weekly wrap up Archives - Soap Deli News

Summer Sweets to Treat Your Skin + Weekly Wrap Up

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July 22, 2017 By Rebecca D. Dillon

As much as I love making my own bath and body products, I simply adore buying them too! Sometimes perhaps a little too much. But there are just so many amazing and creative soapmakers and artisans out there, it’s sometimes hard to resist.

So, to kick off the end of spectacular week, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite handmade bath and body products I recently discovered. Even if you’re just window shopping, you can still sweeten up your summer with a little eye candy! Following are just a few fun handmade summer sweets to treat your skin!

Summer Sweets to Treat Your Skin

Unicorn Parfait via The Bath Candy Shop

Beach House Whipped Sugar Scrub via Nectar Fresh Body

Mermaid Cove Bubble Bar via Shimmer & Luxe

Summer Collection Bath Bombs via The Bath Candy Shop

Beach House Cold Process Soap via Nectar Fresh Body

Unicorn Magic Bubble Bar via Shimmer & Luxe

Hot Diggity Dog Bath Bombs via The Big Meltdown

Pink Sprinkled Donut Lip Balm via Sweet Suds by April

Donut Bubble Bar via Yours Truly

Don’t Be Sour Shower Jelly via The Big Meltdown

Birthday Cake Soap Slice via B Sweet Soap

L Frank Rainbow Bath Bomb via The Big Meltdown

Confetti Sprinkled Fudge Brownie Soap via Sweet Suds by April

Also sweet, just not in an edible sort of way, is this crazy cool David Bowie Bath Bomb. Created by Glittery Nightmares on Etsy, this Starman inspired bath bomb is crafted using a handmade mold.

It’s then hand painted. Drop this homage to David Bowie in water and it will release an array of colors in red, yellow, pink, orange and blue. Plus a dash of glitter! It’s made to order, so be sure to plan ahead if you need this sweet bath bomb by a certain date or for an event. You can get it here.

Do you make your own handmade bath and body projects? Be sure to share your own homemade summer sweets by tagging them with #soapdelishowoff on instagram for a chance to have your products or shop featured on future weekly wrap ups!

For more great bath and body finds as well as homemade soap, bath and beauty recipes, be sure to follow my Pinterest boards here. You can also find and follow me on G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram. Or sign up to receive new posts directly to your email via FeedBurner.

Filed Under: Shopping Tagged With: bath and body, bath bombs, beach, beauty, bubble bar, coupon, coupon code, deals, homemade soap, shopping, skin care, summer, sweets, weekly wrap up

Apple Cider Vinegar Cocktail Recipe + My Weekly Wrap Up!

July 15, 2017 By Rebecca D. Dillon

This weekend I wanted to share my new apple cider vinegar cocktail recipe! It’s a refreshing and light cocktail that can be made with either vodka or gin. Plus it’s a great way to sneak in those extra probiotics.

I know not everyone particularly enjoys the taste of apple cider vinegar, but it’s surprisingly easy to hide. Just to be sure, however, I had my friend Cathy also give my apple cider vinegar cocktail recipe a whirl and she enjoyed it as much as I do!

Apple Cider Vinegar Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

1 oz. vodka or gin
.5 oz. Bragg’s apple cider vinegar
.5 oz. simple syrup
3 oz. club soda
several dashes Wigle Organic Rosemary Lavender Cocktail Bitters

Notes:

I use Bragg’s raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar specifically for this recipe as it contains the “mother.” The “mother” is what offers all that probiotic goodness. Not only is Bragg’s apple cider vinegar rich in potassium, but it also helps to support a healthy immune system.

I’ve been buying my Bragg’s apple cider vinegar from Thrive Market as they have such great prices on natural and organic foods – plus freebies a few times a month with a $49 purchase! But you can also find Bragg’s apple cider vinegar in the organic section of your local grocery store.

Vinegar has historically been used in cocktails and in recent years has been making quite the comeback in handcrafted artisan cocktails. Typically called drinking vinegar or shrubs, these vinegars come in a variety of amazing flavors with the simple syrup already added. They are incredibly delicious both in cocktail recipes as well as when mixed with regular filtered water or club soda.

You can learn more about shrubs from the book, Shrubs: An Old Fashioned Drink for Modern Times, by Michael Dietsch. This book is available in both hardcover and for kindle. (If you don’t own a kindle you can still purchase and read the kindle version with Amazon’s free kindle reading app.)

Instructions:

To make my apple cider vinegar cocktail simple measure out and combine all ingredients in a tall glass with ice and stir to combine. If desired, you can garnish your drink with a twist of lime or rosemary or even muddle a bit of lavender to add to the mix. Then simply sip and enjoy!

