Tons of SOAPY fun!

We have been a bit SOAPY over here at the GLC Studio!

In preparation for our summer shows we've been soaping up a storm! Since we make our CP soap the old fashioned way it takes 5 weeks for our soap to cure before it's ready for sale, this means that we have to be fortune tellers sometimes and try to get a fix on what we have planned for our summer shows.  I have made 16 batches of soap these past few weeks....that's over 135 bars of soap sitting on our curing rack! It feels good to have accomplished a goal!

So here's a sneak peak just for you!



Blackberry Sage

No name for this one yet, but I loved doing it! This one is a Faux Funnel pour.  It's scented in a fruity concoction of my own creation:  take a little bit of pineapple and coconut, add some ginger, and finish it off with a bright lime chaser!

Pomegranate; bright and fruity! I'm hoping this one doesn't discolor, the fragrance did state it had a bit of vanilla it in.  I guess we shall see!

Simple.elegant.soap:  Green Clover & Aloe. 

This one is a bit more perfume than I thought it would be, hoping it will calm down just a little bit.

And what is soon becoming a favorite of mine...and especially my husband.  This one is a custom blended Ocean type fragrance.  It's very clean and brisk.

Sometimes it works...and sometimes it doesn't

Ever have one of those batches that looks great sketched out on paper, and beautiful in your minds eye?  You've made a plan, sketched it out, readied your ingredients, have the perfect fragrance picked out..essentially everything is ready.  And then you make it, it's all going great, your fragrance behaves beautifully, you can see your idea coming to life, and when your done you look up and say "this is going to be awesome"...and right there...you've jinxed yourself. 

because the next day you unmold to find this horrid looking block of soap that just doesn't look good to you.  The colors are off, the fragrance turned into something that doesn't match the color scheme, or the entire project just didn't work.

Yep I've had a few of those...and just last week I had THREE in a row....thank you to those mischievous little soap pixies.

Wanna See...

I'll start at the beginning....It was a beautiful day...just kidding!

I got this amazing fragrance from one of my favorite Candle Fragrance suppliers called Pineapple Coconut.  It was so yummy OOB that I fell in love, it reminded me of the shampoo that really good salons use when you go get your hair cut, absolute heaven.

I tried originally to put it in a candle, but it has to much coconut in it and ended up smelling like toasted coconut/pineapple skewers...yuck. So in to the Soap fragrance bin it went (I love it when they are body safe too). 

My first plan with Pineapple coconut was to accent the pineapple with yellow and green colors.  I was thinking a yellow base with green top and make it spiky, or add soap curls for added pizazz. 

Wrong..bad...horrible idea...the curls looked terrible so I cut them off thinking that would help..nope wrong..still horrid. (well at least to me)

Once I cut the curls off I tried to bevel the edges and get it looking better.  By the time all was said and done they were not near the right size or weight that my soap should be.  Into my find something to do with these bin they go. 

 Then a few nights later I came up with a great idea.  So I shredded 2-3 bars of the above soap's yellow part only.  I thought how cool would it be to use the soap shreds in the bottom, with white on top.  Brilliant, I know I've seen it done before somewhere (sorry can't find where & I forgot to pin it) So There I went planning another experiment.  I had it all sketched out and ready to go. After pouring I had the hardest time waiting to un-mold..I was dying to see if it worked.

It did not...the layers did not stick together and some of the bottom portion fell off.  Maybe not enough alcohol spritz in between layers, or too much of the shreds? I don't know. 

]\

I was determined to at least try to save this batch the best I could.  I cut of the bottom portion, and just cut the bars much thicker than my standard bar so they at least where the correct weight.  It's going to be a bit of extra work making a soap wrap that is the right size just for these bars...but it was worth it to save this otherwise beautiful batch!

  

I do plan on trying one more batch of this fragrance.  I know I am a sucker for punishment.  However this time I will go basic, no fancy footwork or experiments just a nice plain, but elegant batch.  My goal this time is to try and get it whiter and more whipped texture on the top...and of course some glitter.  I am really loving this new glitter I got from Bramble Berry I am quickly becoming addicted, because, well every girl likes a little sparkle every now and then!

Thanks for taking the time to read this unusually large blog post, sorry it was so long.  I hope that if you were not inspired, you at least learned from my mistake, and if anyone has done the soap shreds with desired results; my hats of to you!



It's officially begun

The Spring Craft season kicked off for me this past weekend at the Marysville Spring Craft Show.  It felt really great to be back at the shows.  I met some amazing new people and had a great time chatting with old friends.  I was extremely lucky to get a great spot, not only was it right by the entrance, but I got to be next to my favorite fellow artisan; Teria from Huaracha Studios.  It's nice to be close to a friend that knows your stuff as well as you, especially for those much needed bathroom breaks. 

