Yummy Suds

in the schwing of things

2011-01-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

Ahhh.....the holiday vacation was so nice and NEEDED! Soaping is a seriously crazy business, especially during the holidays! You literally are up to your eyeballs in product. :D

We are now getting our Valentines goodies together. Some very cute (if we do say so ourselves) goodies indeed!

Double Valentines Cupcake Bath Bombs wrapped with a bow, Single Cupcake Bath Bombs, Mini Cupcake Bath Bombs, Mini Berry Soap in handmade paper, Wickedly Sinful Organic Chocolate Soap Wrapped

And of course, we will have some of our ol'faithful products that make great Valentines gifts..

Death By Chocolate Butter Cream Sugar Scrub

Candy Man Soap

Pucker Up Lickable Lip Scrub & Butter Kit

Back to the soap kitchen :D XOXO

peace~love~happiness,

holiday vacation

2010-12-18T18:35:00.003-05:00

Well it's been a heck of a year! While we love spreading yummy across the globe, it's good to take some time off, rest and spend time with our families.

Yummy will be closed for the holidays from 12/17 thru 1/3/11. Any order placed during this time will be processed bright and early on 1/4/11.

We have lots of great products coming including some yummy Valentines goodies, so stay tuned!!

Wishing you the happiest of holidays and as always...

Peace, love & happiness

please help

2010-11-16T16:04:00.002-05:00

Calling all soapers! If you don't' currently donate your scrap soaps to Clean the World, please do so. There is a great need in Haiti, for SOAP!

Check out the article from the Washington Post.

We can all help. Please take the time to re-post this on your blogs....lets get the word out.....and help those in need.

Spread the word and the love peeps! XOXO

peace~love~and passing it forward,

we're back!

2010-11-13T12:06:00.005-05:00

The Ft. Lauderdale show was fantastic! What a show! We met lots of great people and are busy-busy! We took lots of orders, sold a TON (literally I think) of product and have been crazy busy filling orders. Needless to say, our little elves are feverishly working, filling, packing, labeling, mixing, blending and frosting so all of our yummy goodies get out next week. But today, we rest :D

On a different note, our latest scrumptious goodie is Cutie-Fix, our 100% natural cuticle butter in luscious lemon. Perfect for dry cuticles this holiday season.
It's loaded with lots of cuticle-lovin' ingredients like organic fair trade cocoa butter, organic olive oil, sweet almond oil, lemon peel oil and beeswax to seal all the goodness in. We packed it in a BIG 1 oz container that will last and last. A little goes a long way and seriously, keeps your cuticles perfecto!

Happy weekend!

peace~love~happiness,

trade show

2010-11-01T20:09:00.004-04:00

A lot going on! Yummy will be going to the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa show in Ft. Lauderdale this coming weekend :)
We've made lots and lots of yummy because cash & carry is a big deal at these shows
Lots of holiday goodies, gingerbread, sugar cookie and hot apple cider and of course, regular line.

Go Yummy GO! :)

A live web-cam at the show would be interesting.....we will see what we can do ;)

peace, love and as always, HAPPINESS!

holiday 2010 goodies

2010-10-22T00:10:00.006-04:00

THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING!!!

Honestly, I know this feeling well. This is usually what I look like, well, without the styled hair & makeup....a few days prior to the holidays.
If you are anything like me, you will sooooooo appreciate how easy we are making it on you this holiday season!!

Lots of scrumptious bath confections we busy little elves have been cooking up in the soap kitchen. Butter cream sugar scrubs in Gingerbread, Sugar Cookie or Hot Apple Cider. These scents are also available in our highly sought after oat milk (gluten-free) lotions.

We have a Holiday Tree room spray that literally flies off the shelves...it really smells THAT good.

An adorable snowflake lotion bar made with organic and fair trade shea and cocoa butters and organic jojoba oil in the scent of Sugar Cookie.

Adorable gingerbread men made of soap and they smell, literally like you want to take a bite.

Some organic bars of soap in three holiday scents: pumpkin pie with a touch of spice, hot apple cider and winter wonderland which is a sparkling blue peppermint bar. YUM :)

Our seeded soap box that when you plant it grows wildflowers.

And lastly, super cute pre-wrapped gifts containing a slice of organic soap, a butter cream scrub and an oat milk lotion. Holiday shopping made simple.

If you are a wholesale account, just email: info@yummysuds.com and we will send you the holiday order form....for the rest of you yummy lovers, we will be posting these items this coming week on our Etsy site and our yummysuds.com website.

Peace~love~happiness,

tis the season

2010-10-18T08:03:00.003-04:00

You can tell the holidays are coming! The temperature is dropping, so we're getting cool, crisp days here in sunny Florida :)
Love this weather- open all your windows, bake some pumpkin bread and soak it all in.

We have been BUSY! We just participated at the LaCita Golf Resort and sold yummy to lots of happy customers- and was also happy to donate some of the proceeds to the Space Coast Cancer Foundation. :)

We've also been busy in the soap kitchen- 200 lbs of lotion, 300 lotion bars and 100 lbs of soap on Friday, not to mention the holiday scrubs: gingerbread, sugar cookie and hot apple cider. LOTS to make, package and get out.

Lately we've playing around with a scrumptious Honey Butter- a fully loaded shea & honey slather, that is super moisturizing and smells like heaven~ Still considering whether to leave it as a mask or add a bit of sugar to make it a scrubby, moisturizing and tasty smelling body scrub.... Hmmmm....we-shall-see! :D

That's the latest- until next time XOXO

peace~love~happiness,

honey enzyme heel glaze

2010-08-20T07:12:00.005-04:00

Our latest from the soap kitchen, the Honey Pot~ an enzyme honey heel glaze. This stuff smells like cinnamon, clove & nutmeg slathered in honey.
It's loaded with skin softening enzymes, like papaya and pineapple and also lactic acid.

You spoon a little out, and rub all over the bottoms of your feet. Leave it on for a minute or two and then rinse off. You can even add a little sugar to your mix and create an exfoliating scrub.

It comes in a cute little 3 oz jam jar and you can find it on ETSY.

peace~love~happiness,

fabulous beekman boys

2010-07-24T09:02:00.004-04:00

Have you seen this show on planet green? It IS fabulous! I'm already hooked and pushing for a second season.

The story is basically about Josh & Brent, two city boys that decide to buy a place in Sharon Springs, NY, the Beekman mansion built in 1802 and become organic farmers. They literally had no idea what they were getting themselves into. They have, however, started producing some really nice cheese and goats milk soap.

You will literally lough out loud at the witty comments, not to mention, be amused by the goats, chickens, pigs and the star, a llama named Polka Spot and Farmer John who cares for all of the animals.

It's charming, funny, educational, inspiring and refreshing.

For more about the Fabulous Beekman Boys click here.

peace~love~Beekman or bust!

eco fabulous!

2010-06-29T19:15:00.005-04:00

We love~love~love cool eco gifts or perhaps something for little ol' you! If you haven't yet checked out Vivaterra, do so- you'll fall in love.

Check out these fantastic finds from Vivaterra!

Cambodian market feed bag :$17

This will quickly become the only tote you'll tote to the supermarket or farmers' market. It once held a mighty heavy load of grain, so it easily stands up to tomatoes, celery bunches, and anything else that catches your eye. Moreover- and this matters-it looks great, feels totally authentic, and won't resemble any other. 18"W x 12"H x 6"D, 11" STRAPS

Stone hooks: $49

Elements of nature unite to create this clean-lined multi-purpose hook perfect for towels, robes, or clothing. Carefully selected from rivers and beaches of New England and gently rounded through years of tumbling, each stone is unique. And we particularly love that for every smooth stone collected, a rough stone is "planted" for the water to tumble into smoothness.
5"H x 2.5"W

Flip top tote: $98

This lightweight, sturdy bag is sure to quench your thirst for recycled chic. An inventive tote designer collects flip-top tabs from soda can factories and creates a woven metallic fabric in a roomy, flexible bag with wide straps. Constructed entirely from these aluminum flip-tops woven together invisibly with thin, strong cord, her cool tote, all sass and functional fizz, stopped passersby when we recently took it out for a stroll.
15"L x 15"W

Butaca Chair :$1295

Relax in this updated, upholstered version of the Mexican butaca, a hand-built chair inspired by the classic Spanish Barcelona® chair. It’s built entirely from FSC-certified machiche, a tropical Guatemalan hardwood, with well-padded cushions upholstered in either reclaimed jute coffee sacks or organic color-grown cotton fabric in natural. Note: Chair is upholstered in vintage coffee sacks and the print and the color of the print will vary. 30"W x 34"L x 33"H.

peace~love~happiness,

Premiere Show 2010

2010-06-08T15:27:00.006-04:00

YAY! We just finished our two day exhibit at the Premiere Show in Orlando. It was a success! We talked to so many people, made orders and sold products until our hands were sore and our feet hurt! lol

In the top photo we are missing one of our yummy girls, Jenny, who is getting married this coming weekend and needed a day off to prepare.

A BIG thanks to all the girls for working so very hard this weekend to help make the show a success! XOXO

peace~love~happiness,

clean the world

2010-05-23T15:28:00.005-04:00

Woot! Woot! Yummy has donated 51 lbs of soap this year to Clean The World! :)

Check out their website, Clean The World

Clean the World is a non-profit that takes donated soaps and distributes them across the globe. They also distribute to more than 20 homeless shelters, women' shelters, food kitchens and missions.

Its tragic to think that many people die simply because of uncleanliness and not having access to something as simple as soap.....well, we felt like we could pitch in and help out.

It warms our little hearts to know that someone, somewhere is using our soap and it's helping all sorts of people, in all sorts of ways.

peace~love~and paying it forward,

pesto pizza

2010-05-22T14:37:00.005-04:00

We decided to take a break and make a yummy pesto flat bread pizza! It's super easy and really tasty :)

The tomato slices on top are from our own tomato garden!

*Preheat oven to 425 degrees

You can buy Naan flat bread or thin pizza crusts from your local market. You can also buy pesto sauce or make your own, we made our own:

Ingredients

Flat bread or thin pizza crust
monterey jack cheese
tomatoes

(pesto ingredients)
2 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
4 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
couple cracks black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Puree until the mixture forms a smooth, thick paste.

Spread a thin layer of pesto on your think pizza or flat bread. Then sprinkle about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, then about 3 oz or so of grated monterey jack cheese, then top with thinly sliced tomato.

Put in oven directly on rack in the center of the oven for about 6 minutes or so (watch it, as it depends on your oven.) When the cheese has melted and is all bubbly, it's finished!

It is sooooo tasty- you will LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

peace~love~happiness,

soap pops

2010-05-13T22:13:00.007-04:00

We, we just HAD to make these again. It's been about a year since we made soap pops, and that was in a non-silicone mold and it was a b**** getting those little suckers out so I said he**-to-the-no on making them again....UNTIL I saw a sweet silicone mold and thought...that'll work! :)

Super cute and a really adorable gift idea!

