has anyone seen my Geisha....?

These sweet candles are actually delicate little Japanese Ceramic Sake Cups.

My lovely Mother-in-Law bought them on a recent trip to Tassie, at an antique store. She thought they might make interesting candles - I think she was right!

They are only small, but would sit nicely on a dinner table, a mantle piece or even a the ledge of your bathtub next time you are in the mood for a candlelit soak (complete with a glass of wine of course!!).

These are one offs only - no more once they sell - and only ten left!!

Get into sanctum quick to grab yours next time you are in Launceston!

Luscious Lips!

Our lovely Lip Balms are back in stock - delightfully ensconced in their Vintage Tins.

I don't have a good reason for not making them for so long, just that 'life' got in the way and the past year flew by!

I still adore these little tins with their different images on the lid - the only thing is that they may not be the tightest seal on a container, but keep them upright and you'll have no trouble from them. I often sell them with a small organza bag, that way folks can keep them safe and sound.

I made them in: Rose and Gold Mica, Vanilla, Peppermint & Lime and Mandarin Mimosa.

In store at sanctum now....

Oh, and I've managed to get hold of some more of the beautiful Moroccan Tea Glasses to make in to candles as well - I think I've got some different colours this time too!

Totally rockin' Moroccan!!

Firstly, apologies for not being as regular with my posts this past year.

My little business sanctum has been keeping me very busy and with three emails, two blogs, two facebook pages, one website and a Linkdin page to manage - well, some things do get squished to the back of the 'to do' list.

We've brought on board a business coach and so are hoping that with her help, we can create better time management.

Well... that's the plan anyway!

Anyway, it's the first day of 2012 and I had a hankering to make up some new candles I've been keen on for a while.

I found these containers at a local kitchenware store just before Christmas - when I went back to buy them the store was so busy that I ran out of time while waiting to be served and couldn't get them. Of course, when I went back again after Christmas - most of the glasses had gone and the colour choice was very restricted - but not to worry.

I just love Morrocan (also known as 'Turkish') Tea Glasses just by themselves - they invoke pictures of hiding out in dimly lit Tea Houses with hookah pipes and shady characters, wheeling and dealing and running about with big moustaches and scimitars.

But that might be just me...

I have wanted to make them into candles for some time and am pretty happy with the result. Now I just need to convince the store to either let me buy enough at a time to get a better price, or give me the name of their suppliers and I will get them direct.

I've got just twelve made up and will have them in at sanctum when we reopen as of the 10th. I kept the wax it's natural white as I think the glasses are the star of the show here.

Hope people like them as much as I do.

photo 'phun' at sanctum

After meeting a local photographer at a business networking event, we had the opportunity to have some interior shots of sanctum taken - we hope to get them onto the website and the blog so folks can get some idea of what the space looks like before visiting us.

Inspired by Dave, we had a play for ourselves after he left, with some of our tea, our hot stones and the new olive oil soap we've just brought in. Fun!

Need to take some more shots of the soap as this was one of the better ones and didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped.
Anyway, till next time......

just can't help myself......

It's an illness.... I'm sure of it...

I just can't help it..... I'm obsessed....

I swore I wouldn't.... but I did....

I bought more new fragrances!!!!!

It's partly Erin's from Inner Earth Soaps fault really - she was offering some fragrances she doesn't use anymore up for sale and led me to a whole new supplier I hadn't known about!

Based in Queensland Big Tree Supplies has a huge range of goodies for us soapers and candle makers to revel in.

So far I've bought:

Asian Pear & Lily - top notes of nashii pear, apple and leafy greens, middle notes of jasmine, lily of the valley and rose petals and finished with pear nectar, musk and peony blossoms

Green Apples - an amazing true Green Apple fragrance - tangy, sweet and delicious!!

Black Raspberry & Vanilla - delicious dark raspberries with warm vanilla - sweet, juicy and very moorish

Ginger Lime - warm, spicy ginger teamed with freshly squeezed lime

Manuka Honey & Lavender - freshly harvested lavender, with a hint of bergamot and a dash of manuka honey

Orchid Bouquet - a unique blend of fresh orchids, peony blossoms, water lily, aloe vera and bamboo

So now I have even more fragrances to play with for my candles and soaps.

Such fun.....

back in stock...

Our very popular Fragrant Reed Diffusers are back in stock at sanctum, after a sell out weekend at the last Niche market.

These guys have been a bit of a surprise hit at both the markets and in at sanctum.

