That new site

The new site http://www.stardustsoaps.com/ is well underway. It will stll be a few days before it has a shopping cart added as Jason is making sure it is the simplist one that I can use.Thanks heaps again Jason. I just wanna make soaps.

My soap making fun continues although I wasn't able to ad too much for a day or two.

I will catch up over here now http://www.stardustsoaps.com/category/soapbox/

Stella Starduster

New site underway

My son Jason is very generously setting me up a proper web shop.Haleluia.
I was going round in circles trying to do it myself.
It wont have the shop part ready for a few days and you can still wander through the temporay little out dated one on geocities.

Back from seeing sisters in Sydney and Son's help with web site

A quick trip to Sydney and back ,then a visit from my oldest son.
I am exhausted but very happy.
My sisters and I had such a great time.Thankyou Pauline for once again opening your home to me.
I love the embroidery you did for me with that amazing machine of yours.
If anyone would like to order some this is Paulines site
On arriving back I had a great time with my oldest son Jason who is now very kindly using his vast computor knowledge to set up a proper E soap store for me.
Thankyou Jason x x x

Not quite ready but fun doing the lables

Order arrived and grandaughter and son may visit

I just recieved a large order from Escentials of Australia for my soap making.
Their prices were the best I have come across so far and the goods everything I hoped they would be.The powdered colouring for the soap just perfect shading.I really was surprised with how quickly they came considering I paid by direct deposit and that usually slows things down.The cost of the parcel postage was also excellent. Thankyou Tanya for that link.
So here I am with what I need to try for a batch of whipped soap.
Planing , planning, Want to get those layers right. The prettiest pink, lavender and aqua clay colourings and the Youth Dew perfume to go in "Tenderness".
So I am thinking of making one big drawer batch that can hopefully have swirled topping piped on and several cup cakes similar.I picked up a cup cake display holder from a cheap shop recently .
My oldest son and grandaughter Emily may be coming up today or tomorrow and I thought that sharing soap making could be such an adventure to share.
I was trying to go to a market near my youngest son so he could bring his children and I could go and stay with them and his sweet wife Melissa but I just wasn't up to the long drive.
So if I get this other visit that will be wonderful.
I will let you know how it all turns out.I had better prepare the lye so it can be chilled down.That means I will now have to make a firm decision on the size of the batch and the ingredients
Bye for now.

Rose Soaps delivered

There's the Rose soaps that I dropped in at the lovely Emmalley's Shabby Chic shop in Maryborough.
That shop is the cutest and they serve lovely Coffee , teas and scrumptious food.
You can contact them on ph 0741234444

Tenderness

I have just ordered my ingredients for a new soap and have had to lay arround a bit so planned the colours and perfume "Youth Dew".
Then that little picture came to me. Now I just have to wait a few days for delivery and my precious Tenderness soap can be made.

Web page and Roses

I haven't been slacking off .No no no.

I have been placing slices of soap cake on to my Congo Cart up and coming Store.Oh how long will it take?

Also rustling up lables for my grandma Rose soap.

Those Rose soaps will be ready on the 24 th and they are gorgeous. $8.55 eachplus postage of course. This is the soap that I had all sorts of heart palpitations over importing Rosa Damascena Ess. Oil direct from India.But It really was worth it.

Wait till you see that lable I made for the Romance Rose Soap, incorporating my Grandmothers wedding photo.

Thats it for now.

Happy Sunday.

Starduster

Chistmas Catalogue for a friend

I have made a start on this little booklet for a friend to take to work.I would love to do the Santa ,holly, Reindear thing but I am rushing this.If need be I will go over it later.
I have one page roughed out with soap photos and I will go and give her and her husband a look and see what they suggest. Now this is motivating me .Even through the blurr of Dental Surgery Pain. Ahh what alovely distraction.
My friends havent seen my soaps yet.I can't wait to get their reaction.
Of I toodle now.I let you know later what happens.

Down under the Mulberry Tree

I got lucky.Just look at that.A rebatch of some baby powder soap,Real Mulberries, coconut cream, coconut oil, rice bran oil, coconut oil.
Amber Essential oil blend, Frankensence, ans Aloe Vera.
I just love the way it has turned out.

Muberries

I forgot to mention that I stopped at JA'S Herb nursery to get some money wort , a herb good for healing wounds, to add to soaps later and was allowed to pick some mulberries which I have already boiled and sacrificed my last sugar in the house for.
Mulberries were the staple diet of my 3 sons and my self many years back after I had bought my first Aussi Home and money was as tight as it is in a new home with teenage boys.We ate every type of food you could make with mulberries off a tree in the garden.We died clothes and had mulberry fights.So mulberry Soap is a must.
I will blend that into a christmas star soap with some rebatched baby soap. Had just enough rainfall to be able to wash soap making equipment out.Things are a bit touch and go with water till the next big deluge thanks to a little hose incident.
JA'S nursery has an amazing variety and is well worth a trip.It is at 81 Mapleton Montville Rd, Mapleton. Ph 05 54457128 Fax o7 54786185. I think they do mail order.