We also just finished these cute little "Pucker Up" Edible Lip Scrub Sets.
Each set contains a 1 oz brown sugar lip scrub made of organic fair trade cane & brown sugars, oils and butters and you basically scrub on and lick off. I must say, it's pretty yummy! :)

Then you follow with our Vanilla Lip Butter.......SOOOOOOO buttery and leaves your lips so soft, welly, they're like buttah' baby! ;)

Busy Busy little bees in the yummy kitchen and MORE to come, dahlings!!

peace~love~happiness,

happy mothers day!

2010-05-09T11:02:00.001-04:00

A Mother…

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning." But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years.

So she played with her children, she fed them and bathed them, and taught them how to tie their shoes and ride a bike and reminded them to feed the dog, and do their homework and brush their teeth. The sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the nights came, and the storms, and the path was sometimes dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her arms, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there."

So the children climbed, and as they climbed they learned to weather the storms. And with this, she gave them strength to face the world. Year after year, she showed them compassion, understanding, hope, but most of all....unconditional love.

And when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."

The days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she became little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And the mother, when she lay down at night, looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned so much and are now passing these traits on to their children." And when the way became rough for her, they lifted her, and gave her their strength, just as she had given them hers.

One day they came to a hill, and beyond the hill, they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.

And mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk with dignity and pride, with their heads held high, and so can their children after them."

And the children said, " You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates." And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence."

Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, she's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick and perfume that she wore, she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, she's your breath in the air on a cold winters day. She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every teardrop.

A mother shows every emotion..........happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy, love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow..... and all the while, hoping and praying you will only know the good feelings in life. She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space...............not even death!

soap in a sack

2010-05-08T16:51:00.006-04:00

We took three of our best selling organic soaps and socked them away in one of our fabulous eco soap bags!

Soap in the sack hangs from your faucet, whether it be in your kitchen or shower. It's natural, biodegradable, fair wage, cotton bag will drip dry and when your soap gets down to a wee little nub, simply drop another bar in.
It reduces waste, takes the place of plastic bottles and is both skin and earth loving.

Comes in three fabulous scents:
Lavender oatmeal- made with oat milk & organic cocoa butter
Spearmint orange- made with coconut milk & organic cocoa butter and
Hot apple cider- made with coconut milk & organic cocoa butter

We've been busy getting 'sets' together for the upcoming Premere Show we're attending in June. The first to hit the scene, the Good Juju Kit! :)

It contains a lavender soap made with coconut milk and tons of cocoa butter, a relaxing lavender aromatherapy mist and a natural cotton eco soap bag!

Needless to say, we've been a wee bit busy! More to come SOON!!!!

peace~love~happiness,

food inc.

2010-04-28T11:10:00.005-04:00

"more than a terrific movie, an important movie"

I saw this documentary this weekend (ordered it from Netflix) and I must say......here is another eye-opening experience for me.

It began with watching the show, The Food Revolution with Jamie Kennedy ...which totally grossed me out.....chicken nuggets have forever lost their appeal!! BLAK!!!!

This documentary, Food Inc. is really informative and makes you seriously question the food choices you make and actually is a bit frightening.

We can cover our eyes and not want to see, but seeing it will change the way you view your food. I promise.

As the film says, you get three chances to vote daily and I'm voting!

~Buying local and in season products
~Buying no hormone/antibiotic meats & eggs & FREE RANGE
~Buying organic milk & eggs
~And eating real foods

If you haven't seen the film, see it. If you have, what did you think?

peace~love~and sharing the knowledge,

mrs. mango's

2010-04-28T10:55:00.005-04:00

The yummy girls headed up a ways to spend some time at a place called Mrs. Mangos. It's a little store, full of dried herbs, antiques, local honey and some bath and body products.

While you're there, you are always offered a cup of tea and cookies :)

We bought some dried gourds and lavender and sat for a spell.....

peace~love~happiness,

food revolution

2010-04-13T09:50:00.004-04:00

Have you seen Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? I don't know about you, but I must have had my head in a hole in the ground because I didn't know this! :(

YUK! Now, think about the chicken nuggets in those meals that make kids 'happy' and the texture is strange.....not stringy like chicken, but kinda like what Jamie demonstrates in this video.

It is time for a food revolution!

peace~love~and always learning,

a buzzing bouquet

2010-04-04T08:35:00.004-04:00

Our entry in the Etsy Safe Team Spring Challenge! A cute little bouquet of glycerin soaps, smelling of ripe berries, a touch of honeysuckle and a smidge of jasmine.

Notice the little lady bug and buzzing bee? :)

You can cast your vote for your favorite here: etsy safe team blog

peace~love~happiness,

a special thanks

2010-03-31T10:11:00.016-04:00

to Jennifer of Bullfrogs & Butterflies Baby, for presenting yummy this award & I would like to now pay it forward and send this award along to 10 bloggers that I feel very deserving of the award.

To get your award and pass it on just Copy and Paste the image or save the image to your computer, and then you can upload it to your blog.

In no particular order:

Tierra Verde Handmade

Great Cakes Soap Works

peace~love~and paying it forward,

watermelon soaps!

2010-03-22T15:41:00.005-04:00

I FINALLY made these cute little soaps! Cute, right? :)
Kinda tricky, but I'm up for a good challenge. Today is all about challenges.
I'm a member of the Etsy Safe Team and our current challenge is a Spring Themed challenge and boy is it challenging! lol
I could do a bar, but I'm one of those that over-think things......make it waaaaaaaaaay too complicated. My artistic side really kicks in and I become a mad scientist, muhahahahahahaha!

Ok I don't quite look like THAT, but you know what I mean! :D

The project is due this week! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Back to the 'lather lab'

I'll keep you posted!

peace~love~happiness,

gardeners gift sets

2010-03-20T12:56:00.004-04:00

Sowing the seeds of love~

Just in time for spring, two gardeners gift sets fresh out of the soap kitchen!

A handcrafted organic bar of gardeners soap, make with lavender & lemon essential oils and course cornmeal as a natural exfoliant.

The top set has a slice of gardeners soap, a pack of Holland bulbs and a hand trowel all tucked in a cute pot.

The last picture is simply a slice of gardeners soap and a pack of seeds tied to a hand trowel.

peace~love~and a little gardening,

this & that

2010-03-15T17:23:00.006-04:00

As previously mentioned our 100 organic lavender soaps are on the curing racks as we speak (or type) ;) and we've gone with a lovely sheer gold wrap with tassel to wrap the soap boxes in. I love it when it all comes together!

We've also decided to take our yummy products to the Premiere International Beauty Event in Orlando in June and are wanting to have a Susie Homemaker theme...with rolling pins, whisks, bowls, etc and we want to wear these adorable little aprons we found, but are going back and forth about which color. So I'm asking for your fabulous opinions! What say you? :)

peace~love~happiness,

twilight inspired soap

2010-03-04T15:17:00.005-05:00

This is bella. Understated, simple yet temptingly sweet.

A subtle swirl of crimson flows into a deep burgundy bar while the scent of warm vanilla, cotton candy, pink sugar and a touch of musk drive you out of your mind! Also added is a shimmer of iridescent glitter that gleams from the soap.

You so want to take a bite!

peace~love~happiness,

wedding & event favors

2010-03-04T13:12:00.009-05:00

Phew!!!! We can finally come up for air! We've been busy making organic cannoli & limoncello soaps that are going to an Italian conference....500, 1.75 oz pieces cut, wrapped and tied with a logo...ready to go.

We also just finished 100, 4.5 oz pieces of organic lavender soap that have a sexy, shimmering top. They are made with lavender, litsea cubeba and lemon essential oils, hand cut, hand beveled and each inspected by picky Ms. Yummy! I'm a perfectionist...what can I say...
Needless to say, the soap kitchen aka lather lab smells very lavender-ish! :D

These beauties are headed off for a little curing time and then will be individually wrapped in a piece of chocolate tissue paper and placed in a lovely chocolate soap box. Adorable!

We also made Cocoa Java....a chocolate, hazelnut and vanilla bar, with a smidge of coffee grounds and topped with shaved chocolate soap. YUMMY!

peace~love~happiness,

say no to jiggly arms!

2010-02-22T14:51:00.006-05:00

Yes, I have them. Don't like them, but I have them. I was told about the Tracy Anderson Method recently and shown a video of Gwyneth Paltrow demonstrating it on her GOOP website. Have you heard of Goop? I hadn't. All these amazing things and I had no idea?! Guess it's time to come out from under the rock! lol

Check it out HERE. It's interesting. You'll see an array of moves, mostly with the upper body/arms that mimic moves you'll see in swimming, martial arts, dance, volleyball, and tennis, to name a few.

Goop, btw is an ambiguous term thought of by Gwyneth that can mean anything or absolutely nothing.

Enjoy~

peace~love~happiness,

soap cakes & wedding favors

2010-02-12T14:19:00.007-05:00

Brides are busy little bee's preparing for their upcoming weddings! So, we've been cooking up some soapalicious wedding favors in honor of the blushing bride~

These organic handmade soaps are absolutely adorable in a cute little custom printed cake box with a bow. It makes the wedding favor memorable and is something everyone will use.

All of our soap cakes are made with pure organic oils and are also extra skin loving from the heaping dollop of fair trade, organic cocoa butter we hand stir into each batch.

Here we have a mini cheesecake (soap cake) with roses on top. Each slice weighs approximately 2.5 oz.

Or a perfect shower favor...a slice of organic soap that looks good enough to eat! This is our Ring of Roses soap cake. We get about 20 or so, 3.5 oz slices in this size cake.

And last, but not least...our Simply Scrumptious Chocolate soap cake. Rich milk chocolate swirls around a layer of warm, buttery vanilla. Oh if only you had a scratch-n-sniff screen!!!! It's kinda yummy! :)

From wedding favors to bridal or baby showers, all of our soap cakes can be custom designed and scented based on individual needs.

peace~love~and wedding bells,

be mine, valentine

2010-02-10T17:33:00.005-05:00

"If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand." -Unknown

Some super cute ideas for your Valentine~ :)

Heart in the hole, eggs & toast. Get recipe here!

Or how about a Sweetheart Valentine Cake? Get recipe here!

Or what about a Love Letter? I may do this! ;)

Here's an adorable cuppycake song for you my sweets! XOXO

peace~love~happiness,

cream soap tutorial

2010-02-09T19:13:00.028-05:00

*photo taken from Cream Soap Naturally e-book cover

Or my adventures with cream soap, I should say! ;)

If you are considering making cream soap, here are a few necessary steps that will help make your journey with cream soap a success!

1. Join the cream soap group on yahoo.

2. Download the cream soap bible aka Cream Soap Naturally; an e-book full of the exact steps you need to take to make cream soap...and what NOT to do.

3. Order some KOH (potassium hydroxide) which is different from our sodium hydroxide lye. I found mine here, at Essential Depot or you can order at thechemistrystore.com, but ED has better prices.