I got great feedback about my table displays, and everyone loved the new soap shelf my father built me for Easter.  I am however going to change up the color of my tablecloths, and stain my shelving to add a little pop to my booth, it seems like to much light brown to me.  I haven't quite decided what color yet, maybe some black or a splash of blue somewhere, so if anyone has any ideas feel free to share!

I have been super busy in the workshop working on a bunch of soaps for the summer season.  I find myself a little apprehensive about my first full on summer season.  I have 5/ 2-3 day festivals that I want to do this summer, and in July I have a festival every single weekend.  So I have been a busy bee soaping diva these past few weeks.  I had a few ideas that flopped, but am looking forward to sharing all the new stuff with everyone. 

Have a great day!

Hurray for Spring Fragrances

I am very ready for spring.  It is Spring, right? I thought so..was confused because this morning I woke up to SNOW on the ground.  Talk about crazy.  The sun came out pretty quickly though, and the dreaded snow was melted in the blink of an eye.  Here in the Pacific NW we see mostly rain..and more rain this time of year, this sun/snow/sleet/rain is making me nuts.

To celebrate Spring we are introducing SIX brand NEW Fragrances in our Soy Candles.

Raspberry Sangria: (My Spring Favorite)

fragrance rating: *** Strong

 Made just like your favorite sangria - We start with a pile of juicy red raspberries, add some cherries and grapefruit, lots of sweet red wine poured on top, and a hint of orange as a garnish!
so yummy

Lemon Chiffon:  ** (medium-strong)

Smooth and creamy with the perfect amount of lemon, crumbly crust and warm vanilla, a baker's dream come true.

This fragrance oil is infused with natural essential oils, including Lemon and Clove.

Green Tea & Lemongrass: * (a nice light fresh fragrance)

This bright and natural smelling citrus begins with a top note of orange Valencia, bergamot tea and plum wine. The heart combines jasmine, violet, lavender and orange flowers. The dry down is a clean citrus musk.

This fragrance oil is infused with natural essential oils, including Jasmine.

 

White Lily & Amber: ** (medium)

A soft background of white amber and musk provide a comfortable backdrop for crisp top notes of dewy cyclamen and smooth mimosa with middle notes of white lily.

Botanical Orchard: ** (medium-strong)

Succulent, tender and overflowing with the luscious orchard aroma of apple and pear delicately balanced with the freshness of lily, pear blossoms, osmanthus and sweet orchard nectar.

Earthly: ** (medium)

Rich cedar, sandalwood, and amber with light notes of evergreen and fresh cut grass.

All six of our new fragrances have gone through our extremely rigorous testing process.  Out of dozens of spring inspired fragrances, only these six were good enough to meet our high standards.  All of us here at GLC and our fantastic family of testers have given each of these new fragrances two thumbs up!  We hope you enjoy them as much as we do...check out our events page to see where you can find us next so you can sniff them yourself!

We are also pretty excited to introduce a new product this spring: GLC Fragrance Spray- Air and linen freshener. 

Also we have fantastic new packaging for Soy wax melts!

You can check out all of our products online at:

www.greenladycreations.com

And make sure you check our events page..we are applying for lots of summer shows and will be updating it as approvals come in! We hope to see you on the road this spring/summer!

Have a Fantastic Day!

A Party Fit for a Princess

Have you checked out Pinterest yet?  I have and let me tell you..there are some amazing ideas for creating just about anything!  For my nieces 4th birthday party my amazing sister put together a party fit for the princess she is.

Now first and foremost I must say this:  The creative juices and elbow grease that went into planning and creating the projects shown go entirely to my sister, Angi.  She spent hours finding ideas on pinterest (although most of the time I say...I'm going to check pinterest quick and find myself still surfing hours later) plus she spent countless more hours making every single aspect that went into this party; now my assistance came much later...during the actual fun parts.  Second I must say sorry for the long post. I wanted to share with everyone the fun I had, plus as most of you know I love taking pictures..and may have went a bit overboard on that aspect.



Chocolate Cups

These chocolate cups were the funnest part of the party.  You really had to wait to get the melted chocolate to just the right temperature or the balloon would burst spraying everything in a close vicinity with chocolate.  As you can see from the picture if you look close...there are a few pieces of burst balloon down there!  Once the chocolate is fully hardened you pop the balloon and pull the pieces out.  Then the chocolate is the bowl for the ice cream! It was fantastic..nothing says fun like eating the bowl too!!! 

Inspired by this pin on pinterest:  http://media-cdn4.pinterest.com/upload/157344580701205504_PubFWmf7_b.jpg

  

Pretty Pink Princess Cupcakes

Adorable cupcakes with bright pink frosting and adorable crown cupcake wraps.  The cupcake wraps were cut out using a Cricut machine.  The cupcake frog pics where cut out using the same cartridge with the Cricut.

Cupcake Stands and Princess Hats






  

With just a few items from you local craft show, and some white paint you can create an adorable little cupcake stands like these.

