tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53379922803966083572024-03-05T14:45:50.866-08:00Cindy's Scentuals: Soap, Body, & Bath BlogThis is a blog about my adventures making and selling handmade cold process soaps and related goodies. I chronicle everything...the good, bad, and the ugly. Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-43778524320734212562015-11-11T14:55:00.000-08:002015-11-11T14:55:10.334-08:00Great Cakes Soap Works Challenge--The Wall PourI must have read Amy's mind, because a week or so before I received the October Challenge technique, I had been messing around with wall-pour soaps. I've been doing these quite sometime, but mostly using a regular mold. Vinvela Ebony who created the lovely Dandelion technique had a series of tutorials I found somewhere where she featured this technique. I do all kinds of things with it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandalwood & Patchouli</td></tr>
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In the example on the left, I did alternating pours with the red and white with thin traced soap, then dumped in the mustard yellow. Each bar is so cool--never know what you're going to get! This is my standard go-to technique for Sandalwood Patchouli soap. Here's one I did using a skinny mold before Amy announced the challenge. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AwJv8mxoF7gEemaw0xLSxRqYodmAdt5QI_h44rcoDv0-gpXNxyIbQgKH6LbEehhlLvzS-ohO42YQSXR4C2oLjxKU0vYfMtbSoPnZ2IgMS729SZgcvuBHcFcYYCwo_jSqCei9Y4vSYd0t/s1600/Cherry+Almond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AwJv8mxoF7gEemaw0xLSxRqYodmAdt5QI_h44rcoDv0-gpXNxyIbQgKH6LbEehhlLvzS-ohO42YQSXR4C2oLjxKU0vYfMtbSoPnZ2IgMS729SZgcvuBHcFcYYCwo_jSqCei9Y4vSYd0t/s200/Cherry+Almond.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry Almond</td></tr>
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This scent makes my mouth water. It's been wildly popular at the craft show--black cherry almond. I wish I could enter this one, but alas, I can't, but I didn't mind having to make another one because it really is a fun technique and always lovely. <br />
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I chose Wholesale Supplies Plus, Black Amber Musk, because it smells divine and sells well as a uni-sex scent. It's hard to describe, but it's soft and sexy. For most scents, it's fairly easy to come up with a color scheme, but this one confused me. I've grappled with blues and greens, another time turquoise blue and navy. Well, amber is amber, but what color is musk? If you Google what is musk, you get this: "A<span class="dc_bld"> strong-smelling reddish-brown substance that is
secreted by the male musk deer for scent-marking and is an important
ingredient in perfumery.</span>" Now, I generally like to match my colors with my scents, but in some cases, a literal interpretation might not be the best. But, if you do a Google Image search for the "color of musk" you get this: I like purple, so that's what it's going to be.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjNzuw5K1IWsDrp9-sYuXi6hiFBhDALDTp2UX6rbBfUc0BPwa7CNW6geHaycaC1DEpC6-ZEprLVMThhae2Ea2Twlo_sKvag-To4VHKRCk06OAqVNIZr2tt1_4_bWBK6Gue8WGj9FA3REI/s1600/Black+Amber+Musk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjNzuw5K1IWsDrp9-sYuXi6hiFBhDALDTp2UX6rbBfUc0BPwa7CNW6geHaycaC1DEpC6-ZEprLVMThhae2Ea2Twlo_sKvag-To4VHKRCk06OAqVNIZr2tt1_4_bWBK6Gue8WGj9FA3REI/s320/Black+Amber+Musk.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Amber Musk</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvkxbu8HYFVmuLW3ztnvqUUIioWhbHuTrCRHNqmdR4U7251altSu4whSyFLfjOdUnE2LLisSd_Ct9IGYoNji__Lk9q0HB0LaZxKd0v3MAAVjtuFA2HpPdgu9NEfVo6pPQEScwp-zfJQRJ/s1600/IMG_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvkxbu8HYFVmuLW3ztnvqUUIioWhbHuTrCRHNqmdR4U7251altSu4whSyFLfjOdUnE2LLisSd_Ct9IGYoNji__Lk9q0HB0LaZxKd0v3MAAVjtuFA2HpPdgu9NEfVo6pPQEScwp-zfJQRJ/s200/IMG_0342.JPG" width="200" /></a>All my colorants for this soap came from Nuture Soaps. I chose 5...dark purple, light purple, white, grey, and black which would appeal to my male buyers.<br />
I poured every color down one side, then switched down the other, repeating till I was done. I tilted my mold using a "Better Homes & Garden Cookbook." which gave it a pretty good tilt--much more than the demo. My batter was a little thicker than anticipated. Black Amber Musk has never accelerated on me before. Frankly, I think I just over mixed a bit; however, it stayed pourable the whole time. I oven processed these in a 170 degree for about 30 minutes--just enough to get the gelling process going and then took it out to do it's thing.<br />
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I wanted the black to be minimal, but it ended up being black spots down the sides. Not bad, really, but not what I wanted. I liked the S curves though. I think this technique works best with 4 colors for this particular look. I am so stinking excited to see what everybody comes up with! Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-12864464670451348322015-02-18T13:35:00.000-08:002015-02-18T13:35:11.771-08:00Helix Swirl Great Cakes ChallengeIt's been ages since I've used my square mold, so I was pretty excited to break it out and try the helix swirl. As a soap maker, I'm drawn more to the mystery of soap designs made inside the soap. The agony and ecstasy of the anticipated unmolding and slicing appeals to me more for some reason, but it was nice, for once, to not have to wait. What you see is what you get. Not that there wasn't any agonizing preparing for this soap. First it was going to be a Black Amber Musk soap with blues and purples, but I had more than enough blue soap on the rack.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6Np-2LWWiZpBNSL7GmpCOhlQROQ1nerLNxg-VPCb2qQn-WLlwbPCGV2dsOWxwEnzv540Eo_3-vI_swdBDoAEphimJIBvJej5emFuZWXp8jLOQ7bnI2eLbj5a65QwBKAJH2ER3046Zlzi/s1600/IMG_0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6Np-2LWWiZpBNSL7GmpCOhlQROQ1nerLNxg-VPCb2qQn-WLlwbPCGV2dsOWxwEnzv540Eo_3-vI_swdBDoAEphimJIBvJej5emFuZWXp8jLOQ7bnI2eLbj5a65QwBKAJH2ER3046Zlzi/s1600/IMG_0125.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>What I really needed to round out the stock was an Oat Milk and Honey soap. It sells well all year and with little flourish. This is one of my plain Jane soaps that people LOVE. I make with actual oat milk (yes, I milk my own oats), real honey, no color other than what the fragrance and oat milk impart. I wonder if it'll sell just the same with helix fancy top? For the challenge, I went with my super-stay fluid go to recipe for swirly designs...high percentage of olive oil and sunflower oil. For my colors, I thought Nuture Soap Mocha Brown, Morrocan Red Clay which is orangey-red, and white would look good together against the tannish base. I wasn't going to milk the oats for this one since I knew it would thicken up my recipe, but last minute, I said what the heck and milked the oats anyway. I had some leftover coconut milk, too, so I threw them both in, at trace, using only half the normal water called for. I think its called milk-in-oil method and it works great. Hmmm...do you detect a theme of liking to frustrate myself? I knew the milks would thicken it up. Would it stay fluid enough with this recipe?<br />
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Full steam ahead, sure enough, just a few spins with the stick blender and it was thickening up, but behaving nonetheless.I put a few ounces of the three colors into three squirt bottles and went to town. This was the fun part, but I was sweating bullets trying to go fast before it really thickened up, but surprising stayed pretty good. Now for the "S" curves to create the helix. I am "S" curve challenged. I even printed out Amy's "S" curve cheat sheet and between sweating bullets and being dazzled by those pretty colors, I didn't know where one s started and the other quit. I think it looks pretty chaotic. You can see the drag lines made with the chopstick, but I really like how it gives extra texture to the soap.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5wihjpOLILronS2Z_8KUBspqohhXbh6jCOUCyinuVyUjaG9g8xIFJP3OCY1TDJM-25uOtTMrSvyxyuBhyFx4f0StHPSq8AkOR_a-WEKgovXnFxZ6atXNmWlZYdx5dtU8hSttf9XBMksp/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5wihjpOLILronS2Z_8KUBspqohhXbh6jCOUCyinuVyUjaG9g8xIFJP3OCY1TDJM-25uOtTMrSvyxyuBhyFx4f0StHPSq8AkOR_a-WEKgovXnFxZ6atXNmWlZYdx5dtU8hSttf9XBMksp/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
I really wanted to make sure this soap gelled, so I put it into warm 170 degree oven for 15 minutes.<br />
I usually don't do that with my milk soaps, but I didn't think 15 minutes would cause any cracking. It definitely would have if I added honey, but left it out of this one. In my experience, I think gelled soaps are much less prone to developing ash and there is nothing worse than ash on this type of design. It worked great! Here's the bars after about a week. I love it! Thanks Amy! As always, another fun technique/challenge. I can't wait to see all the pretty color schemes people come up with.<br />
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<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-47538146119649031942015-01-19T15:43:00.002-08:002015-01-21T06:22:11.884-08:00Great Cakes Works Butterfly Swirl ChallengeYeah!! Boy, was I excited to hear that January's soap challenge would be on the Butterfly Swirl, created, I think, by the infamous Zahilda of Handmade in Florida. Didn't she win, like, seven challenges in a row? I've stalked her you tube videos quite a bit. I've been trying the technique since last summer with inconsistent results. Every once in awhile, I get those perfect butterfly loops, but not often. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong! How exciting for Amy to show us, step-by-step each nugget of wisdom for coaxing the elusive butterfly out of its soapy cocoon. Thanks Amy--you're the best!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlXiU_s3wRE5pCV8ulwgvUa4nR811_dd12PXvy1nzuMdo0Y7euPkqP4HMksOsB0qHtADrTzLlIeYjiajabDjiACiLQ_rLs0ZzbotxBH6dpNlhyphenhyphenLhtp2Uifa9J1Wp5E6GfxfGPF4v7mExu/s1600/IMG_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlXiU_s3wRE5pCV8ulwgvUa4nR811_dd12PXvy1nzuMdo0Y7euPkqP4HMksOsB0qHtADrTzLlIeYjiajabDjiACiLQ_rLs0ZzbotxBH6dpNlhyphenhyphenLhtp2Uifa9J1Wp5E6GfxfGPF4v7mExu/s1600/IMG_0118.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
Since I'm re-stocking the soap shelves for spring, I did a practice batch with my Triple Butter Lavender soap in my new tall skinny mold from Nuture Soaps using their Purple Orchid Vibrance mica and Super White titanium dioxide. Each bar of my 11 bar batch was lovely, but only one mirror image set really looked like a butterfly when set side by side. Here it is:<br />
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For my actual challenge soap, I was decided on a Gingery Orange soap using Fandago Pink mica, Orange Vibrance mica, Turquoise Vibrance mica, and Super White Titanium Dioxide from Nuture Soaps for my swirl in a base of Cafe Latte Sparkle mica from Wholesale Supplies Plus. I used mostly White Tea Ginger from WSP and just a touch of Brambleberry's White Tea Ginger that I had leftover in a sample bottle which I had never actually used in cold process soap, but I figured it had to be similar. The two scents are so alike; however the devil on my shoulder said, "You know, you shouldn't use a new fragrance oil especially on a soap challenge, but it's just a tiny bit, it couldn't hurt a thing!" Wrong! I used a recipe I've used dozens of times and was surprised it was tracing pretty fast. The portions I had separated out for my colors were really thickening up. I plopped the colors in fast as I could and swirled using the exact motion Amy demonstrated in her video, but I knew this wasn't going to work--it was just too thick! Yikes!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqi1-w1IojfD1vi5Swf0BYXByxV_BqHkM5cYsYYSaYcmblZ2UTV05n7_G4iREKxJYNFX05XAatUM1DDIx3JXGzSMBtEYYeJcBtmIfuiuaVLIW3EAFyljpBzaWUh5uzZDNKBvnitxxsuTz/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqi1-w1IojfD1vi5Swf0BYXByxV_BqHkM5cYsYYSaYcmblZ2UTV05n7_G4iREKxJYNFX05XAatUM1DDIx3JXGzSMBtEYYeJcBtmIfuiuaVLIW3EAFyljpBzaWUh5uzZDNKBvnitxxsuTz/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>I knew the swirls weren't going to work, but what surprised me the most about this batch was the colors! They totally morphed. Fandango Pink turned orange, Turquoise turned greenish, and Orange Vibrance turned yellow! I was stumped, until I pondered that tiny bit of Brambleberry White Tea Ginger I threw in. Don't get me wrong, Brambleberry has excellent products, but even on their website they warned this scent could morph in cold-process and that it did. My bad for not checking! The soap, is still lovely and smells amazing--I think it'll sell very well this spring, but I was going to have to try one more time for the challenge.<br />
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For me, this technique is very hard to achieve consistently. I tried once again, and apparently, my soap was not thick enough and the swirls were thin, wispy and lovely, but not like my first attempt, so I'm going with my Triple Butter Lavender attempt for the contest. Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!<br />
