Southwest Girl joins SMF

[Peggyrae]

It was recommended that I post in the Introduction Forum so here I am! I have been making soaps since 2014 (wow, 5 years almost now). I have a small home based business in the Four Corners area of New Mexico called Man in the Moon Soaps (that is the reason I chose my current SMF avatar). I sell soaps and herbal salves and balms. No lotions or creams. I am a retired person and long time crafter. I got into soap making before I went on our limited income, so I am fortunate to have a large stock of molds and supplies etc and we have lots of tools so I can also make my own molds. Now mostly I just have to order fragrances and oils. Well not entirely true because I have just started experimenting with CBD products.

I just got my business license last year. I was not making a big effort to sell my soaps until then. It is probably the old familiar story. My hobby supplies outgrew my justification for having so much soaping stuff. One day I got up and had 100 soaps in my bathroom storage shelf and said, "Gosh, I really should try a little harder to sell this stuff!" Haha! So here I am. I got my license and all the necessary insurance, etc and started doing craft fairs and a store account here and there. I am not trying to get big, just keep up with my desire to create beautiful soaps. I have noticed "trawling" the internet that most of soaping action, conferences and suppliers are back east, which bums me out a bit. I would love to attend a conference someday! But until then i cruise the different soaping forums looking for new techniques, shortcuts and soaping tips. Thanks for adding me to the growing list of SMF members!

Lisa (Peggyrae)

 

[cmzaha]

Lisa

 

[Nanette]

Welcome Lisa!

 

[Peggyrae]

Thank you for the "like" AMD!

I guess I should also say, I can now say I prefer cold process soap making to MP soap. I just tried working with MP soap for the first time last week and found it bubbles too much, cools to fast, and has a plastic-y feel that kind of grosses me out. I think I will probably use it to make embeds but I just love the feel of CP soap and the whole process and challenge of it.

I also have not tried HP soaping yet. Other than a rebatch or two, which doesn't really count does it?

View attachment 38119 Lisa

Thank you!

 

[Deborah Long]

Welcome Lisa - from one Southwest girl to another!

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and Welcome!

 

[Peggyrae]

Although I posted I am not a MP fan, i thought my soaps turned out kinda cute. I am going to retry with CP...

 

[Peggyrae]

Welcome Lisa - from one Southwest girl to another!

Thanks Deborah! Where do you live? I am between Durango, Co and Farmington, NM.

Hello and Welcome!

Thank you for the suggestion! I will take it awhile to get all this figured out. How to post, adding stuff to media, etc! Have a great day!

Welcome Lisa!

Thank you Nanette!

 

[Deborah Long]

@Peggyrae - I'm in Phoenix and have been to the 4 corners area twice... It's lovely there!

 

[WeaversPort]

Welcome to the forum! I love your cactus soaps!

 

[earlene]

I love your saguaro cactus soaps. They are beautiful. Cant' wait to see them in CP.

My granddaughter & I stopped off for some fun in the Four Corners in 2013 while on our Epic Wild Horses adventure. It was one of many of our roadtrips across country. I love the beauty of New Mexico. You guys have some of the most attractive freeway overpass art I have seen around this vast country.

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome, Lisa!


IrishLass

 

[midnightsoaper]

Welcome to the forum!

Southwest in your title caught my eye....I just moved away from Aztec a few years ago Lived in the Four Corners for nearly 20 years. Beautiful area!

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[dibbles]

Welcome! Your cactus soaps are cute. If you spray MP with rubbing alcohol after you pour, it will get rid of the bubbles. But I agree, CP is so much more fun.

 

[Relle]

Welcome Lisa . If you would like to post more photos we have a designated forum for that - Photo Gallery.

 

[Peggyrae]

@Peggyrae - I'm in Phoenix and have been to the 4 corners area twice... It's lovely there!

So pretty out in the Superstitions. When I was lots younger I had a dream of living there, near the Superstitions, owning a horse and riding in the mountains. (Must have been after I visited family in the late 70's.) I remember having long gray hair, like I do now, and wearing a hat with a big brim. It has stuck with me ever since. Maybe it is ultimately my destiny? We have been in NM just over 10 years. I lived out by Death Valley in Nevada before this. Have you always lived in Phoenix?

