Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

Hello All,

My name is Lissi and I live in Kent.  I've been making CP soap for about 5 years now and this time next week I will (hopefully) be selling a small selection of my soaps at my first little village fete. 

I got into making soap when I was pregnant with my son and I needed something to keep my mind off of being so ill with the pregnancy.  I used to do a fair amount of needlework but I found I wanted a change, something new to get my teeth into.  I don't remember exactly how I came across soap making but I do remember my first attempts at M&P. I'm a web developer and spend a lot of my time in front of a computer so I turned to the Internet for help and saw so many beautifully made M&P soaps that I quickly became frustrated by my own efforts, to be honest I was and still am terrible at it! Through my online research into M&P I found the CP method.  I was instantly intrigued and the idea it's made from scratch with entirely natural ingredients really appealed to me.  If I was going to make soap I wanted it to be mine from the very beginning.  Like cooking a lasagna, I can make a really great meal using jars from a supermarket (and often do!) but for me it's never quite the same as when you make the sauces yourself and better still, grow your own herbs!

So, 5 years & many many many blocks of something that barely resembles a bar of soap later...  Here I am.  I've learnt a huge amount & loved every second of my journey (well, perhaps not so much when my stunning, luxurious natural oils and expensive EOs happen to turn into caustic concrete or curdle their way to being used in my washing machine only! Thankfully those days are mostly behind me).  I've hit my head against legal red tape, lurked on many a forum, read countless books and told more people that my soap is not edible than I can even remember. Now I think it's time I came out of the woodwork and said hello to my fellow soap makers!

Being used to spending my days alone staring at web code and rarely interacting with human beings unless it was on a strictly need to basis, I was happy to learn from other soap makers only by reading books, websites and forums.  Now I'm on the threshold of a new journey I feel the need to actually communicate!  Hopefully I can offer advise to fellow soap makers as well as share my own feelings of impending doom because, despite working towards it for a long time, I'm in no way prepared for my first stall! 

I have a website but it's not quite ready yet.  When the full version is live I'll let you know :D

Thank you for reading and I hope to get to know you all better,
Lissi
x

Wow Lissi what a journey. Youve told us so much I feel as if I know you already.

I hope you're going to really love it on this forum, everyone is very friendly and we interact, question and encourage all the time, plus the occasional times when we are norty and get put in naughty corner(which is quite a fun place to be by the way)

We love piccies, of failures or soap faeries as we call em as wel as our successes.

I make mp but have madee one hp soap and cant wait to do some more

Looking forward to sharing your journey with you.

Michelle
(twas edited for my godawful spelling, its really bad today)

Welcome Lissi. You will have fun and learn a lot on here.

Hi Lissi,

what a fab intoduction. I've recently started CP soap with a view to selling (i sell M&P and butter atm). I love it and love making things from scratch.

We LOVE pics, any kind but especially soapy creations (the bood and bad as MIchelle said) so if you've any pics of any soaps you made, feel free to post them up.

Looking foward to speaking to you more on the forum  :buttrf:

Polly

Hello Lissi nice to "see your face" now you've delurked.

You're almost certain to get asked for advice about website building!!

If you haven't done so during your lurking click on the About button on the menu bar - then you'll see that more boards will be available to you if you make more posts.

Hello - and welcome as an official member -  you have a head start as you are already an accomplished soaper - you will be asked for pics, I'm certain. :)

Hi Lissi welcome I'm new too. Great place to hang out and learn.

Hi Lissie and welcome!  :buttrf: :buttrf:

Good of you to unlurk. This is a comfy, friendly, funny and inspirational place to be.

I don't do much of anything but keep single handed stronghold against the dark forces of soapers. I will not be drawn in!  :mwaha:  :mwaha:

Some may mention we love pics!

Hey there, delurking is always good.. hope you enjoy it here.

Not sure if anyone mentioned that we love pics? If not, we love pics!

Hi Lissi,
Welcome to the forum! I bet you feel better having come out of the woodwork.  Looking forward to seeing loads of pickys as if your avatar is anything to go by then we could all be in for a treat  ;)  :popcorn:

Thank you very much.  It's so friendly here I couldn't help but say hello.  Years ago I used to play with Henna and was part of a forum then but I'm sad to say I didn't have the best of experiences and never joined another forum until now.  It's clear to see what a lovey community you have all made here so I'm happy to be part of it.  Forgive me though if I post in the wrong place or do something silly! 

I'm happy to give advise on websites etc.  I've built many and I rather love it!  Having said that, I hand code all my sites so I have little experience of WYSIWYG instant site makers like Mr Site (not a huge fan) but I'm happy to help where I can. 

Reading my own post back I do hope I didn't give anyone the impression I'm anti M&P!  I'm just in love with CP.  I really admire the artwork that goes into some M&P soaps, most especially because I'm not so gifted. 

I've attached some pictures that are on my website.  I'd love to show some of my 'ugly' soaps but for some reason they are camera shy! 