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<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-21448013327832243552014-07-03T09:53:00.001-07:002014-07-03T09:53:17.418-07:00Sizzling Citrus<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgey_VSwm0GwLKad0IPsdz2XGvNzxIepybN0NRWxCNAPmXCrX_AzyIe2Lg4RjZHm_qYZacFq1wWB-e3tkxruixa-6bM94ecLpIWEgxhwcYJjMo6o2dGkTZ46HsUXzw8d3nkjHjt1pLHOWBC/s1600/2014-06-20_07-02-24_55-edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgey_VSwm0GwLKad0IPsdz2XGvNzxIepybN0NRWxCNAPmXCrX_AzyIe2Lg4RjZHm_qYZacFq1wWB-e3tkxruixa-6bM94ecLpIWEgxhwcYJjMo6o2dGkTZ46HsUXzw8d3nkjHjt1pLHOWBC/s1600/2014-06-20_07-02-24_55-edited.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>Trying to sell a bunch of these little lovlies at the farmer's market. It's scented with orange, grapefruit, and patchouli. I used carrot puree in my base and shored it up with chamomile and calendula infused oils to help summer skin recover from fun in the sun.Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-77770930639233149622014-06-18T13:07:00.000-07:002014-06-19T17:46:03.771-07:00 Hanger Swirl Challenge: Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Soap<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9EfmdfvtbsQoXYhnenyALcIK14mv_xMUJkNsaAsABzliISfN-4UDHUkjTdHvPuNGbGbYTc021sQ4DQnaIpQzCmpkAGbGtl03KNrsv_bkbyF89vuOhZUCbqXJQduyY7v2-fRUIrsYLfd2/s1600/Gear+Tie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9EfmdfvtbsQoXYhnenyALcIK14mv_xMUJkNsaAsABzliISfN-4UDHUkjTdHvPuNGbGbYTc021sQ4DQnaIpQzCmpkAGbGtl03KNrsv_bkbyF89vuOhZUCbqXJQduyY7v2-fRUIrsYLfd2/s1600/Gear+Tie.jpg" height="200" width="141" /></a>Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...how I love this technique. I was so happy to hear Amy was going with this super simple technique, because once you get the right recipe down, it creates an infinite number of variations to keep the stick blender purring happily. I'd say probably 80% of my soaps use this technique in some capacity. Traditionally, it's done with a clothes hanger bent to conform with your mold, then stuff wrapped around the middle to make it a little thicker. I tried duct tape wrapped around 30 times, but near poked my eye out and felt the resulting swirl a little anemic, not to mention the unpleasantness of cleaning raw soap off the tool later. There had to be a better way. I knew there were swirling tools especially made to fit certain molds, but I wanted something cheap and flexible to use with different sized molds. I love reading soap maker's blogs and one day stumbled across a soap maker talking about how she swirls soaps. She uses a Gear Tie. It marketed more to dudes in the employment of organizing tools and rigging up stuff. You bend this baby any way you want and it's easy to clean! Unlike a thin coat wire, or even one pathetically wrapped with duct tape, this is just the right thickness to move thin to moderately traced soap. I bought mine on clearance at Target for around $3.00 and remains in active duty.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWh1Y6KDTlxrdDphEJDgu1_5ipiZRUtgRXFtAXK64qB_s-U_kpe3cA_s5K1JbNY0sBtm8cKY9oAO2f2k87LB578L36e_4puD4gtz43lhzN_eXTuub90OQUgZODDXb4Lmue_qVrJNazEC7/s1600/2014-06-13_07-11-51_698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWh1Y6KDTlxrdDphEJDgu1_5ipiZRUtgRXFtAXK64qB_s-U_kpe3cA_s5K1JbNY0sBtm8cKY9oAO2f2k87LB578L36e_4puD4gtz43lhzN_eXTuub90OQUgZODDXb4Lmue_qVrJNazEC7/s1600/2014-06-13_07-11-51_698.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>Another thing that's really important with the hanger swirl, is that your soap batter be Momma Bear just right. If the soap is too thick, the gear won't drag the soap in that fluid manner that gives your swirls life and motion. Too thin, and the colors meld and don't drag the soap. After tweaking recipes forever I came upon a good recipe that's approximately 43% saturated Oils to 57 % unsaturated. Include a little sunflower into your recipe and it works great! I incorporate my lye at 32%, which is just a slight discount, but enough to harden up my soap faster than otherwise. I change up the oils occasionally, but stick to this ratio. I'm really horrible about putting colors together, so I turn to Design Seeds a lot, or look to clothing, curtains, fabric...anything for ideas! My family just bought a hammock and the colors are fabulous..very summer-like and semi-patriotic without being exactly red, white and blue. When my husband and son were putting the hammock together, my son, goofing around, wrapped the hammock around him and said, "Look...I'm Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat!"<br />
I headed to my soaping lab (my dining room table) to see if I could duplicate these colors into a Dream Soap!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5OeU6_P8CEpB4BhT9XUcQo5QfI-mEOcmnrI4Ppzq9OiYUfJBXrNR_VfFDBWseOAPYXhTzxS6wPJgY4jf5t8BgT-AYmaZcgXHoR1PzlvzSF1ek-1pOpbyyZjn7hbp0OJY-fys81LHoQtu/s1600/2014-06-01_09-19-06_393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5OeU6_P8CEpB4BhT9XUcQo5QfI-mEOcmnrI4Ppzq9OiYUfJBXrNR_VfFDBWseOAPYXhTzxS6wPJgY4jf5t8BgT-AYmaZcgXHoR1PzlvzSF1ek-1pOpbyyZjn7hbp0OJY-fys81LHoQtu/s1600/2014-06-01_09-19-06_393.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>To scent my soap, I went with my Love, Peace, and Happiness essential oil blend of sandalwood FO, patchouli, lavender, and a wee bit of orange. This is the most popular scent blend I sell. Seems like young, old, male and female love it! Even self proclaimed patchouli haters like it once they smell it, and it sells year round. It's truly love, peace, and happiness consolidated down into a soapy little bundle of wonder.<br />
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The cool thing about the hangar swirl is you can swirl in any direction you like, up and down, side to side, or a combination, and as many times as you like. Since my hammock was my inspiration, I didn't want to do an aggressive swirl, but rather a simple rolling-type wave. I layered my colors near the center of the soap in a base of matte yellow, Dandelion-type style, against a flexible divider, then made a few brief passes with my hanger. That's it! So simple. I was very pleased that the actual soap matched the vision in my head. This hardly ever happens and makes me giggle like 5 year old as I cut my soap. Again, I have to thank Amy for putting on the challenges. I consider it my professional development, even if I never win, and going through the resulting soap, soap maker entertainment of the highest order!Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-4385998409383306012014-05-14T07:15:00.000-07:002014-05-14T07:15:00.024-07:00Great Cakes Soap Works Challenge-Glycerin Mica SwirlsI was very excited that we were going to be doing glycerin mica swirls for this month's challenge. I did this technique once before on a pumpkin soap and while it was really cool and elegant, I don't think a pumpkin soap was the right vehicle to carry off the glam imparted by this technique.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Eawdjg1TdKbcdlA90yN1B5GlU_H5UXal-8D2TJ3twRdF-CwaZQuMCoKrwUdsKOUipchOOkjCewlPt1iU6nsLxQWX4LastzLIFKko51tKeScXAZzkuBuhS0he0idbLslICfkLJ9tdFaul/s1600/CreatureTones_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Eawdjg1TdKbcdlA90yN1B5GlU_H5UXal-8D2TJ3twRdF-CwaZQuMCoKrwUdsKOUipchOOkjCewlPt1iU6nsLxQWX4LastzLIFKko51tKeScXAZzkuBuhS0he0idbLslICfkLJ9tdFaul/s1600/CreatureTones_3.png" height="320" width="293" /></a></div>
I wanted to do a soap that was dark, exotic and sexy, so I decided on a sandalwood patchouli soap. Is there anything sexier than patchouli and sandalwood? I'm a sucker for real patchouli so I used the real deal along with a FO sandalwood. I was having a hard time coming up with a color scheme, so I turned to design seeds for inspiration and came across this swatch called "creature tones" Now, this was a sexy color scheme. Reminds me of my brief stint as a divorcee dating younger men and wouldn't it go great with sandalwood patchouli? I don't think non-soap makers realize the dozens of little decisions that occur even before the first oil is pulled off the shelf.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvnVTfbIvvlTFe4uPqkC0bn8KFTzUICcMSEAXK7bo_H-HZWYSG3O2beCnEjF6d7ZZUWTAksUsOYAl9j0XFSeK1swTLRR4LWYy2-vI0ckOYRA4yjUAAmwIxo_Myq91tj0tvsnNrHlRHBPp/s1600/2014-05-03_19-13-048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvnVTfbIvvlTFe4uPqkC0bn8KFTzUICcMSEAXK7bo_H-HZWYSG3O2beCnEjF6d7ZZUWTAksUsOYAl9j0XFSeK1swTLRR4LWYy2-vI0ckOYRA4yjUAAmwIxo_Myq91tj0tvsnNrHlRHBPp/s1600/2014-05-03_19-13-048.jpg" height="204" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now, what to do with these colors? I decided on a modified dandelion technique using wide bands of my colors separated by the neutral base and then swirled lightly with a hangar. I used a recipe that included sunflower that would give me plenty of time to play. For the purple, I was excited to try out a new order of Purple Brazilian clay. The black was made with activated charcoal and the burgundy, a mix of merlot sparkle mica and red oxide. For the top swirls, I went with white sparkle mica mixed with oil and 24K gold mica with glycerin. I thought they'd make a nice contrast with base colors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDV6WqhMf7TVjfQWowh8qga6cGqj5GeMHEcmlIThtB39GWGKOlqkDJC-Wcb7fvwPBEoDXr8b0jGQQJa_mbLEqEqs0rLxUjMTDTRLBIgn8t-QkJRXq-I7uEkMLPFJcLO-cvxxQaop8AUDTZ/s1600/2014-05-04_05-41-45_352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDV6WqhMf7TVjfQWowh8qga6cGqj5GeMHEcmlIThtB39GWGKOlqkDJC-Wcb7fvwPBEoDXr8b0jGQQJa_mbLEqEqs0rLxUjMTDTRLBIgn8t-QkJRXq-I7uEkMLPFJcLO-cvxxQaop8AUDTZ/s1600/2014-05-04_05-41-45_352.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day After</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqzMvMw6XgxgvMS8h2pATZLpGidpB8LGRoFFGmUFpAdlQ1Eh7WgtgXTLUldLRPU8EgFAwbS1VCCHPimiZNAqgHuM6Gt7rg9KTyDSkuQRwsJW1nqOP6vKzAMrscpqrR9T7yAFU2Rxz0hBg/s1600/2014-05-04_08-04-44_857+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqzMvMw6XgxgvMS8h2pATZLpGidpB8LGRoFFGmUFpAdlQ1Eh7WgtgXTLUldLRPU8EgFAwbS1VCCHPimiZNAqgHuM6Gt7rg9KTyDSkuQRwsJW1nqOP6vKzAMrscpqrR9T7yAFU2Rxz0hBg/s1600/2014-05-04_08-04-44_857+(1).jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>Thinking back to the time I used glycerin on my pumpkin soap, I was astounded at the cavern carving capacity of the glycerin...carved a little Grand Canyon river system on my soap top! For my challenge soap, I didn't want the river system, so I planned to go much lighter this time. Here's how it looks right after I swirled. The white mica shows as the white swirled through the black. The gold mica glycerin pools up as little beads. The next morning it looked like this: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvzh16eS9M_NfguNghxgW6p4iZf_IWdPJq55TPgsal7BfF3TIWk5-gMo66wEaOqRXA1niUrTg7s_p5BdDyATEfiijOAFDidshv_JdKcM9tEFlKyC45x25DAFcxGznRNYHbhYh9dg4Talw/s1600/2014-05-06_17-03-40_669.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvzh16eS9M_NfguNghxgW6p4iZf_IWdPJq55TPgsal7BfF3TIWk5-gMo66wEaOqRXA1niUrTg7s_p5BdDyATEfiijOAFDidshv_JdKcM9tEFlKyC45x25DAFcxGznRNYHbhYh9dg4Talw/s1600/2014-05-06_17-03-40_669.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVP_eMfpL14g4UXGu1h6hDb6r7TYQaNspQvL9dqCMJCNgRY0SMSKcxkZB4iyR676A4gU-lJWPcfnE6dGlD-NdmRVuAPxzszOoo1kzFMzZPVL54FUkawPz6TU_7UuK5oRkyCBkg-VNG4ED/s1600/2014-05-06_16-49-18_378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>One of the profound joys of being a soap maker is waking up the next morning and unmolding soap. I get a little flutter of excitement just like I'm eight years old again waking up Christmas morning. Will these "creature" colors really work? Did my swirl work? Ahh...the sound of my soap cutter gliding through 11 perfect bars of sandalwood patchouli! I was very happy with the results...ended up more tiger-striped than I thought, but it certainly works with my cougar, sultan sexy theme and that's what I'll call it...Sultan's Sandalwood & Patchouli. Thanks Amy for putting on these challenges. It's soap maker paradise going through everyone's posts about their soaps. </div>
Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-46552161244096165572014-04-24T16:51:00.001-07:002014-04-24T16:51:39.247-07:00Spring & Summer Soaps<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7N6qzEYXZxS9CE0c6Qdk-5wk9xwKUUalFOG3UpJ1v2Dmt_Zae6iRR7zR5NjmYsAwXmRmt9yN3dCGJcfGVbSbtucHZH1hfBvUkI55c7IVphXKx-gQKZpKe7voqgGK4mSalT2uQzYmtJtP/s1600/2014-04-24_18-50-48_335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7N6qzEYXZxS9CE0c6Qdk-5wk9xwKUUalFOG3UpJ1v2Dmt_Zae6iRR7zR5NjmYsAwXmRmt9yN3dCGJcfGVbSbtucHZH1hfBvUkI55c7IVphXKx-gQKZpKe7voqgGK4mSalT2uQzYmtJtP/s1600/2014-04-24_18-50-48_335.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>It's sad how little I've posted and there's absolutely no reason since I went part-time at my day job, but I've been making and selling soap like a maniac. It never ends, does it, all the different things to be tried with soap? I thought I'd share a few soaps I've made over the last week. Today I did a men's soap using indigo powder. I really felt like my colors have been anemic lately, so I took care to use a lot and ended with black which works, I guess, since the fragrance oil I used was one of WSP's top-rated man smells, Black Tie Fragrance. I was going informal blue jeans and ended up with formal black tie, but hey...great thing about soap...sometimes all you have to do is change the name. Next time, I'll remember to go lighter on the indigo.<br />
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The soap on the top left is actually a Christmas soap I've toned down for May. I've been doing home parties and my next hostess, Sue, requested this soap as her complimentary loaf. It's done in a square mold, alternating four bulls-eyes of pink rose clay, darker rose clay, and white kaolin clay. I run a chop stick though the circles drawing abstract poinsettia leaves with mica-in-oil swirled in for glam. She loves it for the scent, which I realized was an unusual blend I concocted last fall with lavendin, blood orange, clove and marjoram. The marjoram is a bit pricey, but it adds so much to the blend and Sue is worth every penny...she's one of my best and most vocal customers. One of the reasons she sings the praises of homemade soap, in addition to the usual, is that she feels it creates less, or virtually no soap scum, and matter of fact, I've noticed the same thing in my shower. Hmm...never really read much about that particular effect, but if Sue says it's true, it must be! Her home is immaculately kept, while mine...not so much these days!<br />
