With a Nudge Toward Fall
Summer is coming to a close. I can tell that not by the weather, which is still the usual for Virginia: hot and humid. No, I can tell summer is winding down by looking at my tomato plants. They’re getting a little tired-looking now. I’ll be sad to see them go.
But I’m excited about the upcoming Fall schedule at the shop! We have quite a few activities lined up between now and Christmas, including workshops and two Open Houses!
Some of you are already scheduled to come to make soap. There is still time to sign up! Choose a date that suits you and a friend or two, or join a workshop already scheduled.
Those of you who have done this before know that homemade herbal soap, designed and created personally by you, makes a unique and very welcome gift.
When you attend a workshop, we can help you create a one-of-a-kind “designer” soap in a variety of colors and scents that suit you perfectly. Pine, Fir, Bay, Juniper, Orange, Cinnamon and Clove, Peppermint, and even vanilla remind us of beautiful Fall and Winter days. And you can decorate with herbs if you so desire.
The great colors shown in these photos are achieved entirely with plants. And that’s the whole point of making soap the way we at Nature’s Common Scents make it — nothing but plants! After all, the purpose of a good soap is to not only clean skin, but to heal and/or keep it healthy!
Soapmaking really is such fun! It can almost be addicting! Watching melted oils, herbs and other natural ingredients spin around in the mixer as they turn into something you have dreamed up yourself is pretty exciting!
As I was preparing mentally for the upcoming workshops, I was thinking how much fun it would be if one or two of this year’s participants wanted to make soap with the ever-popular scent of Pumpkin Spice! The orange color can be achieved with skin-conditioning and anti-oxidant turmeric. Add to that the appealing scent of cloves, cinnamon, and/or perhaps vanilla oils. Yum! And since the soap can be “played with” a little after it cools (sort of like soft clay), you might even shape your soap to look like little pumpkins or pumpkin pies!
At our upcoming Fall and Christmas Open House events, there will be some familiar soaps we make only for this time of year that have become customer favorites, so if you can’t make your own with us, you can find what you want right here at our shop, or our website.
But I’m kind of getting ahead of things. It’s not even Fall yet! So let’s enjoy the gardens and what they have to offer today, while we plan for the fun-filled days ahead.
See you very soon, I hope! Sondra.