Sunday again

And a great sunday morning to you all.
Some of you will be off to sit at an alfresco coffee place and watch the passing crowds,maybe in Veinna. A whole lot of you out there working at essential services like Nursing, ( hi cousin Raewyn) or traffic control.While the mad soapers of the world and I am certainly in that bunch, are as usual contemplating new soap opportunities.
I am picturing sea themes at the moment.Sea horses and dolphins.
Of course there is quite a bit of lead up time from the first day dream to conception.Days roll into months quite easily.This little project is bringing back memories of an underwater sea dive at Cairns with my sister Pauline a couple of years ago.How incredibly beautiful a world it is down there.The colours are unbeleivable on the reef.
I went on a soap adventure to Montville last week.Boutique shoppers most heavenly indulgences.
About soaps up there.Nearly every 2nd shop had soaps.Gorgeous varieties.
Some just wrapped up in gift papers and tied with string.Others very expensively boxed.One of them got me.A pale pink Marshmallow Mor soap.From Ruby and Rose interiors.I was served by sweet Marie, the owner. It was worth it, a lovely perfumed peice of inspiration.
I was inspired to come home and work further on the lables for my 3 Rose Soaps that will be ready about 24th.
Thats it for now and wishing you large soap bubbles of fun.
Star Duster x

Pleased to get that soap all cut up

The colour at this point is so mellow and the chopped up petals and herbs give it that glide over your skin impression.

There they are.112 slices of soap that has turned out just as I had hoped except they rougher top bit settled down.That could have been the coconut cream I added at trace maybe.All in all a satisfying result for my first try at a large lot.

The bottonless draw and builders black plastic was perfect as a mold.

I cut all those soaps with a carving knife .The slices cut smoothly and by measuring before cutting and weighing each block as I cut it I managed to get a pretty close uniformity.

Practice is paying off.

Heavenly Herbal Happiness Soap

I have just made my first larger batch of soap.
Approximately 18 litres.
This is one that I put a lot of planning and meditating into.
I have used Calendula Petals and some Calendula Tea plus sage leaves chopped up and Aloe Vera staright from the leaf in it to give those all good natural extras. I nearly forgot also a few leaves of soap-wort. Soap-Wort (Saponaria Officinalis)
These ingredients were fresh from my garden.
Perfumed with Bergamot ,lemon,vanilla, chamomile and Frankinsense.

The natural oils used as the base were Rice Bran,Olive Oil and coconut oil.
I coloured the top third with Yellow Oxide clay deepening and adding extra petals to the final layer.
An extremelly joyfull batch to make and in 4 weeks I will report on how it feels to use it.
I used a favorite old dressing table draw with black plastic lining for the mold.

The large amount came after reading this interesting page http://www.bootstrapbabes.com/bb_blog/2008/09/index.html

Almost a Sin and Lavender Fields Soap

These soaps are available now but I have trouble finding the time to get them set up on a shop so if you are interested in them email me and we can arrange something that way.

By the way they are both as gorgeous to use as they look.

Preveiwing two more Natural Oil Soaps. Almost a Sin Peppermint Chocaolate and Lavender Fields

Nude 2 go

Another typo on the lable.
I am so challenged in this field.I shall change it next printing.
It should read: No scents ,no perfume ,makes sense if you are into the plain and natural.

An excited little Soap Maker

My favorite of the 3 perfumes I made is YlangYlang ,Chamomile and Rose.My nose is certainly getting an education.

My batches of Rose soap are safely curing now.

They turned out splendid.

I will get the lables ready asp so that as soon as the 4 weeks curing is up I can share them.

Rose has arrived

The Rose Essential Oil has arrived.
What a small amount for so little.
I have put a tiny amount in an oil burner and it is beautiful.After a bit I added some patchouli to test the effct= Gorgeous.
In a moment I shall drop in some vanilla to see what that does.
I have some rebatch ready of the first moon dance to make up with a purply colouring to add to those blues.There was some chamomile and lavender first time arround.Yes I will add in a smidgeon of That damscas Rose whoooo.
I shall let you know what that turns out like.

Rose Soaps

Thats one of my Blue Moon Roses before changing colours.It's great to be establishing a Rose garden bed.

My Rose essential Oil should arrive this week and I am busy preparing molds,continuing to create Lables and working out the other oils and additives such as Petals to add.

I can hardly wait to try this new soap in about 5 weeks.

My muse has been generous

Okay,thats enough for now.
Just loading up the photos.
I will write up the pertinetnt notes later on.
For now I just thought I would give you a peak at what I have done.Phew, rest time.