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The soap on the top right is my classic lemongrass lavender I made as a birthday present for Sue's husband. Per request, this batch, while not visible in the picture, includes the little lavender buds on top, grown organically last year in my little herb patch. He insists on them...he said the soap just isn't the same without them. I tried to make the last batch more contemporary sans the buds, but there was push back. I sprinkled them on gingerly this year, with a tear in my eye, since my lavender plants didn't survive the heinous polar vortex that cloaked the whole northeast. I've had those bushes for more than a decade! Waa! But....I will plant again!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxyKb8PefkDEhJljmjTO60jQc7Ruxz9bWKA5xmgwcq8W-p7vETp5vkguLjKXaUV2hcyK_m0teVrmg13s4wu4TasjECJX4nfIpjpl36IXt5xMTTH2k2XXD4VssanNxG3awOIoVmSHJElw_/s1600/2013-12-24_14-11-54_546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxyKb8PefkDEhJljmjTO60jQc7Ruxz9bWKA5xmgwcq8W-p7vETp5vkguLjKXaUV2hcyK_m0teVrmg13s4wu4TasjECJX4nfIpjpl36IXt5xMTTH2k2XXD4VssanNxG3awOIoVmSHJElw_/s1600/2013-12-24_14-11-54_546.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sgNcCddY3m9I_r4NCSWtclrxlmSV3RbrDYmyXAQ6Ue_7R47WGLRTnGZgjPfWl89hvagWOH4FwHQXVQTOidA6miHpPX5lCdwLQilN8itwY4xb7mx2tymQUtfxLE2FJ6ni9xAb8lk0cY2o/s1600/2014-02-08_11-19-58_833+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sgNcCddY3m9I_r4NCSWtclrxlmSV3RbrDYmyXAQ6Ue_7R47WGLRTnGZgjPfWl89hvagWOH4FwHQXVQTOidA6miHpPX5lCdwLQilN8itwY4xb7mx2tymQUtfxLE2FJ6ni9xAb8lk0cY2o/s1600/2014-02-08_11-19-58_833+(1).jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a>The soap on the bottom right of the top picture is Love, Peace, & Happiness--60's vogue version. I love the scent blend..patchouli, orange, and lavendin essential oils with a liberal dose of sandalwood FO. I can't get enough of this scent. Since Love, Peace, and Happiness takes many forms, I change up the design every time I make it, but the name, and the scent, remain the same. Here's what it looked like in the two previous batches. The one on the left developed a horrible layer of ash which I steamed off twice, but kept returning. It didn't seem to deter customers though, as it's always a good seller, no matter what form it takes. This one was made with natural clay colorants droplet style with a hangar to lightly swirl. Now, back to Love, Peace, and Happiness--60's vogue style...do you see the little flaw on the bottom of the soap? This happens to me more than I care to admit and it's born of pure unadulterated impatience. It's the equivalent of turning an insufficiently cooled scratch cake upside down to remove it from the pan, and little pieces stick to the pan! I unmolded the soap when it was still too warm. I use a water discount, a higher percentage of hard oil, and sometimes sodium lactate, so I'm used to unmolding on the same day, but I push the envelope sometimes, and get this...flawed bars. With time, I hope to get a better grip on my impatience. Happy Soaping!<br />
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<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-48705763803176355822014-03-19T14:42:00.000-07:002014-03-19T14:42:57.845-07:00Great Cakes Drop Swirl ChallengeThe drop swirl technique is probably one of the simplest soap techniques and yet one of the most infuriating for me. I've done several batches and I've only liked one--the first, wouldn't you know it--a beginner's luck undocumented burgundy, red, and white Christmas patchouli soap I made two Christmas's ago. The last bar was spotted last July laying lovely in my sister-in-law's bathroom..still gorgeous and smelling divine.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SYnP5_tP1aSN8EiJaB-AvrA-UxeYTtx8k_1yEZ1QmsJQcE3HAxghyPeP-kD0hl4atLspMwStPY8PLDAsurjQFmMYns5qyARSosbOJ6RZLwrKKG7DbR5Shx5FTycqjecyTfEawcttjWKo/s1600/2014-03-11_09-38-24_606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SYnP5_tP1aSN8EiJaB-AvrA-UxeYTtx8k_1yEZ1QmsJQcE3HAxghyPeP-kD0hl4atLspMwStPY8PLDAsurjQFmMYns5qyARSosbOJ6RZLwrKKG7DbR5Shx5FTycqjecyTfEawcttjWKo/s1600/2014-03-11_09-38-24_606.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a>I like my swirls to be less fluid, more like sensuous curved teardrops than rounded up splashes. The batter has to be just right...not too fluid and not too thick. I have a recipe that is just that, and used it for my drop challenge, and wouldn't you know it, the soap gremlins intervened and made it too thin for my taste. I have no idea why except that I substituted soybean oil for a small 8% portion of rice bran since my rice bran was running low. I live in Northeastern Ohio and like many across the U.S., suffered pummeling snow and mind numbing cold. I was dying to do something in your face spring...a carefully chosen floral without the reputation as a soap seizer. I chose Wild Honeysuckle from Wholesale Supplies Plus. I'm fortunate to live within driving distance, so I picked up my supplies to test sniff every honeysuckle they carried. I left olfactorarily assaulted with a throbbing headache, since I couldn't resist smelling the rest of the showroom samples, but content, after a few ibuprofen, that I picked the most authentic honeysuckle. To complement the divine smell, I wanted a complementary in-your-face spring color palette. I pondered color swatches from designseeds.com for a few days before I settled on a palette of white, light pink, hot pink, blue-green, and blue.<br />
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As I mix colors, it's always in the back of my head how expensive they are, so I aim to mix just the right amount for the portion. Well, to heck with that, for the challenge soaps anyway, because I feel I failed to color the white and the light blue enough to give it contrast against the brighter fushia pink and teal blue-green. Since it was thinner than I wanted colors slightly melded. Like most homemade soap, it turned out very pretty, but alas, not matched to the vision in my head. I'm really looking forward to reading and seeing everyone else's experiences! It's still not spring in Northeastern Ohio, but my soap sure is!<br />
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<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-48625903553255453792014-01-18T02:33:00.000-08:002014-01-18T05:16:53.705-08:00The Soap Bone is Connected to the Candle Bone<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPDx4UiAs-4M0K_viRfEWLJI2j7QByfhgNHz8ZzK_nRpWj4IzbSWmPur46ideyYijyWHo1Op4wa_AK3LPSNVjTdJiMg3A95gQYNrTlrt1LBNtWtaQNoxqQmJhxGlIJqJeGfs-vDPtAh4G/s1600/2014-01-18_07-46-45_699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPDx4UiAs-4M0K_viRfEWLJI2j7QByfhgNHz8ZzK_nRpWj4IzbSWmPur46ideyYijyWHo1Op4wa_AK3LPSNVjTdJiMg3A95gQYNrTlrt1LBNtWtaQNoxqQmJhxGlIJqJeGfs-vDPtAh4G/s1600/2014-01-18_07-46-45_699.jpg" height="320" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neroli & Rose</td></tr>
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Really...this whole soaping thing started with candles. I've always loved them, a few years back stumbled serendipitously upon a luxury candle website and uncharacteristically spent $30 something on a sensuously delicious sounding candle by Acquiesse...Pomegranate and Sage. Within 5 minutes of burning that candle I was hooked on the world of scent. Had I never bought that candle, I believe I never would have become a soap maker as this unleashed an unquenchable thirst for complex scents. I believe many soap makers had their start with this gateway drug.<br />
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I had to cut back on my candle habit when I started soap making and that wasn't so bad since my soaps satisfied my voracious olfactory appetite. Last fall, my husband and I celebrated our second second anniversary. (Yes, I married the same guy, twice) down at Glen Laurel Inn in Hocking Hills Ohio. We remarried there and vowed to return every year on our anniversary. Now, this is a snazzy place--no kids allowed, private hot tubs (ooh-la-la!) so many other anniversary couples have the same idea. It's so weird seeing the same couples year after year.<br />
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Enter Sue and Donny. My husband and I adore them...we hang out before dinner and catch up the year. I really wanted Sue to try my soap. I gave them both a bar. Like many people, they thought they were stunning, but having never used natural homemade soap, obvious to the joys within. Sue asked me if I made candles. "No, I said, but I certainly love them!" She got this wide-eyed glassy look and went on to explain that she and Donny have a signature scent they light in the cabins, but of course, it's been discontinued. Always up to a good challenge, I said, "What is it? I can try to make one for you?" I mean...how hard can candles be? She went back to her cabin and brought me near spent remains of a yellowish candle. "It's Neroli and Rose....I took a big sniff and whoa...was this strong. I've never smelled this particular combination. If you're unaware, Neroli essential oil comes from the squeezings of orange blossoms. It's crazy expensive...requiring 100 pounds of orange blossoms to make one pound of oil--too cost prohibitive for soap or candles...but there are good FO dupes. Neroli is a strange scent to explain. If you're familiar with Petitgrain, it's similar but from the greenish bits and twigs of the same tree. I've used it a few times in soap...most either love it or hate it...a little goes a long way and better when blended.<br />
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I've been working on Sue's candle now for over a month. At first I tried soy with the recommended amount of fragrance oil. It turned out lovely, but had to get right on top of the candle to smell it. In candle techie terms, it had a weak hot throw. I tried again, increasing the FO to the maximum allowed. Still weak throw. She wanted it to scent a room. After much research, I realized soy isn't the best wax for heavily scented candles. More research...decided on a soy/paraffin blend called IGI 6006 known to encompass the best of both worlds..paraffin for excellent scent throw and soy for clean burning. But wouldn't you know it...now my wicks were all wrong.....strong smelling candle if you could discern it through the heavy soot. Hmmm...new wax means new wick. After 4 attempts, I finally have it right...I'll be sending Sue test candle number 4 today. Sue has also become a dedicated user of my soaps. She's one of my best customers. I have a new respect for candle makers. Just like soap making, its science and art. Thanks to Sue, I'm hooked on candle making and will be adding those to my product line because....the soap bone is connected to the candle bone.Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-50621392874755380102014-01-05T08:03:00.000-08:002014-01-05T08:03:51.351-08:00Taiwan Swirl Great Cakes Soap ChallengeYeah, another challenge! Rather than the Taiwan Swirl, my soaper assistant daughter and I affectionately refer to this soap as the "kitchen wrecker". It would have been much less messy had we processed this soap using the free-hand method demonstrated by Amy; however, I recently purchased dividers (no more cardboard!) so I had to use them! In the preceding post, I mentioned I had been doing some unsuccessful experimenting with new soap concepts and I happened to be using Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey FO from WSP. I had it in my head to do a unisex brown, black, tan, honey color combination, but after two unsuccessful experiments, I'm now down to just .5 ounce of OMH. I wanted to use it again for my Taiwan Swirl; however, .5 ounce would not adequately scent my 38 ounce oil batch. Hmmm...what do do? I thought of adding cinnamon essential oil or clove for a nice twist, but risk accelerated trace with those two. Instead, I decided on augmenting the OMH with a Vetyver type fragrance from Brambleberry described as having lemon, rosemary top notes, floral, sandalwood, and patchouli middle notes with musk and vetyver base notes. I've used it before in lotion bars and the scent is very complex...difficult to distinguish any one scent and very masculine. I tested the OMH with Vetyver in a plastic bag on Q-tips and was pleasantly surprised. Very nice and definitely unisex.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhackxJ9aS01YdqqQkbolyzh9AHnhL8IVBDhGjvMHo0QbCWBQLaxy0sZudFACg-c2uvw5ZcHuKJS3CGnCL33GXwA9HOnunuCzQG6X6uVP4voYsO_255g2ulEDfyMPhY_F0k-BqwsiiL2ziO/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhackxJ9aS01YdqqQkbolyzh9AHnhL8IVBDhGjvMHo0QbCWBQLaxy0sZudFACg-c2uvw5ZcHuKJS3CGnCL33GXwA9HOnunuCzQG6X6uVP4voYsO_255g2ulEDfyMPhY_F0k-BqwsiiL2ziO/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
I was going to use 4 colors left to right, white, brown, black and honey...the honey expertly blended by my daughter. I was happy with the recipe...Mama Bear just right for pouring and swirling. The messy part came when it was time to pull out the dividers, three of them plus the two side pieces. I was tempted to scrape the clinging excess back into the mold but that would mess up the 4 carefully delineated stripes of color. Just like Amy did in her video, we made several passes vertical and horizontal passes in the soap. Here's what it looked like in the mold after a good gel phase:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo3100pCw6a1geZRzW5FIcWAJ8I4pWnbfvY0XwKdUgSOKkaJBFNSZ7dFnu7H9uiTTYQxTlcRF1a9j4r3gQHBGPZz2NzhG54yFRDbeTK0haVbR52_k4IpDie3S0p16IV4GXxVoYTNjxn_l/s1600/2014-01-01_10-08-55_430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo3100pCw6a1geZRzW5FIcWAJ8I4pWnbfvY0XwKdUgSOKkaJBFNSZ7dFnu7H9uiTTYQxTlcRF1a9j4r3gQHBGPZz2NzhG54yFRDbeTK0haVbR52_k4IpDie3S0p16IV4GXxVoYTNjxn_l/s320/2014-01-01_10-08-55_430.jpg" width="320" /></a>Being somewhat spatially challenged, it took a bit of pondering how to cut these and still get my standard size soap. To get the full effect of the swirl, you have to slice the soap sideways.<br />