4. Order a small bottle of Phenolphthalein. This is what you use to test the pH of your cream soap. I found mine at the sciencecompany.com. *you only use a drop to test, so the smallest bottle will last for years.

Ok, you'd be ready to go. Well, after reading the handbook, you're ready to make a small batch of test soap. Not to resell....just to get use to the making and finished product of cream soap.

I'm using a recipe I found in the recipes section of the cream soap yahoo group. **Sorry, I had a recipe posted, but is considered infringement of the cream soap groups rules, so you will have to go thru the steps and join the group, then find a recipe that you can follow along with.**

Always remember, Safety First when working with lye. I wore a long sleeved shirt, gloves and goggles while making this soap.

Get all of your ingredients out and ready....

I measured my stearic acid out in a bowl.

I then transferred to a pot and melted it on the stove top. Doesn’t take long…so watch it as it melts.

I weighted out my oils and used the stove top on low.

I then weighed out my distilled water in a plastic pitcher.

I weighed out my potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide, pouring each right on top of the other. The KoH sounds like glass when you pour it, interesting....

Pour the lyes into the water in a well ventilated area.
Stir the water until it’s all dissolved and the water is clear.

I added the lye solution to my melted oils to the pot on the stove. I then used my stick blender and started blending. The consistency changed from liquid to a lumpy
mashed potato texture.

I continued blending on high and start to see more changes to the consistency, now it's like a thick syrup or honey.

I stopped blending with a stick blender and went to a hair stir with a big spoon.

I placed the lid on my pot and put in a 250 degree PREHEATED oven.

Air will get trapped and it will inflate the soap, so you will need to stir it regularly to turn it over. You'll notice the soap will start to become like a solid blob and will start to use the technique called "chunking" which takes some elbow grease.

Check you soap about every 30 minutes. Lots of babysitting here! lol
Stir or "chunk" it down and continue to cook.

My soap has been cooking of a little over 1.5 hours. It looks clear with a yellow tinge to it. I start to test the soap with the phenol at this point.

I take a little bit of the raw soap out, add the recommended amount of Phenol and mine was pink (not finished), so back in the oven to cook!

I weigh out my super-creaming ingredients and add to my soap

I add the mixture to my soap, stir and put the lid back on and back in the oven

Once my soap was finished, I turned the heat off and removed from the oven to cool.

I covered mine with saran wrap and stuck it in the fridge overnight to cool.

The next day, wow! It's opaque and looks like really thick mashed potatoes!

Give it a good stir and voila! It's starts to look creamy!

Day 5, after stirring.

So, that's the status of the cream soap. It's day 5 and I only have....oh, about 5 weeks to go! lol

This stuff needs to 'rot' aka cure to become the smooth and creamy stuff....so I will keep you posted!

I hope this tutorial has been helpful and/or encouraged you to take the cream soap challenge, where fluffy clouds of cream soap and fabulous shave creams await! :)

peace~love and learning,

oats & honey organic soap

2010-02-06T10:59:00.013-05:00

This latest batch of our oats & honey turned out lovely. I can breathe again! lol
It's made with coconut milk, organic soybean oil, organic coconut oil, organic olive oil, organic fair trade cocoa butter, organic palma christi oil and topped with whole oats and the smell.....warm and inviting!

We've also made up a few prototypes for clients. Two are Italian inspired for a conference where they will be cut into 1.75 oz bars and go into goody bags:

The first is the cannoli.....Smelling of freshly baked yumminess, slathered in chocolate, cream, toasted nuts and topped with a vanilla cream, chocolate chip stuffed layer.

The second is inspired by the Limoncello liquor. It smells of sweet sugared lemons and we've topped off with a shiny golden cork to boot!

On another note....did I mention I'm making CREAM SOAP?! It's an adventure! :) Pictures and tutorial to come within the next few days. One thing is for sure, it IS a labor of love!

XOXO

peace~love~happiness,

soap making supplies

2010-02-04T10:35:00.008-05:00

This is a list of soap making tutorials, soap supplies, lye calculators, soap history and soap recipes that you may find beneficial.

If you're new to soaping, not all lye calculators are created equal, meaning, they each have different formulations for your lye & water amounts. You'll find, some are more suited for cp (cold process) soaps while others tend to make a more firm hp (hot process) bar.

Happy soaping!

CP (cold process) soap tutorials:
The Soap Bar
Soap Making Essentials

CP (cold process) soap swirl tutorials:
Candletech
Nizzy Moulds
Soap Queen

CP (cold process) whipped soap tutorials:
Nizzy Moulds

HP (hot process) soap tutorials:
Teach Soap

Soap mold ideas:
Nizzy Moulds

Soap cutters:
Nizzy Moulds
Willow Way

M&P (melt & pour) soap tutorials
Teach Soap
Go Planet Earth

Other recipes:
Cuticle Butter
Salt Bars

Lye calculators for cp soap:
Brambleberry
The Sage
Soap Calc

Lye calculators for cp & liquid soap:
Summer Bee Meadow
Snow Drift Farm

Lye calculator for cp/hp/liquid or cream soap:
Snow Drift Farm

Common Soapmaking terms:
Cibaria Soap Supplies

Soap History:
Alca Soft
Sappohill

Fragrance oil info:
Fragrance Oil Finder
Scent Forum

Glossary soap terms
Alca Soft

Suppliers:
Atlantic Spice
SF Herb
The Sage
Creative Fragrances
Sweet Cakes
The Chemistry Store
Elements Bath & Body
Symphony Scents
Soapers Choice aka Columbus Foods
TKB Trading
Camden Grey
Scent Works
Brambleberry
Peak Candle
From Nature With Love
Lotion Crafter
WSP
Snow Drift Farm
PV Soap
Essential Wholesale

Forums:
Scent Forum
Craft Server
Soap Making Forum
Teach Soap

peace~love~soapiness,

neon rose bud

2010-02-03T14:03:00.004-05:00

Wasn't supposed to be yellow/orange NEON rosebud...but cest la vie.

This is what happens when you think you're clever and mix the soap colorant in with the lye water, which turned a lovely shade of pink and little ol' me thought..."oh that will be pretty" well.......not so much. It's not disgustingly horrible, but trust me, the neon color is not really coming thru in the photo and it's pretty neon! lol It smells lovely, it just looks strange.

I had to share. DO NOT add your colorant to the lye water. It morphs and cp soap can be morphy all on it's own.

So, 8 lbs of neon rosebud sitting here! It's nice when an 'oopsie' can turn into a different 'I mean't to do that' soap, but this is a little more challenging!

peace~love~and always learning,

oh no they didn't!

2010-02-02T21:53:00.005-05:00

Scrumptious and simply SINFUL! You know what?? SHAME ON US! This stuff is too good! :) It is actually pretty yummy! Even our number one tester, little Mr. Michael says so and he's 7 and is BRUTALLY honest about things ;)

First is our Neapolitan Ice Cream Parfait Sugar Scrub
Layers of scrumptious strawberry, warm vanilla and creamy chocolate in an awesome sugar scrub. Not at all greasy, but leaves your skin buttery soft and squeaky clean.

Then...why stop now we asked? "No, lets go for it!" exclaimed Nichol aka Soap Girl..and so we did. You can blame her.

Chocolate Raspberry Roll Lotion.
Really????? Now....this stuff. OMG. Literally makes you want to lick it. But don't!
It's that good. Smells SOOOOOO good (scientifically speaking) you're brain must register it as FOOD and you get the urge to eat it. FIGHT this, you must, because eating lotion is 'not a good thing' as Martha would say.

Lastly, after many emails and threats of a lynch mob, we've brought our beloved Sugar Cookie scent back. It was supposed to be a holiday fragrance, but fate would otherwise decide....."um...NO!" So, it's repackaged and back up on the Etsy sales block. Soon will be joined by the sugar cookie buttercream sugar scrub too.

You can find all these and more at our Etsy shop.

Ok, enough blathering about products! :)

Until next time...

peace~love~and MUCH happiness!

homemade deodorant recipe

2010-01-30T19:27:00.004-05:00

Make your own deodorant? Yeppers!

This is a really easy recipe. You can find most of the ingredients in your own kitchen and the rest you can find at any corner convenience store. Plus it's not loaded with all sorts of questionable chemicals or aluminum! We love that~

You will need:

2 tablespoons cocoa butter

2 tablespoons coconut oil (extra virgin)

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or corn starch

3 tablespoons baking soda

1 capsule of Vitamin E oil

*optional, skin safe Essential oil

First you need to melt the cocoa butter. You can do this in a small pot on low heat or the stove *watching it carefully or use your microwave. For the microwave, you can use a pyrex measuring cup and heat for 30 seconds. Check it and see that it's almost completely melted. If it's not all melted, don't worry, it will melt sitting on the counter, very quickly.

Then add your coconut oil. You do not need to heat it again, because the coconut oil will melt from the heat of the pyrex container and the already warmed cocoa butter.

Stir with a spoon. Add the arrowroot or corn starch and baking soda. Stir.

When the mixture is cool to the touch, you can pierce the end of the Vitamin E capsule and squeeze out the oil into your mixture.

At this point, you're finished, unless you want to add scent, which you can add 6 drops of your favorite skin safe essential oil. We used lemon essential oil as it adds a fresh and clean smell.

What you end up with is a very thick paste. The thickness can be adjusted by reducing or increasing the amount of arrowroot or cornstarch powder, to you liking.

Split the finished product in half, store both portions in a sealed plastic container and place one container in the fridge. The other container can go in your bathroom for daily use. When you get low, remove some of your back up from the fridge.

To use, simply take a pea sized amount, rub it on the tips of your fingers and apply to your underarms. Viola! Homemade deodorant!

While it's not 'antiperspirant' is is a natural deodorant that will keep you fresh and clean smelling, for a fraction of the cost! ;)

Enjoy!

peace~love~happiness,

wedding favors

2010-01-30T18:09:00.004-05:00

So much better than a bag of Jordan Almonds! Although I love jordan almonds, a slice of handmade organic soap is memorable and such a nice gift for your wedding guests.

Here we have our zen blend and lemon poppy seed organic soap in 1.75 oz slices, wrapped in corrugated paper, tied with a green raffia bow and placed in a champagne organza bag. So adorable!

Here are a few other options...

green weddings~ eco friendly organic soap packed in a corrugated pillow box and tied with a green raffia ribbon.

posh weddings~ a handmade slice of organic soap tucked in a gorgeous pearl embossed tab top box and tied with a cream satin bow.

peace~love~and happily ever after,

fresh face masks!

2010-01-28T23:48:00.007-05:00

Getting together with your girlfriends and having a spa day is delightful, however, as many of us know, it's not always possible........so, here's a few FRESH at-home-spa-facial recipes that are easy, affordable and simply scrumptious!

First, before you ever apply a face mask, you need to steam your skin. This helps to soften the skin, loosen debris and open the pores.

