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Recycled Plastic Bottle Project; Kids Sensory Bottles

7/1/2018

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So... Summer Vacation has commenced here in Maine. Which means that the sibling rivalry has also started and... is driving me nuts! My kids are 10, 6 and almost 3. If you think that an age gap will minimize the fighting, just trust me, it will not (most likely). Don't get me wrong, I love my munchkins even though there is currently a war transpiring in my living room.
Now to cut to the chase, I've been trying to find ways to keep them busy and help them calm down when necessary. This morning this search led me to Sensory Bottles, the best of both worlds (hopefully).
There are a few big bonuses with this project:
  1. They can actually play with the finished product and maybe even use it to calm down. Juries still out on the calm part, stay tuned for that one.
  2. It's a science experiment and art project in one.
  3. Even little ones can help.
  4. It recycles plastic bottles... like our lotion bottles, they're perfect for this!

DIY Sensory Bottle
What you will need:
  • A clear plastic bottle of choice. i.e. Pure Bliss lotion bottle, Used water bottle, etc. (any size will work, labels removed)
  • Water
  • Vegetable Oil (if you can find glycerin it's a fun addition too and adds to the science fun)
  • Glitter, Beads, Buttons, Sequins, Etc. (We had some Jojoba Beads to add, but that's not a common household item)
  • Food Coloring or acrylic paint of choice for color
  • A funnel or measuring cup for pouring
  • Electrical or Duct Tape for sealing the top
The best part about this project is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. I let the kids play scientist with this a little. We added our color to the water in a measuring cup, gave it a mix and then added it to the bottle. We did the same thing with the Glycerin (a different color) and then added this to the bottle. Then we poured the oil on top. Alternatively, you could put the oil in first and watch it make it's way to the top. You can also use varying amounts of each liquid, the choice is yours (or theirs, kids love choosing).
We added glitter, beads and buttons last. Once everything was in the bottle we taped the lid on to keep it secure and the kids got busy shaking and swirling their bottles.
To make this more of an experiment here are some things you could ask or discuss:
  • Have them write a hypothesis and a conclusion. Alternatively they could write a journal entry.
  • Ask lots of questions: What will happen when we put everything in the bottle? Will the liquids mix together? Will the buttons, beads, glitter float or sink and why?
  • For older kids you could talk about solubility of the food coloring or paint. Explaining that the coloring is water soluble and wont disperse in the oil. Alternatively you could use oil based paints and color the oil (not recommended for young children).
  • Add other liquids such as dish soap and see what happens

When you've finished experimenting the kids can play with their bottles. If you have a child that likes to take things apart it's best not to leave them unsupervised with their bottle as it might get messy. We have a strict no bedroom policy.
If you try this project we would love to see your family's creations. You could share them here or on social media with #pureblissbodyconfections 
Happy Summer!!!







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Sending Sunshine

6/7/2018

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One of my favorite things to do for someone that needs a little cheering up is send a Box of Sunshine. "What's a Box of Sunshine?" you ask.
A Box of Sunshine is a package full of sunshiny, yellow, cheery goodness that is sure to "turn that frown upside down". I can't take credit for the "Box of Sunshine" idea, but whoever came up with it rocks! I came across the idea scrolling through Pinterest  a few years ago and it's been a go-to ever since.

Now, what kind of person needs a Box of Sunshine? Personally, I think we could all use a little sunshine, but the idea here is to send this to someone who needs a little cheering up. Here's a few examples: a friend going through a breakup or divorce, someone suffering from an illness, a friend or family member who has recently lost someone close to them... you get the idea right?


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Customer Love

3/4/2018

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      I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of our amazing customers! I truly appreciate each and every one of you!
      I have been so busy lately that I haven't been able to find the time to blog. I promise to find more time and content to share with you! This is just a short and sweet moment to say Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!! Seriously though, it makes my heart happy to know that so many awesome people are choosing Pure Bliss! You are all helping me fulfill my dreams for this company, I'm so blessed!
Wishing you blissful showers and baths,
-Cassie
      


