I have posted photos of my testing experience in a video above. I am not sure why the volume refused to be loud but after recording it three times I finally decided that this was as loud as I was going to get it. I hope you enjoy my video and my blog below.

I was really excited when Nature's Garden sent me an email to ask me if I would like to test a kit for them. Nature's Garden is one of my FAVORITE companies to order my fragrance oils from. They have AMAZING scents. If you haven't tried them out yet you definately should. So of coarse I said yes to testing out one of their new kits! I was so excited and couldnt wait to see what they had in store for me.

I got the kit in the mail and could tell before even opening my box that it was something coffee scented. Sure enough when I opened my box I saw a recipe and all the ingredients I would need to make Frappe Mocha Body Cream. I couldn't wait to get started on it! This is how my testing went ...

Before I did anything I read through all of the directions and the ingredients. It's important to do this BEFORE you start on something. This way you know what you have to do and you are able to make sure you have everything you need before you get started.

After reading through everything I cleaned all of my work space up. I am a bit of a clean freak so I always make sure that everything is REALLY clean before I start any recipe ... including the floor. Once I was done with the cleaning part I taped my Directions and Ingredients list up on my wall where I was going to be working. I find this easier when working on any recipe so that it isn't on the counter getting in the way.

Then I put my hair in a tight bun, put on my apron, hair net, gloves and a face mask. Depending on the recipe you may also need to wear safety glasses but in this case I did not.

After my kitchen is clean and I am dressed in my ''doctor'' attire (my niece said to me ''You are so funny Auntie Charlene! Dressed up like a doctor!'') it is time to sanitize all of the packaging materials.

Next I took a look at my ingredients list and placed everything I needed on the counter. I measured and weighed all of the ingredients out for the recipe. I am glad I did because I had a little extra left over with some of the ingredients in the kit. You want to make sure that your recipe is EXACT when making something like this. Measuring your ingredients out BEFORE you start saves you a lot of time. And now it is time to start making the recipe!


FRAPPE MOCHA BODY CREAM RECIPE AND KIT FROM NATURE'S GARDEN
Luscious and Thick Coffee Scented Body Cream
(Recipe makes approximately 4-4oz. jars)

This is a list of the ingredients you will need:
INGREDIENTS
353 grams of Distilled Water
1/4 Cup Dry Ground Coffee Beans
1 Coffee Filter
48 grams Sweet Almond oil
24 grams Silky or Traditional Emulsifying wax
*(I used the Silky)
10 grams Cocoa Butter
8 grams Stearic Acid
5 grams Vitamin E Oil
7 grams Optiphen Preservative
5 grams Natures Garden World's Best Coffee FO
1 gram Natures Garden Chocolate Fudge FO
Plastic Transfer Pipettes
4- Clear 4oz. Jars with Lids
*most of these ingredients can be purchased at Nature's Garden.
http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/

So this was actually the very first time I was making body cream by scratch. I have made a lot of body butters but never a lotion or cream. I was actually a little aprehensive about making any kind of lotion before receiving this kit because of the preservative required. So many people seem to want 100% natural products and with any recipe containing water a preservative is needed. My body butters do not contain any water which is why I have never had the need to a preservative. However, without a preservative in your lotion/cream you might end up growing a microbe that could actually harm someone. This would NOT be good. So a preservative in your lotion/cream is a MUST. It was time to finally tackle my fear of using a preservative!

WATER PHASE
For the water phase you heat your distilled water (approximately 500 grams) up to at least 180F and hold for 20 minutes to destroy any bacteria.
~So far it wasn't so hard! :)

Next, place a little less than ½ cup of dry, ground coffee beans inside a coffee filter (inside a strainer), and pour the heated water over it; creating strong coffee. Make sure that you have 353 grams of fresh brewed coffee for your recipe. If not, add more water until you have the required amount of fresh brewed coffee. Set this aside.
~I actually JUUUST didn't have enough so I had to do the water phase a second time with more distilled water so that I would have the right amount for the recipe.

OIL PHASE
Using a double boiler heat the following weighed out ingredients: 48 grams sweet almond oil , 24 grams Silky or traditional emulsifying wax,
10 grams Cocoa Butter, 8 grams Stearic Acid, 5 grams Vitamin E Oil to around 140 F.
~This part went pretty quick and was VERY easy. Just make sure you do not start your OIL PHASE until you are almost done with your WATER PHASE. This way they are about the same temperature at the same time.

