Product Reviews

It's that time of year again ...
a little slower than usual this year ... when compared to last year.

That gives me more time ...
for creativity ...
for introspection ...
for walking every day ...
and especially for incorporating new things into my life.

So ...
I signed up to do a few product reviews.
I LOVE new stuff!
and I love supporting new companies who are bringing new products into our world.

And if I can do anything to help get the word out about something they are doing
I am here to help in any way I can.

So ... stay tuned ... I'll be posting pics and writing about some really cool things arriving in my mailbox.

There might even be a giveaway or two  =)

Countdown ... 13 Days to Go!

We've been busy these last few weeks ... really ... really ... busy.

As of today, we're less than two weeks' away from our trip down to San Diego.

Just yesterday, I finished the 10th Look for the Collection.

Here's a peek of the shoes:

sorry ... for now, all I can show is the box.

As for the actual garment ... here's two more sneak peeks:  

 
To show the finished look would spoil the Surprise!

I CAN show you these amazing shoes that Hourglass Footwear created for one of our very first looks ... a look we released in June and in July ...

 
it's a pretty incredible overall Look ... one that is super comfortable to wear ... all in organic cotton

18 days until Fashion Week ...

13 days till we travel ...

We're pretty excited!

September's Sneak Peek!

This week's Sneak Peek from our 2014 Eco ArtWear Collection to launch on the runway

 during Fashion Week San Diego!

Uber comfortable t-shirt crafted from walnut-dyed, hemp knit. Cropped pants made from a beautiful hand-crafted, rayon batik from India.

From our 2014 Eco ArtWear Collection:

Model: Crystal Geller
Hair/Makeup: Beigeblond - Brett M Allred, Molly Miles Hickman, Aliya Chaidez
Accessories: SteamCircus.com
Photo: Barbara Hill Photography, Barbara Hill
Location: La Bottega in Vancouver, WA
From our 2014 Eco ArtWear Collection:
Model: Crystal GellerHair/Makeup: Beigeblond - Brett M Allred, Molly Miles Hickman, Aliya ChaidezAccessories: SteamCircus.comPhoto: Barbara Hill Photography, Barbara HillLocation: La Bottega in Vancouver, WA

Made for a Woman ...

"Strong enough for a man ... but made for a woman!"

That's the marketing gimick that's been associated with Secret Deodorant since the beginning of time.  And it's no wonder ... it's a phrase that, when combined with the ultra-feminine packaging, totally appeals to every aspect of a woman's psyche.  It's pretty.  It smells good.  And on our sweatiest, highest stress days ... we still come out of it smelling like a rose.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Secret Deodorant carries no acute or chronic health effects.

Well ... if you overlook that nasty aluminum ingredient ...
and talc ...
and cyclomethicone ...
and behenyl alcohol ...
and pentadecalactone ...
of course there are no serious health effects!

And when you take into consideration that aluminum in deodorants cause breast cancer and Alzheimer's ... well, you can completely understand why this particular brand specifically targets women.  And if you cannot, let's just say that there's a fuckton of money to be made off of cancer research [especially breast cancer research] ... and the more women using conventional deodorants that contain harmful chemicals, the more women that you have fall into a higher-than-normal risk for breast cancer and other related diseases that the pharmaceutical companies can then make money off of ... it's a vicious cycle perpetuated by greed.

So ... let's take a closer look at these ingredients ...

Aluminum [in any form] - a strong human neurotoxicant and an endocrine disruptor that is directly linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
Talc - proven to cause tissue injury and fibrosis; is also a skin and lung irritant
Cyclomethicone - a silicone-based solvent and is used as a "wetting agent" for personal care products
Behenyl Alcohol - a saturated, fatty alcohol used as an emollient, emulsifier and thickener in cosmetics
Pentadecalactone - a perfume and/or fragrance ingredient added to health and beauty products.  It is a pheromone derived from the male human and is used to attract females; in OTC body products, it is included in it's synthetic form.

YUCK!

Personally, for years and years, I fell under the sing-song spell of this particular brand.

