Merry Yule Everyone!

Just a quick note to wish you all a fabulous Yule, filled with love, laughter and of course good food and drink with friends and family!

For the first time in at least 15 years, we'll be having a white Christmas here at Melusine Soap HQ (i.e. deepest darkest Somerset!) It started snowing last Friday, stopped on Monday, and has been frozen in place since then.  It's quite dangerous on the roads...but I have to admit that it's just too pretty to feel grumpy about the disruption it's been causing (rubbish collection is 5 days late and probably wont happen until after Christmas now!)  So I thought I'd end this post with a few pictures of the 'snow days' we've been having....enjoy!

 The view across the fields toward the River Parret

 My daughter figuring out what to do first with all the snow!

 Snow covered yew trees

 St. Martin's Church

 A few of Burrow Hill (where they make zider!)

 Across the Levels

 Mathilda enjoying the snow :)

Have a great Christmas everyone and all the best for 2011!  I'll be back soon in the new year to showcase my Valentines Day soaps (because that is not far off now either!) xxx

First Ever Christmas Range

Hello everyone, long time no blog! This is mainly because I've been busy making soaps, foaming bath butters and scrubs in time for Christmas.

I've thoroughly enjoyed doing this as it's got me into the festive mood and it's also reminded me of my first Xmas as a fledgling soap maker which was last year.

I made Christmas cake soap slices and cocoa marshmallow bars and gave them to family and friends as presents.

They were a hit and it got me seriously thinking about making soap to sell to the public. So within a few weeks I had my Safety certification sorted and by May this year I was selling soaps locally and via Folksy.

So what's changed this Christmas? Well, I'm now selling a range of festive soaps, scrubs and bath butters via my website, my Folksy shop, Bower Hinton Stores (a local shop) and will also be attending 3 craft fairs. A very exciting time!

So here's the Christmas 2010 range from Melusine Soap, starting with a revamped version of my Christmas cake soap:

Christmas Friut Cake Shea Butter Soap with added oatmeal.

Luxury SLS-free glycerine soap, with added moisturising Shea butter and exfoliating oatmeal and scented with a fruity, warm and spicy Christmas cake fragrance oil.

This limited edition soap is made especially for Christmas and resembles a slice of traditional fruit cake - red and green soap chunks embedded in shea butter and oatmeal laden soap, topped with a yellow layer of 'marzipan' and finally whipped soap 'icing'.  A great stocking filler or something to give your bathroom a festive flair!

Peppermint Foot Scrubbie Soap with added Pumice stone

Luxury SLS-free glycerine foot scrub soap made with real ground pumice stone. Clean and buff your feet at the same time!

Luxury Chocolate Orange Foaming Bath Butter

Made with lashings of sweet almond oil and topped with an individual sugar scrub soap. Scented with a delicious chocolate orange fragrance oil.

Iced Gingerbread Man Soap

A luxury SLS-free gingerbread man shaped soap, scented with a spicy ginger and cinnamon fragrance oil.  A perfect stocking filler gift for Christmas!

Christmas Cranberry Shea Butter Soap

A luxury SLS-free glycerine soap, with jolly red 'berries' suspended in a snow white bar and scented with an uplifting tangy and fruity cranberry fragrance oil.  Also contains moisturising shea butter, a real treat for your skin!

Luxury Black Forest Gateaux Foaming Bath Butter

Luxury foaming bath butter, scented with a delectable custom blend of juicy cherries and rich chocolate, giving it a very realistic black forest gateaux fragrance.

Festive Magic Shea Butter Soap

Luxury, SLS-free glycerine soap, in the shape of a teardrop with intricate Victorian style patterning. With added moisturising shea butter and coloured with shimmering red and green micas, capturing the spirit of Christmas!

Comes in a choice of fragrances - just select your choice from the drop down menu:

'Christmas Spice' - A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, basil, balsam, fir and warm spices.

'Frankincense' - A sweet resinous aroma, highly prized in ancient times and valued as highly as gold.

'Mistletoe' - A gentle green festive mistletoe and pine fragrance

'Mulled Wine' - A cosy blend of festive fruits, wine and warm sweet spices.

Ice Skating Penguin Soaps

A fun Christmas bath-time treat! Glittery blue SLS-free glycerine soap, shaped like a star, with a squirty rubber duckie 'skating' on top.  Scented with a familiar toffee apple fragrance oil.

