It’s that time again! We had four fantastic submissions for January blog posts and I just had to share all of them with you. I’m giving away two kits this month.
Jennifer won one of the January MMS Perfumer’s Kits with her blog post about making a Sea Salt Cold Process Soap. Her post was set up very clearly and detailed her experiences while making the soap. Her pictures were a fantastic aid to her post and matched her text well.
Kristin won the second January MMS Perfumer’s Kit with her blog post about making liquid soap. Her post was very detailed from step to step and even included a video of the process.
Carolyn took second place with her blog post about making soap. Her post tells the story behind her Christmas present and her latest experience with making soap and included some fabulous pictures.
Melody took third place with her blog post about making soap with coconut milk. Her post shows her method of soap making and is informative as well as entertaining.
Congratulations to Jennifer, Kristin, Carolyn and Melody! I will be sending each one of you an e-mail for an address to send your goodies! Jennifer and Kristin will receive the MMS Perfumer’s Kits, while Carolyn and Melody will receive a small box of goodies.
Remember, I still have several Perfumer’s Kits to give away. Each month will reveal a new lucky winner. Need an update on the rules? Click here to see the original post. I’m now accepting submissions for blogs and videos posted in the month of February.
Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Wow!
Tomorrow we will start a five part series on milk soaps!
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Posted
February 3rd, 2010 in Drawings and Contests
By
Andee|
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The beautiful pears.
It is always great to receive thank you letters from customers who have dealt with our Technical Support Staff and received the help they needed. Today we received an amazing package from Kim E. and I’ll admit, we were pleasantly surprised to find some yummy pears from
Harry & David in the box. I just had to share what Kim told us in his note, because it was very nice.
Thanks for all of your help and advice! These pears are my absolute favorite.
Thank you Kim! I’m glad that we have been able to give you the help and advice that you needed!
I was able to capture a picture of the pears before they disappeared and they look beautiful! Don’t you agree?
I’m always excited to hear comments about experiences with our staff and I try to share them with our blog readers! The best responses are that we eliminated your hurdles. We don’t need pears to help. The notes, calls, and e-mails are wonderful to receive. Thanks to all!
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Posted
February 3rd, 2010 in Thoughts from The Sage
By
Andee|
1 Comment »
| We just added extracts to the After Swim Conditioner and now we should make a matching Shampoo so your hair gets the best treatment possible. This complete set will be great for any hair needing a little bit extra love and attention.
Some users think that additives to our bases are a big NO NO. So, today we will work on a base and 2% in additives. The bases can handle up to 3% in additives. Fragrance and color do not count in this 3% rule.
Collect needed items:
Recipe in ounces: (Makes 16 ounces)
15.6 ounces Daily Shampoo Base
0.16 ounces Comfrey Leaves Extract
0.16 ounces Horsetail Grass Extract
0.08 ounces Green Tea & Cucumber Fragrance Oil |
Recipe in ounces: (Makes 1 gallon)
128 ounces Daily Shampoo Base
1.32 ounces Comfrey Leaves Extract
1.32 ounces Horsetail Grass Extract
0.66 ounces Green Tea & Cucumber Fragrance Oil |
Recipe in Percentages:
97.5% Daily Shampoo Base
1% Comfrey Leaves Extract
1% Horsetail Grass Extract
0.5% Fragrance Oil or Essential Oil |
Instructions for making 16 ounces:
Weigh the extracts and fragrance into the small glass beaker. Once these have been weighed, set aside and weigh the shampoo into the bottle for final use. Add the extracts and fragrance to the bottle and cap the bottle. Shake vigorously until everything is completely mixed.
Instructions for making 1 gallon:
Weigh the extracts and fragrance into the small glass beaker. Pour into the gallon jug of Daily Shampoo Base and cap the jug. Shake vigorously until everything is completely mixed. You may have to bribe someone with baked goodies! Check the Food and Recipes Category for bribery ideas. Pump into final bottles!
Don’t forget to label your bottles!
Enjoy!
Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Submissions are due by March 1st for posts during February.
|
 Collect needed items.  Weighed Extracts and Fragrance.  Pouring extracts and fragrance into the gallon jug.  Finished bottles ready for labels. |
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Posted
February 2nd, 2010 in Fast and Simple Gifts, Product Assistance, Thoughts from The Sage
By
Andee|
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| Sometimes we put lots of stress on our hair just with our daily activities. Our After Swim Hair Conditioner is perfect for competitive swimmers or those just swim for the exercise. Even runners in city smog should take special care of their hair. Today I’m going to add some of our extracts to After Swim Hair Conditioner to help add strength and shine to hair as well as aiding moisture retention and keeping hair from looking like stable straw.
Some users think that additives to our bases are a big NO NO. So, today we will work on a base and 2% in additives. The bases can handle up to 3% in additives. Fragrance and color do not count in this 3% rule.
Collect needed items:
Recipe in ounces: (Makes 16 ounces)
15.6 ounces After Swim Hair Conditioner
0.16 ounces Comfrey Leaves Extract
0.16 ounces Horsetail Grass Extract
0.08 ounces Green Tea & Cucumber Fragrance Oil |
Recipe in ounces: (Makes 1 gallon)
128 ounces After Swim Hair Conditioner
1.32 ounces Comfrey Leaves Extract
1.32 ounces Horsetail Grass Extract
0.66 ounces Green Tea & Cucumber Fragrance Oil |
Recipe in Percentages:
97.5% After Swim Hair Conditioner
1% Comfrey Leaves Extract
1% Horsetail Grass Extract
0.5% Fragrance Oil or Essential Oil |
Instructions for making 16 ounces:
Weigh the extracts and fragrance into the small glass beaker. Once these have been weighed, set aside and weigh the conditioner into the bottle for final use. Add the extracts and fragrance to the bottle and cap the bottle. Shake vigorously until everything is completely mixed.
Instructions for making 1 gallon:
Weigh the extracts and fragrance into the small glass beaker. Pour into the gallon jug of After Swim Hair Conditioner and cap the jug. Shake vigorously until everything is completely mixed. You may have to bribe someone with baked goodies if your arms get too tired. Check the Food and Recipes Category for bribery ideas. Pump into final bottles!
Don’t forget to label your bottles!
Enjoy!
Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Submissions are due by March 1st for posts during February.
|
 Collect needed items.  Weighed Extracts and Fragrance.  Pouring extracts and fragrance into the gallon jug.  Finished bottles ready for labels. |
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Posted
February 2nd, 2010 in Fast and Simple Gifts, Product Assistance, Thoughts from The Sage
By
Andee|
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| I love to bake and I usually end up bringing the extra goodies to work because my family can’t eat all of my baked goods. Of all my favorite and well used ingredients, baking chocolate tops the list because it can make brownies. I’m a complete and total brownie junkie. My favorite recipe is Rosie’s Award Winning Brownies from Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No-Holds-Barred Baking Book by Judy Rosenberg. If you can find this book, I highly recommend it. This is my version of these brownies:
Collect needed items:
Ingredients
Baking Chocolate
Butter, room temperature
Sugar
Eggs, room temperature
Vanilla Extract
Salt
All-Purpose Flour
Walnuts (if desired)
|
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Microwave safe bowl (for melting butter)
Rubber Scraper
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
9 X 13 Glass Baking Pan
Cooking Spray
|
Recipe:
8 ounces Baking Chocolate
2 sticks of Butter, 4 ounces each
2-1/2 cups Sugar plus 2 tablespoon
6 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, I generally add 1 Tablespoon
1 teaspoon Salt
1-1/2 cup Flour
1 cup Walnuts plus 4 tablespoons (if desired) I don’t add nuts often.
Preheat the oven to 325 ° F. Lightly grease the baking pan and set aside.
Gently melt the baking chocolate in the microwave using short bursts of time, unless you just made your baking chocolate. Set aside and melt your butter. Stir the butter into the melted chocolate and allow to cool to room temperature.
Once the baking chocolate and butter mixture has cooled to room temperature, add the sugar and stir until the sugar has been completely incorporated. Add the beaten eggs and gently stir until the eggs have been mixed into the batter. Stir the vanilla extract and salt into the mixture.
Now, add the flour and gently fold the flour into the batter. We don’t want to mix the batter too much, otherwise we will have a very tough brownie because the gluten in the flour has been developed. If desired, you can fold the nuts into the batter, leaving the 4 tablespoons to sprinkle on the top before baking.
