Great Cakes Soapworks

I cannot stop sniffing the Banana Berry soap! I made the first version of Banana Berry last year to give away samples at the Applefest at Deanna Rose Farmstead as I demonstrated how I make soap. It was a pre-blended fragrance that smelled like artificial banana and strawberry candy, which was really nice. This time I found a more true banana scent and blended it with summer strawberry and other berries. Yum! It looks like the first version: yellow soap with pink swirls and a shimmery heart, but smells even better! I can already tell I’m going to have to make another batch.

You will be able to get your hands on one of these beauties on Saturday, July 26.

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Today I delivered the soap samples to Jennifer Hermon of Haute Market. Turns out she lives less than a mile from me. Anyway, she gave me two free tickets to the upcoming Haute Market shopping party on Thursday, July 17, from 5-9pm at The Ritz Charles in Overland Park. These are worth $10 each now, or $15 at the door! Hip, hip hooray for one of my lucky customers - anyone who would like a chance to win just needs to leave a comment on this post. I’ll pick a random winner one week from today - Tuesday, July 8 - and mail them out to you. There are a limited number of goodie bags still available, so be sure to get a couple if you win the tickets. Please note that this is an 18 and over event. Best wishes!

Category: Giveaways | 5 Comments »

I have been putting together 250 soap samples for the next Haute Market shopping party, coming up on July 17 at The Ritz Charles in Overland Park. This will be the 2nd birthday party for Haute Market in Kansas City, although this will be the first time I’ve ever been. I’m not a vendor yet, but I’m going to check it out, and of course, I’ll be contributing soap samples for the goodie bags.

Most of the samples that I put together are Stress Relief soap, and just a handful are Clarifying Facial soap. I created a postcard on Vista Print, and the whole thing looks rather snazzy.

If you are interested in going to the Haute Market shopping party, here is what you’ll find: the vendors have original products, including clothing, jewelry, and beauty products. In other words, you won’t find Mary Kay or Pampered Chef. It’s pretty upscale. Also there will be live music by DREW6.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door, and goodie bags are $10 while supplies last. I think you can still order tickets and goodie bags on the Haute Market website here. If not, you should be able to get tickets at Bella B’s Boutique at 135th & Metcalf in Overland Park, Two Chic Blvd. two blocks east of 151st and Metcalf, or Denim Couture 2087 E. Santa Fe, Olathe.

Hope to see you there!

Category: Selling Soap | No Comments »

I realize it’s not quite fall yet, but this scent was just begging to be used. I enjoy changing the scent of the coffee soaps just a little bit each time. This one is called Moroccan Spice. It has some sweet orange, a hint of ginger, and a lot of spice, including cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, etc. Coffee soaps are great to use in the kitchen because they will remove food odors from your hands - onion, garlic, fish - even jalapenos! Some like to use them in the shower because the coffee grounds make a great exfoliant. They also make great hostess gifts!

Moroccan Spice Coffee Soap will cure for the next three weeks. I will have it available for sale by Saturday, July 19. If you can’t wait, check out the Cinnamon Bun Coffee Soap - available now!

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Ok, so I really liked the effect of the bronze dragonfly stamp on the Lily of the Valley soap, so I decided it would look great on this one as well. I was hoping the darker green swirl color would be more pronounced, but c’est la vie. It does resemble bamboo in some places…see, I meant to do that!

The scent is very fresh and green, and the teak comes through as well. I think both men and women will love this one! I know I do! This soap will be available by Saturday, July 12.

Category: Currently Curing | 1 Comment »

We have a new addition in our basement as of yesterday. My husband got a really great deal on this monstrous 60″ flat screen TV in the clearance section at Sam’s Club. He wanted to surprise the girls and me, so he “tricked” us into going to the pool yesterday afternoon while he “mowed the yard.” Mowing the yard was just one of his projects, however. I discovered it first by accident, and tried to show some enthusiasm. He still wanted to show the girls, so he told them he had a big surprise and we all shuffled down the stairs for the grand unveiling. My six-year-old’s response: “Dad, that’s not a surprise. That’s just a TV.” The four-year-old gave the classic girl response: “Why did you get a new one? The old TV is still good.”

Poor guy. He should have known that girls just don’t share the same appreciation for oversized electronics.

Category: Heartwarming | 3 Comments »

My friend Jacki requested a Lily of the Valley soap. She’s a great lady and I love her to pieces, so of course I agreed. The scent reminds me of the African Gardenia soap that I made a few years ago. I’m not sure I should tell you what I meant to have this soap look like, because I ended up with an interesting phenomenon. It reminds me of the effect you get from using the crackle craft paint. I’m pretty sure it’s actually from the titanium dioxide that I used to whiten the base of the soap. I’ve had this effect before (in the African Gardenia soap, actually), but it was never this pronounced! I’m pretty sure it’s just a cosmetic issue, and the soap is still good. I’ve learned that when your soap doesn’t quite turn out the way you planned, you just smile and say, “I meant to do that!”

