Time to Make the Donuts...er Soap! How to Make Swirled Soap

This weekend I was knee deep in olive oil. My etsy site has been getting a bit dry in the last few months and needs to be replinished!!! My goal: add 12 more batches of soap before March 15th. This weekend I was able to whip out 6 batches. Stay tuned on my etsy site as i'll be unveiling the new scents in the next few days!

To make things easier, i've recently purchase some new molds. Previously I used the homemade wooden style and they work wonderfully, but the new ones are awesome! I've been using them for six months now and absolutely love them! They're made from the same material that your everday kitchen cutting board is made from. Because there's no need to line them, unmolding and cleaning them are SUPER easy. (One little FYI: I do spread a thin coat of petroleum jelly on the molds to help with unmolding).

I'm so excited to show off my first successful swirl! I've attempted to swirl a few times in the past and the results were always the same....boring! I'm a habitual stirrer and when you overstir a swirl you get something far less intersting.

Here's how you do an IN THE POT swirl: (My recipe uses 36oz of oil.)

1. During the mixing process let soap/lye solution come to a light trace.
2. Separate 1 cup of newly created soap mixture into a small mixing bowl or container.
3. Add colorant to the small amount of soap and mix well.
4. Hold the container of colored soap high over the pot of soap (approx. 2ft) and slowly drizzle into the pot. This enables the color to dispense to throughout the pot and all the way to the bottom of the pot.
5. OPTIONAL **Stir pot once with a skinny stick (I use a shishkabob stick). Do not overstir or you will loose a crisp swirl.
6. Pour into the log mold- this is where the swirling effect occurs.

December Giveaway - The Three Wise Women

I'm partnering up with my favorite gals (my mom and my mother-in-law) this month to bring you an awesome holiday giveaway! We have lots in common and all three of us are crafters at heart. Take a look at a quick description of their shops below:

BasketBeeDesigns: My mom (Marlene) offers some beautifully quilted Christmas Stockings and Christmas Tree Skirts, as well as adorable chipboard scrapbooks...and of course baskets (her true talent).

FinnsPrettyThings: My mother-in-law (Nancy) offers beautiful jewelry in her shop. She has a flair for combining natural stones and beautiful pendants to create a one of a kind art piece. She also loves crystals and looks for special beads that accent her workings. Her work is truely artful.

Here's what the winner will receive:

1-Peppermint Heart Basket Tie-On from Basket Bee Designs

Tie this on to your favorite basket to give it some holiday umph!

1- Holiday Bracelet - from Finns Pretty Things A beautiful Christmas colored bracelet with heart shaped turquoise and coral beads. Perfect for the holidays or year round!

1- Christmas Past Soap Trio - from Pea Pod Crafts

You'll get three small crinkle cut soaps tucked in an old fashioned, circular box. Soaps are scented with a fresh Christmas scent of balsam and cinnamon. So cozy and fresh!

To enter:

- heart the following stores BasketBeeDesigns, FinnsPrettyThings and PeaPodCrafts.

Extra Credit- how to earn extra entries:

- heart one item from each of the above stores (1 entry- each store)

- add an item from our stores to your Etsy Treasury (1 entry per item added)

- blog about this giveaway (1 entry)

- twitter about this giveaway (1 entry)

- join PeaPodCrafts fanpage on Facebook (1 entry)

- become a follower of this blog (1 entry)

- refer a friend to this giveaway (1 entry- have friend mention you in comment)

Drawing will occur on December 18th at noon CST, so don't wait to enter!!

Suds of sustainability II

Look what was on NBC's nightly news! I'm SO happy this information is getting out! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/ns/nightly_news#34094838

****Peapod Crafts uses only palm oil that has been certified by the RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil). ************************************

See my post titled "Suds of Sustainability" for more information.
http://ezpeazy.blogspot.com/2009/08/suds-of-sustainability.html

Roly Poly Make Up Rolls are currently SOLD OUT again! Thanks everyone for the support. You know how to make a girl blush! I listed 10 earlier last week and have already sold them all. Don't fret though, if you're interested in purchasing one I will be busy at the sewing machine for the next few days to add an additional 15 to my store (some new combos as well).

