New Shop Name!

My new Etsy shop is open this evening. Stop by Barefoot Hippie Soapworks for all of your soapy needs. :) I'm slowly adding all of my products into my new shop - I still need to take photos of balms and scrubs with the new labels on them, but once I do, they'll be up too.

Birthday Giveaway Blowout!

Today is my mom's birthday - happy birthday, mom! :) So I'm giving away all of her favorite Bohemian Rose products. You don't have to get them in her favorite scent (which is Tir na Nog, by the way), but instead I'll let you choose your own.

Since she's my mom, I'm pretty sure she's tested just about every product that I've made, back from the very beginning with that first batch of soap. So she has a lot of experience in what makes a favorite Bohemian Rose product for her.

Now, on to the part I know you're waiting (patiently) to hear. What you'll win:
-one bar of soap, in your choice of scent
-one sugar scrub, in your choice of scent
-one facial scrubbing mask
-one lip balm, in your choice of flavor

Wow!
How to enter: Visit either my Etsy or 1000 Markets shop and leave a comment here telling me your favorite item in my shop. And please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win.

Extra entries:
-1 extra entry if you follow my blog
-1 extra entry if you follow me on Twitter
-1 extra entry if you fan me on Facebook
-1 extra entry *each time* you mention the giveaway on your blog, Facebook page, or Twitter. Just send me the link for each one to get credit.
-4 extra entries for each item purchased from me during the giveaway. Just be sure to put "Giveaway" in the notes to seller at checkout to get credit.

The Birthday Giveaway Blowout starts today (July 1) and ends on my birthday (July 7) at midnight CST ('cause that's my time zone!). Good luck!

Test Soaps

Tuesday afternoon I made two test batches of soap with hemp oil and new fragrances. I don't know that I'll keep the fragrances around, but I can't wait until the soap cures a bit so I can test it out. The two soap logs are still sitting in the molds, I'll take them out and cut them into bars today so they can go on the curing rack.

Fresh Off the Curing Rack

Let's give a big welcome back to my Carbon soap! It's the first soap made by me in 2010. Yay!



We like to use Carbon on our faces in the morning. It contains bentonite clay and activated charcoal, plus a blend of lavender, tea tree, and lime essential oils. You can find my Carbon soap in any of my three shops (Etsy, 1000Markets, and ArtFire. Carbon soap, $5.00)

I've Been Featured!

Grevious Angel Designs has included me in a wonderful Celtic treasury. Take a look at all of the Celtic-inspired items, including my own Irish Tweed Soap. Hurry though, the treasury will end Friday morning!

I'm also a spotlight in the Etsy Veg Team blog sidebar. Yay!

In other news, it's snowing here in DFW. Usually we don't get much snow, but I think this is our third snow/ice since November. Crazy! But it's been snowing since sometime during the night, and we have quite a bit of accumulation. I'm hoping to take a picture when I get home. It's beautiful outside!

Two New Soaps

Tonight I'd like to introduce you to the two newest members of the Bohemian Rose Bath & Soap family - Carbon and Cranberry Fig.

Carbon is a soap I've been making for a while, but it has recently been reformulated a bit. Activated carbon gives the soap it's lovely gray color. I also included Bentonite clay in with the soap. Lavender, tea tree and lime essential oils complete the herbal scent blend. Ben and his friend Joe like using Carbon on their faces. (I use it on my face in the summer when my face is feeling more oily than normal.)

Oh, and Joe made up a tag line for it... "Carbon - for when real men want to get clean." Thanks! :) (Carbon Soap, $5.00)

Cranberry Fig is a sweetly tart scent. The tart cranberry and sweet fig balance each other out. It's the best of both worlds! Plus, I included cranberry seeds in the soap for some exfoliation. If you have sensitive skin, be gentle with the cranberry seeds. (Cranberry Fig Soap, $5.00)

New Soaps!

It's that time of year, when the weather gets cooler (sometimes...this chilly weather really is unusual for us) and you just want to curl up under a blanket with something hot to drink. While I always say that my favorite season is Spring, I'm absolutely in love with Fall scents. Recently I listed Autumn Afternoon, which to me smells just like I imagine an Autumn day should smell -- crisp and clean.

