Category Archives: General

General

Making Bath Bombs with Maddie

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

For the past few weeks I’ve been working with my new assistant, Maddie. She’s been helping me out with various tasks, like shrink wrapping ALL of the lip balm I make, inventory, labeling, packaging & now making product! Here’s a picture of the first bath bomb she made yesterday:
It was lavender vanilla scented. We were experimenting with color when I was teaching her to make bath bombs. This one has Blue and Pink Clay and came out a little too dark for my taste. I did some “product testing” with one of these last night – the formula felt wonderful in the bath (Epsom salt & sweet almond oil) but I wasn’t a fan of the dark color of the bomb.

The ones in the background were colored with Wilton’s gel Violet and were closer to the purple color I wanted for these.

I’ve also changed up my sandalwood vanilla bath bomb from brown and white stripes to light brown with a sprinkle of ground vanilla bean on top: 

I’ll be adding seasonal bath bombs to the shop for the fall with scents of pumpkin and peppermint.

What bath bomb scents do you want to see in the shop? Please comment and let me know!

I can’t wait for my new packaging to arrive so I can show you what I have been cooking up in my brain! Until then, Lisa

General

Bramble Berry Bath Bomb Swap Part One

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I’ve been kicking the idea of adding bath bombs to the feto soap line. Here’s one I made at the very beginning of the year: [singlepic id=26 w=320 h=240 float=] I am pretty sure I used too much witch hazel in my mix, so they started looking like bath muffins instead of cupcakes. They started “growing” (reaction between the sodium bicarbonate and citric acid) when I wasn’t looking. I punched them down three times & on the third time they stayed down to this level of poofiness. [singlepic id=31 w=320 h=240 float=] I made a few giant bath bombs last week that I was happy with in Oatmeal, Milk & Honey and White Zinfandel and saw that Bramble Berry was hosting a swap, which was perfect because I wanted to work on my bath bomb cupcakes & experiment with using clays to color them. I made the bases of my cupcakes with pink & white kaolin clay and scented them with cherry almond. It was a humid day and the bases didn’t want to cooperate, so I ended up adding more witch hazel and sweet almond oil to get my mixture to stay together. Then I made some bath frosting & topped the cupcakes with it, jojoba beads & a sprinkle of iridescent glitter. [singlepic id=27 w=320 h=240 float=][singlepic id=28 w=320 h=240 float=] I had some leftover frosting, so I made cake balls with them. [singlepic id=29 w=320 h=240 float=] and then cake pops with them. [singlepic id=32 w=320 h=240 float=]

I needed to make 12 bath bombs for the swap, and I ended up with 13, so I did some “product testing” the other day with the extra cupcake. The bottom of the cupcake fizzed away and tinted my bath water a little pink, and I ran the top of the cupcake under running water to make bubbles. It didn’t completely dissolve on its own so I used it to shave my legs! It was great!

I mailed them off on Monday, so hopefully they will get there safe and sound! [singlepic id=30 w=320 h=240 float=] 30 people have signed up so far. I can’t wait to try everyone’s bath bombs out! They are fun to use and make my skin feel so soft! I prefer a bath bomb swap to a soap swap because you can use one bath bomb per bath vs. a bar of soap, which takes so much longer to go through. I still have soap from a Soap Conference swap a few years back!

General

How Maker Faire Changed My Life

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard


Maker Faire is an event that is near & dear to my heart. I have been a Maker since it came to Austin in 2007. I think my friend Carly mentioned it would be something I could be interested in doing. Not knowing much about the event other than it was run in part with Make: and Craft: magazine, I submitted my proposal for an idea that I had never tried to do before: bring all the things you need to make a bar of soap to an event and let people create right at the booth! I was accepted, so I packed up my Honda Civic full of soap molds, fragrances, colorants, toys, honey & glitter, drove from Houston to Austin and invited people to make soap with me, and they did! I haven’t stopped teaching people how to make soap since! Thank you Maker Faire for giving me this opportunity to spread the joy of creating with a wider audience. I have since quit my “day job” of fixing computers and now make and teach soapmaking to people of all ages full-time. Maker Faire Austin also showed me that Austin has a vibrant and creative community, and inspired me to move to Austin from Houston, which I did in the spring of 2009. This is the short story, of course. For the long version come visit me at any of my next events, or book a private or group session with me.

Maker Faire 2007

Austin Mini Maker Faire is brought to you by Kami Wilt and Austin Tinkering School. Kami attended the Austin Maker Faire in 2008 and had a life-altering experience there, where she realized that makers and making were central to her existence. Shortly thereafter, she founded Austin Tinkering School, inspired and encouraged by the flagship Tinkering School in San Francisco, which is a place where kids (and adults!) use real tools and real materials to build the things that they think of. After waiting and waiting (and waiting!) for Maker Faire to come back to Austin, she woke up one day last fall realizing that someone had to step up to the plate to bring Maker Faire back to Austin. And it might as well be herself, Austin Tinkering School, and the wily band of tinkerers that call Austin their homeland. Because there’s just far too many makers in Austin not to have a maker faire…!