MIXING PHASE
You want to move quickly, ensuring that your water phase and oil phase mixtures are around 140F. In large bowl combine those ingredients and blend well (stick blender highly recommended). Mixture will turn brown in color and begin to emulsify.
~Unfortunately, I do not own a stick blender. So instead I used my mixer with the whisk attachment. Having a stick blender really would have been a lot better but it worked out just fine with what I did have. At this point I was thinking, 'Is this consistency normal? I hope I didn't do something wrong!' lol Everything was a consistency of water. I wasn't sure if it was actually going to thicken up.

COOL DOWN PHASE
Allow your mixture to cool to around 120F, and add 7 grams Optiphen preservative, 5 grams coffee fragrance oil, and 1 gram chocolate fudge fragrance oil. Mix thoroughly. Allow to cool to room temperature and place into jars.
~Okay, so at the point when my mixture was at 120F it was still REALLY thin. I added the preservative and the fragrance oils and was thinking that it might just thicken up right away after mixing a little more. NOPE! I thought 'I really did do something wrong!' lol But before I knew it, right before my eyes, it started to become this beautiful creamy texture as I was mixing it. I was in total awe as I watched my mixture turn into the most wonderful cream! When it was time to put the cream in the jars I poured it into a large plastic bag, snipped of the tip, lined up the jars and squeezed the cream into each jar. It's REALLY easy and mess free to do it this way.

FINAL TOUCHES
If you would like to create the appearance of a “whipped cream” look on top of your frappe mocha body cream, simply divide this recipe by 4, and make the cream with distilled water instead of fresh brewed coffee. Then, place the ''whipped cream'' on top of the mocha layer, and sprinkle some dry coffee grounds on top.
~I decided not to do the ''whipped cream'' look on my cream. But it would create a cool look to it so I would probably give that a try next time around.

FINAL THOUGHTS (Isn't that what Jerry Springer would say!? LOL)
After making this cream I realized that the amount of preservative needed is actually quite small to do it's job. This was good to know. I'm sure that as soon as a natural preservative becomes available Nature's Garden will be sure to carry it. But for now it might ease your mind (I know it did mine.) to know that the one that Nature's Garden does carry is paraben-free and formaldehyde-free. I am happy to say that I have now overcome my fear of using preservatives and I am actually in LOVE with this Body Cream recipe!
I am so happy with the end result of this recipe. This Body Cream is so silky soft and smells fantastic. You should definately give it a try!

Thank you Nature's Garden for chosing me to test your recipe out!

Goodmorning everyone! So today is my birthday. I turned 30 today! YIKES! lol I never really thought of where I would be at 30. I remember thinking of being 18 was a stretch when I was a little girl. I am happy to say that I am still carded ... which always makes a girl (or should I say woman?) feel good. ;) I must say that besides being a little depressed about the age that I feel great. I have been working out and eating right since the beginning of the year and I am going to continue to do so because I feel so much better because of it. I am in love with my business and have SO much fun with everything I do. I have a wonderful husband and a family I love to pieces. Oh, and I can't forget to mention my little baby, Piglet (she is a cat). lol She is a stray cat that followed my husband home every day for weeks so we took her in. Sometimes life can be hard, as it can be for anyone. But at the end of the day I look at what I have and to me I will always be rich ... with love. I hope everyone has a wonderful day. I will be enjoying today and being thankful for all the love I have in my life.

Hi everyone! I have ordered some new molds to make some really cool looking soaps. I can't wait to get them in and to add them to my website. Some of the molds I have ordered are REVOLVER & BULLETS mold, DRILL & SCREW mold, LEGO mold, ORANGE SLICE mold and a few other fun ones. I will probably add a special tab to my website just for Novelty Soaps. And I will moved the Pet Fish soap & the Cupcake soaps over to that section. Are there any kinds of Novelty Soaps you would love to see me offer?
Well, I am off to do my daily workout and then will get started on some soap orders. I can't wait to make the new Banana Cream Pie Cupcake soap of the month! I'm telling you ... it smells so good and just like the real thing you will want to take a bite out of it. But don't! lol

I am so excited to tell you about my new product!

