We heart Valentines!! Too cheesy? Maybe, but we really do like the day and taking time to celebrate our loved ones. Here at Pure GRACE Soap we are working on a couple of new products to celebrate the day.
Look for Raspberry Bath Bombs and Strawberry Sugar Scrub at the February Farmers Market. We also will have $10 gift sets which pair a half size cake batter lotion and a pair of bath bombs. Tied with a Valentines fabric tie, these are perfect for that young lady in your life.
Our new Spa Soaps came out this week. We love them because each spa soap is made with only high quality essential oils and formulated with specific face and body beneficial clays. There are four different soaps in this collection. These bars are more rustic looking and heavier in weight than the majority of our other bars due to the process we use to make these.
Spiced Orange Spa Soap contains French red clay and is best suited for normal to oily skin types. French red clay comes from Hematite Iron, its coloring the result of the copper oxides contained in the rock. It is rich in kaolinite, illite, montmorillonitea and calcite; it cleanses, detoxifies and exfoliates the skin, leaving it refreshed, toned and rejuvenated.
Lemongrass Spa Soap contains Kaolin clay and is recommended for all types of skin types but is especially beneficial for dry skin issues. Kaolin is the mildest of all clays and helps stimulate circulation to the skin while gently exfoliating and cleansing it. It does not draw oils from the skin, so it is best suited on dry skin types without negative results. Kaolin as found in nature usually contains varying amounts of other minerals such as muscovite, quartz, feldspar, and anatase.
Eucalyptus Mint Spa Soap contains Bentonite clay and is recommended for all types of skin problems and to speed healing. Bentonite, also referred to as Montmorillonite, is one of the most effective and powerful healing clays. It is composed of aged volcanic ash and unique due to its ability to produce an “electrical charge” when hydrated. Upon contact with fluid, its electrical components change, giving it the ability to absorb toxins. Bentonite is known for its ability to absorb and remove toxins, heavy metals, impurities, and chemicals. Healing clays like Bentonite have a high concentration of minerals including silica, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, and potassium.
Lavender Tea Tree Spa Soap contains French green clay and is recommended for all skin types but especially helpful for skin suffering from acne, eczema and psoriasis. French green clay contains montmorillonite, decomposed plant material such as kelp and seaweed, magnesium, calcium, potassium, dolomite, silica, manganese, phosporous, silicon, copper, selenium, and up to nine mineral oxides. These elements work synergistically to nourish and gently detoxify skin, while the added olive oil moisturizes and softens it.
We are currently crafting beard oils and waxes and will be testing them soon! In addition the the oils and waxes we will also offer high quality Kent handmade beard and moustache combs for sale. All products will be available mid 2015 at the Farmers Market and via our online store.
Today we are crafting of a different kind – the Christmas gift kind! We are working on making homemade vanilla and planning on using this along with several other “homemade” gifts to give to our family and friends. We routinely make vanilla for our own personal use. We make ours in a 750ml size which typically lasts us around a year using it for all of our baking needs. Making homemade vanilla is extremely easy but does take some planning and a few months to “brew”. 
In addition to homemade vanilla we also plan to make Limoncello (an Italian lemon liqueur), Boozy Cherry Sauce (do you see a theme here?), cinnamon sugar roasted almonds, graham cracker chocolate toffee and honey almond oat soap.
This recipe is similar to how we make our vanilla.
Ingredients
3 to 5 vanilla beans
8 ounces alcohol such as vodka, bourbon, brandy, or rum
→ General Rule of Thumb: Use 3 to 5 vanilla beans per 8 ounces of alcohol and multiply accordingly if making more extract.
Equipment
Cutting board and knife
Clean jar or bottle
New bottle(s) for packaging (optional)
Small funnel (optional)
Coffee filter (optional)
Instructions
→ Uses for spent pods. You can also make good use of the spent vanilla pods by drying them and then making vanilla sugar or flavored salt.
Recipe courtesy of the kitchn
Find it here: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-vanilla-extract-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-197785
We love working on custom orders and are always happy to speak to a client who has an idea in their head for a product. We have spent a lot of one on one time working with one local company, AAV Travel, to determine exactly the best product for their clients.
The first challenge we partnered with Stefanie, the owner of AAV Travel, on was for a bridal show she was attending as a vendor. She wanted to give all the brides who visited her table a take home bar of soap made with a custom scent, color and packaging. She had an estimate of how many brides she thought would come to the show along with a budget to work within. We were thrilled to be able to produce for her a half size custom bar scented with a very tropical fragrance. We infused organic olive oil with annatto seed oil to create the bright orange color and added poppy seeds for decoration and scrub. We branded each package with her company logo and wrapped with her signature blue color tissue paper and pretty blue and white twine. Her brides loved them!