Today I'd also like to introduce you to my two latest Fall soaps -- Pumpkin Spice and Apple

Cinnamon.

Pumpkin Spice smells just like it sounds. If you're like me, and your favorite dessert at Thanksgiving is anything with pumpkin in it, you'll love this soap. My Pumpkin Spice soap is colored with a small bit of copper mica to help give it a little of that orange color all of us pumpkin pie fans know and love. (Pumpkin Spice Soap, $5.00)

As much as I love my Pumpkin Spice soap, I have to (secretly)

admit that Apple Cinnamon is my new Fall favorite. To me, cinnamon and apples are a yummy combination of scents. Not only can you smell the cinnamon, but I also used some ground cinnamon to make the brown swirl in the soap. These soaps look like marbled apple cinnamon cake. Yum! (Apple Cinnamon Soap, $5.00)

You can find both of my new soaps in my Etsy and Artfire shops.

New at Bohemian Rose!

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since my last blog post! Although I really shouldn't be... Two of my busiest weeks during the year are the week that school starts and the week before. So if you haven't guessed, I've been doing the back to school thing. Which means I've been really tired in the evenings, even taking a nap yesterday! And I don't nap that often.

Even though I've had my hands full, I've still had soap on the curing rack. So I'm happy to introduce you to Minty Lavender, one of my favorite scents.

Refreshing peppermint and spearmint blended with soothing lavender. This scent brightens my day every time I smell it. It goes well with my Minty Lavender lip balm and sugar scrub too... (Minty Lavender Soap, $5.00)

What's Going on at Bohemian Rose?

Well thanks for asking! The answer is... a lot! I have a batch of NEW lip balm waiting to be labeled, along with restock of Minty Lavender lip balm. And this afternoon I'm making another NEW lip balm flavor. I just have to decide which flavor I'd like to make next. That's the hardest part. :) Look for two new lip balm flavors to be up in my Artfire and Etsy shops soon!

Speaking of new, I also have some new soap on the curing rack. How about Minty Lavender soap? Smells just like the lip balm, but you can use it in the shower! Amazing! This one should be up in my Artfire and Etsy shops in a couple of weeks. Also coming up soon soapwise - Fall scents!

Yesterday I spent four hours at the car dealer waiting for them to do my 40,000 mile check up on my car. I knew it would take a while, but I was thinking two, three at the most. By 1:30 I asked how much longer they thought it would be. He told me that ETA was 2:30... So I called my amazing friend Alana, who had just finished up with teaching the flute sectionals at band camp. She lives about 8 minutes from the dealer, so she came to pick me up and we went to lunch. By the time the dealer called, it was after 3:00. That's a crazy long time! Good thing I brought things that I needed to work on, otherwise I think I would've had cabin fever about an hour into it. Even though it took a while, Rusty Wallis always does a great job with their service. All the service guys are great, they do a wonderful job, and they're (usually) pretty fast. Plus, my car is all shiny and clean now. Bonus!

So since I missed it yesterday, here's Music Monday for your listening pleasure -- some dueling banjos arranged for mountain dulcimer.

Giveaway Winner and Some Hump Day Humor Too!

For my first giveaway, I wanted to find a winner the old fashioned way -- by drawing a name out of a hat. Or in my case, a bowl that I put lip balms in at shows.

Here are all the names just after I finished writing them all down.

Now they're all mixed up in the bowl, ready to be picked!

And here's our winner, Yours Truli! Congratulations!!

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway. I was so excited to have so many entries for my very first one. Thanks!!!

Some of you had great suggestions, and I wanted to take just a minute to address a few of them.

Mint Chocolate - I'm actually in the process of formulating a soap that has cocoa butter in it for this one.

Rose Scented Soap - I have a new line of soaps that I'm formulating, and a few of them have rose in them. Rose Geranium essential oil actually, but to my nose it smells just like rose. Currently I have no plans for a rose-only soap, but you bring up a good point--rose is in my shop name, so maybe I should!