The name of my new product is BITTY BUBBLES. A moisturizing glycerine soap in a break-away clamshell. They are so much fun and are PERFECT to bring with you anywhere! You can even customize them with your favorite scent! BITTY BUBBLES are perfect to take on vacation, keep in a diaper bag or carry in your purse. Now you can carry your favorite soap with you wherever you go! I can't tell you how many times I have been in a public restroom and realized that there was NO SOAP in the soap dispenser when I went to wash my hands. With my new BITTY BUBBLES I am sure to never have this problem again.

HOW TO ORDER BITTY BUBBLES:

Choose a custom scent from my FRAGRANCE PHOTO ALBUM on my facebook page, www.facebook.com/sweetnaturalsoaps, or from my fragrance list on my website. If you want a soap for sensitive skin you can even get one color & fragrance free! ADDITIVES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST: Goat's Milk, Yogurt, Honey, Ground Oatmeal, Carrot, Jojoba Beads, Ground Pumice. *Color of soap is chosen by me.

Each BITTY BUBBLES has 3oz. of soap. $5ea. or 5/$20 (mix & match)

Right now the only way to order this is to email me at SweetNaturalSoaps@yahoo.com. I will then email you an invoice through paypal and as soon as payment is received I will get your order made and shipped right out to you. I plan on having this item available for purchase on my website in June.

Which product is your favorite? If you have not tried any yet which one would you like to try?

Hey everyone! There are SO MANY wonderful fragrances out there and I am happy to say that I have a lot of them. Though I do not make and sell soaps with every fragrance I have I do offer all of my fragrances for custom orders. So I have decided that each month I am going to pick a fragrance that I normally do not sell in a soap and make a loaf of soap with it. I will then add it to my website and that new scent will be available only for that month. Each month I will make a new loaf of soap with a new fragrance. I will list it at the top of my product page as SOAP OF THE MONTH. This will be a fun way you can try some of my wonderful fragrances that otherwise would only be available for custom orders. So make sure you check back each month and if you see something you would like to try make sure you order it before the month is up!
I have updated the look to my Cucumber Honeydew Melon soap which I am IN LOVE with! Nice, bright colors and I must say that this is one of my favorite soaps to make. The fragrance lingers in my house for days! YUM!
With Easter around the corner I would like to let everyone know that I welcome ALL custom orders. I offer many different sizes and shapes of soap. I also have some fun mini erasers that I can embed in soap. Little dinos, animals, cakes & trucks. These are so much fun for kids and would make great Easter basket fillers. You can check out some of my custom items that have been ordered on my facebook page. I have a special photo album with all my custom orders. www.facebook.com/sweetnaturalsoaps.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday! It is actually pretty cool out here in southern California and rain is due this weekend. I am looking forward to watching movies with my hubby & working on the soap of the month for March this weekend.

I have been very busy making new and fun soaps. I update my website with new soaps available once a month when I update my monthly special but if you would like to be able to purchase or just check out all the new items before then please make sure you 'LIKE' my facebook page. www.facebook.com/sweetnaturalsoaps. I will be adding all of my new items within the next few days. The next time I place a supply order I am going to purchase some micas so that I can make tinted lip balms and also some Grass fragrance. If there is something you would like to see in my shop or a fragrance you would love for me to have just respond to this post and I can see what I can do to get it done. :) I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

I will be updating my product page in September with the new monthly special & all of the new products now available for purchase. I will be adding lip balms & a new floating soap that is just amazing! Stay tuned! I plan on working on finishing my Soda Shoppe line & starting a new Fall soap line next month.

Hey there! So I am planning on adding a little something new for sale on my website soon. If all goes well before the year is over I will have a few different Natural Lip Balms for sale. I will try to keep the costs low and the quality high. I am very excited to be adding this item to my website. Please stop by my facebook page and vote on the flavors you would like most.

Also, I have decided that I will be making gift baskets of soap available upon request. It will be $5 extra for a gift basket. This price will include some sort of luffa or body sponge, paper grass, clear wrap around basket & a bow. And then you pick and chose the soaps you would like to add to the basket. Example: #4 bars of Green Tea soap in a gift basket would be $25. ($5ea. bar & $5 for gift basket.) It's a great deal and makes a beautiful gift. Please keep in mind that depending on the amounts of soaps you may have to pay for the medium or large priority shipping box.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a facebook account. If you search for SweetNaturalSoaps on www.facebook.com you should be able to find me. Please go check out my page and click on the 'LIKE' button. This way you can stay updated with all of the new soaps I am coming out with. A lot of times I post my new creations on my facebook page first. So you will have first dibs on all of the great new soaps. I am also going to start a new perk for liking my page. You will have to stay tuned for that! :) As of right now I have four new soaps that have not been added to my Products Page yet. So please go check them out on facebook. I update my products page once a month so I will be adding these new soaps shortly. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

I am excited to have my fragrance oils coming in today. I will be working on a few new soaps. One will be a Pumpkin Spice and then another will be a scent that is similar to a love spell scent by VS. I am still thinking of names. Very excited for these scents!

