Pluff Mud Mercantile

Finishing touches…
So much more goes into candle making than meets the eye. Every step is a process a meditation calling to the NOW moment. If you’re being called to create, express and work with you hands in a meaningful way. Check out our classes that are beyond the practical and entertainment, but an exploration into self. 💜

Slow soap 🧼 Apologies for my one handed camera skills definitely slowed this process down even more. 😉 Coconut oil is scooped spoon by spoon, by hand and measured. Then it’s poured into a giant pot and melted where other oils and ingredients are added to the mix, finally transforming in the bars you see that we sell. The process is a labor of love and dates back to ancient times of around 2800 BC when archaeologists discovered clay tablets with recipes showing fats and oils, water and wood ash. Soap has been an integral part of our lives and protection during plagues while maintaining our hygiene and ritual purification. Why is coconut oil one of our favorite base ingredients in making soap? Coconut oil is high in Laurie acid which becomes sodium laurate in soap. This is what gives the soap strong cleansing power without being harsh, it breaks down dirt and build up. It creates a big bubbly lather and a longer lasting bar. In addition coconut oil has natural antimicrobial properties. To protect your skin inside and out. Make sure to hydrate with coconut 🥥 water. It is rich in electrolytes which are minerals your body needs to function properly. Minerals such as Potassium (400-600 mg in one cup)
Magnesium
Sodium
Calcium
Phosphorus
It matches our body’s natural fluid balance and helps to maintain cell hydration, nerve and muscle function and fluid levels inside and outside the body. This assists in healthy hydrated looking skin from the inside out. What we put in our body is as important as what we put on our body. Our skin is our largest organ and layer of protection to the outer elements so taking good care of it is important.

What’s your daydream? Formulating begins with a spark of inspiration. First the imagination and then the play with ingredients. The process as evolved over time as when I first began I would “free style” create and then not be able to reproduce the item. How frustrating! I learned real quick after creating this amazing formula that I couldn’t reproduce. I purchased a journal and began scribbling down notes and cyphers as I formulated. This way I had the measurement and ingredients for the next batch. It always turns out amazing when you don’t write anything down. Once complete, the process then gets transcribed to the computer where an official recipe is stored with all ingredients and weights. The joy is in the process! What joy have you experienced today? Is there something you create daily that brings you joy? If not, what little moment could bring joy to your day? Start small. Maybe lunch outside. A deep breath in the middle of the day. The pause to create space for the imagination to creep in. A little time to daydream is good for the soul. These moments lead to our manifestation of life.

After cutting the soap there are shavings and crumbs that make clean up easy! It’s a great time to focus and breathe 🧘‍♀️ Pause. 💗 If you like handcrafted soap…go grab you a bar. 🧼 Thank you!😊

With all the posts of 2016, I decided to take a look at some of the photos still in my camera. This was the first full year opening my store and now this will be the first full year of my store being closed. A fitting completion I would say. The one drawing “ You are SO worthy of existing. Please try to remember. Jasmine T” Thank you Jasmine T. I don’t know who you are or where you are but your message matters. This was drawn on the paper of a table in a coffee shop in Savannah, GA. At the time it felt like a message left just for me speaking to my soul. It still does. Remembering my worthiness has been something I have been working on for a long time. I also notice that one thing that holds true throughout all of my messages and photos is LOVE. 💗 I’ve made products with it, shared love through my creations and teachings, in the store with laughter and tear of friends and customers. Even though a couple years later my dog Ashepoo crossed the rainbow bridge, I was blessed with Scarlett through a miraculous event. The first photo is her. All the others that look like her are Ashepoo. And a sweet little photo of Lexi. Five pounds of fluff. The nature, mountains, flowers at the Biltmore. So much growth and learning during the decade to prepare me for who I am today. ✨💗 More nature and walks with Scarlett plus lots more expansive creativity. We are born to create and are LOVE. Some may have forgotten, it’s our responsibility to be the Light to shine into the dark corners just by being authentically who we are. They will remember. 💗

A little highlights from soaping Sunday!! Cold process soap. Handcrafted with lye. You can’t make soap without lye. Most “soap” products that are sold in stores are actually detergent, not soap. Detergents are made with a petroleum base and are drying and strip the skins natural oils. If your skin is dry and itchy during the winter months, or you have skin issues like eczema or psoriasis, check your soap. What are you putting on your skin? Remember it is as important what we put on our skin as in our body. No sulfates, no parabens, no yuckie stuff! Remember to bundle and save. Our bars are made to last longer than your average handcrafted soap in an oversized bar. If you want to learn how to make soap or other natural products, we offer soap making courses and mentoring.

Did you know we make dog soap? Our special formula leaves the skin and coat soft, no harmful chemicals in a great lathering, long lasting bar. The convenient rope allows you to keep ahold of the bar for washing the belly without it slipping away!

Whoa!! Loving every minute of this book 📕 by my dear soul brother It will pluck every single one of your heartstrings, well your eyes with water, and spark a remembrance so deep within your core that you say….THIS! This is what life is for…LOVE! Remembering what we are at our core…LOVE 💗 remembering that’s is our highest expression LOVE! Mookie my friend, you have done it again!! Sparked a realization, another aha moment, a vibration on a soul level that I am blown away by. Telling your story in your eloquent words is REAL, AUTHENTIC LOVE! ❤️ The funnel of the universe that flows through you beckons us all to the call. Love!! ❤️ Your words flow in melody, and are music to my ears. 🎶 In a world that it’s constantly distracting us to fear. For anyone that is fed up with the noise and desiring to connect to a light ✨ reading in a darkened room. Pick this up!! You’ll be glad you did. Guard the portholes of the mind and fill it with good stuff!! This is the good stuff we all need right now. Thank you Mookie! Your voice echoes in chambers of eternity. Much love my friend! I’m with you in the “doing LOVE differently” movement. ❤️