Fall Scents - I'll be testing a couple of new fall scents this month, and then working like mad to get my regular fall scents made. Expect to see them in my Art Fire and Etsy shops in late August to early September. Last year for fall I had Mulled Cider and Pumpkin Spice, which I also carried over into winter.

And now for just a bit of humor. It is Wednesday, after all. This photo is dedicated to my doggie, Booger. People sometimes ask if he's vegetarian because I am. No, dogs were meant to be carnivores, thank you.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Today's The Last Day!

My very first blog giveaway ends tonight, at midnight EST! If you haven't entered yet, you still have time. I'll draw a winner first thing tomorrow morning. If you've already entered, check back tomorrow to find out who will get their very own Bohemian Rose soap and sugar scrub!

Bohemian Rose Giveaway!

To celebrate my birthday (which is today - yay!), I thought I'd try my hand at a blog giveaway. Since this is my first blog giveaway, I thought I'd include a couple of my favorite items to use. By the way, that didn't narrow down my choices at all, since I definitely use all of my own products!

First, you can soap up in the shower with your very own Bohemian

Rose soap in your choice of scent. All of my soaps are made in the cold process method, which basically means that I melt all of the oils, and in a separate container mix my water and sodium hydroxide. I let both containers cool to room temperature, then stick blend them together, add any scent or color, and pour into the mold. Once it's all in the mold, the chemical reactions heat the whole thing up to turn it into soap. Science is cool! :)

After you're all squeaky clean, you can exfoliate with your Bohemian Rose sugar scrub, also in your choice of scent. I make all of my sugar scrubs with a blend of sugar and raw sugar, along with oils and butters to help your sking feel soft and smooth. If you've never used a scrub before, don't worry! Just scoop out some of the scrub, massage it onto your damp skin, and the sugar blend will gently exfoliate. Rinse, pat dry, and you're good to go! I love to use my sugar scrub on my feet especially, but it's great as an all-over scrub too.

Now, on to the important part - how to enter the giveaway!

(Thanks to Roses. I used her blog giveaways as a guideline on mine!)

1. Stop by my Art Fire shop, come back and leave a comment on my blog with your favorite item there, and how I can get a hold of you if you win. That's all you have to do to enter! So easy!

2. For another entry, tweet about my giveaway, and post the link for it.

3. For another extra entry, blog about my giveway, and post the link.

4. Want yet another entry in the giveaway? Comment with a suggestion for products or scents you'd like to see from Bohemian Rose in the future.

5. Not enough ways to enter? Make a purchase from my ArtFire studio or my Etsy shop.

Easy peasy! Giveaway ends on Bastille Day (July 14, which was also my grandpa's birthday. Lots of July birthdays in my family!). :)

Poseidon Salt Bars

That's right, ladies and gents, my Poseidon salt bars are off the curing rack and back in stock. The scent is clean and refreshing, just like the salty sea air. And my salt bars are made with coconut milk to make the lather extra creamy. Soap up with one of these in the shower, and it feels like you're sudsing up with a "lotion-y" lather. Available now in my Art Fire and Etsy shops. (Poseidon salt bar, $5.00)

Etsy Treasury!

Check it out, I'm in a treasury on Etsy! This one is full of great items of all kinds. You should definitely come look at it before it expires Sunday morning.

Thank you, La Vieja Tun Tun, for including my Relaxation soap in your treasury!

New Soap Listings

After a busy weekend at Arbor Daze, I now have two of my newest soaps listed in my Art Fire and Etsy shops!


First, I'd like to introduce you to Brighid. A Celtic goddess worshipped farther than just Ireland, she was the goddess of blacksmiths, poetry, and the fire of inspiration. So of course her soap is made with Guiness, and scented with blackberry. I don't personally enjoy drinking Guiness, but the scent of it in soap mixed with the blackberries is amazing. You really need to try this one out in the shower! (Brighid at Art Fire, Brighid at Etsy, $5.00)



Also new in my shops is Irish Tweed. This just happens to be my friend Greg's favorite. It's a very sexy, masculine blend of sandalwood, lemon, verbena, and violet. Cary Grant used to wear a scent just like this one. And if you don't already know this about me, I definitely think Cary Grant when I think of a sexy man. Trust me, this is one happening scent. (Irish Tweed at Art Fire, Irish Tweed at Etsy, $5.00)

A New Scent!

