Beautiful New Handmade Soaps

Euphoric is a duplication of Aveda's Euphoria. It is an essential oil blend of the following fragrant notes: jasmine, rose, and sandalwood. It's a very sexy, floral, and feminine scent that you just can't help breathing in once you get it in your hands

http://stores.gourmetsoapsandsundries.com/-strse-6/natural-handmade-soap-vegan/Detail.bok


Plumeria in summer shades of yellow and red swirls.

http://stores.gourmetsoapsandsundries.com/-strse-2/soap-natural-handmade-plumeria/Detail.bok

These are links to my new shop. All new customers to the website will enjoy a 20% off of your first order!

20% Off Storewide Sale

I need to move the soaps out to make room for new soaps! All items are 20% off for which you will be refunded via paypal.

On another happy note, my husband is installing new larger shelves in my soap room, so I will be able to make even more soap. I am thinking about having my first BOGO sale at that time as well to commemorate the occassion (actually it's just an excuse to make more soap).

So if you are a soap addict like me, or if you have never tried handmade soap and are just curious, stop by my Etsy shop to have a looksy. I must admit that my family has been hogging all of the new body butters that I have been making, but I promise to hide a few and list them all in the shop ;0)

www.gourmetsoaps.etsy.com

I will never shop at Walmart again.

I bought a $30 PC game from them 2 days ago for my son's birthday. We don't have a lot of money, and that was all we could afford to give him, besides a small birthday party. The game didn't work. The only thing that it would show was a pink screen. I removed the program & tried to reload 2 more times only to get the same result. The only reason I bought this game was because they didn't have Age of Empires III, so I thought I would get my money back & then order the game Johnny wanted from Walmart's online store. They refused to give me a refund because of..get this...copyright laws. They said that they would be breaking the law if they gave me a refund, and if I didn't like it then I needed to write my governor. Wha? I waited for 1.5 hours for that? I had 3 Walmart employees surrounding me & telling me that I was trying to get them to break the law by giving me a refund. Long story short, I don't like being bullied & I did get my money back. And after I get Johnny's game, I'm never shopping at walmart ever again.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/2-606.html

U.C.C. - ARTICLE 2 - SALES
..PART 6. BREACH, REPUDIATION AND EXCUSE

§ 2-606. What Constitutes Acceptance of Goods.
(1) Acceptance of goods occurs when the buyer

•(a) after a reasonable opportunity to inspect the goods signifies to the seller that the goods are conforming or that he will take or retain them in spite of their non-conformity; or
•(b) fails to make an effective rejection (subsection (1) of Section 2-602), but such acceptance does not occur until the buyer has had a reasonable opportunity to inspect them; or
•(c) does any act inconsistent with the seller's ownership; but if such act is wrongful as against the seller it is an acceptance only if ratified by him.
(2) Acceptance of a part of any commercial unit is acceptance of that entire unit.

What this means in laymans (from http://www.badsoftware.com/):
1. You have the right to inspect the product before you accept it.This is UCC Section 2-606(1)(a).

2. To inspect a program, you have to be able to put it on a computer and run it. You need enough inspection time to can see how the program works, and to have a reasonable opportunity to notice obvious bugs.

3. If it is impractical for you to inspect a product before you take it home or to the office, then you have the right to inspect the product there. This is UCC Section 2-606(1)(b).

4. You have the right to a product that works the way that the seller (publisher or retailer) said that it would. The publisher’s and seller’s statements are found in advertisements, on the box, in the user manual and on-line help, on the publisher’s web site, and in your oral discussion with the publisher’s or store’s staff.

5. If the product doesn’t conform to the contract, you can refuse to accept it (your refusal is a rejection). This is UCC section 2-601. The product fails to conform to the contract if it doesn’t meet the publisher's and seller’s promises, or if it has other defects. Any defect, no matter how minor, is good reason for you to reject the product.

6. You don’t have much time to inspect the product. If you haven’t rejected the product within a reasonable time after taking it home, the law says that you’ve accepted it. This is in 2-606(1)(b) and 2-602(1). You probably have a few days and you might be able to justify needing a few weeks or, for a very complex program, a few months.

*If you do return a software product for a refund, make sure to erase it from your computer, and don’t keep any copies of it. It would be completely unfair—and a violation of the Copyright Act—to buy a program, make a copy, take the original back for a refund, and then keep and use the copy.

The Copyright Act is what Walmart is trying to use to scare people into thinking they are at their mercy. I agree that it is against the law to pirate intellectual property; however, I cannot be penalized for an act that I have not commited. I do not forfeit my rights as a consumer in the United States of America to Walmart or any other entity, because I tore a plastic wrapper off of a game. And if I wrote my Governor, perhaps I would be told that I was protected by Alabama State Law as well:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uniform/ucc.html

So there.

Summer Lovin' Sale

♥♥♥SUMMER LOVIN' SALE JULY 2 - JULY 12♥♥♥
Heart my shop and receive 20% off everything storewide, including reduced priced items. Just add a heart to the notes to sellers (press alt & 3 simultaneously). I'll be adding my Body Butters as I get their images uploaded.

♥*¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸*´¨(♥ Thank You!
(¸.·´ (¸.·´♥

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GourmetSoaps

My Neapolitan Treasury

I've always loved making treasuries on Etsy, and I've saved pictures of all of them. This Neapolitan Treasury is my favorite so far. It looks so yummy. I love all of the colors. The contrasting colors make the soft browns, pinks, and whites really pop out. I hope everyone likes my treasury, but what would really be helpful would be if folks went to the treasury & commented.


http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=99505

Pretty please?

