The Secret Santa Elves Arrive by Sleigh!!

Giggles Twinklewink, Freckles Mincemeat and Dimples Tumblefluff arrive tomorrow via sleigh to my grandkids home. For those of you following my blog, you know that there are two things I love in life... SOAP and my GRANDKIDS.

The secret elves is a new tradition this year for the grandkids and it's truly been a labor of love considering my busy work schedule. My daughter is a K-8 Assistant Principal and as a Mom to a six, three, and 18 month year old, I knew she would never have time to put this whole event together. Every extra minute I've had to spare has been commited to this 14-day Secret Elf event.

Tomorrow the elves will land on the front porch of the grandkids home along with passports, naughty & nice folders, and a letter from Santa explaining their arrival. The Magic Elves will remain with the kids until Christmas Eve at which time Santa will collect them as he make his deliveries. Any mischief or acts of naughtiness will be recorded in the journals and a report will be given to Santa on who has been naughty and who has been nice. These Magic Elves will explore the house from top to bottom to make sure that everyone in the family is behaving themselves.

Of course, these Magic Elves can be very mischievous and I have a whole agenda of what will transpire. I think the kids will get a big kick out of this new holiday tradition. If you would like to see the letter I composed from Santa and the passports/naughty/nice folders I designed, please email me. I would be happy to share.

A Helpful Soap Making Tip for Adding Color

When you work with Melt and Pour soap, you typically melt the soap base, then stir in the color and fragrances. If, however, you overheat your product, the heat can negatively change the nature of the color. The most common problem is with speckling. Speckling is flecks or clumps of color that will not dissolve into the soap base and no amount of stirring will help. The above photo is a perfect example of "color speckling".

The hotter the medium, the worse the speckling. You will not know if your color is sensitive to excessive heat until you run into the problem. If you do, try working with lower temperatures. We have found that the powder pigments present the greatest potential for speckling though it can occur with certain liquid gel colors as well.

Before adding any color (gels, liquid, or powder) we suggest allowing the soap to cool down to a temperature of 140 degrees. If you can comfortably dip your pinkie finger into the melted soap, it's a good temp for adding color. GoPlanet's Neon purple and Chromium Green Oxide have been known to speckle when we have added the color at high temps. If using these colors, allow soap to cool until a thin skin of soap forms on the top. Break through the skin to add the color and stir until you no longer see any color flecks. You can then reheat the soap to a pourable temperature.

Use patience when working with colors. Keep in mind that colorants are raw materials and there can be inconsistencies with their use, i.e., speckling or dots of undispersed color. With patience and the right pouring temp you can overcome the speckling issue.

Happy Holidays from the GoPlanetEarth Staff

Every year my company hosts a Christmas holiday dinner for employees. In the past, the dinner has been at a restaurant. This year, my husband elected to cook dinner for all of us and Chef Carson (pictured front) was his assistance. Carson welcomed each guest, took coats, handed out holiday slippers for everyone to wear, and was in charge of Bingo Bucks. Bingo bucks is something I occasionally do at staff luncheons. Everyone gets two bingo cards and there are two winners per round. The prizes include gift cards and cash and it has proven to be a big hit. It's just one of the ways that GoPlanet tries to show appreciation to our dedicated workers.

Chef Carson

Chef Chris

Christmas is only a few weeks away. We've all been working like crazy to process orders and ship everything timely. In the midst of all this chaos, I didn't want to forget to wish each of our customers a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. May this season bring you joy and many wonderful moments with family and friends.

Bath Butter Scrub Recipe

It's time again for my annunal Holiday Soap Night with the Bunco gals. Tonight we are doing 3 projects. Soap crayons for the grandkids and 2 projects for us girls... a Bath Butter Scrub and Body Butter Lotion. When you get to be middle-aged, you need all the pampering you can get.


Below is the Bath Butter Scrub recipe that we are using for Soap Night. If you would like to purchase the entire kit, you can do so on the GoPlanetEarth web site. A limited number of kits are being offered until the end of the year. You will want to order early to ensure you get one. The kit includes labels, jars, and all the ingredients needed to make (4) body butter scrubs. The only thing not included is the sugar which is readily available from your pantry or a local grocer. There are two fragrance choices offered with the kit: Japanese Cherry Blossom (makes a pink color body scrub) and Olive Asian Tapenade (makes a yellow color body scrub as shown below).

The finished product is perfect for gift-giving. This type of scrub sells for up to $30 a jar. Make your own for a fraction of the cost!

RECIPE:

Fills two 8-ounce jars

• 16 ounces of bath butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of glycerin
• 8 drops of DWP colorant
  2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons of fragrance oil
• 3/4 cup sugar (we used standard white sugar that you bake with)
• 1 cup medium coarse sea salts
  

Whip the bath butter with electric mixer unitl it begins to get smooth. Then add the glycerin, color and sugar. Continue mixing until light and fluffy. Fold in the medium coarse sea salt and fragrance. Spoon mixture into jar.

NOTE: If you find it difficult to get the mixture into the jar, do the following:

Scoop all of the mixture from the mixing bowl into a 4-cup microwaveable dish. A glass measuring cup works well. Set microwave on medium heat and heat the mixture for 3 minutes, remove and stir gently. Place back in the microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes. DO NOT OVERHEAT. Every microwave heats differently, so keep your eye on the mixture. You just want the mixture soft enough to pour into the jar.

Are you on the CYBER MONDAY A-LIST?

Our Annual Cyber Monday Newsletter just went out. Were you on the A-List to receive savings of up to 20% on products and shipping? This year, we are also offering FREE gifts to the first 25 shoppers who find the special check mark hidden within our web site.

If you aren't already signed up to receive our newsletter, this would be the time to do so. Throughout the year our newsletter subscribers receive many perks and savings not offered to the general public. You will also want to sign up for our "Preferred Customer Discount (PCD Program) that offers a 3% savings on all online orders of $35 or more in product.

Drop us an email ane we'll send you more info about the PCD program.

Operation Christmas Shoe Boxes Ship Today

Today, we started shipping Operation Christmas Shoe Boxes to Samaritan's Purse. There are no words to thank the many customers who generously donated $$'s for this worthwhile Christmas project. Each shoe box is filled with toiletry items, small toys, school supplies and other personal items and shipped to needy children around the globe.

We will continue to collect donations via our shopping cart until December 15. Any additional monies received will be sent in the form of a monetary donation to help under-privileged countries purchase basic medical supplies.

Missy, one of our long-time employees wore her "Pay it Forward" bracelet today as she packed the boxes. My staff jumped in 100% to support this project and are excited to track the boxes to find out their final destination.

Send a Christmas card to our soldiers!

Here's an opportunity to show your apprecation to our military personnel this holiday season.

1) Select a postcard

2) Personalize a message

3) Send


Thanks to Xerox for their "Let's Say Thanks to Our Troops" Christmas card program.

HO,HO,HO~ Skating Reindeer Melt & Pour Soap

A simple beginner's project that uses Mold Market’s duck pond mold and a bendable reindeer. Add a few sprigs of pine, a sprinkle or two of mica flakes and you’ve got a great soap for holiday gift-giving. Goplanet's FREE tutorial video will show you just how easy it is to make this whimsical soap.