(If you like my apple cider vinegar cocktail recipe, then you may also like my cocktail recipe for Rooibos Peach Tea Rum Punch!)

As usual I’ve also been working on quite a few new projects this week. While some of them make the cut, not all of them always do. While it can be frustrating, I always learn something new from my DIY fails and sometimes I simply discover something unexpected.

A post shared by Soap Deli News Blog (@soapdeli) on Jul 11, 2017 at 1:50pm PDT

One interesting discovery I made this week is that bath bombs made using a mini bundt cake silicone mold will travel in your bath water (as illustrated by my instagram video above.)

Also this week I finally made it off the waitlist for Amazon’s Prime Surprise Sweets Dash Button! Being a fan of ipsy as well as a few other monthly beauty programs, I REALLY wanted to try this. The Prime Surprise Sweets Dash Button is a Wi-Fi connected device that orders Prime members a surprise box of delicious treats from small-batch artisans anytime you want, at just the press of a button. It’s my first ever dash button and I’m actually excited about this one. (I mean it’s perfect for those once a month cravings for sweets during a hormone surge, right?!)

You can purchase the Prime Surprise Sweets Dash Button here. (Or alternately, if it’s not available, you can get on the waitlist. I was approved after about a week.) Like other dash buttons, you’ll pay $4.99 up front which is then credited back to your first order. (Not an Amazon Prime member? You can sign up for a 30-day free trial here.)

I also fell in love with a new Etsy shop I discovered this week called Skin Kitchn. This Sacramento, California small business is run by Dori Nicole who creates lovingly crafted artisan soaps for sensitive skin. You can buy artisan soaps by the loaf or by the bar.

Pictured is Dori’s wildly popular Pineapple Rose Shea + Clay Artisan Soap Loaf made with shea butter and sweet almond oil. It’s lightly scented with a tropical mix of pineapple and papaya with Rose Clay added for color. You can check out the full line of Skin Kitchn products on Etsy here. You can discover more artisan products to fall in love with by visiting my Etsy favorites here.

I hope every enjoys the rest of the weekend! Be sure to follow me across all of my social media including Pinterest, G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram for more exciting finds and recipes. Or sign up to receive new posts directly to your email via FeedBurner.

Filed Under: Food Recipes, My Life Day to Day Tagged With: cocktail, diy, drink, drink recipe, drinking vinegar, probiotics, recipe, weekly wrap up

Weekly Wrap Up (Week of June 18th-June 24th)

June 24, 2017 By Rebecca D. Dillon

This past week I’ve been busy brainstorming like made for new bath and body recipes and I’m so excited to get started on my new to do list! Some of the projects I plan to share will also be a part of what I’ve coined my Craft & Cocktail Nights that I’ll be having about every other week with my friends. The first one is tonight and we’ll be making DIY nail polishes using a suspension nail polish base, micas and glitters.

In actuality, since I moved back to Roanoke and am once again in close proximity of some of my favorite and true blue friends, I kind of have a craft & cocktail night anyway about once a week with someone near and dear.

Those projects, however, are typically one on one on a night there are no kids and my husband has his weekly band practice. I often use those nights for experimenting like mad. Sometimes those creations make it to the blog. Other times they don’t.

This past Thursday my husband’s band, Virginia Electric, actually had a gig so we skipped the weekly craft shindig for music. I headed out to hear my husband’s band play and my friend Bambi hit a local venue to hear her friend’s band. The Thursday before however, we tried two new fab red wines and painted birdhouses.

It was ridiculously enjoyable. We did get a little crazy though when I thought it’d be a marvelous idea to paint the kitchen tabletop. (If you follow me on instagram it’s likely you’ve already seen that disaster.)

We sort of got WAY into it and the whole incident became a “blow off steam/sensory play” experience. It was quite fun and I recommend everyone do it at least once in their lives – but definitely do it outside.

A post shared by Soap Deli News Blog (@soapdeli) on Jun 16, 2017 at 7:04pm PDT

The tabletop ended up looking like a smear of mud so in the end, I cleaned off the tabletop – leaving only a few streaks of glitter behind that didn’t come off – and slaved a bit over the kitchen clean up. We had started by splattering paint and squirting it onto the table so by the end of the night there was paint on the floor and the walls and randomly in the strangest of places.

