Happy New Year!!

We've got some big plans at Bean Street Market for the New Year!  Some great new products are in the works, which I'm really excited about.  Also, we're moving into a spacious new Soap Studio- more on that very soon!

Wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas!!

Here are some finished Christmas gift baskets we made for friends and loved ones-

Christmas Cranberry Bath Salts, Shea Butter and Silk Soap, and Sprayable Body Lotion (Brand new… look for it after the New Year!)

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas full of blessings!

Snowflake Inspirations

Check out this website: http://www.snowcrystals.com/

According to the website: "These pictures show real snow crystals that fell to earth in Northern Ontario, Alaska, Vermont, the Michigan Upper Peninsula, and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. They were captured by Kenneth G. Libbrecht using a specially designed snowflake photomicroscope."

Amazing!

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas… hey, it could happen… Houston got 2 inches two weeks ago!!

O Christmas Tree

We decorated the Christmas Tree this weekend!

Hope everyone is having a fun and peace-filled holiday season!

Color and Pattern Inspiration

Look at this cool picture my husband just sent me!



He found it randomly surfing on the web- I believe it came from a Chinese digital wallpaper website.  I love the color combinations and, of course, the flowers..

Oatmeal Milk and Honey Soap

These scrumptious bars are our latest creation at Bean Street Market! 

Made with our Goat's Milk Soap, ground oatmeal, and real honey, it's great for sensitive skin.  Available now at Bean Street!

Fresh Batch of Mint Mojito

A new batch of Mint Mojito Soap, with a new swirly curl!

 Get yours here, or as part of of our Minty Goodness Gift Box!

Disney and Food Network!!

The elves here at Bean Street have been so busy packing and shipping soaps and goodies for the holidays, there hasn't been much time for blogging!! 

We've got some new soaps to share with you, but for now, I just wanted to share something coming up this weekend-

Two of my favorite things are Disneyworld, and Food Network... and I get to have both this weekend!  Food Network is showing a special with Guy Fieri and all the great holiday food at Disney- can't wait!!  Tune in with me Saturday December 5 at  9 pm eastern...

Who Gets What?

I got a customer's email today asking which of our gifts sets to choose for the people on her Christmas list.  Because we want holiday shopping to be as fun and stress-free as possible, I thought I'd put some of these ideas here...

Home for the Holidays

Warm, homey scents.  Good for the Christmas hostess, Grandma, holiday gift exchanges.

Apricot Freesia

Sweet and Fruity.  Good for girly-girls who love to spend hours pampering... sisters, moms, best friends, and guys, listen up: your wife!!

Holiday Pomegranate

Clean and Fruity.  Good for just about anybody- one of our best sellers!

Lemon Kitchen

Fresh and Clean.  Great for cooks- anybody who loves to work in the kitchen.

Winter Bonsai

Cool and Crisp.  Great for guys, but women love this scent too.

6 Soap Sampler

For that picky person on your list (you know who they are!)  Or, split up the set and use as stocking stuffers!

Minty Goodness

This one is great for guys and gals- perfect to share with your sweetheart!

Hope this helps with your holiday shopping!  We will be shipping the weekend orders bright and early Monday morning!!

Something for Everyone!

We've got a great new product at Bean Street Market- our 6 Soap Sampler!

We pack 6 of our pretty, handmade soaps into a gift box- a great way for you to try six of our moisturizing, specialty, lovely-scented soaps.  And of course, it makes a great gift...I think this would make the perfect Secret Santa present!

Available at Bean Street Market!

Inspiration Tuesday- Happy Tape!

Okay, I just bought some... Happy Tape! 

I found thes perusing the latest Martha Stewart Living magazine...As usual, I'm drawn to color, and these Japanese masking tapes are so lovely!  I'm thinking how pretty these would be wrapped around kraft paper wrapped packages for Christmas... or maybe around a bar of soap!   Hmmm...

