Last Minute Gift Ideas

I was looking through what I have left in stock and came up with some ideas!

Apple Cinnamon Goat Milk Soap & Apple Orchard Goat Milk Lotion  A great deal for $15.00-that's 25% off retail!

Christmas Cabernet Goat Milk Lotion, Pumpkin Cream Soap & Cranberry Orange Soap - $15.00 That's over 25% off!!!

Lavender Peppermint Cinnamon Dispersing Bath Oil 16 oz, Lavender Peppermint Goat Milk Soap 12 oz-SOLD, Lavender Peppermint Cinnamon Body Scrub 4 oz, & Lavender Bar Soap 5 oz. That's  $35 dollars worth of goodies for ..?...a seriously good deal! Call me or message me on Etsy and I'll set up a fantastic one of a kind deal for you!

Peppermint Candy Soap Foamer 9 oz, Peppermint Candy Goat Milk Lotion 8 oz & Chocolate Mint Lip Balm  Only $11.00!

Zen Thin Foamer Soap 9 oz & Zen Thin Goat Milk Lotion 12 oz- only $12.00 

Zinc Oxide Deodorants-apply 1-2 times per week and you won't stink! Always a deal at $5.00 each!

I also have White Bamboo Grapefruit Hemp lotion & a White Bamboo Grapefruit soap foamer. If you're interested in any of these deals, or have an idea of your own, give me a call or email me! I'll set them up on Etsy for you and get them right out! If you're local, I can meet up with you and deliver! This has been a fantastic season for me and I want to pass on the joy!

God bless you and have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Marla Riedling
MJR Soaps

Seneca Holiday Craft Show to benefit the MCROTC

Picture 2 gymnasiums-one large one smaller both filled to capacity with crafters from all walks of life, sharing their wares with the public. It was an exciting event and very busy! Over 121 booths stayed busy as hundreds maybe even thousands came to check out all the goodies! We set up and once they started letting the people in we stayed busy all the way to the end.

If you have the time, please support your local crafters! You will gain new friends and find lots of really cool stuff! Many one of a kind that you won't find anywhere else and made by people with huge hearts who love what they do!

God bless and I hope to see you at a show some time!

Marla Riedling
MJR Soaps

Gloria Dei Arts & Craft Show

This is pretty much what I've been doing every month since December of last year. It's work but it's fun! Getting to meet lots of great people and swap stories. 

My booth neighbor Lori crochets hats-I fell in love with this one!

Still using the cool risers Marty made me!

More stuff!

These all fold down flat except the baskets which stack. Pretty handy!

In between shows I make soap, do paperwork, take care of my online stores, research and make other stuff.  I'm behind on video editing....hoping to get caught up soon!

For me it begins with prayer and bible in the morning and working hard and doing as much as can each day. Sometimes it seems there aren't enough hours in the day. My peaceful lake life has sped up since last December! Plus we're still raking leaves every day-I'll be glad when they're done falling! Plus we're working on getting our new house built! Busy busy! If the rain will just give us a break we are ready for footings! Then the basement goes in! Hurrah! I can hardly wait!

Take care and God bless!

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps

Falling for fall

Where has the time gone? Seems like yesterday was spring! As I've gotten older it feels like time is passing faster. The past several months I've been super busy with MJR Soaps and haven't given this blog much of a consideration, I ask for your forgiveness for that!

Part of the time I have had issues with my health. I got 2 nasty burns during planting season from our rototiller. I used my herbal balm ( it has several analgesics for pain relief in it) and later my calendula chamomile cream. Nothing works better! You can barely see the burns were ever there! Amazing stuff!

The next issues were just plain old BEING BUSY! Going to festivals, bazaars, farmer's markets, shows of every kind! And of course I have to keep making more stuff to take to these events to sell.
By the time I get done I'm tired! Would you believe I have 16 videos sitting on my computer that I haven't edited and uploaded to You Tube yet? Seriously folks, I don't know where the time has gone!

The past few months between visiting my parents in South Dakota, fighting a tooth problem ( I finally got it pulled) and working on MJR Soaps stuff I 've barely had time to read a good book. When I can't find time to read that is pretty serious, I'm like the queen of reading. I don't just read "A" book, I read entire series' ! One right after the other. My family is used to me leaving them-even though they see me sitting there-I'm gone into the story I'm reading during reading time.  LOL!

