A CARD FOR LITTLE OL ME?

I love handmade EVERYTHING and cards are up there with the handmade soaps. Steph from over at PLAYING WITH SOAP sent me this card with her soaps for our soap swap. It is one of her first. Now, if this is one of her first I can only imagine what #2, #3, #4, etc... are going to look like. She is as talented a cardmaker as she is a soapmaker. Steph, if your out there, you should have seen my first card *hiding under desk right now. Your card is really great! I love it... THANK YOU! =) And welcome to the wonderful world of cardmaking.

The best communities for cardmakers:

INK-STAINERS
SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS

Come for a visit sometime Steph :)

SOAP SWAPPING FUN!

A group of us over at the soap pixie forum decided to have our first soap swap. I received some FANTASTIC soaps from some very TALENTED soap makers. Please check out the sites of those soapmakers who participated to learn more about their soapmaking experiences and a little about themselves as well.

CARRIE~GIGI'S SOAPS

Carrie turns her holiday soaps into ornaments. This is the first I've seen someone do this. It is really a creative idea and she is a very creative lady. Please visit her over at UNDER THE WILLOW GIFTS WEBSITE or at her BLOG



STEPH'S SOAPS

Steph experiments with her soaps and creates some really wonderful things. She likes to work with layers and textures. Her soaps are beautiful. Please visit her BLOG where she shares some of her creations with the world.



DENISE'S SOAPS

This swap was our first "holiday swap" and Denise really created such a great soap. I love the red/white swirl affect. She also shared her green tea soap with us and it smells delightful. Not only is Denise a talented soaper but she is also a very talented photographer. She shares some of her beautiful photographs on her BLOG so please check it out.



Here are grouped all the soaps together. I'm not a great photographer myself, as you can see, but hopefully you'll get an idea of how wonderful these soaps are from the picture.

BOOKS TO DYE FOR:

I was looking for a book on barnes & nobles site for my daughter who does melt & pour soaps and I came across this list of mystery books. I'm loving the titles and the cover art. If anyone has read these please post a review.

Tim Myers Flicker of Doubt: A Candlemaking Mystery


Tim Myers Dead Men Don't Lye


Cleo Coyle Murder Most Frothy: A Coffeehouse Mystery


Elizabeth Bright Deadly Greetings: A Card-Making Mystery


Tim Myers A Mold for Murder


Time Myers A Pour Way to Dye: A Soapmaking Mystery

NOTHING LIKE SOME HEAVENLY SCENTS

For those who don't know, I don't only LOVE making soap I also LOVE making cards. 3 months ago I joined the Divine Secret Sister Group over at SPLITCOAST STAMPERS. It was my first round. I play big sis to someone and someone else plays big sis to me. We don't know who our big sis is until the end of the round (3 months). Today I came home to find a reveal gift from my big sis. Her reveal gift was actually a big box of many gifts and most of them were handmade, which I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! But one thing that really surprised me were the 3 bottles of fragrance oils from FROM NATURE WITH LOVE. Now, I'm going to venture to guess that my secret sister was hanging around the THE PIXIE LEE SOAP FORUM because I distinctly remember posting that my favorite scents are PLUMERIA and PEPPERMINT and that I have never tried GREEN TEA but would like to. And guess what 3 scents appeared in my little gift box today? Yup, it was plumeria, peppermint and green tea. So I want to give a big SHOUT OUT to Kristen and say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU 100 times over for sending me such a wonderful reveal gift and for really really putting thought into everything! ((HUGS)) to Kristen.

YUMMY COFFEE SOAP

Denise over at The Indecisive Artist sent me a sample of her coffee soap and the FO she used and oh how yummy it smells. I had my hubby smell it as soon as I opened the bag and of course the first thing out of his mouth is "ooooooh, how come you don't make soap like that." I guess that means its time to try my hand at some coffee soap. LOL Thank you so much Denise for sharing your soap with me and for sending the FO sample. I think it will work great!! :)

Here is a picture of her coffee soap:



And on top of that she made me the cutest card. I love it. I must know who makes the cute stamp. Such a perfect addition to her coffee soap :)

THE CANCER LINK

Many chemicals used in cosmetics and cleaning products are "oestrogen mimics" and can increase suceptibility to cancer. Women and young girls use an average of 12 personal care products a day. What does this mean? It means that young woman around the globe are putting themselves at risk everytime they use a product that isn't natural.

Many of the so-called "soaps" you see at the supermarket are in fact detergents and not soap. One reason to buy handmade natural soaps is to avoid being exposed to harmful chemicals that exists in store bought detergents. Detergents are made from petroleum products and many contain parabens as a preservative; both are linked to cancer.

Nearly 90% of ingredients used in cosmetics/personal care products have not been safety tested and those ingredients that have shown to be estrogenic, like parabens, are not being pulled off the shelves. One way to protect yourself is to limit the chemicals you expose your body to.

Here are list of those most commonly used and some of the most dangerous chemicals lurking in our daily products:

Parabens: founds mainly in deoderants and moisturizers. Studies show parabens to be estrogen mimics and are absorbed through the skin.

Diethanolamine (DEA) and Triethanolamine (TEA): Often used as an emulsifier or foaming agent. Toxic if absorbed into the body over a long period of time.

Phthalates: Used in hairspray, perfume, nail polish. Causes endocrine damage, particularly bad for children. They've been banned from children's toys but not from cosmetics and skin care products.

Triclosan: Found in deoderants, toothpaste, liquid soaps and mouthwashes. Sometimes isn't listed on ingredient list due to the "trade secret" protection. Dioxins linked to cancer are formed when it is manufactured or incinerated. Has been found in breastmilk.

Alkyl phenol ethoxylates: Used in shampoos, hair colours, shaving gels. This chemical is a hormone dysruptor, extremely toxic to fish and builds up in the body over time and doesn't break down quickly.

Toluene and Xylene: Woman exposed to this chemical may suffer miscarriage. Found in nail polish. Attacks the central nervous system, eyes, blood, liver, kidneys.

Formaldehyde: Commonly used in deoderants and nail polish. A human carcinogen. Can trigger asthma. Can damage DNA.

Petroleum Distillates: Possible human carcinogen. Found in mineral oil and petroleum jelly products. Prohibited for use in cosmetics in the Europen Union but not in the US. Can be found in mascara, perfume, foundation, lipstick and lipbalm.

Source: Kindred Magazine

To check on the safety report of thousands of cosmetics and other body products check out: COSMETIC SAFETY DATABASE

I'M A MUD PUDDLE GIRL

I'm proud to announce that I'm officially a mud puddle girl. My friend Carrie~GiGi over at MUD PUDDLE GIRL BLOG presented me with this cute award!! Thank you Carrie!

Carrie is the owner of UNDER THE WILLOW GIFTS. She creates the most adorable billows (a pillow, with a little booklet plus handmade soap). Her soaps are absolutely wonderful. I know this for a fact because I was lucky to receive one. She also has her MUD PUDDLE GIRL line where she sells MUD PUDDLE GIRL shirts and lipbalm. I love the shirts so much I'm ordering some for my girls (photo to be shared after Christmas). She has several other gifts offered on her site as well so make sure you pop on over there to take a look!!