Ok...so my life and my business have taken a completely different path.  In 2009 I closed Olive Branch Soap in Minnesota, divorced and moved to Naples Florida.  Really did not get back into soapmaking...until now.  I started making candles and some soap again.  My old mason jar candles were just too rustic for Naples Florida.  Late last year after seeing so many neat wine bottles, I decided to give glass cutting a shot...so now I am pouring soy candles into wine, beer and cooler bottles!!

Will try updating this blog more often!!!

January Thaw...yeah!!!

Gotta love 40 degree days in January in Minnesota! Our street is almost clear of snow and you could actually hear the birds chirping today!!!!

The spring seed catelogs have started to arrive. Likewise we are on the hunt for new fragrances for spring. Yes Lilac wll be back.....sometime in March! The first new soap for spring is called Parsley Water.....I made this one up yesterday and I love it! So fresh and soooo green! Another new one I am going to make up in the next day or so will be Lemon Sugar and Candied Violets. Smells nice in the bottle and apparently it will bloom when made up in soap. I am looking for a good honeysuckle and maybe a jasmine or magnolia. Tulips...hot house build...need to look for that too! Gardeners soap too!!

I am thinking that I will make up a selection a tropical themed soaps to help get us thru the winter blues.....Plumeria, Pikaki Lani and maybe White Ginger Blossom. We need the florals....I am just so tired of the spicy witer fragrances!! I love the spices but I want spring!!!!

I spent part of this week restocking lip balms. They sold like crazy over the holiday season and we were down to almost nothing! Speamint has become my favorite....cool and refreshing!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!

I am sitting back quietly watching my girls play with their christmas haul. Needless to say I can barely see the livingroom floor.

It was a very busy day at the shop yesterday! Our Coal Soap was featured in the Star Tribune as the final "Gift of the Day" .... it appeared on the front page of the Source/Lifestyle section. The phone started ringing at 9am and kept going and going. Customers kept coming and coming...it was so nice to see so many new customers!

Candlemaking

Brrrrr......it is cold here!!!

Yesterday and today I have been working on making candles. Occasionally I have to take a break from making soap and creating candles is a challange. Candlemaking is much more difficult than soapmaking....it is not just a matter of melting the wax and sticking in a wick. There are so many variables....the wax, the size of the candle or container and the fragrance. Even the wax can vary from batch to batch. So a lot of testing is required. Soapmaking is pure chemistry although the wicked soap fairies can mess up a batch for no reason at any given time!

I really like making soy candles. Cedar and Saffron is my absolute favorite.....the scent is just so unusual and refreshing. My girls like Pink Sugar and strangely enough, eucalyptus! The have a eucalyptus soy jar that sits under their lamp...they don't burn it but the warmed of the lamp is enough to release the scent.

The newest soy candle?? Scent of a Lutheran! A pure white soy candle in a 8oz square mason jar. Scented with buttercream. I got the idea from another candlemaker at a show I did awhile back....she did Scent of Lutefisk...so I thought, why not Scent of a Lutheran! It has been selling very well!!

It is been a very busy fall!

Wow..it has been awhile ....again. We have been very busy!

For starters, Fox 9 here in the Twin Cities came to our shop in October to shoot a segment focusing on my girls. Christine Clayburg, one of the Meteorologists at Fox 9 is a big fan of our bars and we spent a wonderful couple of hours with her and the cameraman shooting the segment! It ran on October 24th....unfortunately this was a World Series night and it did not air until about 11.30 in the evening! Melissa had picked out a bunch of bars for the morning crew at station....she watches them every morning while waiting for the school bus. On the morning of the 26th, the morning anchors showed off their bars on air too!! We have also appeared on series on Green Christmas Gifts for Woman and Children!

To top this off, the Star Tribune was out at our shop this past Friday. We have been selected to be one of the Trib's Gift of the Day. This appears on the front page of the source section. We don't know the date yet...but we are anxiously waiting to hear!!!

We have been very busy in the studio daily making soaps. One of my new favorites is Eggnog Soap! We make this bar with full fat, rich premium eggnog! It smells sooooo good, especially if you like or love eggnog!

Another hit item this holiday is our Coal Soap! Know anyone who failed to clean up their act before the "big guy" arrives!! Coal Soap is the perfect stocking stuffer for them! 6 pieces of coal shaped soap in a nylon net bag.

Only a month left for the Minneapolis Farmers Market

Well actually the market runs until Thanksgiving. We however, usually only stay until the end of October, if the weather is good! Right now the fall veggies are in full blast...wonderful squashes, pumpkins and brussel sprouts. For those of you who don't like brussel sprouts, try them again! According to Ted Rolf of Rolfs Produce, this vegetable gets sweeter with each good frost or freeze. Even my girls will eat them!

This was our 5th season at the market and honestly, we miss it so much during the winter months! Yes it is a lot of working getting up at 4.30am and setting up each Saturday and Sunday. However we miss all the vendors and customers during the long winter months!

New Bars for Fall!

New bars for fall!

We have recently introduced some new bars plus we brought back some old favorites!!


Cedar and Saffron.....this one is selling like crazy at the market!
Ecalyptus Mint
Orange and Clove...we made our old clove even better!
Dead Sea Mud Soap....we added lots of dead sea mud plus tea tree and lavender oils!
Cinnamon Apple
Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin
Packer Backer....for all those Green Bay Fans!