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Midsummer Update

8/6/2017

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       We have had a very busy summer here at Pure Bliss, but I wanted to take the time to update everyone on our happenings...
         First and most importantly I want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of our amazing customers! Pure Bliss is steadily growing and we couldn't do it without each and every one of you. I have met so many amazing people since I started this journey and I love that I get to share my creations with all of you!
         Now for a festival/market update! Yesterday we were back at Classic Clutter Farm in Tamworth and I have to say that we are loving it there! If you haven't checked out Classic Clutter and you are in the area it's so worth the trip. As for the market, it's a lot of fun. The vendors and customers there have been so awesome to work with. As you probably know by now, I'm all about shopping local/small business and this is definitely the place to do that. (A little side note; if you or someone you know makes/sells something amazing and would be interested in becoming a vendor at the market contact Classic Clutter Farm on Facebook or let me know and I will pass the info along.)
          Aside from the Market, we spent last weekend in Hiram at the Ossipee Valley Music Festival and we had so much fun that we didn't want to leave! If you didn't get to check out the festival I would highly recommend it for next year. It was a weekend filled with amazing music and very happy/positive people from all walks of life.
          Product update time... We will be very busy stocking products over the next couple of weeks. As things are restocked they will become available here at our website and on Etsy. We will also be restocking The Curiosity Shop and Classic Clutter. Another side note; I hear that Farm To Table Market now has smoothies, be sure to check it out!
          I know that for some people it's way to early to talk about the holidays, but for those that are thinking ahead we have lots of fun things planned! I've had a few people ask about expiration of products as they have purchased gifts to put away. Our products that expire have an expiration date on them, as far as the soap that won't be an issue for the holidays. At this point in time almost all of our products will last well after the holiday season, but if you want to wait that's totally fine (plus we have lots of things that will be rolling out over the next few months that are designed just for gift giving).
          I think that about covers things for now, but one more time I want to say thank you everyone for supporting Pure Bliss! Wishing you Blissful showers and baths. -Cassie

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Bath & Body Q&A

5/30/2017

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We had our first festival of the year this past weekend and I was asked many great questions about soap. Yesterday I took a much needed day off to rest and enjoy the freedom that we have in this country because of so many brave men and women. While relaxing it occurred to me that sharing some of these common questions and answers might be beneficial to everyone.

Question #1
Is it safe to use your soaps on your body or are they best for hand washing only?

Answer: Yes, our soaps are great for all over use. They don't contain all of those nasty ingredients and fillers found in a lot of big name brand soaps and body washes. I design our products so they are not only fun (with names like Mermaid), but they are beneficial to the skin.

Question #2
Do handmade soaps actually lather and cleanse well?
Answer:
Absolutely! When making soap, the lather that's achieved depends greatly on the oils that are used. For example: Coconut oil creates a really bubbly lather while Olive oil creates a very creamy lather. For this reason I formulate all of our soap recipes with coconut and olive oil, adding other oils to achieve different lathers, bar hardness and moisturizing, skin benefiting goodness.

Questions #3
Aren't handmade soaps really drying?
Answer:
Not as long as they are formulated properly. Just as certain oils achieve different lather qualities they also effect the moisturizing properties of the soap. For Example: (again) Coconut oil can be drying in soap if used at a high percentage. That being said, it can be used at a high percentage when using a technique called superfatting. Superfatting is when a soap recipe contains more oil than will be saponified (turned into soap). This technique makes for a more nourishing bar of soap and counteracts the drying effect that some oils produce when saponified. All of our recipes are superfatted just enough to be cleansing, but non drying.

Question #4
I have really dry skin, wouldn't your Goat's Milk Soap be best?
Answer:
(There's no yes or no for this one). Goat's Milk does produce a very nourishing bar of soap, but I formulate almost all of our soap recipes to be dry skin friendly. The one exception here would be our Charcoal Soap. This is because Activated Charcoal works to balance out sebum in the skin, in user friendly terms; it sucks up excess oils. For this reason I recommend Charcoal for those with oily skin types. Our current facial soap is geared towards those with oily skin (made with charcoal), but stay tuned because I'm currently working on a series of facial soaps geared towards each skin type. For the Goat's Milk Soap lovers, I am also converting some of our regular soaps over to Goat's Milk Soaps.

Question #5
Doesn't lye burn skin?
Answer:
Yes, lye burns skin, but in soap making lye is processed out of the final product. When lye, water and oils come together they create soap. Saponfication is that fun chemical process that turns these ingredients into soap, creating a final product that cleanses and doesn't burn skin.

To wrap this up, if you have any questions I would be glad to answer them to the best of my ability, just ask! I would also like to take a moment to tell you all about the location of the festival this past weekend. Mohawk Falls is an absolutely gorgeous estate that books weddings and events. Their staff went above and beyond to make sure that the festival was a success. If you are in the market for a wedding venue be sure to check them out here.

As always, wishing you Blissful showers and baths. -Cassie
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Mommy Needs A Timeout

3/14/2017

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After a long day filled with meal prep, dishes, laundry, "don't jump on the couch", "leave your sister alone", "because I said so"...( I think you get the point) there's nothing better than a timeout. Yes it's true, Mommy's need timeouts too!