Raining today

Heres my first stardust soap card that I will add to my soon to be unveiled soap shop.It is unsparkled as yet and may be changed a little.Customized changes can be made to all my cards to then be printed out and can be added to a gift parcel to go directly to your friend will do a soapy theme next one.

Pop over here to choose a card.

Now off to the dentist.
I hope to pick up some more miniature roses today so I can put rose buds onto soaps.

Photo of Packaging test for Macadamia Soaps

Thankyou Jo for your idea of transferring my design on to hand made paper.This is actually some handmade look alike paper I happened to have and it makes a big difference.

I am not sure how I would go about printing real hand made paper incase it affected my printer as my sister Pauline of Candles By Mail has an enormous printer cemetry.

I do have a pile lovely thick white paper my mum did for me about 15 years ago that I treasure ,but may be that should be used for something I keep.So I will need to make some more.

This is the most fun I have had in ages.

Oh yes I had breakfast .

Bliss sheer Bliss

I should be eating breakfast but you know how it is with adictions,I just had to breath in the ethereal essence of the new white soap and it's packaging.Yes a honey of a package design is already evolving and even though it's in temporary mode I shall take a photo of it, after break fast.
So see you soon.
Starduster x

Plain White soap

I did it.
Marvelous for me the Artiste.
I have managed to create plain white soap for all those people that prefer no colour ,no perfumes,just an elegant natural very healthy froth and bubble block of soap.
Most soap makers start with the plain white soap of course.

This soap as all my others has a main Macadamia Nut Oil Base ,cause it's the best and was first discovered where I live.
Okay, the soap was in its blanket cocoon for 38 hours this time and I wandered down to one of my favorite spots in the bush to rest gain some of natures energy and wisdom.What name shall I give it ,I waited for inspiration.Finally the obvious donged me over the head.Macadamia Soap.

Now it sits quietly ,I hope as I haven't opened that cupboard door to check that there is no song and dance going on , you never know on a magical spot like Bauple Mountain.In four weeks time I will have a specially elegant lable ready for it and life will seem complete,for 2 seconds as it does.
Oh yes as I heat and make my soaps out doors I did have to lift ash and the odd tiny winged body out.Hope it wasn't a fairy.

Wilde Strawberry

Those colours,hmmm,lots to learn from experience yet.

I am reasonably happy with this soap and with the lable I have in mind I think they will be alright.

First time around that strawberry fragrance that grabbed and congealed the soap was overpowering .2nd mix and put into another mixture it has faded a lot.

Now some really great news.Today was the second day the builders were back and have done a great job of fixing up the storm damaged bathroom.

Friday will see the finishing touches.

The ceiling will be replaced and my gorgeous diaphanous of the curtains up and blowing in the breeze ,giving little glimpses of the views.

Tried my first soap

I have tried out my first soap from my first batch.
What can I say.The luxurious soft,silky feel I am left with lives up to every promise that has ever been made about natural oil hand made soaps so that has me a little more hooked on it still.
I wonder if that xfactor could be the Macadamia/ Bauple Nut oil I am using as the main base.Adding appropriately olive oil,coconut oil etc of course.
At the moment I am researching Rose soaps.
I want to make a beautiful soap with an equaly beautiful package.
I want to tip bucket loads of essential Rose oil into it and that is not cheap so I am finding out a way to get it direct from the manufacturers.
In the mean time I will keep playing with lables for the others.

Lime Soaps,Baby soaps,Bauple Mountain Sunrise soap

Lime ,or Squelch as this yummy looking soap has named itself.
Actually it isn't quite this bright and it really makes you feel it is a real lime off the tree.
There is Lime essntial Oil Lime Juice and lime gratings,plus some Aloe Vera juice straight from my own Aloe Vera plants.
The limes that I used are from my good friends Dianne and Lees Bauple Property.I can't wait to try this soap out.

This is my delicate Star is Born ,Baby soap inspired of course by little Byron.The perfume is Baby powder from Sweet cakes and some extra Chamomile.The appearance should lighten becoming the softest of lavenders as it cures.

Soap report

1. Soaps as they cure.
   Bauple Mountain High,very blue and a little red earth.
   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   

   
   

   
   

   It's still to soon for me to test drive my soaps as they are in the cureing stage still.

   
   
   
   
   

   So on I go faithfully making new batches.

   
   
   
   
   

   There is Starry Aloe in the green and gold.

   
   

   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

Secret Fairy Notes

Heres my Secret Fairy Notes soap.
Its allready in the styrene box to let set for at least 24 hours.
The stars will be sliced in three and used to stick on as a seal on a rolled up slice of soap.
Lavender and patchouly are the perfumes ,with the greater amount being Patchouly.
Colours and mauves and purples.I managed to get a lovely rough flicked topping on both soap loaves.The colours will change as the soap cures .
Copha,Olive oil,sunflower oil and of couse Macagamia Nut oils were used.

