(Walking in the woods in Montana to collect items for my soaps)
Fall is just around the corner, and yard work just comes with the changing seasons. Raking up leaves and turning the compost to create healthy soil for the next plant season is a chore many of us will be doing. Working with soil and compost can leave a mess behind not only in the yard but on our hands, clothing, and yard tools. The changing weather can wreak havoc on our hands and faces, being exposed to the changing air and temperature. With all of the extra washing of hands we all have been doing, natural soaps can help the transition to winter for our skin much easier. Having extra oils added into my soap batter to help keep your hands and skin moisturized after each wash is a vital part of having healthy skin. As we make our way out of our flip flops and walk barefoot on the beaches into our thick comfy socks and big warm boots, our feet will also be benefiting from the use of natural soaps and self-care items.
(Pine Sap from Montana portioned out after straining and cleaning it)
One of my favorite garden tricks is to take a plain bar of soap and dig my nails into it before putting my gardening gloves on or working with soil, this prevents dirt from accumulating underneath my fingernails and allows me to wash my hands with less scrubbing! This is a perfect way to use up all those soap scraps that you do not know what to do with. Soap is one of my favorite gardening tools, for its many uses of keeping pests and animals out of the garden to helping to retain soil moisture, even to wash tools off at the end of the year before storing them away for the next season of use. This will help extend the life of your tools and keep them working like new. Soap is often overlooked as a tool to be used in the garden and yard and can be one of the cheapest and most useful tools of all.
(Montana Pine Sap Christal Clear Soaps)
One place in the yard where soap is a must is at the faucets! Tying a bar in an old nylon stocking and securing it to the faucet is a simple way to avoid going inside to wash hands and tools off, which helps from dragging yard debris into the house and clogging up your inside sinks. Making outside hand washing a breeze, with this simple trick. Using natural items in my yard is important to me, because of my dog Pork Chop, other animals that come over to visit, and the bugs both good and bad. To have good bugs in our yard and garden we must have bad bugs for them to eat, using chemicals and pesticides can be harmful to plants, ourselves, our pets, and to the good bugs. Soap is a beautiful all-natural alternative to those nasty chemicals and a guilt-free alternative. Mixing a few soap shavings into a spray bottle of water is one of the easiest ways to get rid of the pests that are bothering you or your plants! Bugs have an exoskeleton and soap helps to break up their bodies from the outside and eliminate infestations of bad bugs and is also safe to use in the watering liquid to kill the little eggs and larvae that are munching on your plant’s roots.
(Dandelion Christal Clear Soaps)
I love to use my sand soaps to scrub off glue, paint, and other icky stuff. Sand also helps to polish up my feet from walking around barefoot all summer long. It is also neat to be able to incorporate sands from my travels into my daily life, allowing me the joy of helping keep my memories of our travels fresh in my mind. Keeping my activated charcoal soaps near my faucets is ideal for bug bites, cuts and scrapes are sure to happen, and activated bamboo charcoal is one of the most beneficial items added to my soaps with its ability to absorb toxins and lend a gentle and cleansing exfoliation with each wash. Colloidal silver soaps are my go-to when I get any injuries from working in the yard, and cleaning a wound immediately is key to avoid infection.
(Harvesting lavender and sage from my neighbor's yard)
Collecting items from all of the passing seasons and adding them to my soaps throughout the year is one of my personal favorite things to do as a soap artisan. Fall is my favorite time of the year with the plants changing so much and the gifts they provide for my foraging pleasure. Being able to work with natural ingredients to allow my soaps to morph into the new season just like the garden changes with the seasons. Collecting tiny polished rocks, little pinecones, sap running from the trees, and working items nature provides into my soaps. Using items that have been gifted to me from family and friends to work into my batter is one of my favorite things to do! I love when people bring me sands and flowers from their travels and personal gardens, it helps bring a personal touch and helps me stand out as a soap artisan at shows. Most of the items I use in my soaps are overlooked by many soap crafters. Being non-traditional and different allows me to express myself as an artist, and I hope to encourage all of you to embrace what makes you unique and special.
(Custom clear soaps with dried flowers and a dash of sand)
When you are out doing yard work look around your yard, you just may have a bounty of items that would make for beautiful custom soaps that anyone would love as a gift this holiday season. Use up those dried flowers and herbs you have been saving and do not have any use for. Share some of the items you have been growing in your yard with your friends and family in the form of custom soaps. This holiday season is going to be here before you know it, and soap is a wonderful gift for all occasions and every age. We are all using soap, and washing our hands more these days and we all could use a little extra love for our skin this winter! Custom soaps are one of my favorite self-care items and we all could use a little extra self-love this year.
(Pork Chop looking for items in the yard to add to soaps)
Christal Clear Soaps Ingredients: Coconut oil, Olive oil, Palm oil, Water, Lye
All Natural * Fragrance-Free, Custom orders available
*Check out my soaps on social media and read my weekly blog for self-care tips and tricks.
*Leaving reviews and liking my posts and items helps to grow my business, gives more people the ability to see my products. Each like, share, and review is greatly appreciated!
Posting photos of your soaps and tagging them with my hashtags below is a great way to help any and all small businesses grow naturally.
#christalclearsoaps #myfavoritesoap #etsyshop #fragrancefree #selfcare #sandsoaps #vacation #iusethis #oneofakindgift #uniqueguftideas #bestgiftever #smallbusiness #gifts
*Thank you to every one of you for supporting me and my dreams of being an artisan soap crafter. Every order is important to me! I appreciate each and everyone who has bought my soaps along the way, either from Etsy, local art shows, local vendor malls, flower shops, and from me.
* All soaps are made by my own two hands, cut, stamped, cured, packaged with hand stamped logos by myself.
Here is a list of my completed blogs! Learn a bit about Cold Process Soap and Christal Clear Soaps, and how I got started making all-natural fragrance-free soap.
1) *Welcome everyone https://christalsglass.wixsite.com/christalclearsoaps/post/welcome-everyone-to-my-soap-page
2) *True cold process soap https://christalsglass.wixsite.com/christalclearsoaps/post/what-is-true-cold-prcoess-soap
3) *10 random facts about me https://christalsglass.wixsite.com/christalclearsoaps/post/10randomfactsaboutmyself
4) Activated bamboo charcoal https://christalsglass.wixsite.com/christalclearsoaps/post/activated-bamboo-charcoal-christal-clear-soaps
5) Sand
6) Indigo
7 Rose & wildflower
8) holiday gifts
9) In the garden
10) What’s in my bag
11) Fall is here
12) Essential oils
13) Clays
14) Favorite self care tips
15) Spices are not just for cooking
16) What I am thankful for
17) New in the shop/stocking up with Christal Clear Soaps
18) An accomplishment I am proud of
19) Houseguests
20) Selfcare during the holidays
https://christalsglass.wixsite.com/christalclearsoaps/post/self-care-during-the-holidays
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