Many attendees and Makers have similar stories about how Maker Faire has affected their lives. What’s yours? If you haven’t had a life-altering event because of Maker Faire, it’s not too late! Join us! Our Mini Maker Faire is community-run & needs your support. Ways to show your support are to donate, volunteer and apply to be a maker or at this year’s event.

General

February Giveaway!

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

pink-sugar-perfumeHey y’all! This month I am hosting a giveaway of one of my signature scents! It’s a version of Pink Sugar that I’m sure you will adore! This fragrance smells just like a fabulously adult cotton candy. The main notes are Vanilla, Sandalwood and Sweet Heliotrope. It seems to have a fruity note in there – maybe a sweet maraschino cherry too?

You can enter once per day until the 21st of this month. Winners will be announced here on the blog on the February 22nd!

Continue reading →

General

NEW! Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Lotion Bars and Soap

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I rarely make my lotion bar in new scents – but I had to bring this one back to go with my new & now popular honey & shea sugar scrub and Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Soap that I’ll have this week at the Cedar Park Farms to Market. I adore honey! It’s been used in beauty care for a long time. Here are a  few simple reasons why you might want to add honey to your skin care routine:

  • It helps heal very dry skin.
  • It evens out skin tone and can help reduce dark spots on skin almost like a natural skin-bleaching agent.
  • It reduces wrinkles naturally.
  • It smells delicious.

One of my favorite facial masks is to put pure honey on my face for 15 minutes and then wash off. You will not believe how soft your skin will feel!

General, Markets

Austin Nerd Cave Showcase Wrap-up

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I had fun at Sunday’s Austin Nerd Cave Showcase  in S. Austin. I was mostly at my table during the show, but I managed to come home with a naked lady (one of Lou Pon’s signed prints)  and a condom! (a Latex Avenger Comic promo).  It definitely was a different kind of show! I finally met Melissa Stewart of Crab Apple Designs. She was set up next to me, but her recycled comic book notebooks blended in so well to the store, I didn’t realise they were journals she makes! Keep an eye out for the next one this summer! Many thanks to Jennifer Cunningham and Racketeer Robot for organizing and to Tribe Comics and Games for hosting this artist showcase.

I’ll be spending the rest of this week creating goodies for this weekend’s Cedar Park Farms to Market and Make Your Own Soap booth I’ll be running during the market.

General

Chinese Coin Soap

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

These soaps start out green & transparent. I scented them with green tea. Then I paint each one by hand with bronze mica. They are here just in time for the Chinese New Year and will look great on your soap dish!  Chinese New Year is on January 23rd.

Separately each soap will cost $4, but if you buy a set of two – $6 and set of 4 will be $12. The sets are packaged in real Chinese take-out containers!

If you need them for your asian-themed event or your store, let me know how many you would like & I will get you bulk pricing information! lisa@fetosoap.com or 512.850.5472.

General

Re-purposing Things & Getting Organized

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

The holiday season is over and I’m in the middle of making all the things that were depleted – like my roll-on perfumes that I sold out of during the holiday rush. Now that I’m making all the things, I need somewhere to put them!

I was shopping at my local Goodwill the other day and picked up an Iris photo organizer that had separate cases for photos. I thought that it would be perfect size to sort/safely transport out my perfumes and possibly lip balms to and from shows. I put some foam to cushion the glass roll-on perfume bottles in each case and labeled each case with the fragrance name so I can just look down and pop out whichever one I need when I am restocking my display. Prior to finding this case I was putting then in labeled ziplock bags by fragrance in a plastic shoebox. I wasn’t a big fan of that system  because the bags didn’t stand upright and it was not easy to find each fragrance.

This week I’m getting ready for the Austin Nerd Case Showcase that’s coming up on January 15th, so I’ve filled up my new case with my freshly made Jojoba Oil Roll-on Perfumes in White Tea & Ginger, Sandalwood Vanilla, Lavender Vanilla, Pink Sugar (Jen Heart’s Art‘s favorite!) & Gardenia perfumes.

With all this talk of organizing… I have a few wooden displays for my perfumes, but the guy who made them got out of the business, so I’m looking for another way to display them. Do you know of a good source for acrylic or paper box display for roll-on perfumes?

What items have you found and re-purposed to get organized? I’d love to hear your stories about the things that make your life easier & organized.

General

Happy New Year!

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I know, I know, I haven’t blogged in ages. Shame on me! I won’t bore you with excuses… I’ll just get to a-writing! I made a small batch of Champagne-scented bath bombs yesterday to celebrate NYE and used Dragon’s Blood scented soap while I was using the bath bomb. The combination of fragrances was divine, so I made up some Champagne & Dragon’s Blood bubble bath/shower gel with gold glitter today. Mmm… good! I’m on a glitter kick lately, so watch out for more sparkles coming your way! I dusted the champagne bath bomb with a little iridescent glitter. But don’t worry, my spa-line will stay glitter free unless you request.

However, my shower gel / bubble bath is always available! Let me know if you want one in champagne & dragon’s blood scent and I will make one up for you! (and if you want added bling!) I tried it today and it didn’t leave any on me after my shower. I’m also bringing back the travel size shower gels and also have them in the 7.4 ounce size. I’m full of ideas for the new year and can’t wait to share them all with you.

