Busy little worker Elves

The busy little worker Elves have been a buzz with activity here at the Green Lady Workshop.  With the busy season in full swing, and a show every weekend..we have been rockin' and rollin'!

The Big Elf made me some fantastic new shelving for my candles.  He rocks! They are so sturdy and display my product beautifully, plus not to heavy and easy to tote around (which is always a plus).  The back and inside is all open to tuck away the business clutter! LOVE THEM!!

Have used them at two shows so far and they really get the product up to eye level and in your customers faces!  He is going to make me a baby version for my lotions/scrubs!

The baby elves have been so understanding of moms busy season..My six year old says to Dad when I have a show.."Mom has a show Dad..so you get to be Mr Mom today" I love it, it's so cute!

As for this elf..well I have been busy creating, going to craft shows, re-stocking, and doing it all over again!  This is my first holiday season on the show circuit, and while I have a lot of things to organize for next year, it has been great so far! 

Last weekend's Winterfest show was my favorite show so far! It was put on entirely by community volunteers, and every penny of money they earned for the event went back to the community.  The High School Jazz band and show choirs sang, as did the elementary school music programs.  It was a fantastic holiday show and I can't wait to do it again next year!

So while I keep the worker elves busy, and the workshop buzzing, I hope the rest of you have a fantastic holiday season as well.  Remember as a business owner/crafter we run ourselves pretty ragged this time of year..so remember to set aside at least a few of your favorite products...and treat yourself as well!  Oh...and coming next post....I scored on a bunch of trades from fellow vendors that I can not wait to show everyone! 

As always Have a Happy Funtastic Day!

The Green Lady

SOAP testing fragrance #7...Winter in the Pacific Northwest

And Another one Down...Mystery Fragrance # 7 was one of my absolute favorites.  My first impression out of the bottle was crisp, clean, and earthy.  Like fresh snow, mountain air, and pine trees after a hard rain.  Exactly like winter in the Pacific Northwest.  

I had some curls from a previous soap project that had a similar smell to it, and decided to put them to use.  I wanted to go with a more contemporary blue color scheme (Ultramarine Blue from Bramble Berry.com), think fresh, clean, and wintry; a refreshing blue color scheme that doesn't exactly scream holiday.  In my area we love our pine tree smells, so this one may work as a year round soap.  (plus I am not a huge fan of the traditional holiday colors anyway) I also wanted to do another layered soap...loved the layered soap (see SOAP frag #8) from a few posts ago. 

I went with a basic recipe again, but with the addition of yummy Mango Butter that I got on sale a while back from Bramble Berry Recipe is:  30% Olive Oil, 30% Coconut oil, 20% Palm oil, 10% Safflower oil, 5% Castor oil, and 5% Mango Butter.  I am loving mango butter!

This fragrance stayed true to it's scent in the soap and did not morph into anything unexpected.  I pine notes came through more predominately, but did not overshadow any of the 'brighter' notes that I detected OOB.  This fragrance did discolor the base into a yellowish tone, and therefore the non-colored portion ended up a bit on the green side (with the addition of the U.blue).  I also indicated a slight acceleration, which of course made layering a breeze as long as your prepared for the acceleration.  It probably would have gotten to thick for a good swirl, or something that requires more time for play. 

 I thought the colors would come out a bit muddy, but I was pleasantly surprised to note that they did not. As for the curls, that part was pure fun;  after I poured the last layer, I let it set up slightly and slowly pushed in the swirls at different places and various depths.  This one took 48 hrs to harden up before I could cut it, maybe from the mango butter..not sure.  I usually am able to cut within 24 hrs, it was so hard to wait!

Overall I LOVED this fragrance and it would be on my list of fragrances to buy more of if Bramble Berry decides to keep it.  (which I hope they do..please..please)  While it moved fast, it didn't move so fast that it was unbearable to work with.  The scent is strong and true in soap at a 3% usage rate, and the bars turned out Beautiful. 

This one goes to me!

Monica :  5  Mystery fragrances:  2

 Stay tuned for the next installment of the SOAP testing saga, Fragrance #6, the last fragrance to test.