Whenever it's "Daddy's" turn to declare timeout in our house and the guilty child is screaming like the world is coming to an end, I very sarcastically mumble (usually out of said child's earshot)... "Can Mommy please go to timeout?" In all seriousness though, for a mom one of the greatest gifts to be given is a timeout. Even just 30 minutes where nobody expects anything... at all. A half an hour without cartoons, changing diapers, cleaning up crumbs and playing referee is honestly one of the best gifts ever! If you're a mom, you are probably silently nodding in agreement and if you aren't a mom and you can help make this happen for a mom, please do so. It's usually that little chunk of alone time that helps moms keep their sanity and it's much appreciated. (A funny side note; I'm currently sitting on the couch with a napping child while her two older siblings are home for a snow day. One of said siblings is building a stuffed animal pile to very loudly jump into and the other has mentioned boredom probably ten times in the past hour alone and he's not looking for suggestions to fix this.  Que "Mommy needs a timeout")

There is a Blissful point to my Motherhood rant. Mother's Day is May 14th and I've got big plans for moms this year in terms of Pure Bliss. We've already established that a timeout is a great gift for mom, but even better, give her the tools to have a mini spa session with that time. Soaking or scrubbing away the stress of Motherhood can be so relaxing.

Be on the lookout for our Mother's Day Sets which will include:

Mommy Needs A timeout- This Set will include a Wine Soap, Body Scrub, Tub Truffle and Lotion in a Sangria Rose Fragrance, all in a cute wooden crate. (If your mom isn't into wine, I can make this set in any of our fragrances, just send me a message for special orders, no extra charge)
Cocktail Truffle Collection- 4 Tub Truffles, one each of Sangria Rose, Mojito, Pink Champagne, and Mimosa.
Mud Mask Collection- 4 Single Use Mud Masks with a mud mask brush and bowl. You get one each of Matcha Smoothie, Charcoal & Citrus, Cocoa & Chamomile and Sea Clay.
Pamper Your Feet Set- Includes Foot Soak, Foot Soap and Foot Butter
Green Thumb- A Green Thumb Soap and Hand Cream in a Terracotta pot

These are just a few ideas, more to come. Wishing you all Blissful Showers and Baths. -Cassie









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Monthly Bliss Box

2/26/2017

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If you like surprises this box is for you! I have created the Bliss Box with a few things in mind. The first being that I want blissful customers. Doesn't opening an affordable box of surprise goodies sound blissful? Another thing I had in mind when designing this box was variety, each box has a range of useful and pampering products. This way you get to try a variety of our products, including ones that might be overlooked. My final thought with the Bliss Box was that you get useful body products with the seasons in mind. All boxes will come with a soap as well as things like scrubs, masks, truffles, lip balms, lotions, etc.

Each Item in the Bliss Box will include a note explaining why it was chosen along with some product facts or information.  Honestly I had so much fun designing this box and adding the personal touches. I love being able to connect on a personal level. My hope is that when you open your Bliss Box you have as much fun as I had designing and packaging it.

Our Monthly Bliss Box will be available here @pureblissbodyconfections.com and Etsy on the first of each month while supplies last. There will only be a couple of these boxes available for March. My hope is that everyone is as excited about this as I am and each month we will have more boxes available. If you do purchase the Bliss Box, I would love to hear your thoughts about it! Wishing you Blissful showers and baths. -Cassie


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Surviving Winter

2/16/2017

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We are having an extremely snowy winter here in New England and cabin fever is starting to set in. I'll be honest, this is not my favorite time of year. I find that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with snow. It's pretty and can be fun to play in, but lets face it, after a couple of months and ridiculous amounts of shoveling, enough is enough.

This time of year has a lot of people feeling cruddy, I know I'm not alone here. Several friends have come to me in the past few days and expressed a general feeling of crud (one of my favorite kid friendly words). After getting to the bottom of the cruddy feeling, it's safe to say that winter is a key factor. My advice... do something for yourself every single day and don't feel guilty about it. I am finding that taking "me time" is essential for survival right now. It's so important to have something to look forward to. Spring is coming, but I know that for a lot of people, myself included, it's not coming fast enough. A daily chunk of "me time" makes the world a brighter place.

Here's a list of things that I do for "me time"
  • Exercise...  yoga is my personal favorite. Not only is exercise proven to be beneficial for mental health, it's also great for those who want to work on their bikini body, though it's important to remember that you are already beautiful;)
  • Make something! paint a picture, bake a cake, knit something. I've been on a tropical theme lately so... paint palm trees while baking a pineapple upside down cake in a knitted bikini? See I told you I have cabin fever!
  • Spa Day, at home of course! wouldn't it stink to make that appointment and have to cancel for the weather? I light a candle, slather on a Pure Bliss Mud Mask, soak my feet and paint my nails. Now that's bliss
  • Read a book... preferably an uplifting one, remember we are fighting the cruddy feeling, not adding to it.
  • My personal favorite, get out of the house when you can. Even if it's just to grab a coffee, getting out is so important!

