What a hectic week I've had in the workshop! We have been so busy that we didn't realise that there is only four weeks to go before the big day!
Have started to make our heart shaped bath bombs again, it has been a while since I made them.
They make great stocking fillers or even a nice gift for the teachers. I will be putting them into their small organza bags tomorrow after wrapping up the May Chang Soap that's ready.
There is a lot going on next month, as you know we have all our products in Artology, Fochabers and we are also in with the Speyside Artisans for their pop up shop in the St. Giles Centre, Elgin for the first week in December.
I have been having some fun making some Chrismas Wax Melts, and they smell devine! The scents we have are: Cranberry & Orange, Christmas Orange (with Cinnamon & Cloves), and regular Patchouli & Lemongrass to keep you going after Christmas. Although these aren't on our website yet, you can still buy them from us through our venues or by contacting us direct.
Our Vanilla & Orange Sugar Body Scrub is gaining in popularity, we now have them in kilner jars that are perfect for them - although we haven't yet got the new jars showing on the website yet!
I think this has been our busiest year so far, but next year will be better. Leslie is in the process of updating our website so that it will be easier for our visitors to find what they are looking for and he's also making it mobile friendly too!
As always we have your favourites, and remember if you want anything changed in our range of gifts, just send us an email or why not phone for a chat - we'd love to hear from you.
You know winter isn't far away when you wake up to the colder mornings, it takes you longer to get motivated, but it is that time of year when Christmas is fast approaching...soon everyone will be busy with their Christmas shopping, getting the house ready for the festive season, stocking up on all the goodies that are out there...
We will have busy times ahead over the next few weeks stocking up ourselves with our handmade gifts which are all individually wrapped with care. We can also do bespoke gifts where you can pick and choose what you would like to be added to a natural wooden box or a natural jute bag. If you want something different, then must send us an email with what you would like and we will get back in touch with you.
Here are just some of our gifts...
A delight gift box for new mums - Lavender Body Butter and gentle Mum & Baby Lotion. For their young one there is Moisturising Baby Cream, Soothing Baby Soap.
Our Natural Wooden Gift Box holds a variety of delights... an assortment of three guest size soaps, relaxing Ylang Ylang Bath Salts with its own wooden scoop, moisturising Chamomile & Geranium Body Butter and our skin loving Vitamin Rich Body Cream.
For those who are looking for something inexpensive, we have our floral bath bombs arranged in a light weight wooden tray...delightful Ylang Ylang, calming Geranium and soothing Lavender...but we can make these up with just the scent of your choice.
Coming soon we have this lovely gift set with a larger jute bag, this bag is filled with herbaceous Lavender to soothe and protect, but we can easily change them with your favourites instead!
The bag will have Lavender Body Butter, Lavender Soap, Lavender Bath Salts and a cotton face cloth.
Lavender is one of the world's most well known herbs that not only helps us to calm us down in stressful situations, but has a wide variety of different benefits dependent on how it's used.
Throughout the ages Lavender has been used to soothe and calm, which is why it's so popular in baby products. Although most people today have showers instead of baths, there is nothing more relaxing than indulging in some time out with a soak in a lavender scented bath.
When used as soaks, Lavender Oil not only soothes and relaxes but it
can also help alleviate the symptoms of headaches, migraines and stress - making it ideal for those who have difficulty in sleeping in getting a
good nights rest.
Lavender is a favourite for use in skincare because of its abilities to gently heal and care for all skin types, with its anti-septic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
These properties make Lavender Oil perfect for those with acne, allergies, burns and various forms of dermatitis! Used in soaps and moisturisers,
Lavender improves the overall skin condition and helps to heal any
damage your skin picks up from everyday life.
We have a large range of products with Lavender Oil because of all these lovely benefits, from our soaps (Lavender Soap, Soothing Baby Soap and Kitchen Soap), and our moisturisers (Lavender Body Butter, Moisturising Baby Cream, Mum & Baby Lotion), to soak (Lavender Bath Bombs, Lavender Mini Bath Bombs, Lavender Bath Salts).
Lavender Oil is
one of the few essential oils safe enough to be used neat on skin,
although it's best to leave this to the professionals as with all
essential oils they are extremely potent and may be harmful if used
incorrectly.
Making your own skincare products can be fun a lot of fun most of the time, but it's not always smooth running. This year has been totally different from the last few as you have probably seen from our website.
This year we have been so busy making our creams, lotions and body butters that we have almost forgotten about our soaps! Not to worry though, panic stations has set in and we have now started making them...
