Let's Get Together: Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Today I am playing along with the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, put on by the Coffee Loving Card Makers.  Coffee and card making are two of my favorite things so it was fun to join in! My card is very clean and simple. The coffee cup and sentiment are part of PTI's Heart-2-Heart #1 mini stamp set, then I added the steam and striped straw from an old SU! set called Like it a Latte. I tied some hot pink baker's twine to the top and that is it!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend!


 
SUPPLIES
Stamps: Heart-2-Heart #1 (PTI), Like it a Latte (SU!)
Paper: Stamper's Select White, (PTI)
Ink: Hibiscus Burst, Hawaiian Shores, Dark Chocolate, Soft Stone (PTI)
Embellishments: baker's twine

Father's Day Soaps

For quite some time I've been wanting to make some masculine scented soaps. I'm happy to say that I have three ready just in time for Father's Day!

This is one I've been wanting to make since last Father's Day. Beer soap! This is my Oatmeal Stout Soap and it is made with real Guinness. It smells so good I want to eat it.

The Guinness naturally darkens the soap to a beautiful chocolate color.

It is topped with a sprinkling of rolled oats to complement the oatmeal stout fragrance and add texture. The beer lover in your life will love it!

Next up is my Salty Mariner Soap. This one has a delightfully clean scent to it, reminiscent of a sea breeze. This fragrance is actually quite popular with both men and women.

Made using the hot process method, it has a delightfully rustic edge.

Finally, Shave & a Haircut Soap. This cold process soap smells just like an old time barber shop. Two out of two dads chose this scent as their favorite! :)

I am so happy to be able to add some guy friendly soaps to my line. I would love for you to check out these new fragrances in my Etsy shop. Also, if you have any suggestions for future fragrances you would like please let me know!

Mimosa Soap

Hello! The final soap I will be sharing this week is my Mimosa Soap. No, there is no champagne in this. It isn't named after the cocktail, but rather the fragrance of the mimosa flower. Or acacia dealbata, if you want to be fancy.

Honestly, I didn't even know there was a mimosa flower until I came across this fragrance. It turns out that mimosa is a flowering tree native to southern Australia. It has a lovely, exotic floral scent.

Thank you for joining me this week as I introduced my handmade soaps. I'm am excited to have them available in my Etsy shop year round and look forward to adding new fragrances!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy Mother's Day!

Rose Soap

Welcome! Today I am sharing a bit about my Rose Soap. This one is fun because it uses a natural colorant to give it its pretty pinkish/orange hue. The secret? Paprika! The spice doesn't affect the texture of the soap or cause irritation, it merely lends its coloring to the soap. How fun is that?

 I love the craggy edge of this rustic looking soap. This batch was made using the "hot process" method, and though that term refers to how the soap was made, it also seems aptly named because the final bar does have a look which reminds me of hardened lava.

And here it is all packaged up and ready for giving. Enjoy!

p.s. Check back tomorrow for the final soap post of the week. :)

Peach Soap

Hello! It's unofficially soap week here at The Apple Crate and I am showcasing a new fragrance of my handmade soap each day. Living in Georgia I've been wanting to make a peach scented soap for a while, and here it finally is!

This soap smells so much like a ripe peach I almost want to eat it. It's heavenly!

One of the wonderful things about handcrafted soap is that it is made using natural ingredients. This soap is made from coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, distilled water, lye and fragrance oil. That's it! No strange chemicals you can't pronounce.

To find this peach soap, and all of my other soaps, visit me on Etsy at theappecrate.etsy.com.

I hope you're having a great week!

Lavender Soap

Hello, friends! As some of you may know, I have been toying with the idea of adding my handmade soap to my Etsy shop for over a year now, but I am the sort that will think over an idea to death before actually taking the plunge. Sometimes this extra thought is a very good thing, and sometimes it just means I need a good kick in the pants to actually get going!

Up until now the bulk of my soap has been sold locally at Crafted Westside, but I have been holding back some of the bars from my most recent batches and I am happy to announce that they are now available online in my Etsy shop at theapplecrate.etsy.com!

I'll be showcasing some of my soaps over the next few days to introduce what is currently available. This is my lavender soap, made with all natural ingredients. Lavender is always a favorite fragrance, and these bars also include lavender buds. Being a soap maker I am lucky to enjoy using a handcrafted bar of soap every day. I would love for you to share that experience, too!

Dreams Believed are Dreams Achieved

I mentioned previously that we have a bevy of graduates in our family this spring so I'll be needing a lot of graduation cards.  This design is my favorite so far. I had some map paper from a previous project and liked the idea of pairing a map with a graduate card. Maps, travel, and new horizons seem fitting for one embarking on new adventures.

I used an inspiring sentiment from Papertrey Ink's set For the Graduate and embossed it in gold across the front of the map. I love how it turned out! It is clean and classy looking. This one is destined for one of my husband's cousins who is graduating from college.

This design is also available in my Etsy shop in case you also have some graduates you will be needing cards for. This particular card showcases Alaska, but if you have a different part of the world that is meaningful for your own graduate I would be happy to make a custom order for you!



SUPPLIES
Stamps: For the Graduate (PTI)
Paper: Stamper's Select White (PTI), map paper (Paper Source)
Ink: VersaMark
Other: gold embossing powder