We've Expanded!!

We are very excited to have expanded our shop. We have a great shop in a fabulously cute mini mall in a historic part of Prescott Arizona...but then the lil spot next door to us came open...should we...shouldnt we...no we shouldnt...so someone else moved in....but then they didnt stay...so again the offer...should we...shouldnt we...WE DID! Time will tell if this was a good move. For now it feels good and has opened our space to a better flow...

We started with taking the wall down that separated the two shops, and put up plastic as we readied the space next door for the merge....Then came the day we were ready to...tear...that...plastic...down!!

 

And here we are...I don't mean to brag...oh wait, yes I do...we did a fabulous job and have a beautiful store!!! Penelope looks regal in her new spot. :)

 

I love having the bath and body all on one wall...now time to get making and stocking for the Holiday season! :)

Big "Beefy" Bars...Coming Soon...

What is a Big "Beefy" Bar you ask? Well not only is it a bigger heftier bar of soap in comparison to our usual size....but it contains beef tallow as one of the oils.


Why beef tallow when vegan/vegetable soap is more popular? We like to offer a variety of products to suit everyones needs, and there are quite a few people who enjoy Beef Tallow in their soap. It does makes a nice bar of soap with a rich and creamy lather.

Here is a size comparison to one of our regular bars...



Coming soon we will offer a few Big "Beefy" Bars in a variety of scents....pictured is Green Tea Cucumber...

...And Gingered Apples.

Shampoo Bars

This weekend I tried something new. Shampoo bars....solid shampoo. I like this concept and think it is perfect for travel and/or gym bags. No liquids with a chance for leaking. So I thought I would give it a whirl....First melt everything....


Then everything went fast to keep it at the right temp and into the molds, because once removed from the heat source it cooled down fast, and 10 degrees makes a big difference on keeping it more fluid and easier to work with....but I got it into the mold as best I could...

Check out the bubblage on clean up :)....

Here are the bars unmolded....

One thing I would do different next time is to keep the pan on the double boiler instead of removing it from the heat onto the counter while filling the molds...I think that would have bought me a little more time in getting the mold packed better for a smoother appearance??

I scented them Green Tea & Cucumber and tinted them with a smidge of green mica....I will let you know what my testers think about them. :)

New Cards for the Shop...

Oldest daughter and I went to card class last night, and we made some really nice cards for the new shop....

Cathy made this beautiful Easter card that we think we will duplicate for Mothers day as well.


Cathy also made this Bliss card...this Bliss set is so classy and no matter how you use it the cards always look great!

I made this "Just for You" card...I love the color combinations.

I also made this Springtime Smiles card...I keep thinking I do not want to buy this stamp set, but this lil girl is so adorable I think I can no longer resist.

We both made Easter Basket cards...I love the polka dot texture in the background, and how cute is this lil chickee?!

We also both made this Southern Belle...which turned out to be our fave for the night...how gorgeous is she!!

I think we will have a great starting selction to fill our card rack!

First Candle Done

The first candle for our shop is completed. Our oldest daughter does a fabulous job hand painting onto candles....and yes you can burn the candle. As the candle burns it melts down the center leaving the painted outer shell. So here is a sneak peek at one of the candles, with more to come. :)

Where to put everything...

We are getting there...it feels like a slow process, but we are making strides.

Here is the start of the sheet display, kept plain because the sheets will add COLOR! Still need to add the base to the display and get the bed built...

Here is where the lotions will reside, hand painted candles in the corner unit...and lots of fun stuff planned for the island....

This is the planned kids section. We have some great things coming courtesy of Sassy Soapworks and I cant wait to get everything displayed....

We did a lot of measuring and list making today of all the needed items to complete set up, hoping this week to get things priced and over to the shop to begin the puzzle of.....Where to put everything....

The Beginning!!

If you havent already heard....Luster Canyon is going B&M. (Brick & Mortar)

We are planning for an April 1 open...so there is a LOT to get done!!

First up is painting....of course we want to keep our signature colors, so the existing colors must go...Here are the existing colors and to give you a sneak peek at the space...

And so we begin.....

Whipped Soap

My friend and I tried a new soap making technique this past weekend. It is whipped soap, you dont melt any of the oils down, just add to the mixer and start whipping, and add very cold lye water to it. It was a fun process and I cant wait to cut the bars and see how they soap up.

Here are the hard oils being whipped. Palm Oil, Coconut Oil & Beef Tallow.



Now we add the soft oils, Olive Oil & Castor Oil.

Pouring in the lye water.

Adding the lime based essentail oil blend.

Whipping...whipping...and whipping some more....

We added a green color to match the theme of the scent and then poured it in the log. In a couple days we will cut the bars and hopefully I will have something good to show you. :)

Welcome to Luster Canyon

I have very sensitive skin, so in my quest for milder products I fell in love with the process of making bath and body products for myself. I started with a simple lotion bar recipe, then tried lip balms for my daughter, after that I was intrigued with creating lotion, and have now broadened to soap making.

My products, although made with a lot of natural ingredients, are not considered as “all natural”. In my opinion, unless absolutely everything in your product has grown on a tree or in the ground…it is not “all natural”. Some items need a preservative, some are flavored/scented and/or colored and of course sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide are used in making soap. However all of my products are handcrafted from scratch.

At Luster Canyon, Inc. we use quality ingredients, beginning our soap recipes with a variety of vegetable oils such as Coconut, Olive and Palm. We then add specialty oils and butters, that when combined together bring all the best qualities to your completed bar of soap. Fragrance oils or essential oils are sometimes added for scent, and for color or design; we use cosmetic-grade micas, pigments, dyes and natural herbs and spices.For those with allergies or sensitivities, we can also make a more basic soap with no additional additives or scents.

We handcraft a variety of products including:

• Soaps
• Lotions
• Creams
• Whipped Body Butter
• Bath Fizzies
• Sugared Body Scrubs
• Lip Balms
• Arnica Sore Muscle Rub

Check our etsy shop out.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7767149