March 08 Newsletter | The Original Soap Dish®

I'm Ready For Spring!
I don't know about you, but this year's calendar is proving to be a little perplexing for me. To begin with, there was an extra day in February, and then March completely threw me! St. Patrick's Day and Easter are NOT supposed to be in the same month! At least the first day of spring is right around the corner. My neck of the woods has seen more snow this winter than we've seen in years, and I'm ready for the green stuff.

Proof that warmer weather is on the horizon can be found in my family's woods, where my husband has set up sugar camp. Yesterday he tapped the Sugar Maples in anticipation of the first major sap run of the year. As I'm sitting here writing to you, he and the boys are in the woods. They're making sure the evaporator is ready to go, collecting dead wood and fallen branches to fuel the evaporator, and checking buckets of sap. If weather conditions cooperate tomorrow, they will fire up the evaporator, and we'll be back in maple syrup!

Did I forget to mention birds? Oh, come on! You know me better than that. I'll keep it short this time. Yes, the birds are beginning to sing a little bit more. I heard a very cheerful cardinal calling this morning. But, the real treat was the "V" of Sandhill Cranes that flew over my house, and they were headed north!

Visit our Specials page during the month of March for extra savings on Honey Powder Sweet Almond Oil Phenonip Rice Flower & Shea Fragrance Wooden Scoops

Ever tried to find a four-leaf clover? It can be difficult, and even a bit frustrating -- but once you do, what a treat! The hunt for the clover is the inspiration behind our special March sale -- from March 10th - 17th, we'll have selected "green" items on sale, which will be designated with a four-leaf clover. Find them, and you'll enjoy a 10% discount on that item! Among those included in the sale:

Grapeseed Oil, Hempseed Oil, North Atlantic Kelp Powder, Peppermint Leaves, French Green Clay, Green Tea Extract, Green Kolourscope™ Dye, Coconut Lime Daydream™ Fragrance, Lime Supreme Fragrance, Green Tea Fragrance, and Cucumber Melon Fragrance, and our new Avocado Mint Fragrance.

Congratulations! Traci Hoffman of Northern Essence was the winner of our Valentine's drawing for a half pound box of DeBrand Fine Chocolates! By the way, Traci has quite an impressive line up of primitive theme bath and body products. If you're looking to be inspired, take a look at her offerings.

On that note, be on the lookout for a new feature in our newsletters, Dishing It Up!, a spotlight on customers here at The Original Soap Dish®

We will be closed from March 29 to April 6. We will resume normal operations on Monday April 7. All orders placed during the closure will be processed upon our return.

It was exactly a year ago that we first introduced Anne Watson's new book, Smart Soapmaking as a new selection in our product line. In her book, Anne introduced us to a revolutionary concept in soapmaking. Based on her findings, soapmakers now have a definitive technique for determining adequate trace before pouring their soap.

I'm very pleased to announce that Ms. Watson is writing a new book! She contacted me last month with some questions, and told me that the book is still a long way from print, but it will cover the subject of making milk soaps. She and I have conversed back and forth a bit, and one particular conversation led me to dig into some of my old beekeeping material on a search for information about the chemistry of honey. The information I found provided some solid answers to the most commonly asked question about making soap with milk and/or honey. Why does milk and honey cause soap to turn dark? I don't want to spoil Anne's fun, so you're going to have to wait for the book if you want to know the answer!

If you haven't read Smart Soapmaking yet, now might be a great time to take a look at it.

The substance Retinol is an animal based form of Vitamin A. What vegetable oil used in skin care has the unique distinction of containing Retinol?

Be the first to answer this question correctly, and win a 4 ounce bottle of our new Avocado Mint Fragrance.

Email your answer to , and place "Trivia Answer" in the subject line, or your answer will not be eligible. Please do not send your answer by replying to this newsletter, as it won't be received. We will contact the winner. If you don't hear from us, then you weren't the winner. Only one entry per subscriber.

Until next month,

NOTE: Readers are advised to carefully read all instructions before attempting to undertake any project featured here. The Original Soap Dish® does not accept
any liability for the outcome of any project featured here, or on it's website. Readers that attempt to make projects featured here do so at their own risk.