Soapmaking

Learn to Make Soap in Austin, TX

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I have been teaching a lot this year! Just last week I taught a couple from Temple, TX how to color, scent & make designs in soap. We practiced swirling soap, making a “pencil line” in soap & made soap cakes with our leftover soap.

Soap Cakes

If there’s a soapmaking technique you want to try, but would like some instruction / hand holding, don’t hesitate to contact me for help. I’ve been making handmade soap for 10 years now & can help you troubleshoot the issues you might be facing as a new soapmaker.

Soapmaking lessons are taught at my studio located at 360/2222 in Austin, TX.

lisa@fetosoap.com ●  512.850.5472

Maker Faire, Soapmaking

Houston Hosts its first Mini Maker Faire! Jan 19, 2013

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

…and yes! I will be there with my Make Your Own Soap Booth!

fbcoverhoustonminimakerfaire2013

The First Inaugural Houston Mini Maker Faire is being held Saturday, January 19,at the Stafford Centre on 10505 Cash Road. Scheduled from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., admission is $15 for adults ($20 at the door), or $10 ($12 at the door) for children 18 and under. Admission is free for kids two and under.

Who are the Makers? Folks who make stuff! They include inventors, artists, craftspeople, fabricators, artisans and anyone who enjoys hands-on creativity. Makers are tech enthusiasts, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, scientists, students, writers and poets. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The event in Houston promises an eclectic mash-up of techno-scientific artistry, gadget-crafting and hands-on demos and activities.

“We’re expecting more than 75 individuals or groups of Makers this year. They’ll be presenting all sorts of inventions, creations, artwork, and techno-gadgetry,” says Jacob Shiach, organizer of Maker Faire Houston. He encourages visitors to check out the Childrens Museums exhibit, 2000 sq ft of fun for children of all ages.

“This event is a wonderful day out for anyone,” says Shiach. “Even if you’re not a Maker, the sights and sounds, the color, and hands-on activities are fun for kids, parents, and even grandpa and grandma. It truly is a familyfriendly event with something for everyone.” He emphasizes that those who attend are as much a part of the Maker movement as the Makers themselves, “A family that comes to this event takes away the gift of knowledge. It’s a way for them to become inspired,” he says.

Shiach also encourages community leaders, local businesses, and educators to attend. “This is the best chance you will have all year to meet some of the most creative and imaginative people in our community,” he says. “The Faire is as much about meeting Makers as it is about the cool stuff they make. It’s a place to meet crafters, inventors, engineers and artists. And to realize they are folks just like you and me.” Shiach points out that the Makers are a grass-roots movement.

“Makers tend to be completely focused on their craft, so they don’t often self-promote or get the recognition they deserve,” says Shiach. “Yet they really are movers and shakers in our community.
They make things happen when it’s so easy just to watch TV or sit at your computer instead.”
Visitors can purchase tickets online at the Faire’s website or pay at the door. Additional information is available on the Maker Faire Houston website.

The 2013 Houston Mini Maker Faire will be a tipping point in Houston and Texas. Shiach knows that Maker Faires make a difference in people’s lives. “Our visitors leave feeling inspired – that they’re just as capable of creating, expressing and exploring the world around them,” he says. “We’re bringing back to life that spirit of American creativity, ingenuity and inventiveness. The spirit that makes our country great.”

My Maker Faire story is here: How Maker Faire Changed My Life

General

Bubble Bath Marshmallows R&D

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I’ve doing some R&D in the Feto Soap kitchen! I love marshmallows and bubble baths, so when I was experimenting with different formulas of solid bubble bars it just made sense to shape them into marshmallow shapes.

Here are some vanilla I made a few months ago:

They started out white but discolored to brown because of the vanillin content. They were a bit squishy for selling, but still made a nice handmade birthday gift! (and great uhm, research baths!) I forgot to take a picture of them packaged up, but I put them in a clear gusseted treat bag with a ribbon and label.

Here’s a new formula I made in tangerine last week. They hardened up nicely and I gifted them to my friend Kera for her birthday.

Did I show you the bubble cake balls I made? I had some leftover “frosting” from the bath bomb swap earlier this year and no bath bombs to frost, so I rolled all the leftover frosting into balls and topped them with glitter! In some of them I even inserted sticks, but since it was ALL frosting they didn’t stay in that well. I’ll have to play with that concept some more when I have time.

