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.

Thank You

Thank You...it's always nice to hear someone say 'Thank You".  It kind of gives you the warm fuzzy's when
someone says 'Thanks' or 'Thank You' it helps you recognize the fact that you did something that someone really appreciates.

Well, I want to say Thank You to all the friends and customers of Aunt B's Simply Homemade.  You have helped to make our first baby steps in publicly selling our soap go very smoothly.  Many of you have had encouraging words to share about our soap which is always nice to hear.

So, here we are a few days before the new year rings in and my wheels are turning with ideas of things to make...that someone out there might like.  January will be busy with restocking our soap inventory and coming up with ideas for Valentines Day soap.

Thank You for being interested in Aunt B's Simply Homemade.
God Bless you in the new year.

It's Cyber Monday

All the preparations and festivities of Thanksgiving is over.  I hope you had a great season of Thanksgiving.  If you braved the crowds of Black Friday sales I hope you've recovered.  Here at the home-front of Aunt B's we did everything to avoid Black Friday.  We always tend to move to the beat of a different drummer.  Our big time was Saturday, when we headed to our local diner for our bi-monthly breakfast out and then to a couple local thrift shops.  Although I frequently visit thrift shops, it's always more exciting to go to the thrift shop during the Christmas season.  I typically hunt for vintage Christmas treasures. We each came home with some Christmas treasures to add to our decor.

Here at Aunt B's, business has been going well.  I've had some orders coming in so I have needed to alter some items in the shop. Some of our soap has sold out for the Christmas season.  Our cold process soap takes about a month to cure therefore, the soap I've sold out of will not be restocked until sometime in January.
 Remember if you are local (Mount Airy, Maryland area) send me a note(auntbssimplyhomemade@gmail.com) of what you would like to order and we'll forgo the shipping.  Enjoy the beauty of the season.

Small Business Saturday is comig

Small Business Saturday is coming this Saturday, November 30.  Have you ever heard of Small Business Saturday?  Small Business Saturday is a day that falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It's a reminder for the consumers that are busy focusing on their Christmas shopping to check out local small businesses for unique items that you wouldn't find in a big box store.

Personally for the past couple years I've enjoyed Christmas shopping through Etsy and other small market places online.  I've been able to find unique items for my family that I would never have found at Walmart or a shopping mall.  To give you some examples I've purchased homespun naturally dyed yarn for my daughter and necklaces that fit both my daughters personalities so well. I can't tell you what I've purchase for this year(some of my readers are my family) but I can tell you so far I've purchased eight items from small business artisans. These items were purchased from people that have a hobby they enjoy enough to sell what they make.  These artisans give special time and energy to their unique and/or handmade products..they want to be proud of what they produce.  That's so special....and personal.  When you buy from a small business you are encouraging someones dream.  Your investing in someones gifts or talents.  You are blessing some of the hardest working people in the work force.

I encourage you to give it a try this year.  Find a small business in your town or online and support them with you business on November 30....and beyond.

Check out Aunt B's shop.  There's plenty there for the holidays.  I have more inventory then what the shop shows.  So, message me if you need more items then what the 'in stock' number shows.  Also, if you are close to Mount Airy, Maryland you can message me your order and we will skip the shipping cost...and work out a pick up or delivery.