Making our soap is quite an easy process, weigh the oils, heat them up and then mix them with the lye (sodium hydroxide), once they get to a thick custard texture, they are then ready for the mould.
This is fine, but I forgot the last batch we made, we had to take the mould to bits as the soap wouldn't come out but we got there in the end, now this time the first soap to be made was Lavender and whoever put the mould back together again didn't put the screws right in, (I think you know what happened next), so here is me delighted to be making soap again, not knowing any better, pours the soap into the mould and low and behold it starts running out of the side...OMG...panic stations again! Luckily there was another mould ready nearby that was done for another batch and some quick thinking, grabbed the leaking mould and poured it into the other mould.
We had quite a bit of a mess to clean up, there was soap everywhere, but after a while we did see the funny side of it. Here are some photos of the soaps we made, which were chosen for the upcoming Christmas season...we've experimented with heart and round moulds too ready for some unique Christmas gifts (stocking fillers...)
Oh I know we are going to have a lot of fun decorating the hearts and the round ones, you will have to wait and see what we come up with.
We are very
aware of issues concerning the rainforest's and some people are maybe
fed up hearing them but this story is about a young biologist from
Indonesia.
Rudi
Putra who was awarded the goldman environmental prize for managing to
shut down 26 illegal palm oil operations, read more about his story here...it is very interesting.
The
environment is a very important issue with us and is something close to
our hearts. There is a lot happening in the world today and not all of
it is good.
As
an environmentally conscience company, we ourselves only use
sustainably sourced organic Palm Oil - this means that we don't promote
deforestation of the rainforest's that harbour endangered wildlife
(Orangutans, Tigers & Elephants), medicinal plants (some of which
are unique to rainforest's).
Deforestation on even a small scale can
cause localised flooding, which is happening on an increasing scale every year! Shockingly the Indonesian Government are set to increase Palm Oil production to double by 2020, of which the USA uses most of the 90% of the global market.
We'd love to hear any thoughts on this, so why not leave a comment below?
The Seabuckthorn shrub grows over large areas of Europe and Asia, it's highly coveted for its vitamin rich properties as well as its ability to speed up the healing of wounds. It has been used for centuries by alternative medicine for its abundance of nutritional and theraputic properties.
Seabuckthorn Oil is rich in Omega-7 (Palmitoleic Acid) making it potent with anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-ageing, it may also help with those suffering from rosacea, eczema and acne.
Additional benefits of this wonderful plant are:
- Protects against harmful effects of chemical contaminants
- Acts as a powerful immune booster
- Improves the condition of hair & skin
- Reduces inflammation and promotes your skins new growth
Have you tried our Vitamin Rich Body Cream yet? Buy now, just add coupon 20OFF.
"This lotion feels amazing, like it's really nourishing the skin, leaving it so soft. It's non-greasy too which is great...when I used the lotion and then cuddled Elodie, she did seem to settle very easily..."
- Liz from Andover, July 2014
When we first started to formulate our gentlest lotion, the one thing it had to be was mild enough for both mother and child. This is why we have only used the mildest and gentlest oils we have, to make it extra special though we only used the most soothing of essential oils - chamomile and lavender!
We also didn't want it to be too heavy or greasy, which is why we carefully balanced the heavier Shea Butter with the lighter oils of Sweet Almond and Camellia - this combination is ideal for the soothing, healing, moisturising and nourishing properties that can be passed on to both mum and baby!
If you have problems with dry, cracked heels and are on your feet all day, why not give your feet a well earned treat that will ease any soreness that you have!
- Take time out and bathe your feet in warm water that has some Dead Sea Salts added to it, to soothe and revitalise tired feet. After about half an hour, pat your feet dry then follow up with a good moisturiser.
- Our Tea Tree & Peppermint Body Butter with its Shea Butter, which is well known for its moisturising properties, Macadamia Oil for nourishment along with Aloe Vera to cool & hydrate is great to soften and protect your feet. It will also refresh and uplift with the light scent of peppermint too!
- For those who have extremely dry, cracked heels, it's best to use a heavy duty moisturiser that provides extra vitamins, minerals to soften, replenish and hydrate - just apply at night, then put on a pair of cotton socks.
Why not take advantage of our Buy One Get One Half Price Offer, add coupon HALFPRICE at the checkout!
Having dry, sensitive or problematic skin doesn't have to be a chore to look after, you just need to avoid the issues that can trigger your problems.
Have a look at our range fragrance free skincare ideally suited to those who require that extra bit of nourishment for their skin. We don't have any essential oils in our unscented range, which has been specially formulated for sensitive skin with moisturising ingredients (such as cocoa, mango and shea butters).