I’m working to find a formula I like, and once it’s perfected I’ll make an announcement! I’m thinking about making them in loaves with a swirl in the center like rye bread. We’ll see! Stay tuned!

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

Maker Faire

Maker Faire Bay Area

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

Are you ready for the world’s largest show and tell on earth? It’s this weekend y’all!

The deets: 
Maker Faire Bay Area May 19 & 20, 2012, San Mateo Event Center, San Mateo, CA Saturday 10AM – 8PM | Sunday 10AM – 6PM So…what are you waiting for? Buy your TICKETS NOW! Plus Meet the Makers and review the Program Guide to plan your weekend.

Here’s a peek at the soaps we made together at the Austin Mini Maker Faire this past weekend:

I wonder how YOUR soap will turn out! I will have everything you need to create a custom bar of soap right at the booth… toys galore to choose from, scents and colors to blend! See you there!

Maker Faire

Austin Mini Maker Faire is THIS WEEKEND!

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I am SO EXCITED that the Maker Faire is back in Austin this year, this time in Mini form. It will be held at the Pine Street Station (home of the Hope Farmers Market). I will be there with my Make Your Own Soap Booth along with 65 other makers. R2-D2 will be there! How exciting is that?

Here’s a repost of a blog I wrote recently  about how Maker Faire changed my life.

 

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 writer 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 2009. This is the short story, of course. For the long version come visit me at the Austin Mini Maker Faire on Saturday and I’ll tell it to you myself.

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 on Saturday! I hope you come and leave inspired to make things!

Recipes

Chickenless Chickpea Salad

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

Until today, I haven’t made anything with Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans that I’ve actually liked – Hummus is mostly what I’ve made with chickpeas. I like hummus with LOTS of lemon juice.

Last Wednesday I went to a potluck and someone brought Wheatsville’s Chickenless Chickpea Salad. It was SO GOOD! If I remember correctly, the ingredients were Chickpeas, Celery, Bell Pepper, Lemon, Salt, Pepper, Veggie Mayo.

I have canned Chickpeas in the pantry so I drained & rinsed 1 can, coarsely blended about 1/2 of the chickpeas, finely chopped about 2 tablespoons each of bell pepper and celery, added the juice of half of a lemon, 1 tablespoon mayo and added salt & pepper to taste. I combined all the ingredients and promptly ate it!

It would have been great on a sandwich, too! The next time I make it I will snap a picture and add it to this post. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

New Products

The Bath Bombs are here!

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

You asked, and I happily obliged! Here is my latest batch of bath bombs. You can order them online or get them directly from me at the Cedar Park Farms to Market this Saturday. They will make a great addition to any Easter basket! They are Giant Bath Bombs, weighing in at 7.5 ounces per bomb!  Scents currently available are Oatmeal, Milk & Honey, White Tea & Ginger, Yuzu Japanese Citrus, Bamboo Sugar Cane, Pink Grapefruit, Sandalwood Vanilla, Lemongrass and Ocean Rain. Drop one of these into your bath and watch it fizz, like a giant alka-seltzer! Bath Bombs make bathtime fun AND soften your skin!

  • Oatmeal, Milk & Honey has oatmeal added to the bomb, of course!
  • White Tea & Ginger with oatmeal & white china clay
  • Yuzu Japanese Citrus with Pink Clay
  • Bamboo Sugar Cane with green and yellow clay
  • Pink Grapefruit with pink clay and fun hot pink sprinkles!
  • Sandalwood Vanilla with ground vanilla beans
  • Ocean Rain with sea clay and tints your bath water blue!

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!

Markets

Cedar Park Farms to Market

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

chicken-egg-duck-eggI’m not just a vendor at Cedar Park Farms to Market. I’m an avid supporter of slow food and eating local. At market this week we picked up duck eggs from Countryside Family Farm, a container of Fromage Blanc from Mill-King Market & Creamery – I topped a piece of cornbread I had with it and some strawberry preserves,p1010337-640x427 veggies from Johnson’s Backyard Garden: Carrots, Kale, Rainbow Chard, Brussel Sprouts, Green Onions & a pound of shrimp from K&S Seafood. I’m going to make shrimp scampi with Kalyn’s Kitchen’s recipe tonight for a potluck for a friend that is visiting from the Far East!

imag0340
My strawberry jam made a heart.
These are the soaps we made today at CPF2M!

