My Promotional Idea

I love projects that I can do with the kids.  So a Melt and Pour kit was a great inexpensive taste of what playing with soap making would be.  The kids had a blast and I did too.  I didn’t really think much more about it other than it was a super easy craft to do with the kids.  When my father in law, complimented me and told me how awesome he thought the soap was and that I should start making them to sell, I started to pay attention. 
I wasn’t all that excited on my own because the project was too easy for me.  I know from watching many Soap Queen episodes on YouTube that the creativity is endless, but I wanted full control over the whole process.  Bringing lye into the house was something that my husband would have to agree with me on, it is a poisonous substance and we have small children.  I never considered it an option because I was afraid to ask if I could.  But when his father was encouraging me, my husband was on board already.
I had already touched on the subject about a year and a half ago when I found the Soap Queens series on YouTube.  I subscribed to a few other Vlogs and watched how they made their soaps, I was completely fascinated.  It was always one of those “someday, when I …” type things. 
Well this came at me kind of fast, and its been a whirl wind for me.  I have subscribed to about 6 more Vlogs on YouTube, I have read two great books cover to cover and I have been researching and taking notes as if I were in school.  This has taken me almost 2 months, I want to learn as much as I can before I spend a bunch of money that we just don’t have on quite possibly just a hobby.
Here are the questions I asked myself before spending anything other than my own time on my inspiration.

1. What inspires me?
   
2. What is holding me back from attempting it?
   
3. Do I have a support system or will I have to fight to get support?
   
4. Am I willing to do a lot of research on the subject, before I spend money on it?
   
5. Am I willing to consider other peoples opinions on some of the choices I need to make?  If No, how important is it to me to have peace in our family? 

I would hate to see anyone put a lot of money into something that they just cannot pursue at this time, because of lack of time, a unified support system wasn’t in place, or the research wasn’t done and they dove in to something without being comfortable with the complete process.  There is an economic crisis right now and being very careful with what we spend it critical, I totally get that we too are living on a very tight budget.
I just want you to make a very educated decision before jumping in.  In my next post I will touch on how I budgeted and created a game plan for how to get started.  Good Luck and have fun, but do it smart so you can avoid the pitfalls.

Easter Egg Decorating, a Unique Way...

We decorate Easter eggs every year, but this year I think they came out the best.  We tried a different method using nail polish, and it turned out amazing.  Check it out!

Easter Eggs 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Believe it or not this is was actually so simple!

1.   We started with a bowl of water, nail polishes and hmmm… well that was it!
   
2. You take the nail polish and drip it onto the surface of the water.  Keep adding color until you get the desired effect that you like.
   
3. Take your egg and dunk it onto the floating nail polish and it will wrap around your egg as you push the egg deeper into the water. 
   
4. Pull the egg out and allow to dry.

We loved this technique even though it was very messy and a bit stinky.  It was fun to try something new, and the results are beautiful. 
I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!  Take care!

Easter Egg Soap

Here at Alice’s Niche we had a little fun with the kids yesterday.  We made wonderful Easter Eggs Melt and Pour Soaps for the family.  I think it came out wonderful!
For our soap making I envisioned striped Easter egg soaps, it was a longer process than I really bargained for, and I have yet to master the pretty aspect of soaping.  But we did fine for newbies. 
1.  I started by making a soap mold using a box that I filled in the center seem with to allow for a flattened bottom.  I then taped it together and cut down the side of the box to make a tray.

2.  I then wrapped the box with freezer paper to allow for a leak proof seal.
 
3.  Then I got my colorant out and chose which ones I would use.   I use this ELF pallet only for coloring crafts. 

4.  Using a tooth pick I took a bit of the eye shadow out and ground them up with my mortar and pestles(for this project I chose 3 colors, pink, orange and a bluish green).  I wrapped them in plastic wrap so I wouldn’t lose most of the color onto their rough surfaces.
 
I just love using the eye shadows for colorant, because you can mix your own colors so easily if you cannot find the one you like.  Here I chose to add a bit more yellow to the somewhat orange color I already had.

5.  I then cut my white Melt and Pour into chunks and placed them into a heat safe container. 
 
6.  I then melted it in the microwave for about 50 seconds (depending on your microwave this might be different for you).
 
6.  I then mixed in one of the colors and poured it into the mold.  After the soap had hardened I popped it out and repeated with the next color until I had all 3 colors made into flat soap sheets.  I then began to cut sheet using a cookie cutter that was in the shape of and Easter egg.  I then bagged up the scraps of leftover soap to use in a project at a later time.

7.  I repeated this until all 3 colors were cut into egg shapes and the scraps were all picked up.  I then stacked the egg shapes into pile of 1 orange, 1 bluish green, and 1 pink.

8.  I then cut the stack into 3 equal parts, creating the “stripes” that I was envisioning. 

9.  I then chunked up a very small amount of clear melt and pour soap and place in a heat safe container.

10.  I then melted the soap in the microwave for about 40 seconds, and added fragrance to it.
 
11.  I then poured the melted clear melt and pour into the cookie cutter about 1/3 of the way up, while holding it on a sheet of freezer paper. 

12.  After the soap had set up I was able to add 3 of the chunks of soap that were of different colors into the the cookie cutter to create the striped egg, then I pour clear melt and pour to fill the cookie cutter to the top. 

13.  In order to make this process a bit faster I began doing the same process but in a soap mold instead.  (Whew!  I didn’t think I could hold onto that cookie cutter forever!)

14.  And here is the final results. 

Natural Soap Making, Why?

I have wanted to start my own business since I was still in high school, I just never found my “Niche”. This fits, and it fits better than I could have ever expected it to, so in my book that means it was hand picked for me. This is the biggest reason why I am starting with soap, oh yeah, and my husband is on board… I only struggle when I am fighting against him, this time, he’s here with me.
I love creating things, whether it be the perfect cup of coffee or food that I just love.  I love the research, the experimenting while making it and the reward in the finished product.  I am rarely dissatisfied even when an attempt was “what seems” to be a complete failure.  I love the knowledge I gain either way.
Soap is not the item I am addicted to, it is the process and art of how everyday items can come together to become something as beautiful and luxurious as the perfect lather.  There is so much more to soap other than the pretty bar that smells gorgeous in the store.  It can also be healing and change your perspective to the day just from the essential oils tickling your nose in the morning. 
I could go on and on but I will try to keep this short.  I have only touched the surface myself of what the craft of soap making holds for me.  I am challenged with the idea of making better soap with every batch I have made.  I look forward to making the perfect swirls and creating healing, beneficial recipes.  I can even safely do some of my projects with the kids, which is the greatest of all greats. 
I would love to keep a journal here to track my progress.  I can write about how I am making it work out for me, so others can possibly find inspiration as well.  How I am able (or not able, lol) to keep my family, household, and a business rolling.  I am a real person and want everyone who reads this to understand that I am by no means striving for perfection.  I am simply making the most from what I have, and I want to share it with you.

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs and I am not Talking Insects.

Well my 10 year old daughter was out of school all but one day last week with this wonderful stomach bug that is going around.  Now my 5 year old son has gotten it too.  What are we are we to do when no one can eat?  Well we waited until everyone got better last weekend before we made chili…  We even had to laugh at the thought of having a chili incident.  It would have been memorable, but not one that we would like to look back at, if you know what I mean.
Well we have stocked up on Ginger ale, and Lysol Disinfectant Spray.  The poor kids that are sick are quarantined and the rest of us can go on as normal for the most part.  My son is watching Jimmy Neutron on my Kindle Fire right now, he seems content.  I have to get going and make dinner for the rest of us.  I hope everyone is doing well.  Take Care!