Indie Update

Looking for holiday gifts? The indie community has come together to provide you with an endless supply of great gift ideas! Here are a few of my favorites.

IndieHolidays.com

I don’t just love this website because I am the site designer- I love the products! We’ve worked hard to put together a guide that brings you a wealth of products with prices ranging from $5.00 to $500. There is sure to be something for everyone on your list!

The Switchboard Gift Guide

This .pdf guide was created by kjcreative, one of the generous members of The Switchboards. The guide is a listing of products that can be downloaded and emailed to your friends and family. Thanks to KJ for her hard work!

Holiday Sale on Today’s Business Mom

This is a wonderful shopping guide featuring unique gift ideas sold by Mother Owned Businesses! Some crafts are mother-designed as well. The mother owned stores feature:

*unique jewelry pieces
*books
*natural soaps
*spa delectables
*a variety of other gift ideas

By purchasing from the vendors you are supporting mother owned businesses!

On The Drying Rack

Today the drying rack is pretty full! Here’s what we have:

Hot Apple Pie

Everyone who has smelled this scent tells me it is dead on, which I have to agree with. A wonderful soap for the holidays!

Lemongrass And Sage

This all natural soap gets it’s color from annatto seed and french green clay. The clean, lemony scent comes from a blend of Lemongrass Essential Oil and Clary Sage Essential Oil. One of my favorites!

Pina Colada

I can’t help but start singing each time I sniff these bars. Can you name the tune? “BRINGGGGGG me two pina coladas….I want one for each hand….”

Not an all natural soap, but boy does this smell good- a fruity mixture of coconut and pineapple that is heavenly!

In The Soap Pot

What’s coming next? Toasted Vanilla Sugar, Iced Cranberry…the list goes on!

On The Drying Rack

I started by infusing some freshly harvested Tuscan Blue Rosemary into a base of Sweet Almond Oil. As it slowly simmered behind me, the aroma began to change my mind. Originally planned as Rosemary Mint, the oil was just too good on its own to dilute with peppermint. The aromatic oil even held its scent throughout the mixing process! I finished it off with a gentle swirl of French Green Clay.

The result:

Tuscan Blue Rosemary Soap that smells good enough to eat.

In the Soap Pot

Today I’m working on that Hot Apple Pie. I think I’ll use some of my organic tangerine essence honey to give it a bit of color.

Deals

Never ordered from Natural Magic Soaps before? Now is the time to try! Enjoy a 10% discount with the coupon code “NewToMe” at checkout!

My dad took the time to make me some custom soap molds. Here’s a peek at one of them:

This weekend I got to try my first batch in the new mold. Sadly, I didn’t quite calculate the mold volume correctly, which resulted in some irregular bars. The recipe has been adjusted accordingly, but now I have a batch of wonderful Tequila Sunrise soaps which is smaller than my normal bars. Here they are in all their short but colorful glory:

The base is a Soy/Coconut/Sweet Almond blend that I love and the scent! It is absolutely amazing! It’s a blend of citrus and honeysuckle with just a hint of musk that smells like a summer day.

As much as I hate to part with them, when these little beauties are all cured and ready to ship, they’ll be available on the web site for only $4.00 per bar!

In the meantime, I have some freshly harvested Tuscan Blue Rosemary infusing in a bath of Sweet Almond Oil in preparation for tonight’s soap: Rosemary Mint. Then, on to the Pina Colada and the Hot Apple Pie (winner of the ‘pick the scent’ contest!)

On the drying rack:

Oatmeal, Milk and Honey

Made with coconut milk, organic rolled oats and locally produced honey that is harvested from bees pollenating tangerine groves. This gives the honey an all natural tangerine essence.

Frosted Lime

Feverfew, parsley and french green clay give this soap it’s soft, frosted green color. Fragranced with pure lime essential oil.

Luxe Lemon

An all natural soap colored with annatto seed and spanish saffron. The heady lemon aroma comes from the yummy scent of pure lemon essential oil.

Now Available For Sale On The Website

All Natural Soaps

Chamomile

Eucalyptus Mint

Goatsmilk

Grounded

Nearly Natural Soaps

Coffee and Creme

The new labels:

The best part? They’re printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper!

On the drying rack:

Goatsmilk

Unscented, uncolored soy soap base with Goatsmilk, Aloe Vera and Vitamin E added.

Coffee and Creme

The color comes from natural coffee and beet juiice added to the lye water solution. The creme is goatsmilk and this soap falls into the ‘nearly natural’ category as it gets it’s delicious fragrance from a combination of fragrance oils.

In the soap pot: Oatmeal, Milk and Honey

and one random picture for the website…

Chamomile infused oils with a hint of lavender essential oil. The scent is soft and sweet and I (of course) love it. Topped with a sprinkling of chamomile.

A custom essential oil blend of Star Anise, Fir, Begramot, Eucalyptus, Sandlewood and a touch of Lavender in a Green Tea infused oil with French Green Clay. Topped with a whole Star Anise.

This is on the drying rack, but I thought I’d share some of the photographs I’ve taken for the website:

EO Gold Blend Soy Soap

As mentioned in the previous post, this one is made with a combination of Bergamot, Mandarin, Fir Needle and Lavender essential oils with orange peel in the lye water and then topped with orange peel and a portion colored with paprika.

Eucalyptus Mint Soy Soap

On the Curing Rack:

Custom Essential Oil Blend #1: Bergamot, Mandarin, Fir Needle and Lavender. This soft, warm scent is paired up with our soy base and is topped off with natural orange peel.