CraftSanity Podcasts with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

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This week we're going to visit the kitchen of soap-making, super mom, Dee Bellini, 44, of Wyoming, Mich. She is a married, mother of five boys who works full-time as a parts manager for a fork lift company. When she's off the clock, Dee is working hard to grow her soap business Bars by Bellini. Like many of us who rush home from our day jobs to work on projects, Dee is pursuing her crafty dream on the side and one day hopes to have a shop where she can sell her handmade soaps, lotions, scrubs, sprays and lip balms.

I met Dee in December and watched customers flock to her booth at an artist market we both participated in. Her products are wonderful, especially her Goats Milk and Aloe Cream. I was never a chemistry whiz and haven't had a much luck making soap myself, so I decided to take a lesson from a pro. On this episode of CraftSanity, I'm going to take you inside Dee's kitchen where she's going to tell us how she makes her expanding line of soaps and skin products.

So settle in for an audio tour into the world of soapmaking. Throughout the recording, Dee shares many interesting facts about the properties of particular oils and loads of useful information that will be very useful if you want to try this yourself.

I shot video of Dee in action, and will be posting that soon.

Meet Dee: If you're going to be in West Michigan this summer, be sure to look for Dee at the Fulton Street Artisan's Market from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. every Sunday. Below are some pictures of the stained glass artwork she sells at her booth.

This week's project: Dee was kind enough to write a great soap tutorial, so be sure to check it out. Thanks Dee! Download the PDF.

And we have a winner! The winner of Amy Karol's fabulous "Bend the Rules Sewing" book is Beth of Nashville, Tenn. Congrats Beth. Thanks to everyone who posted comments and to Potter Craft for donating the book.

This week's contest: Want to sample Dee's fantastic products? Post a comment about this episode on the blog and copy it into an e-mail to Jennifer@craftsanity.com along with your mailing address, and I'll get you entered in our random drawing for a gift package of great soaps and skin products. Share a soap story or a link to one of your own tutorials. The deadline to enter is July 20. Good luck everyone!

Support the show! Vote for CraftSanity at Podcast Alley. Or, buy a CraftSanity T-shirt or button.

Taking Names: Who do you want to hear from next? Send your comments, guest and show topic suggestions to jennifer@craftsanity.com.