Gift Boxes and Bows

I have been trying out different ways of decorating my gift boxed soaps with ribbon. Chiffon is my favourite choice as it is so pretty and makes me think of exciting things like bridesmaids dresses . I made up a recent order destined for the United States using two colours of chiffon, in colours complimentary to the soaps inside the boxes. There were two combinations, Rose and Gold, and Duck Egg and Copper. I only managed a photo of the Duck Egg gift box -then my camera ran out of battery. I didnt have time to check with anyone as to how they looked as they had to go straight into their wrapping and off to the post office, so I just hope their new owner approves once they arrive! I thought they looked cute, but then I am all fingers and thumbs with gift boxes. I need some lessons from my friend Corrie at Lomond Soap - she is the packaging queen for sure!

The Soap Boutique

Lovely Michelle from The Soap Boutique in Malta, has ordered some soaps to add to her Valentine gift sets this year. I just popped onto her Facebook page to have a look at some of her products and wow! she has a really tempting looking catalogue with some gorgeous looking pictures of soaps. Perfect for a soap addict like myself, and I am going to be telling my friends and family about this boutique!,
The Soap Boutique

A streamlined range of soaps

My poor blog has been sorely neglected these few weeks, as I have been concentrating on deciding which soaps to include in my range this year. Soon I will have all my new pictures ready to show and I will of course post them here!
I am honing the range in order that I can continue to give a quick turnaround time on my orders and I am switching to all allergen-free fragrances this year also, so that each soap is ideal for sensitive skins. I am updating some of the packaging, introducing some lovely new gift sets and updating my website. Of course this all takes a fair bit of time, and I miss my blog!

Hyacinth Bowl for Christmas

I received a bowl of three blue Hyacinths for Christmas from one of my lovely customers this year. What an amazing gift! We have so enjoyed watching the flowers grow, and now that they are open-the scent! The fragrance is all over the house and its beautiful, smelling almost like honey. These are one of the best presents I have ever had. I think I must have another try at making Hyacinth soap this year.

The Duchess

I have received the best ever book for Christmas from my fiance- The Duchess by Amanda Foreman. I just love it - I am a fan of historical novels in any case. This one is so very well written, I have put it down for a quick minute while I write my blog, but I must get back to it immediately afterwards! I have not seen the film, andI hope its very faithful to the true character of Georgiana, and to the events of her life. Well - off for a little read.......

The horse of Christmas past

All the preparations have just reminded me of one Christmas eve several years ago, during the time that I had my childrens' riding school. Some of the children had made Christmas stockings for their favourite ponies, which were hung on the wall of the barn. I went out for the evening with friends, and upon my return I went to check on the ponies. I was greeted by the sight of Bouncer the adorable Welsh riding pony, wandering around the barn loose, cheeks bulging and eyes popping. He had somehow let himself out and completely trashed all the ponies' Christmas stockings, which had been stuffed with carrots etc. Sweet memory of a treasured pony-his insides didnt seem to suffer from the incident, which was a relief.

Christmas Soaps

I was taken a little by surprise this year about the amount of orders that have come in, and am determined to be a lot better prepared next year, but for now I am afraid that my blog has been somewhat neglected! I am also so glad to see that so many of my soap making and crafting friends are doing so well with Christmas sales.
I am pouring soaps freshly to order for the time being, and am managing to dispatch soap parcels within a few days of purchase. I have a few new designs, but I think I will save those for the New Year. I just cannot wait till Christmas week, when I will get chance to catch up on all the great blogs that I read!