A post shared by Soap Deli News Blog (@soapdeli) on Jun 16, 2017 at 7:02pm PDT

My husband was rightfully a bit miffed. It was quite the disaster to walk in on. And he walked in as I was attempting to mop the kitchen floor – a feat that only made the floor look worse. Think a film of a mud like colored substance everywhere the mop had been. So I got down and dirty with towels and kitchen cleaner and pretty much scrubbed the kitchen floor on my hands and knees along with the table, chairs, walls and even the sides of the cabinets. Thus, should you ever repeat this exercise in complete lack of self control, I highly recommend you take it outside.

The next day there were muddy paint footprints I scrubbed off the wood floor – along with Bambi who had her own footprints she took home with her.

Still, there were and are no regrets because it was the most amazing time! And luckily, having spent quite a few years raising two daughters, my husband was a lot more understanding than I would have been had I walked in on the same disastrous aftermath.

If you want to paint your own birdhouses, this is actually a great project for the family if you skip the cocktail part of it. You can find the birdhouses online at Target.com here. (I hadn’t seen these at my local Target, but they also tend to sell out of crafty supplies and materials there rather quickly.)

A post shared by Lavish- Clean Intentions (@lavishcleanintentions) on Mar 2, 2017 at 8:02am PST

Some other wonderful things I’ve enjoyed this week include this beautiful handmade soap from Lavish Clean Intentions. It’s scented with spearmint and eucalyptus and is one of my favorite handmade soaps shared using the hashtag #soapdelishowoff on instagram this week.

I’ve also found a new favorite white wine – Three Thieves 2015 Pinot Grigio. It’s a steal at $10 a bottle and of course, there’s an additional dollar off per bottle when I buy six at Kroger!

As there’s always a question about using preservatives in homemade skin care products, a great article I recently rediscovered and pinned to my DIY Bath and Body Pinterest board is this one from Soap Queen blog. It will help you answer the question as to whether or not your homemade product needs a preservative. And if so, what is the best preservative to use for your product type.

I’m also in love with the Pork Dumplings Recipe from HelloFresh. This is the second time I’ve ordered this meal with my box as it’s so amazing! I’m cooking this for dinner tonight pre-party. If you’re not a HelloFresh subscriber you can sign up here and get $40 off your first order.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend and that you all have a super creative inspiring week next week! See you then!

Also, if you don’t already follow me, be sure to check me out on G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram for more great DIY ideas. Or sign up to receive new posts from Soap Deli News blog to your email via FeedBurner so you never miss a post.

Filed Under: DIY Craft Project, My Life Day to Day Tagged With: birdhouse, crafts, creative, diy, fun, inspiration, painting, weekly wrap up

Weekly Wrap Up (Week of June 4th-June 10th)

June 10, 2017 By Rebecca D. Dillon

It’s my birthday! And as a fellow soaper and facebook friend so eloquently put it, it’s my double 21st birthday! Can’t complain about that. I have super awesome friends, I’m doing what I love for a living, I have a shiny new husband and all my needs are met. So this is indeed a wonderful birthday. (It also doesn’t hurt that I can get away looking quite a few years younger.)

A post shared by Soap Deli News Blog (@soapdeli) on Jun 9, 2017 at 5:12pm PDT

So, I don’t normally have a birthday party for myself, but this year I am throwing a birthday party not only for myself, but also for my dear friend, Cathy, who’s birthday is just three short days after mine. We are both turning 42 and know each other from all the way back in junior high school. We’re having a few good friends over for pitcher margaritas and to paint paper mache unicorns. Because, why not?

Last night I took time out to hack these mini pineapple party hats into some super amazing unicorn inspired glitter glam party hats using some Krylon Short Cuts Spray Paint, this glitter set, and a clear acrylic sealer. Aren’t they fun?

I’ve also been playing around with some free printable unicorn stickers I found via Pinterest, painting the borders with ella + milla Elite Drippin’ Gold glitter nail polish. I’m debating grabbing some plastic Solo cups last minute and adding the stickers to those, but they could end up as cupcake toppers as well.

All of that awesome aside, I am also in the midst of a free trial to Thrive Market. Not only did I discover and fall in love with Vigilant Eats Goji Cacao Superfood Cereal, but I also gave Dr. Harvey’s Canine Multi-Vitamins a try for my dog, Jasper. I didn’t realize when I bought it that it’s actually a powder and not a soft chew like I was expecting. But surprisingly Jasper absolutely LOVES this stuff. And as he’s aging – he’ll be 9 in August – I’m more careful about his dietary and health needs.

And, both because Jasper simply loves this stuff and he’s starting to get arthritis in his front knees, I’m going to purchase Dr. Harvey’s Canine Ortho-Flex Vitamins the next time around.

If you’d like to try Thrive Market, you can sign up here.

