Adventures in Soap Making

Holiday Crazies

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:05:00 +0000

What a crazy few days! I participated in several Christmas sales events over the last couple of days, and still managed to sneak away to see my son Eric play with his middle school band in the state capitol building on Friday.

Thanks to everyone who organized and hosted the events - Martha Cole of Mot's Dots, Kathleen Johnson for hosting the Handmade Holiday at her home, Jane Frederick who helped me at the American Statesman event (and covered so I could watch Eric play the trombone) and Laura Gibson for the wonderful Austin Flea event at the Ghost Room yesterday. Thanks to all the friends old and new who came to shop and spread the joy of Violet Crown Soap this holiday season!

Now to finish up the semester teaching at Austin Community College and make sure I enough soap for the 4-day Keep Austin Bizarre Bazaar December 18-21.

We spent the day clearing the decks around here after the flurry of soaping. Also took some time and bought our Christmas tree - just have to clear out the knitting corner so we'll have a place to put it! Found some PromiseLand eggnog at the grocery store. Bought a bunch of stuff to make cookies for our neighbors ... so much Christmas, so little time.

Watching the bowl announcements as I write this - congratulations TCU! It will be a great Fiesta Bowl. Go Horned Frogs! But of course the BIG news is the championship game - HOOK 'EM HORNS!!! National Championship, here we come!

Back to the routine tomorrow - teaching, soaping, school for Eric...but tonight enjoying a little eggnog and celebrating the Big 12 championship win. And enjoying a few quiet hours with my family.

News, News and more News

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:28:00 +0000

I'm pleased to announce that Violet Crown Soap is now being sold at Authenticity Gallery at 910 Congress Avenue in Austin. They have a variety of scents. Please pay them a visit. Mary Ober, owner, has a very cool shop.

Also pleased to announce that I'll be participating in the Keep Austin Bizarre Bazaar December 18-21. I will be sharing space with Bead Adornments - more on this as details develop.

And I'm making lotions tonight - 1) Eucalyptus and 2)Confederate Jasmine. At my darling sister Sherri's request, I'll be making them in the Body Souffle base - which contains kukui nut oil, mango butter, jojoba oil and cocoa butter. It is a deliciously light lotion that is wonderfully moisturizing. It also contains silk protein and vitamin E. Feels goods, smells good, is good.

I'll also be making an Apple Crumb Pie. Hope I don't confused about what to put in the bottles and what goes into the pie shell.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

SSL Problem fixed

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:59:00 +0000

Finally! I was able to work with my hosting provider and get this handled. No more nasty warnings that the SSL certificate is bogus - it never was; there was just an issue with the way it was registered. The difference is that you no longer get scary warning messages!

All is well - so shop to your heart's content!

http://VioletCrownSoap.com

Violet Crown Fall Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:56:00 +0000

Mark your calendar

Violet Crown Fall Festival
Saturday November 14
Crestview Shopping Center
7100 Woodrow Avenue

A fun and neighborly way to spend a few hours on Saturday...maybe do a little early Christmas shopping. We'll be there and hope to see you.

Holiday Shows

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:48:00 +0000

I didn't get selected for the Cherrywood Art Fair this year - after participating for 5 years! There's a new artist coordinator and I understand they wanted to shake things up a bit, but I'm bummed that I got shaken out.

I will be participating in the Violet Crown Fall Festival on November 14. I'll post more details soon. And my friend Kathleen is hosting a home show; let me know if you're interested in details.

And, of course, you can order on line or give me a call. Just don't look for me at Cherrywood this year (sigh)

New Soap - Benefits Cancer Research

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:49:00 +0000

I've decided on a name for my new soap blend - Esperanza. The name means Hope in Spansih. It's a lovely pale, pale pinkish colour with an woody, somewhat herbal, little bit scent. The scent is hard to describe,but it's very pleasant.

Violet Crown Soap will donate $1 from the sale of each bar of this soap to the American Cancer Society.

Get clean for a cause! I've added the soap to the website and will get a picture up there asap.

suggestions for name

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:32:00 +0000

I made a soap with a new (to me) essential oil blend - Rosewood, Rose Geranium, and a touch of Sweet Orange. It's mildly floral, a little woody. Let's have a contest! Help me name my soap and I'll send you a bar!

Test batch- personalized soaps

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:37:00 +0000

Out of the mold and ready to cut and stamp - an uncolored batch of soap scented with a beautiful fragrance oil called Confederate Jasmine. Stay tuned for pictures of this sample batch

Personalized Soaps Available Soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Violet Crown Soap will be offering personalized individual-sized soaps very soon! The soaps will be small (about 1.5 " square) and can be personalized individually. Use them for baby and wedding shower favors, wedding party gifts (bridesmaid and/or groomsmen),etc.

The soaps will weigh about 1.5 ounces each, and will be sold in sets - 8 for $16.

You'll be able to personalize each soap with a different name or sentiment, with a date, or with the same information. I'll have samples ready to photography in the next 10 days.

Watch for pictures! I'll be adding the soaps to VioletCrownSoap.com and to our etsy store (www.violetcrownsoap.etsy.com) as soon as they are available.

Special Orders

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Violet Crown has received a couple of special orders in the last few weeks. One is for a business, and the other for a baby shower. We have verrrrrry low minimum requirements, so don't think custom soap is out of reach! Think of us for wedding favors, shower gifts, corporate thank you gifts...We can custom cut and label the soap with your message at extremely reasonable prices. Email Contact@VioletCrownSoap.com to get started.