Our Honey & Oatmeal Soap is a gentle exfoliating cleanser with honey to nourish and protect your skin, whilst our Goat's Milk Soap with cocoa and mango butters are ideal for those that suffer from dermatitis, eczema & psoriasis.
We also have organic Unscented Body Butter with lashings of cocoa and shea butter to keep your skin moisturised and in tip top condition. Sensitive Skin Facial Mask is perfect for your face with kaolin, yoghurt, to detox and tone giving you glowing skin. With our masks being powder, you can add your favourite oil (such as olive oil), or indulge by adding a little coconut milk (for that extra moisturising)...
So much has been happening in the workshop just now, particularly now with the summer holidays over and the kids are back in school...
We have expanded our gift range online to include the gifts we normally sell at our venues, which we will be adding our accessories coming soon too. Our accessories include face clothes, ramie shower scrunchies, nail & body brushes, soap dishes and loofahs.
We already put our loofahs into our Gardeners' Gift Bags with the soap dishes going into our Lavender Bath Collections too...why not add them to your gifts to make them more unique?
Our gifts now include a new Mum & Baby Box, our Sensitive Soap Tray as well as our popular Bath Bomb Tray...
Next week you'll find our lovely gift range at the new Speyside Artisans Shop in Fochabers (it's opening in September for a year's trial run) as well as Moray Arts Centre at Findhorn Park.
Remember we're on Facebook and Twitter with exclusive offers too, and we'll be posting where we're going in September next time.
Any time we are choosing our packaging, sustainability isn't far from our minds as we try to be as eco friendly as possible - which is why we use wood wool in our gifts.
Wood wool has been around for over 200 years, to help keep the more fragile produce (for example pottery) safe and secure during transport...they didn't have the roads we have today remember! Wood wool is made by putting timber through a special machine that shreds the wood (think of a giant cheese grater), and it's also kiln dried too.
We source our wood wool from a FSC certified company, it gives us peace of mind that the wood they use comes from a sustainable source and not the rainforest...here we have it in our Wooden Gift Box...the wood they use is Cedar.
If you want to find out more about how we package our products, please leave your comments below...
Please raise your hand if you've ever felt that you need something extra that you can't get from your regular moisturiser.
Do you feel you need a more long term solution to keeping your skin moisturised throughout the day?
Here is some tips to help you get the best out of your moisturiser...
- Apply your moisturiser to clean skin before you sleep, preferably after a bath/shower to give the cream time to work on your skin.
- It's best to apply any moisturisers a little at a time - your skin can only absorb so much - you can always apply more if required.
- Some moisturisers are multi-purpose...like our Vitamin Rich Body Cream...it will help heal chapped and dry skin, leaving your skin the way nature intended it to be.
- As with all handmade creams, they only need to be applied in small doses.
- If it's a gentle cream that you are needing, that can be applied throughout the day...our Moisturising Baby Cream is like this - remember a little at a time.
If you are unsure about which cream would be best for your skin, please feel free to either leave a comment or you can email or call (01343 880231) we would be more than happy to answer any of your questions.
Our products are as natural as possible without any parabens, silicates, etc... and they are not tested on animals. Hope you have enjoyed reading this blog.
Despite the slightly heavy rain on Friday those dreaded midges were out in force with the warmth and no breeze to keep them at bay! It's just as well we were well stocked with our Highland Midge Lotion - it was selling like hot cakes...
Throughout Friday, the rain was trying to let up, then sadly start up again...but everyone was enjoying themselves anyway as most came well prepared.
Saturday was by far the better day with the sun peeking out from behind the clouds keeping the rain away till almost home time...however, it was a lot cooler too!
Had time to have a little look at the nearest arena (set up for the dog's assalt course)...and spotted this cut guy outside the Archie Foundation Stand!
Took this photo just before it flew away but it is not just humans that like our lip balms but the bee's like it too.
We have some new places to go to this month, as well as some of our usual haunts. Keep these dates in your diaries for some great family days out during August!
Friday 1st & Saturday 2nd - Highland Field & Sports, Moy
Wednesday 6th & Thursday 7th - Black Isle Show, Muir of Ord
Sunday 10th - Brodie Castle's Historic Wheels Vintage Car Rally
Thursday 14th - Grantown Show, Grantown-on-Spey
Saturday 16th - Turra Market, Turriff
Friday 29th to Sunday 31st - Who Do You Think You Are? Glasgow (SECC), hall 5, table 58
Saturday 30th - Carve Carrbridge (Chainsaw Championships)
Both our creams are great to help with healing dry, itchy or damaged skin and they also have their own unique quirks too.
