BUT! Now, I’m very happy to test the first ‘basic’ shampoo that is ready for other people’s hair!

Looks… uninspiring huh? Trying not to drop my iphone in the shower, I managed to take a snap shot of the amount I was using. The all too familiar “10 cent piece” size. This is pre-thickeners, pre-pearlisers, pre-goody-ingredients. This is the basic of basic formulation. The off white colour is due to the goats milk.

First Wash!! My Shampoo Dinosaur… raaaawr!

Before you freak out, the purple colour is actually because I was washing a purple top up colour from my hair. NOT because of the shampoo!! But it worked well to show just how thick and bubbly the foam is. From a first wash too – so washing out the hair colour and any natural build up. Impressed!

Second wash. Normally I wouldn’t do two, but I didn’t want my pillows ending up purple over night lol. Same 10 cent piece amount of shampoo used, awesome lather! It was SO thick, it did not move. Not when I turned my hand sideways, not when I turned it upside down!

Close up of the lather. MEGA THICK!!

The end result is that yes, it works. VERY much so!! I’m not super happy with the “squeaky clean” feeling it leaves, but that can be worked on easily enough. For me, it compares to store bought products in the level of cleanliness it made my hair, and it’s squeaky feeling. But of course, without all the harsh chemicals. In fact, this is made with just five ingredients including the goats milk and water! Sweeeet!

Adding some of my basic of basic homemade conditioner afterwards has left my hair soft, shiny, clean and awesome!! To dry, all I did was wrap it in a towel for ten or so minutes, then flick my hair a couple of times. No brushing, no additional work at all and I can easily run my fingers through it with little to no resistance!

As you can see… I’m not dealing with short hair!! It’s thin, frizzy, most of the time worn up, coloured a million different ways, LONG hair. A good test head of hair!!

I so love goat’s milk!!

Recycling at it’s best, I found the perfect clear plastic box to hold the soaps together, and finished it off with a bright red ribbon bow with gold and silver hearts all over it.

I also got to have a proper play with my new bar soap labels!! These ones wrap all around and finish off a bar of soap very nicely. Originally in the works to make the market soaps comply with the rules and regulations of selling, I’m going to use them on bar soaps being posted out as well as I really like the way they have turned out!!

The soaps are sitting on a cushioned bed of pink tissue paper and, fingers crossed, should all stay in place nice and snuggly until their arrival! Happy Mother’s Day!!

My last batch has just finished curing so I kicked off another one to ensure I don’t run out. Even though I used the same colours, of course all these bars are just so different! No two batches are ever the same, especially swirled ones. You can see the last batch here: Monkey Farts

And here is the latest batch!

The fragrance could have been bottled and sold as perfume, it was divine! Sadly, the curse of the cure turned this pretty soap into the morning after, make up less scary monster!

The colours darked, the mass of air bubbles (due to pounding this soap into the mold with my fist), the ash. This is the definition of Fugly. But it still smells SO good!

But, after struggling to get the roof on, which as there were no instructions included in the kit, I first had to work out which piece was the roof (as opposed to the side panels, door panel, etc.) And being on my own, I can’t just stretch it out like all the YouTube videos show. But, we got there. Eventually.

At first I couldn’t get it to stay up. Every time I let it go, the centre part collapsed in. One last push up, a locking ‘click’ sound and the above picture was taken. Awesome.

After half hour or so of being up – enough time for the kids to run in and out from under it, have a snack in the ‘circus tent’ as Miss 5 called it, it was time to pack it up.

Popped right up (ha!), so it should, theoretically pop right down too, yes?

NO!!!

I found the four buttons on each leg and was pushing them in to release them, trying to slowly walk each corner in. Nothing. They resisted and then forced their way back into a locked position. With no instruction manual on how to work the tent, I was left to the mercy of YouTube and Google to work it out. Only one problem with that. While there are a million and one video’s showing how to put it UP, there were non specifically on how to pull it down. The ones I did find, were of different tents where they just pushed on the beams and it all folded up, almost on it’s own.

Mine. Did not.

After another hour of YouTube – attempt – Google – attempt – YouTube – attempt, I found what I think is the problem. The tent… is broken!

Now, I’m not the handiest of people. My kitchen light has been out of action for at least 6 months as I have NO idea how to get the cover off to locate the globe. Plus, you know, I’d need a chair or something…

But this, just doesn’t look right. This is the top of the main support in the middle. The part that makes the peak in the tent at the top. Three of the join flaps are bent, and one is broken right off:

I’m assuming this is the ‘click’ that I heard. While it allowed the tent to stay erect, it seems to have snapped a support as well. Not happy.

I’ve emailed where I got it from (seller on ebay), but that won’t help me for Sunday. And now the icing on the cake – I can’t fold the flipping thing down!!! I have this white metal scaffolding looking contraption taking up half my pergola area. Any attempts to press the little button release on the legs does nothing, and no amount of gentle (or frustrated and hard) pushing on any support works. It’s … stuck. I’m … screwed!

Going to locate some chocolate and curl up on the couch. I’d make some soap to sooth my sadness, but I discovered this morning I am out of Castor Oil and it’s Good Friday here – nothing is open. Waaaaaa!