Yep just what I thought candy for the eyes  ;)  I'm always doing something silly  :mwaha:

Ohh they are beautiful - first and last are my favs, I can almost smell the mint choc in the final one!

I use Mr Site mostly because I don't have the skills you do in web design but still wanted to design my own site and do my own thing when I wanted so it was my solution.  When the company gets bigger, I'll look into getting someone to design something for me.  If I had your skills, I wouldn't have gone there either  :mwaha:

Beautiful soaps! I'm sure you'll do very well at your market - ne need to be nervous as far as I can tell  :buttrf: Welcome!

They all look lovely, and the packaging really suits them too.

Oh beautiful soap, and beautifullt presented too! Have no fear of the market with such delightful offerings.
You'll be glad you delurked (love that as a word!) it's the nicest and most helpful forum I have ever joined and I'm sure you will find the same - welcome  :buttrf:

Hello Lissi  :hi: Your soaps look absolutely beautiful - you didn't mention that you're also a professional potographer  :)

Hi Lissi & welcome

Love your soaps, I'm also in Kent.

Pauline

Lovely soaps Lissi.

I'll certainly need to pick your brains re hand coding 'cos I'm trying to redesign my site without upsetting it too much!

Truly lovely soaps Lissi - thank you for delurking and sharing these with us :buttrf:

Lissi these are beautiful! I like that you've cut yous into cubes (i do that too but yours are ever so nicely cut, mines are all wonky) and the mint one? Mmmmmm LOVE it. Lovely photos.

Hi Lissi and welcome. Your soaps are beautiful.

Eire

Wow they are fan bloomin tastic ;D

Those are gorgeous, you wil have no fears for your first market. I love the whipped tops and the colours and the contrast of style. You are going to appeal to all tastes and age groups.

Fantastico :buttrf:

Hi Lissi

welcome  :)

What lovely soaps, they look wonderful

Thank you all muchly!  It means a lot to me that other soapers like what I'm doing. 

I'm most worried about the packaging but I've learnt to accept that it'll be something I perfect over years rather than get right straight away.  When the photos were taken I'd not worked out the labelling and I'm still not overly happy but for now as long as it's all legal I might just get away with it.  All in good time.  I wish I'd thought of Jane Maddern's idea, wrapping each soap in fabric or ... I've just spent nearly an hour searching for the name/website of the person who uses buttons and flowers on their labels, I loved their packaging so much, why didn't I bookmark the page?  The design was so polished and really stunning. 

I'm not a professional photographer (now that would be useful!) but I have a very good friend who is  ;D.  If anyone is interested I can pass on his details. 

Elaine, I'm more than happy to help in anyway I can.  Feel free to message me.

Pauline, am I right in thinking you are in Herne Bay?  I can almost see you across the water, if you move Whitstable a bit!  I'm on the Isle of Sheppey.  It seems there are many soapers in Kent, I'm really looking forward to bumping into people at fairs etc. 

NOt sure but you might mean Jac - she's a member of this forum or her website is called beads and buttons (i think but you can find her site through looking up the member list on here) and her packaging is gorgeous.

Welcome Lissi,
Gorgeous soaps, how do you do that whipped topping?  The last one is my favourite, I love mint choc chip icecream and I can almost taste it looking at that picture! :buttrf: :buttrf:

Ooh thanks - not today though.

I've a puzzle which I can't solve so haven't looked at it for a few weeks.

Hello!!! Ive been away a bit, but Im back! your mint choc soap is BEAUTIFUL  :buttrf:

Soaps and presentation looks gorgeous! Well done!  :buttrf:
/me positions herself in the queue behind Elaine

wow, your soaps are gorgeous !! Absolutely stunning! Thanks for de-lurking! I am with you on the M&P soap. I love what some people do with it, it can be amazing, but I am not able to do anything remotely like it, not even if I try and copy. Mine looks like something the local nursery did. I stick to CP/HP instead.

Welcome to our little forum :buttrf: Your soaps are beautiful so I doubt you'll have any problem making an impact :buttrf:

Welcome to the forum :)

That's some mighty lovely soap you've got there. Well done! I look forward to getting to know you.


Elaine, if you ever need any assistance with web design I'm more than happy to help too  :-*

Thanks Kevin - it's something to do with CSS and coding.

Yea!  A string of beads!  Thank you so much, it was really bugging me that I couldn't find that.  I so love her packaging, really pretty! 


I mix to a nice thick trace before I pour (or even scoop) into the mold and then I play with the top using a stick.  I just pull the top of the soap into peaks with the stick, aiming for a sea waves kind of look.  The hardest part for me is not overdoing it which I was guilty of with my last batch & I could really kick myself now.  I currently use those little wooden coffee stirring sticks you get free from coffee shops but I've successfully used spoon handles and even my finger (gloved of course). 

Thank you all again for the lovely comments  ;D   ;D

 :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: :hi: