Enter the drawing to receive a FREE Candy Cane Handcrafted Soap

Readers ... here's an opportunity for you to win a free soap! First, read the feature about me on Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar. Then comment on my booth at the bazaar. You'll be entered in the drawing to receive a FREE bar of awesome good handcrafted Candy Cane soap.

I'm sad to say that I had to mark my Candy Cane Soap out of inventory on the webstore. I took the last 7 bars with me to Sun Valley where I'll be at the Papoose Club Annual Bazaar sharing naturally good soaps and bathing essentials. I have one bar set aside for the give away. So unless you're in Sun Valley this weekend this will be your last chance to get one (until next year that is).

Mint Chocolate Chip Soap, forerunner and close cousin to my Candy Cane soap, is still available! So if you need a mint and chocolate fix ... that's the one to go for!

Susanne's Holiday Gift Guide

One of the things I love about my business is helping people select aroma therapeutic gifts that are just the right expression of their thoughtfulness. With the lingering economic downturn, for many of us shopping this season is more difficult than ever. I've noticed that most people still want to remember friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers, and family with a small gift of appreciation but may be shopping in a different price point than in years past.

I always encourage my customers to make selections that truly fit within their budget. I put together this short little guide to help with just that. Natural handcrafted soaps and bathing accoutrements make wonderful consumable gifts that aren't food! Consider my chocolate soaps for an indulgent no calorie treat.

Gifts under $5 make great stocking stuffers or a little something to put on a co-workers desk with your holiday card. Consider ...

Handmade Guest Soaps wrapped in cello and tied with raphia. Looks like candy but packed with aroma goodness for the nose and skin. $3.50.

Naturally good Lip Balm - $3.25

Gifts under $10 -sized just right to tuck in a stocking or give your child's teacher with a nice card attached. Consider any of my handmade soaps, or choose a seasonal soap like Candy Cane or Cinnamon Spice.

Hand Salve in Peppermint, Lavender, and Lemon Drop. Choose the free gift wrap option and your gift is all ready to tuck in a stocking or give the hands that help you. $5.75

Consider a Moisture & Massage Bar or Massage Oil to tuck in your significant's stocking.

Gifts under $15

A Body Butter or Salt Scrub is a wonderful aroma therapeutic gift to really pamper a girlfriends' skin. Consider festive Candy Cane Salt Scrub!

Who doesn't use soap? All natural handcrafted soaps make great gifts, consider the Two Soaps Gift Set or Guest Soaps Gift Set. Or perhaps a soap and hand salve together.

Gifts $20-35 ...

Really want to pamper a girlfriend? Consider the Body Essentials Gift Sets in small for $19.75 or regular for $35.00. Comes in Coconut Mojito or Lavender. Contains three aroma therapeutic products: a salt scrub, a body butter, and a handmade soap.

The Body Essentials Gift Basket contains several aroma pampering products in a sweet little basket.

If you don't see exactly what fits in your budget here, contact me to discuss your gift giving needs at susanne@lavandedebois.com.

Body Butter -"lotion" without chemicals

Several years back, when I made a decision to eliminate chemicals from my life (as much as possible, as we have daily exposures that are out of our control) as with all my personal care products I started reading the labels on lotions. And I really couldn't find a lotion didn't have ANY harmful chemicals or preservatives. Lotions contain water and the introduction of water into a recipe requires the addition of preservatives.

Living in a dry climate the search for an alternative moisturizer was on. I started dabbling in making body butters almost from the start of my business. Several trials and pitfalls have led me to a long process of experimentation. I'm thrilled to now offer naturally good aroma therapeutic Body Butters in Grapefruit Twist, Coconut Mojito, and Lavender Mint.

For some, a Body Butter is just "too greasy", and that is an objection I understand, but for me the "greasiness" is worth it to avoid the chemicals. What I've discovered about personal care products is it's really about your threshold for chemical exposure. My threshold is zero. For most it's much higher than that. I've incorporated ingredients that offer wonderful moisturizing benefits for your skin but are easily absorbed by the skin within a few minutes. The best time to apply body butter is after getting out of the bath or shower. The warmth of your skin helps it smooth on. Get a dab out of the jar, warm it between your hands, then massage onto skin. I wait a few minutes for everything to absorb then finish dressing. It takes a little extra time but knowing I'm taking care of my skin without chemicals is worth the extra effort.

My body butter recipe incorporates a large percentage of Shea Butter, known for it's ability to nourish dry and sun damaged skin with Vitamins A, E, and F. It is known to be anti-inflammatory and has been used to heal scars and combat wrinkles. It is easily absorbed by your skin.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil adds soft coconut aroma and antioxidants known to limit damage to skin by free radicals. It is easily absorbed by the skin penetrating deeply into connective tissues to promote healing.

Kukui Nut Oil provides moisture and renewal to aged and dry skin without leaving a greasy feel. Contains Vitamins A, E and C, antioxidants that protect your skin.

Beeswax is commonly added to natural skin care products for a number of functions. It helps to lock in moisture as well as form a natural protective barrier on you skin. It also has a high melting point so the butter is less likely to melt if exposed to warm temperatures. And I just love the soft, warm and subtle sweet aroma it adds to any formulation.

And then I add a bit of Vitamin E and Rosemary Oleoresin Extract to extend the shelf-life of the oils. My butters are made in small batches and I ship only products that have plenty of shelf life left in them.

The finishing touch of any creation that comes from my studio is inspirational aroma. My personal favorite is Grapefruit Twist. Luscious sweet grapefruit essential oils combines gracefully with lavender and just a hint of basil for earthy, fresh, and sweet aroma.