Looking forward to getting one of these? Watch for it at Great Cakes Soapworks around Saturday, July 19.

Category: Currently Curing | 2 Comments »

Thanks to all the great feedback I received from my testers, the Bug Off Spray flew off the table at the farmer’s market today. I had both the 1 oz. size that you see in the picture, and a 4 oz. size (which completely sold out, so I don’t have a picture of it). Check out what the testers had to say that compelled so many to buy:

Erika W., of Olathe, Kansas: “I live in an area that was originally a “forest” type setting. We have so many bugs. I did hand gardening tonight, and my husband mowed the lawn–at dusk and dark with lights on, and we both used the bug spray. I do not have any chigger or bug bites.”

Rebekah H. also of Olathe said the last time her son played in the yard he had bites all over him. After using the spray:

“I honestly don’t think he had one.”

Cynthia W. of Greenwood, Mississippi: “I have another non-commercial bug spray, and it did not work well at all. Your product did the trick, even though I was surrounded by mosquitos. I am very pleased with the results of the spray. Mosquitos are pretty bad here, and I have been looking for an effective solution. Your spray is awesome!”

Diana R. in Belgium used the spray while gardening for 5 hours without reapplying:

“I’m gonna keep using this spray when I go out gardening. The bugs literally avoided me. I saw bugs flying in my direction, and about half a yard before reaching me, they went sideways to avoid me. Usually they crash into me. Loved it, really!”

The Bug Off Spray is made with the same essential oil blend that I use for the Bug Off Soap, and Bug Off Solid Stick. The base is a type of silicone called cyclomethicone which makes it feel more like a dry oil and doesn’t dry out your skin like the alcohol-based sprays. The only negative remarks I got were from a couple testers who said the spray stained their clothes a little bit, but it seemed to wash out ok, while others said it didn’t stain their clothes at all.

I will have the Bug Off Spray available on the Great Cakes Soapworks website by the end of next week.

Category: New Product Announcements | 1 Comment »

I’ve been wanting to make this soap for quite awhile now. What makes this one so special, you ask? It is made with anise and lavender essential oils. Yes, it smells a lot like black licorice! However, that’s not what makes it so great. The anise and lavender impart two wonderful qualities to this soap which make it ideal for the hunter or fisherman in your life.

1. Anise masks the human scent. Helps you sneak up on your prey/fish.
2. Once you acquire and clean your catch, it will take those icky smells off your hands.

Ok, now to discuss the aesthetic appeal. I had visions of a white soap with a black swirl, which I achieved by using more white, solid oils with a little bit of titanium dioxide in the main soap and activated charcoal added to the swirled soap. I did a little experiment with my swirls this time. They only reach about half way down the soap, but the tops are really pretty - thanks to the advice of fellow soapmaker Trish!

I think I’ll call it “The Cloak”. Any Star Trek fans out there?

Availability: Saturday, July 5

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Thanks to all my preferred customers who voted in my lip butter poll, we now have two new lip butter flavors: Limeade and Berrylicious! Limeade isn’t really new, but I had let that one run out, and the customers voted to bring it back. The poll took place from 7:30pm to midnight on May 27th. Twenty customers participated and each received their choice of a free lip butter. (If you haven’t already, you can sign up to be a Preferred Customer in the left sidebar of any page of the Great Cakes Soapworks website.)

If you haven’t tried any of the Great Cakes Soapworks Lip Butters, you are definitely missing out! In addition to Limeade and Berrylicious, you can choose from Strawberry, Orange Cremesicle, Peppermint Ice, Vanilla Latte, and Creamed Honey. They are made from vegetable oils and butters, and a unique plant-based wax. Candililla wax comes from the stems of the candililla plant which grows in the Mexican desert. It has a higher melting point than beeswax to help your lip butters survive the summer heat (although they will still melt in the clothes dryer!). It also gives the lip butters a more silky feel than beeswax. I love this quote from one of my customers:

“My husband kisses me more when I use your lip butter. Yeah, I used to use Burt’s Bee’s, and it would burn his lips. Your lip butters are so good that they don’t hurt his lips, and I get more kisses. Good for both of us!”
-Laura M., Independence, MO

Which Great Cakes Soapworks Lip Butter is your favorite?

Category: New Product Announcements | 10 Comments »