We recommend a tea steam. Take your favorite tea (we use loose leaf jasmine & green tea) but you can cut open any bag of your tea of choice and put in large bowl. You could use a metal pot, but beware that metal heats up and be careful not to burn yourself. Next cover the tea liberally with very hot (almost boiling water.) You want steam to be coming off the top of the water. Let the tea steep for about 2 minutes. Next tie your hair back (if its long) and drape a large bath towel over your head to create a tent. Steam your face for about 2 minutes.
Now you're ready for the mask.

You can make your mask in advance and store in a covered container in the refrigerator. The mask should be used within 48 hours.

Who wouldn't love to slather chocolate on their face? :) This chocolate face mask is simple and so much fun, you'll love it!

Chocolate has all sorts of anti-aging properties, yogurt contains lactic acid, which deep cleans and refines the skin, honey is a natural humectant (meaning it attracts & retains water) and has anti-bacterial properties and lastly, oatmeal is a powerful skin soother.

Chocolate Cuppycake Fresh Face Mask

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
3 teaspoons ground oats

Mix all ingredients and apply to the face. Leave on for about 15 minutes and rinse with lukewarm water.
Enjoy!

Some other face masks that you may enjoy, based on skin type:

Dry Skin~

Ingredients:

1/2 finely grated carrot
1 avocado, mashed
2 tablespoons almond oil *if you have a nut allergy, you can substitute olive oil

Oily Skin~

Ingredients:

1 apple, peeled, cored & finely grated
1 egg white
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combination Skin~

1/2 banana, mashed
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1/3 cucumber, peeled & grated

Mix all ingredients and apply to the face. Let all the goodness work its magic and after 15 minutes, rinse with lukewarm water.

These easy, at home facials can be performed bi-weekly and are deliciously good for your skin!

peace~love~and a little spaaaaahh,

eating lotion bars

2010-01-26T18:23:00.005-05:00

What?! Who's eating lotion bars?! Yes, that is the question.....

I kid you not.....this is an actual lotion bar from one of our retail locations....A Voodoo Magic Lotion bar that is scented with cinnamon leaf & peppermint oils with a BITE taken out of it!!! Ewwwwww!!!

This bar smells heavenly and is pure sin on your skin, but seriously???!! I STILL can't get my head around this. We always joke about things smelling 'good enough to eat' but shea butter, beeswax and essential oils?? This HAD to taste like crap! lol

peace~love~and scratching ones head,

chocolate cream puff

2010-01-23T11:21:00.004-05:00

SCRUMPTIOUS! Creamy & dreamy whipped soap smelling like a freshly baked cream puff, drizzled in chocolate! YUM! One of our Valentines goodies.

We also made a Wickedly Sinful Chocolate Organic Soap! Wicked because of the pinch of ancho chili powder and sinful because of the luscious cocoa powder. This is one deep, dark, rich bar of chocolate (soap that is!) It's wrapped up in our seeded soap box, that you can plant and will actually grow wildflowers.

peace~and lovin' the chocolate,

clean the world

2010-01-21T11:59:00.004-05:00

Have you heard of Clean The World? It's a non-profit, charitable organization that recycles soap, shampoo and lotions and distributes them worldwide to people who cannot afford it.

**you will need to stop/pause the ipod playing on the left side of the screen before playing this video
<----------------------

For all of the soapers out there, simply bag up all of your soap scraps (unlabeled) drop in a medium flat rate shipping box and mail to:

Clean The World
Attn. Steve Cooper
4625 Old Winter Garden Rd. #B7
Orlando, Florida 32811

Easy peasy! Pass it on. :)

peace~love~happiness,

etsy treasury

2010-01-19T22:38:00.002-05:00

Are you as tired as I am waiting for the treasury to get low enough to even make a treasury?! I cannot tell you how many times...I've sat and sat and waited till that little number drops down...and down....it's almost there....a little bit more....ok, I think I'm in...then WHAM!!!! the number jumps up to 440! WHAT?!

Ok, Ms. yummy heard from a little birdie about Craftopolis! It actually has a treasury clock that times when you can get into a treasury!

Check it out :)

peace~love~happiness,

makeup tutorial

2010-01-19T22:21:00.005-05:00

A little off topic, but I love to share the knowledge! This young lady is adorable and gives great tips/tricks for a barely there everyday look. *You may want to shut the ipod off playing music...which is down on the left side of the blog.

<-----------------

And here, a more dramatic,smokey-eyed look! So fabulous dahlings!!!

peace~love~happiness,

time for yourself

2010-01-17T11:19:00.003-05:00

Do you take enough time for yourself? With kids in tow (or maybe your kids are the furry kind) life, work, friends, errands, meetings and the stresses of every day....life sometimes seems to be flying by at the speed or light! Do you ever feel like you're missing it? Like you wish you could hit a 'pause' button for just a little bit or slow it all down. This nagging feeling of needing a few more hours in the day....that you're here, but are consumed in the every day doings of life, you sometimes miss enjoying it, or as Eckhart Tolle said, being in the present?

This is for you (and me)! A reminder to slow down....smell the flowers and just be.

I sat yesterday, looking through a few cookbooks for some ideas for dinner and decided to make a indulging session out of it. So, I made myself a cup of my favorite tea, Earl Grey with milk & sugar and kicked back front of the fire. Doesn't sound like much, but it was really nice & needed!

How do you find your ohm?

peace~love~and a little me time,

back to basics

2010-01-16T10:02:00.005-05:00

I realized that we make about 80 different products! YIKES! Well, this includes the 25 different scents of soaps, which is just too much! lol

I am a Mercury Gemini and want to make EVERYTHING under the sun, dahlings, but its simply not possible...so back to basics!

Yesterday I made a completely organic, unscented and non colored loaf of CP soap. It's natural buttery color comes from the oils and the organic fair trade cocoa butter that's in it. For the non-soapers out there, CP stands for cold processed. I do a lot of HP (hot process) where the soap is actually cooked and can be used rather quickly and CPOP (cold process oven process) where some heat is applied the soap can be used within a week or so and CP is no heat at all.

Cp produces a creamier feeling, more opaque bar. The down side of CP is waiting for the soap to cure (4-6 weeks.) For someone that has no patience, thats like a lifetime! lol :)

I'm kinda diggin' it! :)

peace~love~happiness,

give back

2010-01-15T10:54:00.004-05:00

What do you do with your soap scraps?

If you're producing a lot of soap a month, you end up with a lot of soap scraps. These can be shavings, bars with dents, morphed soaps (which I seem to be on a roll with lately) or end cuts. We tend to end up with a lot of scraps and stumbled upon a way to make use of these soaps.

I know a lot of people rebatch or confetti into other soaps, which works, however I am NO fan o rebatching and had been looking for a better solution.

We contacted our local homeless shelter and womans center asked if we could donate our scap soaps to the organizations...needless to say, they were happy to receive the soaps!

If you shave your soaps, even this can be saved in a garbage bag, rewetted and shaped into a soap ball, so nothing goes to waste. Gotta love that!! :)

peace~love~and giving back,

I'm kinda doing a haul post

2010-01-12T20:54:00.011-05:00

Know this....I was not asked, nor paid, nor requested in anyway to do these reviews. These reviews are honest, heartfelt and it is what it is people. We as women, share information and this is some information you SIMPLY must have dahlings....so here it goes!

My first little diddy on the menu.......The Soap Seduction.

If you haven't been to Patrice's blog, you simply must! She dishes all the daily doings of soap-making with such a humor, you literally laugh out loud and Ms. Yummy LOVES that! She's honest, sassy and funny all at the same time! It's PERFECT! I nominate her for her own reality show! It would be a HUGE hit! :)

I ordered from the Soap Seduction, a bar of her Royal Soap Black Tea & Rose. Scrumptious! Smells just like tea and rose. No artificial weird smells here. It's just the right balance. And it's pretty to boot! Isn't' it pretty?! Makes a nice gift.
Well, I lucked out because apparently the slice I was getting was a smaller than usual slice so Ms. Patrice was kind of enough to send me a second bar, which was the Mango Meringue Soap!

Let me just say, both soaps are gorgeous and lovely, both smell FANTASTIC- Ms. yummy happens to have a love affair with food, so anything that smells like anything I could possibly eat....PERFECT! This hunk of Mango loveliness had my name written all OVER It!

I for one, don't think things happen by accident...so this piece was CALLING to me! And can I just say, family members were actually stealing this soap from out of MY bathroom! Oh, no! It's that good. It's creamy!!!!!! A lot of handmade soaps lose that creaminess, but this is CREAMY and feels so good on your skin! I HIGHLY recommend this bar and you need to check her out!

The next soap diva I'm going to dish on is Ms. Regina with Margarita Bloom!

Have you hear of this soap company? FANTASTIC! I opened the box and was digging thru it...finding the Cupcake Love soap cupcake i ordered....the Hot Cocoa sugar scrub I ordered and a hot chocolate soap that I also ordered. She threw in a free sample of lip balm! How nice is that?!

The product I need to rant about....other than her packaging, that is sooooooooooo adorable.......the Wickedly Good Creamy Hot Cocoa Sugar Scrub. I mean......honestly.....I was taken aback by the way it was packaged. Carefully thought out. All of the items I received, top notch packaging, and the contents just matched it. I was floored to see the detail she put into her packing slip, which is adorable too! No detail untouched.

The Hot Cocoa sugar scrub was something I wanted to eat. Literally! Give me a spoon and I'm all about it! lol
It's fantastic! These make great gifts too!
She is not on etsy, but check out her website! You won't regret it!

Next I ordered (with some holiday $$) an adorable wristlet ( or clutch) from MaryJMaalouf on Etsy.

Isn't it perfect?! I'm not a gigantic, hobo bag type of person. These days, it needs to be compact and cute or it just won't cut it. Handcrafted and absolutely flawless are MaryJMaalouf bags! You can tell a lot of effort goes into detail of the product. It's perfect! Comes with a cute little mirror for last minute makeup checks! Sturdy and trendy and SO cute~

You know that song that is on all of the Old Navy commercials where the cute little girls are singing "how cute are these boots?" well I want to sing, "how cute is my bag?" lol

You really need to check her out too, awesome clutches, ipod cases, wallets, change purses and handbags!

And last, but certainly not...in any way, shape or form the least.............The product I ALMOST ate! No kidding! Verbena Custom Blends on Etsy.

I ordered this frothy, made from scratch, whipped up soap in a Double Vanilla Buttercream scent..because I happen to LOVE buttercream....and what I received SHOCKED me! Not only did I receive this absolutely buttery, have died and gone to heaven, smooth textured cream soap...but I received a sample! Again...not one to believe in accidents---> this sample literally stopped me in my tracks.....I had EVERYONE in my house smelling it and EVERYONE was making the same.......(eyes closed, smile on the face) look...and I hate to say it, but kinda like sex in a jar! :) hee-hee!