And then quit ... cold turkey ... about three years ago.
I plan on remembering who my kids are when I'm 90.
I also plan on having both of my breasts.

But ... I still sweat.  And on really, really warm days ... I prefer smelling more like a flower than a gym sock.

So ... I did the research ... formulated a few recipes ... and voilá!

Organic Deodorant

Only 4 ingredients ... tested on pregnant women & teens ['cuz they can really sweat] ... and no complaints.
No clogged pores.  No yucky ingredients.  Made by a women ... for humanity.

Three scents are available ... more to come!

Chamomile & Lavender

Mother Earth [bergamot, cassia root, cedarwood, nutmeg, lavadin, & peppermint]

Basil, Sage & Mint

Click ... Click ... Snap!

We've successfully completed the shooting of all garments that will be contained in our Look Book.  The online site for this book has been created and will be available for viewing the last week of September ... for launch during Fashion Week San Diego. 

We've also sent the hard copy of the look book to print ... we anticipate having the book in hand within the next two weeks.  Lot's of photos ... a few words ... all on glossy paper ... we're pretty excited!

Our Final Press Conference for Fashion Week San Diego is this evening at Roppongi in La Jolla, CA.  It is during this PC that another Sneak Peek from our 2014 Collection will be released to the Press and General Public.  We're excited about this release ... as it's a completely different look from the overall feel of the rest of the collection.  It's attached to this update ... kind of a pre-release of a pre-release  ;)

The countdown to our Travel Date is official ... less than 30 days' remaining.  We will be posting updates on our social media pages all through the next month as we get closer and closer to the runway debut.

Enjoy your week!

=) Caryn

Our Kickstarter Project Sponsors!

Our deepest gratitude goes out to the following people who contributed to our Kickstarter Crowdfunding Project:  Taking an Organic Road to Fashion Week.

Thank you for being a part of our incredibly beautiful adventure!

Jacob Nordby
Peggy Stockwell
Karen Mengersen
Jennie Dougherty
Wendy Willingham
Janet Lynn Espinosa
Karen Davis Smith
Shasta Gaughen
Michael Bukraba
Sarah Nash
Reg Try
Cyndy Hagin
Rachael Coughlin
Ammi Brooks
Llewellyn Rhoe
Jamie Moore Fox
Elisabeth Svinth Davidson
Krysta Bell
Christopher Allen
Frank Miller
Steve Stockwell
Suzan Monson
Catherine
Peter Dougherty
Ganin Lovell

In the News!!!

It's been an exciting week!  Handed out more than a few fliers at our events this week to those interested in learning more about the project.  And our story was published in Saturday's Columbian, our local newspaper.

In the Living Section ... above the fold!

and if that wasn't cool enough ... we were featured in the upper right corner of the front page, right under the banner!!!

I don't know about you ... but I think that's pretty damned cool!!!

And ... in case you haven't been following along on our Facebook page ... this goes hand in hand with our Kickstarter Project.  Which, by the way, we're excited to announce that we've reached 1/3 of our goal with only 14 days to go  =)

If you have a moment, please check out our project and share it forward ... we'd appreciate it immensely if you did.

Just wanted to share ... and if you would be so kind as to please share this with your friends and families ... I'd really appreciate the love.

xoxoxoxo

Photo Shoot - Day 1

Today's shoot ... successful and completed!

My deepest gratitude goes out to La Bottega in Vancouver, WA, Barbara Hill Photography, and Beigeblond for the incredibly awesome work they put in to pull this off. It's not every Sunday that folks are willing to roll out of bed at 6am to help create something amazing! And let's certainly not forget Crystal and Deanna ... my two beautiful models ... without them ... well ... the clothes would still be hanging on the rack.

Additional thanks to my amazing husband ... he managed to help keep it all together so we could do this.

And finally ... to Harmony Art Organic Design for the incredible fabrics, Hourglass Footwear for the omigod pumps, Wasataylor & Steamed Circus for the accessories, and Neema Bags for the spot-on handbags.

While I cannot release shots of the actual garments until they have been released at Fashion Week San Diego, I can release this test shot that we did ...

Cheers!

In the News ...

