Saturday, November 27, 2010

Scraps to Soaps


With your trusty 12" Loaf Budget Mold and that growing pile of melt-and-pour soap scraps, you can create some amazing new bars and save the waste. There's no rhyme or reason to this easy and fun project. Just pour some fresh clear soap base (with sparkly glitter and your favorite fragrance oil) in with your scrap soap and spray everything really well with rubbing alcohol as you do it. The end product is unique and artfully abstract every time!




Get creative and have a fun time doing this project with the kids. These bars make great gifts!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Time to Celebrate!

Yesterday and today have been SO much fun at Otion! We've been celebrating birthdays and making lots of fun melt-and-pour soaps. There was a group of 10 kids in yesterday, and we filled to capacity upstairs with 12 kids this afternoon! Let me tell you, they were the most well behaved and talented soapmakers at only six years old. It was a real treat to have them, and to top it all off, Bellingham is covered in a beautiful layer of fresh snow. It really feels like winter is here already and it's definitely time to start making those soapy holiday gifts.



Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Red Currant and Thyme



New at Otion! A fruity, berry, citrusy, herbaceous type with top notes of orange blossom, grapefruit, mixed berry and lemon, middle notes of thyme, raspberry, and jasmine, with a powdery, fruity white musky base note. Red Currant and Thyme is a perfect fragrance for the holidays!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Soap Bar Experts

Check out these incredible melt-and-pour masterpieces made the other day at our walk-in "Soap Bar." I love the seashells! I think someone must be dreaming of a tropical escape from this cold, winter-like weather we've been having.




Think you want to make soap but not ready to make the investment in supplies and equipment? Otion's unique "Soap-on-the-Fly" Soap Bar is the solution!

How it works:

* Just come by, or for a specific time, call ahead and make an appointment
* Cost is $7.75 for your soap making session and includes fragrance, coloring, molds and instruction.
* Ages 12 and under: soap base is included. Ages 12 and over: soap base is not included. (Soap base is available at Otion, average cost is $3.25 per pound)

No mess, no clean up for you and best of all, an experienced soapmaker at your side the entire time, ready to answer all your questions! Plus, we have a new "Soap Stamp" coupon for anyone who comes in to use the Soap Bar: a 20% off savings of your next purchase in the store.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Just in Time for the Holidays


Last Sunday was our first cold process soapmaking class of November, and since the soap takes about a month to cure, students jumped on the opportunity to get some gifts started.

I am always impressed by the beautiful soaps made in class, and love seeing students pick up advanced swirling techniques so quickly. We had a great time and I am looking forward to another Gift Givers class and cold process class at the end of the month.



Thank you everyone for a great class! If you are interested in learning how to make soap from scratch, please visit our website and check for the next available class. Feel free to sign up online or call us at (360) 676-1030.

Friday, November 5, 2010

New Winter White Fragrance at Otion


If you lived in the North Pole and walked out of Santa’s Workshop and took a deep whiff, what would you expect to smell? Winter White is designed to invoke a subtle twist on clean air mint with notes of Spearmint, Peppermint and exotic Water Mint. Of course, at Santa’s Workshop, you won’t be surprised to find a few notes of Chocolate and Hot Cocoa wafting out of the windows as well. This blend is finished up with a beautiful soft dry down of Vetevyr and delicate West Indian Vanilla. Because of the sweeter notes, this fragrance does discolor in all soap (though vanilla color stabilizer can decrease this). This fragrance performs beautifully in CP. Flashpoint over 200ยบ.