 Inspired by this Pin on Pinterest:  http://modernmomentsdesigns.com/2010/12/09/mini-cupcake-stand-diy-tutorial/



Princess hats inspired by Tangled, with their long flowing ribbons and embellished with pretty princess crowns.  All paper embellishments are cut using the Cricut.

Oreo Pops

Oreo pops! What a fantastic creation.  Double stuffed oreos on a stick (which would have been great all alone) dip them in white chocolate and they are a doubly good sweet treat! Inspired by this pin: http://media-cdn6.pinterest.com/upload/183732859767603199_A8lMA6XL_b.jpg

Princess tutu's for the special little princesses, handmade and simply adorable.  We had to cut one down for the littlest princess though. 

The four little special princesses got their very own table and all of their goodies to wear for the party.  The faces on those little girls was priceless. 

As I said before a few of these projects were inspired by posts on pinterest..so if you haven't checked it out you should! 

A HUGE thank you to my amazing sister for letting me share with you her creative ideas.  She looked at me like I was crazy when I told her I wanted to blog about her party!

As always have a great day!

It's been a bit quiet over here...

I have been quiet lately, and I am very sorry!

Not a whole lot going on over here..I did get all of my spring soap finished and all of my new spring candle fragrances tested and ready for production.  I thought I would share with you the new spring soaps and bath & body stuff, as well as a few other things I'm working on.

New Spring Soaps



White Ginger





this is what it looks like from the side..pretty huh!





Energy



I love the white ginger and energy they are both so refreshing, and perfect for spring.  The White ginger ended up just how I wanted it (which as we know does not always happen).  The energy was supposed to be a swirl, but somehow I did not pour it early enough and it was too thick for a good swirl, it still turned out nice though.






Sweet Pea

 

Sea Glass

 

The Sea Glass is so pretty, the colors ended up very beachy, which was exactly what I wanted.  This fragrance moved fast so it's not really a swirl or a spoon pour, more of a mash up of both.  I started with spooning it in and had to move quick so swirled it also.  I think it turned out great.



 

White Lily & Amber

The white lily did not turn out as expected at all.  The fragrance on this one heated up like no other and did not hold up very well in CP.  It's still very nice and you can smell it, but not as strong as I wanted it to be.  I added a lot of Titanium Dioxide as it was supposed to be bright white with a pink top.  This fragrance dc to a light tan.  I love working with curls, and my customers love them.  The Spunky Violet is no exception! It's a beautiful fragrance and the soap turned out great!  The soap has three color layers: purple, green, and white.  I am happy with the way this one turned out!

 I like the plumeria too, it's always a good selling fragrance.  It morphed a little in my soap vs my candles, but is still a nice fragrance overall.

These are my new lil' freshies..."Fragrant little fresheners for just about anywhere" aren't they super cute?  So far they are doing great at shows, everybody loves them.  I am working this week on getting more fragrances into the fresheners, and am hoping to eventually have every one of my candle fragrances available in a freshie.  They come packaged in a recyclable plastic ziplock bag to keep them fresh.  I use them in my car, and in my closets...I love them!

We are also working on Fragrant body oil.  It will come in one ounce glass bottles for now.  I am working on some fragrance blends as well as some essential oil blend.  These are not stocked yet..I am working on it though!  My other project this week is Fragrant Body and Room sprays, I don't have a pic yet, but they are my project for this week as well as stocking all the spring candles. 

So there is what I have been working on.  I have a lot on the calender this week including stocking up on all of the Spring Candle Fragrances..I'll post a list of the new scents next blog post!  I am also working on a new candle collection inspired by my love of magic and enchantment! Next week it's on to some more soap projects as well as working on votive candles to add to our collection!

I hope you are all keeping busy also...I for one can not wait for the spring shows to begin! 

Have a great day!

Oh What a Crafty Day

My final project from our Snow-cation. 

I was not sold on the colors of this jewelry set, but ended up LOVING it once it was finished. 

This particular project came in a kit from Ben Franklin crafts.  It was a gift that I received from Santa this year.  I just love it when Santa shops at my favorite craft store!!!

I got two beautiful necklaces out of the items in the kit as well as 3 pairs of earrings, one bracelet, and a mini bracelet for my daughter.  I plan on taking this look and making a few more like it in different colors.

I Love the chunky look!

I was not very happy with the quality of the pearls in the kit, although I didn't really expect to much (some of those kits are just not very high quality I'm afraid).  When I make some more I will buy a better quality pearl and some good quality chain. 

I love the little bows.  I am thinking I could take this style and add my own steampunk flair to it...just need to find some fun steampunk charms!  I LOVE Steampunk.

It's been a while since I've made jewelry and I have to get back in to practice...but overall not bad.  I dug through my craft bins and was happy to find I still had some lime green glass pearls that would be awesome!

As always Have a great day! 

I have a soap project up my sleeve...hoping to work on that project soon!