Saturday, August 20, 2011

Back to Basics of Melt and Pour

How do you like these soaps?  Not my usual cold or hot process soaps, in fact these are melt and pour.  I am sure that most soap makers have all dabbled with them at one point or another.  These are the stops I first made when I discovered cold process soap making.  I use to love making these soaps . . . actually the impatient side of me still loves making these.  Personally, I love it went my 8 year old comes around and says "Mom, I want to help you make soaps today".  I think that is why I still love it, because I can make soaps with him.

I have a customer . . . her daughter has fallen in love with these soaps and she wants 300 soaps, lotions, and lip balms in pink organza bags by September 4th.  I am a little pressed for time because I got real sick after coming back from the Smokey Mountains.  The only thing that keeps me from panicking is the fact that these are simple to make.  I use the SFIC soap base.  It's made in California.  The company has great customer service...and for those of you who make M&P soaps.  Check them out:  http://www.sficcorp.com/.

I find it interesting that after years of making soaps, I always have customers that pick those transparent melt and pour soaps over the cold and hot process ones. The look is what sells them.  That is what make making and selling so interesting to me. 
 


SFIC Melt & Pour 50lb Base


Slow Melting Soap



Pink Cotton Soap

Here I am using soap boxes to keep the lotion bottles standing up!


I am giving away 3 of these soaps.  Just be the first one to comment and we can make the arrangement.

Kenia

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Friday, August 12, 2011

The Results


I am finally getting around to cutting and taking pictures of the soaps I previously showed you.  I was pleasantly surprised, but like always, they inspired me to make more soap, but before I show you the new creations take a look at these and tell me what you think.

Sex in the Shower

Sex In The Shower

The Breakfast Bar

Fruit From The Tropics


Sweet Orange

I am really excited to show you this one.  We have decided to call it Van Gogh.  Marlisa and I were inspired to call it Van Gogh because of the colors chosen.  Four colors in total micas, oxides and ultramarine.  I love the layer look...and she loves the wild colors.   I am quickly becoming a fan of a wild look because of this soap.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.


Van Gogh



Well, I hope you all enjoy the look of these new creations.  I am off to the Smokies to spend some quality time with my family.  Enjoy the rest of the week.

Kenia



Weekend Adventure

This past weekend I was a little busy.  I had my father make me a couple of adjustable wooden molds and I finally was able to use them.  I had my soap making partner in crime (Marlisa) come over to help me out.  Making soap is fun, but having someone to help you out is even better.  It’s another pair of eyes and another opinion that makes it more fun.

Marlisa - Soap making partner in crime (cousin)

So here are a few pictures of our adventure.  These soaps will be available in my Etsy Shop mid July.  Later I will post pictures when they are cut.

 
The new look for our “Sex in the Shower” soap.


Love this coincidental heart that came about with Marlisa drizzling.  It’s a true keeper!  This is the best selling soap that I make.  I’ve changed the look of this soap several times because I wasn’t happy with it in the past, but I must say THIS will be the one from here on out!  It's scent is a combination of cherry, pineapple, peach and vanilla.

Here are a two more pictures for your enjoyment.

"Sex in the Shower"


"Sex in the Shower"


The Breakfast Bar

This soap is the very best of breakfast without the scramble eggs.  It’s contains scents of  vanilla, milk, honey, oatmeal,   topped off with ground coffee.  This is my newest creation.  It’s warm and sweet and you just want to eat it (we don't recommend it).

The Breakfast Bar

“Fruit From The Tropics”

A combination of color with a simple scent of sweet pomegranate topped with ground hibiscus for a beautiful look.

“Fruit From The Tropics”

Sweet Orange

This looks like dessert, but it’s my Sweet Orange scented soap, topped off with dry orange peel.  It’s my ultimate favorite look, and there is something about a sweet citrus scent that I truly love.

Sweet Orange

TO BE CONTINUED.......

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

How I Became a Soap-A-Holic!

Summer is upon us and what I had set out to do since the beginning of the year is finally getting started.  Welcome to my blog spot.  Thank you for choosing to follow my crazy adventures of soaping… along with a few other interests.
 
Like many of you, I am a self proclaimed soap-a-holic.  I love making skin loving products.  My skin loves me for it, and it's never looked or felt better.
 
I am a wife and a mother of two very active boys that rarely let me have time to breath, except for my quiet bath time.  Needless to say, my bath time is very important to me, so I make it count!

 
I have always loved being crafty and making things with my hands.  I’ve enjoyed sewing, knitting, painting, even upholstery in the past, but I’ve never loved or obsessed over them like I do with soap making which I stumbled into in the summer of 2005.  That summer a friend gave me a hand scrub that I fell in love with.  I placed it on my kitchen sink and used it up in no time.  I loved the way it left my hands looking healthy, feeling soft, and smelling great.  I wished that my hands weren’t the only part of my body that felt and looked that way.   The price was reasonable, but I thought about the possibility of making something like this for my body.   So I set out to make my first scrub.  I found a great recipe at www.pvsoaps.com (great shop, great resource and friendly customer service), Pomegranate Poppy Seed Body Scrub.  After examining the ingredients, I realized that I already had most of them in my kitchen, but lacked the fragrance.  I don’t remember why I didn’t purchase all of the ingredients through pvsoaps…I think they lack the fragrance…so I set out to look for it.    That is when I found www.sunfeather.com.   Not only did they have the fragrance, but there I read about Sandy Maine.  I immediately purchased her book, "Clean, Naturally: Recipes for Body, Home and Spirit, read it, and from there it’s history.  

I have done my share of research and even though my library of books is continuously growing there is always more to learn with experimenting.  For example, I started out with melt and pour soap.  It’s as easy as having a microwave and a scale, but in order to be good there is technique that one must acquire.  I still enjoy making melt and pour.  There is a certain beauty to making those, but I love making the natural soap.  There’s something about the careful measuring and mixing of the ingredients and seeing your finished product that is very liberating.

Well, this is my first of many entries.  It’s amazing how many blogs are dedicated to soap making these days.  I love reading them.  It’s usually how I spend the last hours of my day.  Reading them, getting inspired, and looking at the artistry they share.   They are great, insightful and full of new ideas and different techniques.  My hopes for this blog is that we can get to know each other, help each other, and that I can keep a running journal of my messes and successes.   I hope I can be an inspiration to you and you share your triumphs and mistakes with me.  Whether you are a beginner in soap making or an old pro looking to see what other approaches others may exist . . . welcome!  I hope that our love for the craft bonds us together in this small but growing community.


Pomegranate Poppy Seed Body Scrub