Pocket Full of Sunshine Boutique

Everlasting Plastic -- Another reason to use natural

2013-06-27T13:56:00.001-07:00

This is a shared article, not one penned by myself. Very interesting!!!
All the more reason to use salt or sugar scrubs!!

Plastics in the Great Lakes

Guest post from Dr. Marcus Eriksen, executive director of The 5 Gyres Institute
When we joined the crew of the Flagship Niagara to study plastic pollution in three of the Great Lakes this summer – Superior, Huron, and Erie. We had no idea we would find a greater number of plastic fragments than any other water surface sample collected around the world.
The 5 Gyres Institute has traveled to each of the five subtropical gyres in the North and South Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean, collecting over 500 samples of the water surface. In the Sargasso Sea we had a few samples with over 400 particles of plastic pollution. Our net has a 1/3^rd millimeter mesh with a 60cm wide opening. It looks like a manta ray, and is towed behind the boat at 2knots for one hour, so you’re collecting roughly 2 football fields of area when you trawl. You can imagine our surprise when we counted 1596 particles from one sample taken a couple hundred miles east of Cleveland, Ohio. But the fragments are tiny.
They look like little perfect spheres, multi-colored beads, the size of the period at the end of this sentence, and they’re everywhere. These micro-beads are difficult to find in the water. They are dirty, look just like fish eggs, and you need a microscope to tell the difference. But they are easy to spot on store shelves. In fact, many products say “microbeads” on the front, and in the ingredients section you’ll see “polyethylene”. They are the exfoliants in skin care products.
They are designed to abrade you face when you rub those creams into your skin. They are designed to wash down the drain, quickly finding their way into our waterways. This is the exact opposite of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) we aim to see in everything we manufacture, where you consider the full lifecycle of your product when you sell it. It’s just common sense. No longer can we consider the land and sea to absorb garbage unnoticed. We bought 4 skin products to see just what the exfoliating materials are.
Two of the products state they contain microbeads, and when you dissolve them in water and pour it over a t-shirt, what’s left behind is plastic. Two of the products were different, after dissolving them in water, we found crushed apricot shells in one and cocoa beans in the other. One is the problem, the other is the solution. We’ve uncovered a problem, once unseen, but now obvious to us all. The alternatives, Apricot shells and cocoa beans, do the same thing that polyethylene microbeads can do, but with the added benefit of being environmentally benign.
There are three approaches that must happen simultaneously in order to reach a positive conclusion. First, the consumer is responsible for their choice, both at the checkout line and voting booth, so we must raise public awareness. Second, EPR is a legislative move, one that makes companies adhere to the right choice. But we prefer the third option here, the one that puts choice in the hands of the companies making the product in the first place. Businesses, like Nutrogena and Johnson & Johnson, have known about the natural exfoliants for years, but they may not know that their product pollutes the Great Lakes. With this information, we believe good people will do the right thing. This means ending the use of plastic microbeads in consumer products.
This study was conducted in collaboration with SUNY Fredonia, specifically Dr. Sherri “Sam” Mason, and with funding provided by the Burning River Foundation.

Beer Soap

2013-05-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

I made a batch of beer soap some time ago and was very put off by the smell. I decided to give it another try since I had purchased some alcoholic beverage fragrance oils. I helped myself to one of my husband's beers and there was no turning back. Unfortunately, despite adding a considerable amount of Oatmeal Stout fragrance oil, I still only smell the icky smell I remember from my first attempt. I will stick it out and see if perhaps it will become more pleasant as it cures. Here are pictures of today's soaps.

Blackberry Jam

Cucumber Cantaloupe

Watermelon

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Oatmeal Stout Beer Soap

New Soaps

2013-05-25T15:09:00.004-07:00

It's been quite a while since I made soap, so, today was the day. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out the way I planned. I wanted to try to delay the browning effect of fragrances which contain vanilla, so, used a vanilla color stabilizer for the Chocolate Covered Strawberry loaf. For some unexplained reason, when I added the fragrance/stabilizer to the soap, it turned bright yellow. I wanted it to be creamy white.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry

Cucumber Cantaloupe

Rosemary Eucalyptus

Biker Theme Baskets

2013-05-24T14:03:00.002-07:00

I was asked to make two baskets to be used for Chinese Auction at upcoming biker events. This is what I came up with.

