The Official Blog of Sailor Mouth Soaps

I wanted to introduce you to the newest member of the Sailor Mouth Soaps family, an adopted Orangutan named Carmen! She is being cared for at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project just outside of Palangka Raya, Kalimantan, which is part of the Island of Borneo. She was brought in by her owners and surrendered into the care of the facility.  Thankfully her owners realised that they couldn’t care for an infant Orangutan and did the right thing, allowing her in time, to be released back into the wild. She is very independent and *loves* milk. She used to be a bit of a terror when she was younger, now if she wants a bottle, she just goes and gets it herself. From the 1 st January 2011, I’m very excited to announce that I will be putting aside a portion of each sale to go towards adopting even more Orangutans in the coming year! My goal is to be able to adopt at least another 5 before the end of 2011 <3 If you are interested in adopting an Orangutan or making a...

The ridiculously long neglect of my blog has prompted me to get my butt into gear and write a decent post! I'd like to say the large gap between my last post and now is because of some amazingly exciting project but in reality, it's just from general slackness, holidays and lots of orders! I did enjoy my holidays and the orders are great but yes, I am blog slack. Maybe I need a blog personal trainer? Anyhoo, enough chit-chat, let's get on with it! I want to introduce you to my friend Mary from Roseberry Bay - Beautiful Handmade Soaps & Luxuries . Mary is the first Australian based soap maker that I met and we became instant friends. One of Mary's specialities is loaf soaps. I'm always in awe with the precision of her work and her remarkable ability to reproduce such tricky designs with accuracy. My loaf soaps are always a drama. They never turn out quite as planned so I've taken to stopping for a few deep breaths and thinking "What would Mary do...

Flight! I'd love to go for a cruise around in the sky. Ask me anything

This weekend is going to be HUGE for Sailor Mouth Soaps! Saturday night 18th September I will be at the  Sun State Roller Girls Bout #5 and with little time to recover, I'll be at the Kustom Krafts Alternative Markets #7 on Sunday morning the 19th September. I've been churning out soap like a mad woman and my soap studio & packaging room are looking a little worse for wear! Here is a sneak peak at what's been keeping me so busy... If you're in the Brisbane area, be sure to drop by, say hello and check out some of the awesome other stalls as well <3

My interest in natural skin care began at an early age. My Mother had a book called "Natural Beauty by Lorna Horrocks" and it became a bible for me. I think I've tried almost every receipe in this book & I wanted to share my favorites with you. Honey Cleansing Lotion For any skin type 1 teaspoon of honey 2 tablespoons of warm milk Blend together to make a thin lotion. Rub over the face & neck with the finger tips. Rinse off. Olive Oil Cleaner Good for removing city grime. For any skin type 2 teaspoons of olive oil 1 teaspoon of honey Apply to the face & neck, rubbing with the finger tips. Wash off with a mild chamomile infusion. Oatmeal Mask For any skin type 2 teaspoons of steel-cut oats 150ml of water Boil oats & water gently for about 5 minutes & strain off the liquid. Apply the liquid to the face & neck - leave on to dry as long as necessary - several hours if you wish. This s a gentle face-lift for sagging face after ...

Natural soap is different from commercially made soap in many ways. It is better for your skin and the environment but it does need a little extra care to ensure it lasts and lasts. One of the best things you can do for your soap, is to allow it to dry completely between uses. I have one of those silly soap dishes in my shower that is virtually flat, has one drainage hole and collects spray from the shower, turning in into a mini swimming pool. This is not a good way to store you soap as it doesn't have the harsh chemicals commercially made soap has added to it to ensure the bar is super hard and not so prone to melting when left in water. What I do is either prop the bar upright in the soap dish or place it on my shower caddy to let it drain properly. I've also been using a body puff to foam up the soap and use it that way, it's much more effective that using the bar itself, ensures a good lather and keeps my bath time indulgence around for a lot longer. So with a fe...

You might have noticed that I've been somewhat absent for the last month due to the mammoth task of preparing for  Greazefest  - Brisbane's own 1950's nostalgia festival. Well I'm pleased to say that the day was a fantastic success! To keep with the theme of  Mimsy's Trailer Trash Tattoo  stall of a Hawaiian Luau, I had made my soap all in the Tiki & Hawaiian themes. Here's some pictures:- If I've managed to keep your attention up until this point, then you're in luck! Between today (2nd August) and next Monday (9th August), buy any three soaps in my  Sailor Mouth Soaps Etsy Store  and pick a fourth for free! Simply add BLOGOFFER to the "notes to seller" upon purchase & tell me which soap you would like. It must be of equal or lesser value to the other soaps you are buying & this must all be done in the same transactio...

