Last Market of 2014 for Aunt B's Simply Homemade

Saturday, December 6 is the date of Aunt B's last market for the 2014 market season.  I'll have lots of goodies there for gift giving.  Come visit our table.

 We will have gift bags, gift sets and a wide range of soap scented with Christmas scents.

Come check out the many other vendors that will be at the market this week.  Here is what's being said about this weeks market from our market organizers.

Only 2 Saturday’s Left

On Saturday, December 6th, the Carroll County Farmers Market will hold its sixth event of the season at the Ag Center, Westminster, Maryland.

There is only one date left after this one. So now is the time to order cakes, pies, cookies and one of a kind hand crafted items for your holiday celebrations.

The Market will be full with 100 vendors selling home baked goods, gourmet foods, handmade crafts and fine arts, farm fresh eggs, beef, pork, and lamb, cheese, pickles, wine, nuts, dips, candies, honey, jams and jellies, seasonal plants and holiday decorations. There are two vendors taking orders for farm fresh turkeys.

Several vendors will have beautiful fresh pine wreaths and arrangements.

Hours for the Christmas Market are 8am-2pm.

Admission and parking is always free.

Breakfast and lunch is served all day.

Info: www.carrollcountyfarmersmarket.com

Check our web site for details in the event of bad weather. And don't forget! There is only one date left for the Christmas Market. We hope to see you there.

So, stop by and see us this week.  Purchase some soap for Christmas gifts AND stock up on your own personal soap supply.  Hope to see you this Saturday.

Christmas Market November 15, 2014

We are set up and ready for the Carroll County Farmers Christmas Market.  We will be there from 8am-2pm.  Tomorrow, November 15.

Wouldn't you agree that our table is looking mighty festive?

Here are the gift sets some of our faithful customers have been asking for.

On the left is a block of  Twisted Peppermint Soap bundled with a crocheted washcloth.

Also pictured on the left is a wood burned, wooden gift bag which contains a crocheted soap scrubbie, a bar of soap and lip balm.

Pictured on the right is our Santa Sack which contains goodies such as a crocheted washcloth, bar of soap, lotion bar in a tin and lip balm.  Not pictured we have available our 1/4lb soap sampler and our animal shaped kids soap....both great ideas for stocking stuffers.

Tomorrow just happens to be the market Open House so shoppers have the opportunity to enjoy refreshments as they shop and also receive (while supplies last) vendor discount coupons.

Come enjoy the festive atmosphere.

Opening Day

All set up and ready for the 43rd Opening Day of the Carroll County Christmas and Hand Made Farmers Market. There's lots of crafter's getting ready for the crowd. It will be a great time to browse and get ideas for Christmas.....and don't forget the big indoor flea market just down the hill in the Shipley Arena. Both the market and flea market will run from 8am -2pm. Aunt B's free sample is a slice of Pumpkin Crunch Soap (while supplies last). Hope to see you.

Holiday Markets Are Here

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!  The Carroll County Christmas and Hand Made Crafts Markets are starting this weekend.  Set a date to visit the market this season. There will be a lot of great home made items that are great for one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts.  Check out the schedule and the themes.  At the end of this post I'll list the dates that Aunt B will be selling soap at the market.

**November 1--Author's Day--24 local authors will be available to sell, sign and talk about their books.  The types of books include children’s books, fantasy, inspirational, romantic, mystery, and historic. A complete list of Author’s and their books can be found on the Local Author page of the website:www.carrollcountyfarmersmarket.com.  ***Nov. 1 is also the date of the indoor flea market held in the Shipley arena...just a short stroll to the next building on the grounds.

November 8--Art Guild Show

**November 15--Open House

November 22--TBA

November 29--Santa will visit

**December 6--Greens Sale

December 13--Greens Sale

Take note the dates of November 1, November 15, and December 6 are the markets that Aunt B will be attending.  Come stock up on your soap for the winter....or plan on purchasing soap to give as gifts.  Hope to see you this season.

Two Places at Once

Tomorrow, September 6, 2014 Aunt B's Simply Homemade will be selling soap in two different venues.