After several failed strawberry fragrance oil scents I have finally found one that I like. Now I will be able to work on my Strawberry Fizz soap. Very exciting! I will also make another strawberry soap called Sweet Strawberry since a lot of people like that soap scent. I should have these soaps done and pictures posted by the end of the week! :)
I will also be working on a custom order for a soap called Lilac In Bloom this week. Such a wonderful scent!

After a lot of searching I have finally found my secret ingredient to give my Soda Shoppe soap line that extra "fizz" scent. I was starting to think I was not going to find the ingredient that I needed but am extremely pleased to say that I have. I can not wait to start on Strawberry Fizz, Cola Fizz, Orange Fizz & Lemon-Lime Fizz. I have already made a batch of Grape Fizz and am almost sold out. I have a feeling this line is going to be some of my best sellers.
What is your favorite soda?

So I have finished the 5 soaps in my "Get It While It's Hot!" soap line. I have decided that I will just have five soaps in this line to start. I can always add more later ... and I'm sure that I will. :)
These are the scents for "Get It While It's Hot!":
1. Honey Chamomile Tea
2. Green Tea
3. White Tea & Ginger
4. Hot Chocolate
5. Mint Hot Chocolate

I am hoping to finish up my GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT soap line this week. Once I am done testing my soaps I will update the soaps in this line and then start working on my next soap line.

My next line will be called SODA FIZZ. There will be five soaps in this line. (Lemon-Lime, Cola, Orange, Grape & Strawberry.) I am super excited about starting this line because I have a little secret ingredient that makes these soap scents feel like they are fizzing in your nose as you smell them. It's something you just won't believe until you experience it for yourself. :)

As I am continuing to design my soap line I have also decided to add the option of custom made soap. You can now chose your fragrance & color of choice. These orders will take longer to ship. (About 2-3 weeks.) I will be working on updating my Products page today with the soaps that I have ready to sell with descriptions & prices. Please feel free to email me or post below with any questions. SweetNaturalSoaps@yahoo.com
Thanks!

After my second test run on the coffee soap I have decided that the coffee soap is just not for me. I really can not stand the scent in soap and will not be making this scent part of my soap line.
I will be removing the French Vanilla Coffee soap & the Espresso soap from my GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT line. In their places I will have a White Tea soap & Mint Hot Chocolate.

I have my Hot Chocolate soap recipe down and ready to sell! This one is a keeper for sure. After making the Hot Chocolate soap my husband came home & asked where the brownies were. I will be adding photos of this soap today.

I also worked on a new soap I call Blue Wave. I will be posting photos of this soap today also. I have decided that with this soap the next batches will have a clear base so that you can see all the designs I put inside the soap better. Other than that this soap is a winner.

I have been working on getting my coffee soap recipe right but am not sure if I even like the whole coffee scent as a soap anymore. I had thought it would be a good idea but after the first batch I made I am having second thoughts. I will decide today after working on it some more if I will remove this scent from the GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT line. I am thinking I will replace the Espresso soap scent with WHITE TEA SOAP. Any thoughts on this?

So excited to be working on my Hot Chocolate Soap. Anyone who knows me knows that I love my Chocolate. So this is no surprise that I am excited about the making of this soap.

I keep trying to decide how I should package my soap. I have been thinking about wrapping it in the comics from the Sunday paper. Right now I use clear plastic but I was thinking that it would be fun and very GREEN to use the comics. Any thoughts on this?

One of the lines that I am working on is Get It While It's Hot! This line would consist of five soaps to start. The soap scents that I am working on for this line are:
1. French Vanilla Coffee
2. Hot Chocolate
3. Chamomile Tea
4. Espresso
5. Hot Cider
Tell me what you think and what kinds of scents you would like to see in my Get It While It's Hot! line.