Flower of Flowers sounds so romantic, doesn't it? Flower of Flowers....literally, it is the description of ylang ylang, a tree which grows in the Phillipines-part-of-the-world - a tree which produces beautiful yellow or white or pink flowers which smell like lillies and symbolize love and devotion. Traditionally, leis are made of the flowers; petals are strewn in bedchambers, and the tree is venerated for its flowers' beauty.
Romantic or not, this soap smells heavenly! The scent combination of tangerine, lavender, ylang ylang, & jasmine is softly floral, yet heady. Mmmmmm. But the story of the soap doesn't stop there; even the label has a story to tell!
I've been bitten by the scrapbooking bug lately. I like to create mini-cards - collages of designs and ephemera that celebrate a theme. So inspired by that scrapbooking concept, I designed a paper background that utilized ephemera from my family archives along with bits of antique botanical prints and lots of swirlie-loopy lines. And you just might see more of that in the future!
When she was about 12 or 13, my paternal grandmother, Maria, created a family tree. She was born and raised in Germany, so it is written in German, in a fine hand that details the important dates and relationships of everyone depicted on the diagram. I was able to incorporate parts of the family tree and parts of her description on the soap label.
You can see the names of the many children in her family (there were ten), some of whom also imigrated to the United States, and who I had the privilege of getting to know.
On another part of the label, you can see snippets of her handwriting detailing how everyone fits into the family; when they were born, etc.
My soap making grandmother also has a place on this label. My mother has a collection of postcards that were written to my grandmother when she was quite young - in the early 1900s. One of those cards appears to be written by a young person; one of my Grandma Rosa's friends. I've included her name, Miss Rosa, from the address area of the postcard, as her name is that of a lovely flower.
Finally, as a musician, I couldn't not include music to celebrate the beauty of flowers. The Last Rose of Summer is a poem written in 1805 by Thomas Moore (the Irish poet, not the other Thomas Moore). It was set to music by Sir John Stevenson and published in Ireland in the early part of the nineteenth century. Even though the words are lovely but sad, the tune has always been one that I've loved. Had to include it!
Flower of Flowers soap is packaged with surprises and lovely tributes. I can't wait for you to see it, smell it, and touch it. I think you'll love it as much as I do!
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