Our interview today with The Columbian, a local newspaper, went exceedingly well!  We are excited about having had the opportunity to share with them our story.  We expect the featured story to be released within the next week [or two] and will post an update here once we have the link.

Thank you for your support of this project!

xoxoxo

Kickstarting it Into High Gear!

We've launched a Kickstarter Program to help cover the remaining costs associated with getting our Organic Women's Clothing Collection to San Diego for Fashion Week. It's an All or Nothing Deal ... so, there's really nothing to lose ... and you gain a wonderful feeling of helping an artist recognize their Dream ♥

Check out our Kickstarter Program!

Facing Fears

This coming week marks a milestone of sorts.  On Monday, I will be participating in a Press Conference in Hollywood ... designed to promote me and my art form ... my participation in 2013 Fashion Week San Diego.  This Press Conference serves to introduce Who I Am and What I Do to the rest of the world.

I am excited ... and scared ... all at the same time.

So many "what ifs..." are coming to the surface.

What if ... I am late for the conference?

What if ... I say the wrong thing?

What if ... I drop my drink/food/purse/etc.?

What if ... not one person likes what I make?

What if ... no one likes me?

The last one is kinda a biggie to me.  I spent many of my formative years fighting against a parent telling me that I would never be "good enough".  Impressionable teen years railing against classmates that bullied or ridiculed me because I was too smart or too pretty or too quiet or too whatever happened to be their particular pet peeve at that moment.

Over the last 10 years, I've worked tirelessly to face and remove those fears.  I've brought those concerns to the forefront of my life ... letting those who participated in my growth know that the words spoken in the past  no longer have an affect on my present or on my future.

I love me ... who I've become ... and the path that I am creating for my future.

I love my life, the profession that I've chosen to invest my heart and soul into, and all of the decisions that I've made along the way to get me to where I am right now.

And I suppose ... in the bigger picture ... it doesn't really matter what other people think ... so long as I have put my best foot forward and put everything that I Am into the Dream that I have chosen to pursue.

I am reminded of words spoken by Darryl Anka:

            "circumstances do not matter ... state of be-ing, matters".

I know this ... to my very core.  But sometimes ... I forget.

Guess it's time to dig it out, dust it off, and put it into practice.

Will let y'all know how it turns out.

xoxoxo

Raison Ethique - formal launch July 2013

Coming in July 2013

Artisan soaps, body products and candles.

Locally hand crafted in small batches using premium, certified organic and sustainably-sourced, natural ingredients.

Because what's placed ON your body

is just as important as what's put IN your body.

Countdown to Hollywood!

We're in the last days before our trip to Hollywood for the LA Press Conference ...

These last couple weeks have been split between preparations for this event and re-stocking our organic body products.

This morning, the shoes for our debut garment arrived via FedEx from Hourglass Footwear!
[gotta love them ... always so quick with their deliveries]

Of course ... the contents are Top Secret until after the 19th  =)

And ... doncha know ... a Designer HAS to have something new to wear ... just in case a photo [or two] is taken.  So ... I've been working on a new look just for that occasion.

Might need some sort of handbag ...

Took all afternoon to create ... but I think it will work well with the shoes.

Oh ... and it's all from recycled materials that I received from one of our Sponsors:  Rose City Upholstery!

Can't wait!

I've been a bit remiss ...

Being wrapped up in the planning and preparations for a super big event ... a person tends to get a bit overwhelmed ... and forgetful.  Some days ... REALLY forgetful.

And in the last 45 days ... WOW!

So much planning ... so many trips back and forth to San Diego ... and then the sudden planning of having my daughter come out for the summer ... the Sponsors' page for the website kinda got shoved to the back burner just a little bit.

With just a smidge over 3 months remaining before the release of our Spring 2014 Collection, I finally had a moment to get everything up to date on the site.  YAY!!!

So, with no further ado, here is a listing of our amazing Sponsors ... for their help and generosity I am eternally grateful ... because my Spring 2014 Collection wouldn't be a complete collection without their help!

Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing GOTS Certified Organic Textiles for the creation of our SS14 collection

Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing discontinued textiles for the creation of accessories for our SS14 collection

Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing discontinued fabric samples for the creation of our SS14 collection

Hourglass Footwear
Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing custom designed footwear for our SS14 collection

Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing exclusive jewelry designs to complement our SS14 collection

Neema Bags by RH
Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing exclusive handbag designs to complement our SS14 collection

Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing exclusive hair & makeup design for the lookbook production of our SS14 collection

Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing exclusive photography services for the lookbook production of our SS14 collection

Proud sponsor of Second Star Designs for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego
providing an excellent location for the lookbook production shooting of our SS14 collection

An Artist's Statement

I create clothing … beautiful architecture for the human body.

I cannot not create … it is in my blood, my genetic code, to take ordinary materials and turn them into something extraordinarily pleasing to the eye and the touch.

I look at a piece of fabric as though it is a blank canvas … the flow and feel of the fabric dictates the garment design, rather than the other way around.

Trims should accent, rather than take away from, a garment’s overall design.  There can be a point where there is too much … and a true artist will know exactly when to stop before the accents and trims take away from the overall feel of a good design.  Much like perfume, a little bit can go a long way.

Regardless of the type of design, clothing should be an exquisite pleasure to wear.  Fabrics used in a design should feel amazing next to the skin.  And whether you have donned a raw silk ball gown or simply grabbed a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, the clothing that you wear should never feel as though it were separate from you.

I believe in maintaining the integrity of our environment with every action I do, every garment I create, every belief that I hold close to my heart.  I create with intention.  I believe that whatever you get back from The Universe is directly proportional to what you put into it.  Having this belief is the reason why Love is the main component of everything I have ever created … no bad product has ever been made where Love has been present in its creation.

I aspire to limitlessness.  I believe that imagination and openness to potential are the two most important tools any artist can have in their possession.  I explore and break through the perceived boundaries of my creativity at every available opportunity.

And finally, I firmly believe that everyone should discover and pursue that which is their Greatest Excitement in Life.  For it within this pursuit that a person’s truest potential is discovered and miracles are created … creating a beautiful world filled with amazing inspiration for others to follow.

Caryn Stockwell

Color Alchemist

Second Star Designs

The Anatomy of a Soap Label

The handmade lotka paper is made in the highlands of Nepal by rural craftspeople in an environmentally friendly process with 50% recycled content. The raw material for our paper is the Daphne bush. It is farmed and harvested from 3-4 year old plants that are cut down and stripped of their bark. The plant is not destroyed when cut down, it regenerates from the root. The cane like stick, once its bark is removed is dried and used to heat the villager’s homes, to provide fuel for cooking and also for the production of the paper. All of the water used in the paper production is reclaimed and reused. The bark is beaten by hand and boiled to break it down to a pulp (where it is mixed in with recycled pulp and paper scrap collected from the card and envelope manufacturing process) that is then pored into screens to form the sheets. These sheets are then dried in the sun. The whole process is not only earth friendly but also provides a large community with a healthy enterprise.

It is from this paper that we create the cigar band labels used to wrap our soaps.

Our seed paper has a blend of wildflower seeds embedded in the paper; Tolerates partial shade; needs 4 hours a day of direct sunlight and grows to about 3'. Seeds include Spurred Snapdragon,Tussock Bellflower, Creeping Thyme, Lilac Godetia, Foxglove, Catchfly, Monkeyflower, English Daisy, Red Corn Poppy and Showy Evening Primrose. This blend is specifically designed for those who wish us to print directly onto the handmade seed embedded paper.

Germination may begin as quickly as one week or may take up to six weeks depending on your regional growing zone.  If you plant the seed paper in a pot, or in your garden please cover with just 1/8” of soil and keep moist until established.

A Sneak Peek!

A Sneak Peek at the Designer Line-up for 2013 Fashion Week San Diego

The ride of a lifetime has now begun ... please keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times!

More to come ... so please stay tuned!

It's Been Such a Long Time ...

since I last wrote.  I know.

We've I've been a little busy ... okay, more than a little ... crazy busy.