I have 3 more shows to go to this year. (unless I get asked to more) Plus I seem to have started something with my deodorant. Now I have people in 10 states using it! All I can say is "good for them!" It works and no aluminum. It takes a week or 2 to get used to not having to constantly apply deodorant. I've used alternative deodorants for over 20 years! They work. The one I make is what works the best for me and now others agree. Plus I like only having to apply it 1-2 times a week. It even works between showers. It just keeps on going. Used in conjunction with charcoal soap works especially well too!

Lately I have been soap making as usual but also making things like
dispersing bath oils, more laundry soaps, creams, balms, and the list goes on.

My grand doggie Moxie loves MJR Soaps Bug Off!

Bath Oil

Did several fun fall soaps too!

Cranberry Orange

Pumpkin Spice Flax Milk Soap

Oat Honey & Apple Cinnamon Goat Milk 

Lavender Goat Milk

Plain Goat Milk

Pumpkin Cream

Sweet Orange & Neroli Charcoal

Harvest Magic

So here I am at last, and hopefully I will do a better job of blogging in the future. I plan to add an events pictures tab with past events and all the new events. So much fun! Getting to talk to people and see all the other crafters out there. Love it!

Until next time which hopefully will be soon!

God bless and enjoy this gorgeous fall weather!

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps

Aloe Bug Repellent turns out to be a great after sun spray!

The season for bugs has begun in earnest so it is time to make some fresh repellent to spritz on. I make mine with lots of different essential oils in a base of fractionated aloe, witch hazel and alcohol.

Aloe Bug Repellent 

Ingredients:

• Glass or PET Spray Bottle
• Fractionated Aloe Vera 35 %
• Witch Hazel 35%
• Grain Alcohol or Vodka 20%
• Essential Oils Anything from the mint family- Worldwide there are over 200 genera and over 6,000 species
• Extracts

Fill the bottle with each item, give it a light shake and use. It turns a white milky color when shook up. I've never had it stain clothing as I use a light mister. 

Optional: You can add potassium sorbate as a preservative. You can also add Lecithin or polysorbate 20 to emulsify the oils with the other liquids. 

Essential Oils

You may want to start your own essential oil collection! They are expensive but there are some good starter kits out there too. And don't get sucked in by the "therapeutic grade" bologna. There isn't a standard for essential oils, there is no such thing as therapeutic grade essential oils. Check it out for yourself. They are making claims that simply are not true. Find out how the essential oil was processed and make wise choices. Distillation is the most common way but some use pressing or solvent extraction. It depends on the plant. There is no guarantee that just because a company charges more that their essential oil is any better than a supplier who charges less. There is no guarantee that all the plants used were perfect and pesticide free, however, please understand that the people who do the distilling want to get top dollar for their product-it's in their own best interest to use better materials! For example: 1 acre of lavender can produce 12-20 pounds( 2 gallon jugs!) of oil through steam distillation. That's why the price of ALL essential oils is high-it takes a lot of plants to make a small amount of essential oil. Also make sure you are buying pure essential oil-not diluted. A quick test is to put a drop of essential oil on a piece of paper. It should disappear within a short time. Some will leave color or slight residue. If it is just an oily blot you may have a diluted essential oil. Gas Chromatography is the best way to test essential oils but that is expensive. It is also why certain companies charge more-they did the testing and are passing the cost on to you! There are lots of good articles out there about this topic such as this one: essential-oil-quality-purity  If you're really gung ho and interested I suggest taking an online course to learn more about Aromatherapy and essential oils. It's an amazing subject! And building a still sounds like an interesting project...I may have to get my hubby interested! ;)

There are other ways to gain the benefits of herbs without spending so much money. One way is to make extracts from the mint family plants. Extracts are easy to make and you may have some wonderful plants growing in your yard! Plantain is plentiful around Kentucky as are mint, oregano, thyme etc. My herb garden is loaded with plants from the Lamiaceae (mint) family! I always keep extracts on hand for my soaps, balms and creams. Now I'm adding them to the bug repellent too!

