Cora's Blissfully Natural Products LLC
We are a Mother Daughter Team
This is Our Story!
Our becoming soap makers were out of need; My Daughter has very dry skin and rashes Caused by persistent low blood sugars due to a genetic mutation of the pancreas. We tried every soap, lotion, and cream. Nothing seem to work not even prescription types.
INSPIRATION!
In November of 2006 My Daughter was trying to figure out what to do for Her Heritage 4-H project. She started reading this book; (Once Upon a Time The way America was: by Eric Sloane). While studying History. (In this book Mr. Sloane states " what a bore life has become!") When we want water, electricity, food, or clothes; we couldn't care less where these things come from.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS!
After reading what the true American Heritage is; we talked it over and my Daughter decided to take the adventure of a lifetime. She was going to live like the early pioneer's. Sounds like this might be easy to do; but it's not. I turned off the TV, and started getting Her up earlier in the morning so that she could get all her chores done before school. She had to get up and clean her room, go out and water and feed her 4-H steers and work on three Heritage projects. The project were to make a quilt, to research her family tree, and learn to make soap. As for her quilt it was made to fit a full size bed. I did allow her to use the sewing machine to sew the quilt top, but she used her Great Grandmothers quilting rack to put the quilt together and tie it. The family history she used the computer to do the research; (hey have you noticed that so far she hasn't given up electricity yet.) The history she used to make a living history quilt. She printed the names of the male side of the family on to fabric to make the squares for her quilt. (The pioneer women would of hand stitched the each name); all the sewing was done in the day light hours it took her seven months to complete the quilt. To display the computer printout of the family trees she made home made paper and covered it with fabric left over from her quilt; (this too was done in day light hour only (pioneers did not have electricity). While doing all her chores and projects as close to how a pioneer might; she was learning to make soap.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES!
It is now Winter
Where we live winters very from year to year. The winter of 2006-2007 turned out to be very cold with temperatures below zero, high winds, and snows.
Life as a pioneer is hard. Even in below zero weather and the wind making it even colder. She still had to go out feed and water her steers. Every morning she had to break the ice in the water buckets (pioneers did not have heated water troth's) nor did she; but we did have frost free water lines. That did not mean anything that year the wind chill even froze them up. The day are now shorter and less day light meant fewer hours to do all her chores, school and projects.
To make soap she first had to learn how the pioneers made it. The pioneers usually made it in the fall of the year during butchering time when there was as excess of fat. If they were lucky they were getting a little rain. If not they would use dishwater. The pioneer woman made her own lye from fireplace ash, and test it by floating an egg.
In 2006-2007 there is melt and pour, rebatching and from scratch soap. In 4-H you must learn all the ways to make soap. (So she did). Made a lot of soap! So much soap she really did not know what to do with it all. Then one day I said while looking at all that soap" 4-H is not just making something to show at Fair time, it is about taking what you have learned and putting it to work. That was two weeks before Christmas 2006. We put the soap in cute baskets and loaded them in the car, and set out to see if any friends and family might buy her soap. That day she sold it all, with orders for more.
By the spring of 2007 she had created her own line of products. Sold them to friends, family and anyone who wanted additive and preservative free personal care products. WE have been hard at work, school, and play from that day on.
When She started her pioneer adventure it was to experience life as close to that of those who built this country. What she learned is that as a child in the year 2006.She spent to much time in front of the Television, she was wasteful, that she expected everything to be given to her, and that she was pretty lazy.
After her adventure ended in June of 2007 she learned that she was quite capable of doing anything she set her mind too. She learned that hard work won't kill you in fact it feels good. Most of all found the true American Heritage.
Our American Heritage is
Spirit, Hard Work, and To Be Frugal
All Our soaps are made from scratch in small batches. The goats milk is whole milk right from the goat its self. The rose hip in our oil grows wild on our small farm, and so does the lavender that might be in some of our products. All the oils used in our products are vegetable and of food quality.
NO animal testing. All testing is done on friends and family.