National Pomegranate Month

So November is National Pomegranate Month…and we love Pomegranate at Bean Street Market!  Check out all of our Pomegranate offerings available at our new online store, including our new Holiday Pomegranate Gift Box:

It includes Bath Salts, Sugar Cube Scrubs, and 2 of our Starry Starry Soaps, all boxed up with a gift card and ready to give!

Grand Opening!

Today's the big day!  The Grand Opening of the Bean Street Market online store!!  (eek!) 

Stop by and take a look around, and let us know what you think! (and buy something, too!)  ;)

Autumn in Texas

My husband took these pictures for me this afternoon-

Lovely Virginia Creeper and wild berries twining along the live oak trees in our back yard!

New Goat's Milk Soap

We've got a brand new soap at Bean Street: Goat's Milk Soap! 

Goat's milk is a great addition to soap.  It contains vitamins A, B6, B12, and E, and makes for a very creamy, moisturizing soap.  These are our first goat's milk soaps, and I have to say, I *really* like this soap!  Very sudsy, and it doesn't dry my skin... can't wait to make all kinds of goat's milk soaps!!

Mmmm...Fruitcake!

Finally!  Fruitcake you'll love!

Don't these soapy creations look yummy enough to eat? 

Featured on Etsy Texas Crafters!

We were featured today on the Etsy Texas Crafters Blog!  Our Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice Shea Butter Soaps got the shout out-

Way to go, Punkin!  And thanks so much to the Etsy Texans!

Inspiration Tuesday- Fiestaware

I'm going to change up Tuesdays for a while, from Travels to Inspirations!  I love (love love) color, which is one of the things I enjoy most about soapmaking- the color choices and combinations are limited only by the imagination.  One of the blogs I follow is ColourLovers, and yesterday they had a great post about Fiesta Dinnerware!  So many beautiful colors!!

This week, I'm going to try and duplicate some of these brilliant Fiesta colors in some soap...and I may just ask for some more Fiestaware for Christmas...

Mint Lavender Soap

This Mint Lavender Soap is heavy on the mint, light on the lavender (that's why it's green & white instead of purple & white :)

Another one of our clean, soapy scents, good for Him or Her!

Bonsai!

Working with our new Bonsai scent!

These shea butter soaps have a fresh, soapy scent, touched with a little evergreen- great for the guy in your life!

Travel Tuesday- San Antonio Botanical Gardens

San Antonio is just around the corner from here, and there's all kinds of things to do.  These are some photos from a weekend trip we took to the Botanical Gardens downtown.

We actually went in January- one of the benefits of living in central Texas- flowers bloom year round!

Introducing Bath Salts!

We've got a brand new product here at Bean Street!  Soothing, luxurious bath salts, made with Dead Sea Salts. 

Dead Sea Salts contains more minerals than regular sea salt, which is mostly sodium chloride (table salt).  These minerals, including magnesium, calcum, bromide and potassium, are believed to have numerous benefits to the skin and body. 

They come in several yummy scents- this Pomegranate one is my current favorite!

Bean Street Market on Facebook!

Well, I guess I'm the last person in the universe on Facebook!  So, now that I'm finally "socially networking", check out Bean Street Market's Fan Page...

Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest

This Saturday is the Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest!

Wine tastings from many of our Texas wineries are on offer, as well as food, cooking classes, specialty booths, and entertainment.  The Fest will be held at the Marktplatz on Main Street.  Stop by if you're in the neighborhood!

Edit: So we went today and had so much fun! LOTS of people there- wine samples and by the glass,  olive oil and salsa and jelly vendors, and music!

Travel Tuesday- Riviera Maya

This beautiful stretch of beach south of Cancun, Mexico is another one of my favorite places anywhere!

We took a long weekend several years ago and fell in love! We stayed at one of the many all-inclusive resorts on the beach. Mayan ruins, fantastic coral reef snorkeling, and lots of relaxation. One of the best trips we ever took!

Fresh Batch of Sugar Cube Scrubs

Just completed a fresh batch of our Sugar Cube Scrubs!

The Pomegranate Sugar Cubes are a nice complementary scent to the Starry Starry Soaps,

and the Pumpkin Spice Cubes go perfectly with our Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice Soaps- a wonderful autumn duo!