Lavender Mint is a tried and true favorite in my product line. Lavender and mint combine superbly, a hint of cedarwood adds woodsiness to this sweet and herbaceous combination.

In my Coconut Mojito Body Butter, lime and spearmint combine beautifully and bring out the coconut undertones in the butter. Smells fresh and tropical, just picture yourself on that next tropical vacation!

Orders can be made online. For product inquiries contact me at susanne@lavandedebois.com.

Lavande Bleu - it's blue, it's lavender, it's luxury in your shower

When I first started this blog it was in response to my customers interest in knowing the stories behind my soap creations. Soon I began writing about all things natural and life anecdotes here and there and sort of forgot to write the soap stories. Today I'm telling the story of Lavande Bleu. In a way it might be called my signature soap, or rather Lavande Bleu embodies everything I am about.

However I can't talk about all the unique ways this soap embodies the priorities of Lavande de Bois without first giving credit to my mentor, Lori Nova, of the Nova Studio where I learned to make soap. Lori is an amazing teacher and taught me to take very detailed notes of all my creations. She also explained to our class that even though the recipes in her workbook were available to be used as a starting point; it is uncool in the soap community to flat out copy another soap artist. Part of what makes the cottage industry of handcrafted soapmaking so unique is the individual stamp that a soapmaker puts on their soaps in the form of oils, botanicals, aromas, and colors, etc. The realm of possibilities in soap are endless.

So when I wanted to create a soap with lavender essential oil and oatmeal that wasn't such a unique idea. Do a search on lavender soap and you'll find plenty. After all, there was a recipe in my workbook for a layered soap, oatmeal on one side and lavender soap on the other. It is a way cool soap, one side full of exfoliating goodness, the other aroma pleasure in a fabulously smooth soap.

But Lavande Bleu is special. Swirls of oatmeal soap are intermingled with lavender blue soap (a technique Lori taught our class). Shea butter adds extra luxurious soft smooth lathery soap bubbles. Right now I have Lavande Bleu by my bathroom sink and it leaves my hands feeling smooth and moisturized. No need to apply lotion! And I walk away with the soothing aroma of lavender still on my hands. Oh and lavender, did you know there are a gazillion varieties of lavender? Hence a variety of lavender essential oils.

Perhaps the most used lavender essential oil is lavender 40/42 which is a blended essential oil. Typically consumers want consistency, that is they want their product to smell the same as the last one they purchased. The 40/42 is comprised of a variety of lavenders blended together to maintain a level of consistency. In terms of cost it is typically low to medium priced among the lavender essential oils. I'm not a big fan of this blended oil. When I started making soap I fell in love with a single essential oil, a Lavandula angustifolium from Bulgaria. It smelled so fresh and it reminded me of the aroma in the air when I walked by my own lavender plants. I built my product line around this essential oil. Then one day my supplier started purchasing the Bulgarian lavender from another farm. To my nose, it smelled like turpentine. So I could no longer use it. That's just how lavenders are, different soil, different, climate, different aroma. I'm happy to say that I settled on Lavender Population, also a Lavandula angustifolium, this time from France. I have to admit all that time I was using lavender from Bulgaria while borrowing from the French language for my business name I felt like a traitor. So now it all feels right, French lavender, borrowed French words, ah symmetry. When I take in a deep inhale of this aroma I can imagine myself walking across fields of lavender in Southern France. It has a beautiful complex and pure aroma. This oil is by far the most expensive essential oil I incorporate in my soaps. It costs almost twice as much as the lavender 40/42, but I LOVE it! So that's what I use.

Another cool thing about this soap is it's color. It's blue, but it's also lavender. It's a very blue lavender. So it goes with so many bathroom decors. I was at a friends house one day, and used the bathroom. It had a very masculine decor, navy blue and hunter green. I was surprised at how well her Lavande Bleu soap coordinated with this masculine theme. It just seemed to bring out the blue in the soap even thought it looks lavender when you put it with soft colors.

Despite the exquisite beauty and aroma of this soap, nothing is as important as the ingredients themselves. I'm trending toward going all organic, but I'm not there yet. I'm happy to say that since January of this year all my soaps have organic palm oil and organic coconut oil in them, making my soaps over 50% organic. I'm heading in a direction that is very important to me and look forward to someday having an organic certification.

So in a nutshell how does Lavande Bleu represent the priorities of Lavande de Bois? My priorities are all about incorporating the aromas, ingredients, botanicals, and things that I love and weaving them into a bathing essential that is visually and aromatically pleasing and full of good for you ingredients. Whether I'm using organic ingredients, or my favorite essential oil, I use them even though they may cost more than the alternative. Of course, I can't keep making them if the consumers don't buy it. But fortunately for Lavande Bleu, consumers are willing to pay for the price of quality. It is by far the most expensive soap I create, it is also consistently my top selling handcrafted soap.

Aroma Inspiration - Part II

One aspect of essential oils I touched on in Aroma Inspiration - Part I is this idea of synergy, that when blended together the different properties of each essential oil work together to create distinctly different influences on mood than each of the single oils might suggest by itself.

As a "novice aromatherapy philosopher" I'd like to share a few of my favorite essential oil combinations and why. One quick note though, in the world of aromatherapy, essential oils can be used to treat physical ailments as well as mental ails. As a philosopher about my own experience of essential oils I discuss primarily how the essential oils impact mind and spirit, i.e. well being.