My resulting bars are a bit smaller than my standard, but still very nice. I love the scent! I'm going to call it "Intrigue" since there's absolutely no way to incorporate the diversity of scents in this soap into its name!<br />
<br /> Thanks Amy for putting on these challenges. I learn so much and have a blast checking out the results of so many talented soap makers all around the world. Happy Soaping!Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-57296574333644057712014-01-01T11:19:00.000-08:002014-01-01T11:19:46.741-08:00Soaper New Year Resolutions<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqOe71dlsuwJNCKOGywZXHdvnjOmSb8Kwv40IhkUYv3GNlhC9qXTcEVXDthtkBDyyQ9dBvCmUfWbluTmGF478VWFX-x2dWsOE8JEL27J_78RRTEYjB_cMGYNQ77zl65ZhZYJtE1So16l2i/s1600/2013-12-24_14-11-54_546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqOe71dlsuwJNCKOGywZXHdvnjOmSb8Kwv40IhkUYv3GNlhC9qXTcEVXDthtkBDyyQ9dBvCmUfWbluTmGF478VWFX-x2dWsOE8JEL27J_78RRTEYjB_cMGYNQ77zl65ZhZYJtE1So16l2i/s320/2013-12-24_14-11-54_546.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandalwood Patchouli with French Green Clay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don't like to make New Year's resolutions on New Year's Day--I make them a few months before the end of the Year because they tend to stick more then.<br />
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1). Keep experimenting (within reason)<br />
I love to try new things with my soap, but there's a limit to how many things I should try at once. For example, last week I decided to try 4 new elements in one batch of cold process soap. The first element, room temperature soaping, I had tried before and since it worked fairly well, thought I'd give it a go again. The second and third elements...adding salt and sugar to lye solution was supposed to make the soap batter more flexible and the final soap more hard. The forth element I added was a water discount. The result: a big disaster. My soap was like sun-softened fudge plopping out of my new Essential Depot silicone mold like mud chunks. And since I tried so many new things, wasn't sure what went wrong. After much speculation, I believe it was two things...possibly false trace and plugging the water discount wrong into my Soap Maker software. Moral of story...add one new element at a time.<br />
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2). Keep personal finances separate from business finances<br />
I just recently set up a business checking account for my soap <br />
making income and expenses. Prior to this, it was too easy to go on late night Whole Sales Supplies Plus ordering binges funded with my personal funds. Since I did this on a semi-regular basis, I made a ridiculous number of orders, each about $30 each (the minimum order for this company and ended up with a number of products I haven't even used and now risk expiration and depleted personal finances. Now that I have a separate business account, I'm much more mindful about my orders and plan to place only a few large orders <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDHMdAGZqPRr-Jak8hrIGa7Ix8vzVJJQzWh3dGUopZ4NEldKYZvPWo6UJJB3htlAiOOTBEjg1vvP-bvqZvg1D0KRYR3i7otvIOGr2YPW1d_jRz9SamlHYYTlj9Up7g8y0cLhXYyFSPvlv/s1600/2013-12-22_13-09-42_903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDHMdAGZqPRr-Jak8hrIGa7Ix8vzVJJQzWh3dGUopZ4NEldKYZvPWo6UJJB3htlAiOOTBEjg1vvP-bvqZvg1D0KRYR3i7otvIOGr2YPW1d_jRz9SamlHYYTlj9Up7g8y0cLhXYyFSPvlv/s320/2013-12-22_13-09-42_903.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magic Carpet Ride</td></tr>
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for 2014 for things I absolutely need.<br />
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3). Keep up with Facebook Page<br />
I'm developing a very nice customer base and find Facebook a fabulous tool for keeping my customers updated on events and new soaps on the curing rack. This would be easy if I was a natural FaceBook type person, but I'm really not, but I definitely see the benefit.<br />
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4). Try Home Party Format<br />
I've only done a few shows and they were hit and miss...some I did well and others I didn't because there wasn't much traffic or I was placed in the back with seven other soap makers up front; however, I did a open house at my place and the 10 or 12 people<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP4qv1nl5dWqePoyF17gQYme5JO5leQZRUbQcY7WzJTB0GjoPkU66RvM4_F-jE-hwvD7atQKXARr1f7fHSmMgtbgZBe_2HoAAJLKc_hWVzm5Ip1ZWoxiwR5TlGDRrLjjGVR3EjadXdPGE/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP4qv1nl5dWqePoyF17gQYme5JO5leQZRUbQcY7WzJTB0GjoPkU66RvM4_F-jE-hwvD7atQKXARr1f7fHSmMgtbgZBe_2HoAAJLKc_hWVzm5Ip1ZWoxiwR5TlGDRrLjjGVR3EjadXdPGE/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aquarius</td></tr>
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that attended bought a lot of soap! Something magical happens when you get a group of women together with a little spinach artichoke dip and baskets filled with lovely soap. Gosh, I thought they'd stand around and eat first, but they were all over the soap sniffing and chatting. One thing I noticed from my shows...many people are simply uneducated about the benefits of handmade soap and pass it by thinking it just another pretty face. In a home format I'd have time to actually provide that education.<br />
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5). Define my Product Line<br />
I read somewhere that it's best to build deep before you build wide, so I've concentrated on the soap and just a few other bath and body products...whipped shea butter and hard lotion bars. I make loads of other stuff like facial serums, bath salts, scrubs, etc. for my own personal use, but don't want to bring those out yet. For my soap, I need to figure out 5-10 standard scents that I offer year round. I've decided on a lemongrass/lavender, sandalwood patchouli, and oat meal milk and honey because I know they sell well, but I'm still on the fence about others.<br />
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I think that's enough for 2014! Happy soaping to you and may you have tons of successful batches, little ash, and much profit!<br />
<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-66705116724204846752013-11-27T07:39:00.000-08:002013-11-27T07:39:34.895-08:00Cold Process Gets Hot!Where has the time gone! I have one more big show in December till it's time to chill out, but until then it's been a flurry of soap wrapping, labeling and selling for the season. Here's a few of my latest cold process soaps:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IrMEVA-92tk1b0Pa9u84Fa4UlNpUqj7R2rdcgd3AcGZv5_aSHJjoTQ1tASP8nv7srb5tG6zqrpg8R0FWQ-gKzhFUVwmMc66PzhcIwRDpR8_5fNgIqseQyJNXUbUrJE3iwnkwu6ep_m_j/s1600/2013-11-17_08-37-27_576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1IrMEVA-92tk1b0Pa9u84Fa4UlNpUqj7R2rdcgd3AcGZv5_aSHJjoTQ1tASP8nv7srb5tG6zqrpg8R0FWQ-gKzhFUVwmMc66PzhcIwRDpR8_5fNgIqseQyJNXUbUrJE3iwnkwu6ep_m_j/s320/2013-11-17_08-37-27_576.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eucalyptus, Tangerine, & Rosemary</td></tr>
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This one is my new favorite although it smells exactly like a Halls Lemon cough drop, so while everyone loves the design, combined eucalyptus, rosemary and tangerine evokes either a smile or frown depending on their particular past relationship with Halls. After making a ridiculous number of batches, I've finally formulated a recipe that brings out everything I like in a soap. Isn't she pretty? Here's another one, orange spicy clove soap, using a variation of my new recipe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3xD9ONKc7IXWfLWY4-AGkfo38C0aR7SHY3k-rky8OYUeoXY1NEvkhLoCCq6gN0iD4cyYE63Ww_WOs86AFc2lOOxtTYv1orOFHhqWG1HJFbAlscR9sxKx__dAf6eM57pM205mroawOOqm/s1600/2013-11-12_08-16-01_927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3xD9ONKc7IXWfLWY4-AGkfo38C0aR7SHY3k-rky8OYUeoXY1NEvkhLoCCq6gN0iD4cyYE63Ww_WOs86AFc2lOOxtTYv1orOFHhqWG1HJFbAlscR9sxKx__dAf6eM57pM205mroawOOqm/s200/2013-11-12_08-16-01_927.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orange Spicy Clove</td></tr>
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Here's one which didn't turn out quite as I envisioned, but maybe my vision a bit off considering how the soft wispy swirls compliment this tea tree, lavender and rosemary soap.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_-5tHaQeVQGyCGkwOBTAQAsgb502isfdtCg_netbMyRq4nz-d5B24R9unrBU9RCISWmSEO24tDdkcDGePTSlGG9EJk7PndyM6nN8I17F57tGTCGeyCBV8K5AmaOXm6oKPDGuyWkH_hOK/s1600/2013-11-03_14-55-42_926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_-5tHaQeVQGyCGkwOBTAQAsgb502isfdtCg_netbMyRq4nz-d5B24R9unrBU9RCISWmSEO24tDdkcDGePTSlGG9EJk7PndyM6nN8I17F57tGTCGeyCBV8K5AmaOXm6oKPDGuyWkH_hOK/s200/2013-11-03_14-55-42_926.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I have plenty of cold process soap...surely can't make more, but you know what? I don't have any hot process soap...matter of fact, I've never even tried it once during the last 6 months of cold process making fury. Enter husband. "Really, you're going to make MORE soap?" "Yes, I said, justifying quite brilliantly that I can't study for my soap making certification without ever actually making a batch. I'm big about certification. I'm a certified resume writer (day job) and now I want to be a certified soap maker through the the <a href="http://www.soapguild.org/">Handmade Soap Makers Guild</a>. Certification shows passion and sets a standard of excellence for your craft. I know, just studying for my resume certification taught me all kinds of stuff...hoping the same is true for soap making<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKPcAzVu1BiLhuV9sTBYwBFlPRGbS8IzEHqqNBfwIfKafgu9Lgxs-Niq1No1zn1PXMUA3lfobgcoNGODyHq9jnS3FwKpYYFGfEnHT6Foj8yPm7KqtPzp2dU2ZFBnDCi6HHS0KYtYmH35A/s1600/2013-11-27_10-09-45_175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKPcAzVu1BiLhuV9sTBYwBFlPRGbS8IzEHqqNBfwIfKafgu9Lgxs-Niq1No1zn1PXMUA3lfobgcoNGODyHq9jnS3FwKpYYFGfEnHT6Foj8yPm7KqtPzp2dU2ZFBnDCi6HHS0KYtYmH35A/s320/2013-11-27_10-09-45_175.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bergamot, Rose, and Vetiver Hot Process</td></tr>
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I wanted to do a soap I couldn't do with cold process like one with exotic essential oils that would otherwise cook off and end up costing a fortune. I just bought some Bergamot from a fabulous women near Kent State and I could combine that with a touch of Rose Absolute rounded out with a few drops of smokey Vetiver. Since essential oils are added after the soap has fully sopanified, just a fraction of what you'd need for cold process is required. Now, hot process yields a different texture, and frankly I've seen some real ugly hot process along with some real beauties. I watched a ton of You Tube videos. I did a rose cold process soap some time back that was a beautiful rose color, made from rose clay, however, the rose petals daintily applied on top ended up looking like burned flesh. So, there you have it, another advantage to hot process...no burned botanicals. I was overjoyed at how much cleaner hot process is. I didn't have half my dining table covered in caustic lye blobs! I mixed in rose clay into a depression made in the "fluffy like cake batter" stage and swirled it all together. Since hot process is rustic looking, I made the tops all fluffed up in rugged rustic spirit.<br />
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Wow, the next morning it was DONE.Wow...not even cool to touch...it was rock solid done...and I loved it!! Not better or worse than cold process....just different. My impatience appeased, I transported one of those beauties to my shower for product testing....ahh...a keeper! Smells divine.<br />
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<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-79983962423403908482013-10-23T12:47:00.000-07:002013-10-23T12:47:14.200-07:00First Craft ShowFirst Craft Show<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2ez0fpWtNcPRKDFScHQYJmH-4-x9wzwTz0RL9ivwiWyh9sNTdBeSCFvg-lFf7zDAWPN2GuRqDet1qgiA8_FOK_li7h0N9gL5SQJLYY79W1pg8BjGgYoL-aFPcdzuYdCAwTTJ_Z-lmd8_/s1600/2013-10-19_10-58-12_609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2ez0fpWtNcPRKDFScHQYJmH-4-x9wzwTz0RL9ivwiWyh9sNTdBeSCFvg-lFf7zDAWPN2GuRqDet1qgiA8_FOK_li7h0N9gL5SQJLYY79W1pg8BjGgYoL-aFPcdzuYdCAwTTJ_Z-lmd8_/s1600/2013-10-19_10-58-12_609.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>My first craft show was a two day event. I had no idea how much to bring, so I thought best to err on the side of caution and have a ton of soap. OK, it wasn't really ton but it sure felt like it when I had it all packed to go. As you can imagine, after the last few months having a blast making soap, I really needed to sell it so I can make more soap. I tried hard to not have any grand expectations since I didn't know anything about the event or the venue. Turns out that while this was the 8th annual event for this show, what many vendors didn't realize, including myself, was that it was a first time venue in a well-to-do part of Akron. There were about 100 vendors in all with three soap makers total. I was placed at the back which made me a little nervous. Take a look at my table. I'm open to constructive criticism. The first day, I did pretty well considering there was lots of negative talk from vendors about the lack of volume Since I had nothing to compare it to, I was blissfully ignorant and happy if anyone stopped to sniff the soap. <br />