I'm loving  Etsy's Treasury East  where members can create their own Treasury's and save them forever! Here's one that I made recently. Guess how I was feeling when I made it?  Things that look like food And here's a few that I've been featured in. It's funny how popular the gory, horror soaps are compared to everything else. Tehehehe. And now: the ZOMBIE blood TREaSURY! It's a Royal Flush... Play a hand, Alice? Tiki Torched Ommetaphobia - Fear of Eyes EYE SEE YOU Pieces of My Heart horror Coffins, Skulls, and Humor Creepy and Mysterious....

Interested in trying out my natural soaps at a half the regular price? I've just listed in  my Etsy store  a mystery bag of  not-so-perfect-yet-still-lovely  soaps that need a new home. You will get around 200g of soap for only $5! These poor ugly ducklings are the result of experiments, are a little too small for regular sale or have a ding or two from being transported to and from market stalls. Ugly duckling soaps will be listed from time to time, as my epic failing permits, so hop on over to  my store  and take a look before they all sell out and you have to wait for another mistake :P see more dog and puppy pictures

It's getting to that stage in my life where most of my friends are off having babies and my social outings almost always involve my friends children, so having spent a bit more time around them, I've decided to do a line of soaps especially for kids! This first of the range is these adorable dinosaurs - roawww! They are all made with nourishing Shea Butter to help moisturise and care for little one's skin. Each soap is scented with Guava & Cucumber fragrance. Imagine everything that was fresh, green and new in the world that once was.

When the lovely Vicky Majajas from Sekkei Crafts offered to interview me for her blog recently I was over the moon but nervous at the same time! I haven't been interviewed before so I had no idea what to expect but I'm thrilled with the result. Thank you Vicky! Be sure to follow her blog, she's doing some very interesting reviews and craft how-to's in the near future, it will be a good read.

There is a lot of buzz in the cosmetics world about Shea Butter but what is it, where does it come from and how can it benefit my skin? Shea Butter has long been used by the people of Africa for its soothing and healing properties, even as a form of sunscreen! It is extracted from the nut of the Karite tree by picking, cracking, pounding and finally soaking the nut for several hours. The creamy butter is then removed from the water and dried, ready to be processed and sold. Shea Butter is high in non-saponifiable fatty acids and vitamins, keeping your skin soft and supple by soothing skin irritation and even warding off premature lines and wrinkles. Other amazing attributes of Shea Butter include: • Has protective and emollient properties • Helps minimise scarring, stretch marks and inflammation • Relieves tight, dry skin • Helps restore your skin’s elasticity So I guess you can say that Shea Butter is magical, or as close to it as you can get! Now where did I leave my wa...

Sleeping pups , originally uploaded by sailormouthsoaps . This is Herman and Gomez, my Pug & Tibetan Spaniel/Maltese. They are one of the main reasons I like working at home several days a week, they are always happy, warm and entertaining.

She-Creature, The x03 (half-sheet)(1956) , originally uploaded by sailormouthsoaps . Things are getting back to normal, yay! I've been spending lots of time working on wholesale orders, getting together lots of soaps for an Australia Soap Makers Swap (how exciting!) and working on some new designs. This is all thanks to a lovely friend of mine who donated a microwave when mine blew up! He even dropped it over to my house when I was sick. What a lovely guy :D

Just for fun the downstairs microwave decided to blow up! So it looks like I will need to get another one asap, along with some more storage before I can move into the studio completely. I still have the space upstairs to use for a little while so it's not the end of the world :)

Well today is the day I've been waiting for, I finally get to move into my own little soap studio! It's nothing too amazing but it will be great to have my own space and stop taking over the kitchen cupboards with my supplies and get all of my extra boxes and junk out of the lounge room. If I'm lucky I might even be able to squeeze in a nap this afternoon before my busy weekend begins with the Ten Fours gig, QLD Roller Derby Mixer, Kustom Craft Markets, Roller Derby Meeting and then Fresh Meat Intake..wow, that's even a lot to type! Have a great weekend everyone :)

I've had a number of wholesale enquiries recently (which is amazingly exciting) and it has prompted me to sit down and actually work out proper pricing structures for my soaps. Let me just say, it was a very eye-opening experience...I had no clue I was undercharging to the point that I wasn't even covering costs most of the time. Having been brought up in a very penny pinching household (and I don't mean that in a bad way Mum, honest) it pains me to part with more cash than I have to so I've found out the hard way, that pricing my soaps based on what I think is a fair price just won't work! I wasn't taking into account the cost of my base materials, the differences in weight and difficulty for different soaps, the number of steps involved, whether I was able to do other things while making certain batches of soap or whether it had to be watched closely, how long it takes to package, what those costs are etc. It had snowballed before I realised there was ev...

