Real "Suds to Love"...

Tower of Handmade Soaps from "Suds to Love"

Made with skin loving ingredients like: Cocoa butter,

shea butter,palm kernel oil, & castor oil...oh-la-la!

When Trisha from Suds to Love emailed me to ask if I'd try some of her soaps, I course I was excited to say, "Yes." I had been following her informative trials of soaps making & as a bonus watching her family grow from two adorable pups (Roscoe & Howie) to her newest pup precious little Ellie Mae. What I didn't expect was the GRAND package that arrived in my mail box. Before I even opened the mailbox door~ I knew the package arrived!

Pure fresh soap heaven all wrapped up, & what I thought would be 1 or 2 bars of soaps turned out to be 8 bars! Now I haven't "soaped" yet with the bars, but if they are anything like they look...

Wonderful handmade soaps...all mine!

Trisha-ya nailed several things...the packaging was simple, but ohhhh so adorable with mixed papers matching the scent in hand, the swirls, the fragrances & their names.

Names like: Honeysuckle, Black Pepper Lime, Sweet Mango Sorbet, Niagara Falls, Champagne Energy, White Truffle Raspberry, Washai Green Tea, & Iced Carrot Cake.

It was more than a delight to open this package, especially since a lot of these scents were new to me. A fav? It would be really really hard to say, but here's a glimpse of some of them: Honeysuckle~ right off the bat reminded me of my grandmother's honeysuckle bushes in Leominister, Mass., Niagara Falls~ darn can't nail that fresh scent, but I may use this one first, & Iced Carrot Cake- Trisha-don't change a thing on this one, it's perfect, White Truffle Raspberry- looks like thick fudge, smells like sweet candy! And I will admit I have never seen black soap, which was the Black Pepper Lime one~ and no I didn't sneeze & I can smell the hint of lime.

Well Trisha~ What an amazing package! I really was floored, and sooooo gracious of your generosity. Many many thanks!!!! And a big HUG to you!!!
Suds to Love shop opening???

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...

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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..