And... We're Back

A variety of things have kept me away from the computer and blogging lately... hopefully, we're back on track! And here's our latest soapy creation...

Swirls and Stripes!  A fruity, sweet scent of citrus and peach salsa, with bright mica colors in a shea butter soap.

Travel Tuesday- Everest

Okay, okay, it's not the real Mt. Everest. I'm just not brave enough to do anything that extreme! But I am extreme enough to ride Expedition Everest at Disney World over and over and over again...

If you've never been, it's one of the best themed attractions- at Disney or anywhere! And today, I wish I was riding the coaster with the Yeti!

Featured on ByHand Gallery!

Our Fuzzy Navel Shea Butter Soap has been spotlighted on ByHand Gallery!

Here's what ByHand Gallery is all about, in their own words:

ByHand.me is the brainchild of M. Adam Kendall. Adam created byhand as a
way for artists to connect and promote their work free of the venues that host
their listings. He felt artists should be promoting themselves, their work, and
each other.

One of the tools Adam created at byhand was a revolutionary way to share
handmade work, called Spotlights. Spotlights allow byhand members to create
small galleries of artists' work and share those galleries, both on the byhand
site itself and just about anywhere else on the internet as well. Clicking on an
item that interests you in a Spotlight takes you directly to the artists'
listing for that item no matter where that listing may be.

Byhand Galleries is a collection of the best "Treasury" Spotlights...
Spotlights created around a theme that allows the Spotlight itself to become a
work of art. So enjoy, click on the work that interests you, and when you can,
buy handmade!

And thanks to Beth at BPR Designs for including us in her spotlight!

Travel Tuesday- The Catskills

This week's Travel Tuesday is another one on my list of places to see- The Catskills in upstate New York.

And, as you can see by the picture, fall is *the* time to visit. Festivals, Arts & Crafts fairs, Oktoberfests, pumpkin patches, and of course, glorious fall color! And I've done my homework- Visit the Catskills, The Catskill Guide, etc... I've even got the Catskill Region Waterfall Guide- a great resource to finding all the beautiful waterfalls in the area. Sigh... someday soon!

Cranberry Orange Olive Oil Soap- Just for Me!

Things are dry around here, even when we're not in the middle of a drought. My skin is no exception, especially as we move into the cooler months.


So I made this little guy just for me, in anticipation of the change in seasons. I started with our olive oil soap and added EXTRA olive oil (I mean a lot!) and scented it with cranberry and orange fragrances. Because it's got so much oil, it doesn't lather much, but oooo, my skin feels so soft when I step out of the shower!

For a Friend

A friend of mine had made a special blend of essential oils for herself, but was having some trouble with the carrier oil. The oil she was using was too, well, oily, and it was kind of making a mess. So I took her essential oils formula and made two products for her.





The first is a basic hand and body cream, made with jojoba oil & shea butter. The second is a product I've been making for myself for a while, called Body Dressing. It separates in the bottle into the water and the oils (like a vinagrette, hence the name 'Body Dressing'), and you shake it up before spritzing onto your skin. It's very light and cooling, and I love to use it especially during the summer months just out of the shower when I want a little moisturization without a heavy or sticky feel.

Travel Tuesday- Duke Gardens, North Carolina

While we do get some fall foliage here in Texas, it's usually not as dramatic as some other parts of the country, and it's much later in the season, too. But the weather has turned cooler (mid 80's all this week (luxury!) instead of over 100 like we had for most of July & August) and I find myself pining for autumn leaves.

So this week's Wish-I-Was-Here is from a trip we took several years ago in the fall to Raleigh-Durham, NC. While we were there, we visited the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, a memorial garden on the Duke University Campus.

With over five miles of paths and walkways through native plants, rose gardens, fountains, and towering trees, it's easy to while away a whole day here. Because we visited in the fall, a lot of the flower beds were dormant, but the autumn colors were fantastic.

Whenever I think of fall, I always think of this beautiful, peaceful place.