So ... to catch y'all up:

Days have been filled to the brim with meetings ...

and new body products like this whipped, chocolate body souffle

and these incredible chocolate bath truffles

which are also available without chocolate ... 'cuz not every woman wants to smell like a dessert!



And then ... a trip to the beach to celebrate our 1st Anniversary ... 'cuz we're cool like that the Smalls were at school and it was our only chance for 6 hours of silence, together, that didn't involve sleeping.




And sometime around the end of February, we headed out to Lincoln City to stock a new store that opened up right on Hwy 101.  Cool place filled to the rafters with amazing artisan treasures.



And to round out the month, with the first designer meeting under my belt, The Muse has been heading into overdrive spinning fabrics into clothing, setting up artistic collaborations with other equally talented designers, and talking to potential wholesale accounts about their carrying of our line of body products.

It's been a fun month!

There's so much more to come ... will keep you posted ;)

365 Days of Creativity - Day 6 - Holy Habaneros

About a week ago, I have a message from my sister-in-law ... she's experiencing some incredible pain in the muscles of her legs.  Pain that the doctors are suggesting to be treated with some heavy-duty meds.

She doesn't really want to go that route ... and I can understand.
Completely.

So ... I jump online and begin researching alternatives to medication in the treatment of deep tissue pain.

And on one of my favorite sites for alternative medicine, I find what appears to be a pretty amazing idea:

Capsaicin Cream

I locate a recipe and send my husband to the store for a pound of habaneros.

which he chopped for me ♥

so I could then cook them in olive oil in the slow cooker for the next 24 hours.

When finished, the whole, visually volatile mess is run thru the blender ... 

'cuz, ya know, it certainly ISN'T HOT ENOUGH AS OIL ALONE!

After blending, I strained out all the little particles ... thought about feeding the pieces to the chickens and changed my mind ... they love me and I didn't want to ruin that relationship  ;)

The strained oil is then blended with organic beeswax and poured into these cute little jars to cool.

For all intents and purposes, this stuff sounds amazing!  We've listed it in our online store.

For those wanting to know what this stuff does and how it's used, here's more info:

Deep Tissue Capsaicin Cream, good for arthritic pain, deep tissue pain, bursitis, fibromyalgia, diabetic neuropathy, joint & muscle pain, and post-herpetic neuralgia.

When applied to the skin, capsaicin cream has been found to deplete substance P, a neurochemical that transmits pain. Capsaicin is a natural chemical with desensitizes a person to pain, providing a temporary reduction in a person's overall pain levels. When used regularly, capsaicin cream will provide prolonged pain relief.

Recommended dosage is .025% capsaicin cream, applied to the skin four times a day, directly over the areas of muscle or joint pain. Amount may be increased to no more than .075%.  Those sensitive to capsaicin may experience a stinging or burning sensation as a result of the capsaicin infused oil, this is a normal reaction to the capsaicin oil.

When using, wear gloves when applying ... or wash hands immediately after coming in contact with the cream. Do not use with a heating pad. Do not apply immediately after a hot bath or shower. Avoid getting in eyes or other mucus membranes. Do not apply to broken skin.

Ingredients: organic habanero oil, Grade A virgin olive oil, organic beeswax.

* Please note, this product has not been evaluated or approved for use by the Food & Drug Administration for its healing or medicinal properties.  Use of this product should not be lieu of your doctor's advice.  In case of a harsh reaction, such as inflammation or skin blisters, discontinue use immediately.  Always seek medical advice when experiencing internal pain. *

365 Days of Creativity - Day 4 & 5 - Shhhh!

On Monday, I was accepted as an Official Designer for Fashion Week San Diego.

YAY!!!

So, life's a little exciting around here at the moment.
And on Day 4, I spent most of the day working on 2 designs for San Diego ...
can't show them to you, 'cuz it's a S.E.C.R.E.T!

For those that know me, you know how much I love sharing on FB the stuff I'm doing in the studio.
Day 4 ... notsomuch ... 'cuz no one's supposed to know about any of it until like, October.
The kids have been sworn to secrecy ... bribed with candies for the next 6 months!

Now ... Day 5 ... that's a completely different story.

I can tell y'all about today ... until the cows come home.