Location #1  We will be selling soap at the Carroll County Farmers Market from 8am-1pm. The theme of the market is Harvest Weekend...this is the last market of the summer season.  Come stock up on your favorite soap. Our freebie this week is Apple Spice....supplies are limited so come early to get this free trial sized soap.
 There will be one market held on October 4 (Aunt B will not be there).
The Christmas Markets & Hand Made Crafts season will begin November 1st and will continue each Saturday until December 13.
Aunt B will be selling soap on the weekends of November 1, November 15, and December 6.  We will be offering soap suitable for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. Hope to see you there the market is always so festive for the holidays.

Location #2  This Saturday, Sept. 6 we will also be selling soap at the Urbana Flea Market. We've always done very well at the Urbana spring and fall flea market...so we'll be there for our Urbana customers.

Studying the Book of Esther

It's time for a new study.  The Good Morning Girls Bible study has gone through some reorganization.
I will not pretend to know all the details....good or bad.  I'll leave the details up to God and the ladies in leadership.  The Bible study continues now under the name of Love God Greatly http://www.lovegodgreatly.com/  and they are now enrolling for the next study which will be The Book of Esther.  The enrollment time is August 18th through the 29th. The study dates will run  for 8 weeks from September 1st through October 24th.
These studies are always challenging and they help with staying consistent with daily Biblical study and growth.  You can register at the above link in order to get the free study plan.  You can study alone or you can join one of their many email or Facebook groups in order to interact and learn along with other ladies.

Everything's just "Peachie"

After a few weeks off Aunt B is heading back to the Carroll County Farmers Market tomorrow(August 9) for the markets 19th annual Peach Festival.  I hear there's a lot of peachy things that are going to be there.  Local peaches, peach sundaes, peach ice cream, peach cobbler, peach pies.

Here at Aunt B's we've made Peach Tea and Oatmeal soap as well as Peach Lotion Bars, and peach colored crocheted wash cloths.just for this market.  Of course, we will have all our regular best selling soap,
wash cloths, herbal salve....and as requested the return of our lotion bars in little tins.

You can check out the market web site for more information at www.carrollcountyfarmersmarket.com
There are special market hours tomorrow 8am-2pm.

Come early and stop by Aunt B's table, this week we will be handing out free peach soap samples.....while supplies last (and if Ralph is handing them out they go quickly).   Hope to see you there.

Christmas in July Farmers Market

This Saturday, July 12 the Carroll County Farmers Market will be celebrating Christmas in July.  Many of the Christmas Market vendors will be there giving you a sneak peak of what they will have available during the Winter Market.

Come support local farmers by buying their farm fresh produce and enjoy shopping for crafts made by local artisans.

Aunt B will not be returning to the market until August 9th so stop by her table and buy a good supply of soap.

Here's a sample of soap we'll be bringing.....Violet, Green Tea and Peppermint, Bergamont and Jasmine, Anise and Lavender.  We have a good supply of goat milk soap.  And wait until you see our big selection of fragrance free soap....Calendula, Cafe latte, Goat Milk and Honey....just to name a few.  Of course we will have all our regular best sellers....Lemongrass Sage, Blackberry Sage, Lavender Vanilla Oatmeal,  and Patchouli.
Our crocheted washcloths and soap scrubbies have been selling very well.  We also will be bringing a limited supply of herbal salves.   Plantain/Comfrey salve a great 'go to' salve for anything from bug bites to scraps and boos.  And Black Drawing salve which is great for splinters or drawing out the toxins of bug bites.

Hope to see you this Saturday from 8am-1pm at the farmers market.

June 27--Market Day

We will be selling at the Carroll County Farmers Market tomorrow, June 28 from 8am-1pm.

Come on out and see what vendors will be there this week.  Soap, eggs, fresh produce, emu products, plants, crafts, and the theme of the day is quilts.  There will be quilts on display and ongoing quilting demonstrations.
Aunt B's will have some new soap there fresh from the curing rack.  Pictured from left to right is:  Violet soap, made with infused spring violets from our yard, No fragrance added Aloe and Calendula Tea,  Eucalyptus and Peppermint and Orange Eucalyptus.