Gift Baskets

2013-05-10T10:53:00.001-07:00

Making gift baskets is an excellent way of putting together a collection of your finest products. Here are pictures of a recent basket I made.

“Synthetic” vs. “Natural” . The debate goes on.

2013-03-24T08:47:00.002-07:00

We all have our own opinion regarding what "ALL NATURAL" means. Surprisingly, the opinions are as vast as the informational articles clarifying or disputing one opinion versus another. Is there a right or wrong opinion? Who can say? As with all of us, the true definition is what we each belive it to be.

It has always annoyed the life out of me to see handmade products highly advertised as "ALL NATURAL" but on examination of the ingredients, find highly controversial synthetic ingredients, generally the ingredients being used as a preservative. To me, ALL NATURAL means use of ingredients found in nature. Period. Perhaps I am wrong.

In researching this topic in an effort to educate myself, I did learn some interesting facts. Scientific facts, not someone's opinion, should be considered when educating oneself on the never to be settled controversy of what is natural and why or how is it better than synthetic.

According the U.S. National Organics Program (NOP), a natural substance is derived from a plant, mineral or animal source, without having undergone a synthetic process . Physical and biological processes can still render a substance as natural. A good example would be a food product such as corn. When dried corn kernels are removed from the cob, milled and turned into corn flour there has been a physical change, but is still considered natural.

A synthetic substance is a compound which is made artificially through chemical reactions. Natural substances have been chemically modified through human labour or skill to yield substances which are chemically different from the pre-reaction substances. The NOP definition of a synthetic is a substance which has been formulated or manufactured by a chemical process, and has chemically altered a substance which was derived from a naturally occurring plant, mineral or animal source.

When contemplating synthetic versus natural we are considering the difference between how each is made or how they come into being. Structurally there is not any difference between their molecules. The molecules are identical.

Believe it or not, water can be "made" in a lab.What makes water act like water is its molecular structure, that is, the type of atoms its molecules contain and how they are arranged relative to each other, and not how the molecule was built in the first place. Does making it in a lab make water any less "NATURAL"? Hmm. How would this be any different than manipulating other molecules in the lab to "create" other "natural" products?

One important difference between substances found in nature and those synthesized in the lab, however, can be the difference in cost. For example, substances which occur in nature in small quantities that are hard to extract from the plant or animal in which they occur, can be very expensive. So one great advantage of being able to unravel nature’s secrets and reproduce them in the lab is that, once the process is discovered, it becomes much cheaper to synthesize substances in the lab than it is to get them from nature.

Needless to say, the controversity over natural versus synthetic, or even what defines natural, will go on as long as life itself.

Spring Ahead with New Ideas

2013-03-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

With Spring approaching, I am working hard at new packaging for my products and will be taking pictures outdoors in natural light. Wish my daughter lived closer. She is an excellent photographer and has a photographer's eye, knowing just what to do to create stunning photos.
Labeling and packaging have always been a challenge for me. Too many choices. Colored, white or clear labels, or, hang tags. Font size, color and design. Company logo versus picture to match fragrance.
Right now, I am leaning towards 2 labels for each product. Trying to cram everything (including ingredients) onto one label tends to make the label too busy, or, even require a magnifying glass to read. I don't want my customers to think I am trying to cover up something by making the print so small. It has been a matter of trying to get all of the pertinent information on one label. If I could really come up with something I liked and wanted to stick with for a while, it would probably be cheaper to have them done professionally than to buy labels and ink and print them myself.
I am also working on a flyer to use for marketing purposes. I will definitely have these professionally printed.

Follow up on Shampoo Bar

2013-03-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried the new shampoo bars and while it was OK, I actually didn't like it as much as I do my regular Cold Process Soap. I don't know if the high amount of Shea Butter in the shampoo bar made a difference or not. Generally speaking, my daily use cold process soap lathers to beat the band when using on my hair and after my hair dries, it is so very very soft. I didn't notice the same level of softness after using the shampoo bar. So, chances are, I will simply use the shampoo bars as soap.

