another batch was not appealing to the nose at all, and I will guarantee it would not have been pleasant to any human being. 🙂

Anyhow, I did not cut this next batch until a few minutes ago. I had to do quite the chop job on it. It was not a total throw away. The top has been slivered off, too soft, and experience tells me it would not have hardened. It no longer looked like creamed spinach, thankfully, but unfortunately it looked like dark blue or purple ink. I was able to save a few bars, and I am hoping they will be usable once cured. If anything, a special gift for someone. I call it Unripened Berries.

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Plain White Goat Milk Soap Day 2

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Goat Milk Soap on April 2, 2009| 6 Comments »

As promised, the cutting of the soap today. I love the periwinkle blue/purple lilac soap.

Today’s soap is (to the left) orange vanilla cream (the yellow topping will eventually turn a light tan) and the second type I have not named yet. It was supposed to have been a lighter shade of green, not the color of creamed spinach. 🙂 We shall see what happens as it cures!

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Plain White Goat Milk Soap

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Goat Milk Soap on April 1, 2009| 7 Comments »

Do you see the three batches of plain white goat milk soap?

I do not see them either. Today has been a “goofy” day, as I like to call it at times. That means it is a good day, very beautiful outside, and I feel extremely content, but something just happens at each turn of the corner. I do not believe it is because it is April Fool’s Day…but then…perhaps it is just the thought of it being that particular day, a day full of surprises.

I had decided that Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps was going to step off of the colored soap path, but today as I closed the shop door behind me, and as I sorted through the bottles of essential oils and fragrance, the color wheel started turning in my head again. It looks as if color, occasionally, is to stay. If you want a non-colored soap, I will have them in stock, if you want color, I will have those in stock as well!

Today’s soaps, left to right, are lilac, plumeria, and lavender. The color will be mainly on one end of the bar, and I am hoping for a lovely light swirl of color surprise when I cut the bars tomorrow.

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The Many Uses Of Soap

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Goat Milk Soap on March 24, 2009| 5 Comments »

With other tasks on the agenda, today was not a day to make soap in the shop, but I did think about it!

I like to think a pretty bar of soap, one that smells wonderful, or is healthy for the skin, is used for the obvious, but there are so many other uses for soap.

Remove laundry stains. A good bar of soap sometimes removes stains from fabric when pre-treating better than a commercial bottle of stain remover. I learned this trick back when my boys were babies. Baby formula stains were quite the task, until I discovered how a white bar of soap, wet and rubbed in before laundering seemed to remove the stains, they vanished!

Deodorize your car. I have done this myself. Place a bar of soap in an area of your vehicle, perhaps under the seat, and you have an instant air freshener that certainly smells better than fake pine (unless you prefer fake pine, and that is okay)! Be careful to not use the type of soap that melts easily in heat.

Make a pin holder. We hardly ever use diaper pins these days, however, needles and safety pins, and for the seamstresses, straight pins, all glide in fabric so much easier and have a safe storage space when they come from a pin cushion/bar of soap.

Freshen luggage. A bar of soap that is mildly scented, without loud colors, placed in luggage, keeps it fresh scented between uses.

Freshen clothes. I love to place a bar of soap in a closet or clothes drawer.

Soap slivers. I do not throw them away. Of course, I love to see how tiny the sliver can get before my soap actually can no longer be used. It becomes translucent, to be honest, before I lose its use. But, if you want, save the slivers, put them in a white cotton sock. Kids love to wash with them. Or, place the slivers in a slit in a sponge. The lather just billows for many uses.

Stuck zippers. Rubbing a bar of soap across a zipper, especially a metal zipper that has a tendency to stick, will help prevent it from sticking.

Insect bites. I find relief in dampening a bar of soap and rubbing it on a stubborn insect bite, especially one that itches.

Dirty fingernails. I have done this one as well. If you have to put your hands into a task where you do not want to wear gloves, you can dig your fingernails into a bar of soap before completing the task. The soap will prevent the nails from filling with dirt (or whatever substance you are trying to prevent).

Preventing soot on campfire pots. Okay, I have to admit, this one I have not tried, but did find it worth noting! If you rub the bottom of a cast iron pot or frying pan prior to placing it over the campfire, the soap will prevent the bottom of the pot from collecting soot. Interesting!

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Fun Soap

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Boxer Dogs, Goat Milk Soap on March 23, 2009| 6 Comments »

The bars cut from yesterday’s batches of soap. How about that funky fun look? My husband is not fond of the green bar. He isn’t a vegetable person and he seems to relate the soap to pea soup. Funny, and fun!

And, another pic of my photogenic Tyra. She helped me grab a few shipping boxes this evening, and got her picture taken in the process.