Really, I thought?! Did she just do that?! Make something so incredibly scrumptious and smell edible that I literally want to eat it and I was SOOOOOOOOOO tempted! Trust me! I ALMOST took a lick. It iterally took willpower. My brain registered FOOD and down the pike it should have gone!

I do not know this woman. I have never met her! I don't' even know if she's a she or a he, but whoever it is, he/she needs to walk around with a sign that says 'my stuff smells so good, I should be illegal!' lol No kidding!

I'm thinking it should be named "touch this and lose a limb" or better yet, simply, "MINE!" because that's the word out in this house! Hands off mommas goods buster or ELSE! lol

That's my rave and I'm sticking to it!

peace~love~happiness,

baby its cold outside!

2010-01-11T11:19:00.001-05:00

Burrr! It's COLD outside.....at least for my sunny state of Florida, where we've seen record lows! Ms. Yummy's toes are cold!

Here's a little power point presentation showing some VERY and I mean VERY icy places!

Burr Winter

Stay warm!

new location for yummy

2010-01-09T13:00:00.003-05:00

Spavana is located in Brooklyn, NY and offers an assortment of scrumptious spa services, from hot stone massages to skin revitalizing facials to laser skin treatments.

Check out their website and if you're around their lovely spa, check them out!

peace~love~happiness,

more chocolate!

2010-01-09T11:02:00.006-05:00

Wickedly Sinful Organic Chocolate Soap! One of our yummy retailers called us and requested a chocolate with ancho chile spice to it holiday goodies...and we thought.....we can do that! ;) And so, Wickedly Sinful Chocolate Soap was just made. We used all organic oils in this soap, some cocoa powder and indeed, a pinch or two of ancho chile powder. It smells, like deep rich chocolate with a touch of smokey spice. YUMMERS!

I've also been playing around with our cuppycake fizzies. I originally had a whipped soap on top of these fizzies, which is great if it's being sold locally, but shipping the cupcake was another story. The soap never dried hard, so it would get ruined by the time it made it across the country! Because of shipping we started using royal icing, but this just isn't the topping I wanted. It works well and allows you to ship anywhere, however, the icing tops notoriously pop off and it's not soap.

I've made the soap cupcake, made entirely of soap, but wanting to stick with the half fizzy half icing cupcake- I've been on a mission. I have tried many recipes with hard toppings even one with melt and pour but couldn't find the right consistency that kept that creamy icing look AND the top didn't pop off!

Many moons ago I stumbled upon Nizzy's whipped soap tutorial. Fantastic things he's doing down undah, in the outback! So, I contacted him with my questions about he was quick to respond with a full email of recommendations! :) Thanks Niz!

These are the test bunnies in the soap kitchen....made with no added colorant, as I simply wanted to test the texture and see if it would INDEED stick to the top of the fizzy. So far, so good...they are sticking!

Notice my warning note and the clever comeback from my witty daughter.

I'm also creating bath creamers...kinda a fusion of a bath fizzy and bath melt! Really loaded with organic cocoa butter...which I love~love~love! I'm going to post a tutorial at a future date for those of you who would also like to create these:

They are FUN and are lovely in the bath. These were made with a half of my bath bomb mold. I've ordered a round mold, that would create bath creamers about the size of golf balls. Wouldn't they be adorable in a little box with a clear top and a bow?

peace~love~happiness,

death by chocolate anyone?

2010-01-05T20:01:00.005-05:00

I just realized Valentines is quickly approaching and about that time, cupid shot me in the rear and said...."we need some scrumptious valentines day goodies, woman!" :) So Death By Chocolate came about. Oh it's just a scrumptious sugar scrub parfait with layers of rich decadent chocolate, slathered in a gooey marshmallow cream drizzle and a whiff of steaming hot Godiva® Chocolate coffee. YUMMY! What's not to LOVE~LOVE~LOVE?!

It also contains a buttery blend of skin loving fair trade shea & cocoa butters. You seriously could be tempted to take a lick, or a spoonful!

It's colored naturally from the ground cocoa powder and bits of Godiva® Chocolate Coffee grounds.

I'm starting to wonder if I should put a warning label on this temptingly sinful concoction?!

peace~love~happiness,

Check this out!

2009-12-31T16:36:00.004-05:00

Live streaming video from Times Square! :) Enjoy!

May your lip balms be smooth, your bath bombs be fizzy and your soaps be sudsy!

peace~love~and to another great year,

yummy post holiday sale!

2009-12-26T16:41:00.003-05:00

All of our holiday inspired products are buy 1 get 1 FREE! That is, until inventory is gone. Everything from organic bars of soap, to sugar scrubs, lips balms and gift sets! :)

Hop on over to our etsy shop and check it out! We've labeled all sale items with (HOLIDAY SALE ITEM) to make shopping a snap!

Here's to a fabulous New Years!

peace~love~happiness,

gingerbread house party!

2009-12-23T09:28:00.007-05:00

Our 3rd annual family gingerbread house making party was last night. The ladies brought their best ideas, candy and a smidge of trash talk! Facebook was ablaze with the "BRING IT" posts! :)

After three hours of serious decorating, we ended up with some very lovely houses and I wanted to share them with you!

First Place Winner- Jenny

Second Place Winner- Nichol

Honorable mention- Stephanie

This is SO MUCH FUN and a great tradition for your friends and family! Happy holidays :)

peace, love, happiness,

...the ugly

2009-12-19T21:57:00.007-05:00

the good, the bad....and this is just plain ugly!
Was supposed to be my nemesis......copacabana...a luscious pineapple, coconut smelling multi-colored soap that I had made previously, several times....and broke the FIRST cardinal rule of soap making.......----> WRITE DOWN YOUR RECIPE. {A DUH blonde moment}
Did I? Nope....and so, trying to remake that same luscious wonderful soap months later I ended up with 8 lb vat after 8 lb vat of disasters! Horrid batches that looked like something that someone threw-up! Not yummy AT ALL!
So I thought I was clever and just "KNEW!" which FO was the culprit....and so I removed it from the blend of FO's.....and made another 8 lb batch.

{play dreadful sounding music}

I pour the lye water into the oils.....and stick blend......it wasn't curdling like all the previous batches...so I thought, Great! :) {ignorance is bliss}

30 minutes later :( Seperation! AHHHHHHH! About 1" of oil floating on top of the soap in the mold. It's in the over...as I do mostly CPOP....and I decide ---> NOT AGAIN!
{Dun-Dun-Dahhhhhhhhhhhh!}This batch WILL make it...and I think "what can I do?" so I grab my stick blender and with the oven door open...I'm blending the soap, in the mold, in the oven. Saying goodbye to the lovely yellow, green and blue swirls that I had previously created :'( This was a last-ditch effort to SAVE THIS SOAP! I figured, I'd force the oils back into the soap and cook the cr*p out of it...and see what happens. {serious rocket science} Who knows right?! {thinking to self} Post-it's were created accidentally....maybe this would be some strange new soap creation?? I'm stick blending and 10 minutes later....still blending.....bent over....head partially in the oven. A site to see.

So it cooks.....I check the pH...it's neutral....it cools and this is what I end up with.....A very strange, sci-fi looking soap!

It's rubbery and you can squish it. You're in the circle of trust...and we are honest in the soap kitchen...... I am so tempted to slap a label on it and call it The Grinch Soap. May be a hit with the kids!

Anyways.......I figured I'd share this because we all have the good, the bad and well, there's just the UGLY!

Happy holidays to you all! XOXO

yummy organics

2009-12-13T10:04:00.006-05:00

We've made this rose bud soap previously, but this time decided to re-create the soap using mostly organic oils and coloring the soap naturally.

We wanted this soap to be creamy, so we made it with coconut milk. It's also made with organic soybean oil, organic coconut oil, organic olive oil, organic cocoa butter and palma christi oil. At trace, some ground rose hip and elderberries were added. The fragrance is fantastic, using rose absolute and a smidge of one of our most favorite fragrance oils that smell like a big bouquet of lush red roses!

It turned out nicely. :)

peace~love and petal power!

a treasury!

2009-12-09T15:51:00.002-05:00

TYTY for putting our yummy in your lovely treasury! We so appreciate it and want to share the love!

Please check out peaseblossomstudio on etsy...where you'll find leather journals, prints, cards, wedding & fancy books, ornaments & decor and pendants. Maybe a gift for a friend or two? :)

peace~love~happiness,

need a new years resolution?

2009-12-06T00:38:00.003-05:00

How about changing the world? Sounds impossible, but is it?

I'm an Oprah fan......and on one of her recent shows, she exposed me to the girl effect. The video that was shown on the show, I honestly...loved. I want to share it with you and for you to consider the possibilities.

Yummy was looking for an organization to get involved with and this seems so perfect for us! Care.org. Little things, like $7 can buy a girl school books for a year! The impact, HUGE.

Visit care.org for more information. We mothers can help other mothers. Gotta love that!

peace~love~and making a difference,

a new location for yummy!

2009-12-05T16:10:00.002-05:00

Yummy is headed to Sayville, NY, to the Oliver West Apothecary & Day Spa! This spa offers some impressive spa services like a Caviar Power Facial or how about the 24 carat gold treatment, hmmm?! :) Lots of mani's, pedi's, waxing, makeup and of course massages to choose from too.

Check out their website!

peace~love~happiness,

a lovely treasury

2009-12-05T16:03:00.002-05:00

Sending out a special thanks to Big Girl Studio on Etsy, for putting our Oh honey, beehive! soap in her lovely treasury. Check her shop out. Lots of very cool sterling silver earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings! :)

peace~love~happiness,

go elf yourself!

2009-12-04T18:34:00.003-05:00

hee-hee

Seriously.....it's fun and makes for a great way to send your holiday greeting card.
If you haven't heard of it, it's Jibbab.com. I am of course, a member! ;)

This little video is of myself, my husband and three of our kids! :) Enjoy!
There are tons of videos to choose from and you can create yours at jibjab!

We Elf'd ourselves!

peace~love~happiness,

yummo recipe!

2009-12-04T18:29:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I'm a bit of a cooking show fan :)

Lately it's been Chef Academy! And tonight they shared a tomato sauce recipe that I just had to share with you! I usually cook (when I cook from scratch) a recipe by Mario Batali, that uses grated carrots to sweeten the base and it AWESOME....but this looks divine so do try it!

INGREDIENTS
6 lb (2.7 kg) Beef or Heirloom tomatoes
4 Star anise
1 Vanilla pod
Sea salt & cracked black pepper to season
White sugar
2 Sprig fresh thyme
1-2 Bay leaves
Infusion
Fresh garlic
28gm bunch fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Place a heavy cast pan to heat up.

2. Wash the tomatoes and halve roughly.

3. Place into the hot pan and season with salt, pepper and a touch of sugar.

4. Add the anise and vanilla.

5. Allow the tomatoes to start to cook then press them gently with a masher to help them to release their juice.

6. Reduce the heat down to just simmering and continue for about 1-2 hours until a thickened paste. This slow evaporation of the moisture from the tomatoes will produce a deep color concentrated flavor without any bitterness.

