Well, the soups are still simmering and the bread is done, so I thought I'd come back and blog a bit more.  I could hardly believe I hadn't posted since August.  I had been online and read other's posts and just didn't realize I hadn't posted myself.

I have had a few good craft shows this fall where I sold my homemade soap.  These are the autumn soaps I'd made and they have gone over well.  I have enough of them left for one more craft show before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving hostess gifts and for my friends who have autumn birthdays: 

Bobbin' for Apples	goat milk	apple  sauce	COLOR	ROUND-red/gold swirl
Granny Smith's Apple			COLOR & FRAGRANCE	ROUND-apple green
Apple Pie À La Mode	apple juice, herb jojoba oil	cinnamon apple sauce, apple pie spices	COLOR	BAR-plain natural 'cap' to look like ice cream
Orange Orange	Castor oil	Sweet Orange EO	COLOR	ROUND-orange
On Harvest Moon	Castor oil, liquid silk		COLOR & FRAGRANCE	ROUND-dark orange/ red swirl
Bountiful Autumn Spice		dried juniper berries, allspice, cocoa butter	FRAGRANCE	BAR-light brown w/ berries and speckles
Indian Corn	mixed Herbal oil		COLOR & FRAGRANCE	BAR-yellow embedded w/indian red, black, brown, lt.gold, bright golden yellow chunks
Perfectly Pumpkin	pumpkin puree	pumpkin pie spice	COLOR	BAR-rust swirled w/brown
Candy Corn Slice	goat milk	Grapefruit EO	COLOR	WEDGE-yellow gold / natural /orange layers
Juniper Journey	goat milk	dried juniper berries, dillweed, Cedarwood EO	NATURAL	BAR-cream w/berries & speckles
Camo Hunting	goat milk		COLOR	BAR-Fluorescent orange 'cap' on camo green soap w/embedded chunks of brown, black & gold

My Christmas ones I have curing so far are:

Nutcracker's Sugar Plum - a fragranced European pink bar, as my youngest daughter who is still home is a dancer.  I will sell some of these but she will mainly give them as gifts to her dance friends and teachers ...  lightly sweet scent with speckles from the sugar plum spice tea I added.

the Gingerbread Boy - a medium brown bar with ginger spiced tea added (speckles) and a gingerbread fragrance ... smells yummy!

Nollaig Chridheil - which is "Gaelic" or Scots Highlander for "Merry Christmas!" - I love the fragrance I added to this creamy natural-colored bar ... it has green and red soap chunks imbedded throughout.  THis is MY fave this year!

and I have these last 3 planned to make very soon:

Chunks'o'Coal -  black irregular chunks of goat milk soap to which I'll add charcoal to use in stockings.  I think this is such a cute idea!  I will put them in a little bag or container marked with the name and then, of course, they can be used to bathe with later with the admonishment that even though Christmas is over, you still have to BE GOOD!  :-) 

Candy Cane Slice - which will be a round red and white swirled goat milk soaps with Peppermint EO added.

and last but not least,

Spruce of Winter - which will be a dark blue-green bar of spruce fragranced goat milk soap.

I have one craft show I will do before Thanksgiving and would like to do one more or maybe 2 before Christmas.  I'm still checking on a few local ones.

I'm also making 5 gallon pails of gel-type laundry soap for my grown kids as part of their Christmas gift.  We are getting new bright, white pails with lids for them marked with their names and a big red and green bow.  When they run out it will be easy for me to make them another batch when they give me back their pail.  I love gifts that are practical.  They will be heavy though!

My hubby cross-cut smallish tree limbs for me in a rough oval shape.  The 'slices' are about 3/8 inch thick and I'm going to paint a little winter scene on them and date them to give as Christmas gifts, also.  I've always given each daughter and grandchild a dated ornament each year.  I plan on giving them to friends and co-workers, as well.  Hopefully, from this year on, each ones I give will be ones I make.  To me, that makes it even more special.  I have made ones I've painted in years' past, but it has been quite a while.

I'm going to start a blog that we can respond to via comments on ideas for Christmas gifts ...  we should all be able to get some frugal ideas from that.

God's Blessings,Rita Jo :-)

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