 Our family has been using my Peppermint Soap for the past couple of weeks and I am loving it! It is fresh, invigorating and not an overpowering scent. It is sort of like having a fresh pick me up every time I have a shower! I heard my husband talking to one of his friends the other day and I was totally amazed when he said that he really liked using my Peppermint Soap! I mean...my husband does not talk about soap! It is sort of a "no go" zone for him...so I was surprised to say the least, and also a little bit happy. That was affirmation for me, even though I overheard a conversation that wasn't meant for me. This got me thinking about Father's Day and catering my soaps for the men in our lives. I had not actually thought about that before! After hearing how my hubby really enjoyed using the Peppermint soap, I thought that this soap would make a fantastic and inexpensive Father's Day gift. Next, I looked in my soap stack and saw the Australian Eucalyptus soap and it was another 'light bulb' moment! Here I have two perfect soaps for men! So often, men get stuck with the heavier scents like Vetiver, Heavy Spices and Bergamot...Fresh invigorating Peppermint and Eucalyptus is a welcome change! So now my new project! Make more fresh invigorating soaps that appeal to men and also to the women in their lives! Package them for Father's Day and I will have the perfect gift for my husband and yours! In the meantime, you can purchase these two soaps from my Etsy shop and see what you think! Let me know if there are any other fresh masculine scents that I could be using for that special man in your life! Father's Day is just around the Corner.
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 First plants from the failed experiment. Too many flowers and droopy leaves.  New set of plants for the 2nd attempt experiment. Pineapple Sage. Science 101 for Mums- What to do when the first project fails and there is now only 2 weeks until THE DAY!In a previous post, Science 101 for mums-Panic! I was in panic mode as my son's science project's D-Day was rapidly approaching! Now instead of rapidly approaching...the prospect of a failed experiment and the beginning of a new one looms like a dark cloud on the horizon of my home's sanity! Why do teachers do this to us? Don't they realise that it is parents who suffer! Of course they do...I used to be one of those teachers who helped to contribute to the panic in many homes as assignment D-Day loomed ever nearer. Are any of these phrases familiar?...
And of course the list goes on and in the meantime...no science project anywhere in the near foreseeable future! So, with a protesting son we set off to the local nursery to choose plants for his second attempt at something that will resemble a science experiment. This time he chose the plants (which weren't on sale!), so he had better not forget to water them! Now, armed with three pineapple mint plants, seasol and fertiliser, we head home to re-start Science experiment mark 2! This one is simple...
Next step....finding the cardboard, getting the photos printed and creating something to display that looks like a lot of time, effort and scientific thought went into the entire project. Note to self- must remember to buy glue, sticky tape, cardboard, get photos printed, textas and colour pencils!!! Who's project did I say this was? That's right...I forgot...it's my son's! Disaster Update!
Could anything else go wrong? Plant number 2..Seasol, has been crushed under the weight of our recycle bin and a hammer! How can this happen you say...two words...husband gardening! 
Fair-trade
If you have a spare 20 minutes then this documentary from New Zealand is interesting and informative with regards to Fair-trade coffee.
Do you love the aroma of freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning? I know that I do. Even though I am not a coffee drinker, I still love the aroma of coffee. It smells so inviting, comforting and yet invigorating all at the same time!
That is one of the reasons why I decided to make a lovely coffee soap. Using Fair-trade organic coffee beans ground and brewed, and then the coffee grounds, gave my coffee soap a beautiful colour and gently exfoliating texture. I do have a few rules when it comes to coffee, tea or chocolate...they must be Fair-trade...preferably organic, but that is not as important to me as being Fair-trade. When I purchase Fair-trade, I am in a very small way, helping to make my protest against the use of enforced child labour, enforced or unpaid labour, and unfair, dangerous practises in many areas of the world. For me, buying Fair-trade is my ethical and moral choice in a world where we chase the cheapest product without thinking about the human cost that went into the making of our cup of coffee, bar of chocolate or cup of tea. I have uploaded a lovely story for you to read if you wish to learn how Fair-trade has helped one coffee farming couple from Papua New Guinea. There are also some links for you if you would like to read a little more about how your purchase of Fair-trade products, helps to support others in our global community and create a fairer world. 
Fragrant Eco-Soy Melts for my homeWith the new season of Master Chef hitting our screens on week nights and Sundays...a new wave of cooking inspiration has arrived in my kitchen! Why is it that for most of the year cooking for me is a chore...but when Master Chef is on I feel inspired to create something in my kitchen? I guess it is because I can see such enthusiasm from these amateur cooks for the food they create...as for me...my enthusiasm is short-lived...at least until the next season of Master Chef! With the increase of food smells coming from my kitchen, (some good and some not so good), my home began to hold onto the lingering aroma of food. For me, that is ok if I am baking bread or making biscuits and cakes...but when it comes to fish or curries...I prefer my home to shunt them out the window and not so lovingly hold onto them so that they infuse furnishings and waft up the hallway into the bedrooms! I didn't want the smells and I didn't want the chemicals found in supermarket chain air fresheners and air-wicks...so I thought that I would try some soy melts. I love scented candles, but these are not always practical in a busy home with lots of traffic. I prefer to burn my candles in the evening for their ambience and the fragrance is an added bonus! I made some Eco-Soy melts and scented my first batch with Citron Vert a phthalate free fragrance oil. Citron Vert is vanilla scented luxury combined with caramel, brown sugar and tart citrus notes of lemon and grapefruit seed. Need I say more?! It had an amazing fragrance that lasted for hours and hours and hours! Not only did it last for hours, but it simply eliminated the odours building up in my home from cooking! I was hooked! I then made some Cherry Blossom soy melts and voila! No more smells! This Cherry Blossom fragrance is also phthalate free and is a floral delight with notes of red currant, pomegranate combined with pink cherry blossom, magnolia and orchid. Simply lovely! I sprinkled some Rose petals over them which helped to intensify the fragrance. My home smelt wonderful for days!
If it is fragrance you want in your home...then I don't think that you can go past soy melts. They throw more scent than a candle and with much more intensity. I love them! I can now cook my Master Chef creations, experiment with spices, make my hubby his curries and can still have a sweet smelling home! You can find the AllSorts of Soap Eco-Soy was melts by clicking here. Happy cooking everyone and here's to a fragrant home as well!! |
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At a Child Survival Project in the Dominican Republic.
JanineHi! Welcome to my Soapy Conversations about Soap and AllSorts of other Topics! I live in NSW Australia and I am a mother of five, Grandmother of Five and I sponsor seven children through Compassion Australia. I love making soap, reading, teaching English, and being an Advocate for children and women living in poverty. Archives
April 2016
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