Saturday, January 30, 2010

AND THE WINNERS ARE.....

After reading all of your lovely comments and tallying all of the votes...the winner of
SHOW THE LOVE ~ the SAFEteam Valentine's Day Challenge is

Stop by her shop and pick up a bar or two of this jem!!
And the winner of a free bar of "Be Mine", chosen at random by random.org, is

you can check out her blog here!

Thanks to everyone for their votes and kind words! This challenge was our most sucessful so far! And the next one is just over the horizion. Check back often so you don't miss it ;)

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

"Clean the World"

As soapers we often have a lot of scraps, ends, dented bars...what to do with all of them??? We can make confetti soap. We can sell them as seconds. We can chuck them in the garbage.

What we should do is help support Clean The World. Their goal is save the millions of lives lost each year to acute lower-respiratory infection and diarreal illness by distributing recycled soap with the appropriate educational materials to sustain good personal hygiene practices. To do this they collect soap and shampoo scraps, rebatch it, sterilize it, and distribute to people that are in need.

Right now, we are moving supplies into Haiti. Clean the World is concentrating on moving hygiene products and medical supplies into the Haiti Relief Effort. You can help by donating funds and/or hygiene and medical products to Clean the World.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

SHOW THE LOVE ~ the SAFEteam Valentine's Day Challenge

LOVE
noun, verb, loved, loving.
~a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.
~a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.
~a love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour.
~affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor.
~strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything: her love of books.
~the object or thing so liked: The theater was her great love. the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.
Valentine Day –noun February 14, observed in honor of St. Valentine as a day for the exchange of valentines and other tokens of affection.

Are you single, dating, married, divorced??? No matter. Valentines Day is for everyone.
Here we show you the love. Here are our interpretations of Valentines Day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Enchanted Hearts" by Pacific Paradise

Enchanted, alluring, enticing, romantic, love, passionate, tenderness, sweetheart....all in a bar of soap. Pink and red swirled handcut hearts and double hearts were embedded in this enchanting soap. This is the perfect token of affection to give your sweetheart on Valentines Day to show your profoundly tender passionate love.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38930572


"Be Mine" by Anhoki

love –noun'

As defined in the dictionary is "a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend."
~Love... to me... is long walks on the beach and not having to utter a word.
~Love is the birth of a child.
~Love is caring for your elderly and frail family and friends.
~Love is awesome puppy kisses.
~Love is shaving your love's head during a very difficult time.... and while they don't feel beautiful you still look at them like you did in the beginning.
~Love is bringing chicken soup to those who can't raise their head enough to acknowledge it.
~Love is never having to say you're sorry.
~Love is experiencing pain and STILL being there to offer that hug, kiss and feeling of always being there.

I can not express how beautiful this blend is. Sandalwood, vanilla, mosses and oak blend together to make a wonderfull and surprisingly unisex scent. Sensual, sexy....comforting and romantic Sandalwood Vanilla is a blend for everyone.

Show her OR him how much you love them with our Sandalwood Vanilla Be Mine soapie.
Created via the cold process method our soapies are made with olive, coconut, palm and canola oils with black, brown oxide and titanium dioxide.
Like a snowflake no two bars are identical.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38963651


"With Love and Kisses Duo" by Thistle Delight

I could not decide on hearts, or hugs and kisses, so decided to offer both as a duo. These beautiful cold processed soaps are embeded with red hearts, and red hugs scented with white roses, and pink hearts and pink kisses, scented with tuberose. This is a special challenge soap from safeteam of etsy. We like to challenge ourselves while being the best and safe soapers on the block. These soaps would make a wonderful gift for your sweetheart and you both. Have a nice relaxing tub soak together with matching soaps.

