Christmas orders...

SACHETS filled with Whispering Willow

Natural Laundry soap...

Shipping/Ordering Note!

Last date to order Christmas gifts from Under the Willow is Sunday December 19th for holiday delivery!

Also- We will be on holiday from December 22- through January 3rd... All orders taken during this time

will be shipped out January 4th!

Back to the BIZ of Business...

Hardscapes, Plumber's Puddy, Cutting Edge, Kool Energy, Waterman's Catch, & more...

handmade manly soaps... now on Esty

We are a family of Tradesmen...Introducing Under the Willow's newest creation: The Tradesman Soap Collection. This soap line is dedicated to those who create & work with their hands. Some of these trades have been around for centuries, while others evolve as the need of the community calls out. Each bar is around 3 ounces, handmade, named after a "trade"~ & formulated with heavenly manly scents...No cologne required after your man shower with one of these babies...

Wedding Countdown...10 days

Final (finally) ten day Wedding Day countdown...

Lots goin' on today....

My normally dedicated "Soap Kitchen" is filled with Wedding this...Wedding that...clean up/organizing begins tonite....What a mess!!! What's inside for the wedding???

Main house front door wreath made by a dear friend, Cindy....done.

Two carriage house door wreaths complete, again Cindy...done.

Fifty antique light blue and clear mason jars filled with sand, one tea light, with a tulle bow added for the tables...done. (Stole this idea from Pottery Barn 3 for 30.00)~ my parents had an antique business and gave me cases of these antique glass treasures (Yipee!)...

Rest of front porch cleaned, etc...except now my front side yard looks like a....

Yard Sale! I'm not surprised no one stopped by to "buy" something.... (smile)

An unexpected vistor came by and stayed with us on the porch...a frog~ perhaps a toad....

And in 10 days a large white tent will be placed, in our front yard, by that lonely tree you see in the middle... to celebrate the wedding that will take place on our front porch gazebo... Think~I hope the weather will be nice on the wedding day...

See you tomorrow...off the do some very needed cleaning...then take a soak with~ see here.

Soaps for Hope...

Soaps for Hope, a special story, on my other blog here.

Product Body...Creates Handmade Soap!

Life is good when you open your mailbox and there's a package from Joanna Schmidt owner of Product Body. Then it turns great when she generously tucks in a little something extra. Along with two fruity soaps from this swap soap... I received some Carrot Cake Bubble Rubble. Carrot Cake~ oh my gosh- it smells delish~ actually that may be an understatement. Within about two hours of receiving this package~ I took photos because I am going to use the Carrot Cake Bubble Rubble tonite. For the last several days, I have been under the weather~ so it's just what the doctor ordered... I must admit I am quite impressed with the soaps Joanna sent because her company Product Body creates delicious body products like the famous "Crush on You" line of scrubs, Sugar Foot, Mama Bomb, etc..So, is there handmade soaps in the future of the Product Body line??? With Joanna's quick wit (read her blog~loads of fun), flair for naming & creating her incredible products, and now some impressive handmade soaps~ I think... I wonder????

Hugs to you Joanna~ I love both the Japanese grapefruit (Yuzu), and the graham cracker soap. Okay off to take a soak with my Carrot Cake Bubble Rubble :)

Post Script: I also received some other wonderful handmade soap you can see here.

Seize the Cupcake!

Michelle from Blissfulcreativity sent me these handmade beautiful cards. My heart sinks, or could even say "sings" when I think of the time & thought it took to make each & everyone... One card that is missing-- Michelle had made-- I gave to my father for his birthday today. His exact words were, "Well look at that...What are those little things (brads)? Now this is a terrific card." The card said on the cover Thinking of U- warm colors with little metal brads. That warmed my heart, his words...he knew it was special.

Thank you Michelle~ I LOVE each & everyone of them. It will be especially hard to give away the cupcake card---it is soooo darn cute. This one I plan on hanging in my soap kitchen.

So with this beautiful display of handmade cards I can seize the moment with a bird, a flower, a bow, a thank you, a bird, or simply a thinking of you....& best of all they were handmade---one at at time...

Michelle is super creative in many ways... she also is the host of Pixie Lee Soap Forum, & Don't Forget Minnesota (what a catchy name!).

Little Bags...

One of the crafts I LOVE to create are gift bags. Small, large, square, round---if you receive a gift from me---most likely it will not be paper wrapped, but be placed inside a handmade fabric gift bag. If you are thinking that it would be easier to just paper wrap a gift...to me this is easier-& a gift bag that can be used forever---Also if you're like me & have tons of fabrics pieces that you are not willing to throw away-this is a wonderful alternative. For years my family & friends have received this little bags-each with a button & a bow...so for years they have called these my "button bags." Two of the button gift bags above will be included in a raffle basket I will be making up for tomorrow night. Our local orchard called Butler's Orchard is having a fund raiser for our local high school's after Prom party. I haven't made up the basket yet, but it will be filled with bath & body goodies from Under the Willow, several more decorative washing cloths, etc... & the middle "doggie" button gift bag will be sent to a relative in Florida with a soap sample tucked inside.