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Soap On The Sunday Menu

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Goat Milk Soap, Goats on March 22, 2009| 10 Comments »

How about some pea or carrot soup?

After taking care of goats, and more goats, and kids, in a big way for almost a month, this afternoon I took a “me” day. We all need them. My favorite kind of “me” day is one when I do something that I enjoy, uninterrupted. Today was the perfect day, a soap day. Soap crafting is not work to me because I enjoy it so much.

The soaps are darker in color than I had intended, how about that pea soup soap with chunks of ham? Actually, it should lighten up, and should make for a pretty cutting tomorrow, with a surprise within the dark gold color. Instead of pea or carrot soup, it sort of reminds me of 70’s carpet colors. I am glad I have a sense of humor!

Last night my 60-something year old neighbor came over and bought armloads of soap and lotion. He was like a kid in a candy store. He went from bar to bar on the curing rack, “Oh, I like that. It smells like it came out of a field! Do you have anything that really smells weird? How about that two toned soap?” The funny this is, he and I clicked in the soap shop. I need someone around just like him. Not that my husband isn’t a big help, he is a tremendous help, but Bob cannot pick up on the scents like I can. Kellis really understood the combinations of scents and it was a world of fun to see him bopping around.

Annie has a problem. I have never had a respiratory problem in a grown goat, and she appears to have developed just that. I am going to start her kids on a round of bottles today, but keep the kids with her. They do not seem to be nursing, but I am afraid if I steal them away Annie is not going to get well. I’ll accept the challenge. I work hard on kids that lag behind. Kids are such a blessing, animals are a blessing (to me). I always love this time period, after everyone has kidded (even though we are still not finished). Things slow down and the real enjoyment begins.

It is a beautiful spring day here today. Bob is working out in his wood shop. We both are suffering with allergies, but headed out to our shops to get some creativity in. He is cleaning up some old barn siding to make a rustic mirror frame.

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Whipped Shea Butter

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Whipped Shea Butter on March 10, 2009| 7 Comments »

As you all know, I have had a mess of kids born these past couple of weeks.

During kidding season each year I develop a myriad of thoughts such as happiness, wonder (awe to mother nature), weariness, and if I do not watch myself, the grand feeling of being overwhelmed.

I like my patterns in life. I am not a person that likes to sit around, nor do I like to be bored, but I like my work to be in some sort of order.

When kids are born the pattern changes somewhat, especially when the cold weather brings forth a number of bottle kids. Soon, though, the patterns begin to fall into place again. This evening, with a warm breeze blowing through the barn, I sat in the near darkness and bottle fed the hungry kids. Despite the noise of the complaining grown goats (waiting for water buckets to be filled), I enjoyed the quiet with the kids.

During these few weeks each year another thing happens. I tend to not take such good care of myself. I do pay attention to the bare basics, such as bathing, sleeping and eating, but other things tend to go to the wayside, such as skin care.

Today I regained some of my old self. Right before dinner I worked in my shop, made a fresh batch of whipped shea butter. This batch has shea butter, olive oil, and a few other minor ingredients, including sweet orange essential oil for a touch of fragrance. Skin care is back on the agenda!

I plan to whip some jars up for customers, for the website. What types of scents would you like to see? I went all natural with this one, but I can add a fragrance as well.

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New Goat Milk Soap Project

Posted in In The Soap Shop, tagged Goat Milk Soap on March 9, 2009| 8 Comments »

I missed blogging this weekend. I have some catching up to do!

We visit friends each Sunday afternoon. When I called yesterday morning they invited us out to a later dinner, instead of the Sunday afternoon visit. They said, “You guys need a break, you have been hitting the (kidding) hard on the farm now for over a week.” I hesitated at first. Wondered how I would fit a trip away in. But, common sense told me it would be good for us. It was.

Today has been wrapped around deskwork, chore running, feeding bottle kids, and a new goat milk soap project.

Some of you know that my love of soap began when I was right at 8 years old, when I bought primitive soap balls on a school field trip at a pioneer farm. I never thought I would try to make soap myself (not back then), I just fell in love with soap without realizing it. I collected soap through my childhood, never gave that a thought either.

After lunch today I headed out to my shop and got some activity and energy flowing. It does not not look like much right now, except perhaps balls of cookie dough! Here are the starts to my primitive soap balls. Once they are cured, I am taking some to a shop placement. I’ll post pics of that final project later this week…my ideas are rounding up!

Tyra says…”Mom, can you do something with these goat kids?” My boxers love it when I bring a bottle baby in. Even Spike, the 90 pound male, gets to be a spring board from time to time. He just looks at me with an empty stare.