Mango Mandarin & Pina Colada Mandarin Sugar Scrubs

I have 2 new sugar scrubs that are to DIE FOR! With summer almost here, I thought that I would go a little tropical. Of course, my first scrub is the Mango Mandarin. I love mandarin oranges, but I am CRAZY about mangoes! If I could, I would buy a mango tree & eat mangoes every day. Unfortunately, I'm allergic. How allergic? Let's just say I couldn't see, and my face look like I went a few rounds with 'ol Mike. Well, if I can't eat them (or touch them, jeez) then I reserve the right to smell like them by whatever means necessary. I made this a two tone scrub, red and yellow. This scrub smells so good, and my mother approves so you know it has to be awesome!

Now here's another awesome scrub. Pina Colada meets mandarin oranges. Yummy!! If I could blend it right now & sip in by a pool....well...I would. The thing that makes these sugar scrubs so wonderful, besides the great tropical scents, is what's inside these little jars. I have added olive oil, shea butter, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, and vitamin E to make your skin feel smooth and soft. I used candelilla wax instead of beeswax, so that this scrub is entirely vegan. And the number 1 thing that makes this scrub stand out above the rest is that the whole thing, oils and sugar, is emulsified WITHOUT water! Big deal? Not if you've ordered sugar scrub w/ water in it. It dissolves the sugar, and it turns the whole thing into a slimy mess. When a scrub is emulsified, the wonderful skin loving oils do not separate from the sugar. You are able to exfoliate without trouble. And when you are ready to rinse the scrub away, the water turns it into a cream that locks moisture in. You should totally try it! Did I mention that my mother loves it? Well, she's allergic to mangoes too :)

Cream Soaps

I've been interested in making cream soaps for a while now, after all, I AM a soaper. Most people know that in order to make soap, oils and lye need to saponify together. To make a hard, solid bar of soap, sodium hydroxide is used. To make a liquid soap, potassium hydroxide is used. Cream soap is a sort of hybrid of the two, quite literally. In order to make a creamy, whipped concoction of soap, both potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide is used.

The lye, water, and oils are cooked with applied heat to speed up the saponification process. Once this process is complete (this takes a few hours), supercreaming can begin. Supercreaming is another word for superfatting, so there is extra stearic acid to give the soap its whipped cream texture. At this point, the soap does not look like cream, or a fluffy whip, or anything dreamy. It's a big, sticky glob that you can't even mix. Now here's the hard part, the soapmaker and the soap must relax for 24 hours. Once everyone has cooled off, small amounts of water can be whipped in until a creamy texture is formed. And here's the REALLY hard part, seal the soap in a bucket with a tight lid and let it "rot". I know it sounds gross, but something special happens when you leave it alone for a few months: a sheen appears, and the soap is even creamier.

Now the fun part is adding fragrance and color, and of course, bathing! I have to admit, I've been taking 2 showers a day just so I could "experiment". At least that's what I've been telling my husband, but I don't think he believes me.

Sugar Plums

As many of you know, I am a part of a soaper's team on Etsy called Safeteam. We promote the art of soaping and safe manufacturing process of bath and beauty products. The Safeteam is really big on soaping challenges, and I've decided to enter this year's Mother Day Challenge. We were encouraged to go all out in showing all mothers how wonderful we think they are....uh, but here's the catch: the colors *MUST* have purple and red (the colors of the Red Hat Society). Why? Because Anhoki said so! So I created Sugar Plums.

Whenever I think of Mom and comfort, I think of baked goods. My Mother is an awesome cook, and loves to try new things. For her, family is everything, and there isn't anything she wouldn't do for family. So here's the next best thing to a cake with a sugar plum glaze....it's a soap cake that smells of yummy sugared plums with bright yellow calendula flowers to grace it's red hat. This soap is lightly scented, because my mom has unbelievably bad allergies, and I want her to enjoy this soap as well. I love you Mommy!

The Return of Gourmet

It's been forever since I've blogged or had my soap shop open. Well, what seems like forever has only been a few short months. If you have been to my little Etsy shop, then you know that my family and I have had some troubles, health & personal. Everything has evened out quite a bit.

Between me & you (don't tell my husband), my husband has had kidney stone issues about 2 months ago. He's never had any problems with them before, but he's 38, works construction in the hot blazing Alabama sun, and has a diet comparable to the Neanderthals. If it could be bludgeoned, he ate it. Really though, don't tell him I said that. The man thought he was dying, at least that's what I could make out on our drive to the emergency room. When we found out definitively that it was a kidney stone, I watched him pray to God (out loud, of course) that he would not eat so much red meat, that sodas were out, and "dear God, salads will be my main staple...from now on." I joke now, but he was in serious pain. Even though he's passed one, he still has several more in his kidneys that are just waiting to make their way down his ureter. He's ok for now :)

During the last 3-4 months, my oldest son has had problems coughing. He just coughed all the time, and sometimes he would have a coughing fit for 10-30 minutes straight. He didn't appear to have breathing problems, he just couldn't stop coughing. We thought it was a cold at first, and waited the required 2 weeks, but he still coughed. We took him to his doctor, and was given a round of antibiotics; but after 10 days, he still coughed. We went back to the doctor at was given something stronger for 14 days, but he still coughed. We were told to give him allergy meds, but after 3 weeks, he still coughed. The coughing fits started to become more frequent, so we headed back to the doctor. Johnny was then given a pulmocort breathing treatment, and we were told to come back in a month....and it worked like a charm. He finally has relief. He does cough once in a while, when the pollen count is high, but he's so much better.

So now that we are all getting back to normal, I've been cleaning like a crazy lady. The soap room is completely disinfected, and I've been making soap like crazy. I think I will only have a few soaps for sale for a while, so that I can get back into the swing of things. I would like the thank everyone who has been wonderful in showing their support. I am deeply blessed to have known so many wonderful people.

~pam