Our organic Moisturising Baby Cream is formulated to be extra mild and gentle as well as moisturising making it ideal for babies delicate skin,it also helps alleviate the itch that can be associated with problems like eczema and psoriasis.
It is easily absorbed into the skin, soothes and cools with Aloe Vera, Lavender and Chamomile but it's also non-greasy with its Camellia Oil. This cream can be applied as often as needed to the irritated parts throughout the day.
We've talked about our Vitamin Cream before in our blog here, this is an excellent cream for repairing damaged skin too ie chapped, broken skin that needs that extra bit of moisturising. Like all our creams this too is easily absorbed and non greasy where we only apply a little at a time.
The Vitamin Cream is best applied at night and once in the morning. As time goes on you will find that you may not need to use any for a while, as long as you keep lid on and store in a cool dark place this cream will last for 12-18 months. With this cream being so rich, it isn't suitable for babies.
With Summer underway, I thought it would be a good idea for me give you some tips and tricks to help you get the most of summer...
- Keeping your skin clean to stop blemishes appearing, a light cleansing in the morning (helps your make-up go on better, if you're using any) and again at night to let your skin 'breathe'. If your skin feels tight, switch to a gentler cleanser!
- Exfoliate to promote healthy new skin, it also gives your skin a nice glow. Use a body scrub about once a week, and a facial mask about twice a week (once a fortnight for sensitive skin)
- Don't forget about lip care, moisturise with a lip balm to help stop getting chapped lips from the hot summer sun (when it's out!)
- Moisturise your skin to help improve and also to boost your skins health. A good moisturiser can relieve dry/taut skin as well as create an extra layer of protection too!
- Soothe and cool your skin by soaking in some dead sea mineral salts, it's a wondereful way to relax whilst replenishing those lost minerals - perfect to relieve aches and pains too!
- Nourish and protect neglected dry skin (you feet and elbows?) with extra rich body butter, our Tea Tree & Peppermint Body Butter is ideal with its soothing Aloe Vera!
- Don't forget to protect yourself from insects, particularly if you are near woods or water (out walking your dog, hiking, fishing...) Our Highland Midge Lotion is effective against horse flies, midges, mosquitoes and moisturises your skin too!
We arrived at Balloch on Thursday afternoon for Loch Lomond Highland Games, this year it was extended in light of the Commonwealth Games to include youngsters with a trial run of 'Junior Highland Games', which was held on the Friday.
With us getting
there early, we had plenty time to set up then relax in the peace and
tranquility of the park (which is right next to Loch Lomond!).
We also had time
for a wee walk down to the harbour and back through the woods to the van
before bedtime. We weren't to sure how long the good weather would be lasting, with heavy rain and thunder being predicted for the next few days...
I think that sometimes the weather forecasters need to get out more, as it was quite pleasant on Thursday and Friday...
The kids took
great advantage of this by having a great time competing in their very
own Highland Games before the Commonweath Baton came round in the
afternoon...
Sadly the weather took a slight turn for the worse on Saturday, with a light drizzle starting around about noon, slowly turning heavier towards the late afternoon...
But despite the worsening weather there was still a lot going on with the triathalon, cycle and track racing, as well as the more traditional heavy weights of caber tossing, shot put and lots more besides...
Overall we had a great time out for everyone, young and old alike!
This luxurious ingredient is extracted from the de-shelled kernel of mangoes. It has similar properties to both Cocoa and Shea Butters, but as it's also astingent this is ideal for those with oily prone skin.
Mango butter naturally relieves dry, itchy skin whilst promoting skin healing along with protecting it too. There are loads more besides that I can list...
- Heals skin rashes
- Treats small skin wounds (paper cuts) and skin cracks
- Moisturises & smoothes touch/rough skin
- Relieves insect bites
- Heals muscle fatigue, aches & tensions
- Relieves skin allergies (such as poison ivy/oak)
You can find Mango Butter in our Highland Midge Lotion, Chamomile & Geranium Body Butter, Strawberry Lip Balm, Goat's Milk Soap, May Chang Clay Soap.
Trying to plan when to clean a gala tent, especially if we've been at a venue that had rain isn't easy...
When we started washing ours, it was sunny with a light wind and just a little cloud...we had just finished and started unloading our van when the heavens opened up! Never mind, it's just typical Scottish weather...
Remember we'll be going to Loch Lomond Highland Games this Friday and Saturday!
Living out in the country is both a blessing and a little bit of a curse...it's peaceful, but now and again there is always a slight down side when living next door to nature - particularly those cute little lambs in the field!
