YIPPEE....have finally updated the website after.....

about 2 years of being out of date!!!!! I'm so rubbish at this computer lark!! My computer is so slow that it took me all day just to upload one page of piccies - well at least it's done now :)

I do like computers some time especially when I'm wombling around Google looking at hand made soap images - these are some of the best I have found and I think they are totally fantastically creative - see what you think....

WOW.....Warwick Castle

Forget selling soaps.....I had a fab weekend walking around Warwick castle and enjoying the sights, the actors, the 'plastic people', the amazing scenery, the 'Dungeon', the princess tower...oh yeah I forgot I had a little stall there...a really lovely weekend at the most amazing venue. I can't wait to go back...at Halloween for the ghostly goings on (not selling soap for a change!) Here are some piccies of the view I had from behind the stall...

Some new soaps and stuff......

Thought I would share a few piccies....there are a few items that needed new updated photo's to go onto the website but also some new products that I've been working on recently....

'SPA BAR'

'MINTY'

'PINK CLAY & SPICY CITRUS'

Lil' Soap Shack

The weather has been gorgeous for the last few weeks, so I have been thinking about the garden. For Mother's Day I received a great little greenhouse that I'm planning to fill with tons of tomatoes! Just thought I'd share a few piccies of my garden and workshop...

The Lil' Soap Shack where all the soap, lotions & potions are cooked up!

My baby greenhouse

Blast from the past....

Taking advantage of a few quiet months at the begining of the year, I threw myself into a bit of decorating. I had a nasty 70's fireplace to knock down, some plastering to be done and holes to fill in. So I set about it and have ended up with a plum suede effect room with some feature walls in lime green/metallic florals...sounds a bit mad but it actually works. I'm not too scared to try different ideas after being on 'Changing Rooms' a few years ago!! This was my dining room decorated by Linda Barker - I wanted an 'Enchanted' room and I certainly got one....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/design/design_inspiration/factsheets/135.shtml

It actually looks really nice! It wasn't until a few weeks later that things were not quite right.....the table started to warp and the emulsion that was painted on the skirting boards needed to be repainted with 'proper' paint, apart from that I LOVED IT!

The soap stall will be going to......

April Steam & Food Fayre
Sunday 18th April 1.00pm – 5.00pm

Abbey Pumping Station

Tantalise your taste buds and fill your senses with exotic scents and textures of the culinary delights inherent in the varied communities of our great city. This year’s theme is ‘packaging and preserving’ - learn how technological advances enabled us to eat the varied diet we have today. Homemade cake served in the tearoom, train rides and classic vehicles will be in abundance and the Gimson beam engines will be in steam.

Family £8.00; Adults £3.50; Children / concessions £2.50 (a small charge for train rides).

Great British Food, Drink & Craft Fair
23rd – 25th April
Warwick Castle is to celebrate all that’s great and good about our green and pleasant land with its first ever St George’s Day celebration now confirmed.
The Great British Food and Craft Fair will be held on 23-25 April and aims to showcase some of the best British exports.
Guests can enjoy cookery demonstrations across the weekend, including demos from celebrity chef Richard Fox, who will be sharing his best recipes to prepare an array of great British classic dishes.
For those guest who fancy themselves as a wine or beer connoisseur, regular tasting sessions will be held, where guests can learn the how to refine their palates and how to make the right beverage choice to accompany their favourite meal.
Children will be able to busy their hands with an array of hands-on activities, including the Make 'n' Bake Cookery Area and a Craft Make ‘n’ Take Area and Tile Painting, where crafty kids can take home creations, from jam tarts and plaster of paris models and money boxes.
In addition to the ‘see and do’ activities that will be on offer, guests can also enjoy watching the spectacular Chainsaw Sculptor, Carrie Yuen, in action. Guests can witness her transform logs into masterpieces; from tigers and crocodiles to owls and tortoises. Guests will also be able to purchase her timber creations on the day.

A sunny weekend at Sandringham.....

It was a beautiful, sunny weekend last weekend at Sandringham, and I had a few new products that I wanted to launch there....firstly my new felted soap range - 'soap in a sweater' - my soap had been hand felted by Maria at Creative Bumblebee with lots of multi coloured wool fibres. They look totally funky and are lovely to wash with. The wool acts as a gentle exfoliant and shrinks as the soap shrinks. I had a small panic on Friday afternoon as my basket had nearly emptied so I had to ring Maria to felt some more for me to take me through the weekend!!

My new 'Queen Of Hearts' soap bar
inspired by the new Alice in Wonderland film!
My new 'Woof Wash' soap bars are scented with Lemongrass & Rosemary to help your pooch smell gorgeous. The biscuits are made by the 'Doggy Cookie Co' from Leicestershire who make natural treats for your doggies!! There were a few large dogs who passed the stall and were having a good ole sniff at those lovely treats!!

Here is a selection of Maria's felted goodies alongside my soaps!

Here is the stall - can you believe I can get all this and 2 tables in my lil' fiesta!!

Best seller for the weekend was by far......felted soaps!!

The travelling soap stall....

The 'Mad About Nature' stall will be at Sandringham Craft Show this weekend (Friday - Sunday)

with some new soap ranges and some special offers!!

Trying to be soap creative.......

Feeling rather inspired recently I

have tried a few techniques with my soap making...

layering, peaking, swirling. So here are a few piccies of my recent experiments....

The first soap is swirled with pink clay and scented with Lavender, Eucalyptus, Ginger & Rosemary. The second soap is good ole Geranium and Rosehip. And lastly, this bar was made with Goat's milk and cocoa powder and scented with some deep spicey scents of clove, ginger & Myrrh...umm!

Palm Free Soaps.....

Palm Oil is found in many products on our supermarket shelves...from cakes, biscuits, cosmetics, soaps, detergents, etc.
To obtain this 'in demand' oil, huge areas of rainforest are cut down and burned. The single, greatest threat to the survival of wild Orangutans is the clearing of entire forests to make way for plantations. Orangutan habitats are disappearing at an alarming rate resulting in 5,000 Orangutans dying each year...within 10 years wild Orangutans will be extinct!
This is my reason for not using any Palm oil in any of my products. To help this cause Mad About Nature has adopted an Orangutan from BOS (Borneo Orangutan Survival) who are committing to saving these fantastic creatures. I am donating monthly to the cause to help pay for the centre, staff, food & medicines.
To see the wonderful work the centre is doing please click here... http://www.savetheorangutan.co.uk/
Be aware of what you are buying...check labels and ask producers if they use Palm oil!
'Ruthie'