The next project she called on us for was a large scale thank you gift for her best clients. Since she works with clients from all of the world one of our top priorities was to make sure whatever we came up with that it would ship well. She knew she wanted 5 different soap bars, each to represent a portion of the world that she plans vacations and honeymoons for. Working back and forth over several months we determined the regions that would be represented. We sent her several fragrance profiles to review. From there she picked the smell she thought best represented each of the 5 regions and we began to talk about appearance of the bars.
We finalized and finished the set of 5 bars several months after we began the project and she was very pleased. We provided her with a custom shipping box and lots of kraft shredded paper for safe soap traveling. We branded all of the bars with her logo and website and she choose names for each bar. We packaged them 5 to a box and delivered them to her in time for holiday shipping.
We’d love to work with you on your custom needs. Add that something special to your wedding, shower, event, party, holiday, reunion or work outing with a custom product/s. We routinely customize soaps, scrubs, lotions, lip chaps, detergents, etc and in addition to your signature scent and look we can add your special date, photo, location, name, etc. Contact us to discuss more.
Contact Stefanie at AAV Travel for all of our your destination vacation and honeymoon needs. Stefanie is located in Terre Haute, Indiana and services the world.
Homemade Laundry Detergent is very easy to make, economical and can be eco-friendly. There are several different recipes available on the internet, both liquid and dry formulas. Pure GRACE Soap makes a dry custom formula for sale online and at craft shows that is all natural and made without chemicals.
Many homemade laundry detergent recipes are easy to make and take few ingredients, most of which you probably have in your home all the time. The recipe we like to use is based heavily on washing soda, baking soda and citric acid. Washing soda, also known as sodium carbonate or soda ash, is very similar to baking soda but with a different chemical compound. It has been used for many years by our mothers and grandmothers to clean clothes and is considered a natural ingredient. It helps to soften the washing water while removing grease and stains. Baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, is a wonderful natural cleaning product. Many people use it exclusively to clean their kitchens and bathrooms (along with vinegar). In laundry detergent, baking soda quickly dissolves in water, helps to clean stains and does not damage fabrics. Some people think baking soda possibly helps to neutralize odors and freshen fabrics. Citric acid is included in our recipe because it helps to break down enzymes found in common stains. Many recipes will call for a ratio of 4 parts washing soda to 1 part citric acid. That ratio helps you get the cleaning power but does not allow sediment to build up. Citric acid is also functional as a natural stain remover. 
In addition to washing soda, baking soda and citric acid we use a bar of natural soap as the “glue” of the recipe, coarse sea salt and sometimes will include essential or fragrance oils for scent. We like a high quality bar of natural glycerin soap but about any bar of soap will work keeping in mind some will clean better than others and some contain more questionable ingredients than others. It is important to hand grate the bar of soap or use a food processor to shred it down until it looks like shredded cheese. If you use your food processor make sure to rinse any soap residue off before running it through your dishwasher or you will find bubbles on the floor like I did the first time. The bar of soap helps to hold all of the other ingredients together. I like to really work it into the dry ingredients so they are thoroughly mixed. Coarse sea salt helps to soften the washing water but does not aid in the actual cleaning process. That being said some big name natural detergents on the market do include salt as one of their ingredients. Essential and fragrance oils can be used to scent the detergent. We add only a small amount so as not to possibly damage any clothes with an overabundance of oil but scents can be added to your liking or you might choose to leave your detergent unscented.
Each recipe is different but the process to make dry homemade laundry detergent is fairly straight forward and simple. Place your pre-measured dry ingredients into a bowl. You may wish to use gloves as washing soda can sometimes irritate sensitive hands. Mix the dry ingredients well and then add your grated bar of soap. The bar of soap will be somewhat sticky and should work into the dry mixture well. I always try to hand mix for a few minutes to make sure the mixture is evenly distributed. Finally if you choose to add a scent add a few drops of it until you have reached your desired scent. Packaging your detergent can be fun. You can use anything from a cute glass jar to a leftover plastic food container. Dry laundry detergent will last for a long time provided it does not get moisture in it. The recipe we use sometimes tends to clump since we do not use anti-caking agents, like some commercial brands, therefore we tell our customers to break it up with a spoon or fork if they have clumping. You can also add a desiccant to help with the moisture.
Homemade laundry detergent is economical, many times costing pennies per load. Generally speaking all of the ingredients can be found in the laundry aisle of your supermarket or big box home store. The more “natural” you decide to go with the recipe the more the individual ingredients might cost but keep in mind the batch you are making will last for many loads. Also many times the amount needed to use in one load of laundry is much smaller than what you would use with a commercial laundry detergent. The detergent we make and sell uses only one (1) tablespoon per load. We find it to work as good or better than commercial brands we have used in the past.