7. Crack the garlic and add along with the basil which is just halved and throw in.

8. Combine with the warm paste and finish with a good amount of olive oil to finish the infusion. Allow to cool before storing ready for use.

NOTES
• If you have added too much sugar to start this can be balanced out with a touch of vinegar.

• Always taste the tomatoes uncooked to determine their natural sweetness before you add the sugar.

• The amount of garlic to infuse with greatly depends on its strength; again make your own judgment.

• Additional seasoning such as cumin, fennel seeds, chili etc can be added this is of course personal taste again.

© 2009 CHEF JEAN CHRISTOPHE NOVELLI

peace~love~happiness,

another yummy location

2009-11-27T13:51:00.002-05:00

Dr. David Green specializes in Sclerotherapy, Starlux® Fractional Skin Resurfacing, Thermage, Tattoo Removal,
IPL Photo-Facials, Botox®, Juvederm®, Restylane®, and Laser Hair removal.

If you live around the Annapolis area, check them out or visit their website here.

peace, love and spreading the yummy,

Curds and why?!

2009-11-26T11:54:00.005-05:00

It's the next day. The soap has set...and as you can see...there is a layer of oil....and the lovely curdle! lol

As I said in the previous post, this is the 4th, 8lb batch that failed. I will have this figured out Friday. I think the culprit is a lovely coconut milk FO. We shall see......
I will whip up a small test batch and see if it curdles.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

this and that

2009-11-25T18:18:00.002-05:00

Well.....today was yet ANOTHER attempt at copacabana (my pineapple & coconut) lovely that use to work. But the last 4 yes, FOUR...8 lb batches curdled!

At first I thought, maybe I just got mixed up and mis-measured. Tried it again. Same outcome...

Then I thought, well, maybe I mis-measured again?! (blonde) So I tried it again. Same outcome...

THEN I thought I'll have someone else measure and I'll fragrance.......SAME OUTCOME.

So today, was the fourth attempt. I ran the recipe thru the soap calc, carefully measured, fragranced and yet again......Can I just throw it out the window?! lol

Seriously. 32 lbs of soap. Makes me crazy!!

Apparently it's an additive. I must have fragranced with a mix of pineapple and coconut and then I found a lovely blend of the two (a different fragrance oil) and have been using that. I suspect it's the culprit.

Tomorrow is festivities with the family...and stuffing ourselves with turkey and the trimmings and ending the night by playing a card game called GUTS. A family favorite! hee-hee

So Friday will be test day. A small batch I'm switching out the suspected FO and see if it curdles.

I will keep you posted!

Happy Thanksgiving! Eat, drink & be merry! :)

peace~love and thankfulness,

been a little naughty?

2009-11-21T16:55:00.010-05:00

Maybe you've seen these before, maybe you haven't. I ran across them on etsy, so this is definitely not my idea, but who ever thought of it first...all I can say is.....GENIUS!

What better stocking stuffer than a sack of COAL? Or soap, that is! ;)

Handmade soap made to look like coal. hee-hee I LOVE this idea!

You can use black soap die, but it would probably take a lot to really pull off a deep black color. Activated charcoal is what I used to bring it to this shade of black.

And the smell....well, like Christmas of course! It's a cute gag-gift....but in the end, it's still yummy soap, so the smell had to be the blend of the holiday tree, smelling fresh of Balsam Fir...and gingerbread men, hot out of the oven, with grandmothers pumpkin pie looking sweet on the counter, with a few cranberries & figs thrown in there somewhere. It's luscious and makes me smile ever time I smell it.

Each sack holds roughly 4 oz of soap. The roughly chopped pieces are placed into the bag and cinched at the top. It's stamp reads: been a little naughty? Sack of COAL.

I can see these in many a stocking...so get to makin' some lumps o' coal soapers! It's fun, pretty easy and will make those that receive it, smile.

peace~love~happiness

adorable pastry soaps

2009-11-21T13:17:00.008-05:00

I first saw these adorable soaps at jabon-soap blog. They are cute little coconut milk based soaps, set into pastry paper and topped with calendula flowers, rose petals and coffee beans.

And so, I'm sharing my, albeit, not perfect, attempt. :)

I'm posting the recipe found on Nuria's blog
800 gr Olive Oil
150 gr Shea butter
50 gr Castor Oil
225 gr Coconut Milk
122 gr lye
Vitamin E

I doubled the amounts, for a double batch.

First I chilled my coconut milk in the freezer until it was almost frozen, but still in the slushee phase. I slowly added my lye.

Measured out my oils- added my lye mixture and stirred into the oils....until incorporated.

I put out 4 Rubbermaid bowls, to pour off a bit of raw soap into each container, to scent.

I decided to scent with lavender EO, rose absolute, vanilla absolute and a lovely EO blend that I make called zen blend.

I then chose my botanicals or toppings for the soap cakes.....I went with rose petals, coffee beans, calendula flowers and lavender.

Ok, first thing I realized is, you want to put these in the paper, AFTER the soap has begun to set up a little. Where it starts to thicken and you can scoop it like thick applesauce....if not, you end up with too runny, raw soap, that wants to leak out of the papers. You can see how loose the soap cakes are with the lavender on top...

As I plugged along, I realized that thicker soap was important, and thankfully, soap thickens on it's own- so this problem took care of itself and I was able to spoon out portions of soap and top with the botanicals.

In the end, they started to look more like what I had seen, although Nuria's soaps are far more beautiful!

And of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't flub something......I happened to grab the vanilla absolute and add it to the soap that I had already dropped a few drops of red colorant into..which was supposed to be the rose....but turned out to be a vanilla rose. :) These things happen. A lot....... To me. ;)

Also, I asked Nuria if the soap would stick to the paper, assuming it would. She said they would stick, but that she uses two papers, when she fills the soaps. After they set, the next day or so, she easily peels off the paper that has stuck to the soap and replaces it with a new paper. Easy peasy.

Try these adorable little soaps yourself. Wouldn't they be fabulous on a cake pedestal? I'll take more pictures tomorrow after these set.

peace~love~and sharing the knowledge,

a new blog for yummy!

2009-11-20T17:39:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Erin with Designer Blogs, such a class act! I HIGHLY recommend her for a revamp of your blog (if you were wanting one.) She's fast, efficient, friendly, everything you could ever want in a blog designer! Smart too!! ;)

Lots of things in the works for yummy. Oh, I can't WAIT to show you what we've got cooking in the soap kitchen. So cute for the holidays too. You'll have to wait for it...I'm still waiting to get it finished. Adorable really...and I'm sure will be in many a stocking this year. I'll get it posted soon so you guys can make some! You'll love it!!

Also the yummy website is being revamped as well. As soon as that's available I'll show it off baby!

Do you like FREE? Yes, of course you do....well, be sure to visit Tammi at myorganizedchaos and see what she's saying about little ol' me! Plus you get to register to get some free goodies......which as Martha would say, is "a good thing!"

The holidays are coming and that means PUMPKIN BREAD! Yay! I've blogged about this scrumptious bread and even shared the recipe.....so be sure to get that! ;) Making that this year to bring to our families festivities. Yum. It's sinful and fat free! hee-hee NOT! REALLY not. Like 3 cups of sugar, NOT! :) But hey, it's good and it's Thanksgiving, which is a time we all stuff ourselves like turkeys! Or maybe that's just me...

Ok dahlings. I'm SOOOO excited to share the latest, albeit novelty item, but still...so cute!

peace~love~happiness,

soaps, lotions & scrubs...oh my!!!

2009-11-15T12:18:00.007-05:00

BUSY little bees here at yummy headquarters! Making Lemon Drop Lotions & butter cream sugar scrub...
Sugar Cookie lotion, Land of Milk & Honey butter cream sugar scrubs, Aww Suki Suki soap.....
Lots to do!

On another note...Yummy's Pass the Brewski Soap is in the Etsy Gift Guide....Gifts for Dad! :)

WOOT-WOOT!

Ok, back to work! :)

XOXO

peace~love~happiness,

A little Yummy here and there

2009-11-12T08:20:00.004-05:00

Welcome and let me tell you, it's a lovely, cool day here in usually sunny & hot FLA! I love this weather and I'm opening all my windows and will be sucking in this crisp, fresh air!

Today's agenda.....SOAP, SOAP and more (can you guess?) Yes! SOAP!
Citrus oatmeal, berry luscious and candy man. This stuff flies off the shelves! I'm thinking my 8 lb molds need to be bumped up a notch. Not quite ready for the 40 lb slab mold. Can you even IMAGINE?! lol That's one big HUNK of soap!!

Some new happenings......Tammi from My Organized Chaos got her hands on some yummy and is dishing out some reviews of the products. Check her blog out. LOTS and LOTS of info going on there...giveaways, reviews, a 2009 holiday gift guide, she's wheelin' and dealin! She's just reviewed the Let Them Eat Cake, holiday lip balm trio and pucker pot. What did she say?? Well you'll have to read it yourself! :) My Organized Chaos

Also, Paula at Green Colored Glasses who blogs about anything eco friendly and green and you know how Ms. yummy loves~loves~loves earth friendly! Some very cool information here, like crayon rocks made of soybeans, and plastic bags that dissolve in water!

Stop by these blogs and say hi!

TTFN

peace~love~happiness,

Two new locations for yummy

2009-11-11T22:15:00.006-05:00

Two more places to 'get your yummy on' :)

Art on 5th
425 5th Avenue
Indialantic, FL 32903

Check it out. Karen is the chic-in-charge. Expect an eclectic collection of watercolors, acrylic and oil paintings, pottery, jewelry, baskets, fabric art, wood carvings, and tikis. Call 724-4490.

and

Shingle Creek Spa
9939 Universal Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32819

Located at the prestigious Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando. Check them out at Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel

peace~love~happiness,

Who needs Mistletoe?!

2009-11-08T20:07:00.005-05:00

Fabulous little lotion bars that smell like spiced fig & brown sugar yumminess!
We made a cute little label and it's packaged and ready to go!

The REST of the day was dedicated to serious organizing and cleaning of the soap kitchen. ALL DAY LONG! I realized that most of my 'stuff' was in big boxes and so I moved everything to clear storage containers and now I can actually SEE what's what! Major overhaul at yummy headquarters! I'm pooped! I must say....having everything in an organized space makes you feel lighter....it must be that feng shui thing! :)

peace~love~happiness,

to reformulate or not...

2009-11-08T08:56:00.005-05:00

If you're like me, you're constantly looking to improve, improve, improve on an already stellar product ;) Case in point, the chocoholic pucker pots lip balms. Yes they are lovely....a beeswax, shea & cocoa butter loveliness with lots of real chocolate but I wanted to make them MORE lip loving...... so off to the lab.

I love using oats in lotions, soaps, etc but this time I wanted to use an oat infusion in the lip balm base. What a difference! I am loving this new concoction! It's not as hard as a traditional lip balm, so this product would not fair well in a lip balm tube, but the little pot, perfect! It's creamy and stays on your lips for a very long time. My lips feel soft, supple and are seriously drinking this lip balm in! I'm the classic-need-to-drink-more-water person and my lips are constantly dry.... So the difference for me is noticeable.

