Happy Halloween!

Here's a little Happy Halloween image I made a while back with one of my 3D characters, Gothilina! Happy trick or treating!

New Fragrance Oil Order

I got a big shipment of fragrance oils today and most of them are tried and true, the ones that sell well year in, year out. But I can't resist trying new ones and today I got the most incredible Lavender Ginger blend. It's so awesome, perfect for people who love lavender and even those who don't, because the lavender is barely there, just enough to soften the zip of the ginger. I can't wait to soap this one!

Tonight I made a scrumptious pasta dish with a luxurious, creamy sauce made from evaporated skim milk, pumpkin puree, gorgonzola cheese, fresh sage and nutmeg, mixed with penne and sauteed onions, garlic and shitaki mushrooms. OMG. It was heavenly, but a lot of work. It wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't also trying to make homemade bread and boiling a chicken for the cats. Yes, we boil a chicken once a week for the cats, then portion it out into freezer bags for the week. We love our kitties around here!

Flower Balm Minis and Pumpkin Creme Brulee

I was busy taking photos with my new light box setup yesterday so I could get new goodies into my shop. I finally got ahold of a huge box of the cutest little mini lip balm tubes, so my first product with them is my Flower Balm Minis -- My Luxury Lip Balm flavored in Rose, Violet and Lavender Vanilla, packaged with a little cello bag and shiny bow, perfect for gift giving. It's here in my shop or over here at Etsy.

And my Pumpkin Creme Brulee soap is here, plus it's on Etsy too. This stuff smells amazing!

Both of our kids were home for the weekend. It was so nice to be able to spend time together, watching movies and cooking their favorite foods. I miss them so much.

Mabel's Mint Sugar Cookie Soap

New in my shop today, Mabel's Mint Sugar Cookie Handmade Soap! It's a nice warm bakery scent and the mint is delicate, not eye-watering. Think of a sugar cookie right out of the oven. Mmmm.

A Sad Journey

I've just returned from 3 days North Carolina. My sister died, unexpectedly. She was only 58. I hope I was of some use to my nephew, helping to sort through things. It's going to be hard to realize I'll never see her again.

Cozy Christmas Handmade Soap

Well, it's kind of a homely, speckled brown bar, but the fragrance of my Cozy Christmas handmade soap is amazing -- A deliciously complex blend of rum, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate. Mmmm. It makes me yearn for a mug of something wonderful and a rocking chair in front of a fireplace.

One of the things about making soap that I don't like is cleaning up after I remove the soap from the molds. It seems to take forever to scrape all the excess soap off, then scrub all the stuff off the molds in the sink, banging and clanking around, knocking the water filter off the faucet, then drying everything with paper towels. The other night I got a brainstorm and wondered why I hadn't thought of this before.

I filled up a big storage container with water from the hose in the front yard, put all the molds in there and let them sit for a couple of hours. I came out and voila! Everything had dissolved off the molds. Just had to hose off all of the pieces and laid them out on newspaper to dry on the lawn. It only took me almost 10 years to come up with this method.

Mermaid Dreams Treasury

No kidding, I've been trying to make a treasury for two years now and tonight I finally got my chance! Check out the beautiful, briney brushwork in Mermaid Dreams! There are some really amazing artists on Etsy.