For my formula I used about 1 ml each of:

Basil EO

Clove Bud EO

Cedarwood Himalayan Bark EO

Geranium Rose EO

Helichrysum EO

Java Citronella EO

Lavender 40-42 EO

Lemongrass EO

Peppermint EO

Rosemary EO

Sage EO

Spearmint EO

Catnip Extract

Nettle Extract

Glass, or PET spray bottles both hold up well when using diluted essential oils. You can also use polysorbate 20 (made from coconut and sugar) to emulsify the mix so no shaking is necessary. Essential oils aren't a good thing to shake up. It can mess up the efficacy of their strength.  If you decide you want to use distilled water instead of witch hazel or alcohol you need to add a preservative. Using a very tiny percent of preservative can keep you from getting sick! Anytime you add water, any kind (tap, distilled, spring, Reverse Osmosis) of water to a formula-you need a preservative. Natural preservatives will not cut it. I see too many DIY recipes with ingredients that scream for a preservative. Be careful with your DIY recipes. You may be doing more harm than good.

I recently saw a blog that had a few good uses for essential oils, many seemed ok but one scared the stuffing out of me-"Add Lavender to Your Mascara". Don't ever put essential oils into a product that has a preservative without checking to see how the essential oil will impact their preservative/formula! Not only that, you could cause blindness by doing such a reckless thing! Test any essential oil 1 drop to 10 drops of regular oil. Make sure you aren't allergic to essential oils before you go dropping them in something! Even breathing essential oils can be dangerous. Anyone who wants to "borrow" my Aloe Repellent gets a quick quiz and lecture before I'll let them use it! Essential oils are wonderful and beneficial if we use them very carefully and intelligently.

A few days later....

My kids were down visiting on the weekend and had been at the pool. Both had nasty sunburns. I told them to spritz some Aloe Repellent on. They're used to my natural way of life and spritzed away.

They were both very impressed with the way it kept the bugs off and killed the pain of their sunburn! They wanted to take my bottle to Mexico as they are going on vacation. I got out a new bottle, poured some in, labeled it for customs and off they went!  It will be interesting to see how their trip goes. I pray for them a safe journey and a hedge of blessing and protection everywhere they go, including what they eat and drink. :)

Hope you're having a wonderful spring and ready for summer!

God bless,

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps

Making Liquid Soap for the First Time

For several years I've thought about making liquid soap. It was just a thought because I had no KOH to play with. Last month I finally bought some KOH, now the possibility of actually making it might happen.

For me after researching the internet for recipes, reading tutorials and reading "Making Natural Liquid Soaps" by Catherine Failor, I felt more intimidated than ever! I watched "Soaping 101" on YouTube and it was actually the first glimmer of reassurance I found! 

Why making liquid soap bothered me is all the things that can go wrong. Sure they post all the fixes and lots of recipes but I was still not sure. One of the people in a google group posted about liquid soaps enough times to get me curious.

I finally decided to attempt making some! 

The recipe I went with uses 20% coconut oil and the rest equal amounts of olive, safflower, and castor, I also had 2 oz sol butter on standby in case I needed to superfat.

Things seemed to start ok. I made it to trace with no issues. I cooked and cooked and cooked (9 hours) but never could get the lye to go neutral. This was using the soap calc at Summerbee Meadow. I decided to add the sol butter and it disappeared but didn't help-still purple when I tested it.  The clarity test was beautifully clear so I decided to go ahead and dilute. I added borax to neutralize, but it didn't seem like it did anything. I added glycerin too. I turned off the crockpot and took a shower and went to bed!

1 % Phenolphthalein Solution

The next day I checked again-still purple when I tested. So I got 2 oz citric acid and added it to 8 oz of boiling distilled water. I slowly added that to the diluted soap. It turned it cloudy white but the lye was finally neutralized. Guess I should have tried it first?!!! I also added the T-50 E to help keep the oils from going rancid.

Now for the new problem: how to get rid of the clouds. (sigh)

I remembered reading about some ways to "decloud" on Chickens in the Road, I decided to try the alcohol-it cleared it right up! (I keep alcohol on hand to make extracts with).

The soap is a very nice amber color. They say to let it sit (sequester) for 2 weeks, so I jarred and bottled it and will wait to see what happens next. If the glycerin doesn't make it thicker as it sits I may have to warm it back up and try some salt to thicken it up. (That's why I kept the coconut oil at 20%)  

It is a lighter color than Dr. Bonner's and Dr. Wood's Castile soaps.