We need to take it easy on ourselves and those around us. Remember that lots of us are feeling cruddy right now. Spring is coming, I promise! Wishing you Blissful showers and baths, warmth and sunshine, -Cassie


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Love What You Do

1/24/2017

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Last week I found myself mixed up in some soapy drama. Apparently soap is a cut throat business, who knew? This led me to feeling pretty discouraged, so I took a break for a couple of days. During that time I couldn't help but think about soap. I know that sounds silly to most people, but I love making soap!

Now that I've confessed my love for soap, I'll try to get to the point. When we find something that we love, it's so important to pursue it. I have met lots of people who craft all sorts of different things and the one thing that almost all of them have in common is passion. They are passionate about what they do and it shows in the quality of their work. The world needs more quality, so the world needs more people doing what they love. That doesn't just apply to crafters, maybe you love teaching or building houses or caring for others. If you love it, do it and if you don't, try to love it. Everything today seems to be about quantity over quality which is why customers haggle at craft fairs and why we just throw away broken things instead of fixing them. If more of us were passionate about the things that we do, we would find it easier to see the passion and quality in things that others do and that would make the world a better place.

Part of loving what you do is accepting the fact that there will be bad moments, sometimes bad days and that's okay. When we get knocked down we have to get up, brush the dirt off and keep moving. We can't allow others to take away our passion and discourage us.

I had no intentions of quitting when I took that break last week. I just found myself burnt out and wanted to clear my head. When you pour your heart and soul into something and someone tries to knock you down, it hurts. Like I said before though, I was still thinking about soap and after those couple of days I became even more fired up about making awesome, quality products to share with all of you!

So... Because I want to share the best quality products I can with everyone, I'm reworking some of my formulas to include even better ingredients. I am currently working on a new body scrub recipe from scratch and I also have a new Shampoo in the works.

Hopefully I didn't ramble too much. I hope everyone loves what they do as much as I love making soap! Wishing you all Blissful showers and baths. -Cassie
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Exciting Things happening in 2017

1/4/2017

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Until last year Pure Bliss Body Confections was just a part time gig. Up until that time I was making products for the holiday season and manufacturing soap for a larger company. Then it ocurred to me... why can't I make Pure Bliss full time? I'm a stay at home mom, which by the way is a much harder job than it sounds. My point here is that I realized eventually my kids will all be in school and I will be tasked with finding a job that fits into their schedule. I absolutely love making soap and I'm not afraid of hard work, so why not make my dreams a reality?

After lots of researching and planning I got to work. I spent months designing this website, creating and testing products and designing labels. Now that these things are becoming less time consuming I can focus on other aspects of Pure Bliss.

If you visited Pure Bliss at one of the craft shows that I did, you probably noticed that I had so many things to choose from and lets be honest my display was overwhelming. That being said, I have a new display in the works. As far as all of the choices, I needed to put a variety out there so that I could discover what customers were most interested in. Now that I have that first year under my belt I have a better understanding of what my customers are looking for. Over the next few months, some products will be disappearing, be sure to check the SALE category. Don't worry, the customer favorites will still be around!

To make products easier to locate I am putting them into collections, including Mythical Bliss, Cocktail Bliss, Lifestyle Bliss, Sweet Bliss, Essential Bliss, New England Bliss and Pampering Bliss. I'm still playing around with these so they may change a little. My hope is that it will be easier to find what you are looking for. This also means that I will be revamping the website a little too.

Another thing that I am considering to make shopping easier for everyone is listing a few of our most popular products on Etsy. Make sure you follow us on Facebook for updates on this.

Last, but not least I want to share some of the new products that are in the works! Mermaid is so popular that I've decided to add to the Mythical Bliss Collection. Fairy will be releasing this spring, followed by Goddess in the summer. Apres Ski will become part of the Lifestyle Bliss Collection and Namaste will be released and added to this some time in late Spring. New England Bliss (Maine Blueberry, Granite and New England Football) will be joined by Maple Sugar in the Spring as well. I will be adding other exciting products as other products are phased out.

I would love customer feedback on any of this. Feel free to let me know what your favorites are and if you are looking for any particular fragrances that you would love to see added to Pure Bliss. Wishing you Blissful showers and baths in 2017. -Cassie

***Mermaid Lovers, I am working on restocking the Mermaid Soap and Scrub***




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     About the Author

    Cassie Ennis, owner of Pure Bliss Body Confections is a mom of three who loves all things that pamper. Growing up with sensitive skin eventually led her to creating her own bath & body products with her sister-in-law. Since then, Cassie has expanded that idea to share her skin loving products with others.

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Photos used under Creative Commons from Coffee-Channel.com, Natalia Medd
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