Then of course there were plenty that walked past with nary a glance or a sniff. My theory is that those people have never used handmade soap and if they caught even a peripheral glance, they were relegated to "just pretty soap that I don't need." Most of the people that stopped at my booth already knew the benefits of handmade soap. I made only $176 in sales on day one and on day two, it was extra extra slow with only a trickle of buyers and tallied up day two with only $70 in sales. I still have a ton of soap left. Overall, it was a success even though I still need to find homes for the leftovers. My daughter was a real trooper. I think she had a lot of fun that first day with all the selling and shopping other vendors, but Sunday when the crowd was thin, it was boring.<br />
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I've been in a maniacal experimental soaping streak, so I had 28 kinds of soap which I lined up naked on my little display stand. The wrapped versions were nestled in baskets or boxes. People are funny about picking up stuff and maybe I need to re-think fingers all over the soap. I mean it's soap...it's self cleaning, but I understand that germs could park themselves among the swirls or crawl under botanical bits. For my next show, I'm only going to have, at most, 10 varieties displayed on wooden soap decks. Then customers can pick up the decks to sniff it. When the inventory gets low, I'll swap it out with a new 10. My best selling soaps were my oatmeal milk and honey soaps followed by my citrus goat soaps. My whipped shea butter was a great hit, but I think I could have done better if I had more than one scent available. I made lavender, but can you believe it...some people can't do lavender. Interestingly, I didn't sell a single bar of Holiday Soap. I guess it's a little early for Christmas shopping.<br />
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I'm not wild about my dark blue table cloth..it was a beast to iron. I'm eagerly waiting the arrival of a fitted table close cover, a table cloth condom so to speak, which will negate the need for ironing. I hung up the iron along with my nurse's hat about 20 years ago. My soaping sister Kim--yes, we are equally afflicted with the must-make-soap gene--bought one for her show and I think it looks so sleek. She's a master decorator and it's such a bummer she's all the way in Florida! We could bulk buy our oils if she still lived here! Such is life...<br />
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I think the best part of the show was talking (and shopping) the other vendors. I talked to both the other soap makers and they gave me great advice. So much to learn. My next show is November 9th. I promised myself I will not make any more soap. Instead, I hit the craft store and picked up supplies to make fancy decoupage boxes for soap gift boxes. It'll be fun, but compared to soaping, it's like a chewing a pencil when you really want a cigarette. Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-15143364180578859732013-10-15T12:44:00.001-07:002013-10-15T12:44:48.625-07:00Great Cakes Soap Works Dandelion Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51qYuGnT33m_Wou4UHxyDA43vWpWmtDspmrR4geQwd5y19EvY9EY3ZSSpF-YhOnlsMlvSRUr-BuoWAIJKCtszYZd7cGXIbFvL2h8brH3iyLapqhjn__RhO9bqX0kkBCk-RQmPVB3DUsNN/s1600/2013-10-13_09-54-32_736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51qYuGnT33m_Wou4UHxyDA43vWpWmtDspmrR4geQwd5y19EvY9EY3ZSSpF-YhOnlsMlvSRUr-BuoWAIJKCtszYZd7cGXIbFvL2h8brH3iyLapqhjn__RhO9bqX0kkBCk-RQmPVB3DUsNN/s1600/2013-10-13_09-54-32_736.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
I really had fun with this because it's such a fun method! It's fun to pick out colors for the dandelion then letting the colors slop down the ramp to make something beautiful. In my last post, I talked about how my first attempt's purple base turned grey on me. Actually, it's kind of neat. I had a little slip with the Ylang-Ylang bottle, so the floral's a bit much unless you're a die-hard floral lover. But, maybe someone will like this little grey flower. Shame on me for not reading the reviews on my freebie samples. My, I've had so many lessons lately! Here it is: A Soap only a Soap Maker Mommie Could Love<br />
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Now, this one turned out pretty nice. I love the color combinations for the dandelion and top. I mixed my own colors for this one. I love jewel tones! I did a subtle zebra alternating layers of neutral soap with layers that had Fuller's clay added for the base. It was a new recipe, too, using a completely new oil to my repertoire--sesame--along with olive, coconut, palm kernel, sunflower, and shea.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRAxS4ownX_vZccHmZ5OZM0aF7oU6JZf4WhE7rA64wZIM4mM_tr2-L2ofBcAHDjFvPqYjN5G9mhGWvZTgmhJrc4TszhxBypTLdWWELSVu5rXebpkwjK-MShL_dLjs_rQVTYMx7Xhu3-l6/s1600/2013-10-12_08-17-37_130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRAxS4ownX_vZccHmZ5OZM0aF7oU6JZf4WhE7rA64wZIM4mM_tr2-L2ofBcAHDjFvPqYjN5G9mhGWvZTgmhJrc4TszhxBypTLdWWELSVu5rXebpkwjK-MShL_dLjs_rQVTYMx7Xhu3-l6/s1600/2013-10-12_08-17-37_130.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a> Probably shouldn't try anything new with a challenge soap, but what the heck...I think I try something new with each and every batch. I did a fragrance oil/essential oil blend keeping with those rich sultry colors...sandalwood incense from WSP with fennel and patchouli. I love it and it was so much better, too, because it didn't do any shady business to the trace. It stayed nice throughout.Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-28794258481519138252013-10-04T09:57:00.000-07:002013-10-04T09:57:31.883-07:00Dandelion Daze...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goat and Dandelion</td></tr>
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Even before I realized the October Great Cakes Soap Challenge was going to feature the Dandelion Tiger Stripe, I've made two batches using this method. I love it how those harp-like bands hang in the soap like angelic apparitions. My first attempt utilized all natural clay-based colorants in a Goat's milk base scented with tangerine and patchouli. I only did a few bands and I love how it turned out. <br />
My second pass was more festive utilizing bright Christmas candy cane colors and scented with spearmint, eucalyptus and peppermint. My batter was much thicker turning my angel harp lines into fat festive little cherubs, or maybe an abstract candy cane sleigh, or melted candy cane Christmas tree--I see different things every time I look at it! The picture was taken before any final beveling, planing, or fussing. The finished soap is stunning. I love it! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijK_ydTztRUbjyX0hLovK_73b7ABX7YVhmwrZGBUnsXKTID9bHzAKvjaCYEGPbOziXOZwP3Jh-p6K6uJI9GhBDCMgEBQCTDGotK5LzftHFEkgIXhguRHAXCpmVlryUGWPbYbu2_NAqNwQi/s1600/2013-09-24_08-08-35_92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijK_ydTztRUbjyX0hLovK_73b7ABX7YVhmwrZGBUnsXKTID9bHzAKvjaCYEGPbOziXOZwP3Jh-p6K6uJI9GhBDCMgEBQCTDGotK5LzftHFEkgIXhguRHAXCpmVlryUGWPbYbu2_NAqNwQi/s320/2013-09-24_08-08-35_92.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dandelion Candy Cane</td></tr>
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With two pretty batches under my belt, I pondered whether to sign up, but did anyway. Hmmm...what color scheme? What scent? Maybe something not so Christmas-y? On a recent WSP order, I opted for a free oxide sample...a beautiful grapey purple called Matte Purple Pigment Powder. I do extensive research and read every review of everything I buy, but since I didn't buy this...it evaded close scrutiny. Breaking out of the Christmas red and red theme, I was going to do a base using this captivating color and dandelion stripe it with green, pink, white and black. Oh, it looked so pretty, that purple all mixed up with a little bit of oil. I opted for a floral essential blend using lavender, clary sage, and just a touch of ylang-ylang--except ooops... darned bottle slipped and ended up with a shade more that than I wanted. In my experience, this floral accelerated trace, so smart me...I didn't add any of the blend into my separated dandelion patch. <br />
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As soon as the purple colorant hit the soap, I knew I should have gone back to the site and read all the reviews, gosh darnit, but oxides are oxides, right? What you see is what you get? Not. My beautiful grapey purple was turning a disappointing barely purple mostly grey. I tossed in a little more and now had dark grey with specks. Instant flashbacks ensued of the time I tried doing a droplet effect with alkanet colored soap into white base and ended up with something that looked like stilton. I soldiered ahead trying my best to ignore the grey and complete the soap. Everything else about the batch was perfect! It's in the mold now...I'll take it out of the mold tonight and get the final verdict. Don't worry, I will post my mistake. It'll be a hoot. <br />
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I've messed up a few batches now, but that's ok...I've done over 20 for my fall show and seriously...I've had a blast....even with the mistakes, because it means I'm gaining experience! Yeah! Sure enough...I went back to WSP site and all but one of seven reviews were rants pertaining to how it turned grey, or a few even brown. WPS people had a warning that it could discolor in high ph environment, so the onus was on me and the other overly excited soapers that just saw that pretty color and dove right into the soap box.<br />
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Being in the career industry (day job), I just read an article for work written by Jay Block of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches that expanded on Benjamin Franklin's 3 keys to success as applied to career success, but can be applied to anything really : 1). Big achievements come one step at a time. 2) We have the power to mold our lives if we consciously pursue greater knowledge and improve our skills every day and are flexible along the way. Totally agree! Now, it's number 3 that got me a little, made me really think because it's so uncharacteristic of how I used to approach flubs and failures, with fits, tantrums, ultimatums, etc.. 3). Success is measured through pleasure. We've got to be happy along the the way, inclusive all the perceived successes and failures. Kind of winds into the ole adage, "there's really no pleasure without a little bit of pain." To wrap it up, strive for happiness along your journey to whatever...an education, a new job, master soap maker, etc. and you'll eventually reach your goals and realize it wasn't so much reaching the goal that made you happy, but the ups and downs of the entire journey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZChbt5-ywvgp1tygeQrmTNygBaGqrivGW_MjpKCD5l6Z1fCEceexRnoAwntT2gzKa7oP9m3rBdzP2WXT52xVTGHWVStaMV1FXXIjQbQ6QiLUe5pT4UHw2_PdR2ZivW7EQi2hEMWyYiqU/s1600/2013-10-01_09-33-21_572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZChbt5-ywvgp1tygeQrmTNygBaGqrivGW_MjpKCD5l6Z1fCEceexRnoAwntT2gzKa7oP9m3rBdzP2WXT52xVTGHWVStaMV1FXXIjQbQ6QiLUe5pT4UHw2_PdR2ZivW7EQi2hEMWyYiqU/s1600/2013-10-01_09-33-21_572.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winter Warmer</td></tr>
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One more success...love this soap. It smells divine. Opening the door to fragrance oils has led to the creation of some uniquely me blends. This one is a combination of Bourbon Vanilla and Cocoa FO blended with Patchouli and Benzoin essential oils. I'm calling it Winter Warmer for it's capacity to melt the coldest of moods.<br />
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<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-20690453798677434432013-09-25T12:36:00.000-07:002013-09-25T12:36:20.175-07:00Supporting Actors of the SoapFor the last few months, it's been all about the soap--one, two, and three batches a week to build up my inventory for the fall show. I'm too paranoid, and love to make soap too much, to do large batches at once for fear of ruining the whole kit and kaboodle. But I think I'm done. If I run out, I run out. Now, I need to concentrate on the supporting actors of my line...the bath and body non-soap stuff.<br />
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I thought of selling sea salts fairy dusted with botanical bits, but couldn't decide on packaging. Then there was the whole, how-to-contain-the bits thing to decide on. I made myself up a batch adorned with chamomile, dried baby rose buds, lavender and calendula from my garden, poured them in the tub and crawled in with bits floating all about, sticking to the side of the tub, and sticking to me. Frankly, while lovely and fragrant, I felt like I was steeping in swamp tea. Definitely, need to contain the bits. In the bottle, they have huge curb appeal, which unfortunately, didn't translate to My tub experience. Now, I don't think like the majority of people. My daughter was perfectly happy with bits floating about. I abhorred the mess and thought of my husband a couple months later, plunging out drain clogged red tresses enmucked with (hopefully fragrant) bits. I'd have to include a mesh tea bag or something in addition to a lovely bottle.<br />
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I ditched the idea of selling dead sea salts at the show and continued on with my salt experiments. OMG--I really love <b>Dead Sea Salts</b>. They are truly amazing. My favorite application, however, is not as a bath salt, but a salt scrub. I found a basic recipe using dead sea salt, avocado oil, vegetable glycerin and a few drops of essential oil. It did fabulous things to my face, although many don't recommend it for facial use, just body use, but my face loved it. I scrubbed it in every so gently and left it there 5 minutes to work its magic. Yes, it stings a bit on acne eruptions, but remember--there is no pleasure without a bit of pain. When I go swimming in the ocean the pimples will sting, but since Dead Sea salt is seven times more salty, you get an extra ding for your sting. It's also loaded with a litany of minerals, including. magnesium, which I read a few precautions regarding use if you have high blood pressure. Not sure about this. In a former life, I was an RN, so I'm going to look into this and see if that's true and to what degree is it true or not. Anyone out there know? I know the skin is much more permeable organ than originally thought to be which makes transdermal delivery of medications possible and handcrafted soap make so much more sense and a worthy affordable investment at $4-6 a bar.<br />