Split Soap

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Violet Crown soap bars are fairly large. I recommend cutting the bar in half. They are easier to handle that way, and your soap will last longer. Put one of the pieces in with your towels or lingerie. I keep a piece in with my knitting so my yarn smells good.

But don't save your soap too long! Our soap is made to be used and enjoyed...don't be afraid to use it. We'll make more!

Price Rollback!

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Price for soap is rolled back to $5 per bar!

As I talked about in an earlier entry, the price I was paying for Olive Oil skyrocketed in the last year. Since Olive Oil is the majority of my soaps, I had to raise the price to recover some (not all!) of the price increase. Happily, the price I'm paying for olive oil has dropped back down - almost to the old level.

SO...I am dropping the price of my soap back down, as well. Sadly, the prices for essential oils - notably lavender and patchouli - haven't shown any indications of decreasing. But I think I can live with this.

I will be busy lowering the price on each item on the website. If your order doesn't reflect the $5 price, please let me know and I'll correct it before charging your credit card.

Thanks for cleaning up with Violet Crown Soap.

New web things

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:02:00 +0000

I've set up a page on Face Book - very fun. Lots of interesting people, and this seems like a good way to keep up. If I just had something interesting to write!

Also, I set up an etsy store for Violet Crown Soap - violetcrownsoap.etsy.com - please check it out. If you're familiar with www.violetcrownsoap.com, then this will look pretty familiar. Any suggestions?

I have a little bit of free time, but used up all my soaping supplies for the Christmas season - have to visit Holly at Texas Natural Supply next week so I can start experimenting. I got some ideas from some of the folks who are members of Texas Soapmakers - if you're a soapmaker in Texas, you should check this out and really think about joining! Here's the site: http://www.txsoapmakers.org

I've been knitting like a mad woman...I knit many hats for family members over the Christmas holiday. There is no shortage of hats in the Sandoz family. Also made a felted purse, which turned out quite nicely. Felting is very cool. Thanks to Renee for telling me about it and getting me interested.

Stay tuned...

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:48:00 +0000

Hello, friends and Happy New Year!

I am on extended vacation until my retirement is official at the end of the month. I will teach accounting as an adjunct at Austin Community College, and will also work during tax season at a local CPA firm. But, it's not the same as working a full time job, so I hope to have more time to make soap.

The economy has made it a tad scary to move ahead with my plans to retire, but it was the right thing to do for my family and for myself. I am looking forward to having more time to spend with my husband, sons and sisters, and some very special friends that are an important part of my life.

I also have a few knitting projects on the boards and am thinking about adding a few other knit accessories to the website to keep the washcloths company...we'll see. It's pretty warm in Austin, but every now and then a knitted hat or scarf come in handy.

First on my list of soap experiments is salt bars. I hope to have that going next week. Stay tuned for results.

Cherrywood Art Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:09:00 +0000

I'll be at the annual Cherrywood Art Fair this weekend (December 13 & 14). This is a great event and a wonderful opportunity to pickup some unique and reasonably priced Christmas gifts.

Maplewood Elementary
38 1/2 Street & Maplewood Avenue

For more information, check out the site

www.cherrywoodartfair.org

Hope to see you there!

Site accepting orders

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:06:00 +0000

After some frustrating issues with the ssl certificate, our website is working again! Sorry for any frustration this may have caused. Please let me know if there are any other problems with the website.

Happy shopping!!!

Skyrocketing Costs

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:48:00 +0000

Wow! I just placed my big order for oils and butters to make soap for the holidays and the prices have gone through the roof. Olive Oil has DOUBLED since last year. Since olive oil is at least 35% of my soap, that represents quite a cost increase. Essential oils, particularly lavender and patchouli, have also shown huge increases.

I am struggling with the decision about whether or not to raise the price of my soap, because I want it to be affordable. But I want to be able to afford to keep making it. My cost have increased about 75% over the last 5 years, and I've raised my soap price from the original $4 to $5 - which is a 25% increase. Not quite keeping pace with my costs, but I don't know if I'm comfortable going much higher.

There are many folks who wouldn't consider paying $5 a bar (my current price) for soap, but there are quite a few who will pay a little extra for something hand made with care using good ingredients. I'm blessed that some have found Violet Crown Soap and I can count them as my customers.

I'm considering a 50 cent per bar increase. One thing that I will have to do is reduce the amount of discount I give for the 3-bar price at shows.

If you have any thoughts, let me know.

Learn to Make Soap

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:07:00 +0000

I am a proud member for the Texas Soapmakers Association. One of the things this group does is have a convention each year. The convention is in Austin this year, July 18-20. Registration is open to the public.

This year, we are doing something new -an introductory soapmaker's class will be offered. You don't have to register for the convention to attend this class.

For more information, check this link:
http://www.txsoapmakers.org//meetings/upcoming.php

Why am I doing this?

noreply@blogger.com (Lea) — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:49:00 +0000

In my work-a-day life, I am an accountant. In my real life, I am a wife, mother, sister and friend who makes soap. As I approach retirement from my work-a-day life (less than 9 months!) I thought it might be fun to chronicle my adventures.

My soap-making time is limited, and often happens in marathon sessions when I have a show coming up. Generally, though, making soap is very fulfilling. It requires planning and patience - a lot like cooking. It is very special to me that I can make something that people use and like.

So why a blog? I have many new projects planned - liquid soap for one. Also beer soap and salt bars. I thought my customers might be interested in the process. See you around.