The Scoop on Soy

Soy candles are the eco-friendly solution to traditional petroleum based paraffin. Since its invention in 1992, Soy Wax candles have quickly become the choice of environmentally conscious consumers. Here's why:

Soy Wax is made from hydrogenated soybean oil. Crafted from American grown soybeans, it is a biodegradable & renewable resource that supports the farmer.

The burning of soy candles does not increase the CO2 level in the air.

Soy candles produce 90% less soot than paraffin. Soy burns cleaner & cooler and is less likely to trigger allergies in children & pets due to the absence of toxins.

Soy candles last 50% longer than paraffin candles.

Scented soy candles distribute more fragrance. The low melting point of soy wax results in a larger wax pool that distributes fragrance faster.


Wax spills are easily cleaned up with soap & hot water.

To help your Soy Candle Last Its Longest:

Establish it's memory. ( No, I'm not making this up!)
A soy candle should burn 1 hour for each inch of its diameter until you establish a full melt pool. For example: A 2" diameter candle should burn uniterrupted for 2 hours on the first burn to establish it's memory. Without a proper memory burn, the wick will burn a tunnel down the center and cause a poor scent throw.


A lit candle should always be within your sight. Never leave a burning candle unattended. Keep candles out of reach of children & pets.



CLEAR THE SHELVES CANDLE SALE @ http://1846housesoaps.etsy.com
Its time to clear the candle shelves to make room for our new line of soy candles. The more you buy, the more you save. Combined & flat rate shipping for the best possible price on multiple purchases.

Old Fashioned Day

The Walker Valley Fire Dept hosts Old Fashioned Day every June here in Walker Valley. This event was started some 20 years ago by Judge Greg Greer & his wife Dorothy. It was an opportunity for friend & neighbors to gather and see the way things were done in the Old Days. Music, Food, demonstartions of Old Time Crafts & great childrens games. The fire dept sells "fair food" at Old Fashioned prices. While a soap making demo is a little too dangerous for a crowd, I'll be demonstarting bees wax candle making and selling my old fashioned soap.

Market Season begins

Time to hit the road again. I will be at the Pine Bush Farmers Market on Saturdays until October.

Moving Day

Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My shop will be moving downstairs to bigger & more airy quarters sometime in the next few weeks. ( If you look at my barn, the shop always wanted to be downstairs) Once the move is complete, upstairs becomes my studio complete with soap kitchen. ( Soap lady doing the happy dance here!!) It will be so nice to have a work space that dosent serve any other purpose. To have all my supplies in one place & the room to spread out and create without distractions is something I've dreamed of since I made my first bar of soap!!

Abalone & Sea

Had to share this beauty with you. The inspiration for this soap came to me on Ocracoke when I purchased some Abalone shells for a great price. Was sitting looking over Pamlico Sound early one morning when the idea for this soap popped into my head. Love my natural, cold process goat milk soap...but its all BROWN. There's a soap artist lurking in my soul! This is a Dead Sea Salt Spa Bar with a lotion like lather that exfoliates without scratching. Feels like a polished stone on your skin!

Where the Wild Things Are...

One of my customers, wanted to meet the chickens who supplied his family's eggs& took a stroll with me to the chicken house. As we walked thru the gardens, he commented on the different plantings. " You seem to be infested with Gargoyles..." slid effortlessly into out conversation about green gardening . Very dry...

A beautiful day in the country...

A dear old friend, gone these last 10 years would always greet his neighbors with: " It's a beautiful day in the country>" No matter what the weather or the season, to the "Judge" , a day in our valley was always worth commenting upon. I think it was his was of gently reminding us to slow down enough to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us here in Walker Valley.
This morning, as usual, I had a list of things that needed to be accomplished before today was yesterday. My intentions were good, I felt motivated and goal oriented. I was looking forward to completing each task and the satisfaction that goes with checking it off the list. And then I went outside.
In early spring, when the weather is fine, I start each day wandering my gardens: coffee cup in hand, to check on the progress of all growing things. I wander the gardens in my nightgown, listening to the birds greet the rising sun, with no one to see me but the animals. It's a peaceful way to start my day& something I dream about during the long frozen winter mornings.
Today was not the day for my to do list. I wandered , puttered, planted, potted & pruned.
I sat on a bench and planned the bentwood arbor I would build to shade it. I pictured it covered with vibrant orange trumpet vine & humming birds keeping me company while I rested in it's shade.
I repotted a water lily with root ball so huge it's pot was bursting. I looked at the tiny gold fish in my little water garden and thought of them so large I would have to find homes for many.
I rearranged the decorative trash & treasures that make up my garden accents & create whimsy when you least expect it. Moving things about, elevating statuary, moving chimes where they catch the breeze in a different way, changing the waterfall in my little pond so that the sound will carry to bedroom window as I lay in bed. It dawned on me that I wasnt wasting time. I decorated my outside world in a way that soothes my spirit & took a day to just "be".