Lavender & Mint

Lavender is obviously a huge favorite of mine. One of the amazing things about lavender is that chemists have discovered over 150 different chemical components in the lavender plant. That explains why there are a HUGE variety of healing applications for lavender. Lavender is known most popularly for it's ability to calm and balance mood. It is also known to refresh and stimulate. So when combined with mint that is also refreshing and stimulating it's a pretty good "refresher". Surprisingly my Lavender Mint soap is a huge favorite with the guys. I think the strengthening component of Spearmint adds just the dose of masculinity needed to strengthen lavender's softer "calming" side. (We all know the guys could use a dose of calming influence now and then.)

Add in a hint of Cedarwood and the Lavender Mint combo becomes more calming. My favorite massage oil is, of course, called "Relaxing" and it contains this combination of essential oils. I often have difficulty falling asleep at night, if unable to use the Relaxing Massage Oil to massage my neck and send me fast asleep, my husband has been know to put a little in his hand and say "Here smell this." He claims it works like a charm, I'm often on my way to sleep within minutes with slow relaxed on my way to sleep breaths.

Orange and Ginger

Once I started experimenting with essential oils, orange quickly became a huge favorite of mine. It is truly the happy essential oil. Also know to be warm, sweet, sensuous, and refreshing. It really is an energy infuser for me. You can read about how making Orange Oatmeal Soap (recently renamed Morning Sunshine) quite literally recharged a gloomy January day while enduring 30 days of no sun in this post Painting My World.

The health benefits of ginger root essential oil are many, however it is widely know to be anti-inflammatory. But did you know it also has aphrodisiac properties? So what do you get when you cross an aphrodisiac with the happy essential oil? Let's just leave it at that. I use this essential oil combination in an aptly named massage oil, Ginger Passion.

Chocolate and ?

One of my favorite ingredients to work with is cocoa butter. Often the chocolate aroma is removed from cocoa butter to add this luxurious ingredient to products without adding the aroma; but I LOVE the chocolate aroma. When added to soap the cocoa butter not only adds a hint of chocolate aroma it also adds extra creamy luxurious moisturizing bubbles to create a treat for your shower to be sure! Chocolate works great with spearmint and peppermint. I regularly carry my Mint Chocolate Chip Handcrafted Soap. But during the holidays I make a Candy Cane soap that could be called White Chocolate Peppermint and a Chocolate Peppermint Body Butter. I've met quite a few people that really don't like chocolate in their body care regime, but I love it and am truly inspired by it. After all, it's no calorie chocolate! What's not to like? Another fun chocolate combination is orange essential oil and cocoa butter found in my Orange Chip Soap and from time to time I make a Chocolate Coconut Massage Bar.

Coconut and ?

Another truly favorite ingredient is Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. You may have read about the health benefits of using this oil in baking and cooking, but it is a fabulous additive for skin care products as well. And not only does this oil add extra moisturizing properties in skin preparations it adds wonderful coconut aroma. Remember using that Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil when you were a teenager? Before we really understood the effects of sun damage we were coating our skin with this stuff and baking to create that sun kissed look. Those were the good old days ... laying around in the sun without a care in the world. Well that's what Extra Virgin Coconut Oil reminds me of ... carefree days. So when I add this ingredient to a body essential it creates for me this memory of care free days and vacation, of course coconuts remind me of Hawaii. Since the Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is not a suitable additive for soap, I usually use it in various body essentials. I make two Coconut Salt Scrubs that are the bomb, Coconut Mojito and Island Sunset. The essential oils in both of these scrubs complement the coconut creating an exotic and inspiring aroma.

Well that's it for now from this aroma philosopher. I'd love to know your favorite aroma combinations and how they impact you.

Aroma Inspiration - Part I

I am an aroma nut! Aroma can be so regenerating! And then some aromas can be rather debilitating! Chemical sensitivity has been a driving force behind so many of the handcrafted soaps and body essentials I create. What I've found is the synthetic component of fragrance is what's so disturbing to me. That's why I use all natural, nothing synthetic, essential oils. I use essential oils that are steam distilled from living plants creating plant essences. Steam distillation quite literally puts the essence of the plant in a bottle. Wouldn't you like to capture the aroma of this bouquet? My youngest son, apparently a budding florist, harvested and arranged these bouquets for me. Essential oils do just that, they preserve aroma for years to come.

While I am NOT an expert on aromatherapy I am a novice aromatherapy philosopher, that is I am confident about sharing my own experience and research into how aroma can impact our senses, but I am not a trained aromatherapist. I think I'll put that on the to do list.

In any case, I'm getting ready to post a "Pamper Me" sale on the webstore and I thought this would be a great time to share a few tidbits about some of the essential oils I routinely use and how our sense of smell can impact our well being.

Our sense of smell, one of our earliest developed senses, is amazing! Aroma passes through the nose, past the cerebral cortex right to the limbic system, the innermost control center of the brain. Aroma stimuli in the limbic system release powerful neurotransmitters that provide inspiration, feelings of well being, relaxation, and so on. According to Susanne Fischer-Rizzi "Within the limbic system resides the regulatory mechanism of our highly explosive inner life, the secret core of our being. Here is the seat of our sexuality, the impulse of attraction and aversion, our motivation and our moods, our memory and creativity, as well as our autonomic nervous system." (I highly recommend her book "Complete Aromatherapy Handbook, Essential Oils for Radiant Health")

Following are some highlights about some of the essential oils you will find in my all natural body essentials. Keep in mind that when essential oils are blended together they have synergy that can create distinct influences on mood. More on that in Part II.

