A Taste of Handmade

front page image source: daneen_vol, Flickr

Once upon a time, if you were a Greek or Roman, you used olive oil and sand to rub and scrap your body.
The origin of soap is, however,  lost in antiquity. Buried in the flaming lava of Vesuvius a soap maker of Pompeii met his death. Centuries later excavators found his shop with bars of soap in their original moulds. Even that is not the beginning. In 600 B. C. the Phoenicians made soap as a commercial product, and it was doubtless used long before that.

A soapy material has been found in Babylonian clay cylinders dating from as early as 2800 BC.  An Egyptian papyrus from about 1500 BC describes a soap-making process. (more here)

A commonly accepted story for how soap was discovered comes from a Roman legend according to which rain would wash down through the ashes and animal fat of the burnt animal sacrifice area of Mount Sapo into the clay banks of the Tiber River where the local women washed their clothing, and they noticed that this clay mixture made their wash cleaner. (more here)

Whatever the truth, soap is an important part of our lives. And this takes me to the whole point of this post. It’s time for December Giveaway. After the Jewelry Hunt, a Taste of Handmade opens doors to big and small alike, and this month the prizes are two soaps with form and frangrances from the depth of the forrests.

Prizes:

1. cranberry soap 300x300 A Taste of Handmade

One Cranberry Soap, from BathBlitz.

2. bear soap A Taste of Handmade

One Bear Soap, in your chosen fragrance, from Norma’s Bath & Body.

Both prizes are currently reserved by me and will be purchased as soon as winners are drawn and I have their shipping addresses, so that sellers can ship the soaps directly to the winners.

How to enter?

a) Leave a comment with your wanted prize (for the bear soap, visit its page, choose and write your favorite fragrance, too) – 1 entry

b) Subscribe to my feed and leave a comment (if you subscribe by email, please activate your subscription) – 2 entries

Subscribe to Guilty Pleasures in a reader feed icon16x16 A Taste of Handmade

Or by Email

Enter your email address:

c) Write about the giveaway and link back to this post from your own blog – 4 entries (return with a comment if you do, so that I can count your additional entries)

So, you can get either 1, 3 , 5, 6 or 7 entries.

Duration

The Taste of Handmade Giveaway ends on the 2nd of January, at midnight. Yeah, a day after New Year’s Party.

Winners

Will be chosen with the always helpful List Randomizer.

Additional Information

If you’re already subscribed to my RSS, leave a comment so that I can count you in.

For anything else, feel free to drop a line. Good luck and let the giveaway begin!

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This entry was posted on December 14, 2008 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Guilty Pleasures Cocktail. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

165 Responses to A Taste of Handmade

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  1. Hesper F on January 1, 2009 at 12:54 am

    I would love the bear soap in raspberry. Thanks for the chance to win!

  2. Terra Heck on January 1, 2009 at 3:10 am

    Please count me in to win the cranberry soap.

  3. Christina on January 1, 2009 at 5:00 am

    I’d like the Cranberry Soap from Bathblitz, please!

  4. Kathleen Keleher on January 1, 2009 at 11:06 am

    the cranberry. definitely

  5. Veronica Garrett on January 1, 2009 at 11:13 am

    I like the bear soap in raspberry

  6. Erma on January 1, 2009 at 11:51 am

    i’d love to win the cranberry soap. Thanks for the chance to win.

  7. salina munson on January 1, 2009 at 11:57 am

    i would like the crannberry soap. its beautiful and i bet its smells fabulous!

  8. Tina H. on January 1, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    I like the bear soap in baby powder.. thanks for the contest.

  9. Dara Nix on January 1, 2009 at 1:46 pm

    If I am lucky enough to be chosen, I would LOVE to have the bear soap in the baby powder scent! The Lavender Vanilla soap also sounds WONDERFUL!

    Thanks for a great giveaway!!

  10. Annemarie on January 1, 2009 at 2:45 pm

    I would love the Bear Soap in Baby Powder.

  11. Annemarie on January 1, 2009 at 2:47 pm

    I subscribed.

  12. hazel hunt on January 1, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    nice!

  13. Kimberly on January 1, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    I like the Bear Soap in the raspberry scent. Thanks for the chance to win!

