That’s what I’m up to lately. Nothing feels particularly blog-worthy, so I haven’t posted for a few days.

Tonight I’m doing a 30-minute presentation for a small PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization) group of ladies (one of my customers invited me to speak), so I made a small batch of soap yesterday so I could bring it along with me and cut it in front of them. Thirty minutes seems like a long time to talk about soap, but I’m sure it will go by fairly quickly. Also planning to bring other visual aids to make things more interesting. Here’s the soap I made:

If nothing else, I can demonstrate what happens when you use a floral fragrance – it can overheat and create cracks in the soap and cause liquid to seep out (which should re-absorb into the soap as it cures). I can also tell that the fragrance may be a bit discoloring, even though the supplier claims it isn’t, since the pink is now more of a peach color. There are other colors underneath which shall be revealed in due time!

While I was making a batch of soap for the presentation, I decided to go ahead and test the Honey Almond essential oil blend from WSP in a batch of goat’s milk soap. After reading reviews that the scent likes to disappear in the soap, I decided to use 1 oz per pound of soap and see how it goes. Still smells pretty strong as of today, but it’s still in the mold. We’ll see what happens once it has a chance to cure.

I also made a custom soap ball order that I make every year for a customer in Pennsylvania. She orders ten Citrus Basil soap balls that are about the size of a tennis ball. I use my hot process method in the microwave for these. They will look like this once they are packaged up:

This week I was also asked to participate in another giveaway on Facebook. Remember the one I told you about at KDNovelties? They are at 1993 fans, and the giveaway closes when they reach 2000, so it’s nearly over! It’s been a great way to network for me – I’ve gained at least 50 fans from it (I forgot to check how many I had when it started!). If you act quick, you can still enter to win the Gardener’s Dream Skin Care Set I’m giving away here.

The other giveaway I was asked to participate in is hosted by The Reynolds Mom. She is going to run a similar giveaway on her page, only hers begins when she reaches 1500 fans. Still trying to decide what I’ll give away for that one.

Today I made another batch of Hand & Body Lotion so I can scent some with the Honey Almond blend. I need to come up with at least one more all-natural scent blend for lotion, so if you have any stellar ideas, please let me know! I already have Stress Relief (mint/eucalyptus), Lavender Meadows, and Grapefruit Parfait (grapefruit/vanilla). I sold one of the Grapefruit Parfait lotions to the guy who came over to estimate a new roof for our house! Once he heard that I made soaps, he asked about lotions which he wanted for his super-dry hands.

Ok, now I feel better about not posting. I guess I’ve been busy! What are you up to this week?