Cinnamon Leaf Oil – warm, spicy, sweet fragrance, smells just like cinnamon - stimulates creativity.

Found in Orange Spice & Red Hot Honey Handcrafted Soaps, also Island Sunrise Salt Scrub

Clove Bud– spicy, warm and sweet with antiseptic properties.

You might try Orange Spice or Shaving Spice Handcrafted Soaps

Lavender - lavender essential oil is obviously a favorite at Lavande de Bois (French for Lavender of Boise) – a spicy, sweet, woody aroma with a huge variety of applications for physical healing, however, most widely known for its ability to calm, stimulate, and refresh the mind.

Consider trying Lavande Bleu, TLC Bar, LaVader, or Lavender Mint Handcrafted Soaps or a lavender Salt Scrub or Hand Salve.

Lemon– smells like fresh squeezed lemons – antiseptic and detoxifying for the skin, refreshing and uplifting for the mind

Try Lemon Creme Handcrafted Soap, Lemon Drop Hand Salve, Lemon Poppy Seed Salt Scrub

Lemongrass– refreshing and mentally stimulating – great for those who have trouble getting started in the morning

Found in Lemongrass Poppy Seed and Morning Sunshine Soaps

Lime– a sweet and lively aroma – stimulating and refreshing

Try Coconut Mojito or Lime Basil Handcrafted Soaps

Orange– fragrance is sweet, radiant, and alive – stimulates positive mental energy – awakens creativity, stimulates happiness

Found in Morning Sunshine, Orange Spice, and Orange Chip Soaps

Rosemary - a strong and clear scent – strengthening with antiseptic properties, good for sore muscles

Try Idaho Mossmint or Rain Gentle Facial Cleansing Soap

Spearmint – refreshing and cooling aroma – increases concentration and memory with antiseptic properties – used in aromatherapy for a large variety of ailments

Consider trying Coconut Mojito, Lavender Mint, Mint Chocolate Chip, or Idaho Mossmint Handcrafted Soaps

Awesome pizza crust from Namaste Foods

I just have to share my new favorite gluten free staple. This pizza crust from Namaste Foods is the bomb! Feeding a family gluten free has serious challenges. And sending the kids to school with gluten free lunches is one of them. When I discovered this pizza crust from Namaste I was so impressed with the taste and the ease of use. I had engineered my own favorite recipe for pizza crust, then dropped it for this one. The taste is awesome. I load my corner of the pizza with goat cheese, fresh basil, and sun dried tomatoes and I feel like I'm having a totally gourmet pizza. The kids load their corner of the pizza with their own favorites. I used to buy boboli for my husband and daughter so they could have their own gluten pizza. But last night I didn't have a boboli so they had to eat our pizza. My husband thinks it tastes better than the boboli. This recipe not only tastes great but it has simplified my life! I usually have what I need and it's super easy to make and not time consuming, a great last minute dinner option. I usually make an extra one for leftovers for the boys to take in their lunches. I'm not big on the gluten free mixes and I usually make everything from scratch. But this one has really been a life saver.

Here's a link to the pizza sauce I use from my absolute favorite gluten free chef! Homemade Pizza Sauce

Gluten free brownies

I get so many requests for this brownie recipe I thought I'd type it up once and for all and post it. I have this old tattered recipe card that's about 25 years old. One of the things I love about recipes is their history, every smudge and drip adds a little bit to the story. I got the original gluten-ous version of this recipe from Freda Stowers of Riggins, Idaho, a town where I did a lot of growing up. For many years this was our family favorite. When I converted to a gluten free diet this is one of those recipes that I started to experiment with. Over the years I've used a lot of different flours but I've found that the teff flour version is favored by almost everybody. I buy my teff flour from a local grower, The Teff Company. I buy it in bulk, 25 pounds at a time because I use so much teff flour in my gluten free household. But you should be able to find small bags of it at your local co-op or order the smaller bags from The Teff Company.

A little disclaimer is in order here though: these brownies are loaded with sugar! My personal needs have required me to cut out sugar, and eggs, and butter but since I have two boys who also eat gluten free I make these for them. This brownie recipe is just so scrumptious the way it is; I feel like my boys need some delectable options that rival the gluten-ous ones to keep them on their diet. So without further adieu here it is ...

Yummy gluten-free brownies

1 cup melted butter

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xanthum gum

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups teff flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup nuts (if desired)

1/4 cup chocolate chips (if desired)

Melt butter. Add dry ingredients, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in nuts and/or chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Drawing the line at zipper allergies ...

I have a long history of food and environmental allergies and chemical sensitivities. Unfortunately the list of allergens continues to grow. When I became allergic to zippers and jewelry I proclaimed in a moment of total exasperation "I'm drawing the line at zipper allergies!" My husband was amused at this defiant control I seemed to believe I had over my immune response. (It's obvious that I would have taken control by now if I could). He wisely quipped "What are you going to do about it? Start a line of zipperless clothing? Or maybe you should just go with 24 karat gold zippers."

I really don't have the wherewithal to now start making clothing and jewelry that meets my needs, but the truth is, he really isn't that far off the mark. My personal need is what drives my creativity in my product line. My business didn't start out that way but as my need for personal care items has grown my experimentation has grown. Whether I'm working with essential oils to create beautiful uplifting aroma that won't give me a headache (most products use synthetic components to create fragrance) or creating a body butter because I can't find a moisturizer that doesn't have chemicals in it, it's all driven by my desire to have products at my disposal that smell good and feel good without eliciting an immune response or chemical exposure.