Evenly spread the batter in the pan. Bake for approximately 35 minutes. There should be a light crust on the top of the brownies and a toothpick, inserted in the center, should come out clean. Allow the brownies to cool before serving. If you are like me and impatient, feel free to eat the brownies after they have cooled sufficiently to slice, about 2 hours. If you can wait, these brownies really taste great if they have had 24 hours to “age”. This allows the flavors to mellow.
Sit down with a glass of milk or a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy!
|
 Melted baking chocolate.  Preparing to melt the butter.  Adding the butter to the baking chocolate.  Mixing the butter and baking chocolate. |
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Posted
February 1st, 2010 in Food and Recipes, Thoughts from The Sage
By
Andee|
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| Around our house, we always use baking chocolate in various baking projects and someone kept having to run to the grocery store until we realized that we could make our own baking chocolate at home. Now, instead of needing to go to the grocery store for baking chocolate, we simply make our own. Now you can too! This is another fantastic reason to pull our scales out and use them for reasons other than bath and body creations. You can also use this baking chocolate in cold process soap and have yummy smelling soap!
Collect needed supplies:
Cocoa Butter
Hershey’s Cocoa: Special Dark
Hershey’s Cocoa: Natural Unsweetened
SACO Premium Cocoa: A Special Blend of natural & Dutched Cocoa
Mixing bowl
Microwave safe container (I’m using a Pyrex liquid 2 cup measure)
Spoons
Rubber Scraper
Scale
Recipe in percentages:
40% Cocoa Butter
60% Cocoa Powder
We have 3 cocoas we will blend. Since we will make brownies next, I’m going to blend these like this:
40% Hershey’s Cocoa: Natural Unsweetened
40% SACO Premium Cocoa: A Special Blend of natural & Dutched Cocoa
20% Hershey’s Cocoa: Special Dark
This will give use a unique blend of flavors to round out our brownies. If you happen to have black cocoa (think Oreos) then limit this cocoa to 10-15% of your blend. Black cocoa is very single sided in flavor. Go ahead and use what ever cocoas you have available and that you like the flavor of.
We need 8 ounces for brownies. 40% of 8 ounces is 3.2 ounces, this is the cocoa butter. 60% of 8 ounces is 4.8 ounces, this is the cocoa. We now need to figure the amounts of cocoa by variety.
4.8 X 40% = 1.92 ounces
4.8 X 20% = 0.96 ounces
1.92 ounces Hershey’s Cocoa: Natural Unsweetened
1.92 ounces SACO Premium Cocoa: A Special Blend of natural & Dutched Cocoa
0.96 ounces Hershey’s Cocoa: Special Dark
Weigh all of the Cocoa Powders into the mixing bowl, stir together and then set aside. Weigh the Cocoa Butter into the microwave safe container. Heat in the microwave using short time bursts until the Cocoa Butter is melted. Now that the Cocoa Butter is melted, gently pour it over the mixed Cocoa Powder and stir to combine all the ingredients thoroughly. Check and make sure there are no more lumps of powder that need to be broken up.
Cool, stirring periodically. When this mixture is cool to the touch on the upper lip, the baking chocolate is ready to use in baking.
Otherwise, pour into storage containers and label for use on another day.
Enjoy!
|
 Collect needed supplies.  Weighing the Hershey's Cocoa: Natural Unsweetened.  All three cocoas after being weighed.  Adding melted cocoa butter to the mixed cocoa.  Mixing the cocoa butter into the cocoa. |
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Posted
February 1st, 2010 in Food and Recipes, Thoughts from The Sage
By
Andee|
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| Have you ever had a birthday sneak up on you so suddenly? I have and it usually means I’m scrambling to find the perfect gift at the last minute. Today, I’ll show you how to make a money rose for those surprise occasions or the recipient that is next to impossible to shop for. This gift is fun to make and give. You can give any amount of money you desire with the minimum of $6 (United States Dollars). Doesn’t that just sound fun? See photo 1. |
 Photo 1. Completed roses. |
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Posted
January 29th, 2010 in Thoughts from The Sage
By
Andee|
4 Comments »
| When you live in a climate like ours, winter always seems cold, long and dreary. During the worst of the winter months, we keep our spirits uplifted with various products designed to transport our minds to warmer climates. Not only does the bright yellow color of the Winter Sunshine Soap help boost our spirits, but the fresh scent of this soap works wonders as well. This is the perfect unisex bar of soap, even though you will not find me sharing my bar with anybody!