Except, there's not much to tell ... we chopped about a pound of habaneros.  Okay, not "we" ... my husband chopped them for me ... and now they're marinating in the slow cooker for our next project.

which will be shared with you ... tomorrow.

Until then ... hasta la manana!

365 Days of Creativity - Day 3 - Vanilla Cream

Vanilla Cream Massage Oil Body Bars ...

we revised the recipe, replacing the majority of the shea butter with illipe butter and moderately increasing the amount of vanilla flavor ... creating a scrumptious treat for your body, mind, and spirit.

Illipe butter is the fat obtained from the nuts of Shorea stenoptera, a wild crop in the jungle of South East Asia. It is pale yellow solid fat after extraction, which turns quickly into green color. It has recently been introduced as a cosmetic raw material and is used in various skin-care preparations such as nourishing night creams, sun products, hair masks, and lip balms. It is the exotic butter that comes closest to matching cocoa butter in triglyceride composition. Illipe butter is recommended to heal sores and mouth ulcers. It reinforces the skin lipidic barrier and helps maintain skin moisturization, practically reversing the damage to the skin caused by the environment.

Cocoa butter is obtained by pressing crushed seeds of the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao. Cocoa butter is a well-known, valued ingredient in chocolate. In cosmetics, it is valued for its melting point, which is close to body temperature, its greasing and lubricating properties, and emollient virtues. Cocoa butter also provides skin conditioning and thickening attributes.

365 Days of Creativity - Day 2 - Ice Dyeing

Last week, with the arrival of my tax refund, I placed an order for new fiber reactive dyes from Dharma and some raw bamboo/cotton & hemp/cotton yardage.  At our local thrift store, I found a number of blank, white men's t-shirts and baby onesies that I could add to my newest passion:  Ice Dyeing.  Since it's more cost effective to dye projects in large quantities, I rummaged through my overstock and discovered about a dozen of my Made in Oregon t-shirts that, for one reason or another, hadn't sold.  I added those brilliant white t-shirts to the steadily growing pile of stuff needing color.

With the equivalent of about 20 yards of fabric, I decided the best way to tackle the prep work was to throw it all in the washing machine, split over two loads.  First the fabrics were washed in Synthrapol to remove any sizing or fabric softener residue.  Then, the fabrics were soaked in a soda ash mixture for about half an hour before being wrung out and placed into the two dye tubs.

This time around, I decided to layer the fabric, ice and dyes.  Seven colors were used in the first tub and four in the second tub.  Each 64-quart tub held about four layers of ingredients:  fabric, ice, dye, repeat ... then covered with a lid and allowed to sit overnight so the ice could melt and do its job.

 

This morning heralded in the grand reveal:  opening the tubs, rinsing off the fabrics, and surveying the results.

I have to admit ... they look pretty damned cool!

365 Days of Creativity - Day 1 - Gypsy Skirt

I dug into my endless supply of Thrift Store Treasures to create today's spark of creativity.

A women's pair of size 18, mauve colored silk pants was the first item to be dismantled into usable pieces of fabric ... followed by over-sized t-shirts, a beautiful cotton velour top in a dark camel, and a remnant of lightweight, cotton madras plaid.  Offcuts of pink and white, patchwork stretch lace and a chunk of synthetic suede in a light mauve completed the color array.

All of these pieces of fabric were then lovingly cut up and stitched together to create one of our signature Gypsy Skirts ... in a women's size large.  I figure this will be perfect for the new store that's opening out in Lincoln City the first weekend in March.

365 Days of Creativity

Lately, there are some days when I have ended up being a total "slacker" ... complete days filled with nothing more than lounging around the house in my jammies until noonish, drinking tea, and simply enjoying the world for all that it is.

There's nothing wrong with this, but I have a greater drive than that ... resulting in a mental admonishment that I could have done more with today than I managed to do.

So ... I'm setting myself a goal of sorts ... 365 Days of Creativity.

Starting Now.

And I will be posting these creative accomplishments on my Fan Page. One a day for the next year. If you're interested in seeing my progress, you can head on over to my page this evening and check out the photos. ♥

I am addicted to soaping ...