Subscribe to my feed  if you want to keep track of my latest updates, fan me on facebook or follow me on twitter.

The two ounce size bubble bath is great for party favors! Do you have a wedding, baby shower, baptism, or birthday party coming up? I can personalize the bubble bath with your event details like this:

Bulk pricing is available starting at 12 pieces for your event! Just contact me for details. Please let me know how many you will need and when you will need them by.  lisa (at) fetosoap.com or call me at 512.850.5472.

 

General

Studio CV Disco Pahhhtay on Friday!

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

Studio CV Disco Pahhhtay! Get Your Tickets HERE!  Friday, August 19, 2011 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Cypress Vanguard cordially invites the public and the entire fashion community to enjoy an indulgent and exciting disco-themed party, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin and Central Texas. With a creative and local twist, the talented independent designers at the CV co-op are recreating the magic of Studio 54 in the heart of downtown Austin! Continue reading →

General, Soapmaking

Make Your Own Soap Kits and SALE!

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day. We are back from Maker Faire Bay Area where our Make Your Own Soap Booth snagged two awards – Editor’s Choice from Craft: Magazine and an Education Award! Thank you for making soap with us at our booth! If you didn’t make it to Maker Faire and want to make a bar of soap, we now offer Make Your Own Soap Kits! This kit contains everything you need to make one bar of glycerin soap with a toy, just like at our booth!

Kit includes:

Soap Mold
Soap Base
Toy
Fragrance
Colorant
Instruction Sheet

Not included but required: Pyrex cup, microwave or double boiler & spoon.

Here are some of the soaps people made at our Make Your Own Soap Booth at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011:

If there are any events you think Feto Soap would be a good fit for, please reply to this post and let us know!

Our Make Your Own Soap Booth is kid-friendly and would love to be at your event.

We are having a spring sale! Some of the soaps on sale are: Bay Rum, Dragon’s Blood, Pepperberry, Raspberry Lemonade, Yuzu, White Tea & Ginger, Blackberry Sage, Rubber Ducky Soap, Glycerin Soaps with Toys and Honey Glycerin Soap. Quantities are limited so snap them up now!

General

Maker Faire Bay Area is this weekend!

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

Maker Faire
Feto Soap will be at Maker Faire this weekend! Saturday, May 21st  from 10am- 8pm and Sunday, May 22nd from 10am – 6pm. If you are in the Bay Area, come on out! We will have our Make Your Own Soap Booth where you can create a custom bar of glycerin soap in under an hour! You select the color, fragrance & toy that will go in your soap with our help.

General

Guero’s Taco Bar presents Austin Handmade Market

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard
Austin Handmade Market at Guero's

Feto Soap will have a booth here from Friday – Sunday!  11am – 6pm See you there! 1412 S Congress Ave

Depending on the weather and crowds vending may continue through the evening. Feel free to call to see if I am still at the booth. 512.850.5472

Other vendors will have Apparel, Accessories, Art, Jewelry, Mosaics & more!

General

Maker Faire San Mateo

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard
Maker Faire 2009
Maker Faire 2009

Feto Soap will be at Maker Faire this weekend! Saturday, May 30th from 10am- 8pm and Sunday, May 31st from 10am – 6pm. If you are in the Bay Area, please come on out! We will have our Make Your Own Soap Booth where you can create a custom bar of glycerin soap in under an hour! You can select the color, fragrance & toy that will go in your soap with our help.

General

Party Crackers

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

It’s been busy in feto soap land. I am relocating to Austin, TX in April and have been wrapping up life here in Houston.

There was a fundraiser at the hospital that I work at and my colleague made the best crackers. She was generous enough to share the recipe, so I thought I’d share it with you too.

Party Crackers

1 box unsalted tops saltines (they don’t need to be salted because the ranch dressing powder mix is pretty salty. I might even decrease the amount of powder the next time I make a batch of these.)
2/3 Cup Canola Oil
2 – 4 T Crushed Red Pepper
1 package Ranch Dressing Powder

Pour crackers in a large airtight container. Mix other 3 ingredients and pour over crackers. Toss gently. Every 15 minutes, flip container for one hour.

I had a very hard time resisting eating the whole batch of crackers… that’s how tasty this recipe is. and easy to put together too! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

General, Markets, Soapmaking

Make Your Own Soap at the Midtown Farmers Market this Saturday

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

Rosie's Horsey Soap

Come to Midtown Farmers Market this Saturday, Feb. 28th and make your very own custom bar of soap at the feto soap booth for just $6.00. I’ll help you choose the scent, color, glitter and toy combination. It takes just minutes to put this together. After you pour the soap, you need about 20 minutes for it to set. At $6.00 it’s reasonably priced fun craft project to do this weekend.

Along with the fun soap-crafting that can be done, you can have breakfast at t’afia and shop the farmers market to fill your cupboard with fresh, local produce and prepared foods!

Midtown Farmers Market

The Midtown Farmers Market is located in the front of Monica Pope’s T’afia. 3701 Travis Street @ W. Alabama directions here. We will be there from 8am – Noon.