Collect needed items:
Time spent:Weighing time: 8 minutes
Adding lye to water: 5 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of stirring
Heating of oils time: 3 minutes
Pouring lye solution into the fat mixture: 10 seconds
Using immersion blender to mix soap solution: 5 minutes
Pour into mold: 45 seconds
Allow soap to rest: 24 hours |
Recipe in ounces:
32 ounces Palm Kernel Oil
8 ounces Shea Butter, Refined
24 ounces Sunflower Oil
9.14 ounces Sodium Hydroxide
24 ounces water
0.15 cc Lemon Yellow Color
0.88 ounces Lemon Zinger Fragrance Oil
0.21 ounces Soothing Chamomile Fragrance Oil
0.06 ounces Sandalwood Fragrance Oil |
Weigh your fragrance oils and set aside.
Measure oils on your scale. Warm on the stove or in the microwave. Bring temperature to near 120 °F. Exact temperature is not critical. Add sodium hydroxide to the water. Mix well. Allow to cool to near 120 °F. Once again, exact temperature is not critical.
Combine oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. Upon trace add the fragrance oil blend and color. Stir well. Pour soap into molds. Allow to sit until soap is firm.
Cut into bars. Stack to allow good air circulation. Allow to cure for several days before using. Longer curing will result in a harder bar.
Notes: I haven’t cut this soap yet. I expect to release pictures of this soap once it has been cut this afternoon. I love how yummy this soap is smelling right now! Most of the staff have found various reasons to wander by the test kitchen and tell me that this smells just like a bar of soap!
Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Submissions are due by February 1st for posts during January.
|
 Measured oils before melting.  Adding the lye to the water.  Mixing the lye solution.  Melted oils. |
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Posted
January 22nd, 2010 in Cold Process Soap
By
Andee|
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| Earlier this year we made the Oatmeal & Honey Almond Soap. Once again, we are going to make soap with oatmeal. Today’s batch of soap will be similar to the Oatmeal Cinnamon Soap Recipe, but I’ve made several changes to suit the ingredients I have on hand, as well as make this batch easier to make. I used the Lye Calculator to recalculate the lye necessary for this recipe.
Collect needed items:
Time spent:Weighing time: 8 minutes
Adding lye to water: 5 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of stirring
Heating of oils time: 2 minutes
Pouring lye solution into the fat mixture: 5 seconds
Using immersion blender to mix soap solution: 2 minutes
Mix oat flour into the soap solution: 45 seconds
Pour into mold: 30 seconds
Allow soap to rest: 24 hours |
Recipe in ounces:
8 oz wt Castor Oil
12 oz wt Grapeseed Oil
10 oz wt Palm Kernel Oil
38 oz wt Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
12 oz wt Sunflower Oil
30 fluid ounces water
10.4 oz wt lye
4 oz wt finely ground oatmeal was used as a filler
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon as a colorant
1 fl oz Gingerbread & Spice Fragrance Oil |
Grind oatmeal to a fine flour. Measure 4 ounces. Set aside.
Measure oils on your scale. Warm on the stove or in the microwave. Bring temperature to near 120 °F. Exact temperature is not critical. Add sodium hydroxide to the water. Mix well. Allow to cool to near 120 °F. Once again, exact temperature is not critical. It is a good idea to record your temperatures so refinements can be made. Since this particular batch of soap was poured into one deep mold, the temperatures do not have to be as high as when pouring the same batch size into a shallow mold.
Combine oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. Add finely ground oatmeal and ground cinnamon. Adding the oatmeal slowly while continuously stirring will help prevent lumping. Stir out any lumps. Upon trace add the Gingerbread & Spice Fragrance Oil. Stir well. Pour soap into molds. Allow to sit until soap is firm.
Cut into bars. Stack to allow good air circulation. Allow to cure for several days before using. Longer curing will result in a harder bar.