I've discovered a new passion that combines my love of organic products with my passion for baking ...

soap making!

Yummilicious loaves of freshly baked, body beautiful goodness that smell and feel incredible in the bath!

Granted ... I've only made 4 loaves of hand-crafted goodness in the last month ... but each is better than the last.  And I'm beginning to modify standard recipes as though I were creating baked goods.

Visually appealing ... scentsationally enticing ... a plethora of aromas and textures that are a delight to the senses.

Last night, upon seeing the abundance of raw organic pumpkin in the pantry, I felt the urge to create another loaf ... Spiced Pumpkin Pie ... with chocolate.  I had once created bread with these ingredients ... I figured the combination would be amazing in soap.

I located a basic recipe for pumpkin soap online and revised the recipe, using the baking knowledge I possess ... then running the whole recipe thru a lye calculator to determine the amount of lye & water needed to make my vision a reality.

After posting a picture of the beautifulness that is this loaf, I received requests for the recipe.  The two best parts about this soap (aside from the aroma):  it's gluten free and you can have your dessert before breakfast!

So, for all my soap crafting artisan friends, I gift you the recipe ... bon apetite':

Organic Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Soap - 4 pound recipe

16.3 oz. cocoa butter
17.3 oz. Olive Oil
17.8 oz. Coconut Oil
4.0 oz. shea butter
4.5 oz. Palm Oil
4.1 oz. Apricot Kernal Oil
4 tsp. of sugar in the water before the lye
2 tsp of salt in the water before the lye
4 oz. of canned pumpkin
1 tsp. cinnamon *
1 tsp. nutmeg *
1/2 tsp. allspice *
1/2 tsp. cloves *
1/2 tsp. ginger *
(* these are eyeballed estimates based upon the equivalent of 4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice)
2 Tbsp. finely ground, raw chocolate
1 oz of Vanilla fragrance oil
(you can also use 2.8 oz pumpkin pie fragrance oil, but I chose to keep the pumpkin raw)
9.1 oz. Lye
24.3 oz. of water

Get all of your ingredients and equipment ready (including pre-measuring out all of your additives).

Prepare your lye solution, and set it aside to cool (be sure to add the sugar and salt to the water before you add the lye).

Once your lye solution and oils are at about 100 degrees, slowly add the lye-water to the oils and blend. Only blend until the lye and oils are just barely mixed together...you don't want to take it to trace just yet.

Using a ladle, separate out some of the soap into a large bowl, stainless steel pot, or pyrex pitcher. I separated out about 1/4 of the whole batch (1 pound) into the pitcher.

Leave the separated part for a minute. Going back to the main pot, add in the pumpkin. Make sure it is mixed in well. Also add your Pumpkin Pie or vanilla fragrance oil to the batch at this time.

Take the pumpkin pie spices & chocolate and add it to the separated portion. Mix it well, making sure there are no clumps of spice.

Blend both portions of soap in each of the containers so that they are mixed very well. You should already be well at trace by now.

Starting with the pumpkin portion, pour about 1/2 inch of soap into the bottom of the mold. Then pour about 1/2 of the spice portion into the mold. Pour in a bit more of the pumpkin, and then some more of the spice. Alternate the two until you've filled the mold.

Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently swirl through the soap rotating the spoon/spatula around, up and down through the soap, and back and forth. You don't want to mix the colors all together, just swirl the dark and light colors with each other.
Cover the mold with a bit of wax paper and let it set in a safe place.

It is probably not necessary (with this recipe at least) to insulate the mold like you normally would ... though I did. Most pumpkin fragrance oils contain at least a little cinnamon and/or clove essential oil in them, which will really get the saponification process going. This batch of soap will get HOT. Don't worry, this is normal. Also, don't worry about how dark the soap is getting. This is just part of the gel process. The soap will lighten back up as it cools.

Let the soap cool and cure overnight before slicing it.

Though you're going to want to try it right away, let it set at least a few days before you test it...and at least a few weeks before you use it in the bath.

As it's curing, your house will be filled with the wonderful sweet spicy scents!

<3