Shampoo Bar

2013-02-27T13:31:00.004-08:00

I frequently use my cold process soap as a shampoo and love how soft it makes my hair. I made an actual shampoo bar once before but didn't see any difference in it and soap. I'm not sure what my expectations were. Regardless, I never made anymore. I recently came across a shampoo bar recipe which called for a significant amount of shea butter, so, I decided to give it a try, just for funzies.
The hot mixture was so creamy and smooth. Scented with a delightfully fresh fragrance called Cool Citrus Basil. No artificial colors were added. The natural off white shade is perfect and so pure looking. I put it in the fridge as soon as it was in the mold, to prevent gel and to expedite cooldown. Four hours later I was able to de-mold and very carefully slice. It was still quite soft. I can't wait to try it!! That will be a while tho. Here is a picture.

More Beach Theme Soaps

2013-02-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share pics of more Beach Theme soaps.

These aren't the best pics, but, you get the idea. The main part of the soap is Cold Process. The Embellishments are melt and pour soap.

These are scented with Ocean Mist Fragrance Oil from Nature's Garden. The embellishments include a light house, surfboard, sea gull and crab. The little crab is my favorite.

Here is another soap. This one is scented with Sun and Sand Fragrance Oil, also from Nature's Garden.

Embellishments include bucket and shovel, sand castle, umbrella and flipflops.

Second Beach Theme Soap

2013-02-15T16:01:00.001-08:00

Another salt bar. This one scented with Beach Bum Fragrance Oil.

Beach Theme Soap Sliced

2013-02-15T15:59:00.001-08:00

For the first time in a VERY long time, I am COMPLETELY happy with this soap!!!! Yes, I cut it already!! I had it in the freezer to keep it from gelling, and, with it having salt in it, it gets hard faster. Now, it has to cure. Will be ready for sale in 4-6 weeks.

Cabin Fever

2013-02-15T13:43:00.002-08:00

I am sick to death of Winter. I want to go to a hot, sunny beach. Walk barefoot in the sand, enjoy a frozen drink, forget about work and the cares of everyday life............................................but for now, I must settle for some Beach Theme SOAP!!!! WOOHOO!! This is the first of 2. A Cold Process SALT bar, embellished with melt and pour soap dolphins, seahorses and starfish. There is salt in the bar itself, in addition to being generously sprinkled on top, to simulate sand. (Epsom salt and Himalayan Pink Salt). Salt bars soften the water resulting in a rich, gentle soothing lather. This one is scented with Beach Daisy fragrance oil.

Honey Glycerin Soap

2013-02-10T11:21:00.001-08:00

Yum. Honey has a long and romantic history - it is one of the oldest "ingredients" known to man. Through the ages women have bathed in and used honey to keep their skin and hair radiant. Honey is known for its humectant and antimicrobial qualities. (A humectant is a compound that attracts moisture to itself and helps retain the moisture.) Naturally, humectants are wonderful additives to lotions, scrubs and other skin care products.
The sweet distinctive fragrance adds to the allure.
I made roll-up soaps with Honey Glycerin soap base. The design is intended to resemble the unmistakable honeycomb design.

Winter Doldrums

2013-02-10T11:09:00.000-08:00

I know I have mentioned countless times how much I dislike Winter. Nothing has changed. I feel certain it never will.
Once we get past Ground Hog Day, despite the prediction, I know the end of Winter is on the radar, which puts a little bounce in my step.
I have been trying to come up with new packaging ideas. My imagination and creativity brain cells never fully developed so I am challenged in this area, however, the frequent sleepless nights (thank you Mother Nature for including insomnia in the menopause curse) are usually filled with thoughts of how to do this, that and the other.

This is a fresh, clean scent, called Denim. Suitable for both guys and gals. The soap is a medium blue with small orange markings which were intended to resemble stitching. The label is various pictures of denim clothing with scrapbooking cut out embellishments.

Close up of one design.

Final touch. Tucked into sparkly organza bag.

Hmmm.......What to do......

2012-10-21T11:54:00.003-07:00

I made a bunch of various sized soap balls with left over soap. Now I have to think of a creative way of using them. Just tossing them into a batch of soap sounds too simplistic and ordinary. It would look pretty with the different colored circles in the sliced soap but I am going to try to think of something different. Any ideas? The larger balls to the left are all of the colors combined. Bet they will look really neat inside.

Updated Website

2012-10-13T14:24:00.002-07:00

I have worked very hard to update my Weebly Website. I still have the Lily site, https://lilyshop.com/store/LydiaMariesBoutique but need to update that as well.
The Weebly site had been under the Pocket Full of Sunshine Boutique name and since I couldn't just change the name, had to build a new site. I incorporated a collage of many previously made products as the header of most pages.
Check it out here http://lydiamaries.weebly.com

Oh no!!.......Oh yes! More Soap Cupcakes!!!