  14. Nancy C on January 1, 2009 at 6:06 pm

    I would love to win the Cranberry soap! Thanks so much!

  15. Beverley Justice on January 1, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    I would love the Bear Soap with the baby powder fragrance…

  16. Lisa G. on January 1, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    I would love to win the bear soap in baby powder. Thanks!

  17. Sandy Miresse on January 1, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    I’d love the bear soap in raspberry. Thanks.

  18. Lisa G. on January 1, 2009 at 7:06 pm

    I’m a subscriber. Thanks!

  19. Melissa V on January 1, 2009 at 7:35 pm

    Bear Soap in watermelon. the bear is so adorable!

  20. Kobi Hendrix on January 1, 2009 at 7:53 pm

    I’d love the Cranberry Soap

  21. Alli on January 1, 2009 at 9:13 pm

    I would love to win the cranberry soap! thanks!

  22. Samantha Miller on January 1, 2009 at 9:16 pm

    The raspberry scent sounds good.

  23. Stacie on January 1, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    I love the Cranberry soap.

  24. Stacie on January 1, 2009 at 9:42 pm

    I subscribed via email and activated.

  25. Stacie on January 1, 2009 at 9:42 pm

    I also subscribed in a feed.

  26. Dolores Olsen on January 1, 2009 at 10:52 pm

    I would really like to have the cranberry soap from Bathblitz

  27. crystal on January 2, 2009 at 1:34 am

    I think the Bear is adorable.. I love the Rasperry Bear:)

  28. Samantha Pruitt on January 2, 2009 at 5:58 am

    have to go with the cranberry soap, sounds great!

  29. Samantha Pruitt on January 2, 2009 at 5:59 am

    also a subscriber!

  30. Cassandra on January 2, 2009 at 8:28 am

    I would like the Cranberry Soap. Thanks so much!

  31. joanna smith on January 2, 2009 at 8:35 am

    I would love to win the Cranberry Soap! But the Bear Soap sounds fantastic too and if I were to win that I would choose the watermelon scent. That sounds unusual and very refreshing! Thank you for the opportunity to enter.

  32. joanna smith on January 2, 2009 at 8:36 am

    I just subscribed via email and I have activated my subscription. I am looking forward to receiving them!

  33. joanna smith on January 2, 2009 at 8:40 am

    I Twittered about your wonderful giveaway! Here is a link to the post:

    http://twitter.com/joannaonthelake/status/1091602641

  34. Carla on January 2, 2009 at 9:12 am

    I like the baby powder soap but as I was looking at the site I love the pineapple goats milk soap tooo cute

  35. Carla on January 2, 2009 at 9:13 am

    I am subscribed to you reader….Happy New Years

  36. Cindy Ellis on January 2, 2009 at 9:31 am

    The me me me bubble bar

  37. Paul on January 2, 2009 at 10:46 am

    I would like to win the cranberry soap too!

  38. Elizabeth M. on January 2, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    I would love the cranberry soap!

  39. Elizabeth M. on January 2, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    I subscribed to your RSS via google reader

  40. Amy Griffin on January 2, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    The cranberry soap is so pretty!

  41. Amy A. on January 2, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    I would love to win the cranberry soap. Thanks for the chance.

  42. sheila carter on January 2, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    i love this site

  43. Roseann K. on January 2, 2009 at 3:21 pm

    The Bear Soap in baby powder scent sounds wonderful! Thanks!

  44. Ilissa H. on January 2, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    I’d really love to win One Cranberry Soap, from BathBlitz. Thanks! Great prize!

  45. Ilissa H. on January 2, 2009 at 4:17 pm

    I subscribe in Google reader.

  46. Tamara Burks on January 2, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    I’d love the bear soap in pear scent.

  47. Jill Lund on January 2, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    I like baby powder for the bear soap scent.

  48. DENISE on January 2, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    I would really love to try the cranberry soap. It sounds tasty and good!

  49. Dawn Horns on January 2, 2009 at 6:10 pm

    That cranberry soap looks great.

  50. Michelle H. on January 2, 2009 at 6:41 pm

    Both soaps look great , but I think I would choose the bear soap in baby powder so I could use it on my baby.

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