Scotland, Weddings, and Soap

I'm getting married... in 29 days!!!

After a trip last year to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, we both fell in love with the Scottish-ness in both of us. Hugh found that he is a direct descendant from Scotland, we joined Clan Lindsay (his clan, his mother's line) and we planned to go back to the games every year... forever! Shortly after our trip, he proposed in his own inimitable way and said, "wouldn't it be cool to get married at the games next year?" 'Nuff said! It was a plan!

We made arrangements and plans and we're doing it... a historically traditional Scottish wedding at Grandfather Mountain the first day of this year's games! We have read, researched, and used as many Scottish traditions as we can... for someone who has never been to Scotland, I feel like I know as much about their traditions and lore as a native. I've learned about the foods, the flowers, the hills, forests, seas, the wildlife, the clothing, the music, the dancing... the religion, superstitions, and even a word or two of the Gaelic!

We're getting married... in 29 days!

As much as we love the Highland Games, I got to thinking...

We could go to all the games within driving distance... if...

We could become vendors at the games and make some money while we enjoy the kilts and pipes!

Well... what is it we do best? Soap!!!! How bout an entire new line of soaps with a Celtic/Scottish theme? The mind's cogs are spinning out of control! Scottish soaps... hmmm... well of course there's always oatmeal and honey (heather honey!), and heather... and Scotch whiskey (soap from whiskey? Hmmm!) and a lanolin soap (sheep shearing!) and ale, and shortbread (shortbread? vanilla?), and haggis (yuck! not in soap, but ideas!!!!)... then there's Robert Burns and all his love poems... My Love is Like a Red Red Rose... Rose Soap! sea salt bars (from the North Sea?), seaweed, orange marmalade (invented by the Scots), clotted cream, Scots pine, oak moss, lavender... Earl Grey tea... the list goes on, the mind keeps spinning...

can it be done? can we do it? Packaging? a soap stamp with a Scottish logo? a tent decorated with a Celtic theme?

29 days till the wedding, gotta think about THAT for now... lots to do, lots to plan, lots to remember...

... but Scottish soap? I'll get to that in a bit!

Children's Home BBQ

Southern Heart Soaps were vendors at the South Carolina Children's Home's 23rd Annual BBQ fundraiser at the State Fairgrounds on Saturday... it was their first time having craft vendors and gave us the opportunity with no booth rental fee. Most people were there to eat and not much else but we did OK, not great... had a lot of browsers and a few buyers and gave out some cards and brochures. It was fun but HOT. We keep learning as we go along and this event was another learning experience. And for a worthwhile cause!

Brewing up a new soap

This one's for the boys... and because it intrigued me to make it! It's beer soap.

I made my first batch of beer soap a few days ago and unmolded it yesterday... it looks great, smells lovely (not like beer at all... didn't add any essential oils for scent, just a little honey, and the aroma is warm and nice, but not strong), we'll see how it lathers up in a week or two! Really excited about this soap. I've used liquids other than water in my lye/water solution, but first time using beer.

In my reading and research I learned you need to let beer go completely flat before making soap with it (keeps it from "volcano-ing) so my first step was to pour my two bottles of Guinness into a bowl and stir it every once in awhile so the bubbles and foam would go away... this took awhile... a couple of days.

Then I added my lye and WHOOOSH!!! Lye heats beer up more quickly and hotter than it does water, burns of the alcohol and kinda bubbles up (almost a volcano but no running over, thank goodness!) It was a little scary but all ended nicely. Added the oils and honey, and it came to trace in a matter of a minute or two... poured into the molds without mishap.

I had a moment of concern while watching it process... there seemed to be about a quarter inch of oil that didn't incorporate into the soap... don't know why... most of it absorbed into the soap by the time we unmolded, but still pretty oily... I searched the internet for information on why this might have happened and found that it was probably due to the high sugar content in beer... next batch I think I'll make it a little less super-fatted to keep this from happening, but after 24 hours of drying after we cut it up, it seems to be great! Can't wait to try it! From all I've read, beer soap is very good to the skin and has great lather due to the sugar content.

Here's a few more things I found out in my reading and research about beer soap:

There is more than novelty to beer soap. The beer itself adds a delicious and thick lather while conditioning your skin.

Beer is not just for drinking at a barbecue or baseball game. Beer is well known for its conditioning properties and offers a gentle moisturizing lather.

Beer is also used as a traditional hair care treatment.

Beer is made with a complex blend of oats, barley, malt, and wheat depending on the type of beer being used in the soap. These mineral-rich grains in the beer wort (the liquid created by the mashing of malted grains), promote healthy skin.

Hops are used as the bittering agent that gives each type of beer its characteristic flavor. It is known as a relaxing herb. The relaxing effects will stay with you after your shower, much like lavender does. This makes showering with beer soap an excellent choice after a difficult day or strenuous work out.

The hops herb soothes irritated skin. It contains polyphenols thought to account for its anti-bacterial and preservative effects. Hops also contain skin-softening amino acids.

Now for a name for this new incredible skin-conditioning soap! Should be adding it to the website soon... www.southernheartsoaps.com

Slainte!