Your Favorite Soap Swap

I just wrapped up hosting the "Second Annual Your Favorite Soap Swap" for the Dish Forum. The swap was limited to 20 participants, and allowed for Fragrance Oils, Essential Oils, CP/HP or M&P soap.

Participants were given several months to create and cure their favorites. Here's the Cast:


My own submission into this swap is the center soap in the last photo. It's my favorite at the moment: Avocado Oil. It contains Palm Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Distilled Water, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Cream, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Essential Oils (Geranium Rose, Orange, Lemongrass and Dark Patchouli), Vitamin E-Tocopherol, Green Chrome Oxide Pigment, Titanium Dioxide, Tussah Noil Silk.

I love how silky the lather feels with the avocado oil, cream and silk. I cannot wait to try out all of my friends' favorites.

Recipients should be receiving their return boxes starting Monday 4/25. I can hardly wait to hear their reactions to the many new gift soaps!

Is Your Home Naturally Clean?

Mine is. Or more accurately, it soon will be even more so.

Remember a month or so back when I wrote about my submission to the Home Cleaning Swap? Well, I received my return box yesterday filled with things to make my home more naturally clean.
Photo one contains:
- The Carpet "Re-freshener" you've already read about
- Four Theives Room Spray
- Aveda Madagascar Room Spray
- A Laundry Stain Stick
- Toilet Bowl Cleaner
- Dishwasher Detergent

Photo 2 contains:
- Lavender Dryer Sachets with 'refill' of Lavender Essential Oil
- Glass Cleaner
- Scouring Powder
- Laundry Soap

Not pictured: Vinegar/Citrus Solid Surface Cleaner. This item didn't make the box, though I do have the formula and have been enjoying citrus cleaning power for several months.

I have already tried the Dishwasher Detergent and Dryer Sachets, and of course the carpet re-freshener :). My house is smelling divine without all of the nasty fumes from typical cleansers. Next up, tackling the toilet bowl.

If you'd like any of the ingredients or a starter recipe for your own cleaning products, please let me know in the comments section. I can blog a few recipes for you.

Winter Products Swap-Part 2

Delivery of my Winter Products Swap box was delayed by the Great Blizzard of 2011. We ended up getting about 2 feet of snow, but that's another story that I'll save for later.Back to your regularly scheduled post...

My box arrived a couple of days later than everyone else's, but it sure was worth the wait. I'm posting the spoiler photos taken by the swap hostess. I received back 24 new items to try. Man were they awesome. Here are 2 photos of the loot:

Notice the lovely lot of lotions, balms, butters,soaps, body oils, and more? Awesome, huh?
This second photo shows the hand knitted neck warmer. Mine is actually a lovely blue. It comes in very handy with the sub zero weather in Chicagoland! See my con"dish"ioner and poo? They;re in good company.


The hard part now it trying it all out. I chose a different lotion/butter for each leg and arm. Then the cuticle jellies and footie stuff. I smell wonderful and am soft as buttah! I used another swapper's Intensive Hair Conditioner and my hair looks fab. It will take me until spring to work through all of this awesomeness.

Winter Products Swap

I've been busy signing up for, and making products for, swaps at the Dish Forum. The most recent swap is the Winter Products Swap. The premise of the swap is to make something that people need during the harsh and gray winter months. I chose to make a solid hair conditioner with a little travel shampoo.

The first hurdle was done: what to make. The0 next, more difficult challenge was to decide upon a fragrance. What would I like in February? Where would I like to be? Easy: Enjoying citrus in Florida. Beaches and fresh juice, preferably on South Beach with a beachy drink in hand while watching the waves.

With a goal in mind, I set sail for my Fragrance cabinet. Fresh Squeezed Oranges, Lime Cilantro, Ruby Red Grapefruit and Mojito fragrances found their way to me. I started at a ratio of 1:1:1:1 and worked in more of one or another until I smelled "The" scent. Citrus Mojito. Bliss.

I then gathered all of my solid conditioner ingredients and molds and made 25 of the little darlings. 24 2.5 oz Solid Conditioners colored with Tangerine Pop! mica.



... and don't forget the 25 1 oz solid shampoos with the same color and fragrance.

Next challenge: Packaging. I made cute round labels with the ingredients on the back and the major info on the front. They were shrink wrapped to the bottom of each conditioner.
Here's a close up of the label:


The little shampoos got a custom product information card and were stapled into a treat bag.


Got them all shipped off to the swap hostess and began waiting ever so (im)patiently for the return box. I love swaps! They're like Christmas all year long!

Coffee Break

I recently joined a coffee swap with a group of people in my favorite Soap Forum. Initially I planned to venture to downtown Chicago to pick up a few pounds from Intelligentsia. I like their coffee and their story, but not enough to pack up my 5 year old daughter during one of the coldest spells of weather this year and trudge through the Windy City.

So, instead I let Google lead me to a place more local. I struck GOLD in a neighboring town. Conscious Cup is a roaster that makes their magic in the restaurant in front of their giant window. Each week day morning they put on a show of the tastiest kind. I had a cup of their "Nicaragua" yesterday while Teagan munched on an oversized chocolate muffin. The coffee was light and smooth. Even at 4 O'Clock in the afternoon I didn't feel the caffeine jitters. Got a good night's sleep and awoke looking forward to my day.

I told the coffee expert behind the counter that I was looking for something smooth with little or no bitterness for my swap. She directed me to an organic free-trade variety from Brazil. I love me a good strong cup of Starbucks, but am trying to reduce the amount of sugar and cream I need to enjoy the cup. I'd like to learn to like coffee 'black' but cannot seem to get used to the taste without the amendments. Sitting here with a tall steaming cup of the Brazil blend I am on my way toward achieving my goal. It took no sugar and only little heavy cream to make my palate happy. It's much lighter than the Winter Blend that was in my coffee grinder before, but I really like it so far.

Thank you Google. Thank you Conscious Cup. Please excuse me while I return to my coffee break.