Also made some more lemon poppy seed soap. Its nothing fancy, but is my best selling soap and is hard to keep in stock. It gets its lovely lemon color from the lemon & lemongrass essentials oils- no colorants or fragrance oils here. Just pure natural soap, plain & simple.

I'm also making the most adorable holiday lotion bars shaped like snow flakes and smelling like some yummy brown sugar & fig scent. Think I'll name this one 'Who needs mistletoe?!' and package it in a carry along tin. Pictures tomorrow dahlings....

AND I've made it before, but today will be a shower jelly, shaped in cute little stocking, Christmas tree and gingerbread man shapes. They are wiggly, like jello and hold scent well. They lather like soap and leave you squeaky clean. Lots of fun. Kids love them. Me too! And I found these little corn based eco-friendly containers to put them in. Gotta love that!

Until next time..XOXO

peace~love & always testing,

Rose Bud

2009-11-04T12:00:00.003-05:00

Here are the latest soaps out of the soap kitchen. Handmade with olive oil, coconut oil and cocoa butter. A BIG hunk, weighing in at 6.5 oz and topped with rose buds. It smells so sweet, like a bouquet of roses. I am LOVIN' this!

Until next time, XOXO to you!

peace~love~and smelling the roses,

Simply Scrumptious!

2009-11-01T19:24:00.005-05:00

So, it's Sunday and I have been in the mood to bake some cranberry pumpkin bread for some time now. A few weeks ago I posted the recipe that I've been making for years....a seriously good, no fail recipe I might add ;)

It's different than any other pumpkin bread recipe I've seen as this one has orange juice in it. The pumpkin spice is YUMMO! Can you smell it?!

Also made today, was more Hot Spiced Apple Cider, A Romp In the Pumpkin Patch and Fubar Soap! 24 lbs of soap cooling in the kitchen- My house smells interesting....to say the least!

BUT, the icing on the cake involved my 6 year old son....sitting in the kitchen with me, playing on the computer (online games) as he often does. Usually it's Disney.com or cartoonnetwork.com but today, somehow, he found another site.....something called bumarcade.com. So he says, "hey mom, look at what Mario is doing to the princess!" and I walk over and look at the screen and see Mario, albeit fully dressed, dry humping the princess! (jaw-drops) GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (eye's the size of saucers) and a further glance of the page I see barely dressed cartoon girls with big eyes and hooters to match bouncing around! WHAT THE ?!?!

I quickly changed the screen and decided it's time for the nanny software that blocks this type of trash. OMG!!!!!!!!!!

I know you can't keep your kids unscathed forever.....but I'm so loving the innocence he still has.....

It seems like the world is in such a rush to taint him. If I could only hold it off, just a wee bit longer.....
Can I get an AMEN?!

peace~love~and having a heart attack,

Yummy crew went to Disney!

2009-10-27T19:01:00.008-04:00

This is what happens when the yummy crew heads to Disney. Two had birthdays today, and Disney now offers a free day pass to you on your birthday *if you sign up for it...... They give you pins that say Happy Birthday and every staff member wishes you a happy birthday while you are there! We had them wear tiara's too, because they are little princesses!! :)

We ate, drank, walked and walked some more.....went on EVERY ride, except Space Mountain which is closed until Jan 2011. :(
But overall it was a fabulous day and good to get out of the soap kitchen for some much needed playtime.

peace~love~happiness,

Latest yumminess

2009-10-26T19:55:00.007-04:00

And so, of course, we have to share!! hee-hee

The first of our latest additions to our holiday line, a room spray. Holiday tree is a perfect blend of fresh Douglas fir, sweet musk, warm vanilla, crisp winter air and enchanting Christmas splendor. It's perfect for adding that fresh cut tree aroma throughout your house. You can also take it with you if you're traveling this season, taking a little of the holidays with you, or take to your office and spray that Grinch that sits a few cubicles down. (hee-hee)

This 2 oz bottle is very concentrated so a spritz will do...and this bottle will last you throughout the holidays.

Our next little scrumptious goodie is one of our Butter Me Up's Solid Lotion Pops....It's made with skin loving butters like: unrefined shea, organic cocoa, kokum and aloe butter as well as a blend of sweet almond, avocado and cherry kernel oils. We added just a slight shimmer to this one made it smell like sugar cookies.....yummy vanilla and buttery almond. Wow! It's hard to put down! ((drooling))

It comes in a nifty little take-along push up pop....that you can throw in your purse or gym bag. Perfect! And hey....smelling like a sugar cookie cannot be such a bad thing?! ;)

peace~love~happiness,

Glycerin Soap Trio

2009-10-25T12:23:00.006-04:00

One of our gift sets this holiday season is our glycerin soap trio. Comes with a 2.5 oz slice of Candy Man soap, a 2.5 oz slice of Aww Suki Suki and 2.5 oz slice of Oh Honey, beehive! soap.
It's wrapped in eco friendly corrugated paper and tied with a green raffia bow. All this can be yours for the low, low price of $7.95! :)

It's a great little sampler set that makes even a great secret santa gift.

peace~love~and a little shopping,

WAHHHHHHHHH!

2009-10-23T15:00:00.004-04:00

ARGHHHHHHHH! CHEESE & RICE!!!!! 8#$!% 8 lbs of soap down the drain! It's not happy and neither am I! The evil soap fairy at it again......RUINED a beautiful huge batch of copacabana soap! Ugh.

I should have known when it traced sooooooo quickly! I barely had time to get the colorant in when it was turning to glop! Way faster than normal. I've made this batch dozens of times.....but today..... NO SOAP FOR YOU! :"(

And as I've said.....rebatching and I are NOT friends! Nor will we EVER be!!! What a soapy SHAME!!!

It smells luscious....it's just a big oily mess and I'm ready to chuck it out the window and yell GOOD riddance, but I'm worried some poor animal may eat it and croak!

Soaping is kinda like golf........you may swing and miss the ball.....and start digging a little hole to China :) and you get frustrated....and drop a few F*bombs, ok, well, maybe you'd like too....and then, out of nowhere, you hit the sweet spot...and the ball flies perfectly....it was almost effortless.....smooth and easy. Just lovely.

Not today, I'm digging that little hole to China and biting my tongue!

Misery needs company...feel free to share your latest annoyance :)

a little testy today,

Crazy Daisies Designs

2009-10-21T23:59:00.004-04:00

She recently featured our blueberry lemon pound cake soap in her treasury:

so we wanted to show our appreciation by telling you guys about her etsy shop! Check her out.....she makes some very cool tote bags, change purses and also some adorable button bracelets! The holidays are coming so shop, shop, shop!!

Here's her shop: Crazy Daisies Designs

peace~love~happiness,

Oh the joys of Excel!

2009-10-21T10:31:00.004-04:00

Today is partially dedicated to lotion bars, lotions, body washes & soap but I have this nagging feeling that my day may be eaten by the EXCEL MONSTER!

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE math?! I'm being facetious.....
The 'formulas' that have to be figured out to calculate the page and tally all of the numbers. Oy vey~ this is going to require MUCH more coffee.

How is your day going thus far?? :)

peace~love~and practicing some patience,

BOO!

2009-10-20T18:07:00.005-04:00

Oh I just couldn't stand it. I love themes and went with a spooky theme for the blog and when the holidays roll around I'll switch it up again.

I spent the day making a pink, sweet, luscious soap scented with a Rock ★ dup. It smells EXACTLY like it. Amazing! And one of my favorites, so I'll have to swipe a hunk for my own personal use! Gotta love the perks! ;)

Today a lot less hacking going on...I've had this upper respiratory thing going on for WEEKS now! I finally took a Z-pack ---> antibiotic and it started to go away. I swear I though my lung was going to fly out of my mouth and onto the floor, I was coughing so hard! lol

The swine flu has been going around my neck of the woods and my 6 yo son actually got it about a month or so ago. Had a really aggressive fever that would NOT go away! Well, it would lower to 100-101 then spike back up to 104 degrees! :O Poor little guy. He had to go on Tamiflu and that just made him throw up. I am thankful I didn't get that bug!

On another note, I still have to plan my annual gingerbread house making party. All of the ladies in our family attend- and let me tell you, the competition is ON! It's fun- we make lots of baked goodies and of course- spiked egg nog :)
Last year was "BS" (before soap) and I filled the table with homemade pies, cakes, tarts, cookies, brownies, candies, literally anything you could think of was made, from scratch. Uhhhh...this year.....we'll see :)
My kitchen has become a soap kitchen! I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about! lol

Here are some pictures of the yummy girls and their fantastic gingerbread houses!
This is Jenny and her gingerbread creation!

And Nichol with her award winner! Her creation won first place!

If you look closely, she turned the gingerbread house on its side..so it resembled a cardboard box, put a dirty santa inside and called it "recession santa" lol. So clever!

And this is the gingerbread crew, well, most of them. This year we will probably have 12 or 13 ladies. I'm the one in the green shirt, so now you have a face with the Ms. yummy name.

You should consider a gingerbread house making party for your friends or family. Just buy the kits, and pre-make them. Don't bother making the gingerbread from scratch- It's too time consuming.

It's a load of fun...creates great memories and is just a great way to spend some quality time with those that you love.

peace~love~happiness,

Time to be brutally honest....

2009-10-19T22:04:00.004-04:00

If you're in the 'soap making' business or I should say, if it's more than a hobby....It can be very time consuming. We are gearing up for the holidays..and Jenny, Nichol and I have been seriously busting some bootay lately. I'm talking up at 9 or so and soaping it until 10pm. I use to cook and bake, until I started cooking and baking soap! Now both the pizza delivery and Chinese food delivery guys know me by name! Eeeeek!

I realized, this evening that I need a shower....I need to wash my hair...and shave my legs that look like they belong to Paul Bunion!

This is me...not literally, but you know what I mean...

So, when someone says that the product is handmade, someone spent a lot of time handcrafting it. It was not slammed out by a big machine going 90 mph.

I'm not bitchin' :) I love what I do.... and I'm thankful I get to do something I enjoy. I'm just sayin'......If you know the feeling....do tell :)

peace~love~and going to bed!

Carving pumpkins

2009-10-18T19:05:00.006-04:00

The kids have been wanting to carve some pumpkins....so today was the day. My girls helped their little brother with the cutting and he used his hands to scoop out the messy seeds. Right up a little boys alley! ;)

They ended up with some cool pumpkins.

The "nice" pumpkin:

The "barfing" pumpkin:

and of course, when you carve pumpkins with your two older sisters....things are bound to happen...

In the end, we roasted the pumpkin seeds to snack on. YUM!

peace~love~happiness,

Saturday Night Special on Etsy

2009-10-17T21:34:00.002-04:00

Ello :)

We are starting a weekly Saturday Night Special on Etsy- all items in our shop are 20% off tonight, October 17th, 2009, plus discounted shipping. YAY!

