Upcoming Shows

Just sent in my forms for some craft shows!  If you are close by, come visit us at one of these upcoming shows.


April 16 & 17, 2011
Big Shanty Festival
Kennesaw, GA


May 7 & 8, 2011
May-retta Daze Arts & Crafts Festival
Marietta, GA at the Marietta Square


October 8, 2011
Powder Springs Day Festival
Downtown Powder Springs, GA

Also, Revive now has its very own website!  Please check it out.  Any feedback would be great!

www.reviveyourbath.com

Have a great weekend!!

Caitlin

What is Valentine's Day?

Every February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from?

The holiday of Valentine's Day probably came from the ancient Roman feast called "Lupercalia." In the early days of Rome, dangerous wolves lived in the forest nearby. The Romans called upon one of their gods, Lupercus, to keep the wolves away. A festival held in honor of Lupercus was celebrated February 15th. The festival was celebrated as a spring festival. Their calender was different at that time, with February falling in early springtime.

One of the customs of Lupercalia for young people was called "name-drawing." On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and put in a jar. Each young man drew a piece of paper with a name on it. The girl whose name was chosen would be his sweetheart for the year.

Legend says that the holiday became Valentine's Day after a priest named Valentine. Valentine was a priest in Rome at the time when Christianity was a new religion. The Emperor at that time was Claudius II. He ordered the Roman soldiers NOT to marry or become engaged. Claudius believed that as married men, his soldiers would want to stay home with their families rather than fight his wars. Valentine disobeyed the Emperor's order and secretly married the young couples. He was eventually arrested, imprisoned, and executed.

Valentine was beheaded on February 14th, the eve of the Roman holiday Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Rome became more Christian, the priests moved the spring holiday from the 15th of February to the 14th - Valentine's Day. Now the holiday honored Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.

Information from http://www.english-zone.com/holidays/v-day.html


Happy Valentines Day!
Caitlin

Sweet Citrus

Here are a few pictures of my Sweet Citrus soap from this past weekend!

Have a Reviving day!

Caitlin :)

New Patchouli Soap

Hey bloggers!

At my last market, I had many people ask if I had any soaps scented with patchouli essential oil.  Well, I'm not much of a patch lover, so I had not come up with a blend I liked very much.  I have decided since so many people want soap with patchouli in it, I would try a few blends to see what my family and I liked the best.  I made 3 mixes.  One was lime, lavender, and patch.  The next was litsea, lavender, and patch.  And the last one was lime, tangerine, and patch.  After letting them sit for a few days, I let my family sniff them to see what they liked best.  The litsea, lavender, patch was the unanimous favorite!  However, I wasn't really that excited about making it since I'm not much of a patchouli lover...however, after I mixed the blend into the soap, it really does have a really nice, pleasant smell.  My sister had a few friends over the night after I had made the new patchouli soap, and everyone was asking her what smelled sooo good.  That's when I knew this new soap would be a hit!  

I colored the soap with dark blue and yellow.  I did a two color in the pot swirl, however, the yellow sorta took over the uncolored soap.  It was my first two colored ITPS, and I think it turned out great!  I did a drizzle-type topping (which I personally LOVE).  I think I am going to get some titanium dioxide(a natural white colorant) for my next batch- that way the main soap will stay white while allowing the yellow and blue swirls to *POP*  I think that would be a beautiful soap!  

Here are some pictures of my newest soap.  I do not have a name for it yet, so if you have any ideas, let me know!  I used 2 parts patchouli, 3 parts litsea, and 1 part lavender so the scent is a natural lemon-y, earthy, spicy scent and the lavender gives it a very slight sweet undertone.  

This is the 3lb test log.  It was so beautiful when I unmolded it.  I was so excited to get to cut the bars!

This is the top - beautiful!!!

Cut bars - The swirl turned out almost perfectly.  You can see though that the yellow took over the uncolored soap.  With titanium dioxide, hopefully that problem will be resolved.

And my new soap stamp!  I love this stamp that Bern made for me.  You can read about how to get your own stamp in my previous post!

If you have any name ideas, please leave them in the comments!  
I would love to have your input.

Also, check back to see some pictures of my Sweet Citrus batches unmolded, cut, and stamped in my next post!

Have a Reviving Sunday!!

Caitlin

Soap Stamp

Bern, a member I met on The Dish Forum (www.thedishforum.com), made me a soap stamp for my soaps!  I am very excited about this stamp.

That is the stamp he made me.  It's an acrylic material; it works really good with the soap and is very easy to wash!

And here are a few pictures of my NEW Lemontini soap... I changed the recipe to add poppy seeds in it.  IT really gives it a more natural feel.  I love the little poppy seeds!

I have made a new label to go on my soaps that will show off my soap stamp.  I'll post a picture of that later along with some other soaps stamped!

If you are interested in getting a soap stamp for your soap, email Bern and bernieheins@gmail.com

Wow - I haven't updated in awhile because things have been a little hectic around here!  I finished my first semester of college with a 3.62/4.0 GPA - pretty snazzy!  Spring semester has already begun, and I am taking English, Science, Calculus, Microeconomics (My first business class!), and Communications.

I am trying to come up with a new soap scent - one that includes patchouli.  Patch seems to be a favorite to many people, and for some soapers, it is their best selling soap.  I am thinking about doing a Patchouli, Litsea, and Lavender essential oil blend.  I mixed the scents and I'm letting them sit for a few days to mix before I ask my family what they think.  The litsea (a lemongrass type smelling EO) really takes the edge off of the patchouli.  If you are a patch lover, what are some of your favorite EO mixes?!  Any and all input helps!  

Have a Reviving day!

Caitlin