Notes & Comments:
Please note that some individuals can have an allergic reaction to cinnamon. Please label your soap. We think the color is gorgeous! Try it if your family doesn’t have a cinnamon allergy.
Ground cinnamon will accelerate the trace, so be prepared to see your soap turn from very fluid to mashed potatoes in 2 minutes flat! You may add the cinnamon to the soap when you add your fragrance to minimize the acceleration. Before adding make sure your molds are ready for the soap!
Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Submissions are due by February 1st for posts during January.
|
 Measured oils before melting.  Stirring the lye solution.  Almost completely melted oils.  Adding the lye solution to the melted oils.  Starting to mix the oils and lye solution together. |
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Posted
January 21st, 2010 in Cold Process Soap
By
Andee|
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| I’m sure at one point or another, we all have been up and running all day on our feet. Unfortunately, by the time the day is over, our feet hurt and we just want to sit. Now, you can sit and soak your feet with the Peppermint Candy Sticks Foot Soaks and then gently massage your tired and aching feet with the Minty Foot Cream. Pamper yourself, or your friends, with a collection of the Peppermint Candy Sticks Foot Soaks, Minty Foot Cream and small collection of tea bags, such as Chamomile, Peppermint, Peach, Raspberry or their favorite tea. Doesn’t that just spell R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N?
Collect needed items:
Recipe:
Recipe in ounces
0.02 ounces Citric Acid
0.21 ounces Liquid Glycerin
0.39 ounces Stearic Acid
0.49 ounces Emulsifying Wax
0.74 ounces Avocado Oil
0.53 ounces Shea Butter, Refined
0.18 ounces Mango Butter
0.32 ounces Anhydrous Lanolin
5.29 ounces Purified Water
0.09 ounces Germaben II
0.025 ounces Peppermint Essential Oil
0.021 grams Spearmint Essential Oil |
Recipe in grams
0.6 grams Citric Acid
6 grams Liquid Glycerin
11 grams Stearic Acid
14 grams Emulsifying Wax
21 grams Avocado Oil
15 grams Shea Butter, Refined
5 grams Mango Butter
9 grams Anhydrous Lanolin
150 grams Purified Water
2.5 grams Germaben II
0.6 grams Peppermint Essential Oil
0.6 grams Spearmint Essential Oil |
Recipe in Percentages
0.3% Citric Acid
2.5% Liquid Glycerin
4.7% Stearic Acid
5.9% Emulsifying Wax
8.9% Avocado Oil
6.4% Shea Butter, Refined
2.1% Mango Butter
3.8% Anhydrous Lanolin
63.7% grams Purified Water
1.1% Germaben II
0.3% Peppermint Essential Oil
0.3% Spearmint Essential Oil |
Weigh all ingredients except Germaben II, Peppermint Essential Oil and Spearmint Essential Oil into the microwave safe container. Heat in the microwave using short time bursts until everything is melted. Blend the ingredients to a smooth, creamy consistency using the immersion blender. Add Germaben II, Peppermint Essential Oil and Spearmint Essential Oil once the temperature drops below 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Blend until completely mixed. Pour into jars and allow to cool completely. Cap the jars.
Notes: This recipe makes approximately 8 fl oz of cream.
While I was making this batch for the pictures, I was told by our photographer, Mitch, that he really doesn’t like the smell of Lanolin. After I added the Peppermint Essential Oil and Spearmint Essential Oil to the cream, Mitch said that he couldn’t smell the Lanolin anymore and it smelled really good. After the cream cooled, I gave him a small test jar to try on his hands. Guess what? He fell in love with the cream and said that it was an amazing hand or foot cream and the Lanolin gave it an excellent massage quality.
Enjoy!
Would you like to join a swap? We are hosting another swap on The Sage Forum. The theme is Spring Dreams. If you would like product evaluations, we can help you get those valuable testing opinions from others in the swap. We look forward to the various products.
Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Submissions are due by February 1st for posts during January.
|
 Minty Foot Cream on my finger.  Collect needed items.  Weighing ingredients.  All ingredients have been weighed.  Mixing the ingredients together.  Adding the essential oils and preservative.  Filling the jars. |
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Posted
January 20th, 2010 in Lotions and Creams
By
Andee|
3 Comments »
