Soooo Important

I usually do not title my posts with exclamations and pressing things but this one is important for all lovers of handmade soaps and cosmetics, especially the small businesses manufacturing them.

The Safe Cosmetics Act....not so good.

This is the second (or is it third) that the government has recently tried to make it more difficult for small businesses to stay in business. It seems that the government, all though with good intentions, is trying to save us from ourselves and kill small business for fun and profit by passing more regulations that require more time and money from those of us trying to run small business.

You can decide for yourself by reading the full legislation here.

Write your representative and tell them no on the The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (H.R. 5786).

Here is a copy of the letter I composed (with the help of The Soap Queen)and sent to my representative here in Colorado.


Dear Representative John Salazar,

I am writing to express my concerns for H.R. 5786, The Safe Cosmetics Act. I make lip balms, soaps, and lotions and sell them at my local Farmer Market and festivals. I make less then $5000 per year. I sell them to pay for my daughter's new clothes and my son's snowbaords every year. what I make enhances my families income and helps the quality of our life, puts money back into my community, and helps deter the effects of the downturn in our economy.

I make soaps from common ingredients that you can find in your kitchen. For example, I have a great bar of soap that I make out of four ingredients: olive oil, lye, water, and essential oils. H.R. 5786 has a lot of extra reporting requirments that would be virtually impossible for me to comply with. I am just one woman in a kitchen. I do not have a huge staff to help with this paperwork nightmare. I often change formulations based on the season and consumer demand. Being nimble is a huge advantage for me and if I have to submit a new safety and ingredient affidavit for every product that will take away one of my key advantages. This legislation is unnecessary because it is already illegal to manufacture unsafe cosmetics and disclosure of ingredients and contact information is already required. Buying handmade and homemade toiletries is a prefferable choice for many consumers; these handicaps to small business like mine, could put me out of business and take that choice away. Please don't take away that choice. Please do not support H. R. 5786. It is well-meaning but it is written in such a way that I will not be able to stay in business because I will not be able to keep up. Estee Lauder started at her kitchen table. Please do not take that oppotunity away from me.

Sincerely,

Cass Smith


Make the decision for yourself and take the time to write your Representative. Help small business' do what they do best, business.

You can also check out the Oppose SCA website and sign the petition to Oppose the SCA here.

Love this

I was testing out this new fragrance I bought from Brambleberry, not to mention it was a good time to practice layering. I did not really think it was going to real well. But I love this. The storm that is busy brewing over that ocean matches the fragrance well. Ummmmm.

I call it Stormy Waters.

Who killed the doll?

My kids do some pretty crazy things sometimes, so when I saw this on my kitchen floor, I had to laugh, even though it was kind of funny and then again kind of not. What are the chances that I'd have a CSI crime scene on my tile.:)

As it turns out the red smudge is from a strawberry my little one squished into the tile and then just so happened to drop her dolly right next to it. Looks BBBBAAADDDD!

At 9:30 at night

There is a major sweet tooth in my household. Cookies are usually gone with in a day or two, especially if they are homemade...yummy. I am always looking for new recipes to try, so last night after a desperate search through the cupboards, I decided it was necessary...at 9:30 at night no less...to make brownies. It is not like they are hard to make, they just take a little time to mix and a lot of time to bake.

Of course, I can never just make a resipe, I always have to alter it in one way or another. I wanted raspberry brownies. OOOOOHHHHH......AAAAHHHHHH!

So I took a plain brownie recipe and mixed in aswirl of raspberry jam before I baked them....o.k. I'll say it again. OOOOOOHHHHHH.....AAAAHHHHH......mmmmmm. They smelled so fabulous, and oooey gooey goodness when they were cut into.

I'll be altering this recipe again, maybe I'll try orange marmalade, apple butter, or plain old strawberry next time.

Porn to brighten your day.

Inspiration is all around, everywhere that I look these days. I think that the summer wild flowers blooming has a lot to do with it. So I thought I would show some soap porn that makes me think of summer.

Poppy Party Soaps by Naturally Lela

Bailee Berry Exfoliating by Mountian Mama Chic

Sweetgrass Sun Soaps by Luxury Falls
What could be more summer than this!?!

Spell Bound by Sherri's Scents and Soys

Words for your Brain

Be careful what you think...

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your character.

Character is everything.

Not sure where this comes from, saw it on a crafters sign at a farmers market years ago, it has stuck with me ever since.

Words worth thinking about.

Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

I am always up to try something new, especially when it comes to the old standby chocolate chip cookie recipe. I found this recipe on a fabulous foodie blog. So I whipped this one up last night and baked a few this morning. OOOOOhhhhhh mmyyyyy.....

I think I have eaten too many already!
You can find the recipe here for your own devouring session.