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I followed my salt scrub with my usual Rhassoul Mask and couldn't believe the results...the texture of my skin seemed smoother and more radiant. And--it dried up those pesky middle-aged eruptions in no time--just like a few days on the beach. I definitely think this can be a part of my line, once I straighten out the blood pressure thing, and it needs no botanical bit adornment. Fine Dead Sea Salt looks like snow cone ice glistening in the sun! There are extra oily recipe versions, but I'm partial to the less oily versions...mostly to save my tub and rubber duckie post bath de-slickings.<br />
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So what the heck am I going to sell in the body and bath category other than soap? <b>Lotion bars</b>, for sure. They're so easy to make and people love them. I decided on a shallow tins, because otherwise, lotion bars, if left out on a dish or desk tend to become hair ball dust bunny catchers. My house is the perfect house for testing the hair ball capacity of lotion bars. I have a TON of hair. My super soaper assistant./daughter said she was sitting in class, bored, and started pulling multiple red hairs off her shirt (those would be mine). Yep, need tins. I prefer using shea butter or mango butter for better glide in our climate. I'll scent with fragrance oils because I've found I can't get a good scent with essentials except for lemongrass.<br />
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I'm also going to make <b>whipped shea butter</b> because its easy and amazing. I've made it with completely raw, unrefined shea mixed with calendula infused olive oil and lavender and carrot seed oil. The essentials are not enough to mask that uniquely odd shea-y smell. It's not a bad smell, but not real pleasant either. I think a little moisturizing capacity will be lost by using deodorized shea, but appeal greater. I'm going to use calendula-infused olive oil and scent with Bourbon Vanilla FO from WSP. It would have been a joy mixing up my butter using my awesome Kitchen Aide mixer I got for my second wedding to my first husband, but alas, he broke it while employed to make my birthday cake 2 years ago. I can't find a small appliance repair place for anything. Fortunately, shea mixes up quite nicely in about 7 minutes with a sturdy wrist and handheld electric blender. It's so nice and concentrated, a little going a very long way! This stuff can smooth the scales off a reptile.<br />
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I cannot wait to do the next soap challenge. I'm totally up for it. I really appreciated all the nice and constructive comments about my multi-gradient soap. I really learned a lot. Such a fun and worthwhile thing to do for newbies and soap making experts alike!<br />
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<b> </b>Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-63557057112287513662013-09-19T15:57:00.000-07:002013-09-19T15:57:05.565-07:00Haunted Batches <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm trying to finish up the soaping for the upcoming fall show on October 19th so it still has enough time to cure. Here's some of the latest: </div>
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<b>Cursed Halloween Soap</b></div>
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I've been fortunate that, up until recently, I've never had major issues with my soap batches...sure the normal stuff...too thick...too thin...general "doesn't match the vision in my head" kind of thing, then bang...two batches in a row, messed up. I think it's because I'm stressed. I have so much to do to get ready for my first craft show, but I work full-time and have all the normal household and run around teenagers kind of stuff to do too. Maybe it's because I tried to make my Halloween soap on Friday the 13th? Anyway, I had canola on my recipe twice and since I have a good system for adding in all my oils; I start with them on my left and as I measure out into my bowl, I put them on my right. Usually, I start with the oil at the top and go down, but sometimes, when I'm feeling lazy, I'll skip the pain ingredients like cocoa butter (hate cutting that stuff) and come back to them later. So, my system didn't allow me to put in canola twice which meant my recipe was 15% short oils. I can't believe I didn't notice it! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halloween Soap</td></tr>
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I was so excited...I planned a modified dream catcher into spider web design pouring alternating circles of white, black, and orange into four quadrants of my square mold. I used a new FO from WSP, Crackling Fireside, which smells like a smokey bonfire. The oil turned my white soap kind of yellowish, then my daughter noticed something else, "This looks funny Mom, what's wrong with it?" Soap disaster denial kicked in and I said, "Nothing's wrong with it. Don't be such a naysayer. It'll be fine!" Eye roll from daughter. It looked a little, how can I describe it... like curdled buttermilk on top.<br />
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I put it in the oven for CPOP and went back to my recipe..there it was...two canola lines on my recipe and I added it once. Lye heavy! So, now what do I do? Pitch it? Rebatch, but add the missing 15%?</div>
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I quickly whipped up the redemptive batch the next night and all was well. I'm not real wild about the FO, but now that soap has had time to dry out a bit, it's looking pretty good. The final scent is very unlike out of the bottle, but subtle and perfect for this design. </div>
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<b>Rose & French Clay Soap with Worm Hole</b></div>
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This little flub was not near the magnitude as the Halloween Soap, but bad enough to make me not want to sell it. Just the day before, I received my new beveler/planer tool form <a href="http://www.soap-making-resource.com/soap-beveler.html">Soap Making Resources</a>. I love it! It turned some ugly ducky soapies into real swans! Yeah it shaves off a little soap, but makes it salable where otherwise, it would relegated to the cabinet of misfit soaps for my husband and son to use. This little gadget makes some beautiful soap curls so why not incorporate into my next batch, a milk-in-oil method goat soap designed with three layers chock full of clay...bottom rose clay, middle fuller's clay, top French green clay. I'll stick a few soap curls in the middle, oh clever me! This recipe was on the thick side since I loaded it with a high percentage of shea and cocoa butter. I nestled perfect curls into the middle, lighter layer and topped it off with my pudding thick French green layer. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDerXZCPEoSquB16mqR2jnqMOCpJNb6YNbVg0wEmZwz6jaMNOiYagcA8rRULLzc4rySM5Rh33TXwptm5CdmwzY_eyTlrWUvpNMPqamLXeZJ7rg-2Jd0_c7FeRYRrsDmd_YxTTw5-9YrYiW/s1600/2013-09-19_17-43-26_511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDerXZCPEoSquB16mqR2jnqMOCpJNb6YNbVg0wEmZwz6jaMNOiYagcA8rRULLzc4rySM5Rh33TXwptm5CdmwzY_eyTlrWUvpNMPqamLXeZJ7rg-2Jd0_c7FeRYRrsDmd_YxTTw5-9YrYiW/s1600/2013-09-19_17-43-26_511.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>My husband is frequently recruited to hold my log cutter box. The first slice was beautiful!!! The second slice...what, the heck was that? A giant air pocket? Mike said, "What's with the worm hole?" Upon closer inspection, yes, there was the worm...my little perfect frond of a soap curl all curled up trapping air. </div>
Yikes..and I was sure to include a curl in every slice. This is nice soap and my only goat one I did for the show, but seriously who is going to buy soap with a worm hole?<br />
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<b>Black Raspberry Vanilla with Glycerin Embeds </b></div>
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Nothing wrong with this batch, thank goodness, other than being a very strong FO scented soap. I used WAY under the standard FO amount and still it gives me a headache. I'm an essential oil girl, what can I say. My daughter really loves the soap and the scent and I know this one<br />
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is really popular for both soapers and customers. It soaped super easy.<br />
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I'm going to do one more batch and then I'm putting away the soap box to concentrate on making my bath and body stuff, labeling, table display, and all that stuff. This batch is going to be perfect and I'm going to love everything about it!<br />
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Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-45081005854162361452013-09-11T09:57:00.000-07:002013-09-11T09:57:51.956-07:00Multi-colored Gradient Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rCAcR2qPGo0uwdGJL9X8BdzzuRS2r6NZaBvEqBN4HEfhvao2giB-SPGu4ZQE-b5JrZ9AFC-V0AbiHW1HkvUPgALgp4sq6d1brIYl6eIPCLMxlYgVnFppj3u0Sk7_H0vgysok_KPMOt5f/s1600/2013-09-07_14-57-02_237+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rCAcR2qPGo0uwdGJL9X8BdzzuRS2r6NZaBvEqBN4HEfhvao2giB-SPGu4ZQE-b5JrZ9AFC-V0AbiHW1HkvUPgALgp4sq6d1brIYl6eIPCLMxlYgVnFppj3u0Sk7_H0vgysok_KPMOt5f/s1600/2013-09-07_14-57-02_237+(1).jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
I think we should call this the multiplied times three multi-colored gradient challenge. I must have been goofing off in kindergarten we went over color basics, because my first attempt was a bit flawed. My super-soaper assistant/daughter/color theorist abandoned me when I was set to do the challenge.<br />
I was ready, but she was more ready for a Friday night hanging out with her friends at the football game, so I went full-steam ahead into the challenge.<br />
The first two colors I chose were next to one another on the color wheel, purple and blue, and the third, an orange-ish hue was half way on the other side, so not sure what was going through my head.<br />
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I overcompensated on the need for a slow tracing soap and used a recipe that I could play with for a day, so even non-choppy layers went out the window. I used a fabulous fragrance oil by Wholesale Supplies Plus, Beneath the Stars. Upon the slicing reveal the next morning, my daughter shook her head and said, "You just couldn't wait for me, could you?" You see...she spent her whole middle school years attending a visual arts school. She knew I'd be multiply challenged by this. I said, "Well, I can't use it for the challenge, but it's still pretty. What should I call it? My husband said, "Well, how about 'Color-blind?'" Smarty pants. <br />
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Round II<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cj08o-3hD4W9uLokUjjnT0eV6omhcnEA6i2N9PyIP3ijw6BgD3Jq40wFdfCSpeDzanE2qJF4fHPAkjbayxkV5EXhnY_V1z-BxG4bWW7AQ3fejNVb0ElL8A4r3bWqX0C3JitYsYoe5w6a/s1600/2013-09-07_14-50-16_502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cj08o-3hD4W9uLokUjjnT0eV6omhcnEA6i2N9PyIP3ijw6BgD3Jq40wFdfCSpeDzanE2qJF4fHPAkjbayxkV5EXhnY_V1z-BxG4bWW7AQ3fejNVb0ElL8A4r3bWqX0C3JitYsYoe5w6a/s320/2013-09-07_14-50-16_502.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6Gmghemgb5kU7o4tYxQ18aQbbnF0yjf-_oUhyphenhyphen7zDnHtQD4xhDF53LevPPyUh8pD7NZgE06114XvEHBHh18Hr-GpSXgFkEJEKLAsVc5nQYwrp78mzCYlKQT_GWt0XVvhorqwj0ZnF_Hkb/s1600/2013-09-07_15-23-15_793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6Gmghemgb5kU7o4tYxQ18aQbbnF0yjf-_oUhyphenhyphen7zDnHtQD4xhDF53LevPPyUh8pD7NZgE06114XvEHBHh18Hr-GpSXgFkEJEKLAsVc5nQYwrp78mzCYlKQT_GWt0XVvhorqwj0ZnF_Hkb/s320/2013-09-07_15-23-15_793.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>Livy was available to help and I chose three colors next to each other on the color wheel. That's a start! I used a different recipe and set up for action. My colors were green, yellow, orange. Look...there's the color wheel for frequent consultation. I wanted to use a lighter green, but she thought the jolly green giant green, aka, matte forest green would be good to start with. For the yellow, all I had was Brazilian yellow clay from Brambleberry. The orange was the yellow clay mixed with a tad of Americana Matte Red oxide. The blending seemed to be going great, the layers nice and smooth and the measuring to the last drop precise. Here's a picture of the first few green layers. My, we are very messy soapers. We followed the instructions exactly! I didn't even have left-over soap, or layers that were soap short.<br />
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Any ideas on what happened? My green stayed jolly green giant green through 4 layers! It looks like a solid block of un-blended green pasture. The remaining layers look nice...nice gradation from yellow to orange. I used Brambleberry's Energy Fragrance. I'm calling it Heartland Sunrise because it reminds me of vistas off I-77 during summer drives through Ohio heartland to visit the Florida kin. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXEpdxtjpbe4cC_3HDR5z3OEEz-9vzObvqbGRmiEKyzY4YKkqh8pPEeQBxfWqFHyDOukofmY8o0_x5PQ-RgHA7tkFhaGofyNTnQhsqVwOvr8sKlIzmIWfa8O4ZmnGZCsKZfg99Ps1bsyd/s1600/2013-09-09_19-00-55_5+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXEpdxtjpbe4cC_3HDR5z3OEEz-9vzObvqbGRmiEKyzY4YKkqh8pPEeQBxfWqFHyDOukofmY8o0_x5PQ-RgHA7tkFhaGofyNTnQhsqVwOvr8sKlIzmIWfa8O4ZmnGZCsKZfg99Ps1bsyd/s1600/2013-09-09_19-00-55_5+(1).jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