IF you need one sooner than that, OR you'd like a specific color or pattern, please email me or send me a convo through Etsy and I'll set up a custom order.

I'm also working on adding some matching zip-up bags to tote around all your loose make-up too. Stay tuned!

Announcing....................................

The Classy Clean Collection - Soap Giveaway

Winner receives one Classy Clean Collection of Soap directly from Peapod Crafts. The collection contains 12 mini soaps in each of the following scents:

• coconut lime verbena
• vanilla oatmeal sandalwood
• sage and citrus
• vanilla oak
• ginger lime
• chocolate mint
• buck naked
• blackberry sage vanilla
• lavender eucalyptus
• mechanic's soap
• gardener's soap
• kitchen soap

RULES

To enter you must do the following by November 26th, Midnight (CST).

1. Add a comment to this post with finishing the following sentence: I am thankful for....
2. Become a follower of EZPea-zy, the blog.
3. Share some love by "hearting" my shop at http://www.peapodcrafts.etsy.com/
4. Follow up with "hearting" your favorite item as well.

Winner will be announced on Thanksgiving. Good luck!

Lisa's Haul: (don't peek Lisa!)

Here's a picture of Lisa's haul:

1 square cut bar of Raspberry Tomato Leaf Soap

1 skein decadence yarn- smoky topaz (yes that's yarn!)

and

5 wonderfully colored beads, my favorite orange flavors!

The Winner Issssssssssss??

Lisa from Vancouver, BC. She has a really cool blog called Burrito West about crafting, hiking, travels...all the things I love. Seems like we have a lot in common- so hopefully she'll like her gift! I'm sending her a bar of soap called Raspberry Tomato Leaf. It reminds me completely of summer and you guessed it- it smells like a tomato leaf! That scent is hard to duplicate, but smells so wonderful in the right way.

Thanks to all who entered! Stay tuned for our next giveaway which is just around the corner. I've been working my fingers to the bone and want to give you something completely WONDERFUL for the next round. But..you'll have to work for it:)

Baby of OZ

Take a look at my new Etsy Treasury "BABY OF OZ".

Leave a comment on the treasury and earn an additional entry into our Comment Palooza Giveaway! This treasury will expire on the 27th so get your comments in soon:)

What's a treasury you might ask? An Etsy Treasury is an ever-changing, member curated shopping gallery of handpicked items.

NO COMMENT! Announcing the comment-palooza giveaway!

Fans, friends and customers,

Got something to say!????!?? Here's your opportunity. I NEED to hear from you!! Post a comment on my blog (http://ezpeazy.blogspot.com) on any post and you'll be automatically entered into our newest giveaway.......COMMENT-PALOOZA. Each comment receives one entry! September 1st i'll draw a name randomly and that person will receive a surprise from my shop. I realize sharing your comments take time and it's important you know how valuable your thoughts are!

Feedback, new ideas, suggegstions for my blog and ETSY shop are ALWAYS welcome and very much appreciated!

And the winner is...............

And the winner is............Mary Mills of mmillsdesigns!

Mary is a fellow Etsian and has been selling her beautiful jewelry since the end of 2008. While Mary is currently reconfiguring her shop (due to be done at the end of August) you can still see some of her work at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmillsdesigns/
Also, take a moment and become a fan of hers if you aren't already!
http://www.facebook.com/mmillsdesigns

Mary will be receiving a bar of my handmade soap- Patchouli Oatmeal! This is my absolute favorite scent. This time around i've added ground oatmeal to provide exfoliating properties. This is on the stronger sides of scents, but I love it. It's musky, earthy and clean- all in one!

Please be patient as I restock my soap scents. I have been upgrading my equipment and supplies and will be making soap like crazy in the weeks to come. I've got one batch curing already and many additional new scents on the way. Stay tuned for our second giveaway coming down the pike this fall.....SUPER SOAP GIVEAWAY!!