The nice thing about making your own laundry detergent is you can control how eco-friendly you would like it to be. Some ingredients such as Borax, Oxiclean, Fels Naptha, Bleach, etc may or may not be controversial based on the chemicals they include. Some people feel quite safe using them while others don’t. It’s a matter of personal preference on what ingredients you want to use in your detergent. You can make it is eco-friendly as you would like it to be. Also, we choose to make a dry version of laundry detergent over a liquid form because it will keep longer than some liquid recipes and we do not have to use a preservative, or chemical, to prevent the spread of possible bacteria and mold growth which could be a concern in some liquid recipes.
It is important to note that most homemade laundry detergents are good in both top loader and HE washing machines but always double check if you are concerned. Many recipes will notate that as well as what water temperatures the detergent performs best in. Finally if you are interested in continuing your eco-friendly-ness into the world of drying consider using 100% wool dryer balls in place of dryer sheets or fabric softener. The wool balls will not only stop any static but will help to dry your clothes faster and with less electricity. They do not have any chemicals associated with them since they are 100% wool. Products such as homemade laundry detergent and wool dryer balls are economical, easy to make and use, eco-friendly and will go a long way to help winter dry, chapped and sensitive skin.
Below are a couple of basic recipes for making your own laundry detergent.
Homemade Dry Laundry Detergent for Heavy Loads
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Shredded Soap
¼ Cup Citric Acid
½ Cup Vinegar (added to rinse compartment)
Courtesy of Brambleberry.com
Found here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/home-crafts/three-diy-laundry-soap-recipes/
Basic Laundry Powder which works best in warm or hot water. Use ½ to 1 tablespoon per load.
½ cup soap flakes or grated plain bar soap
½ cup borax
½ cup washing soda
Courtesy of The Nickel Pincher: 3 Easy Homemade Laundry Detergents
Found here: http://www.rodalenews.com/homemade-laundry-detergent
In case you didn’t hear we were happy to have our product stocked at not one but two retail locations last week. Select Pure GRACE Soap products will now be available year round at Harvest Bakery located at 905 S. 25th St Terre Haute, IN. Stop in and tell Marta, the owner, M. GRACE says HI!
The second retail location Pure GRACE Soap products are now available is The Parlor Salon located at 5 S. 7th Street, Terre Haute, IN. A variety of soaps and lotion sticks are currently available. We are very excited to have our product here!
We ran a fun giveaway this week on our Facebook page. We asked all of you to show us your Pure GRACE Soap in action. We asked everyone to choose a setting which would appeal to M. GRACE and show us your soap having fun. We didn’t care if it had already been used or was brand new. We suggested you might want to make your soap read a book or dress up in a Halloween costume. The funnier and more imaginative pictures, the better.
We had some very creative entries and it was very hard for M. GRACE to pick one winner. So we didn’t. We picked two!
The first place winner was from our customer Meghan Salinas. She and her daughter worked on this setup together and M. GRACE loved it! Meghan and her daughter won twenty dollars worth of product of their choice. Her caption reads: “Oh, no! Splinter wanted to steal E’s favorite Pure Grace plum wine soap! Thanks goodness Leonardo held him off while the other ninja turtles rescued the soap so that E can bathe tonight!”
The second winning photo came from Haley Scholz with the help of her gorgeous fur babies. M.GRACE loves animals. Haley won a bar of soap of her choice. Her caption read: “Ughhhh mom we don’t want a bath unless it’s with your fancy soap…”
Thanks to everyone who participated and please watch for our next giveaway.
This giveaway is now closed.
It’s October which means the holidays are right around the corner. Closer than some of us might want them to be. They like to sneak up on us when we least expect it and before we know it Halloween has past and our bellies are full of turkey and then we realize we have no gifts for anyone with mere weeks till the big day/s.
Well, have we got you covered! We will have LOTS of gifting options for any upcoming holiday you are celebrating. We have already started putting together some gift baskets. You can expect to see many more as we get closer to the “season”.
All of our gift baskets are also available as gift boxes which is great for those wanting to ship their gifts directly to the recipients. We can even add a hand written note if you like, just let us know. You could effectively take care of everyone on your list with just one phone call….wait, does anyone phone call in orders anymore?? Maybe not as much as we used to but we also take orders via email, FB and you can even comment on the website and we’ll track you down to help you.
Just a little sneak peak of what to expect this season. Our Gardeners gift basket contains Bug Be GONE Lotion Stick and Gardeners Soap along with gardening gloves, shovel and ceramic pot with attached saucer.
The Peppermint Chocolate gift basket contains Peppermint Bath Salts (enough for 3 baths), Cocoa Kisses Lotion Stick, a soft fabric sponge, handled pumice stone and square bottom wicker basket.
Both baskets are $25 each. We at Pure GRACE Soap don’t like to have what everyone else has – we like to be individual and special and so are our gift baskets. No two will be alike so if you see one you like you might want to grab it up.
This was the first giveaway we did for Pure GRACE Soap and we had a lot of fun with it! Thanks to everyone who participated. Take a look at the video to see who won!