So in a sense, I really am drawing the line. I'm drawing the line by finding substitutes that meet my needs. And for now in the clothing and jewelry departments, it's no metal. Which is a total bummer because I'm getting pretty plain Jane over here. First no make up, now no jewelry. But that's just how it is, for now ...

Do it yourself Salt Scrubs

Salt scrubs are bathing luxuries that no one should be without! This morning I saw my lonely jar of Lemon Poppy Seed Salt Scrub sitting high up on the shelf and I had a little extra time so I went for it. I often forget to use it but each time I do I think "my skin feels so incredible why don't I use this more often!" Salt scrubs are made with oil and salt and you simply massage the scrub onto your skin and let warm steamy shower or bath water wash away the salt leaving behind soft velvety skin. The fresh inspiring aroma will linger on your skin long after you leave the shower.

Salt scrubs are super easy to make. Since I am producing a product that I want to repeat I measure everything. But here are my recommendations for someone wanting to whip one up for personal use: start with a little bit of oil. Safflower is my favorite, but sunflower oil works well and probably olive oil too. Then add salt until you have a paste like consistency. Then add a few drops of essential oil, but don't overdue it, and any herbs or botanicals for color and texture.

Or if you prefer you can purchase your bathing luxury from me. All my bathing essentials are created to inspire on three sensory levels. I want it to appeal to your eyes, nose, and skin. I call it the multi sensory approach to bathing. Salt scrubs exemplify this approach perfectly. The aroma just fills the shower and co-mingles with the feeling on you skin as you gently exfoliate and moisturize. And why is it important to me that the product please your eyes? Because the way it looks affects your sense of smell. I have made soaps where the aroma and color didn't go together and they just don't smell right. So in order for the scrub to really pamper you it needs to please your eyes. I add botanicals and clays to accomplish this, to give it color and texture.

Here's a few more salt scrub tips:

Use it on your hands - I LOVE the way my hands feel after I use salt scrub on them. I definitely don't need hand lotion after that. So keep a little jar of salt scrub by your sink for those days when you need to soften 'em up.

Use it on your feet - yeah you can really get some of that roughness off your heels! I like to sit in the bath and massage my feet with the salt scrub then let them soak for a while.

Use it in the bathtub - scrubs are great in the shower, but even better in the bath. The oil kind of disperses throughout the water and adds moisture to all your skin, and even your hair. In fact I love the way it softens my hair!

Dose of creativity ignites enthusiasm for the mundane

As my business has grown and I've moved from making small trial batches of soap here and there to larger batches on a regular basis the haunting question has been "will my creative brain be able to continue to make the same soaps over and over again?" So far I've been able to keep it interesting by bringing in seasonal soaps and by harnessing my creative efforts for becoming more efficient and cost effective.

Meanwhile one of the surprising regular customer questions I get is "what's new?" At first it felt like a lot of pressure to come up with something new all the time. But now I'm realizing the"pressure" to come up with new things is what keeps soapmaking fresh for me. Because the reality is there's always something that needs to be done. So it's hard to carve out time to let my creativity fly. It's easy to get lost in the routine and mundane, the litany of things that need to happen within my business and within my personal life. So this week when I felt like I needed to stretch ... to create something new ... it began as a moment of pressure. But it became a much needed spark in my energy field.

When I let myself indulge in the process of experimentation I felt my spirit start to ignite with enthusiasm and anticipation. I was looking for an essential oil to pair with lime and went through the whole cupboard and came up with basil. Yeah it sounds strange but I pulled the soap out of the mold today and it has this super fresh earthy scent. It's pretty different than anything I've ever made. Then I went to work on the color. Coloring soap is an art in itself, it doesn't quite look the same in the soap as it does in the small mixing container. And then I wanted to experiment with a different fixed oil so I decided to incorporate avocado oil in to the recipe. As I mixed the batch of soap and added the different ingredients at just the right time I felt my enthusiasm continue to build. Wallah it was in the mold the color looked superb, my kitchen was filled with the new aroma I had never smelled before. I was charged and ready for the next batch.

What was so fascinating to me was how creating something new and entirely different infused energy into my day. I started and finished the much needed batches of soap on my production schedule that day on a totally different note. So my soap artist tip for the day is ... keep being creative ... take a moment to do something entirely different and let the creative spark carry you through your routine.

A new twist on having it your way

When I launched my business two and a half years ago I had no idea where it would take me. I started making soap, people liked it, they started buying it. It started out that simply. One of the unforeseen paths has become one of the most satisfying, that is, making custom soaps. I love making it "your" way. There is unlimited creativity in soap crafting just as there are unlimited personal preferences. I have had so much fun making it just the way someone else would enjoy it. Just this morning while dropping my son off at school, a fellow mom and customer reported back to me that her husband loves the Lemongrass Poppy Seed soap I made for him without the poppy seeds. Of course they had to buy an entire batch of soap to get it "their" way, but it is a truly satisfying experience knowing that it is just right for their family.

My philosophy on making soap and using it is not just about getting clean. Of course for many people that's what using soap is about, and handcrafted soap is an awesome cleaning agent. I didn't know soap had chemistry until I started learning about it, but I was floored to discover that soap when mixed with water actually does pull dirt and germs away from your skin. So cool! And you may be an individual where that's all you use it for. But for me the experience of making and using soap goes way beyond that, it's about blending the things that inspire me or others with bathing ritual to regenerate the moment. It's like taking time to enjoy the small pleasures in life. When I get in the shower and lather up I take in a deep breath and let the aroma wash over and in and throughout. Of course the aroma is one aspect of the experience, but the way the soap lathers is another and the way it makes your skin feel afterward is another. Some like creamy lathering bubbles, some like texture, some like extra moisture, some like that squeaky clean feeling. The variety of aromas, herbs, specialty vegetable oils, and botanicals that can be added to soap are limitless, just as personal preferences are limitless. So I've discovered that striking that delicate balance of preferences for someone is an extraordinary art and is a ton of fun.