 We will also have with us a few of the Shaving Cream Soap bowls left over from Father's Day.

 

New to our inventory is some wonderful herbal salves. On the left we have Comfrey and Plantain salve which is good to use on anything from a bug bite to a boo boo.  And on the right is our Black Drawing Salve.  Be sure to check out these items when you stop by our table.

I've been a little quiet lately.

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I posted here.  Well, maybe it's because our homeschool year is over and I've got some time to do somethings I've put off for a while.
We even slipped away for a  couple days.  If you ever get to West Virginia I highly recommend staying at Cacapon State Park. It's beautiful, peaceful and like us you'll find a reason why you need to return....soon.

However, now that we're back I've been tinkering with new items to sell at the Carroll County Farmers Market.  We acquired some great medicinal herbs earlier in the spring and I'm excited to start using them in soap and salve.

I'll leave you with a few pictures that will show you why we enjoyed Berkeley Springs, WV so much.

New Soap in the shop

It's a drizzly kind of day here at Aunt B's.  I took the advantage of a 'slower' day to work on the Aunt B's web site soap shop.  This is the most time consuming part of our venture.  I spent the morning taking pictures of soap to post.  I'm finished for today.  I've posted 7 different types of soap to the shop and I have 7 more to add hopefully by the weekend.

Check back often I make soap several times a week.  Our summer farmer market season is getting ready to start.  June 14, 2014 is our opening day at the Carroll County Summer Farmers Market.

Its time to enroll in the next Good Morning Girls Bible study

Just in case any of you are interested in a great online Bible study...registration begins today for the next Good Morning Girls summer Bible Study.    http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/enroll-individual/  Click on the link and follow their instructions.

This summer is a book study entitled You Are Loved....embracing the everlasting love God has for you...written by Sally Clarkson & Angela Perritt.  I think I have most if not all of Sally Clarkson's home school books so even though I don't usually care to much for book studies, I have jumped on board for this book study.....you can find it on Amazon.

This book is set up very similar to the regular Good Morning Girls journal, there is a daily scripture reading plan for the 8 week study.  There are SOAP journal pages to use throughout the study and there are writings throughout the book by Sally and Angela.

I hope you consider the opportunity to join the study.

Mother's Day Market

This Saturday is the Carroll County Farmers Market--Mother's Day Show from 8am -2pm.
There will be flowering plants for the first 200 mom's to attend the Mother's Day market.

We will be there selling homemade soap.  And we have gift sets for you to purchase(while supplies last) and give to your special mom.  Gift sets contain a crocheted washcloth or scrubbie and a great bar of soap.  With all the wonderful things the vendors have at the market you are sure to find something special for your mom.

Aunt B's Market Schedule

We have our summer schedule set with the Carroll County Farmers Market.  The market runs every Saturday starting on June 14 and ending the summer market schedule on August 30.  There are market dates September through December....but I'll just list my summer dates for now.

We will not be attending every Saturday market....we have some other summer family activities planned that does not include soap.

Aunt B's Carroll County Farmers Market Schedule summer 2014

May 10--Mother's Day Show
June 14-- Opening Day
June 28--Quilt Day
July 12--Christmas in July
August 9--Peach Festival
August 23--Best of Summer
September 6--Harvest Weekend

We are also signed up for three of the Christmas and Hand Made Craft Markets in November and December....I'll post those dates later.

Make a plan to visit the market.  There's lots of homemade goodies.  Baked goods, crafts, flowers, soap, and as the season moves on there will be plenty of fresh garden produce.

Pictures of the Easter Show

Well, I'm only a week late getting these pictures posted.  This was our space at the Carroll County Farmers Market last Saturday (April 19, 2014).  We had a busy yet fun day at the market.  We are already preparing for Saturday, May 3rd when we'll be selling at the Urbana Flea Market and then again at the Carroll County Farmers Market--Mother's Day Show on Saturday, May 10.

I'm so thankful that Britney and Stephanie (my girls) help with the table set up.  They tend to take over the design of the table and they do a great job.

