more soap!

I love soap. I love making it, testing it, sharing it. Waiting for it to cure though, is tough. I may have snuck a couple bars of my current curing soaps into the shower... a week or two early. So far they are quite nice. The first batch is rosemary + mint with Cambrian Blue Clay. This rare clay is imported from Siberia and is said to be the most valuable among the clay family. It is great for detoxifying skin and is suitable for all skin types. My favorite part? This clay was formed while Siberia was separating from the supercontinent during the Russian Lower Cambrian subdivision. So this clay is over 540 million years old. I think that's pretty sweet. The second batch is Oatmeal + Calendula. I am pretty excited for this soap because my sensitive skin loves oatmeal and I've read that calendula is very soothing. I didn't add any essential oils because I like the light scent of oatmeal. I tried growing calendula last year, but with my black thumb I didn't harvest many buds. Luckily, I know some amazing farmers over at Alternative Roots Farm who might be growing me some herbs this year, they're pretty busy but I'll entice them with lots of soap! :) 

Going to market!

Hi! Long time, no blog. This time of the year is pretty busy for me. But I have managed to get things prepared for my second Indoor Farmers' Market at the New Ulm Community Market and Cooperative. This weekend I'll have lip balm and body bars. I've also made lavender aromatherapy eye pillows. My hope is to have a new product available each market! The market is this Saturday from 9am - 2pm and offers local produce and meat, handcrafted items, baked goods, fair-trade coffee, and more.

Here are the aromatherapy eye pillows. Made with organic cotton, flax seeds, and lovely lavender buds.

Hibiscus + Shea

Recently I tried out a new soap recipe. It has bits of sweet smelling hibiscus flowers and Shea butter that'll create a creamy and conditioning lather. I made hibiscus tea with the flowers and wanted to use it in the mix in hopes of giving the bars a lovely pink/red hue.. but the lye and tea did NOT get along. It went from a beautiful red color, to a crazy blueish green, then a stinky brown. It was quite the chemical reaction. I do plan on trying it again, but with some minor adjustments. 

SALT!

The other weekend we went on an adventure to a nearby co-op and ended up finding some fun new ingredients. At least five ingredients I had planned on ordering online were there, and now I just have a short scenic trip to get them! I kinda felt like a kid in a candy store. I was especially excited to find these salts in the bulk section…

SEA + BLACK LAVA + HIMALAYAN PINK

Aren't they pretty? I experimented with them as salt scrubs. The black lava and sea salt were mixed with balsam fir infused oil. The Himalayan pink and sea salt were mixed with some meadowsweet infused oil. They smelt lovely and did some serious exfoliation. More experiments are needed and then perhaps they'll be offered for your own exfoliation needs down the road :)

My first order!

HI! I just wanted to quickly share that I sent out my first order the other day! It was a total of 54 items to be given as holiday gifts :) How SWEET is that? It was a lot of fun to work on and I hope everyone enjoys their gifts! Here is a peek at the final packaging..

If you happened to order this and are checking out this post > THANK-YOU! You're awesome :)

soap love.

Quick post on my second batch of soap, lavender and chamomile. My first batch was plain and simple so I could get an idea of the process before getting into additives, scents, etc. We have been using the first batch for a couple of weeks so far and love it. It has a really nice creamy lather and leaves our skin feeling so nice. One lesson so far... soap making = good practice in patience. These guys will cure for the next month or so and then let the soothing and exfoliating begin! 

Waiting is the toughest part. But it'll be worth it. In the meantime, I will make more. Lots more.

almost ready.

Hallo there! It's been awhile, I know. Good news though, I've had some pretty exciting things going on with Imbue the last couple weeks. We've been testing different scents, ingredients, products, packaging, etc. Oh, and it snowed here this week so now I have visions of winter recipes dancing in my head! But before I go there, I want to share with you my first two products that are almost ready for market. The first is a batch of Lavender Mint Body Bars. Here they are!

They start with filtered beeswax for its excellent emollient properties and create the foundation of the bars. The organic unrefined shea butter I use is hand harvested in Ghana from the Karite tree. It creates a breathable water resistant film that helps retain moisture. The coconut oil is also organic and unrefined. It adds another layer of protection and is very soothing for inflamed and irritated skin. Apricot kernel oil is said to be one of the best oils for sensitive and prematurely aged skin. The grapeseed oil I use has non-allergenic properties while the jojoba oil has absorption properties that are similar to our skin's own sebum. Essential oils I chose are relaxing, soothing, sweet, and fresh. Lastly I add vitamin E oil for it's super antioxidant powers that help extend the shelf life of the products and also help protect and nourish our skin. Talk about double duty! It just so happens I have had two different sources contact me this week about putting some out for sale. AHH! We're pretty excited around here! So if you happen to pick up one of these sets, let me know what you think! I went pretty simple with the labels. Found the bags on Etsy from a fellow Minnesotan. And now I'm just waiting on some tape for the final touch on the packaging. And now, the second product ...... Lip Balm! Check it out!

The different lip balms we have tested are citrus, herbal, floral, and mint. I am still working on getting those to my liking, in the meantime though I've decided to try a new flavor. Chai! It's one of my favorite beverages so I thought, why not? After creating a chai spice blend with herbs and spices I infused it in sweet almond oil and let time and temperature do their magic. And when the batch of lip balm was done, it turned out to be our favorite one so far. It's flavor is subtle and the texture is very nice. The lip balm is made with beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, local camelina oil, vitamin E oil, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, clove, and natural vanilla flavor. 

Thanks for checking out the new products. More to come soon! 

P.S. Here is a BIG thank-you to those who have been such lovely test subjects for my creations and those who have offered me the opportunity to market them. It helps so much to have honest feedback and good friends! Also, many thanks to my family for all the support and help. It's been a bumpy road, but well worth it :)