Good Morning everyone!

Can you beleive that it is almost time for the frenzy of Christmas shopping? I am definitely a home made Christmas kind of gal, myself. But I have a secret... well, not really a secret, but a little piece of my soul to share with you. I have to step out into the frenzy alone at least once in the season. It seems to recharge and reenergize me for the season.

You see, when I was growing up, my maternal grandmother was the evening manager of a large floral supply/craft store in Redondo Beach, Ca. Not the huge megamart type of today, but a place where you could go and find the most amazing things scattered around... they had hideously expensive floral design goodies, baby shower stuff, wedding stuff... and... a WHOLE BACK OF THE STORE dedicated to CHRISTMAS. twinkly lights... decorated trees... trains and ornaments. They started Christmas music on the 5th of July every year and didn't stop unti January. I used to love looking at the gorgeous trees with the most beautiful ornaments on them. Fantastical Birds with feathers, velvet, gems.... Huge toy soldier nutcrackers... wreaths and garlands and the slightly musty smell of faux flowers blended with Pine, Cinnamon and Spice.

And I got to see my Grandma... always working...always creating... My Mom says I am so much like her that it drives her crazy sometimes. one day she would come home from school and see my Grandma building shelves. The next day it would be piles of Chinese Food and cookbooks and ingredients scattered everywhere. Another day would be Doll Clothes, Flower Arranging, Needlework.. Always a suprise, always doing SOMETHING. But my Mother, my mommy, my friend.... she is not crafty. She decorates a mean Christmas tree and is a fabulous cook... Loves to have a warm, welcoming, yummy fragranced home. Loves to make us food and protect us and hold us close and just be there for her family, her children and grandchildren. But she doesn't have a crafty bone in her body. It is as if her DNA stored it up and sent it straight to me in utero....

So. I make a lot of our gifts, or trade and buy handmade from others. I avoid Walmart and Sears like the plague on most days. I step into the mall maybe 2 or 3 times a year. But during the Christmas season.... I go to the Mall... on purpose... and just soak it all in :D

Thanks, Grandma, for sharing the magic and passion of Creating with me. I miss you.

Autumn is here in full force! Summer fun is over, bathing suits have been exchanged for warm wool and snuggly fleece. The kids are back in school and the holiday season is approaching! Don't forget, during these busy busy weeks ahead, to stop and take a moment to yourself!

On that note, I have chosen to talk about scrubs today! Body scrubs are generally made from a blend of exfoliants such as Sea Salt, a variety of sugars or wonderful grains such as Oats blended with skin loving Oils. They are a wonderful way to pamper your skin, and, with careful choices of Essential Oil Blends, to also nourish your soul!



I have some very special scrub made up for my guest spot with the Club Thread 2nd Annual Birthday Bash! This blend is made of such precious oils as Sandalwood Mysore, Iron Distilled Patchouli, Frankincense, smokey Vetiver and Cocoa Absolute. It is deep, dark, smokey and seductive. My scrub is available in 2 sizes along with many other wonderful items at http://hyenacart.com/clubthread/

If you have never used a body scrub before, here is a quickie how to!

While in your shower or bath, take a small amount of body scrub into your hand-about a teaspon or so, and use a circular motion to gently rub all over your body. Add more to the palm of your hand as needed, two to three tablespoons should be sufficient to do your entire body but some choose to use more generous amounts.

Take special care to avoid the sensitive areas of your face, neck and the bottoms of your feet.

Rinse away the exfoliating scrub with water and follow with your favorite handmade soap, if you desire. Carefully exit your bathing area and pat your body dry with a warm towel or air dry.

Always use care while using your scrub and when exiting your bathing area, you and your shower area will be slippery!

That's it! Rub on, rinse off, be careful as you get out! The exfoliating salt, sugar or grain in your scrub will gently remove dead skin cells while the skin loving oils will sooth and shine your skin. Try a mint scrub on Monday morning for a great start to your day and a seductive earthy blend on date night!

You can see our other current variety of scrubs at our etsy shoppe http://motherhues.etsy.com/ Thanks for reading

And the winner is....

Lorraine! I used a complicated computer selection service... err, well, actually I had the two oldest of my children pick a number between 1 and 35 (the number of entries) and divided by 2 and rounded up! Tada, number 20! Lorraine was the twentieth comment so she gets a free bar of soap! Please email let us know which variety of so you would like!

Lorraine also had a very informative suggestion in an email conversation we shared today, how about clear labels? I have been wanting to PRINT on handmade paper forever and it looks like this is my chance ;)

Here is a photograph, what do you think? I may move the ingredients to the back but I am very pleased with how it looks!



Thank you everyone for participating! Your suggestions have been great!

I am having a contest! leave a comment and tell me which soap wrap you like best and I will pick a name at random to receive a free bar of soap of their choice!

I have always been incredibly multiple personality like when it came to my soap crafting. I love bright fun colors. I also love clean simple lines. I love soft gorgeous mellow Waldorf like colors. And I like handmade papers. I also want my soaps to be easily identifiable as mine... and and and ;) LOL!!

So... help me ;) I have taken a few pictures of soaps and decided this would be a perfect time for my first contest!!

So, let me know which wrapping you would love to buy and/or receive!


Hand Dyed Fabric Wrapping.
I dye fabric. I LOVE dying fabric :) And I really love the idea of adding one more handmade facet to my soaps! I took these photos at night so the fabric looks a little wierd in the flash but you can get the idea. I will do different colors for eash soap. Or perhaps I will just do different colors as I grab them... no two alike. Haven't decided....


Handmade Paper
I will coordinate paper to the soap color (I have natural cream, green, slate blueish and pink so can pretty much find something to look nice with all of my natural soap colors)


Parchment Carstock Wrap Around
Again, matching paper to soap. It's a little boring but very simple and straightforward...


Quilter's Cotton Fabric Bags
Will do different fabrics for each soap. I chose this fabric as I made this particular essential oil blend for my Mom when she was in the hospital after her heart attack. I wanted something to help combat her lonliness and lift her spirits. This fabric is a mock "Grandmother's Garden" quilt block. My Mom had a quilt from her grandmother when I was little that was in this patten. So, this soap is very sentimental to me, all around :D

Thanks for your opinions :D And be sure to put your choice of soap in the comment box so if you win, you get the soap you love!

Good Morning!

its a freezing cold day here in Northern California :) I decided today I would work on my blog!

Today I have spent the morning taking photos of new soaps and thinking about the election. I feel energized and excited about the changes that are happening in our government and what it could mean for our country. I recorded Barack Obama's speech to share with my son. It was a pround moment to share with him. He is 8 and starting to become interested in the world around him. I am so proud of him. We discussed why I supported Obama and why his Grandparents supported McCain. I also had him watch John McCain's speech and talked with him about how he was gracious and how they both seem so passionate about our country and willing to work together to make things happen in our world.

Ok, I know, you all don't want to hear about my political views ;) So I will share with you the fun new soaps I have listed!

Please check out my etsy shoppe http://www.motherhues.etsy.com today I added ~Blooming Absinthe ~ a glorious and mysterious blend of Lavender and Anise Essential oils, ~Green Goddess~ a joyfully seductive blend of Ylang Ylang and Patchouli, ~Patchouli~ just divine if you are a Patchouli lover ;) and several others.

Please come take a look! Check out for my Aromatherapy post coming up soon! I will discuss my Aromatherapeutical approach to soapmaking!