BROOKLYN LYCEUM


Nice.. i dig the flyer for the BK Lyceum.

This will be my last craft show for the holidays.. December 20th and 21st. I am thinking the next show I will do will be around Valentine's Day. I need the month break!

P.s. I must be out of it, I just realized I was going to buy a shirt with this design on it from the artist for my bf's birthday.

CUSTOM STAMPS



Woo.. in a good and bad way. It's passed 2am and I am not in bed yet for my morning wake up of 7am. I've been trying to figure things out for the upcoming craft fairs.. pricing, gift boxes & dimensions, and printing gift wrap paper basically all day. Then I wanted to at least get something done, so I made some custom stamps on simonstamp.com. One for muslin bags that will hold soap (and whatever else I want to use it on) & another for my paper bags. I think in the long run these will come in handy.. these are very small images of them, but what do you think? Lets hope they look nice when they come! Need bedtime..

ONE SPOON OR TWO REVIEW

One Spoon or Two is far and away my favorite Dirty Loves Clean soap yet!

I'm a little bit of a hedonist. I'm the kind of person who thinks that too much is just enough. That's why I love that One Spoon or Two is superfatted by 5%! Superfatting is a soapmaking technique that saturates the soap with oils, which leaves the skin smooth and hydrated. One Spoon or Two contains 40% olive oil and a positively decadent 10% shea butter, which leaves skin feeling healthy and moisturized. I noticed right away!

But it's not all the creamy oils in One Spoon or Two that makes this soap my favorite. It's the scent! This soap is full of organic brown sugar and it smells good enough to crumble on top of apple cobbler. The sugar gives the soap a rich, distinct sweetness with a note of molasses. And my skin smelled absolutely delicious all day!

If One Spoon or Two is rich and sweet enough to satisfy this hedonist, it's sure to be the perfect indulgence for anyone on your holiday shopping list. This soap is definitely a crowd pleaser! Beware flirtatious strangers inviting themselves into your house to sample.

Available for purchase here!

Next up: Spike My Cider

-KATIE

CINNAMON CIDER & AMARETTO COFFEE

These might be two of my favorites! I love the way they smell and they are pretty too. My friend Jamie came over and helped me which is always nice because things get hectic when I am trying to do a few soaps at a time.. they start to get thick and then don't pour into the mold and everything becomes a mess, haha. I put real coffee grounds into the Amaretto/Coffee soap. The bottom half is coffee scented with the grounds and the top is amaretto with the coffee swirled. Then I did another batch of Spike My Cider (cinnamon cider) with cinnamon sticks (did you know these things are almost $1 each, crazy!) except this time I did not use apple cider since last time that made the bar softer. and melt faster.

VEGAN LIP BALMS & OTHER STUFF

My etsy shop has been looking quite empty- that is because I am preparing for some big craft shows that are coming up. If you haven't checked out my calender on the side of my blog, it shows all the different events I am participating in.

So last week I actually received two e-mails regarding my lip balms..

I purchased your oatmeal-cookie-monster lip balm about a month or more ago at that flea market in brooklyn. I completely love it. I love that it's not gooey and it keeps my lips moisturized far longer than other lip balms. - Mary

The laundry ate my lip balm. I bought the My Dear Marzipan lip balm outside Prospect Park subway a month or two months ago. Unfortunately it died today in the laundry. Are you located anywhere to buy a new lip balm? I very much enjoyed it and would like to get another. Thank you! - Kellie



I love little e-mails like these! I just put in an order for lip balm flavors.. let me see if I can remember all the flavors that I will have.. Oatmeal Cookie-Monster (all natural), I Have a Dreamsicle (all Natural), My Dear Marzipan (all natural), and ones that need names: Buttercream, Chocolate Cream/Fudge Pop, Courvoisier Brandy, Pomegranate, Peppermint Ice, Chai Tea, & Gingerbread. I tried to get a bit of a variety from foody scents to fruit to mint.. If you have any name ideas, shoot them my way! If I ever use ideas people give me, I send them soap samples ; ).

And about the lip balms, they will be for sale at my fairs and available on etsy probably within 2-3 weeks.

Anyway, I am going to be quite busy these next 2-3 weeks.. I am going out of town for Thanksgiving so that really loses me a lot of needed prep time. I hope I get everything done.. lots on my to-do list! The Holiday Handmade Cavalcade is coming up on the 6th and then BUST the week after!

PUMPKIN SPICE & EVERYTHING NICE [SCENTED] SOAP REVIEW

Just in time for Thanksgiving, today I sampled Dirty Loves Clean's Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice soap. I reviewed this soap's unscented cousin last week and just adored its understated, natural sweet smell the scrubby steel-cut oats. I couldn't wait to try the scented version!

The scented version of Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice has everything I loved about the unscented version: real pumpkin puree, real oats, and lots of moisturizing olive oil and shea butter. But the scented version has several layers of perfectly-blended fragrances to complement the subtle sweetness of the natural ingredients. Hints of spice and pumpkin mingle with a satisfying note of pie crust for a soap so tasty, I wanted to put it in my mouth. And, as always, my skin felt clean and moisturized and all-around yummy.

This soap would make a lovely Christmas gift--perfect for your perpetually-dieting Auntie or your cousin who could use some incentive to bathe more.

Available for purchase here!

Next up: One Spoon Or Two?

-KATIE

SNEAK PEEK.. ON THE CURING RACKS

Where my soap hides away to cure in my apartment..