This challenge was great for me. I can't wait to see everyone's posts. I kind of feel like I did when I entered my first big race with a bunch of fast runners. I knew I'd be trailing at the end, like a lost golden retriever, running with a pack of sleek foxes, but hey.....just happy to be running. What a learning experience! Here's my soap: Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-53651727522007393472013-09-07T05:05:00.000-07:002013-09-07T05:05:40.699-07:00Food-Smell Inspired Soaps and Soap ObsessionsMy daughter really loves spearmint soap, so we decided to do a small batch heavily influenced by the family favorite dessert--mint chocolate chip ice cream. I think food scented soaps are the most frustrating of all because they make me want to lick my stick blender or take a chunk out one while washing up in the shower. My husband thinks it might be a good aide for those trying to lose weight, but I disagree...a soap that smells like mint-chocolate chip icecream makes me want to eat the real deal. I'm not super crazy about food-smelling soaps, but I was excited about this batch. I've started incorporating a few more fragrance oils into my soaps and this would be a good one to start. Spearmint essential oil would be the perfect mint, but real chocolate or cocoa in soap would be too subtle. I opted for Brambleberry's Hot Cocoa FO mixed into a chocolate brown swirl layered between two expertly colored layers of spearminty green. I used the spoon swirl technique, also referred to as the Celine Swirl, to swirl the three layers together.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnf5VMKwKozrS7CpTX7lW00Bp9b64j6XjF7ieeAhKwZmZ1MT0-wPJ5gE4jGSbq1EKmRsRiZ1vLv2nLIZb3-xOoY0zwMIaWD0hSF570ozP7-shukJUX_elw99NW59qMqVv396Z0z7P-c8Vz/s1600/2013-09-06_07-25-30_103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnf5VMKwKozrS7CpTX7lW00Bp9b64j6XjF7ieeAhKwZmZ1MT0-wPJ5gE4jGSbq1EKmRsRiZ1vLv2nLIZb3-xOoY0zwMIaWD0hSF570ozP7-shukJUX_elw99NW59qMqVv396Z0z7P-c8Vz/s1600/2013-09-06_07-25-30_103.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a> Upon cutting it this morning, I was ecstatic with the results. My only reservation, a slight fear that brown cocoa scented will darken the surrounding green--or will it stay put in the brown? My daughter nailed that mint ice cream color on the head by blending matte forest green, aqua blue and touch of spirulina. <br />
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I touched on few obsessions/bad habits, but how about soap making? When do I cross the line into obsession? I have a tendency toward obsessions..there was the gardening obsession, the dried flower and wreath making obsession, the running obsession, and now the soap obsession. I started off making soap for the extended family as gifts and what-not, then to friends, then to co-workers...well, now I was spending so much, I had to start charging, which people were perfectly happy to do. Since there are so many soaps colors, scents, and techniques, I must try them all. I figured I better start an Etsy shop (not doing very well) and sign up for a few craft shows. I've spent a ton on materials...molds, liners, fragrances, equipment, etc. with up to now, very little return. I hope to sell well at the craft shows I've chosen. If my soap sells well, I can make more soap. If it doesn't, I'm stuck with a ton of soap and wouldn't feel justified in making more. When trying to figure out when my hobby, passion, or past-time is turning obsession-ish, I ask myself the following: <br />
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1)Is it affecting work/life balance?<br />
Well, a little bit...my husband's been complaining a little, but likewise, I complain about the three times a week band practices and two times a weekend gigs. I justify that I make soap to have something to do when I'm a band widow. As far a work balance...I definitely would like to work less and make soap more, but my day job pays substantially better and I like that to! <br />
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2)Is it draining my bank account?<br />
Definitely no, even though it seems like I have. I'm lucky that financial management has always come easily to me. Actually, that should be on my obsession list too since I went through a financial management dark period when I was separated and divorced for three years. BTW...married the same guy again! I track all my spending and set financial goals. I'm frugal and search for deals. I wanted to start slowly and buy all my start-up supplies on current income and never savings. I bought Soapmaker 3 early to track my inventory and batch costs.<br />
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3). Do you think of soap 24/7? Do you dream about screwing up soap? <br />
Well, yeah...<br />
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So, am I obsessed? Yeah, probably, but one thing I do know, as I approach 49 years of living with Cindy, is that I eventually find a comfortable balance. I ran for 7 obsessive years, before I said, "Hey, running 50 miles races is kind of crazy!" Now, I'm a recovering maintenance runner logging a sensible 15 miles a week. I still garden, but it's no longer necessary to start 1000 seedlings in my basement. It's a curve, I guess, of which I'm still on the upswing. Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-54025165617517301882013-09-01T16:51:00.001-07:002013-09-03T14:13:36.820-07:00Soapy Labor of LoveContrary to what the Labor Day holiday is supposed to signify, I worked like a soaping dog cooking up three new batches for the fall show. The first batch was a first on a few levels...I caved to my daughter's laments about fragrance oils. I bought a sampler pack from Brambleberry when I first started soaping and really like the vanilla and milk and honey scents. I also bought Anne Marie Faiola's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Soap-Crafting-Step---Step-ebook/dp/B00AJQG4PA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378074532&sr=1-1&keywords=soap+crafting">"Soap Craft ng," </a>which is wonderful, so Livy and I whipped up one of her recipes, Oatmeal Layers, a homie<br />
sweet-I could- take- a- bite- out -of -you- soap for the fall.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrs_OGWnGqw9YOK1UZ9WJglanv1wNuLbAvng9H02Ac3J-qDGarYHh77bLjGnvLkxVrYHk2KgnbXIfGaGxMHoAuPceK8dlqcndaUkLqJGCwKPG93gwMCCsUFcmgL8gETVq1QtdoO8rArCF/s1600/2013-09-01_18-02-10_900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrs_OGWnGqw9YOK1UZ9WJglanv1wNuLbAvng9H02Ac3J-qDGarYHh77bLjGnvLkxVrYHk2KgnbXIfGaGxMHoAuPceK8dlqcndaUkLqJGCwKPG93gwMCCsUFcmgL8gETVq1QtdoO8rArCF/s320/2013-09-01_18-02-10_900.jpg" width="320" /></a> I've only used fragrance oils once, on my second batch of soap ever, Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey, and I don't recall it doing anything funny. It came out really nice...a nice beige-y tan color. Since then, I've been using essential oils like crazy, but even with skilled blending techniques, you just can't get certain scents that make people go nuts, and I really think people are a touch more motivated more by scent than fancy swirls. I see when customers sniff among a dozen soaps--it's clearly the scent that sways followed by design. As a soap maker, I love design because I know the technical finesse that goes into balancing temperature, oils, scent, and technique--when it goes right, I'm deliriously proud and it's an instant favorite. I followed Anne Marie's recipe to the tee, and so interesting how those vanilla fragrance oils discolor over time. In this one, I used a vanilla, milk and honey blend on the bottom, and an almond on top. It's been two days since I made it and already the bottom layer is turning dark. The actual soap featured in the book has a dark brown bottom layer. I didn't have the exact quantity called for, but hoping the final cured soap looks as delicious as Anne Marie's, but probably not, since I forgot the honey-oops. Here it is after day 2<br />
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I love this book. I bought the handy spiral-bound version--because the beautiful pictures make it coffee table worthy and I can take notes. I've developed some very nice recipes using Soap Calc, but agonized that certain thicker recipes were costing me a fortune because I used high percentages of shea butter or cocoa butter to get them that way. After studying her recipes, I've discovered I can make a perfectly glorious thick-high quality batter without the high expense. Awesome book.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleFrYJxYuRnpZ_PZM10Zrlxu1BHsfqxnHbQkexqv8Pv-UohWFeHY5OE4ZgeJxE-rmuYMX4jac7VD2brb2d2H8jq9vdflCkNVaScp0bjN4MHq0Pm3rMxctKeV1ChVpc2MXLyTJ_1Gmrl3G/s1600/2013-09-01_17-14-43_349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleFrYJxYuRnpZ_PZM10Zrlxu1BHsfqxnHbQkexqv8Pv-UohWFeHY5OE4ZgeJxE-rmuYMX4jac7VD2brb2d2H8jq9vdflCkNVaScp0bjN4MHq0Pm3rMxctKeV1ChVpc2MXLyTJ_1Gmrl3G/s320/2013-09-01_17-14-43_349.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uCAlkkJIrvyrQlZ1lVu_Su2eL2AqFz5c6zzV5MA0VWiC5dVlqk37pfOICQxz4mrr897e3cCgLDWol-7-C-HS77EMEs-u93KOmLKROjyhjlBXkIu55MNeQYIXMgGx3NO4WL1jLDBREiZy/s1600/2013-09-01_18-09-32_871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uCAlkkJIrvyrQlZ1lVu_Su2eL2AqFz5c6zzV5MA0VWiC5dVlqk37pfOICQxz4mrr897e3cCgLDWol-7-C-HS77EMEs-u93KOmLKROjyhjlBXkIu55MNeQYIXMgGx3NO4WL1jLDBREiZy/s320/2013-09-01_18-09-32_871.jpg" width="320" /></a>My second batch, called Autumn Wreath, is not exactly as envisioned, but pretty darned close. I bought a new liquid pigment, the liquid version of the matte Americana red oxide I'm used to. Well, the liquid stuff, when added to white soap, goes pinky pastel and not the vibrant red you get with the powdered oxide. Lesson learned, but I still think it's beautiful. I used a blend of essential oils: cedar wood, fir needle, rosemary, and clove. Smells like a mid-autumn trail run through the pines. Love it!<br />
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My third batch, a modified mantra hanger swirl, is still nestled in it's mold. I uncovered it for a quick minute to get a picture. This one uses three naturally colored clays--Brazilian red, Fuller's clay, and sea clay. I think the hangar part went O.K., but you never know. I'm really drawn to masculine hippy-dippy scents, so this one is lavendin, basil, and patchouli.<br />
<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-49367119261143288712013-08-28T17:31:00.002-07:002013-08-28T17:31:31.823-07:00New Mold! Oh Boy! Now, who but a soap maker would rejoice over a new mold in their house? ;) My brother visited from Tallahassee last weekend to drop off his first born son in Cleveland to a new job and a lovely fiancee attending Case Western Reserve University. As it happens, my brother is a master wood craftsman, so a few months ago, knowing he was going to be traveling this way, I asked him if he'd make me a few molds and we'd barter for soap. I make a few skin products--a face serum and a whipped shea butter, and of course the soap, that he enjoys, so we traded soap and body products for mold. I've long been coveting the tall mold because, to me, they scream artisan elegant!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-ksbyxyaZrv-y1pv6DNZPag-UDBdcOJm7KQ8J8v6WhTotpeAOW2ew3jE4TEbnGGG35RAScBfrBtOElGRg_yQYE7zFFFweMlh-wuck62swNiEOcjequUqQguu7AwFnf_GabCfLEYBPG1D/s1600/2013-08-27_09-24-55_303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-ksbyxyaZrv-y1pv6DNZPag-UDBdcOJm7KQ8J8v6WhTotpeAOW2ew3jE4TEbnGGG35RAScBfrBtOElGRg_yQYE7zFFFweMlh-wuck62swNiEOcjequUqQguu7AwFnf_GabCfLEYBPG1D/s320/2013-08-27_09-24-55_303.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I decided on a half-half type soap, lemon and poppy seed specked on the bottom, and wispy lavender swirled with white on top. My husband loves my soap, but he's quite vocal about certain soap issues--namely that his soap not have "stuff" on top--in this case, wall-to-wall lavender buds. He doesn't mind so much "stuff" embedded in the soap, like oatmeal, adzuki beans, or poppy seeds, but he draws the line at potentially drain clogging "stuff" on top. I've listened to him, up to now, but this soap is for my show and I know women love this stuff--he can head to my soap scrap graveyard for his next shower. Here it is: I finally figured out a decent ITPS! It seems like the easiest technique, but managed to elude me for a good long time. This is very close to the Holly Swirl, had my soap been a bit more fluid and penetrated the bottom layer. I'm taking notes! I've done a few Christmas soaps for the October show, but I'm going to do one more attempt on the Holly Swirl using green, red, and white.<br />
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As I've mentioned before, I've really been sitting on the fence about fragrance oils. Up to now, I thought I'd use essential oils only, but now I'm missing out on doing certain scents. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition...I can do a line with essential oils, a line with fragrance oils and a totally naked line with no added scent. It appeals to me as an artist and would certainly appeal to a wider range of customers. Win-win.<br />