Whether I'm making a batch of soap with just the right ingredients for someone who has allergies and skin sensitivities, or making luxurious aromatic soaps to match wedding colors for the bride to give her guests as a thank you, or creating just the right soap to help a company deliver their message; when it all comes together and fits for that person or that company it's incredibly satisfying. Of course, it often takes trial and error to get to the sweet spot of "fit". But that's part of the journey too, and there's always someone willing to take a cast off soap that didn't fit, because it just might fit for them!

One business who has used my custom handcrafted soaps to support their message is Willow Park, a Senior living community located here in Boise. Their motto is “people who care, caring for people”. Their soap is appropriately named “Distinctly Willow”. In every sense Willow Park strives to care for their residents in a distinctly caring way that goes above and beyond. They've created a living community that revolves around the distinct preferences of the individuals that choose to live there. Their soap was created to match their marketing materials in color, theme, and message. When a visitor leaves their establishment with a bar of Distinctly Willow soap they take home a small piece of the experience of being there.

Gullible or empathic?

I just cannot take it anymore! I have just received a gazillion too many emails from foreign scammers. I just don't get it, are Americans that gullible that they keep attempting to prey on us. I get at least one email a week from a scammer with broken English attempting to hook me into some scheme. My favorite so far was the freight scam. They would "buy" 200 bars of soap that I would ship to an orphanage in Africa. I would commit to use the freight company they recommended and somehow pay the freight company while they didn't pay for my soap. I have to think these people are having some level of success or why would they still be attempting it? I'd like to believe that their success has something to do with the fact that we are empathetic. And they are so clever because every scam email I get has some appeal to my emotions. Using orphanages, and appealing to a cry to help an impoverished nation, etc. All stuff that I love, we love, to support. And then it's some pathetic scam trying to defraud me and using my empathy to do it. So sad.

What do you use on your face?

If you've been reading my blog you know I gave up facial skin care chemicals over a year ago. It's been interesting exploring all natural products that are free of chemicals for my facial skin care. Apparently I've found a combination that works. Recently I've had quite a few people comment on my skin and ask me what I'm using. So I thought I'd do a quick blurb to give everybody some natural skin care options. Here's the low down:

For cleansing I'm using my new face soap that is now available on the webstore. I have one at my sink and one in the shower. And since I've been crossing paths with people interested in a shampoo bar, I tried the face soap on my hair and it works great. The jojoba in the face soap is known to be a great ingredient for hair products.

Next I use a moisturizer. I've been doing a lot of experimenting on this front. I think my top pick is the Organic Pomegranate Seed Oil I purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs. Of course I'm out of it right now and so is the supplier. And in the case of this oil there's a hugely noticeable difference between the organic and the non-organic. And since they're the only supplier I've found so far, I'm going to have to wait for them to restock. Of course, this is the star ingredient in my Pomegranate Face Soap. I like it straight as a moisturizer. Yes it's oily and it has an interesting fruity/nutty aroma which I don't actually like. But I put a little dab on my cheeks and within five minutes the oil has been absorbed leaving my skin soft and supple. I absolutely love it! I feel like my skin looks a little brighter too. But if this approach seems a little too au naterelle, my second choice is the Creme de Rose moisturizer from Simply Divine Botanicals. I've also tried their Skincredible Face Elixer which is very soothing. And I absolutely can't live without their deodorant. First chemical free deodorant I've found that actually works. Yeah!

Why face soap?

Months ago I went on rampage to reduce my personal exposure to chemicals. I made a huge shift in my personal care products which meant ousting the skin care and cosmetics I had been using for over 25 years. Having been taught the importance of cleansing my face to prevent clogged pores and such I wondered what to use. I started using my soap and had favorable results. The Lemongrass Poppy Seed was surprisingly good on my face, as was Mint Chocolate Chip. They left my skin squeaky clean without feeling really dry. But soon I started researching facial cleansing soaps to find out what was out there and what people were using. I was surprised to discover that there were few natural handmade soaps formulated specifically for delicate facial skin. I started researching ingredients and off I was on a journey to create my own face soap. I shared early versions of the recipe with family and they were begging for more. After about a year of thought and experimentation I bring to you my new face soaps: Pomegranate and Rain.

The only claim I really intend to make about my face soap is that it cleans your face. When I started making soap I was surprised to discover that soap has chemistry, there's actually a chemical process taking place when you use soap and water. Water alone has surface tension but when you add soap to the mix it pulls dirt and germs away from your skin and they wash away. My all natural facial cleansing soaps being that they are true soaps are guaranteed to wash your face. Since I'm not a billion dollar company backed by a slew of researchers that's the only thing I plan to claim about my new face soap. But what has been surprising to me as I've continued to experiment with a variety of ingredients in my soap making adventures is that each ingredient, even small ingredient changes, change the properties of the soap making each soap recipe unique and different. So it's worth mentioning why I've incorporated the ingredients I have in the face soaps.

All my soaps seem to start with a high percentage of Olive oil because it produces gentle bars of soap. To that I typically add Coconut oil and Palm oil to enhance lathering and produce harder bars of soap, thereby extending the life of the soap. And there's always a smidge of Castor oil added to increase lather.