Thank goodness this is the part of the year when chocolate is very, very easily found.

The scent is a blend of two fragrance oils that include: Pomegranate, a hint of citrus and fruity florals, yummy sweet vanilla bean and just a sprinkling of woodsy patchouli. Smells YUM! Definitely a female scent.

I’m loving the colours! The purple stuck (huzzah!) while the green lightened to a fantastic almost aqua colour. Works perfectly!

Just Poured:

I had to try and be really careful not to over play the top portion as I wanted a more destinct pattern in the colours instead of a mixed blend of dull. Happy with the results, especially as it was a tug of war between getting it into the freezer straight away, and waiting for the batter to set up enough to form peaks.

Out of the freezer!

And… just cut!

Swirling is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re going to get! These are the ‘full on’ bars… lots of colour, lots of swirls.

The ying to the above’s yang is the ‘less is more’ approach… amazing that these came from the same batch of soap!

Finding a happy medium, the one on the right reminds me of deep sea creatures just swimming about. Very cool and random.

These are the ‘abstract art’ pieces. Only a couple came out so individual as these. I love them! The one on the left reminds me of a painting you would see in a modern, yet cool house.

And of course no swirling batch is complete without the animal pieces!! The right ‘I’m an owl in your soap’ is as clear as day. The left, I immediately saw a swan. Then my daughter came up and gasped, ‘Oh no mum!! The snake is about to eat the swan, why did you do that?!” As we were exploring the picture within, we also spotted a lizard approaching from above to see what was going on.

I let my mind wander to the thought of opening a soap art gallery. How cool would it be to frame these soaps, hang them on a wall and show off all the different pictures that created themselves…

Am very interested in hearing feedback on the scent combination with these bars as I’m considering making them part of the permanent line…

Anywho, coinciding with easter is the end of my daughter’s first term of prep at school. *wipes tear away* Her prep teacher is AWESOME and when Miss 5 noticed someone giving the teacher an easter gift, she asked if she could too. So today, I popped out and grabbed an easter themed gift box and got to work. My only order was a finger-pointed, attitude-overflowing, “Don’t forget soaps mum!”. No dear… never!

The box was an easy pick. I had seen them in one of the $2 shops the other week. Very cute!

I’m getting quite skilled at whipping up a gift basket now. This one was popped together in a matter of minutes! Course, having the easter eggs to fill the normally frustrating empty spots made life a lot easier!! Thinking I really need to get back into my bath bombs once easter is over.

And… voila! After school I took Miss 5′s school bag and she delivered her present to a very surprised teacher. Course, it’s all part of my secret ploy to get as many people knowing what I make as possible. And who better than a female school teacher that might brag about it across the teachers lounge!

While picking up the bits and pieces for the teachers gift, I decided to also grab some other easter goodies. At school, they use a buddy system. A grade 6 (the final level for primary) is allocated a preppy (1st level – Miss 5′s level) to be a ‘big buddy’ too. It gives the little ones a big brother or sister of sorts. Someone to turn to if they can’t find a teacher, ask help from, etc. Miss 5 has two buddies. She’s just special!

I hear about these buddies all the time. And if we see them in the morning, she’s off to give them hugs. I think I freak them out a little bit (purple hair, tattoo’s lol), but they genuinely seem like nice girls. So while out shopping, I decided to also grab a couple of small easter bags and put together a special ‘thanks for being my buddy’ easter gift.

And this is where I’m going to get a bit soppy on you. See, I have no happy memories of my childhood. I had a mother who was never there, and I don’t have any memories of hugs and kisses like I smother my own kids with. I was teased mercilessly at school and as a result have suffered life long, permanent damage from that. I remember being the kid that watched other kids swap easter eggs, Xmas cards, birthday party invitations. I was never invited to birthdays. And I only received the ‘pity’ eggs or cards, forced upon the giver by a parent who didn’t like seeing me the only one not receiving.

Despite (perhaps in spite?) of all of these issues and more, I felt overwhelmed with pride for myself today. See, not only was I more than happy to run around and organise a gift for the teacher (something my own mother wouldn’t had time to do, would have gotten frustrated with, etc), the addition of the buddy gifts was not something I had to force, it was just an automatic action. The teachers gift was easy – I made half the products. My mum never made anything, so I don’t really compare those two scenarious.

But, tomorrow my daughter is off to school with a special gift for each of her buddies, and a little pack full of small easter eggs to give out as she pleases. For most people (I would imagine), something like a $2 bag of easter eggs to give out to your class mates / friends at school isn’t a big deal. But for me, it’s HUGE. For close on an hour after I got home, I was amazed that despite my experiences, and altered view of things, I am able to so naturally do this for my daughter.

I really can’t express in words what I felt today. Amazement that it all came so naturally to me to organise these gifts on Miss 5′s behalf. Pride in that, despite how f***ked up I feel nearly every day, that I’m really not. Overwhelming happiness that Miss 5 is going to have such a different up-bringing than I did, and that her memories will be filled with happiness and friendship, something I never knew. AND that her experiences of those things, are aided by me! I have nothing to go by. I can’t sit here and remember, “Oh yeah I loved it when….”  Yet, my mind isn’t bitter and angry. I want happiness, giving, etc. And I want my daughter to experience all that I didn’t.