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I officially entered the next Great Cake Soap Cake Soap Challenge for the multi-colored gradient challenge. This is going to be a challenge for me--on so many levels--but I'm up for it and can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. I'm just happy to be mingling with the soap masters!Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-35046628149107260062013-08-19T16:55:00.000-07:002013-08-19T17:01:37.993-07:00Soap Challenges<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3S_fz_toRJojq5wHn7gSRAxobEO8cDekErYIoJAYAHCYSJN5WTB5Nm0LstShidu1r96dTRSZvYgjk6SKip3EgSCBfC4vOcBovsyfae4JEpzMu1PcyfutDjVM9P4Oppvhi2UPjshsFkrfL/s1600/2013-08-15_18-56-18_71.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3S_fz_toRJojq5wHn7gSRAxobEO8cDekErYIoJAYAHCYSJN5WTB5Nm0LstShidu1r96dTRSZvYgjk6SKip3EgSCBfC4vOcBovsyfae4JEpzMu1PcyfutDjVM9P4Oppvhi2UPjshsFkrfL/s320/2013-08-15_18-56-18_71.jpg" width="320" /></a>I've been following the Soap Bar's challenge series for awhile now. I read up on everyone's results. It's so fascinating, and I learn so much it's ridiculous. I'm a barely walking--maybe still crawling soap newbie with just about a year of experience. I'd say three batches out of every 10 come out exactly as I planned. Some come out better than I planned, but most of the time I totally miss the mark on creating the elusive vision in my head. My latest quest, an abstract elegant pumpkin soap, came out pretty close to the vision, but now I'm thinking my vision a bit myopic. I did an angled soap, three layered angles, starting with a natural soap at the bottom, a pumpkin layer in the middle (yes, real pumpkin!) and the top a super white creamy top (no, not real cream...just too much titanium dioxide). I topped with a glycerin mica oil swirl of gold and bronze. I just learned that from the Great Cakes gal, so thought I'd give it a shot. My daughter questioned the drizzle over whipped cream, but I said, "Heh...this is abstract elegant pumpkin...imagine it's a caramel glaze!"<br />
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Now for the scent...here's where I struggle..it's hard to get a good pumpkin scent using essential oils..sure I can use ginger, clove, and cinnamon, but it's not the same as those pumpkin pie synthetic fragrances. Sure there's real pumpkin, but pumpkin mixing with lye doesn't translate. I don't use fragrance oils, because I feel they somewhat defeat the purpose of handmade soap, but then again, these particular essential oils can be just as irritating in certain amounts as synthetic fragrances. I'm still sitting on the fence about essential vs fragrance oils, but for the time being, I use only essential oils. Another thing that keeps me on essential oils are all the horror soap stories about uncharted fragrance oils causing soap to crawl out of it's mold. Soap making is messy enough...just don't need that that aggravation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzk4tRl__wP2OzrWQfSjDDsZ1a0fDE7fH9JNxaDv2mPwqRVqxM1IKrB1pwslIGXzHGleb2x3CVyoGGBLEzlk3T0WJHosKIeYknt00-Vtj892it6y26wpJjSd33s0vwL0mDl2lPVI8lOXQ/s1600/2013-07-30_09-15-08_216edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzk4tRl__wP2OzrWQfSjDDsZ1a0fDE7fH9JNxaDv2mPwqRVqxM1IKrB1pwslIGXzHGleb2x3CVyoGGBLEzlk3T0WJHosKIeYknt00-Vtj892it6y26wpJjSd33s0vwL0mDl2lPVI8lOXQ/s320/2013-07-30_09-15-08_216edited.jpg" width="320" /></a>While reading about the Soap Challenges, I've been a little obsessed about the "Holly Swirl" a technique named from the lady at <a href="http://missouririversoap.blogspot.com/">Missouri River Soaps</a>. She's awesome. I stop by frequently to drool over her soaps. I tried it first with my cucumber calendula soap, but even though it was much too thin and just sunk to the bottom and a total fail on the Holly front, it's still one of my summer favorites. Here it is.<br />
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My second attempt at the Holly Swirl is in the oven for the oven part of the CPOP. My plan was to do a white base and my ITP Holly Swirl would be a black-fushia pink combo. I used a different recipe that I knew would be slightly fluid but medium thick. While I've never have destroyed a soap batch, me and colorants have had a long hard painful education...I mess them up a lot. When using activated charcoal, I fear ashy gray and tend to overcompensate with too much which subsequently discolors lather and destroys the household white wash cloths. I read somewhere that grey in the soap phase turns darker later, so that's what I was going with when I added about a half teaspoon to my 12 ounces of soap for the Holly. I put in the pink just like all the You-Tubes and videos advise and plopped it in the white base then swirled with chopsticks. It looked like pink-tinged grey sludge, but I'm really keeping my fingers crossed. Here's what it looks like just out of the oven...going through its gel phase.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbmHtFR-KW86uOJ5H-nQRgKVly_xV2JpuGY0ucMrjihgXNdXPWq14GLv9V4F9aEYSXL8fGXx041VtAIOxs9Nhxa0dJl3FWa5s9eOttLy3WGNzAxeDpxV3KW81z0-bjwXcmE_EX-zsN2qX/s1600/2013-08-16_19-31-14_227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimbmHtFR-KW86uOJ5H-nQRgKVly_xV2JpuGY0ucMrjihgXNdXPWq14GLv9V4F9aEYSXL8fGXx041VtAIOxs9Nhxa0dJl3FWa5s9eOttLy3WGNzAxeDpxV3KW81z0-bjwXcmE_EX-zsN2qX/s320/2013-08-16_19-31-14_227.jpg" width="320" /></a> My daughter added the heart line embellishment to the top. She's heavily influenced by somber dirge bands like Black Veil Brides. I'm calling this: Charcoal Bleeding Heart Soap. Can't wait to see the inside. Just like the colors--black, pink, and white, I scented with something equally contrasting... light lavender, lemongrass, and exotic, sultry patchouli. I don't know if this is appropriate for the fall show and Christmas Show, but what the heck. It might just end up being one for the family soap shelf.<br />
OK...it didn't turn out at all. The pink in the black swirls just faded into the black. Not sure why this happened--not enough pink? too thin? It's enough to drive a soap maker to madness. I haven't even taken a picture of it. It's still beautiful...I'm going to call it Charcoal Bleeding Heart because the inner swirls are dark and somber like a recent breakup.<br />
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<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-47910381211423889432013-08-19T16:50:00.000-07:002013-08-19T16:50:31.716-07:00I Changed My Blog Name...Well, I had to do it. It started off soap and dirt because I thought I was going to post about my gardening efforts as well as my soap. Life happens, though...I'm still gardening and growing good things to put in my soaps...just didn't have the time to blog about it.Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-58408778534120107712013-08-13T17:46:00.000-07:002013-08-13T17:46:06.566-07:00Graphic, Labels, and Logos--Oh my! I've really been struggling with all of these things. First, my Etsy banner--I perused hundreds of banners before I decided on one with a light blue background, stylized botanicals with Cindy's Scentuals floating off the top like seeds in the wind. I really liked it, but once I filled up my shop with a dozen of my soaps, it just didn't seem to fit both my shop photography style, my name, or what I'm ultimately trying to convey as soaps being olfactory slices of bliss and sensual experience. Here's the banner I was using:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLi134HP07VTwZXcInWMKmxAWD6fa_BWm9kzHOewtDsNYiHXUjouC79FyRtH7NvDr3Lnr3p1JGFQe5HEu73dNAFV-kcR8_0IHj50-n1-DauwFwoOeGzSC4QRgJvWjdR3VuVp3Luj3Gt93Z/s1600/CindysScentuals-Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="42" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLi134HP07VTwZXcInWMKmxAWD6fa_BWm9kzHOewtDsNYiHXUjouC79FyRtH7NvDr3Lnr3p1JGFQe5HEu73dNAFV-kcR8_0IHj50-n1-DauwFwoOeGzSC4QRgJvWjdR3VuVp3Luj3Gt93Z/s320/CindysScentuals-Banner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I decided to take the banner off when I read an Etsy article how no banner is better than bad banner that doesn't make your shop look cohesive, but I didn't like going naked either, so found another article about how to create your own on GIMP. The article made it sound so easy, but it took me an entire Friday evening sweating and fretting to come up with something. I pieced my banner with actual soaps from my shop. Funny, but my main soap star was an early ugly duckling out of the mold, my cucumber calendula soap. Here it is at <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/CindysScentuals?ref=si_shop">my shop</a>. It's not at all like the vision I had in my head, but after a good long cure--a swan! And one of my current favorites: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZAM6Ixk__gf3CcWmigVCkpScRZdHRxZB2mnyeP3t9Cmp8Z3owDS4aJ-LVlX6wNsMdwz4TEyfSWXW7gKygXuLXQOjgkGpL53NitlZ4aeeMwkTR1eN8fTGUreWda_2JryS2EFecre7_g8l/s1600/CindyLogoCurls_medium.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZAM6Ixk__gf3CcWmigVCkpScRZdHRxZB2mnyeP3t9Cmp8Z3owDS4aJ-LVlX6wNsMdwz4TEyfSWXW7gKygXuLXQOjgkGpL53NitlZ4aeeMwkTR1eN8fTGUreWda_2JryS2EFecre7_g8l/s320/CindyLogoCurls_medium.png" width="320" /></a></div>
I had my nephew come up with a logo...it's similar in theme to the first Etsy banner but more sensual, I think. I'm having issues with the "indy" coming off the bottom of the "C". He had it coming off the top, initially, but it didn't look right to me so I had him change it. He was right, I was wrong, cause now I have issues getting my logo to tuck nicely into label corners, but can't because of the change. Lesson--leave it the professionals! Sheesh! Who knew??? Here it is:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPyG4IHWdMvvru03KlmgqbvDHFOoGypRDxBbRjSULVYvCxOgGhcXv80Xmo6Y5zkxcq7kH1MvuhA8Kd39Ygwi2eCOuFWMgQqqoKadZQnWSMHfFZSzxm9Hi7Rt0HhN96KeFnw-2SweQiEXi/s1600/2013-08-11_08-53-53_911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPyG4IHWdMvvru03KlmgqbvDHFOoGypRDxBbRjSULVYvCxOgGhcXv80Xmo6Y5zkxcq7kH1MvuhA8Kd39Ygwi2eCOuFWMgQqqoKadZQnWSMHfFZSzxm9Hi7Rt0HhN96KeFnw-2SweQiEXi/s320/2013-08-11_08-53-53_911.jpg" width="320" /></a>Here's the latest for the curing rack--a Christmas scented soap with essential oils of rosemary, bay, fir, fennel and orange. <br />
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My next is going to be an abstract rendition of a fall season favorite--pumpkin soap. Stay tuned. So excited!Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337992280396608357.post-56295110376992501592013-07-22T16:59:00.002-07:002013-07-22T16:59:55.047-07:00Rose SoapFunny, how I get an idea in my head for a soap and can't let it go till I make it. I perused Etsy soap sites, blogs, Google images, etc. for a good soap technique to bring my rose soap to life. I really love the pictures of rose soap with rose petals embedded on top, but my practical, botanical-bit wary husband discouraged plying my soap tops with crushed roses. He said, "Who wants to wash with scratchy rose soap with soap petals that fall off in the shower?" Hmm...he had a point here, but I still love all those rose topped soaps, so I compromised and used only a minimal sprinkling to adorn the tops. Practical botanical bit haters can pluck the 3 or 4 petals off before indulging.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXi9_Td4-RGF0QySxTQTUGz5J4raqGLanRUG48M3QJSKRts82f2zQY_Wq5aR0yCyXD34G_oXv2Y8_2Pprf0iKSmCXCgiekiWaiqsfmcEuklWg0hYC12n5njpxpDIN-2QRnY8k0OVhUPAI/s1600/2013-07-20_10-18-17_63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXi9_Td4-RGF0QySxTQTUGz5J4raqGLanRUG48M3QJSKRts82f2zQY_Wq5aR0yCyXD34G_oXv2Y8_2Pprf0iKSmCXCgiekiWaiqsfmcEuklWg0hYC12n5njpxpDIN-2QRnY8k0OVhUPAI/s320/2013-07-20_10-18-17_63.jpg" width="320" /></a>At last, I decided on a modified dream-catcher style where I layer alternating light pink, dark pink, and white layers in a slab mold. The pink and dark pink were made with rose clay and Brazilian red clay, which I love for the great soap feel it provides. I added a few splotches of green and ran my skewer, outward, through both the lily-padded pools and the leaves. It didn't really look like roses, but the impression of roses was definitely there. Now, here's a first--normally too consumed with making my soap work, I decided to step it up a notch and do a few pictures of the soap in progress. Mind you, I'm a nervous Nelly and normally too focused on the soap to do anything else. Instinctively, my family avoids asking me questions or talking to me when I'm in the soap zone. Here's the start of my rose soap. It's controlled chaos, for sure, but suits the way my brain works...flitting here and there..nothing ever linear. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4u_Dr_IOCVjziHeWt_sJX7sgzyVHquZbqz8bHYc2DJBWW6t29hAtwAt91q5zbj7iA8f_oawH31l6C3Bh8NctFBkRRpakXoVHjtttzEQsF01dSOupfzW1jKG3jIGTLB6B749VAZoOH1JC/s1600/2013-07-20_10-29-51_20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4u_Dr_IOCVjziHeWt_sJX7sgzyVHquZbqz8bHYc2DJBWW6t29hAtwAt91q5zbj7iA8f_oawH31l6C3Bh8NctFBkRRpakXoVHjtttzEQsF01dSOupfzW1jKG3jIGTLB6B749VAZoOH1JC/s320/2013-07-20_10-29-51_20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I used a super luxurious blend of oils including olive, avocado, shea butter, rosehip oil, and coconut. I added a light scent blend--rose absolute, palmarosa, and patchouli.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOlLvM3ZlOqBwOxUXU79rheL2QKvWn7gh1rA2r4S5TwVslKex429u7twfoEwaqpPI0uiNVfhwAV5ih6TYy0CNsD7OCAAfQOmTFps1MVXJDgflWxU18-JwZm_5wjs8gMryJRky1yidupPp/s1600/2013-07-20_17-06-03_482edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOlLvM3ZlOqBwOxUXU79rheL2QKvWn7gh1rA2r4S5TwVslKex429u7twfoEwaqpPI0uiNVfhwAV5ih6TYy0CNsD7OCAAfQOmTFps1MVXJDgflWxU18-JwZm_5wjs8gMryJRky1yidupPp/s320/2013-07-20_17-06-03_482edited.jpg" width="320" /></a>Here's the cut bars--even though I used a CPOP, I'm still going to let these cure a few weeks. The scent was a little more subtle than I anticipated. My husband loves it--even with the botanical bits! He'll just pick them off and proceed as usual. Girls love this stuff--we'll just sniff our bits, pick em out of the shower and love every minute of it. This is a GIRL soap. <br />
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<br />Soapin' Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319945263299559871noreply@blogger.com0