2012-10-06T14:09:00.001-07:00

I could seriously make soap cupcakes every day of my life!!! These are sooo much fun to make. I need to spend a day making decorative embellishments. I should also plan ahead, deciding what fragrance and design I am going to make ahead of time, so I am prepared. As of now, I just fly by the seat of my pants and am not as creative as I might be otherwise.
Here are my latest creations:

Japanese Cherry Blossom

Blackberry Amber

Cabernet Sauvignon

Dead Sea Mud & Salt Spa Soapcake

These will be ready to sample in 2 weeks. I am anxious to try them out, especially the Spa Soapcake. I made a bar soap some time ago with this same recipe but I put salt in the bottom layer, which crumbled when I cut it. So, this time, I put a plain layer of soap first, followed by a layer with salt and then a layer with the Dead Sea Mud. Not that is matters with this design, since I won't be cutting these.

Going Crazy With Soap Cupcakes

2012-09-09T14:20:00.001-07:00

It has been quite some time since I posted. I have mentioned in the past that I was having some health problems. Unfortunately, this has been a prolonged challenge. I was finally able to have a couple of days of feeling well enough to play. I am on a CUPCAKE kick!!! Here's some pics.

Scented with Wedding Cake Fragrance Oil. My flower making skills are not the best, but, with anything, practice makes perfect. Piping with soap is much different than piping with icing!

Scented with Wedding Cake Fragrance Oil. Simple but elegant.

Scented with Juniper Breeze Fragrance Oil.

Scented with Jack Frost Fragrance Oil.

Scented with Gingerbread Fragrance Oil.

Scented with Peppermint Stick Fragrance Oil.

Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

2012-08-22T16:43:00.001-07:00

I have made countless batches of soap over the years. Some have been prettier than others. Having said that, I will explain the title of this post.
I made a batch of soap about 5-6 months ago and scented it with Lavender and Eucalyptus Essential Oils. I added green and purple colors, as seemed appropriate for the fragrance. Initially, I was pleased, however, over the months the colors faded. I eventually tossed the soaps into a box which was labeled "Eucalyptus Lavender -- Yuck -- Ugly". The purpose of the label was to alert me to soaps for either personal use, or, to "repurpose" at a later date. By repurpose, I am referring to adding the soap to a new batch to make it more pleasing to the eye. Here is a picture of the soap.

When shower time arrived this evening, I wandered to the basement to fetch a new bar of soap. I spied the box of "ugly" Eucalyptus Lavender soap so decided that was my choice.
First, I want to say I just LOVE essential oils! While I appreciate the variety of scents afforded by fragrance oils there is just no substitute for good ole fashioned essential oils! It is just so fresh and uplifting, not to mention the beneficial properties.
Well! The soap lathered beautifully and the aroma was delightful! So while maybe it isn't the prettiest thing to look at, it was pure pleasure to use and left my skin smooth and soft.

Update Coming Soon

2012-08-13T18:05:00.003-07:00

Sorry I have been MIA lately. I have been working a lot at my day job, busy with family functions and having some minor health issues. I am anxious to spend some time on new creations over the next couple of days and will post details and pics as soon as I can.

New Melt and Pour Base Experiment

2012-07-18T16:03:00.001-07:00

In my last post, I wrote about a new venture. Making my own melt and pour soap base. While I accomplished my mission, I was not overly thrilled with the recipe itself. Having been a soap maker for many years, and never tiring of the endless combinations of oils and butters when creating soap recipes, the recipe provided in the book I purchased for melt and pour soap base from scratch did not include ANY oils or butters. Huh? How could it even be soap? So, I continued my journey to find a true SOAP that could be made, melted and poured.
The key ingredient in any melt and pour soap is propylene glycol. As with every other ingredient on the earth, there are no doubt "studies" that have been done, deeming this ingredient as skin "unfriendly". There are just as many articles declaring it's benefits and safety. Regardless, this product is what makes the soap base meltable.
I didn't have enough of said propylene glycol for the recipe I found, but, being the impatient person I am, decided to make it anyway, using the amount of propylene I had, to see how it would work out.
I soon discovered the resultant glitch from not having enough. After the soap was made, it wanted to skin over immediately as soon as I stopped stirring it. Not to be thwarted, I continued on.Into the mold it went.

