Pretty Soap Tops

 I usually will use Fondant Mats for my pretty soap tops.

I decided to try something new,  a Hand Roller. This one is made of carved wood and came from an Etsy Shop with a nice selection, MKM Pottery Tools. Do check them out! 

So after unmolding the soap, I gently rolled the tool across the top of the soap. 

Here's the completed soap, I was pretty happy with it. Give it a try! 

Valentines day

 I made a small batch of very sweet soaps for Valentines Day this year. It was a fun project. 

The mold I used was a silicone column mold. It was a small opening so after standing it up I used a pastry bag and a tip to pipe the soap batter into the mold, tapping it to ensure there were no air bubbles. The next day I carefully unmolded the heart soap and placed it in the next batch, after it was good and thick. Finally I sliced it the day after that, and now we wait for the cure. Its scented in a gorgeous Jasmine and Tahitian Gardenia blend. 

Fave supplier

 I have been using Mad Micas for a long time. Of course, I have tried others in the past, which makes me appreciate Mad Micas even more! In addition to their superior, non-morphing colors, they also have a huge selection! And if that's not enough, they are just plain fun! So if you are a soap maker, do check them out!

happy 2023

 Happy New Year from Delta Moon Soapworks!

As we step into the New Year, we’re excited to announce some changes that we’ve been working on over the last few months. We’re confident that these changes will help us provide our customers with an even better experience and the highest quality products. First, we’ve changed our schedule. We’ve now got more time to dedicate to making sure everything is in order for our customers. We understand the importance of quick and reliable delivery, and we’re sure that our new schedule will continue to make this possible! We’re also getting ready to launch our new website! Our new website is designed to be easy to use and intuitive, so you can find what you need quickly and conveniently. We’ve also included more information about our products, so you can make the best choice for your skincare needs. Finally, continue to make sure that our products are of the highest quality. We’ve been diligent in creating our soaps and other products with the best natural ingredients, and we’ve put additional quality control processes in place to make sure that our products meet our standards. We’re looking forward to 2023 and all the wonderful things that it will bring! As always, we thank you for your continued support and we hope you’ll stay with us for the exciting changes to come!

Carla

Easter Soap

 This is a little different, it's a bunny soap like the Murray Soap, I used a "soap shaper" to make the soap, here's what it looks like 

You can use either end to achieve the desired results. Here it is with the "ears" facing downward.

And at last, the finished product! They will be available this week. Some have a shorter face than others, you can tell they are handmade! 

Easter in on April 4th this year. Will be listed in the Etsy shop soon too! 

Valentines Day

 I always like to do a little something for Valentines Day. This year, in addition to the two limited Edition Soaps ( Black Cherry Tobacco and Jasmine Honeysuckle ) I made up some soap cupcakes! My first time at piping, there's a learning curve for sure, gives me a whole new respect for folks that do cake decorating! 

Here's a batch of Sundance ( Orange/ Tangerine/Grapefruit )

Here's what they look like all packaged up.

These are the plastic cups we used to package the Soap Cupcakes in, they are a special kind of plastic that's recyclable!  We try so hard to not use any more plastic than we have to, in fact that's why we changed the packaging on the lip butters and Lotion Bars to Zero waste! 

We will have the cupcakes available for you this weekend at the #PinoleFarmersMarket on Saturday as well as the #MartinezFarmersMarket on Sunday. See you then! 

Coming soon

 As always, the new kids will be on probation until we see how popular they are ( or not! ) lol. I was thinking that these two new scents will be amazing, since I know you guys love the matching bars. 

If you've never tried Loofa bars, let me tell you, they are amazing for your skin, all of them are made with a one inch slice of Loofa embedded into a comfortable to hold bar of Goat Milk Soap, to which we have added skin loving Cocoa Butter! 

By the way, loofa ( Loofah, Luffa ) grows on a vine, it's NOT a sea creature! We wouldn't do that! 

These have about another week, then you will see them online and at the Pinole, Martinez and Concord Farmers Markets! 

Valentines Day

 It's always fun to come up with some new goodies for you guys for Valentines Day,  this is what's coming for this year:

Red Clover Tea Soap Cupcake

Sundance Soap Cupcake. 

I've discovered piping is fun but there's definitely a learning curve. Makes me respect cake decorators even more! 

This soap, Black Cherry Tobacco was suggested by a customer, I think you'll like it. 

And last but not least, Jasmine Honeysuckle, with a pretty swirl of color. I was trying to keep the color palette to a vintage fabric, that was the inspiration anyhow! 

So everything is curing, waiting for their turn! 

 Impression Mats

I love the look of impression mats. they make such a gorgeous top on most of my soap. I just got a new mat the other day and just got to play with it for the first time, what do you think? 

This batch is Black Tea and Rose, it will be torture waiting for it to cure! 

October 27th, 2019

I'm still getting questions about that day and my account of it, so here you go...

It was a crazy weather day, huge winds. Some Farmers Markets closed, as well as the Treasure Island Flea. Many places had no power, due to the high winds, PG&E cut off a lot of power in the area. In retrospect,  I should have stayed home, winds that high are just not safe.

So, on that day, we had a lot of kids and parents running around,  it was the day of the Trick or Trunk for the kids for Halloween.  Luckily, it was set up mostly on either end of the market, so there weren't as many kids in the area as in years past. It made it a little extra concerning though.

So at 10:15 that morning, this HUGE wind came and took down this Willow tree that was right next to my tent. The tree was 25 to 30 feet high. ( they have since removed all 3 of the trees flanking the Plaza)

So when it went down, it landed on some folks, I've heard 6 to 9 people were taken away in an ambulance and we were unable to get a follow up to learn how everyone was. There was a 12 year old that had a broken ankle. We were very lucky it wasn't much worse, it could have been. When people heard where the tree was, a rumor started that I had been taken away in an ambulance too!