To the face soaps I've added several "secret" agents, here's why:

Jojoba Oil - most closely resembles the natural sebum in our skin making jojoba a wonderful additive for cosmetics. It also is high in antioxidant properties and is know to penetrate the skin without clogging pores.

Rice Bran Oil - the Japanese have long understood the importance of Rice Bran in their beauty regimens. Rice Bran Oil is high in natural antioxidants that play an important role in fighting free radicals.

Evening Primrose Oil -the GLA in Evening Primrose Oil is thought to control inflammation, it is also thought to be effective against acne and eczema

Secret agents in the Pomegranate all natural facial cleansing soap:

Pomengranate Seed Oil - I can't say enough cool things about this oil! It's my new favorite. I like to massage this oil on my face instead of a moisturizer. It just feels out of this world. And I love what it did to the soap formulation, I just had to name the soap after it! Research is finding great benefit in using Pomegranate Seed Oil to restore moisture and promote cell regeneration.

Shea Butter - also added to increase moisturizing properties, but I find it boosts the lather a tad bit too.

Grapefruit essential oil - added for its skin toning benefits, in aromatherapy grapefruit essential oil is thought to increase concentration. I just love the way it smells!

Secret agents in the Rain all natural facial cleansing soap:

Rose Hip Seed Oil - high in Vitamins A and E as well as omega-3 and omega-6, Rose Hip Seed Oil has been added for its ability to nourish and repair skin.

Lavender and other essential oils - the rain essential oil blend is extraordinary, I think it really smells like rain. I incorporated lavender in this blend first of all for what it contributes to the aroma, but it is also thought to be beneficial for fighting acne. I've also read that lavender is beneficial for dry skin. So I guess it's a universal good for you essential oil. But the long and short of it is, if you struggle with blemish prone skin, the Rain all natural facial cleansing soap might be the one to try.

Please come back and tell me what you think once you've had a chance to try the new face soaps. Ready to make a purchase? Here's some links:

Rain Facial Cleansing Soap

Pomegranate Facial Cleansing Soap

Face Soap Sampler Pack

Chemical free paint?

Wow I just totally have to share that I am so impressed with this paint called The Fresh Aire Choice I picked up at Home Depot. For the past two holiday seasons I've set up my front room as a showroom for my soaps and body essentials. This year I decided to keep the showroom instead of returning it to it's past use as a parlor. Who needs a parlor anyway? So now I'm knee deep in a redecorating project for that room. I dropped by the Home Depot to decide on paint colors and got into a conversation with a knowledgeable salesperson. The conversation started out with me complaining about the Behr paint billed as an all-in-one primer and paint. I informed him that first of all it stunk real bad and I could hardly paint with the toxic smell and second of all it took three coats. So the primer aspect wasn't really working at all. He took the opportunity to point out that the all-in-one paint had a lot less chemicals than the regular Behr paint. So I was in this quandry about whether to buy a paint that stunk real bad in the name of fewer chemicals when he showed me The Fresh Aire Choice. If you're in the market for chemical free paint you should check it out because it really is chemical free. And we were so impressed with how well it went on and the fact that it virtually had no odor. The only downside is there are only 66 color choices. So for those of us match frieks it's a little bit limiting. But I made up my mind that I wanted to try it so I chose a color and off I went. You can see the results. The blue is kind of bright but I think it's growing on me.

The benefits of handmade soap

For several months I've been the featured artist at The Wild Ivy Gift Shop. It's a wonderful shop nestled in Kuna. Owner, Kim Barton, does an incredible job of offering truly unique gifts and accessories. I highly recommend a trip out there if you haven't been. She will be featuring a new artist soon so I'm posting the original article here:

Susanne Schlador, Soap Artist, weighs in on the benefits of handmade soap

Lavande de Bois grew out of my personal obsession with lavender. Ever since I discovered my love of gardening I’ve grown lavender. I love the relaxing herbaceous aroma! After getting my kids off to school full time, I started researching product options for creating a business that revolved around my passion for lavender.

Soap making just kind of found me. I was signed up to go to a four day “boot camp” on making all natural body care products and the night before I was to leave I came down with a severe flu and was unable to travel. The instructor offered to allow me to attend the next “boot camp” which happened to be a soap class. I sat in the class thinking, “Why am I here I don’t even use soap?” I had been an avid shower gel user for years. But the soaps I brought home from the class were far superior to anything I had ever used. And they smelled great too! Soon I was experimenting with my own recipes. I haven’t used anything else since.

How are handcrafted soaps different than the commercially available alternatives? A big factor is ingredients. Large scale soap manufacturers have turned toward the most economical ingredients which often are synthetic. Also, commercial manufacturers tend to remove the glycerin, a natural by-product of the soapmaking process, to add to other products or sell. Glycerin is a humectant which means that it attracts and retains moisture on the skin. Another factor is method. Commercial producers typically heat the ingredients to high temperatures to force the chemical reaction of saponification to occur. I use the cold process method which allows me to combine the lye mixture with the oil mixture at around 110 degrees. At which point I’m able to add essential oils and additives that add skin softening properties to the soap. The saponification occurs over a longer period of time while the soap is laying in the mold for several days. I believe this process yields a gentler, richer soap with assorted benefits for your skin depending upon the additives of each unique recipe.

