Just moved...

We recently sold our apartment in a heated bidding war. It only took a day and a half from the showing to the sale (fairly normal in this part of the country). We got more for it than we had dared to hope for. :-)

This weekend we moved into a new (rented) apartment where we will live until after the baby is born. It is downtown on the 4th floor over a posh clothing store. Very nice, although 4th floor with no elevator is not fun when pregnant.

I still have no chance of making any beauty items, but instead I have ordered some from a great seller, SpaTherapy. My dry cracked hands will be happy as soon as the package arrives.

Here are some photos of the apartment we just sold:

LIVINGROOM

KITCHEN

BATHROOM

Now THAT was a surprise!

I have been busy with other things unrelated to crafting recently. I just found out I am pregnant! I have a (step) son from before but I have never been pregnant until now. Wow. I didn't think it would work... :-P

So, now it will be a bit difficult planning the move, a bit MORE difficult, I mean. I will have to stay here in Norway, my husband and son will have to move but come back to visit me of course, and then I move after the baby is born.

I just can't believe I am having a baby, that is all. My due date is in the middle of September. I am already suffering from various symptoms, cramping like you would not believe, fatigue, etc. But so far, no vomiting. Hope it holds.

I am staying home as I need to stay in bed for most of the day because of pain, but I can stay up for short intervals.

On another note, my husband tried shaving with my vanilla castile soap yesterday and said it was his best shave EVER. Not a single nick by the razor and he is usually a bloody mess by the time he is done. I have asked him to get me more supplies so I can make more of this great soap. He just lathers up the soap and rubs it on his stubble and shaves with a cheap razor. Now his friends want to try it too. :)

Shattered Illusions

*Sigh*. When I first started becoming interested in making my own natural beauty products I had a vision of being able to do so without using preservatives. I would make lotions, shampoo and scrubs and only use Grapeseed Extract for preservative. I have now learned that this is exceedingly dangerous.

Apparently, all the GSE (Grapeseed Extract) or Vitamin-E does is to keep the oils in the formula from going rancid. It does not keep the product from growing mold, yeast and bacteria. ICK! If a product has the least bit of water in it or is used in the shower it needs a real preservative. So much for being all natural, I guess.

I am quite bummed from learning this. I now have a choice of a) only making products that have no water in them and that are not to be used in the shower, or b)use a preservative or c)not use preservative and make whatever I want and then be sued or have people getting sick and dying from my products.

The lesser evil seems to be using the preservative. But which one is the best one for my use? Which one has less dangerous chemicals in it? This article may help you, as it has helped me. I haven't decided yet, but I have found more info to research, at least.

What do you think about this?

Castile Soap

I really need to make some soap soon. I have been wanting to make a Castile Soap (soap consisting of 60-100% olive oil) for a long time but time constraints with the move and other things keep getting in the way.

Castile Soap is an interesting thing, though. Some say it has to be 100% olive oil, some say you can add palm and coconut oil for better lather, or even canola oil for creaminess.

If I am able to craft this weekend I think I will make it according to this recipe:

90% Olive oil and 10% Palm oil

I hope it turns out nice. Has anyone else tried using a Castile Soap before?

Things I need to start my shop

1. A camera to take nice photos with. The cell phone camera just doesn't do it.
2. A shop banner that looks nice
3. Labels with ingredients listed for my products
4. An Excel sheet to calculate the cost of the product and the shipping
5. Packaging, boxes, jars, tissue paper, bubble wrap
6. A lightbox to take my photos
7. Ingredients
8. Business cards
9. Stickers to put on the packages


And most of all, time to do all this. I think my research will pay off eventually though. I never knew it would be this much work! I like the thought of it though, even if it is going to take a while for me to get started. I'd rather get started right and have it take longer than start wrong and have to do it over again.

Almost winter

I can feel winter approaching. Not only by the frosty clouds of smoke emanating from my mouth every morning but when I checked my son's face to see if it was clean before he took off to school I saw that his lips were dry and cracked. This happens to him every winter but as I am now making my own beauty products I realize that it is time to approach this problem in a new way; I need to make my own lip balms. The problem is how to find the ingredients in this country, at least without paying an arm and a leg.

So now I am researching the best recipe and the best ingredients and then I will be back with updates for how this is going.

Giving out free samples...

The last couple of weeks I have given out free samples of my soap to people I know so they can be my guinea pigs. :-) It has been an interesting experience. Some are a bit worried about using the soap. Some like it, some don't. Some dislike the color, others dislike the scent or texture. So I have tried out a few different recipes to see what people like the most.

Yesterday I gave a few of my Peppermint soaps without olive oil to my mom so she and her friends could try them out for me and give me some feedback. Personally, I prefer soap with olive oil as it works better for my skin, but some people like it better without it. It will be interesting to find out what they think about it.

Do you have any preferences for how soap should be? Smell, color, texture, etc? Please leave a comment.