Here's the thing I have always loved about the Martinez Farmers Market; there is such a strong feeling of community,  almost like family. So when the tree fell, of course there was screaming, and there was this HUGE group of people that ran over to help, it didn't even take a heartbeat! They moved the tree off the people, it was amazing!

As for me, I was fine. I have this wonderful old tent, Ted, and he's quite heavy, made of steel. He's kept me safe from the weather for the last 19 years. (I was doing markets about a year before I got him). Anyhow, he kept me from harm that day as well. The tree hit the right rear of the tent when it fell, if you look closely at the picture you can see he's a lowrider in the back, but he was still standing! I'm convinced that had he been one of the newer aluminum tents, I would have been squashed flat like a little tortilla! He needed a leg and 3 support bars replaced, and my friend Michael did that for me. He's also the manager of the Martinez Farmers Market and was able to control some of the pandemonium and made sure to keep the crowd out of the street so the emergency vehicles could get through.
A special thank you to the first responders, the amazing community of Martinez, and Michael for everything they did that day. I will never forget it. there were also a lot of fires going on that day, they were evacuating Crockett and we live in Rodeo so I didn't know if we would be next! What a day!
My beloved Ted now sports a pink top ( he's secure in his masculinity! ) as it matches the banner better.

Hard to see but there's one badly bent leg and you can see some of the broken rods too

Ted rides again! 

The purple thing hanging down is the pool noodle I wrap the big banner around when I'm not at market. 

I am very happy it wasn't much worse, and that Ted is OK too. I have been having a bit of almost PTSD when the winds come up now, but I'm sure it will pass. 

Studio Tour part 2

So last week you got to see the area that's for curing, restocking and shipping, today I will show you the main studio, known as the Rabbit Hole.

These are the extra curing shelves, my friend that owns the house put them up for me, they were sort of a Bonus Jonas, wasn't expecting them. Beneath that are my wooden molds. On the right are the ones I will use at the holidays, they will ALL be full! The ones on the left are the molds I use on a daily (almost) basis. I don't make soap on Tuesdays, that's when I am at the Concord Farmers Market.

You may have already seen this picture, the workbench made for me, with a cool light over the work area. If you have ever had to work in your own shadow you will apprecitae how awesome this is. The flamingoes are there to keep soap splatters off the wall. 

This is the little storage cubby, I use it for special molds etc that I don't use all the time. Excess packaging etc. 

This is my amazing hutch, it holds all the essential oils and fragrance oils. 

This is wehere the candles live until they go to market. I really love that it stays cool enough to do that. 

This is my bank of drawers beneath the work table, everything from gloves to stick blenders. Everything is labeled, can you say anal-retentive?! lol  My wonderful work table is  over 6 feet long to give you an idea of scale. I have been using this table for over 10 years, it's handmade. 

These are the cabinets where the measured out oils stay. I love that these hide the mess! 

One of my most favorite things is that it stays so cool, all the time! I used to have to get up at 5 a m when we were in Antioch, the studio got very hot so starting early was the only way it would work. The soap will actually get too hot and overheat, causing a big crack down the middle of the batch. Now I can make soap whenever I want to! I don't have to get up at 5 anymore, but so far, old habits die hard and I still do! 

And last but not least, my big 'ole double sink! I haven't had a sink for the last 3 years and it's rather a big deal when you make as much of a mess as I do ( or most soapmakers! ). I used to have to make a couple trips into the kitchen to wash everything in the tiny kitchen sink, this is such a blessing and I appreciate it so much! I even have windows! 

Now you know where the magic happens! 

Studio Tour Part 1

So we moved in July, what a crazy month THAT was! Anyhow, it's a much larger house and it comes with a huge basement for me to work in! The studio is actually divided into 2 parts, the former garage is where I do shipping, restocking and curing, I will share that today, and in part 2, I will show the basement, or, where the magic happens!

So, here we go!

The sideboard holds my hard working printer and all the binders full of label masters. You see the lil washi tape carousle too. The drawers have shipping supplies like tissue paper etc. The little pink drawers has all the bubble wrap, already sliced into 3" wide strips to wrap around the soap for online orders.

 

I have 3 bakers racks, the other one is full of all things lavender, these have come in handy over the years, especially when verticle space is all you have! 

My work table where I put the orders together. Up above, to the right is where I have the little kraft envelopes for smaller orders and also a wicker swan that holds the flat rate padded envelopes. 

My clock! His eyes and tail move and I couldn't resist Felix!

This was a bread rack in a grocery store once upon a time, it's perfect for my shipping boxes. You see Chica on the top step waiting to go in, and Murray the cat is just supervising. You know they are ready to go in when they sit that close to the door to inside! 

The Rabbit hole is the name of my studio, it's a very magical place for me. More on  that next week! Thank you for looking! 

Celebrate Hercules 4th of July

Yesterday I had the privilege of vending at the Hercules celebrate 4th of July. I liked that the vendors were so diverse, from chalk kits, to bridal shops to stun devices to soap!
The event was held at a beautiful park called Refugio Valley Park, it was just gorgeous and I have no doubt the folks that live there are pretty proud of it.
The thing that was most cool about the event was the very nature of the event, a way to honor the Veterans (who had a section of seats reserved for them) as well as having the color guard and every piece of patriotic music there was! They had a Run for the Kids and adults and it was really well organized. The most amazing thing was that it was done by a group of volunteers who did it all out of love, no one was paid for the hard

work they put in.
A special thanks goes out to Dee and her husband for all their hard work. Thank you for letting me share along with your community.