I am also trying a new meal delivery service called Terra’s Kitchen. Terra’s Kitchen ships out organic meals of your choice along with extra proteins, fruits, salads and smoothies as desired in a reusable vessel that cuts down on waste!

I love that they offer more options and choices for customization – choose family or two serving meals without changing your plan! – for comparable prices to other services. They use clean ingredients that plant-strong, heart-healthy, and offer a healthy balance of essential nutrients.

There are also paleo, vegan, gluten-free and other dietary restriction options on their menu of 50+ recipes. Plus, every meal comes with a cardstock recipe card with holes already punched in them so they fit neatly into a 3-ring binder upon arrival.

Even better, all of the ingredients are pre-prepped so every meal can be made in 30 minutes or less. This not only saves time if you have a super busy lifestyle, but you don’t dirty as many dishes in the process of cooking as you ordinarily would cooking all of your meals from scratch.

Once you’ve emptied your vessel, you simply peel off the shipping label to reveal the return shipping label and place the vessel back where it was dropped off. They then come back and pick up the vessel. Cool, right? And there’s literally no more waste than if you were to go shopping at the grocery store. (While I also love HelloFresh, recycling and/or throwing out the waste from packaging took up a lot of space in my bins. Plus there is the additional prep.)

If you’d like to give Terra’s Kitchen a try, you’ll receive a $40 credit on your first order when you sign up here. You may also want to check out my Recipes Pinterest board if you love to cook!

A post shared by lotusbtr. (@lotusbtr) on Jun 2, 2017 at 12:39pm PDT

I’m also quite in love with some of the awesome bath and body photos you all have been sharing on instagram this week via the #soapdelishowoff! I simply love the colors in this handmade soap from lotusbtr. Body Care!

Well, I’m off to finish getting the house in order for tonight’s event and also decorate some chocolate cupcakes with a ridiculous amount of pink icing, pink sugar and sprinkles! I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! And don’t forget, you can find and follow me on G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram. Or sign up to receive new posts from Soap Deli News blog to your email via FeedBurner so you never miss a post.

Filed Under: My Life Day to Day, Shopping Tagged With: diy, food, meal delivery service, party, party hack, party hat, party ideas, shopping, unicorn, weekly wrap up

Weekly Wrap Up (Week of May 14th-May 20th)

May 20, 2017 By Rebecca D. Dillon

Well, a LOT has happened since last week. This past Wednesday I got married! It was a super simple affair that took place in around 60 seconds in my living room, but it all also happened rather quickly. Rick, my new husband, was at one point my ex-fiance. But life sometimes pulls you in crazy directions for a reason and within a week we’d made the decision to get married. We mostly told everyone after the event, but we are planning a wedding reception a month or two down the road so friends and family can come celebrate. I’m super stoked though and crazy happy.

My marriage came with stepkids who are pretty frickin’ awesome. Thursday Hannah (who’s 11) and Isaac (who’s 13) helped me pull together this awesome outdoor dining space for us to enjoy as a new family. (I bought the entire set at Target.)

And today Hannah painted a kick ass paper mache unicorn from Target’s Kid Made Modern line. (There’s also a third, Abbie, who’s currently planning for college, but we only have every other weekend.)

I also got my hands on a bar cart – finally! – that I’d been lusting after forever. It finally went on sale and once I bought it it promptly sold out. I splurged a little on a set of matching copper martini glasses and rose flowers also from Target and a really nice Prince of Scots Professional Serie Boston Style Cocktail Shaker Set from Amazon. I still have to dig through Pinterest for some ideas on styling a bar cart though. Currently the bottom shelf is completely empty.

Currently I’m crushing on this gorgeous large flower temporary tattoo from Siideways.

And these Pineapple Mango Unicorn Horn Bath Fizzies from Golden Sapphire Boutique. (You can also follow Golden Sapphire Boutique on Instagram so you don’t miss out on any of her awesome creations.)

If you have time to squeeze in yet another new DIY project on an upcoming weekend, A Pumpkin & A Princess blog has a new tutorial on how to make your own unicorn horn bath bombs. You just need to grab these ice pop molds from Amazon then check out the list of materials and the recipe here.

I’m looking forward to sharing lots of new bath and body recipes with you all this coming week! Also, if you’d like a chance to see your bath & body creations featured on my next weekly wrap up post, simply add the hashtag #soapdelishowoff to your instagram and twitter posts when you share them!

Also don’t forget you can find & follow me on Pinterest, G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram. Or sign up to receive new posts from Soap Deli News blog to your email via FeedBurner so you never miss a post.

Filed Under: My Life Day to Day Tagged With: bath bomb recipe, family, outdoor dining, tattoos, unicorn, weekly wrap up