Yuletide Goddess Soap with Apricot Kernel Oil

Celebrate Winter Solstice with this luxury, mica laden SLS-free glycerine soap, depicting The Goddess in shimmering frosty mica on a dark blue-black winter's night background.  With added apricot kernel oil to moisturise and soothe and scented with a beautiful ethereal blend of pine, spruce, fern, ozone, amber, musk and cosy spice on a background of vanilla.  

I Love Irish Cream Soap

A luxury SLS-free heart shaped glycerine soap, made with lashings of moisturising sweet almond oil and scented with a sumptuous Irish Cream fragrance oil.  A perfect little stocking filler for lovers of the famous tipple!

Luxury Candy Cane Foaming Sugar Scrub

Luxury foaming scrub, scented with a sweet but fresh peppermint fragrance and packed full of lovely scubby sugar to massage your skin and provide gentle exfoliation.  Topped off with a festive sprinkling of red sugar, giving this scrub the traditional red and white candy cane colour combination!

Christmas Tree Decoration Soap

A great little novelty stocking filler!

Luxury SLS-free glycerine soap, shaped like a Christmas tree and threaded with dark red organza ribbon to use as an actual tree decoration! 

Coloured a sparkling green with red 'baubles' and scented with a truly festive fragrance: a combination of pine tree (a fresh strong pine tree fragrance with a hint of light forest flowers, earthy woods and sweet rain) and mulled wine (A cosy blend of fruit, wine and warm sweet spices).  Comes gift wrapped in a silver presentation box.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Lucky Buddha

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, life has been busy with my new website and very exciting!  I have also been working on many new products, which I'll make sure to feature on this blog soon!  Firstly though, I'd like to show off this little guy:

A luxury SLS-free 'Lucky Buddha' glycerine soap, made with added super-moisturising Avocado Oil and scented with a beautiful fresh bamboo fragrance with subtle light cedarwood, aquatic notes and a hint of citrus. Coloured pale green with a golden sheen to resemble Jade. 

Rub his belly to bring you luck (and a luxurious lather)!

The 'golden sheen' is actually my first ever attempt at dry-brushing soap with mica. I must admit that I loved doing it, it's surprisingly therapeutic!  And very, very affective.  Here's a great little tutorial from the Soap Queen about mica brushing: Bee and Honeycomb Tutorial.

New website launched!

It's a great day for me today as I have finally launched my website, which I have been planning and building for months now!

I started making soap, for myself, about a year ago, just as a hobby.  Then I started making soap to give as gifts and they proved to be very popular over Christmas 2009.  Around that time, I was subject so an amazing random act of kindness, which helped me obtain the necessary certification I needed to comply with EU regulations and enable me to start selling my soaps to the public.  From then on, things got better and bigger and now...I have my own website!

It really is an amazing feeling, and I still can't believe I achieved all of this after becoming a parent!  When I was pregnant, everyone was telling me how I would never have any time for myself after the baby arrived.  There is some truth in that statement, but I think parenthood also taught me how to use my time more constructively.  Plus having a baby gave me a new-found motivation and creativeness that I think had been squeezed out of me while I was working in a mundane office job!  So I would fully recommend to anyone considering starting their own business to give it a try as it's so rewarding.

So, from now on, my soaps will be available to buy from www.melusinesoap.co.uk as well as my Folksy shop.  However, from time to time I will run discounts and exclusives from my website only.

Speaking of exclusives, now is a good time to show you my latest soap!

 

Dragonsblood Glycerine Soap with Avocado Oil: Luxury, SLS-free, dark and mysterious soap scented with a blend of patchouli and vanilla with notes of rose absolute, orange and jasmine.  Also contains super-moisturising Avocado oil to give your skin an extra treat.

Available only here.

Proud member of the Guild of Craft Soap & Toiletry Makers

Sorry it's been a little quiet around here lately.  I have been busy building a website, making new soaps and experimenting with foaming bath butters.

Because I have decided to take my business up to the next level by making a website, I thought it would be a good idea to apply for membership with The Guild of Craft Soap and Toiletry Makers, a UK based, non-profit organisation who have two very specific aims:

'(1) to raise awareness of the legislative standards that are in place that apply to craft soap and toiletry makers

(2) To register as members of the Guild crafters who work in compliance with this legislation and who hold relevant public liability insurance

It is not generally known that in order to legally sell a crafted soap or toiletry product to the public that it must meet legislative guidelines. The reason for this is public safety.'