It is all good clean fun.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38955948



“Two hearts” by Swan Mountain Soaps

I had big plans for this challenge! However, life got crazy for a bit and they didn’t happen. But life is like that. So then I wanted to re-batch some of the soaps I already had and make something new. When I looked at my Cherry Coconut shampoo bars – which have been a regular seller for so long I can almost make them in my sleep – though, I got to thinking. Really, I like them just the way they are. It took a long time to perfect this soap. They aren’t flashy, but they are a reliable seller. And I love the scent. And the color. Why go looking to change a good thing?

And then it hit me. This challenge is about Love. These good old reliable soaps in a way are like my marriage! When you’ve been married for 22 years, there isn’t always a lot of sparkle and flash. The excitement is replaced with a warm, wonderful friendship and a kind of love that can easily be taken for granted … like the soap that sits in a bottom shelf because you know you can grab one whenever you need it. It takes a long time to build this kind of love. And while it may not be perfect, you don’t mess with a good thing.




"Chocolate & Flowers" by Krug's Eco~Logic

I wanted to make a soap that incorporated at least two of the items woman love to get for Valentine's day - chocolate and flowers. This soap is scented with a natural Rose Absolute blend and the colorful swirls of soap on top represent a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. I have used dark unsweetened chocolate to create the dark brown color.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39125827




"Two Hearts, One Love" by The Skin You're In

This cold processed soap was inspired by the song, Two Hearts by Phil Collins. I made a couple different renditions of this soap but chose this one as my challenge entry. The white soap base includes shredded cold processed soap in pink, purple and dark pink and the pink double-heart embeds are also cold processed soap. The scent I chose is called Black Linens and Lace, slightly sweet, deep and very seductive

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39092790


"Big Love" by Soap Scentsations

At the risk of sounding romantic and overly sentimental about a day that I really think is a little corny ( I mean really – Cupid??! ), I’ll talk a bit about the idea behind the soap I created for this challenge.

Sixteen years ago the sweetest young man sent a girl a bundle of beautiful roses. She fell for him almost instantly not realizing that this was only the beginning of a life shared together. Some might call it kismet, chance, or even luck. I like to think that they were chosen as a blessing for the other. They are a near perfect balance to each other; two very different individuals, yet they have come to a point where they can read the other with just a look and know what needs to happen next. What seemed like a spell in the beginning where two hearts came together has become a true, deep love that really can’t be measured or understood.

The Love Spell scented layers of this soap are a reflection of 16 years of growing together. The top layer is composed of two intertwining hearts; separate entities yet one. The lower layer is mix of the two upper colors. At first glance it may seem chaotic, but in reality it is like a fine tuned piano playing melodically. And of course this is a very BIG bar weighing twice as much as my standard bars.

Ok, I know this sounds really corny…but I do love this man (yes that little ditty was about my husband and myself) and Valentine’s Day is very special to me because it marks when we were chosen for each other. So forgive me if I sound a little romantic and even sentimental…here’s sending you a BIG LOVE!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38947445


"My Heart" by KB Shimmers

Sweet roses and jewelry can make a girl swoon, but all I need is a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. My husband knows I love chocolate, and nothing is better for a sweet treat then chocolate covered goodies. Peanut butter, cherries, or my favorite, a creamy raspberry vanilla cream covered in a dark, crisp shell.

This soap is my ode to St. Valentine. A raspberry vanilla scented heart is swirled with lovey shades of red, pink, and raspberry, all set against a dreamy white. But we can't forget the chocolate. Rich, dark, creamy, chocolate surrounds the heart. But, like any love, the heart should not remain hidden, wear it on your sleeve I say, just like the tiny heart that is showing on top! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38821896

--------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW.....Vote for your favorite!!!
Leave a comment with your pick to enter to win a bar of the soap with the most votes!!!! Voting is open till FRIDAY!!! Winner announced on Saturday!!
And stay tuned...there is anther challenge right around the corner!

Monday, January 11, 2010

A Perfect Match Part I

As soap makers we all know the importance of a good soap dish! Soap dishes provide many services. They keep your counter goo free, many will help preserve the life of your soap, and most importantly, they add character, beauty and style to a room!

Here are some picked for their functionality as well as their beauty!