Fair warning though folks, I've needed to increase the price from what I had them for as my suppliers have raised theirs as well.

Still for only $25.50, they are the perfect way to fragrance a space by simply setting them up and forgetting about them.

The one I have going in sanctum is still going as strong as ever, even after 6 months!

We have some great fragrances in like:

Honeysuckle Jasmine - a heady combination of these two florals

Peppermint & Eucalyptus - lovely fresh notes with hint of sweetness

Very Vanilla - a firm favourite for so many people

Mulberry Tree - fruity and perfect for freshening up a stuffy room

Frangipani - for those of us who are trying to hang onto summer

Plus more!

There are generally only one of each fragrance in stock, so get in quick!

Apologies for the 'spacey' blog entry, I seem be having trouble with either having too many or no spaces in the entries of late!!

new soaps on the block....

A few posts ago I mentioned a new soap I had batched up. It's been curing nicely these past few weeks so Ifinally got to take a few snaps of it to show.
I've actually done up a second batch since then and am just waiting on more ingredients to arrive (namely my coconut oil) and I will be right into making even more.
This first batch is a new fragrance - am loving citrus-sy fragrances right now so this one is Lemongrass, Ginger and Pink Grapefruit.
The fragrance has turned out really lovely. Of course the first thing that hits you is the zesty, herbaceous lemongrass then the warm tones of the ginger comes through with the pink grapefruit tying them togehter. Can't wait to get this one in the shower!
Instead of rolling the soap in to balls, as I've done in the past, I've sliced the batch into different sizes and shapes. The idea is to have a range of sizes and therefore prices for people to choose from.
I love big, chunky blocks of soap - but I have friends who prefer the thinner, rectangles. Each to their own.
This second soap is a fragrance combination I've done before, but again I've chopped instead of rolled.
This is my Red Tea and Linden Blossom soap. Such a wonderful fresh, green aroma! It sold really well as the soap balls, so I am hoping folks will take to the more rustic looking blocks.

They won't be cured in time for the Makers Market at Festivale, but I hope to have them ready for the next Niche Market (if I get accepted) and in sanctum. Am now starting to plan my next few batches of soap. Looking forward to seeing what I end up with.

soaking away the new year....

Welcome to the New Year!!!
It's hard to believe we have already started on 2011.
sanctum is open as of tomorrow and we already have appointments booked in for the upcoming week. Very exciting.
We are looking forward to the challenges that this year will bring.
Recieved the application for the next Niche market in April and also chatted to the folks running the Design Centre Market, during Festivale, about being part of that as well. So am already thinking on my little production line here at home.
Whipped up a double batch of Olive Oil soap yesterday - using Lemongrass, Pink Grapefruit and Ginger to fragrance it with. Very zesty and uplifting aroma's. Will post some pictures when I get it out of the mould.
Also made up some detox bath salts for a promotion I am running at sanctum. Along with a great value Massage Treatment pack, I will be giving a bath salts to each person that takes part in the promotion. See the sanctum blog for more info.
The salts are a blend of: Coarse Sea Salt; Milk Powder, Green and White Clays as well as; Lavender, Frankincense, Sweet Fennel and Lemon Myrtle Essential Oils.
It's quite a stimulating blend, so caution needs to be taken with any skin sensitivities or pregnant women.
The idea is to kickstart the body with a course of Massage and support this with the bath salts used at home.
Wouldn't mind doing it myself!

new candles in stock

Since Niche, I have been trying to restock my shelves at sanctum but have had some trouble with my suppliers being out of the usual containers I get.

The good thing is that it has let me try a few new ones.

I've got a smaller version (70g) of the large frosted tumblers I usually do - I think they are really kind of sweet and they have been received really well from Clients in at sanctum and at the Tamar Visitor Centre Makers Evening a few days ago.

I've also brought in these great metallic votives especially for Christmas - I thought they would make anyones Christmas Table look (and smell) amazing! The light shining through the walls of the container throw out these great coloured patterns.

These ceramic containers are the biggest that I do at about 250g. They will only be a limited offer as I can only get so many of the containers from my supplier.

They look great and I am really liking having a play with new containers and sizes.

I've got some more of these square ones on order plus a few large rectangle ones that I will most likely put a double wick into.

I've just now been able to place an order for the frosted round containers I usually get, though only in a limited number. I've been lucky that the orders I've had since Niche, I've been able to fill with what containers I already had.

Be sure to check out sanctums blog for some pictures I took of the rest of my instore Christmas display too!

seriously big tea lights

These bad boys are about twice the size of your ordinary tea light. They're not called 'maxi' for nothing!