Thanks to all for the support. Keep your eyes open for discounts and coupons coming your way!

Facebook Fans Give-AWAY!

Join my Facebook Fans page and if you're fan #101 or below, you'll be entered into a giveaway drawing! Can't tell you what I'm giving away, but it's FREE!!! Who doesn't love that!

Fan benefits:
- be the first to know about sales
- get valuable coupon information just for fans!
- participate in giveaways
- belong to a really cool and groovy group of people
- I'll like you more

All kidding aside, I plan to use my facebook fanpage as a great way to communicate what's happening in my ETSY world.

Suds of Sustainability

sustainability (n.): the means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals in the very long term.

I have used palm oil in nearly every batch of soap i've made over the years. While reordering soap supplies I ran across some alarming information regarding palm oil and could not turn a blind eye. Not only are skyrocketing prices starving the people of many developing countries, the orangutan is being slaughtered by our thirst for this oil.

Over the last few years palm oil prices have jumped 70% due to demand, but the supply for palm oil is only slowly increasing. It takes 8 years for a palm tree to be mature enough to produce the fruit which yields the oil. Therefore many farmers and plantation companies are clearing hundreds of thousands of acres of tropical forest to plant additional palms. This tropical forest is (was) the home to many of our nearest relatives...the Orangutan. Did you know Orangutans share approximately 97.8% of our DNA and express a range of emotions that is just as wide as our own?

Here's a quote from the article listed below: "The palm oil and timber industries are guilty of truly horrific ecological atrocities, one of which is the systematic genocide of orangutans. When the forest is cleared, adult orangutans are generally shot on sight. In the absences of bullets they are beaten, burned, tortured, mutilated and often eaten as bushmeat."

So you ask "What can I do?"

1) If you make soap use a supplier that is part of the RSPO- the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Thanks to JoAnna who researched this information- Soaper's Choice/Columbus Foods offers an organic palm oil that is sustainably harvested. This is my new palm oil supplier!

2) Choose soap (handmade or commercially made), make up and food companies that use suppliers who are part of the RSPO. Unilever and L'Oreal are a few. When in doubt ask them!

3) Educate yourself. While this topic is not without controversy, educate yourself and make a stand. It's not okay to say...my bar of soap won't affect anything, because in the end it absolutely does and already has.

A New, Global Oil Quandary: Costly Fuel Means Costly Calories

The Other Oil Shock

The Struggle for Palm Oil

Orangutans and palm oil: What's the connection?

Facebook Fan Page

Become a Pea Pod fan on facebook and receive special discounts and notifications of contests. Join this week and recieve $5 off the luggage of your choice! (convo me for details!)

Visit my new Facebook Fanpage at: Pea Pod Crafts

UpCycled Vintage Luggage Available NOW!

My mom recently gave me the Forecast Train Case that she carried on her honeymoon. How cool! It has the original keys, tray and scent too (can still smell mom's perfume). I'm such a sucker for old fashioned things...but I want to use them too! I've used my train case several times since mom gave it to me and it's suprisingly functional...not to mention SO CUTE!

You no longer have to wonder which suitcase is yours at the airport! Look for the one that everyone is pointing at and whispering...."COOL! RETRO! ORIGINAL! COOL!"

Now available on Peapod Crafts are 9 different styles, shapes and colors of customized vintage luggage. Please feel free to contact me with any ideas and suggestions. Custom orders are always welcomed!

Check back soon as I will be adding more items shortly!

Rolling Rolling Rolling......new items added

New at PeaPod Crafts:

Roly Poly Make-Up Brush Roll - Where does one store their make-up brushes?? Previous to creating this roll I threw mine in with everything else. NOT a good idea. This organizer is great for markers, crayons, crochet/knitting needles, and other art supplies too!

Carry-It-All Kid's Vendor Apron - Little Man feels like such a stud when he wears this apron. It's a smaller version of the Do-It-All Vendor Craft Apron that mom wears. Watch how your little one transforms when they're carrying their favorite toys around with them.