I love your saguaro cactus soaps. They are beautiful. Cant' wait to see them in CP.

My granddaughter & I stopped off for some fun in the Four Corners in 2013 while on our Epic Wild Horses adventure. It was one of many of our roadtrips across country. I love the beauty of New Mexico. You guys have some of the most attractive freeway overpass art I have seen around this vast country.

Did you have horses or were you traveling to places to see wild horses? I love that you can access the back country here in the F.C. so easily. Oilfield roads everywhere... I had horses until a couple of years ago when we retired. We decided we would be traveling too much to justify keeping them. My neighbor girls have them now, so I can see them everyday. I still keep a saddle in case I settle down somewhere with a pasture and get a horse again. But I used to spend a lot of time riding up the washes and in the mountains (mesas) looking for Indian artifacts. I decided it would probably be more fruitful to walk, but with horses, why walk? Right? Haha. We have been fortunate to be located here, it really is beautiful country. By the way, Las Vegas NV also has some really beautiful freeway overpass art if you are ever out that way... I have family there.

Welcome! Your cactus soaps are cute. If you spray MP with rubbing alcohol after you pour, it will get rid of the bubbles. But I agree, CP is so much more fun.

Good to know, because I know I will be doing some embed work with the MP soap. By the way, I commented on your cosmic swirl (shown as your avatar), love it! I am pretty sure I will be trying it in the next week. Any suggestions? I am thinking, "don't expect perfection the first time" might be a good one. LOL!

Welcome Lisa . If you would like to post more photos we have a designated forum for that - Photo Gallery.

Thanks Relle! I have been looking at photos out there. I will keep that in mind. Just got to try and figure out how next.

 

[cmzaha]

I loves your cactus soap with the pretty sunset colors. M&P can be a lot of fun

There is actually high quality M&P bases available and some folks cannot even use lye based soaps. Although in the last few years m&p became less all surfactant based and now is lye soap based except the ultra clear bases. So I am not sure if the lye based m&p bothers those folks or not.

 

[earlene]

Did you have horses or were you traveling to places to see wild horses? I love that you can access the back country here in the F.C. so easily. Oilfield roads everywhere... I had horses until a couple of years ago when we retired. We decided we would be traveling too much to justify keeping them. My neighbor girls have them now, so I can see them everyday. I still keep a saddle in case I settle down somewhere with a pasture and get a horse again. But I used to spend a lot of time riding up the washes and in the mountains (mesas) looking for Indian artifacts. I decided it would probably be more fruitful to walk, but with horses, why walk? Right? Haha. We have been fortunate to be located here, it really is beautiful country. By the way, Las Vegas NV also has some really beautiful freeway overpass art if you are ever out that way... I have family there.

No, but my granddaughter used to dream of owning a horse ranch, which was why I planned the wild horse adventure. We traveled to a few different spots around the NM, AZ and Colorado areas to known herds of wild horses roamed, mostly on BLM land to get our glimpses. We both had a fabulous time on that trip, with memories to last a lifetime.

Yes, NV has some gorgeous freeway art as well, but my first recollection of truly beautiful freeway overpasses will always remain those of NM.

Your life in NM sounds quite lovely and I do hope you are able to have horses again someday. I do understand about the traveling being a deterrent to it though. My husband & I came to an agreement long ago that, although each of us has always loving having animals in our lives, that due to the amount of travel we do, there is just no way we could provide a good life for animals in our household. So we choose to appreciate whatever wildlife comes our way.

 

[dibbles]

Good to know, because I know I will be doing some embed work with the MP soap. By the way, I commented on your cosmic swirl (shown as your avatar), love it! I am pretty sure I will be trying it in the next week. Any suggestions? I am thinking, "don't expect perfection the first time" might be a good one. LOL!

Here is a good video for that technique

You can see it doesn't take much movement of the pouring vessel. You will want to keep your batter fluid, so use a slow tracing recipe and split for colors at emulsion. Note in the video how far the pour advances when she removes the first piece of the wood she uses for elevation on the far end, and again when she levels the mold. I don't think it's too critical other than you don't want to remove it too soon. Good luck, and post pics!