At the recent Niche market, a local ceramicist stopped by the stall and asked me about creating candles to go with her handmade ceramic light shades. She dropped one off the second day and I have to say, I was really taken with it - enough to pay her there and then just so I could keep it!

After tossing a few options around - we decided on keeping it simple and went with the larger tea lights. We have left these ones un-fragranced, but I can see making some up with citronella for outside use.

I think they look pretty good and they suit the light shades really well. I can't wait to try one out!

Just around the corner...

Well, in just over a day or so, we will be well into our first day at the Niche market. I am really looking forward to being back behind the stall - I've missed it. You always meet great people - both ones who come visit your stall and the other stall holders. You get feedback on your creations and get to see all the other devilishly talented folks out there.
You just hope to make some money - not to pay the site fee, but to be able to go and buy all the cool stuff on the other stalls!

Niche all wrapped up Friday and Saturday 10am till 4pm.

See you there.

We also dropped into the Tamar Visitor Centre last weekend and got to see the display of my products that the ladies had done up. I've pretty much got pride of place as you walk in. Yay me! Here's hoping they sell well.

Soap on my mind....

Is it just me, or is there something seriously saucy and sumptuous about a big bowl of soap?!

I was taking some new shots of my products and just found myself getting caught up in the moment...

I'm hooked aren't I...........?

Tea for Two...

My house is smelling pretty amazing right now. As with many other soapy folk, I have a rather deep seated obsession with fragrances. My latest is called Linden Blossom.

From the awesome Bramble Berry fragrance range - it has this amazing sweetness to it that blends citrus notes with the Linden Blossom and light florals as well. Mmmmmm..

Now.... what to team it with....?

Well to be honest, this pairing came together simply because of the name.

Red Tea and Linden Blossom

Rolls off the tongue quite nicely doesn't it?

So off I went to my local wholefoods store, bought myself some beautiful Rooibos (Red Tea) loose leaves and away we went.

Instead of using filtered water for my lye solution, I used the infusion of red tea. It started off this amazing russet red colour and I didn't think to add any other colourants to the batch. As it has cured, it's become a lovely soft cream. To give it a little 'zing' I dabbed dried red tea leaves onto each soap ball. What do you think?

soaking my troubles away...

How exciting it is to create something new....

I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile - ever since I first found something similar at Lush in Brisbane.

These are Bath Melts - they work on the same principle as Bath Bombs, as in you pop them into your bath water and they 'melt' away.

I finally found a recipe that I could tweak and be happy with. I am pretty darn pleased with how they have turned out - especially after the obligatory home trial.

Ahhh.... toasty bath.... candlelight....glass of wine..... Mmmmmmm.....

Jammed packed full of cocoa and shea butters, olive and vitamin E oils, sea salt and lavender essential oil - these left my skin feeling super soft and yummy!

Great for these winter months when your skin just can't seem to keep the moisture in. Half a melt does a good sized bath so they are pretty economical too.

I plan on introducing them at the next Niche Market in August, but if anyone is keen to try beforehand, just let me know.

Bliss.....

"Won't that make your face go black...?"

This was the comment from the lady in the wholefoods store, when she found out what I wanted to use the charcoal powder I was buying for.

Soap.... yep, soap!

I would like to go on the record as saying, I didn't pilfer the charcoal from our open fireplace or from the last crumpet that didn't survive the toasters' ministrations - this is 'activated' charcoal and is used quite widely as an internal supplement in the natural therapy industry. Charcoal has amazing absorbant properties - ie, if you have swallowed something you shouldn't have, charcoal will absorb the nasty stuff and carry it out of the body. It is also present in 90% of our water filters.

Externally, charcoal acts as a gentle, but effective excess oil remover and helps to purify and exfoliate the skin. Teamed with Australian Tea Tree, Lavender and a spash of Lime and you got yourself one heck of a cleaner that even the boys will love!

This will be a good soap for anyone with problematic or oily skin - people who suffer conditions such as acne would benefit from using a soap like this as well as any grubby hubby's!

I love the colour contrasts between the black/grey and the white - can't wait for them to cure so I can try one!!

This is a batch that didn't make it.

I used organic honey throughout the mix and then got a bit creative and threw in some bee pollen granules at the end (thought it might make an interesting texture and colour contrast). It was not to be! A few minutes after pouring into the mould, I came across a gooey, sticky, jelly, bubbling, overcooked mess! Hmmm.... back to the drawing board!