I’m really looking forward to the holiday season this year. I know that I’m getting a little ahead of myself to start thinking about a Christmas tree and holiday cookies (it hasn’t even gotten cold here yet), but I know how December sneaks up on me so quickly every year  that I can’t be over-prepared. My goal is to finish my holiday crafting by the time we cook up the Thanksgiving feast. It’s going to be a pretty busy next few weeks for me craft-wise but I’m super excited.

I’m planning to give away my handmade soaps as gifts this year again, and I already have a few batches ready to go. I made three batches of soap last month and they’re now ready to be packaged and sent off to my soap-loving friends and family.

One batch that I’m particularly excited about is the Yogurt Soap that I made using my homemade yogurt.  It was inspired by the bowl of yogurt with fresh peach I enjoyed in the summertime when the juicy fruit was in season!

The health benefits of yogurt are widely known but did you know that it can also be great for your skin? It’s great for acne treatment (due to high concentration of zinc), and serves as a much-needed moisturizer during the upcoming chilly weather (due to high fat content). I’m sure you’ve seen girls smother dollops of yogurt on their face during their home spa session on a slumber party, along with other all-natural super skin heros like cucumbers, avocadoes, bananas, and honey. I tried my first bar in the shower this week and I absolutely love the way it makes my skin feel. It lathered incredibly well, with frothy white foam, and the subtle but sweet scents of peach fragrance oil and sweet orange essential oil made my skin smell like wonderful summer days.

Giveaway!  If you’re interested in trying this yogurt soap, leave me a comment here!  I will be happy to share them with first three people to comment on this post!   

Updated on October 21, 2011:  Thank you to Trisha, Lenna, Va, and Erin, for commenting! You will each receive the homemade Yogurt Peach Soap from Lavender and Olive (which is my Etsy shop). Please kindly email me your mailing address to LavenderandOlive@yahoo.com and I’ll get the soaps out to you! Again, thanks for your participation!

Yogurt Peach Soap: Olive oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil, homemade yogurt (2% fat), distilled water, lye, peach fragrance oil, sweet orange essential oil, lavender essential oil.

It’s 67 days until Christmas!