friday soap giveaway!

'Tis the season for Falling Leaves! I don't know about where you are, but here in Northern Arizona any tree that's not a Ponderosa is well on its way to being bald. These newest bars to be added to the Garland Prairie Soaps line celebrate the loveliness that is Fall. It's hard to tell from the picture, but these bars are a deep, reddish orange with many other fall colored chunks embedded throughout the soap. They're scented with a yummy citrus, cranberry and wildflower fragrance blend, making them a perfect addition to anyone's bathroom or kitchen. You gotta USE my soap, though, okay? None of this setting in on a windowsill as pure decoration. It's good stuff - glycerin-rich (which means it helps keep your skin soft), detergent and surfactant-free!

Wanna win one?

Simply leave (no pun intended) a comment describing your favorite fall memory.

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she's at it again!

In celebration of today being the official start of summer vacay for the offspring, I'll be giving away a bar of my newly-redesigned Lily of the Valley vegetable glycerin soap. I always start soaping again around this time of year, after a long hiatus from the insanity of the holidays. Plus, it looks like I'll be a vendor at the County Fair this year, so I'd better get soapin.'




These bars smell reeeeeeally good. Plus, they're bright and sunny...and after the weather we've had for the past, oh, NINE MONTHS or so, I find myself irresistibly attracted to bright and sunny.

Wanna win? Just leave a comment to this post explaining why you do or do not think that blogging is like walking around with no pants.Follow @nicole_mcinnes

friday soap giveaway: Pumpkin Spice!

My daughter calls these "Monkey Tail soaps."

Okay, okay, so it's almost Saturday. My soap giveaways are starting later and later in the day on Fridays, I've noticed. But I have a fairly good excuse: Tomorrow is the first of the big holiday craft shows in Northern AZ, and I'm doing what I always do the night before - staying up way too late boxing up soaps and loading the truck. At least the weather's gorgeous this year. I remember one year our old truck got a flat tire and my husband was out in the snow late the night before a big show with the jack and a none-too-pleased expression on his face.

But I digress. This week's soap giveaway is a yummy-smelling bar of Pumpkin Spice. I'm bringing a bunch of these tomorrow, since they always do well at this time of the year.

If you'd like to throw your hat into the ring for a chance to win this bar, simply leave a comment to this post telling me the short version of one of your favorite Thanksgiving memories. I know, I used to just GIVE these things away. Now I'm making you work for it.

:-)

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friday soap giveaway: Mulled Cider!

This is one of the staples of my soap line, and has been for several years now. There's something about the spicy, slightly tangy apple-y scent of cider slow cooking on a stove top (with cinnamon sticks, cloves, etc. floating around inside) that keeps people coming back for more.

I'd like to gush about them even more and I apologize for the quality of this old picture, but since Halloween I've been feeling sore of throat and head - like a family of smallish porcupines has taken up residence in my sinuses. So, that's all for today, folks. Had to get that soap giveaway listed, though.

Want one of these yummy bars? You know what to do (and if you don't, all you have to do is leave a comment to this post). How about telling me what your favorite scent is - soapy or otherwise?

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friday soap giveaway: January Garnet!

These January Garnet bars are the last of the new GemSoaps line that I'll be officially introducing this year at the big November Craft shows. In early 2008 I plan to start working on the spring and summer birthstones, which should be fun.

Since I was told that the picture I took of the November Topaz bars made them look like cheese (not what I'm looking for in a soap pic - then again, maybe I should think about starting a stinky cheese soap line...), I decided to move the garnet bars outside. Maybe I should have taken them out at the crack of dawn or dusk, though, since I still don't think the picture does justice to the yummy, sultry sparkliness. And, lawdy, things just don't get much more yummy smelling: I used a winter grapefruit scent for these, which means that whoever ends up with today's free bar will have to practice great self-restraint and not eat the soap during shower time.


Thanks to Laura for coming across my blog and posting these giveaways on her nifty site.

So, ya want one of these bars? As usual, leave a comment to this post, and the winner will be announced Monday.

Have a great weekend, y'all. Mine promises to be rich in kid birthday fun, Halloween preparations and continuing on a (hopefully near-final) novel revision. And don't even GO there by reminding me that NaNoWriMo starts in just days.Follow @nicole_mcinnes

friday soap giveaway: November Topaz!

I know I've been a bit scarce this week. I've actually had a lot to say, but not much time to say it. I did want to make sure I got the Garland Prairie Soaps giveaway posted before the weekend, though, so here it is!


It's a bit difficult to see the sparkly details in this picture, but trust me: These are gorgeous (and their Ginger-Orange scent makes them yummy to boot). I'm having so much fun with these GemSoaps that I have to make sure they don't eclipse all the traditional holiday soaps I still have to batch by November.

Want one? Simple leave a comment for this post. Winner announced Monday.

Have a great weekend!Follow @nicole_mcinnes

soap of the day: December Turquoise (and a giveaway!)

So, Dude. Totally not trying to toot my own horn here, but these may be the coolest bars I've made in over five years of soapmaking.




I am beyond thrilled with how these turned out. My only concern is that the Lemon Verbena fragrance oil I used might give them more of a greenish hue that I was looking for. If it does, I'll just have to reformulate with a different scent.

Have you smelled Lemon Verbena? One of the big companies (Yankee Candle or Crabtree & Evelyn, I think) introduced this natural, herbal fragrance in their products a couple of years ago, and I guess it was a huge success. It's a lovely, lemony, earthy (without being too "bra-burner-like") fragrance, not unlike lemongrass but a little more ginger-y.

I'm actually introducing a brand spanking new line of these GemSoaps this season, and I'm doing the birthstone theme. So far I've batched December Turquoise and November Topaz (Ginger-Orange scented - picture to come). January Garnet is in the hopper, and I'm looking forward to seeing how those sultry bars turn out.

So, ya want one of these December Turquoise bars shipped to you for free/gratis/nuthin'? Even if this first batch yellows a bit, they should still look super cool. Simply leave a comment to this post and I'll randomly choose a lucky winner next week!Follow @nicole_mcinnes