Give Away!!!

Bennington Maple Sugar Round Handmade Soap

A Valentine's Day gift to the winner... Now I know it's not hearts, roses or a box of candy--I'll leave that gift giving to your sweetie...Just leave any comment on this blog between now & Valentine's Day, & you will be entered to win this round handmade soap bar of Bennington Maple Sugar. This creamy soap is made with olive oil, shea butter, real Vermont Maple Sugar...
& drizzled with Maple Cream Sugar Whipped soap glaze.
The soap is tucked inside a Bennington Pottery soap dish---that I can't part with, but the creamy soap could be yours. Good luck!

Sharing...

What a nice package came my way from Michelle who hosts Blog of a Soap Pixie & Blissful Creativity . The package contained poppy seeds & crushed walnuts shells-both can be used for soap making. Also, a beautiful handmade card was sent. I had seen this card posted on Michelle's blog & remembered thinking, "That should be framed!" Michelle not only can make soap, but also loves making cards. And as you can she by the card she sent-she is very talented. I just love the card because of the burnt edges, the metal tab, & the color scheme. Now for the other goodies, my mind is a rolling with the possibilities I can use them for...hummmm....

Thanks for sharing Michelle!

Hugs to you!

It's Easy to Be Merry When...

Just like the card says... Be Merry! And it is when you participate in a soap swap, and you receive soaps that look good enough to be placed next to any divine Christmas cookie! Lucky me! What delicious, creative soaps I received during a recent swap. I received three packages that included creations like Green Tea Soap, Brown Sugar & Cinnamon, Key Lime, Carrot, Coconut...soaps made with hibiscus water, palm oil, coconut oil....& more. These are pure candy shop masterpieces for your skin.

So who made these wonderful handmade soap goodies?

Michelle from: http://www.soappixie.blogspot.com/

Denise from: http://www.cameragirldenise.typepad.com/

And Stephanie from: http://playingwithsoap.blogspot.com/

Thank you ladies! I love each & everyone of them!

The winner is...

To choose the winner I simply used the number "50". I had seven commentators, so I just started counting 1-7, repeating until the number "50" was hit...And the winner is Anne-Marie from Soap and the Finer Things in Life...http://soap-queen.blogspot.com/.

Anne-Marie has commented on being passionate about anything cupcakes, so I am thrilled this Sweet Maple Crumb Cupcake will be sent her way!

The Fine Art of Writing a Note...

Begins with a beautiful card! With everyone so busy, we usually communicate through email, text message, etc...but what a fine luxury if we would actually take the time to sit down & communicate with the fine (almost) lost art of simply writing a note. A written note of thank-you, Happy this or Happy that, any special occasion just seems to be coming back~ especially with the many techniques now being created with stampin', & scrapbooking & more.

I ordered these esquisite cards from Sue with "The Sista's"...The detail, the packaging, the time I know it took to create each & every one will be cherished by all that receive them! Thank you Sue for sharing your passion of card creating! I love my cards!

Sue can be contacted at: zotte_5@msn.com

Fall Swap!

Look at the goodies I received! Recently I participated in my 1st swap with handmade bath & body products, & candles on a Soap forum I like to visit. This is how it worked: One person was assigned to receive all the "swap items", along with a check for 8.95 (mailing). Once all the items were received, then this person put of each items in a box for a the "swappers" to receive. Well, it was like Christmas! I don't make candles soooooo I was very excited to see these handmade votives. Everything smelled so good, I almost hate to use anything! And although I love to make handmade soaps, lotions, etc....it was a treat to have someone else make them. Also included were some crafty incense-that I had not seen for years!

Also~ If anyone is interested in visiting a soap forum~ a new one is just launching called Pixie Lee's Forum at: http://pixieleesoaps.com/soapforum/, this forum is more than just "soap chat" it's about everyday converstions, cardmaking, etc... the creator Michelle is working hard to "tweak" this wonderful project to open the door wider for all us who love to create handmade items!

A Baby Gift...

Went to a baby shower this weekend. One of the gifts I made was a nursery rhythm themed Billow (small pillow of comfort). The new mommy will be able to use the Billow for comfort or it can be used for decoration in the baby's room until the baby is old enough to sleep with a small pillow. I always recommend for the parents to check with their baby's pediatrician for the recommended age a child can sleep with a pillow...

The invitation was cute saying, "Baby is almost due~ we still don't know if it's pink or blue".

When giving a 1st Billow I like to sew the nursery rhythm pink or blue toile pattern, but when the gender of the baby is not know I was glad to find a more neutral baby pattern...

And just as I was ready to take more pictures of this Billow, my battery was blinking...so I was able to take only this picture before going to the shower...

The baby shower was lovely & it was wonderful to see all the "new" baby items that have developed over the years...

Later tonight I am going to sew another Billow to send out tomorrow for a niece's 3 yo daughter who is having surgery this week. I will post pictures if I can find fresh batteries for the camera.

Post Script: Was able to finish the Billow for my niece's little girl. Decided to go with the Princess fabric~ because she is the youngest of 4 children & the only girl. She surely is a little princess! In the mail tomorrow!