soap bubbles

i've been soaping up a storm lately, kind of in preparation for christmas, also because i have orders coming in!! i'm so excited, i cannot even tell you. (thank you, jess!) it all started because my mom "ordered" 20 bars earlier in the year, to give as christmas gifts for her teachers, and it's snowballed into this huge wonderful selling thing, and now i'm thinking i might as well put it up on the etsy shop. soap would fit in nicely with my random assortment of craftiness there, don't you think?

anyone else who might be interested in buying some, email me (estensler[at]comcast[dot]net) and i'll send you the email about the soap. in the meantime, here is the fun i've been having (with even more to do!):


oatmeal, milk & honey (same as this one)


hawaiian sand - a blend of bramble berry's matcha green tea, plumeria, and cybilla's vanilla vanilla, with almond meal swirled into it


gentle me - the baby soap


cool mint - a blend of peppermint, spearmint, rosemary, and fir needle essential oils. i was initially unhappy that the swirl did not come out as i had intended (i had hoped for a more vibrant, contrasting green and blue) but i like the subtlety.


clean & green - a blend of bramble berry's zucchini flower and lettuce fragrances, with calendula petals. the scent is a lot prettier than i had thought it would be.


buttermilk lavender castile - the very same


sunshine - because everyone always loves this one

if i put them up on the etsy shop, i haven't decided if i'll also put up the cedar & saffron soap that i made before the kiddo was born. i have a lot of it left over and the smell is pretty heavenly (in a masculine sort of way). the color turned out fantabulous imho, but i used a bit too much colorant i think, because the lather is sort of reddish-brown from the pigment. it doesn't turn your skin colors or anything so it isn't a problem, but it could make people think twice about continuing to use it. we'll see.

in other news, i love fall not only because the weather will change soon and i'll get to pull out my cozy sweaters in lovely rich colors, but also because the roses in front of my house go nuts this time of year. i have no idea what to do with them but i must be doing something (nothing) right, because they keep on blooming. occasionally i go out and hack them back and chop off the dead ones, and the pretty ones come into the house and into a vase with a bit of everything else in the yard.


two kinds of roses, day lilies, a branch from the mulberry tree (i think?), some pittosporum, some eugenia, even some rosemary. mmmm!