I believe....

Something I read today has given me much food for thought - and no, it is not about soap....lol.

"I believe an important distinction can be made between religion and spirituality.  Religion I take to be concerned with faith in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another.  Spirituality I take to be concerned with qualities of the human spirit, love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, that bring happiness both to self and others" ~Dalai Lama

Spirituality is something I have been learning about more and more on my life journey.

On another note, I made a wonderful Goatmilk & Oatmeal Cream yesterday, leaving half the batch unscented for my daughter to use for her contact dermatitis on her hand and scenting the rest with a lovely blend of lavender and rose geranium essential oils.  I have a couple of testers in mind for this lovely cream and if feedback is as good as I hope then this cream will definitely become part of my expanding range of body lotions, butters and creams.

 I also made my very first soy wax tarts today!  I definitely have more to learn about doing this, however I am really very happy with my very first creations.  I will be putting up pics very soon of my new creations *smile* 

 

Take care and have an inspired week.....

 

Bridge to Bridge ~ Erin-Louise fights for a life without lupus.....

"Making a difference starts with one step....."


Erin-Louise is the daughter of a friend of mine who is an amazing lady!  In a quote taken from here :-

Erin-Louise Povey is just 26 years old and is living with lupus. Lupus is a chronic incurable auto-immune disease that affects 5 million people worldwide. There is no known cause and consequently no known cure. More People are living with Lupus then Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS, Sickle Cell Anaemia and Cystic Fibrosis COMBINED!


Please support Erin-Louise as she fights against lupus by dressing as a human-sized monarch butterfly and walking over half of the 1000km journey from Brisbane Story Bridge to Sydney Harbour Bridge in a campaign to raise awareness of Australia's least recognised disease, lupus.

Please click the above link and support Erin-Louise in her amazing journey!

Tanya :)

Busy Week......

.....and a sad one too.  My mother-in-law passed away on Monday night, peacefully after a long illness.  Until a few days prior we still thought she may regain her health somewhat, however this was not to be and her time had come.  She spent her final few days peaceful and content, enjoying her many visitors and phone conversations with loved ones and friends.  It was such a blessing to see her reconciled to her next big adventure and satisfied with her life here.  Goodbye and Blessed Be Doreen!


Today I have just finished making my third emulsified body lotion in time for Mothers Day and I love this one!  Each one has been different, with a different blend of oils and other ingredients.  Each one has been targeted for a different result too.  My first was a nourishing light lotion for dry/mature skin.  My second was a balancing cream for all skin types and especially for oily skin.  My third is a light lotion, again for all skin types, aimed at value for money.  I am in love with each of them and looking forward to my next formulation *smile*


If you are intrigue with the idea of creating your own lotions and creams I can highly recommend two websites for you.  The first is the recipe formulary of one of my favourite suppliers - Aussie Soap Supplies (click the link to the left of this blog).  The second is Point of Interest, an extremely helpful and interesting blog created by Susan Barclay-Nichols (link in my Blog List on the left as well).


My next creation will be a cream incorporating boths goats milk and colloidal oatmeal (oat flour) and left unscented.  My youngest nephew suffers a great deal with eczema and so far the only two things that help sooth his skin are shea butter and oats.  A cream tailored around his skin sensitivities is already buzzing around in my mind!


Take care and to all you Mums (or Moms) out there - have a wonderful Mothers Day!


Tanya

Welcome!

This is just a quick post to welcome my new followers!  I will have some new pics up soon so you will all have something to look at ;)  I am running in a new (for that, read 'borrowed') camera since my old one died and once I work it out I have several new batches to take pics of.


Meanwhile, I do have a couple from recent batches to show you.  I posted about a 'Bloke's Soap' I created on March 2nd here and this is the cut pic -

I am calling it Guys'n'Dolls because every girl who has smelled it loves it too, so definitely not just for blokes!


Dreamy Apple was made using a scent I have been longing to try in soap for ages.  One of my favourite smells in the world is a crisp, juice apple and I found the perfect fragrance oil to use.  This scent sticks so well and it is all I can do not to take a bite out of my soap!

