What Inspires YOU?

Maybe I am being inspired by the time of year, or maybe it's the great response to my last post.... I'm not sure. But I have decided to do my very first giveaway!

Up for grabs is one of the very first 'after dinner mint' soaps that I mentioned last time. With a scrummy chocolate outside and a fresh spearmint centre - these 100 gram bars are sure to be a joy to use in the shower!

This is what I am after...

I want to know what has inspired you recently.

For me it has been the new soaping book I bought - lots of new ideas and things to try. You know how you can get stuck in a bit of a rut and the thrill can kind of fade? Well for me, I am excited about soaping again and can't wait to try out new shapes, colours and forms.

So tell me what gets your blood firing and adrenalin pumping? What keeps you awake at night dreaming of 'what could be'?

Pop your story in the comments, be sure to give me a way to contact you and you are in to win!!

After Dinner Mint anyone?

This is my first attempt at a dual layered soap - that is, joining separate pieces of soap into one bar.

I am calling it the 'after dinner mint' bar - it has organic spearmint oil in the light green centre and serioulsy yummy chocolate for the outside.

Smellin' good people....!

This is a full sized bar with a 'bite' taken out that I thought people could use as a guest soap or for a hand basin.

I got the idea from the new soaping book I just bought and there are heaps more I want to try! What fun!!

I think next time I might try a vanilla centre with the chocolate outside or even say a clear, red 'jelly' centre with a light brown cinnamon outside - JELLY DONUT!!!! Woohooo!!

New soap mould - Batik Dome

Just a quick one to let everyone know I'm still kicking..... Christmas.... crazy time.....

Had a great weekend at the Civic Homespun Markets, with really good sales for my last market of the year and even better company in the form of Isis, Raewyn and Gayle.

It's a bit of a fun time for me at the moment as I received a new soap mould and this great soap book called Soapy Love! It has given me some great ideas and I can't wait to start trying some of them out! Check out the authors website here.

The new mould is a batik style pattern in a dome shape, which I think will make it a good bar to hold onto whilst sudsing in the shower. A workmate ordered some of my Vanilla, Pomegranate and Black Currant soaps and so I whipped these up yesterday.I am liking the idea of a solid coloured bar, with perhaps a light dusting of say, gold mica, in the grooves of the pattern for a really rich looking bar of soap. Hmm... so many options..... what fun!

Homespun

Just a quick blog to let everyone know I am doing one last market for the year. I'll be at the Civic Homespun Market this Saturday 12th from 10am till 3pm.

I'll be lucky enough to share a double stall with Isis (with her awesome journals) and a few friends, so we should have an interesting range of goods to offer.

If anyone else is like me and hasn't started on their Christmas shopping, with 2 weeks to go..... This is a great opportunity to pick up some very groovy, very different and very appreciated pressies!
Hope to see you there!
Pilgrim Hall, Paterson Street (opposite Myer Carpark), Launceston.

More from Niche

Too many great stalls to do justice to them all! This is just another snapshot of the weekend.

Apologies to all the amazing stallholders I have left out!

Life as a Bird Florist - I watched these beautiful flowers and arrangements walk out the door every day!

The Ruby Pear stall

Rebecca Roth - beautiful resin jewellery - gorgeous colours and style

Hungry Kitty - scrummy cakes, biscuits and more that kept all us other stallholders alive for the weekend! Contact Naomi here.

Susie of Black Eyed Susie

Isis, with trusty offsider Raewyn, and her brilliant recycled journals - we were side by side for the weekend (awesome company!) - also met her lovely partner Damian.

Find Your Niche

Just a quick post to pop some photos from the weekend's Niche Market. Three days of glorious handmade and design heaven.... sigh....
It was great to see some faces from the previous Niche Market and lots of new goodies as well. To all those who came along, a big thanks! Weather was a bit of a challenge, but heaps of folks braved the elements in order to bag a designer bargain and get a jump start on Christmas Shopping!

My little corner of Niche...

The always lovely Sophie from That Vintage

3 Blind Mice - 'upcycled' candles - just beautiful

Vee (The Purple Finch) and Kate (3 Blind Mice)

Sam & Maya from Hideyo - amazing origami artworks and bamboo clothing - contact them here

More soon......

Hi Ho Hi Ho.. it's off to Niche we go.....

With a last minute scramble to get stocked for Niche, I have found these great Bath Bombs through my work (we are a clinic and a beauty supplies wholesaler).

I was kind of looking for anything to help me bulk out the table and I use these myself and really like them.

I know that my usual MO is to have made everything myself, but desperate times and all that. Plus having sussed out their ingredients, it's nothing I wouldn't have put in myself. So I am happy with that.

I will have four 'flavours' to sell: Tropical Guava, Hawaiian Lei, Green Tea and Lemon Verbena.

They are all YUM! and last for ages if you break them up.

So now I am as set as I'm going to be and I am trying to just relax and look forward to meeting heaps of new people and getting to hang with ridiculously talented and clever folks for 3 days!

10 till 4, Inveresk Art Space..... see you there!