Check it ;) ETSY

peace~love~and savings!

A Sudsy Soapmaker Blogger, I am! ;)

2009-10-17T19:33:00.005-04:00

Six Sudsy Soapmaker Blogs

A big thanks to Patrice over at the The Soap Seduction for posting this! :)

I agree with Patrice, and am blessed and thankful to have my little spot on this big planet and to be able to use my hands to create different products that people enjoy.

TYTY!

peace~love~and thankfulness,

Confessions of a Soapaholic

2009-10-16T21:54:00.004-04:00

Seriously folks! Some serious soap addictions going on here at yummy headquarters--- and HELL NO, we don't want any fixin'! lol

As many of you soapers know, it's a wee bit of an addiction, soaping, that is! You can see another soap and get inspired.....hear of a fragrance and get inspired.....even food can inspire you. It doesn't take much and we run to the soap kitchen, just a itchin' and a scratchin' to MAKE IT! WE GOTTA MAKE IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know who you are.... YES, I'm talking about you! hee-hee
Takes on to know one...but hey, it's all good clean fun!

This bar I just had to make. HAD to make. Just the thought of it was whispering sweet nothings in my head all during the night. I got on this cranberry, orange, pomegranate kick, must be the holidays?! Not sure, perhaps the evil soap fairy (which does exist, by the way)
anywhoo.......the latest concoction from the yummy kitchen....

Dee-lish Soap! We actually tried several ways to combine the words 'pomegranate, orange & cranberry' but it just wasn't working, so dee-lish works! ;)

peace~love~happiness,

Phew! We've been busy!!

2009-10-14T20:29:00.006-04:00

We've also made some scrumptious and I mean SCRUMPTIOUS solid perfumes! Vegan friendly :)

The sense of smell is important. Smell can change moods, turn heads and have someone following you around, just to get a whiff!

Our Oh Honey, Beehive smells like a juicy, sweet orange, slathered in a bit of honey with just a touch of spicy bergamot. It's seductive, feminine, but not too sweet. It will have you saying, "Oh honey, beehive!" (wink-wink)

The second scent is Sugar Plum. A limited edition made specifically for the holidays...smells like pink, fluffy cotton candy and vanilla. It's luscious and you kinda wanna lick it....which in our humble opinion is not such a bad thing. Well, don't actually lick it!

You can pop them in your purse and take them with you. They are vegan, made using candelilla wax, which is a natural non-animal based wax. This plant based candelilla wax grows in Mexico, in the north central plains, and the Chihuahua desert. It is a very hard wax with superior quality and is a perfect alternative to beeswax.

Enjoy smelling luscious, dah-lings!

peace~love~happiness,

Yummy Stocking Stuffers!

2009-10-14T20:23:00.004-04:00

Stocking stuffers for anyone and everyone! Quick little pick ups ready to go in lots of great scents for him or her!

Sugar scrubs, full sized-soaps, travel sized soaps, bath bombs, bubble bars, solid perfumes, lip balms, body washes, lotions and body butters!

peace~love~easy peasy,

Let Them Eat Cake!

2009-10-14T16:33:00.006-04:00

You know if it has something to do with FOOD, we're all over it.....
so our holiday lip balms are cake inspired and oh so yummy!

Strawberry Cheesecake maybe?

Or how about a slice of Tropical Pound Cake?

Actually, you look like a chocolate lover, so how about some Devils Food Chocolate?! YUMMY!!!

peace~love & luscious lips,

The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming!

2009-10-12T23:15:00.003-04:00

Ok, everyone knows this feeling........

when the holidays are rapidly approaching.....and the thoughts start to enter your mind..."what do I get everyone?!" We have been busting our badonka's in the soap kitchen preparing for the holidays with all sorts of yummy (no pun intended) goodies.

So when you are feeling like this....know that yes, somewhere out there, someone else is also feeling like this....

crazy~butt-bustin~busy,

Holiday Butter Cream Sugar Scrubs! Woot! Woot!

2009-10-12T16:04:00.005-04:00

Two scrumptious scents to choose from:

Sugar Plum, smelling of sweet berries and cotton candy, loaded with cane sugar so it's extra scrubby. We also added skin loving avocado oil, but don't be fooled, this scrub will leave you squeaky clean :)

Frosted Cupcake, made with loads of brown sugar, cane sugar and a smidge of cocoa powder, simply sinful! Foamy, luscious and oh so yummy!

You'll find them here----> Yummy On Etsy!

peace~love~and-a-scrub-a-dub,

Beer Soap!

2009-10-12T13:28:00.006-04:00

A great gift that that beer lover we all know and can never figure out what to get them! BEER SOAP! Made with Guinness Extra Stout, with no added fragrance or colors. Eau de natural baby!

This is an olive oil based soap so it's skin loving, and of course, we added a big heaping of cocoa butter, so it won't dry out your skin. Perfect for beer lovers across the globe. It even smells like Guinness!

peace-love-and a little brewski,

Boo! Bath Bombs

2009-10-10T10:57:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, our expert bath bomber- aka soap girl aka Nichol, made some very cute Halloween BOO! bath bombs.

These bath bombs are loaded with skin loving grapeseed oil that leave you feeling as soft and smooth as a babies bottom.

peace~love~BOO!

something every young girl in the world should see

2009-10-08T10:05:00.002-04:00

The Evolution Of Women

peace-love-and a dose of reality,
Ms. yummy

Eco Friendly Holiday Packaging

2009-10-06T15:15:00.005-04:00

YES! When Jenny, one of our head yummyologists came running into the soap kitchen with eyeballs the size of saucers saying, "LOOK WHAT I FOUND!" we all just gasped...when we glanced upon the page. There, pretty as could be was some of the most adorable eco friendly packaging we had ever seen. We ooh'd and ahh'd and all became enlightened about seeded gift boxes.

Giving a hand crafted bar of yummy soap is fab, but putting that fab bar in a seeded gift box that can be planted and will then grow flowers, AWESOME!

We LOVE~LOVE~LOVE this and are sure you will too!!

peace~love~and hugging a tree,

The Funnel Method/ CP soap making by Lomond Soap

2009-10-04T16:17:00.006-04:00

This tutorial is from Corrie at Lomond Soap. If you get a chance, check out her very cool soaping skills!

Funnel Swirls by Lomond Soap

How they're done!
1. Set up your mould, fully lined. You will need to rig up a device to hold your funnel in place. Mine is 4 chopsticks tied together with bag ties! So long as it doesn't fall over whilst pouring, anything will do. For this technique I find that soaping cool to cold gives you the time to separate, colour & fragrance your batch. You can always put it on the radiator once you're done to kick start the gel.

2. Make up your soap base as normal. Stickblend enough to combine your oils & lye. You want thin trace not thick! (If it's too thick it won't flow through the funnel).

3. Split your soap batter into 2 halves, colour & fragrance each one. Again, only stir enough to combine the additives well. You do not want a thick batter. If you are adventurous you could try 3 or 4 colours.In the pic below I'm adding Titanium Dioxide powder to this half.

In the next I'm adding a green colour to the other half.

4. Ok, so now you've got 2 pots of coloured batter. Pour those into 2 jugs ready for pouring. Don't hang around whilst doing this. Have everything ready before you start.

5. Start pouring first one colour, into the funnel, then the other. The amount you pour of each colour will affect the final look, it's trial and error in this part.

The pic below shows the mould about half full, you can see how the swirls are building up.

6. Pour till all your batter is used up. And you're finished! The one I made above is called "Yo! Limey" and turned out like this...It's fun, no 2 bars look the same. For those like me who are swirly challenged, give it a try!

peace~love~and a little learning,

Watermelon sliced soap tutorial

2009-10-04T13:07:00.004-04:00

I was recently in a soap forum and saw the cutest watermelon sliced soaps. I ran across this tutorial from goplanetearth.com and wanted to pass it along. So cute for summer!

Enjoy!

peace~love~happiness,

Halloween is in the air....

2009-09-30T19:43:00.006-04:00

Muhahahahahahah!

And of course, etsy always proves to be the place to find all sorts of goodies. These are a few of my finds, the strange, the unique, the fascinating and the absolutely ghoulish!!!

The Nebulous Kingdom:

The Good Wife:

Sausage Dog:

Ghost Love Jewelry:

Cotton Candy Girl:

Beat Blacks:

Adorn Jewelry:

peace~love~and a little spookiness,

Yummy blog clean up

2009-09-30T10:22:00.005-04:00

As you have noticed, we have spruced things up on the yummy blog. Not sure if I have ever mentioned this but Ms. yummy is a Gemini which means I tend to get bored and want to change things around a bit.

We are also in the process of completely revamping our website, yummysuds.com and in the next two weeks will roll out that little beauty.

In the meantime, I am so loving this fall weather. How about you? I'm on the East Coast of sunny FLA and boy can it get hot here. Today, nice and cool, 74 degrees and sunny....which is my favorite! I love to open the windows and suck in some ~fresh~ air (and an occasional gnat, but that's considered protein right?!) j/k :)

On to days menu is another go at the pumpkin pie soap. With soap, sometimes it's a winner and other times, well, soap flops or morphs, which in this case is exactly what happened. Don't ask why. Could be the alignment of the planets or just the evil soap fairy (which does exist!) actually this time, user error :'(

The last batch turned out lovely.....until......(que dreadful sounding music)......it all turned brown. Why you ask? Well, silly willy me put ground cinnamon into the mix and yes, it went from a lovely pumpkin color to a cinnamon color and the cinnamon completely gobbled up the pumpkin smell, so now it's basically a cinnamon soap. Great for fall, yes, but not what was originally intended. So today it's a gorgeous pumpkin pie soap topped with a huge dollop of whipped cream...or should I say, this is at least what is intended ;)

peace~love~and enjoying this lovely weather,

Hot Spiced Apple Cider Soap

2009-09-27T10:07:00.012-04:00

I love making hot apple cider and it's a staple at my family's holiday table every year. The kids all gather to get a mug or two or three and the adults, well, some have been known to slip a wee bit of apple brandy in theirs! :) It's hot, sweet, spicy and scrumptious!

Inspired by fall and the smell of our beloved cider I've made Hot Spiced Apple Cider Soap. It smells so like a hot cup of apple cider, I wish you all had scratch and sniff screens! Each piece is topped with a cinnamon stick. Yummy!

You can find it here GIMME, GIMME, GIMME!

If you want to make your own yummy hot spiced apple cider here is a recipe I know you'll love~love~love!

Hot Spiced Cider

1 gallon fresh apple cider
8 cinnamon sticks
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup brown sugar *or less
1 teaspoon whole allspice
the peel off ¼ of a lemon

You can either make a sachet in cheese cloth with the spices, or just put all ingredients into a large pot. Bring almost to a boil, then turn heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Pull out the sachet or strain.

Enjoy ;)

peace~love~happiness,