Here is a picture of the soap:

When I did a clarity test the first time while cooking it, it was completely clear. Why it went amber I'm not sure. If all goes as planned it will be scented and put into pumps and foamers. Uncolored clear is not meant to be this first time!

If I add scents it means using Polysorbate 20 as scents (even essential oils) tend to cloud soap. Again, lots of testing ahead to see how things work. I read that different essential oils affect the soap in different ways too-lavender makes it thick while citrus thins it for example. I will update or add to this post as this all progresses.

Can you see why I wasn't sure about trying liquid soap? I used a recipe that doesn't require adding any extra things. It should have been just lye, water and oils. Instead it now has added borax, glycerin, citric acid and alcohol! The good news is: I'm learning.

I joined the liquid soap group on Yahoo Groups and will do some reading. So I'll see you in 2 weeks! :)

Happy soaping!

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps

Making goat milk lotions

Last March I made some unscented goat milk lotion and a silly "Starburst" lotion for my granddaughter. The friend I gave the unscented to loved it and my grand daughter (and her sister) used it up in record time! Guess that means they liked it! LOL!

During the holidays I made lots of lotions for gifts and about 18 for a craft show. I had a few left and sent them with one of my daughters to take to work. People really like it and have been ordering bottle after bottle ever since. I also made up some hemp milk & oil lotions that were naturally green colored and those have sold well too. Now my son-in-law is getting requests from his co-workers too! The lotions are full of things like alpha hydroxy from the goat milk, vitamins, and antioxidants-most of it is natural goodness and only a small percent unnatural. I won't offer anything unless it has some type of preservative in it. It just isn't safe. 

Yesterday I was perusing Ebay and was shocked at how many are touting natural lotion and have NO preservatives in them at all! That is insane! I advise those who are putting antioxidants in-not preservatives-and calling them safe, need to test their product!  Lotioncrafter has test kits you can get to test your lotion. Lotioncrafter  or take them to a lab-I think you'll be shocked to find they are full of mold, fungi, bacteria and other things you don't want to put anywhere near the skin!

You as a consumer need to be careful to really read the ingredients and check that what you buy has some type of preservative. Even straight oils and butters can contain bacteria in them. That's why when making lotion it needs to be taken to 170 degrees and held there for 20 minutes. It's to kill anything that may be in there. Additional preservatives are necessary and yes you can add antioxidants like E T-50 and GSE (grapefruit seed extract) they will help keep the oils from going rancid as quickly but they are NOT going to protect from the nasty bad things that can grow in an unprotected environment. Six months to one year is all the longer you should keep any lotion. Throw them out and get new! If you keep lotion in your car where it is freezing cold and baking hot-throw them away! The extreme temperatures have negated any viability of the preservative! You basically ruin ANY lotion by subjecting it to extreme temperatures. 

If you develop any type of rash or fever or for some reason you feel ill and can't pin-point the source-check your lotions! If you have any question regarding them, get them tested. Tell your doctor you may have been exposed to any number of bacteria, mold, fungi or even viruses! Who knows what's growing in your lotion! Staff infections, bacterial infections, yeast infections are nothing to sneeze at. Be careful. Even the big commercial lotions can not stand up to extreme temperatures. 

Sorry for the rant but all those people selling things they shouldn't really bothered me. Please all you crafters, check your product. Have it tested. Don't make claims that aren't true. I love seeing people take an interest in DIY projects and natural body care but please be responsible about it. The only "all natural" is the one that is made fresh, used and then throw leftovers away! Even keeping it in the fridge may not be enough if there are NO preservatives. 

Look at honey, it never molds, it never has to be refrigerated, why? Because it has very little water in it. However, even honey can be dangerous:

Most microorganisms do not grow in honey because of its low water activity of 0.6.^[3] However, honey sometimes contains dormant endospores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which can be dangerous to infants, as the endospores can transform into toxin-producing bacteria in infants' immature intestinal tracts, leading to illness and even death. (Wikipedia)

Preservatives are not your enemy; they are your friend. They protect the largest organ of your body (the skin) from getting sick. There are many many preservatives, even a few that can be certified organic. There are hard core chemical styles and those with no parabens, etc. Choose what will work best for the product you are making. Test your PH, grow live cultures, be safe with what you make and sell. Put expiration dates on your products. Chemical free is a goal but in this case, an impossibility. Lotions need preservatives. 

Be careful and stay healthy! 

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

What I've been up to lately:

Coffee smells sooo good and since I only drink it sparingly it is a definite treat for me. Coffee soap is something I like to keep around for the caffeine and the senses....

Cafe' Caramel & Cinnamon Coffee Soap topped with some whipped cream and cinnamon!

Seaweed soap is another I like to keep on hand for the rich mineral and iodine content. There is no better way to work on my chubby thighs either! :)

Seaweed soap made with 3 kinds of seaweed and wheat grass

Mangos are great in smoothies but I thought I'd enjoy some mango and mango butter in a new soap! This one is just for the awesome qualities of mango! After all, nourishment  and moisture are an older gal's best friend! ;)

Mango Martini with real mango puree in it! Most of the color left but we'll see how it looks in a month.

I'm also working on getting some videos processed and uploaded from last year. Just call me the turtle-that's how slow I've been about staying up on videos! It will get done and posted, I'm working on it! That's it for the moment. Just having fun and implementing new ideas, some have to wait for a slab mold-I can never cut them straight so I've decided to get a proper divided slab mold with dividing inserts. My husband doesn't seem interested in making one for me...oh well. He really did a lot for me when I first began several years back! Pretty much if I needed it, he found a way to make it happen. He's my best friend and partner.

On this Valentine's Day I want to thank him for all he did for me and still does for me every day. I love you honey! XXXX OOOOOO

Until next time I hope you have a fabulous Friday with lots of hugs and kisses from your favorite valentines. :) God bless!

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps

Valentine's Day Soaps

It was fun making an embed using hot processed strawberry delight soap! I put it in a second batch of the same soap only with vanilla lace fragrance. The top has cut outs from a retired soap (peppermint candy) that matched the theme! On sale now on Ebay.

Valentine's Day Soaps

Time for some catch up!

Hi all,

2014 was a terrific year, busy! Between traveling, working and working it was a very busy year!
After we got back from our trip to South Dakota to see my folks we stayed busy all through October helping our kids with building projects. Then in November I got started making 180 soaps for Megan's wedding. Her colors are purple and silver. Here are a few examples:

The scents are cucumber melon, warm vanilla, pomegranate, Mayan gold, and cotton candy.

In December MJR Soaps attended a craft show at the Villages at Silvercrest-a very nice place! Sold lots of lotions and sold out of a few soaps. Time to make more!

A few weeks ago I cleaned out my inventory, anything that needed to go, went. Now it's catch up time! A soaping frenzy! Nah, not really, I've been writing down soaps I think would be awesome for a while now. If you're a soaper I'm sure you've got your idea book somewhere! I knew one gal who had little slips of paper, she wrote ideas on the spur of the moment and tossed them in a coffee can. Every so often she'd go through the slips to see if any of the ideas were something she wanted to try! I keep an excel sheet so I'm a little bit more organized but the idea is still the same. When you get an inspiration jot it down! I've actually jumped out of bed to write myself a note for a new idea to add to the list.

 After the inventory clean up I started making some new soaps. I have 20 ideas on the table and am having a blast implementing them! I also had to make more of my regular sellers. 

This is a new hemp soap with rhassoul clay to help get rid of blackheads and the other is a new batch of calendula.

Raspberry Peppermint

I have several oils with herbs in them, they are all waiting to be added to something! This one is high oleic sunflower oil infused with peppermint and raspberry leaves, I used rose clay and white to make nice contrasting colors and of course they are scented with fresh raspberry and peppermint! 

Lily of the Valley

Leftover colors from the lily of the valley soap I plopped into small squares

The colors didn't show up in the picture, these were the colors and white too! I'll take better pictures when they finish curing. Just in time for spring!  They are very springy smelling for sure!

I also did a new batch of spice soap but haven't done pictures yet. And more to come! I'm just getting started on the fun! :)

Just wanted to catch you up on everything that's been going on. Still making soap and lotions and etc. and living each day to the fullest! Hope you have a bountiful, blessed 2015! 

God bless,

Marla Riedling

MJR Soaps