Today, for just a split second in the timeline of my life as a parent, I felt so super proud of myself. I felt like one of those, “I wish my mum was as cool as your mum” parents. That despite everything, both childhood and recent, I’m ok. I’m great. I’m AWESOME!!!

Ok… so enough off that. More pics!!

These are the buddy gifts. Each girl gets an easter egg (obviously), a bar of Fruit Tingle soap (good tween smell), a Bubblegum and a Strawberry Lip Balm, and the coolest little stress toy EVER!

He’s so squishy I want to DIE! (Despicable Me). I LOVE them!! So much so I bought three… yes, one for me. I have a red one.

These are the little easter eggs for Miss 5 to give away. Probably the only part I am concerned about. Miss 5 is SUCH a giving child, and just wants to make everyone happy, that she is prone to giving people stuff even if she doesn’t really know them. A few of my customers and friends would be familiar with having a bar of her choc-mint soap shoved at them. She just wants to give.

My concern is she will give to pretty much anyone that comes up and asks – which she will then later get upset about. I’ve seen it before. Same thing if people ask for more than one egg. I’m not worried about her class mates, but she is also friends with a LOT of kids outside of her own grade. It surprises me constantly how many kids know her name… of all ages. I just hope they respect her enough to not take advantage of her innocence.

As hard as it will be to watch her get upset (if she does), it’s a lesson she’s going to need to learn. I did decide to put a few special egg shaped chocolate eggs in the front pocket of her little case for those super special friends:

They’re a decent size, and they’re different to the bunnies and chicks that she will likely hand out to anyone that smiles at her. I’ll be explaining, very gently, to her in the morning that she only has to give out to people she wants to, and it’s ok to say no. But, if she does feel a bit overwhelmed (kids and chocolate – easy to happen), then there are special eggs in the front she can give to her best friends only.

Easter this year is already fantastic. I feel I’ve moved ten steps forward to recognising my positives and not just my negatives, Miss 5 is getting experiences I only ever dreamed about, and at the end of the day, despite the yelling, frustration, bed time battles and more… I’m a pretty awesome mum.

Simply… I rock! :-p

Drum roll please….

VOILA!!!

Has Cherry Blossom Liquid Body Wash, Black Raspberry Vanilla body lotion, a small sample pot of the Peppermint Tea Tree foot lotion, some Jasmine Lavender soaps, and a Sweet Pea Vanilla Soap. I made up some special little flowers in THE most delectable fragrance (Raspberry Violets) and the shower puff of course I hope you like it!!

I’m always happy to make up gift baskets if you are stuck for a present. I can make them to your specifications, within a budget limit or to match a particular style or theme.

First, it was the bottle of ingredients (and not a cheap one) that suicided off my kitchen bench, smashing all over the floor right at my feet.

Then, it was the hot detangler mixture that splurted over the edge and splashed me.

Since that didn’t seem to deter me, the big guns were brought in. The murderous mixer hired to finish me off…

Grab some protective booties and let’s examine the crime scene…

Before we even enter the kitchen, the evidence is clear…

Those with a weak stomach should turn around now… clearly this is not going to be pretty.

DUN, DUN, duuunnnnnnnn *girly squeal*

Just like the wall of a real crime scene, the writing was all over the walls… literally. My poor Ikea unit that I love so much takes such a beating some days.

Oh Mr Hart!!

It’s E V E R Y W H E R E!!!! On my fridge, on the other side of the kitchen cupboards, etc. EVERYWHERE!!

Last time this happened, it was because I was trying to see if I turned the dial super slowly, I could get a 0.5 setting instead of a 0 or a 1. But I learned my lesson, very messily that day. Today I just turned the dial to one and for a split second wondered why nothing was happening.

You know those idiots in movies that we’re always yelling at? “Turn on the light!!!!….. Don’t go down to the dark basement on your own!!! … TURN AROUND!!!” And of course, “Don’t look IN if it stops”. You see where I’m going with this? Yup! That split second was long enough for me to look over the uncovered bowl. Then, the mixer jump started with an explosive jolt.

Lotion. Everywhere. Including me!

Curse you mixer!

I’m taking this as a sign though. It was playing in the back of my head that it’s 4pm and I still need to finish off the labels and signs for tomorrow’s market, and load the car. I really shouldn’t be playing in the kitchen. I had just hoped to restock the lavender lotion for tomorrow. Instead, I have 6 tubs that will go to friends as the essential oils and preservative amounts aren’t accurate after losing half the batch everywhere. *sigh*

*nods to the gods* ok, ok, I’m listening now. Shower and then I’ll get back to finishing preparation for tomorrow. One day, 3 things attacked me. Jeepers!

Today was ‘play with the liquid soap’ day, and naturally, the camera comes out.

This is what we were playing with today. Just under TEN liters of liquid soap. Booyah! Looks cool huh? Well, let’s get a little closer…. shaall we?

Pretty cool!!! I love looking at the little bubbles as they are actually under the surface. Suspended. Just too cool!