THE JOY OF VISITING NORTHERN MINNESOTA & GOOD FRIENDS

 Spent a day visiting a dear friend in northern Minnesota a week ago. My friend lives completely off-grid on over 80 acres of land in the middle of the forest surrounded by the most diverse wildlife (plants and animals) you will find in the state of MN. It truly is a little piece of heaven at his place. It was a great place to escape to for the day.

Here is my daughter and my friend checking out a wolf den.

We found some bobcat scat.

My friend showed us how to identify wild ginger by sight and taste.

We explored around all the beautiful trees growing on his property; sugar maples, aspen, cedar, white pine...

My favorite part was walking for hours in the woods taking in the awesome autumn smell in the air and learning about our surroundings.

Thank you, Barry. 

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TIME FOR AUTUMN SOAPMAKING!

It's that time of year again. I love Halloween and autumn, it's  my favorite time of year.  My first batch of soap is Halloween Harvest, scented with Bramble Berry's pumpkin souffle, my favorite pumpkin fragrance oil. I used Van Yulay's cute little jack-o-lantern soap mold. 

 

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ANOTHER REVIEW - BRAMBLE BERRY LYE

On May 17, 2020 I purchased more lye from Bramble Berry. I've not had very good luck with their lye lately, hit and miss on whether it ruins my soap recipe. It took a long time for me to figure out what the problem was because the problem was so inconsistent so this time I purchased a brand new container of lye and this is the result after mixing the lye and distilled water and of course my tried and true recipe came out soft!!

Lye should never be this weak. Even Bramble Berry admits this on their website.

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/expired-lye/

I've had terrible luck with Bramble Berry products lately and considering I've been buying from them since 2007 it is really a shame to have this experience. All of the fall scents I purchased also smell very weak for the first time EVER and I'm hoping that is not the case when I make soap and candles with them.

I definitely won't be purchasing lye or silicone molds from them again in the future, I'll post about the fragrances in a couple weeks. 

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NEW SUMMER SOAPS

Sharing some new soap creations that I'm really happy with.

I've had this little fish tail for a while now and had an idea how I wanted to create the soap but I was using a fragrance I'd never worked with before so I wasn't sure how the process would work out. The base of the soap didn't exactly become what I wished for, mainly because I used shredded luffa, something I now know I hate, but the rest of the soap turned out great! The little pearls and the eco glitter were exactly what I needed for this project. So cute!!

My daughter wanted me to make some Pride Soap for her friends. I find working with multiple colors challenging when trying to create the perfect layers so I kept putting this project off. Finally I made it. I didn't get the perfect straight layers but what I did get I thought turned out awesome! :-)

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LOVING THE JOJOBA BEADS

I made some yummy scented peach soap a couple days ago and added some jojoba beads to the top. It turned out beautifully. The color is perfect, the scent is to die for, and the design is exactly what I wanted.

Here is the soap

Here is a close-up of the tiny jojoba beads

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PRODUCT REVIEW

I made several batches of soap recently and was really pleased with the fragrances so I wanted to share my thoughts here.  All FOs are from Bramble Berry.

Electric Lemonade is #1 because it is one of my favorite BB fragrances. It smells so fresh and uplifting and it soaps really, really well. No ricing or acceleration at all and the scent holds a long time in the cured bar.

Pineapple Papaya is #2 because it is my second favorite. I am not sure if others like it as much as I do since I never really get too much feedback on this fragrance but I love working with it because it smells so good. It does accelerate trace though so it doesn't leave a lot of room for design time.

Chocolate Mint is #3. It's not a BB fragrance, it's actually two of their FOs blended. I used their dark rich chocolate and blended it with candy cane. It came out perfectly. No ricing, no acceleration and it smelled exactly like I wanted, like a peppermint patty.  Their dark rich chocolate is to die for.

Blueberry Jam is #4. I love the fragrance. It smells just like blueberry jam. I am not pleased with the design of my soap though. It didn't turn out at all like I planned and I don't remember why.

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RASPBERRY TRUFFLE SOAP

My latest creation: raspberry truffle soap. I purchased this fragrance from Bramble Berry. It soaped up beautifully. No ricing, no acceleration. The chocolate scent is much stronger than the raspberry which comes through lightly. I love the way the colors and berries came out also. I was nervous at first since the FO was suppose to color the soap brown but initially it looked like a mustard color. After a couple days it became the brown you see in the pic.

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MORE SOAP AND PRODUCT REVIEWS

The last batch of soaps I made were for Valentines Day.  I used grapefruit lily and baby rose fragrance oils from Brambleberry. Both smell amazing but the baby rose is to die for. Smells exactly like the rose bush I have in the garden. I also used the Brambleberry heart silicone mold for the first time. It is super easy to use and comes out perfect!

I am disappointed in the soap cutter I purchased. I bought my first wire cutter and I am not liking the result. It has nothing to do with the cutter itself, that was built perfectly and works very well, it is the little bumps it leaves on my soap which I've read is caused by air bubbles. If I cut the "old" way those bumps don't appear, it is only with the wire cutter which I've also read is very common. 

You can see the bumps in the soaps below.

I'll be making some changes with the next batch to see if it prevents this problem when cutting with the wire.

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HOLIDAY SOAPS WERE A HIT

Over the holidays I made a nice variety of soaps with fragrance oils from Brambleberry.  They were well received! Here they are:

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MORE HOLIDAY SOAPS!