 

 

Shop Local

Shop Local Spotlight: Cedar Park Farms to Market

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

balsamic vinegar

None of these are sponsored links. I only write about what I love! I love to eat!

This week’s haul from Cedar Park Farms to Market included fresh veggies from Johnson’s Backyard Garden, Balsamic Vinegar from Texas Hill Country Olive Co., coffee beans roasted in my former hometown Houston, TX from Katz Coffee and bread & pastries from Sweetish Hill Bakery. While I was at the market Sierra and I ate tamales from the Tamale Place. I eat their tamales for lunch on most Saturdays! This week I tried their nopales (cactus) tamales and they were so delicious!

french toastI had never made french toast with success until today! P.J. showed me how easy it was with Sweetish Hill Bakery’s sliced baguette. Here is how they turned out! Other goodies I picked up at their booth were the Coconut Macaroons, which I took to a birthday party, the Ginger Snaps & Chocolate Chip cookies with nuts! Also picked up a Wheat Bread loaf and Sunflower & Flaxseed for sammiches later this week!

 

today's juiceToday’s juice from Johnson’s Backyard Garden: Organic Beet, Carrot, Kale, Mung Beans I sprouted and Apple and Ginger from the store.

 

crackersCrackers I made yesterday from my juicing pulp. I followed AM’s recipe loosely to make them. I made them on a silicone baking mat in my oven & have since eaten them all! I love how there’s no waste when you make crackers with your juice pulp! What do you do with your juice pulp? I have made vegetable broth with my juicing pulp and might start composting it on my patio so we can start a garden. Microbial Earth is also at the market, so I might pick up some of their bran to get my compost on. or make LOTS of crackers. Either way, I need something to do with all the pulpy leftovers from my daily juice.

One reason I picked up the Balsamic Vinegar this week is because we eat the crusty baguettes from Sweetish Hill almost every week, and I wanted something to dip it in!

We are going to drink the coffee we bought from Katz Coffee’s table and I might use a little of it in my Kitchen Coffee Soap.

What did you get from the farmers market this week? and what are you going to do with it?

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 →

Markets, Soapmaking

Make Your Own Soap Booth Video & Pictures!

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

Hey guys! I finally uploaded my first video today! What do you think?

This is the first video I’ve ever put together! Monica held the camera on me on a windy day at the farmers market while I helped Xavier make his soap. He had already picked out his toy, color and fragrance when we stared rolling and I showed him how to use a color wheel to make orange.

It was cold and windy on Saturday, so we were all bundled up! There’s a live band every week at the Cedar Park Farms to Market, so thanks for bearing with me with the sound quality for my first video!

For more information on the Make Your Own Soap Booth check out  and join the facebook party here: https://fetosoap.com/facebook. I’m on twitter as @fetosoap if you’d like to connect with me there!

Markets

We Made Soap at Cedar Park Farms to Market

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

I spent Saturday morning at Cedar Park Farms  to Market where Erica & I made soap at the booth. It was Erica’s first day. She had fun making soap with the very excited kiddos! The adorable little girl in the pink told us that she couldn’t wait to go home and use her strawberry scented horsey soap.

If you would like for me to make soap with you and your group,  just let me know! I would love to teach them how to make soap in Austin and surrounding areas.

I’ll be back at Cedar Park Farms to Market  at Lakeline Mall next weekend with my Make Your Own Soap Booth if you want to check it out.

[singlepic id=1 w=600 h=400 float=]
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.

Markets

Cedar Park Farms to Market – Saturdays at Lakeline Mall

Posted on by Lisa Chouinard

Guess who is a the newest vendor at Cedar Park Farms to Market? This gal!
I’ll be there on Saturday morning from 9am – 1pm with my lotion bars, sugar scrubs, soaps & market specials!

Cedar Park Farms to Market is located at Lakeline Mall behind Sears & Dillard’s and has around 40 vendors at this time of year, including these!

If you would like something you have seen online and would like me to bring it to the market on Saturday, place your order and use code CPF2M for free delivery to the market.

I can’t wait to see your smiling happy faces on Saturday! Is there anything you want to see at the market? Please let me know in your comments below!