Have a wonderful day people *smile*

A Wonderful Information & Resource Website......

Soap Making Essentials is an excellent site, created by Cathy Winsby from Canada.  I first happened upon Cathy's site when I joined a soap making forum where she is a member. 

Cathy has pulled together some wonderful information about the process of soap making, materials, methods and formulas for the beginner and advanced soap maker alike. 

To browse her wonderful site, please click on the link button on the right hand side of my blog page and enjoy!

Have a wonderful day :)

I Love Surprises!!!

....so imagine my delight when a parcel arrived the other day for me from my good soaping friend Clear Marie of Artisan Soaps in New Zealand.  Clear is an extremely conscientious soapmaker who makes beautiful soap, creams, balms and a range of bath and body products - all of which are tested carefully and scented divinely!


left - Desert Rose Castile soap; centre back - Orange Creamsicle Body Powder and Chocolate Orange Lip Balm; right - Aussie Surfer soap; centre front - Coconut Coffee Bastile soap. 
Aren't they wrapped beautifully?  I love the coreflute card and colourful paper or thread ties....earthy yet elegant at the same time:

Here they are with the soap wrappers removed -

You can see that Aussie Surfer has a cut line down through the middle.  I was planning on cutting each bar in half to use in my shower, with a half bar to keep.  I cut it before I remembered to take some pics, so here is a look at the inside of this bar *smile*...now I can say I did it on purpose....what a perfect mica line!

I will be using Aussie Surfer in my shower first and I am so looking forward to trying each of these lovely soaps!  The body powder is so silky soft and light - it is already a favourite - and the lip balm is perfectly moisturising without being heavy.


Thank you Clear!!!

Soap Spa Parties.....

My soap table seems to be taking longer and longer to set up for my Soap Spa Parties.  I decided to display my soap at home and take some pics to study in the hopes of streamlining what I do....lol.

Gift Sets......

Normally I just unpack each box of soap onto the table in any order.  What do you think of my colour palette set up?  This will be easier to remember at least!  Of course, I had hardly any body butters or salt scrubs left, so I will need to rethink distribution again!

Have a wonderful week everyone *smile*

In the mould......

I made my Eye of the Tiger soap today and ohh...it smells sooo good!!!  It has a lovely, mysterious and oriental scent with creamy base notes that perfectly compliment the tiger colours I use.  I add macadamia nut oil for its moisturising properties as well as cocoa butter.  Cocoa butter is considered a skin softener in skincare as it adds a protective barrier which holds moisture to your skin.

Here are a couple of pics of Eye of the Tiger in my Nizzy mould.....

If you would like to see pics of this soap unmoulded you can visit my facebook page for Titania's Dreamy Delights HERE

Enjoy your weekend! :)

Australia Day Soaps ready for labelling.......

Last month I posted some 'in the mould' pics of the soaps I made on January 26th (Australia Day) and as they are now ready to be labelled I thought I would take some pics before doing that :)

 

Bay Avocado, with pureed avocado and banana

 

9ct Gold, with carrot juice and mustart seed oil

 

Unscented Goatsmilk, a mostly Olive Oil soap - gentle and mild

These soaps are ready in time for a Soap Spa Party that one of my customers is hosting for me on Sunday.  I am really looking forward to sharing these!

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Soap for Blokes......

Recently I have been asked by several guests at my soap spa parties to make soap for 'blokes' (guys in US vernacular).  My reply was "I have several soaps that men like", and I do.  My Lime in de Coconut, Eye of the Tiger, Very Vanilla and Dreamy Coffee & Cream soaps are all popular with my male customers.  However, several ladies have menfolk who want soap that doesn't have too much 'stuff' in it....you know, like butters and milks and fancy oils and fruit.  So here is my first attempt, still in the mould.  I scented this with an essential oil blend of lime, lavender and patchouli and it smells gorgeous!  Uhhh...I mean 'masculine' *wink*

(I will admit that I couldn't stop myself from adding silk....shhhh, don't tell on me!)