One thing I love about making soap is being able to blend the goodness of nature with bathing ritual to revitalize mind and body. I consider bathing the singular moment of my day that is for me. Having survived the early years of parenting when no moment is your own, I’ve come to appreciate the ritual of bathing. My soaps are replete with aroma that is uplifting and inspiring, ingredients that soothe and moisturize, and I love to make soap that is artistic. I call it the multisensory approach to bathing even if I don’t have a lot of time for it. I have a firm commitment to using only the finest natural raw ingredients. I use organically grown ingredients whenever feasible. I don’t ever use synthetic fragrances for one very good reason: I’m allergic to the synthetic component of fragrance. In fact, I have quite a few allergies, and I make only what smells good, feels good, and looks good.

Technique and artistry combine to create one-of-a-kind works of handcraftsmanship and quality. Each step in the soap making process involves the soapmaker. Each bar of soap is handmade, hand cut, hand trimmed, hand beveled, and packaged. No two soaps will ever be exact replicas, yet the goodness in the quality and aroma of the soap will be the same bar after bar. The inherent variations in this process enhance the individual beauty of my exclusive soaps.

I personally invite you to experience the all natural goodness of Lavande de Bois handcrafted soaps. Stop by the Wild Ivy to discover the naturally good soap that will nurture a unique you.

Please utilize my website as a resource for product information and as always I invite you to contact me with questions.

Click here for an Independent review of my Mint Chocolate Chip Handcrafted Soap

Happy New Day!

I've talked to quite a few people lately who are looking forward to having 2009 behind them. Whether they've meandered through health crisis or financial trials, relational difficulties or whatever, it's nice to think "it's over" and hope for a different sort of year in 2010. Truth is, I had a particularly difficult year as well. It started with mono and spending weeks on end in bed, not getting out of bed but to go to the bathroom. I didn't even really eat. A multitude of cascading health problems continued to emerge which no local doctors were able to help me with. I made the bold move of seeking medical attention outside the state. The cost has been enormous, but I'm on my way to better health, albeit the path still seems uncertain, and many questions remain for the future.

But it would be tragic neglect for me to not pause and reflect on the incredible gifts that those difficulties have born in my life. If there were one word to describe the gifts I've received it's "adventure". In many ways 2009 has been the culmination of twenty plus years of chronic pain and mysterious health maladies. When several months ago I became allergic to zippers and jewelry I pronounced to my husband "I draw the line at zipper allergies!". He wisely quipped, "What are you going to do about it? Start a line of zipperless clothing? Or maybe you should just go with 24K gold zippers?" As funny as it sounds, there's profound truth in this statement. Out of the total frustration of impaired health new discoveries have abounded.

The wanderings and discoveries of the past year have led me to an organic lifestyle that involves not only purchasing organic foods whenever possible, but growing and canning it as well.

I've also gone chemical free with my personal care regime. After 30 years of mask wearing, I unveiled the real authentic me. I wear some eye make up several days of the week, but typically my face is authentic and naked! Wow this is huge. The other day a friend told me she could never do that because her skin isn't as beautiful as mine. I had to tell her, my skin didn't look like this until I made the bold move to stop wearing the mask. The quest for chemical free skin care led me to create my own face soap, yes it really will be out for sale this year, but for now I'm loving being able to use my own soap with NO chemicals.

And this essay on gifts born out of difficulty would be far from complete without recognizing the people I have met along this journey. Wonderful people who struggle that I might have not had the priviledge of knowing without my own wanderings through difficulty. I must tell this story because it is just a picture of the irony of the struggle. Earlier this month I met the "coffee moms" at our local hot spot for excellent coffee and atmosphere. They are a group of moms from my son's school who meet weekly for coffee. I show up sporadically and they are nice enough to include me. Anyway, on this day, three moms were already seated, and I started to sit down next to one of the moms, I hadn't even landed on my bottom when I found myself subconsciously abruptly changing directions to a standing position and emphatically stating that I could not sit there. The moms looked at me bewilderingly as I tried to explain. Which of course I had to quickly scan my brain for my own understanding. Turns out, as I inched closer to the sitting position, there was a fake Christmas tree behind the couch the gals were seated on and someone must have sprayed Christmas tree fragrance on it. The fake phony synthetic chemicals wafted over to me and I instinctively jerked away. I chose a spot farther away from the tree. Soon another mom showed up who in the past had expressed to me the fact that she was chemically sensitive and the spot near the tree was the only one left. So I casually mentioned to her that I decided not to sit there because of the fragrance and she immediately started backing away. Turns out she's allergic to artificial trees. She discovered the hard way, that artificial trees have latex in them. She has a latex allergy. Anyway the common enemy created an instant bond between us. When a nearby customer left we quickly inhabited his table farther away from the tree and delved into a conversation about how we feel like social outcasts because of our plight and were soon swapping discoveries, successes, failures, and survival techniques for chemically sensitive individuals living in a world that is oversubscribed with chemicals. All this to say, I had an unexpected new friend who understood my plight without me explaining it.

So yeah, while life is incredibly complicated dodging food allergens and chemicals that creep into my life in one form or another and searching for practitioners who are armed with the right information and arsenal of tools to help my unique situation, I am on the adventure of a life time. I am discovering new foods to fuel my body, foods that taste good that I never would have considered eating a year ago. I am finding out that unveiling the authentic face that I was born with actually feels like freedom from the burden to artistically remake it everyday. And I'm discovering people who struggle too that I understand without a word because I've been there too. It's not easy and I never would have chosen this journey. But it's the journey I'm on and I'm learning, growing, and discovering new things because of it. So it's the journey of discovery that I am truly grateful for. I stopped making new year's resolutions many years ago, because plans get redirected, and that always felt like failure. So now, I just take it one day at a time, and for the start of this year I look forward to spending a lazy day with my family!