- Tea Farm Cottage in Summerville, SC on Saturday, October 2. The event is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is a monthly arts and crafts show sponsored by the farm... looking forward to working with Deborah! http://www.journalscene.com/business/Tea-Farm-Cottage--Terri-s-Sweet-Shop-open-in-Summerville
- Latta Plantation
in Huntersville, NC on Saturday, October 8... the 29th Annual Folklife Festival and Craft Show. I know I've bugged Nicole to death with my questions, but she's been an absolute angel and a wealth of information to me! http://www.lattaplantation.org/
- Tenth Annual Foothills Highland Games in Hendersonville, NC on November 6... very excited about this event since I'm wanting to develop a Scottish line of soaps and get involved in as many Highland Games as I can. Just received confirmation from Sue today that we have been accepted as vendors at this event! Yayness! http://www.scotsfoothillshg.org/
Looking forward to selling soap at these venues and more to come!
Soap this weekend!
, 
, and 
and headed to soapcalc.net to run some numbers... decided to add real butter (milk fat) to the recipe as it is a major ingredient in actual shortbread... ran the percentages through the calculator and found that milk fat adds to the conditioning quality of the finished soap so this would work!
and a touch of 
for a bit of warmth to the final scent.
, gave a canister of it, with its little organza "tea bag" to my daughter, who unhesitatingly made use of it within just a couple hours... she came out of the bathroom after her delightfully scented, skin nurturing soak in the tub, with the Oooohs and Ahhhs I wanted to hear. She loved the stuff, enjoyed the experience.
during a recent family vacation... when my granddaughter watched the fizzing action in her bath water with her sweet little mouth in a perfect "O" of delight and a sharp, excited intake of her breath, I knew I had succeeded! And my niece, sweet little thing that she is, asked "Can we have another one?" We fizzed up the tub pretty well that day, much to my delight... and theirs.
was met by family members with "I can't wait to try it in the vaporizer," "Oh my goodness, I have a cold, I'll give it a try now," "Will it help my sinuses?" "Mmmm it smells wonderful" and "It is so soothing." When my granddaughter fell, causing a bit of a goose egg and a bruise to her forehead, a drop of Thieves' Oil soothed her feelings, helped the swelling go down, and the bruising heal faster. It's good stuff!
I made was a little less well-received, but not by much. My daughter used it and loved the smell, the lather, the way it made her hair feel... she did say it was a little thin and watery... I learned something! Next batch will be diluted less... simple as that. I was and am grateful for the honest feedback.
!
and it looks great! Haven't "tested" it yet, thought it best to allow it to "rest" for a week or so just to make sure everything was 
well.
into my water... it makes a hissing, popping sort of sound that lye generally doesn't, but heats up and cools down in pretty much the same manner.
, and 
) and warmed them up to about 150 degrees. This was a little different from cold process soap, those I generally only warm to about 100 degrees and I allow my
to cool to about the same temperature. Liquid soap is mixed at a higher temperature, so I made sure to turn on the exhaust fan and to wear rubber gloves just to be safe. Didn't want any risk of chemical burns!
till the mixture reached a heavy trace... looked like really thick pudding... then put the mixture on the stove in a double boiler and began to cook, stirring about every 15 minutes or so... I let it cook about 4 hours till I got a really thick, transparent gel.