Made another batch of soap for the holidays. This one is scented with sugar plum fairy fragrance from Brambleberry. Smells so good. I’ve used this FO many times in whipped bath butter and everyone likes it so I decided to use it this time around in soap.

My daughter picked out the colors for this batch, she also created the photo set up and the watermark.

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TIME FOR CHRISTMAS SOAPS

After a bit of a rough 2019 with health issues and then surgery, things are finally starting to look before. I guess my astrology chart was right! I had a reading back in late August and the astrologer said that things would start to improve in November. Thought I'd never get here but here I am 😊 Much better and finally able to make some soap again just in time for Christmas.

I originally thought I'd make this batch with a whipped white top but decided at the last minute to just add the gold eco glitter. I love the way it turned out. I finally found the perfect red mica for my soap. Yay!

I was thinking candy cane when I made this so I scened it with peppermint essential oil and then decided just red and white wasn't enough so I added a little green. It turned out better than I had imagined.

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ETSY... DANGEROUS PLACE TO VISIT

I need to stay away from Etsy.  Just a few seconds on there and the next thing I know I have a dozen new knitting patterns, a few sewing patterns, some incense, a new shirt... Oh my.  I am NEVER going on there again.

But, in the meantime I bought and made THIS cute little penguin rice heating pad pattern.  It is super easy and the instructions are very clear.  I'm just not great at sewing so I'll need to make a few more to perfect it.  I came close though, right? 

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COFFEE SOAP

I made a batch of coffee soap today scented with Bramble Berry espresso fragrance oil.  Smells just like a cup of fresh brewed coffee in the morning. Yum!!

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SUNSCREEN: I PREFER TO MAKE MY OWN

I've been making my own natural sunscreen for a few years now with various degrees of success. I originally started with just oils known to protect skin from the damage of uv rays but oils alone are not very effective.  I then formulated a product that I considered sending to an spf testing lab but I didn't like that what I had created required a preservative.  So now I am using a simple recipe I came up with based on the research I've read on using sencha green tea topically.  This sunscreen is very heavy, perfect for swimming and if sweating a lot.  I'm really happy with what I've created because it's as natural as it can be and it keeps my fair skin from burning.
For my sunscreen I use sencha green tea infused olive oil, coconut and almond oil, shea butter, beeswax and zinc oxide (uncoated, non-nano - mesh size 325 nm).

Sencha green tea has been well researched and found to be effective in sunscreen formulations.  READ HERE

Green tea has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in both human and animal skin.[78] Animal studies provide evidence that tea polyphenols, when applied orally or topically, ameliorate adverse skin reactions following UV exposure, including skin damage, erythema, and lipid peroxidation.[79] Since inflammation and oxidative stress appear to play a significant role in the aging process, green tea may also have antiaging effects by decreasing inflammation and scavenging free radicals. Researchers have found that the main active ingredient in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), works well as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and sunscreen.

Infusing sencha green tea in olive oil

Great consistency for bottling

Smooth cream

Goes on white but can be rubbed in, skin feels silky smooth

Perfect!

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2016 EARLY SUMMER PLANT WALK

This past weekend my oldest daughter and I attended another herbal workshop.  This time the location was a beautiful farm in North Central, MN and it was the perfect spot since there was a great variety of wild edibles and medicinals spread over the property, even this beauty… truly growing wild, there were just two plants on the 38 acres.

I think my daughter had the most fun hanging out with the chickens 

While I was busy eating wild foods

We talked about many plants including the a variety of uses for Solomon's Seal

and Black Medick

There wasn't a boring minute while Lise Wolff talked

I really can never get enough of these plant walks.  Lise Wolff is like an herbal encyclopedia that I wish I could just put on a shelf and open when needed.  How she mentally files away so much detail about medicinal and edible plants I will never know.

It truly was a great day!

For anyone who lives in MN and may be interested in these workshops, here is a link to Lise Wolff's website .  Her classes are not always posted on her site but if you sign up for emails she'll definitely send you one when a workshop or class is scheduled.

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THE NON SEWERS GUIDE TO MAKING A DOGGIE BELLY BAND

I like to pretend I know how to sew but truth is I'm really no good at it.  I wish I could make fancy clothing or a nice set of drapes but my skill level only allows for sloppy doggie wraps and maybe a tiny hand bag that small children will like.
Doing this post for my friend Julie, my sewing "lingo" is my own, I have no idea what the proper verbiage is for those that actually know how to sew.


The best type of fabric for the belly band is a thin fleece because it is soft against your dogs skin.

Cut two pieces of the same size fabric.  The size will depend on your dog.  I cut two pieces that measure 17" long and 6" wide (remembering the seam allowance of 1/4").

Then I line the two pieces of fabric up together (right side in)

Next, I sew three sides of the rectangle (1/4" seam allowance) leaving one 6" end open to flip right side out later.

After you flip the sewn piece right sides out then you'll bend in the edge of the open pieces of fabric and sew closed.

Then when you are done with that you can apply velcro to each end of your belly band.  I use velcro with adhesive and although the package says it does not need to be sewn on I have found that to be NOT TRUE.  If I don't sew the velcro in place it comes off in the wash so definitely sew it on.  

I sew one line on each side down the full length of the belly band so it goes over the ends of the velcros and then I sew across the width of the fabric through the velcro also so it remains firmly in place.

This is what it looks like when all finished.

P.S. Don't forget the pantie liner that goes inside the belly band to absorb urine.

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