Ah, dear reader, I see we meet once again! And just after I've put a double batch of soap to bed in the oven. What scent was it, you ask? One that hasn't been listed in my Etsy or Art Fire shops before -- Tir na Nog.

Tir na Nog in Celtic mythology was the "Land of the Ever-Young." But it is also an island where the faeries lived. The Celts described Tir na Nog as being somewhere to the west, far off of the map. This scent is just as mysterious as Tir na Nog would have been for the ancient Celts. It has a base of sandalwood, musk, and spice, and is topped with citrus, amber, and a hint of rose. Definitely a sexy, unisex scent.

Look for this one in my shops next month!

What Am I Up To?

A lot! The week before spring break is always a bit crazy at school... But I've been busy at home, too! On the curing rack alongside my Brighid soap (that's Guiness and blackberry soap) I now have some Irish Tweed soap. Irish Tweed is based on a scent that Carey Grant used to wear. *swoon* It is one of my all-time favorite scents! I also have a batch of Brighid lip balm made up, just waiting for labels and pictures before I list it in my Etsy and Art Fire shops. You can look for the lip balm to be up next week!

In the meantime, I'm leaving this afternoon to go out of town. A friend of ours is having a housewarming party down in Austin this weekend. I love going to Austin, and will be very upset if I don't get to eat at Trudy's or Dog Almighty at some point this weekend. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Fresh Off the Curing Rack

Just listed tonight on my Etsy and Art Fire shops: Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Soap. This one smells so good, folks! I initially found this particular OMH scent when I was looking for a scent to make baby shower favors for a shower my sister in law is hostessing. While it does smell like baby -- not baby powder, just baby -- it's just a great creamy-fresh scent. Trust me, you'll love it!

New Soap Listed!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! We had a three day weekend here, although my kiddos at school had Friday off as well. It was nice to have a workday to catch up though.

We had some friends over for the weekend and hosted a chili party. Several friends brought chili they had made, and Ben and I each made chili (mine was vegetarian BBQ chili... so yummy!). After dinner we played Catch Phrase and some card games. The whole night was a lot of fun, and we're planning on hosting one again next year.

This evening I just listed a new soap scent - Red Currant. These are yummy sweet, tart salt bars. Colored with a rose swirl, this would make a perfect gift for your Valentine. Add a Red Currant lip balm and you have a fantastic gift set. Red Currant spa salt bars and lip balm are listed in both my Etsy and Art Fire shops. Happy shopping!

New Items!

I hope you've all been having a relaxing week back to your regular, non-holiday schedules. Mine has been busy, but that's my own fault really. The way that my classes at school are scheduled, I realized on the last day before winter break that I needed to start recorders with my kids the day after we came back. I had originally been planning on doing it the next week, so I had a bunch of work to do to get ready. *sigh*

Anyway, I have new items listed in my Etsy and Art Fire shops. I finally have my Pele lip balm, Hecate soap, and Pepperberry soap listed. All of these can be found in either shop. :)

Pele is the Hawaiian volcano goddess, so it’s fitting that her lip balm is flavored just like a juicy pineapple. This lip balm coordinates with my Pele soap.

Pele is from my Mythos fragrance line.

Hecate, a Greek goddess, was also known as the Queen of the Witches. So of course her scent is dark and mysterious. A blend of lavender, cedarwood, and patchouli essential oils gives this soap a smoky, "witchy" scent. And with black oxide swirls, this soap definitely would suit Hecate any day.

Pepperberry is a delightful spiced berry scent. With black pepper as the top note, you’ll also smell black orchid, berries, rose, and vanilla. I think this one is pretty sexy!