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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 Day Pictures...FINALLY!

Here comes the beautiful bride...She's ready but first...

Her Bridemaids start up the hill here and...
here...Dear friends forever from childhood & college...

The flower girls wait patiently with my sister before their descend...

Now it's their turn! They are instructed to run up the hill...They spread their wings as the "Fairy Dance" music from Peter Pan fills the air...

At six years old & three years old...this is soooo much fun!

Almost there! They would soon be bouncing in the castle moon bounce...

The Bride is glowing... She is escorted by her Granddaddy & Father...A gentle wind wisped her veil away... I wonder where it landed?? You'll see later (smile)...

Half-way up, her Stepdaddy took her the rest of the way with her Granddaddy...So special to have so much love surrounding her...

Finally the Bride & Groom together...with Reverend Richard, a childhood friend of my son...

I'll have to ask...what was said at this moment...

Exchanging of the rings...

Their "First Kiss"...

The Wedding Party...minus the cutie pie ring bearer...here

and here...

Oh there's the cutie pie ring bearer...nephew of the Bride... and hey~ now he has a "new" Uncle!

Now some fun pictures from the wedding...It really was the mood!

Taking a ride...

I think he's having fun!

Her too!

Yep, the Bride & Bridemaids all wore flip-flops...

So that's where the veil landed...Right on my youngest son's/best man head...Does that mean he's the next to get married? (BIG smile, wink, wink, wink)....

This picture almost made my cry...Behind them is our Willow tree that we planted little over twenty years ago...I could have never dreamed back then what had just taken place on our property...we are so blessed.

And Finally...

J & J ...Just married

May 24,2008

I love this picture too...

MA AND PAW Soaps...

I don't create alot of molded soaps, but when I do I have lots of fun! These two molds are old favorites of mine. And in dedication to all the "Ma's" who love those with "Paws"---these handmade soaps are for them...And I know there are lots of us who love our animals. The "Ma" soaps are created in Ice Sherbet, Lavender Grace, Sweetest Pea & Rose Garden and filled with skin loving shea butter. The "Paw" soap were created with a yummy cocoa butter handmade recipe with real chocolate. They can be found at my shop at Under the Willow or my Esty shop.

Thinking Organic...

Something about all this talk about organic goodness has certainly grabbed my attention... So-in between work, upcoming wedding plans, holidays, etc... I couldn't help but try my hand at some organic pillows & Billows (small pillows of comfort). The top small pillow is the Billow~ and will go to a Twinkle Pink girl...the bottom two are mine!!! After all, before I make them for anyone else- I better be sure they are exactly what I want in softness, durability, comfort...did I mention softness???? Luckily I have found the most butter rich soft certified organic flannel---mind you "Made in the USA." I thought it would be a great idea to start with pillows; after all, we sleep for hours (okay sometimes)---& what could be better than slumbering away on material that is pure, no-dyes, no chemicals...just pure 100 percent organic material... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was the luck of the Irish...

See who's St. Patrick's Day birthday we celebrated today...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!).

Small Steps to a Greener Outlook...

Yep, that's a real lunch bag~ but Earth friendly...

I've been thinking, really thinking about how my family, business, etc... can become more "green friendly". It really is such an important subject that we all have to be accountable for~ After all we really live under ONE roof....

Business wise~I think of all the labels I print, & print...the ink, the little cello bags I use, etc... then I think what could the biz really live without, without affecting the quality I insist on. I decided (although it's a small step)~ this month I will be NOT packaging my soaps with a printed label, & I will NOT use little cello bags. Instead, I will be slipping the soaps/products into an earth friendly little brown bag-stamp the ingredients, & if need be ~write the soap name & ingredients. After all, I'm a very small company & so I have the luxury of taking this small step toward helping the enviroment. BUT think~ if we all took ONE small step~ what's under this ONE roof of ours really would become greener.

So, if you are buying soap or another product this month~ it will be tucked inside a little Earth friendly brown bag or perhaps even a handmade reuseable fabric bag. And in the meantime our family will continue to carpool when we can, recycle, turn the lights off, turn the heat down, etc...

Do you have any ideas that you'd like to share that would make our earth a little "greener"? Please share....

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Post Script: This week anyone who leaves a comment will have a chance to win another giveaway & it will be shipped off in..hint, hint...a little brown

"Earth Friendly" brown bag!

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.

Someone asks me again...

They asked me "why" I don't list everything on my website, that I offer to everyone I know, or offer at craft shows, holiday giving, etc... ?? The simple answer is time. The time to update the site, the time to keep up making the products, filling orders, the time to do this, or that. So finally after several people have mentioned to add one particular product (they have been using) to my site, I decided the time was right...

Richly Almond Lotion from Under the Willow

Richly Almond Lotion~ In short it's decedent, smooth, creamy & really does look like the photo...It also has an exclusive (with Under the Willow) blend of fragrances that top note is---what else? Almond---Richly Almond. And it's on special this week if anyone is interested in trying out our lotion...

And if you'd like to see what happily takes up my weekends at times...go here.

Today I made ...

Farmhouse Oats & Honey Freshly Made...SOAP

SOAP! The weather is unseasonably warm (50 degrees) today. A jacket was hardly needed to wear down to my soap kitchen. In a few days this freshly made batch of Farmhouse Oats & Honey soap will be ready to cut~ & in another 4-6 weeks it will be ready to use & to post on my Under the Willow gift site. One method of soap making I use is called "Cold Process". I have never really figured out why the term "cold" is used; afterall~ the soap batter is very hot before pouring~ somewhere between 100-120 degrees...

Stay warm! Have a great week ahead..

These are my babies...

The Storybook Cards that come with each Billow

Well not really my babies...but these storybook cards are part of my heart, & created because of one special baby girl. Years ago, my daughter asked me to make a small pillow for her daughter that was still too small for a big girl pillow, & still too small for an adult pillow-so I covered a "just right size" pillow for her to snuggle up with to go to sleep...So along with the little pillow, I took it one step further & created a little storybook card that was "short & sweet" to go to sleep... BUT, I still needed a name-hummm...Under the Willow was already launched, & now I had this dear little pillow...so it came natural to trademark this creation as a Billow~ simply a small pillow of comfort...made Under the Willow. The original story is called My 1st Billow, & along the way many other Billows ~ pillows of comfort~ have been created. Perhaps one of the most popular has been the Breast Cancer Awareness Billow with the storybook titled: Spirit, Hope, Belief & Courage... And to make this gift a heirloom there is an area on the back of each card that may record who the gift was for, who gave the gift, & the date.

Post Script: My 1st Billow an exclusive story about when a child learns the magic when its time to give up taking the Billow everywhere...reminiscent of giving up his/her blankie & enjoyed by all ages...