HeatherRai
Location
Appleton, WI, United States
Quick Blurb
Welcome to my little craft corner of the world. I get bored easily, so I have many little bits and parts of me here, enjoy!!
Interests
Handmade Soap, Tie Dye, Ceramics, Sterling Silver Jewelry, Hemp, Hippie, Sewing, Hot Process, Cold Process, Melt and Pour, Natural Beauty, Pure, Eco Friendly, Laundry Soap, Natural Bath and Body, Natural Health
Skills and Techniques
Handmade Soap Beading Tie Dye Ceramic Cooking Organizing
Find me online @:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/B… http://www.BeautifulSoaps.Etsy.c…Get to Know
Hello, I'm Heather and I've been making soap since 2008, and I just love it! My inspiration came when one day I decided that I wanted to smell like a stick of incense. I searched high and low and couldn't find any opium scented soaps. In my pursuit I made a friend introduced me to nag champa soap. I couldn't believe how amazing my skin felt and how great I smelled. I was hooked.
I'm a crafter by nature, so after spending a small fortune on handmade soap I decided that I could create my own, and I did. I researched day and night, reading everything I could and watching video after video. I did everything I was supposed to do, to the letter. After about a month of being fearful of lye, I finally got the nerve up to make my first batch. It was of course, Opium Poppyseed, and it actually turned out! An addiction was born. http://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherrai/2571348528/in/set-72157605557425466/
I've been making soap a couple times a week since my first batch. I am easily bored and distracted, but I've never once thought soap making was a drag. I was worried in the beginning that I would run out of ideas. But it's like cooking (really it is!) you never run out of recipes or modifications, you just keep getting better. Sometimes I will lay awake at night with my head just whipping up a new soap recipe. I've learned to write things down.
I make so many different styles of soaps. My favorite bars are honestly pure, natural bars made with essential oils and clays. But the wild side of me loves to create polka dots, stripes, layers and confetti chunks! I used to work with polymer clay logs and have drawn a lot of that art into my patterned soap. I look at everything like a Swiss cake roll and embed contrasting and complimenting shapes right into my soap loaves. Once you've cut them, there it is, a beautiful and sometimes surprising new pattern.
Soapmaking has brought me so much joy. It has really changed the way I look at life altogether. I'm much more conscious of chemicals, detergent fillers, and parabens. I look at handmade items with such love and admiration now. I appreciate the human touch and each minor imperfection tells its own story. It has increased my knowledge of herbs and natural remedies and even changed the way I eat. I owe a lot to natural soap, I never dreamed it would change who I am.
Much love! Heather Rai
*** Taken from my (unedited) contribution to "The Art of Soap" by Debbie Chialtas: http://theartofsoapbook.blogspot.com/
I'm a crafter by nature, so after spending a small fortune on handmade soap I decided that I could create my own, and I did. I researched day and night, reading everything I could and watching video after video. I did everything I was supposed to do, to the letter. After about a month of being fearful of lye, I finally got the nerve up to make my first batch. It was of course, Opium Poppyseed, and it actually turned out! An addiction was born. http://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherrai/2571348528/in/set-72157605557425466/
I've been making soap a couple times a week since my first batch. I am easily bored and distracted, but I've never once thought soap making was a drag. I was worried in the beginning that I would run out of ideas. But it's like cooking (really it is!) you never run out of recipes or modifications, you just keep getting better. Sometimes I will lay awake at night with my head just whipping up a new soap recipe. I've learned to write things down.
I make so many different styles of soaps. My favorite bars are honestly pure, natural bars made with essential oils and clays. But the wild side of me loves to create polka dots, stripes, layers and confetti chunks! I used to work with polymer clay logs and have drawn a lot of that art into my patterned soap. I look at everything like a Swiss cake roll and embed contrasting and complimenting shapes right into my soap loaves. Once you've cut them, there it is, a beautiful and sometimes surprising new pattern.
Soapmaking has brought me so much joy. It has really changed the way I look at life altogether. I'm much more conscious of chemicals, detergent fillers, and parabens. I look at handmade items with such love and admiration now. I appreciate the human touch and each minor imperfection tells its own story. It has increased my knowledge of herbs and natural remedies and even changed the way I eat. I owe a lot to natural soap, I never dreamed it would change who I am.
Much love! Heather Rai
*** Taken from my (unedited) contribution to "The Art of Soap" by Debbie Chialtas: http://theartofsoapbook.blogspot.com/