Ice Cream Soap Chocolate Strawberry with Jojoba Bead Sprinkles - by sailormouthsoaps on madeit

Bicycle Soap , originally uploaded by soapylovedeb . I saw some of the entries at the Soap Guild over in the States and without even seeing who designed it, I knew it was Debbie from Soapylove. I know this is going to sound weird, but this soap brings a tear to my eye. It's one of the most inspiring, inventive and awe-inspiring creations I've seen. I'm in awe with all of her soaps but this one is something special. If someone says to you soap is just soap and that it can't possibly be art, show them this. They will change their minds.

I will blog again, promise! I'm just struggling to find the time to do more than just Twitterish updates at the moment :p - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Honeydew Peach , originally uploaded by naiadsoaparts . Seeing tonight's trend? I'm loving circles and Naiad is an amazing soap maker, just had to share.

Crazy Fruity Handmade Soap , originally uploaded by HeatherRai . I love the pastel colours HeatherRai has used in this soap.

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

New molds, mold maker, new foam core for a light box and new fragrances. Come on weekend, I want to get my soap on :) - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

So much to do, so little time! I hope I can fit some soap making in around my other commitments, I do work best under pressure after all *grins* - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Testing 1 2 3 4 lift off! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Printable pdf Invitations & Accessories - Haunted House - by CateHolst on madeit Oh boy this seller has some amazing cards, love!

Fantango Finger Puppets - by Darling Clem on madeit

Miss Roxi Roller - by meowgiftware on madeit Two of my favorite things in a plushy, check it out!

sailormouthsoaps on madeit I'll be stocking the store very soon :)

Today I was madly rushing around trying to get the last few things done for my stall on the weekend. I found some great stuff, I'm loving the bright & cheery packaging :)

I am very flattered :)

I found the most amazing ribbon today, can't wait to use it!

 

6kgs of Shea Base is waiting for me to make something fun tomorrow and I have another 20kg of Clear Base on its way! I can't sing the praises of Aussie Soap Supplies enough http://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au / - David & Jude are amazing and they always put a little gift inside each order for me, how sweet :) The postman delivered my new brain and skeleton in a coffin molds today. You know what this means. This means ZOMBIES!

This morning I read a blog by The Soap Princess about having a more natural approach to cleaning your home. This struck a cord with me for a couple of reasons. One of the main reasons I began making my own soap was because I was dissatisfied with what was commercially available. I had no clue what most of the ingredients were, a terrible amount of products are tested on animals or have animal derivatives and many are not so great to put down the drain. They dried out my skin, made my face break out and if I left even the slightest trace of soap on my skin for too long, I would get a reaction. I have always been very careful about what I buy. I always choose animal and environmentally friendly products but more often than not, I end up with a cupboard under the sink, full of products I can do without. Everyone would like to save money of course but I sometimes take it to the extremes. I'm one of those people that takes two hours to do their grocery shop because I want every cent...

Good morning everyone, I practically pulled an all-nighter last night getting as many sites all set up and ready to go as I could. I must have spent hours on Etsy looking through the how-to's and blogs. Having never sold there before, I was amazed at the amount of information available. Thorough tutorials, videos and more! I feel more prepared now and I hope my camera charges quickly, I have lots more photos to take. My wonderful little pup Gomez did me a favour this morning. He was going through a box I have in my office that contains most of my packing materials and kept pulling out the same piece of bubble wrap. I kept taking it off him and telling him to leave it etc, as you do, with very persistent pets and then on the third try, I noticed there was actually something in the wrap. When I received a stock order the other week, I somehow left one bottle of soap colour in the bubble wrap and Gomez found it! Needless to say the pups were then given a nice breakfast and plent...

Hello and thank you for reading my blog! I'm in the process of setting up all of my social networking sites, Etsy store front etc so check back often for updates :)