Special Order

I had fun putting together a special order.  Something suitable for an older lady.  She's not fancy.  She uses lotion.  My mind went straight to lavender.  Naturally my best selling Lavender, Vanilla and Oatmeal soap would be included....which led me to one of Aunt B's small lavender lotion bars in a tin.  Then I rummaged through my stash of Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn and found Spring Swirl with a wonderful Lavender color....perfect.  Thankfully wash cloths can be whipped out in record speed.  I nestled all of these wonderful gifts in a great little purple pail I found at the craft store for fifty percent off.

And here's how the special order turned out.

Gearing up for the Easter Market

This Saturday, April 19, 8am-2pm is the Carroll County Farmers Market Easter Show.
The Easter Bunny will be at the market so bring your cameras for photo opportunities.
There will also be a free drawing of vendor coupons from the many vendors that will be attending.  Where you can reach in a box and pull out a coupon to win a  gift from one of the market vendors.

Aunt B's soaps will be there with all of our regular best selling soap as well as some we've made just
for the Easter Market.

  We have a limited number of the carrot cupcake soap for kids.  And we have a limited number of the carrot shaped soap that has pureed carrot within the soap and it has an amazing fragrance of carrot cake.  You might find it interesting to do and internet search  on the benefits of carrot in soap...it's really good for your skin.
Hope to see you there!!

Why Easter Matters--upcoming Good Morning Girls Bible Study

If you're looking for a great online Bible study to be apart of check out the Good Morning Girls upcoming study starting March 30th.   Why Easter Matters.  Head over to their website.  Register, find an email or facebook group to join, and be prepared for a blessing as you study Gods Word with others.
Visit their site at www.goodmorninggirls.org

Spring Fling Farmers Market

Here at Aunt B's we're gearing up for the up coming farmers market season.  Outside there is a struggle of wills.  Winter wants to hang on with several inches of snow on the ground.....yet, those spring flowers are also out there pushing through the ground and snow.

This years Carroll County Farmers Market has three spring markets on schedule.
March 22--Spring Fling (8am-2pm) there will be a free drawing for gift baskets.
April 11--Easter Show (8am-2pm) coupon giveaways and a visit from the Easter Bunny.
May 10--Mother's Day Show (8am-2pm) free plant giveaway to the first 200 mothers.

Aunt B's Simply Homemade will be there selling soap at all three spring markets as well as many, many other vendors with  a lot of local produce and products for you to choose from.

Come visit Aunt B's at the Carroll County Farmers Market this Saturday, March 22.
Hope to see you there.

Soaping for the upcoming season

Wow, I just realized it's been almost a month since I last posted. I assure you I'm still here and making soap.

Since the new year started I've ordered new supplies.  And I've been making lots of cold process soap.  I've been concentrating on restocking several of my best sellers.  With a cure time of 4-6 weeks I wanted to get my supply built up for the up coming farmers market season.  And I've working on some new items to add to the inventory.  The online store is always open...new items will be added once they are cured.  You might like to check out some new items in the store.  Britney, my daughter creates items with wire and beads. As her college schedule permits...I'll have her post about her creations.

                      

All these boxes contain fresh soap
in the process of curing.

                         

Some of the fun, new items I've been working on
Shaving soap in a mug..for men.  The round
soap contains loofa.  The embedded sweetheart soap,
and soap for kids.

Olive oil and Coconut oil

  I am not going to go into anything to scientific.  There are already a lot of areas on the internet that you can do research of how and why these oils function as they do.  I will just tell you about some of the great qualities that these oils have.  You can find this information for yourself if you just Google benefits of….olive oil or coconut oil or any of the ingredients you see listed on my soap labels.

When you meander  through our soap shop on Aunt B’s website, you will notice I typically let you know basics about the soap and ingredients.  I wish I could tell you all the benefits you can enjoy just by using the soap….but I would get in trouble for that.   As a soapmaker I’m not allowed to tell you that my soap can ease the symptoms of or resolve any skin issue….because it would actually turn the soap into something medicinal –which in the eyes of the FDA is a big no no. 