Giving in yet again to my impatience, I popped the little darling into the freezer until it had sufficiently hardened that I could remove it from the mold.

Doesn't look too bad. Glad the yellow color toned down a bit. Now, to see if it will cut easily and remelt?

Yes! Nice and soft. Cut easily. Now. Will it melt?

Yes! However, can you see the skin on top? THAT is the thorn in my side, but, reminding myself this is an experiment.

I added some color, just for the sake of adding color. Didn't bother with fragrance. That skin is really starting to annoy me!

In the mold and then, yes, you guessed it! Into the freezer. lol

It came out of the mold easily, even tho it was still warm. (I did mention I was impatient, didn't I?)

It lathered good. Hmmm. What's this? My hands felt "sticky" when I was done washing my hands. Too much glycerin? Hmm. Then, a few minutes later, I realized the sticky feeling was gone and in it's place, my hands felt very soft and moisturized; as if I had put lotion on. Hmmm.

All in all, this was a successful project. I learned a lot. I have taken a giant step towards developing the most incredible melt and pour base on the planet. Well, maybe not that good, but really good! I DEMAND perfection. Stay tuned but don't hold your breath! My experimentation must be placed on the back burner for a few days while I work long hours at my day job.

Soaps Made with Scratch M & P Base

2012-07-17T11:02:00.004-07:00

My initial Mad Scientist session is completed. Clear and White melt and pour bases made from scratch - noted in the previous post. Now, the final product.

These are little soaps made with the White Base. As you can see, they colored a beautiful pastel color. The base is very very white. The soaps unmolded like a dream, only requiring the slightest pressure on the back of the mold. Beautiful if I do say so myself!

I was pleasantly surprised when the clear base accepted the color so well, considering the color of the base was light amber instead of clear. This base required the tiniest bit more pressure on the back of the mold to release, however, I have a feeling this was because of impatience on my part and being in a hurry to unmold. They were still slightly warm.

Now for the all important suds factor. As previously noted, the clear base was a recipe named High Sudz.

I found it to create a creamy lotion like lather after a vigerous 30 second hand rubbing. Not at all what I would consider "High Sudz". A bit of a disappointment in my opinion.

The White base fared better.

A nice fluffy lather after only a few seconds of rubbing. This one is a keeper.

I will work on reformulating the clear recipe and work on a recipe for a base with additives such as oils and butters. The above recipes were simple, basic recipes.

My First Made From Scratch Melt and Pour Base

2012-07-17T09:28:00.001-07:00

Here it is! Not as difficult as I expected nor was the end result as I expected. Since I had only ordered enough ingredients to make 1 full batch (10 pounds) of soap, I decided to make half of 2 different recipes. I chose a high suds clear and a white base. I made the high suds first and was disappointed when the end result was light yellow instead of clear, as I had expected.

As you can see, it is nice and clear, but, it's yellow! I don't know if that is how it was supposed to turn out of if I did something incorrectly. I followed the directions precisely. There are no oils in the recipe, so, I can't blame it on that. The soap is sitting, hardening as I write. I will give it a try a bit later today and post pics of the end result.

I moved on the the white base, which was very similar to the clear, high suds, with the addition of Titanium Dioxide.

At the suggestion of the author of the book, I added two extra ingredients after the heating process was completed, to ensure a nice hard bar. Well, that was a mistake. The soap hardens too quickly and will be difficult to use creatively in certain situations. Having said that, of course I will be giving it a try as soon as it hardens, and will post the results.

Since the available information pertaining to the creation of one's own melt and pour soap bases is limited, I plan to do some serious tweaking of the recipes I have and make that information available to the public. Stay tuned!

Expecting Ingredients Today

2012-07-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, my shipment of ingredients should arrive today; after I have left for work, of course!!!
I do still work a full time day job (RN), but am working hard at new products, marketing and looking into opening a retail store. As God provides and things fall into place, I will be able to work full time making and selling my products and will be able to leave my day job behind.
Creating my own melt and pour soap base is taking a huge step in making my products truly my own. I am very excited about having the power to control what is in my glycerin soaps, the same as I am for the other products I make. Stay tuned for updates coming soon!