Aloe Vera from my garden

What does this soap ask to be called?
After a little time spent on a toadstool navel gazing it seems to call it self Capricorn.So this is my first Zodiac Sign Soap.
I have put orrange essential oil in this time but will exchange that for lime.
Real Aloe Vera from my mountain garden has been included.
Virgin Olive oil,Copha and Macadamia nut Oil also.
Photo maybe tomorrow.
This time I have poured it into small milk cartons and will slice them when I take them out.

One More MoonDance,Later

MoonDance Soap

It feels so good to unwrap the insulating blanket and take out my new borns.

MoonDance

I used some Bauple Mountain red clay,blue ultramarine and a little bit of Mauve.

Scented with chamomile and Lavender and they smell good.

Just the perfect relaxing soap after a wonderfull night dancing accross the moon.Craters and all.One small sugarlite crystal imbedded to haul in that moon magic.

Bathroom Studio

My Bathroom/ studio is looking a little more me all the time.

I have lovely floaty curtains to go arround it all made up and waiting.Have to have storm damaged ceiling fixed first.

Why studio/bathroom?I have nerve damage in legs and back so when it takes hold very painfully I escape to my gl0rious bath.It helps so much.That Ships wheel is also my grab rail and works better than an ordinary bar

http://www.geocities.com/star_dust_soaps/order_of_the_bathe.html?1217804395609

Want to peek at more of my still unfinished Bathroom ?Click above

I can paint or what ever in that bath but it is best used for visulzation excersizes when I am creating in my head.

Hey,love that view.Out on the horizion but not showing there in that photo is Fraser Island .

Did I mention that my home is called SS.Stargazer, so named when built in 2000

Celestial Dreams

This is my third bit of fun.Celestial Dreams.

A Vanilla and pinky concoction staright out of the universe.

I think I am improving.Four weeks or so to go till I know of course.

Yesterday I made Moon Dance, Chamomile and lavender in Mauve,red Bauple Mountain clay and white colours.

I think this gold leaf ,crystal endowered star will be Stardust Soaps signature.

My soap shop

Good Batch of Soap and a grandson

Ahh Bliss,
A batch of soap has turned out well it seems. I mixed up yesterday with no interuptions as there were no builders on site (no ,don't ask,we all have our never ending building stories ).Maybe later any way.
I just peeked.I called it Celestial Dreams.I wanted a slight pink and white marbelling effect but at the moment it looks pink with stardust flecks in it.
I used the same styrene box as I had to do the strawberry soaps in and it does seem to have that perfume in it.Considering I put some very expensive vanilla oil and cinnamon in it I do hope it changes. I will have to get a few more boxes and lable their over ridind perfume.
But I am happy with the results as it beats the heck out of the coconut ice crumble I got the other day.
Byron William Horton is my latest grandson born 5.30 am .The only photo I have so far is of him and his Dad looking sooo cute,with Byron wrapped in a Star Cuddly.
http://humour.200ok.com.au/soap.htm

Dissaster

I am a little dissapointed.I had hoped to be able to report that today I made a special batch of soap.Hey one of my ingredients was that lovely but expensive coconut oil that had taken me ages to find.
All seemed to go pretty well too plan.I had trace.Then I tipped in a cheap starwberry fragrance and the whole thing set,congealed,clogged up.You get the picture.I tried to stuff it into molds.I have cacooned it for a couple of days as per usual anyway.
I just looked up some trouble shooting pages and it does seem that fragrance was the culprit.Anyone got ideas on how to redo that batch?

Debut of The Wishing Soap

July 28th

Its a cold windy night on the Mountain in my Soap making Place.A night especially made for dreaming up the next batch.

Yes I did go to town and stocked up on star soap molds and oval ones for my ""Tickle My Belly Button" soaps I am planning.I also bought a bottle of Coconut Oil but at a health shop it was expensive.It will give me the means to continue until I recieve a whole sale order of it.

So there they are,my first "Stardust Wishing Soaps".Not ready for release yet.

The special wishing ingredient is the inclusion of 2 or 3 small quartz crystals.

I will tell you more when they are ready to sell.

In the meantime if you want to know a little more email me at maryfairy2@hotmail.com

Yes I just changed that as the other one wouldn't work.

Monday 28th July 08
I am so keen to get on with this soap making thing but have no Coconut oil on hand.Drat!
Being out in the country some what I have to think before hoping in car.
I will see what the day brings.In the meantime let me mention some amazing help and direction I have had through this site http://http//www.heirloombodycare.com.au/index.php?osCsid=373abc0b0e895a7c8f4df17766c38e70
I'll be off now to do what I must do.

Weather or not,the soap must go on.

Thats my bathroom,a place to easily gain inspiration for soap making.Thats me in my wet weather safety soap making outfit.