A well -known company that did this got into deep water with the FDA.  Diamond Foods made the claim of the health benefits of walnuts.  The FDA in turn sent Diamond Foods a letter letting them know that they could not make health claims about their product (walnuts)that were not approved by the FDA.  You can read the article here.

If you Google or even go to Pinterest and search for “benefits of …..”  you will have a boat load of information at your fingertips and you my friend will be a well -informed consumer.

Two oils that are commonly used in my soap recipes are olive oil and coconut oil.  Soap made with olive oil helps the skin to retain moisture.  Olive oil in soap also helps to repair damage done to the skin through sun exposure, pollution, smoke and an unhealthy diet.  There’s a lot more information but I was going to keep it simple.  Years ago coconut oil got a bad rap of being very unhealthy, but check it out there are some great benefits in consuming as well as using coconut oil in your body care routine as a moisturizer and conditioner.  Both olive oil and coconut oil have healing properties for skin issues.

I have barely scratched the surface of these two amazing oils....yet I hope I've left you curious enough that you will now dig a little deeper to discover these two oils on your own and that you will learn ways to integrate them into your health and skin routine.

My Personal Devotion Time

I've always found that if I start my day focused on God then regardless what goes on throughout my day I have the inner strength to stay in control of my thoughts, emotions, and attitudes.  For me Bible reading and prayer has always been apart of my morning routine.  Now, that being said let me just say it's not always easy.  In the past I've had mornings I may have hit the snooze button one to many times....OR...maybe there's some prep work I need to have completed for one of our homeschool lessons....OR...I set in my chair with my Bible and journal in hand and I'm starting out strong....and then wake up 15 minutes later and it's time to move on into my day. You get the idea...I'm human, I'm not perfect.

It really was a God moment the day I stumbled across the Good Morning Girls web site.  It's an organized Bible study online. You sign up.  You find a group to be assigned to whether you prefer email group or facebook group.  So, you have connection and a commitment to other believers who want to dig deeper into God's Word.

We follow a reading plan.  Each day there is an assigned scripture to read.   I S-O-A-P the scripture. S(scripture)-meaning I read it and write it in my journal. O(observation)- I write down my observation of the scripture...what's going on in the verses. A(application)-I consider and journal how that scripture applies to my life. P(pray)-and then pray.  I then go onto my facebook group and post my observations and applications for the rest of the ladies in my group to read.  I will also read their posts.  So, we are learning from each other how God speaks to each of us differently through the same scripture.

I've done several studies with a group through Good Morning Girls.  It's something I look forward to each morning.  And guess what...I've become more consistent and more and more interested in studying Gods Word.  If you are searching for a way to be more consistent in your personal Bible time I recommend Good Morning Girls.  Sign up for the next study is going on now.

What's in Your Soap?

As a homeschool mom, one thing I encourage my girls to do when they are interested in something is to do some research.  We often head to the public library and check out arm loads of books on a topic or we learn from safe internet sites.  The girls read and read until they understand and learn a treasure trove of information about their topic of interest.

Now it's your turn.  You know that advertising jingle that asks-'what's in your wallet'?  Here's something for you to think about-

'what's in your soap'?  

If you are using store bought soap, check out the ingredients.....can you read them?....can you pronounce them?... do you know what they are?
I would encourage you to do some research.  One easy way to start is to simply do a search on the internet: Store bought soap vs Homemade soap.  When you take a deeper look into the ingredients of store bought soap you will find there are some concerning ingredients that make up the commercial made soap.  Even though these chemical ingredients are FDA approved we each need to decide if we really want these concerning items on our skin.

One of my goals this year for Aunt B's Simply Homemade is to help you learn about the amazing benefits of the ingredients that are used in homemade soap.  Stay tuned for the next post as I explain the typical base oils we use in our soap and how they benefit your skin.



Truths from God's Word:  Ecclesiastes 7:12 says...."the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor."
There are many ingredients in our food and body care products that are approved and said to be safe.  Once we gain knowledge of how these ingredients can adversely affect our body we must make wise decisions about what we allow in and on our body.