In order to become a member, you have to provide written evidence of your safety assessments and insurance details to prove that you are producing cosmetic products in a legal manner.

I feel that it's important to take my craft as seriously as possible (which I do!)  and I'm proud of making and selling my products the correct and legal way.  So I'm very happy to now be a member of the GCTM.

You can view my profile on the GCTM's site via this link.

 

Folksy Friday ~*Lammas*~

Well it's nearly August 1st, the time of the first harvest or Lammas/Lughnasadh.  I love this time of year where everything is ripening up for Autumn and the hedgerows are laden with berries and also the sunsets are beautiful over the fields.

So this week, my inspiration for finding Folksy Friday items has been the sight of fields full of wheat and barley surrounding the area where I live.  The word 'Lammas' is derived from 'loaf mass' and is indicative of how central and honoured is the first grain and the first loaf of the harvesting cycle.

 

This pretty love heart corn dolly can be found in Kays 

 

This elegant corn and marigold brooch can be found in Lynwoodcrafts 

 

This charming John Barleycorn  carving can be found in Woodwose Carving and Crafts

And finally this beautiful yarn 'Lammas Night' yarn can be found in Solstice Yarns

Just checking in...

Sorry I haven't been around much to blog lately.  No real excuses really, apart from just being generally busy!

Tomorrow I will post a Folksy Friday which will feature some lovely items I feel are ideal for Lammas on August 1st.  But in the meantime, here are some newly listed soaps in my Folksy shop.  They're not designs, just some popular craft fair soaps that I thought would also do well online!  Thanks for looking...

Candied Ginger & Fig Glycerine Soap (scented with ginger and fig and brown sugar fragrance oils)

 

'Birthday Cake' Shea Butter Soap (scented with dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk and sugar fragrance oils)

 

Citrus Creme Glycerine Soap (scented with satsuma, grapefruit and sugarcane fragrance oils) 

Folksy Friday - ~*Coconut*~

This week's Folksy Friday is brought to you by Coconuts!  I chose coconut because my latest soap it coconut scented:

Calming Coconut Shea Butter Soap. This is a dreamy pure white coconut scented soap with pearlescent swirls throughout the slice. It has added shea butter for extra moisturising qualities and coconut milk powder to give it a creamy lather. Pure luxury!

Making this soap inspired me to check out the other items on Folksy which were made using coconut materials, and it opened my eyes to how versatile they are!

This amazing brooch is made with coconut shell and is available from FLOURISH

 This virgin organic coconut oil can be found in Cebra ethical skincare and it can be used for a whole host of things!

And finally, this innovative coconut tea light holder is available from Wentworth Wood

Truly an  amazing fruit (or is it a nut??!)

Folksy Friday - ~*Donkeys*~

My apologies for not doing a Folksy Friday last week, but I was away on a short break with the hubs and my daughter in sunny Devon.  It was a really nice trip and we visited a place called The Donkey Sanctuary.  It's such a wonderful place and a lovely day out.  It is literally a sanctuary for rescued donkeys and they rely completely on donations to keep running.  Apart from rescuing donkeys, they also work closely with children with special needs and have their own day centre at the sanctuary where the children have a play area and can visit the donkeys.  

Here are some pictures of the lovely donkeys!

Aren't they awesome?!

Anyway, I was so impressed by these modest creatures that I decided to find the best donkey inspired items on Folksy for my Folksy Friday this week.  This is was I found...

This beautiful watercolour painting can be bought from eastwitching 

This lovely mouse mat can be found in Clever Ferret

...and finally this adorable donkey cross-stitch picture can be found in Sew Lovely

New soaps for Midsummer

Last weekend, I finally got into the kitchen to create some new soaps and have a play around with the new moulds I ordered a while ago.  And here are the results! ...

This is Midsummer Goddess Shea Butter soap (SLS-free).  It's scented with a sensual blend of patchouli, ginseng and cinnamon and it's has a beautiful depiction of The Goddess in shimmering golden mica on a purpley summer sunset coloured background.  Available now in my Folksy shop!

This is my Nectarine and Honey Blossom Shea Butter soap.  A luxury, SLS-free glycerine soap, in the shape of a teardrop with intricate Victorian style patterning. With added moisturising shea butter and scented with a lovely feminine nectarine and honey blossom fragrance oil.  Also available in my Folksy shop!