POLL RESULT

Which scents are your favorite:

1. Fruity
2. Foody
3. Floral
4. Minty
5. Woodsy
6. Musky

Anyone want to get more specific? Comment!

NEW SOAPS: CHRISTMAS TREE & LEMON DROP COOKIE












F
igured I should take more pictures of soap making in action, haha. For the Christmas Tree soap I grinded some dried seaweed and luffa. I topped the Lemon Drop Cookies soap with some turbinado sugar 'hearts'. Both soaps got a bit messed up because they were poured too high and so the top got a little smushed. I find that the soaps never come out exactly how I picture it.. but good none the less.


Since foody scents are probably my favorite- I've tried a bunch of different kinds and I have to say.. Sugar Drop Cookies has got to be the closest smell to real food... mmmm..
soo good, want to eat it.

More pictures following this post.

Today I am trying my hand at "salt bars"- Laundry and White Tea scented.

HELLO CUPCAKE! SOAP REVIEW


Happy Friday, everyone! Katie here again.

This week, I have been trying a new Dirty Loves Clean soap every day.

Manic Monday mornings call for something sweet and comforting. That’s why I loved starting my week with Hello Cupcake!

Michelle put real sprinkles in the batter for Hello Cupcake, and the brightly colored bits in this tasty soap bring a touch of whimsy to my morning routine. Hello Cupcake smells sweet—good enough to eat!—but the smell isn’t overpowering or cloying. The natural ingredients in Dirty Loves Clean soaps create a pleasing natural scent—nothing like the nasty artificial perfumes and chemicals we are used to lathering up with. Mmmm…between the sweet natural scents and the skin-nurturing oils, how could anyone go back to normal soap after they’ve had Dirty Loves Clean?

Tomorrow morning, I’ll get festive with Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice!

-KATIE

WEEK OF REVIEWS

Hi Y'all!

This is Katie, Dirty Loves Clean's copywriter! I live in Atlanta and am an editor at a children's book publisher for a living. I love writing for Dirty Loves Clean because I love supporting homegrown businesses that emphasize eco-friendly business practices.

To put us in the holiday mood, I am going to be reviewing 6 of DLC's holiday soaps this week. Today I got hot and soapy with Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice (the unscented version).

This is actually the first time I have used a DLC soap and I am honestly in love. This soap is fragrance-free but has a subtle sweet and oaty smell that comes naturally from the pumpkin puree and organic oats. The blend of oils made my skin feel instantly softer, and the scrubby oats gave me a good exfoliatin'. I worked up a good lather and stepped out of my shower with soft, smooth skin, smelling just faintly of a bowl of pumpkin oatmeal.

I am so excited to try Hello Cupcake tomorrow morning!

Bust Craftacular


"Congratulations!

You've been accepted as a vendor for the 2008 BUST Magazine Holiday Craftacular in NYC! Thanks so much for submitting your application and fee-- we're thrilled to have you involved in this event!"



NEW YORK, NY
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2008
10:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Metropolitan Pavilion: 125 West 18th Street, NYC



Yay! Okay-- I need to go to sleep though, Brooklyn Indie Market tomorrow!

Esty sale in 30 mins!

Halloween!

A little late.. but I wanted to do a Halloween post to show off a few things.. first, a melt and pour soap project. I have only made melt and pour soap a couple times, so these did not come out perfect, but I was just making them for friends and family ; ). I scented them with an awesome pumpkin spice fragrance (which was not as spicy as the fragrance I used for my cold-process soap, and dare I say, I like it better personally) and put in cute glow-in-the-dark Halloween themed duckies. The end result looks a bit like a kindergarten project, but those are my favorite kind.

I also used a stencil to decorate some envelopes and Jared made a card with a drawing/design of his, and a silly picture of us holding a heart carved pumpkin. I wanted to send a picture because we don't see our families much at all, and (some of them) like to put our pictures on their fridges, haha. Sadly Jared and I did not do a big pumpkin carving thing this year. Everything has been getting pushed to the side because of all the work he has been doing, but now that he is done with two of his main projects, he's been able to sit on the couch with me (and sew his plushes, another project for an art show) while I am lazy and watch tv ; )


Also wanted to show off some Halloween themed cupcakes- at least I got to participate in a couple crafty Halloween things even if we didn't carve pumpkins together (The heart pumpkin was carved by me very quickly before he came home from work so that we could get the cards out). One thing I love about making soap is that it brings back more of the joy of holidays to me.. I like to do holiday-themed soaps and since they have to be made at least a month in advance, I am feeling very holiday-ey lately (I'm sure there is a better word for that).

Jared and I of course waited till the last (couple of days) to decide what to be for Halloween.. so we went with something easy-- red riding hood & the wolf. I wanted to be a little more *unique*, so I decided we should be fancier. I think that came through more with Jared's outfit- but then again, someone on the train thought he was Michael J Fox from Teen Wolf, haha. We thought simple and easy, so all he bought were some ears, fang teeth (which he wore on the bottom instead of top), and some gloves which he sewed fake black fur to. He works near some fabric stores in the city, so he bought me fabric for my cape and even sewed it for me! This picture does not do it much justice, but he actually sewed it as a circle and added a hood. I forced him to try using the sewing machine and he is happy he did, although he's still hand sewing small pieces right now actually (on to some neat plushes he is making) but I'm sure he'll start using the sewing machine for everything soon enough. I told him it'll be his job to hem our (future) kid's clothing someday ; ).

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