We were so looking forward to a bumper crop of home grown potatoes this year...things were looking up as they were fairly growing so far...
When our neighbours appeared in the field next door we were pretty confident that they couldn't get loose with the new fencing up...
We left last weekend for the Scottish Game Fair and one lone pesky lamb somehow had a repeated "great escape" and had a relative feast on our beloved tatties!!!
I just hope they don't go after my veg boxes! Couldn't bear it if it nibbled on those delicious strayberries...
I thought I'd share a little inspiration with some pictures taken today on a walk by the river...
Had the grandkids with me today so I thought I'd take advantage of the good weather by a long walk along the Spey.
We had so much fun talking about all manor of things from the behaviour of wildlife to how they are getting on at school.
There was quite a few fishermen out with friends and pets, and the children were having so much fun petting the dogs.
It's a wonderful way to pass the time...a relaxing walk by the river on a nice sunny day. Hope I can grab some more days like today!
We were pleasantly surprised at how good the weather was while we were at Scone Palace this weekend for the Scottish Game Fair, especially when we had checked with BBC's weather forecast! Apart from a few showers, it stayed warm and dry for the three days, there was so much to see that you needed all three days to take advantage of what was on offer!
Our stand was in the Craft Marquee in a corner and we had a surprisingly good view outside...my daughter, Mary and I took turns having a little walk-about when it was quiet.
There is a lot of different things happening through out the day with plenty to keep everybody happy even the kids. We were kept busy most of the time and there was a lot to see, with all the different craft stalls inside and trade stands outside.
Just in front of the marquee we got glimpse of the dancing sheep (three shows per day) as well as the ducks (for the dog & duck show held in the main arena).
There was also tutorials for those who like fishing (novices and advanced alike), archery, clay pigeons - we even tried our first Arbroath Smokie, delicious!
We will definitely be going back next year, so don't worry if you've missed us this time. Next weekend we'll be going to the Strathmore Vintage Vehicle Rally at Glamis Castle (Saturday & Sunday).
Mary will also be in a lovely garden centre located in beautiful surroundings just outside Beauly on Sunday!
After the busy weekend we've had at Bannockburn Live and locally too (Piping Hot Forres & Aila Coull Foundation's Fete), the cooker in the workshop hasn't stopped since Monday...
Over the weekend we've almost sold out of our Highland Midge Lotion, Moisturising Baby Cream and Vitamin Rich Body Cream and also running low on our body butters, bath bombs and soaps too!
With the Scottish Game Fair this weekend, we've been in the workshop stocking up on our products. Sadly we won't be able to supply the usual range of our soaps as they need to cure afterwards so we're concentrating on getting our other products ready first.
Since we'll be heading down to Perth on Thursday, we've been busy getting more of our body butters, creams and lotions made...particularly our popular Vitamin Rich Body Cream and Highland Midge Lotion!
Last year we had a busy time at the Game Fair, with the weather staying fine which was a very nice bonus (the year before was cancelled due to the heavy rain!), so we'll have our fingers crossed for sunshine...
For those with sensitive skin, particularly prone to problems such as eczema, psoriasis, or dermatitis it can be difficult to trust soaps not to further irritate.
Commercial soaps, even the ones that promote themselves as ideal for sensitive skin are full of chemicals that aren't present in those that are handmade and organic. All our soaps are made with organic oils and butters that are picked for their benefits to your skin such as Olive Oil (for its mildness) or Cocoa Butter (with its extra moisturising).
We also make them in small batches of 24 large bars and 24 small bars, this is to give you the freshest soaps we can and to give you peace of mind too! We offer sample packs of our small soaps for those not sure which soap is best for them, including our popular Goat's Milk and Honey & Oatmeal Soaps.
In our range of organic soaps we have something for everyone, from teenagers (Honey & Lemon Soap), to gardener's (Patchouli & Lemongrass or our new scrubby Kitchen Soap), to those who are prone to dermatitis (Bergamot & Patchouli Soap)
Avocado is often overlooked by many when looking for an effective and moisturising oil for their skincare. It's great for not only softening the skin but those with acne prone or mature skin with it's high levels of vitamins B6, C, D, E, K as well as folic acid and potassium.
Avocado oil has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, it also has high levels of anti-oxidants (useful for healing sun-damaged skin during these summer months).
We use avocado because it's easily absorbed into your skin (even though it's a medium weight oil), making it ideal for that dry, itchy skin prone to eczema and psoriasis, acne prone and mature skin!
Avocado Oil is in our organic Bergamot & Patchouli Soap and our organic Chamomile & Geranium Body Butter, keep an eye out for more information about the other ingredients we use.
