Thursday, May 6, 2010

Lip Balm


I made some lip balms the other day. The light orange one is Papaya, and the light green one is Fresh Mint. The Fresh Mint is tried and true. The Papaya is a first time venture. The lip balms are fun to make. After they are cooled and capped, it’s time to label them. This involves glue runner and index cards. Next it’s time to put shrink wrap on them. The final step is to heat the shrink wrap into place. If you’ve never done this, you really should try it sometime. It’s fun to watch the wrap shrink onto the product. The shrink wrap bands come with a perforation in them so users can twist the cap off and leave the label intact. At just a $1.50 each, you can try both the mint and the papaya, or buy some for a friend. Check out http://www.soapartonline.com for additional flavor choices.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Candles Too




I have been interested in candle making since I made my first basic candles as a kid. My Mom, a creative person herself, was a trooper to put up with my messy experiments. I enjoyed choosing the colors, fragrances and novelty shapes. I remember my favorite mold was for a frog candle. Burning candles that I made was quite a kick. My sister reminded me that she and Mom used to make ice candles using milk cartons and . . . tada . . . ice cubes.
I added candles to my soap, lotion and lip balm products in 2009. I offer a wide selection of candles and am working to expand my candle line. Here’s a little information about some of the candles I currently sell.

Gel Tarts: These little candles are in the shapes of mini pies. They smell divine, and, burn nicely for about 30 hours. They are about 3 ½ inches in diameter and an inch high. Right now they are available in apple, blueberry, cherry and pecan. They look and smell great as part of the décor and also produce nice fragrance and light while they are burning.

Wax Waffles: These 100% soy wax waffles are designed for melting in a warmer. You just break off one or two pieces, pop them in a tart warmer, and enjoy flameless fragrance. I love these on those days when I am running errands throughout the day and don’t want to risk leaving a candle burning while I’m gone. And in the heat of Iowa summers, it’s nice to have the fragrance with no added heat from the flame of a candle. Okay, maybe that’s a stretch – candles don’t put off that much heat, but there must be some psychological effect. I also sell the warmers in which to melt the wax waffles.

Soy Candles: I offer 100% soy candles in a variety of containers. Soy is wonderful to work with, and I like using natural soy rather than paraffin. But soy candle making presents some challenges. The biggest challenge is to produce a soy candle with a strong, lasting fragrance. For some reason, soy wax doesn’t hold the fragrance as well as paraffin candles do.

Pillar Candles: I'm working on some interesting pillar candles, but don't have any of those up for sale yet. I’ll keep working on them until I develop some that I like.

It's amazing the amount of time and effort it takes to test new candles. Want to be a candle tester? Just let me know. I always have some candles hanging around waiting to go through the testing process. Things that need tested include how the wick burns, how the candle looks as it burns, how the fragrance acts when the candle is sitting idle and also while it is burning. Also important are the height of the flame and the circumference and depth of the melted wax pool that is produced while the candle is burning.
Jean

Sunday, May 2, 2010

I began making soap in 2008. Other products I make include lotion bars, lip balms and candles. All of these products are almost all natural and are offered at an affordable price. You can gather all of these products in many different scents and colors and I am willing to try new things out if they are not already made. I also have seasonal scents and designs and create gift baskets and other unique products. Here are the descriptions of some of my products and I would encourage you to check out the website for pictures, pricing, ingredients, and if you would like to buy you can do that too! Soaps from Scratch: Containing nutrient rich oils that are mild and have good cleansing powers with lots of big bubbles. There are essential oils and many different fragrances. These soaps are best when placed in a dish that allows for air circulation around them. Soap logs are available on request and measure 8x3.5x2.5 inches. Molded Soaps: Handcrafted with a premade base from fine oils. There are no harsh detergents that are usually found in commercial soaps and can be made in many shapes, colors, and scents. These make perfect hostess gifts and come in popular shapes like sunflower, moonbeam, starfish, dolphins, lemons and the heart shape is perfect for goat's milk soaps. You can also request monogrammed soaps and different geometric patterns. Lotion Bars: Each bar in 1.5 inches in diameter and about a 1/2 in high. The bar comes packaged in a tin and is small enough to keep just about anywhere. They are made from a combination of beeswax and moisturizing oils and butters. You want to hold the bar in both hands to release the oils then rub on your hands, elbows, feet, or where ever needs it. These come in many scents, and colors. Lip Balms: 4 grams of natural oils, butters, and beeswax that will make your lips soft. Most have flavor or essential oils and color added. You can have one with no flavor or color added. Don't see a flavor that you want? Email me and suggest it. Chances are, I can make it work.

For me, part of the enjoyment of making personal care products is creating new products. The other part of the fun is making products that customers want and love. The lotion bars have been particularly popular with customers.
I am constantly working on product development. I am playing with salts and scrubs right now and want to delve into the liquid soap realm one of these days. Let me know if you are interested in testing any of my products-in-process. If you have ideas for new products you’d like SoapArt to carry, I’d love to hear about them.

Email me at soapart@soapartonline.com or visit the website http://www.soapartonline.com and browse or buy something fun!

I love feedback, so please let me know what you think!