Last night I soaped another batch of my 100% Olive Oil Castile Soap... the first batch that I soaped for my Etsy store a couple of weeks ago turned out just lovely! I thought it would probably be a good idea to have a 2nd batch made and curing because I think my first batch is going to sell pretty well. I will edit this blog entry and post a pic of the soap loaf in the mold as soon as it completed the gel phase and has cooled down - right now it's pretty hot and I'm sure the soap has a great gel going.
I took a sample to my sister's house (she's my guinea pig and tests soaps with me). Her skin has gotten a little dry with the change in the weather lately. I told her that I wanted her to try this soap because it is very moisturizing and would be good for her skin. Also, we're thinking it will be a great soap to shave legs with too :-) I'll give you updates as we're testing it :-) My sister said that the soap looked like a heavenly piece of white chocolate fudge! She said it looked good enough to eat LOL
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Love & Peace (Lush - Karma Dup)
Last night I also soaped "Love & Peace" - it's my Lush "Karma" dup...
I modified my soap recipe just a little bit and included beeswax in the oils. There are many benefits in using beeswax in your soap oils. One is that it has natural moisturizing and healing properties. Beeswax is also high in vitamin A, which is important for human cell development. Beeswax is also known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial properties as well.
Beeswax will also make your cold process go to trace much faster too.... and sometimes, that's not a good thing when you're soaping! LOL I was only able to get one section on the bottom of the soap loaf swirled before I added the embeds. I had wanted to also swirl the top as well but the soap just got too thick too quickly.
I also used this loaf as a "trial" on mixing glycerin soaps as embeds into cold process soap. I've ready where others have done this successfully so I thought I would give it a try. From the information and opinions that I've read, using glycerin as embeds in CP works much better than CP embeds in glycerin soap. I thought that by using the glycerin embeds it would give me a more transparent embed that might look pretty cool. The embeds are hearts and flowers :-)
The base of the soap loaf is a beautiful blue... I hope that the color stays the same as I poured it and doesn't morph on me LOL The top is a beautiful red gloppy frosting with small red glycerin reds on top (and glitter sprinkled on top of that of course).
I checked it this morning and it seems like the soap loaf has completed going through the gel phase and is beginning to cool down. The loaf is still soft to the touch and will need more time in the mold. I will probably leave this loaf in the mold until Monday morning - just to be sure it is completely ready to slice.
Sometimes soap making is really just an experiment - with each batch you cook, you learn something new. It might be something like how adjusting or adding one additional oil or butter affects trace or it might be learning that a particular fragrance makes a soap go to a thick trace (or seize) almost immediately. But it is always so much fun when it's time to slice the soap and see what it looks like inside.
I'm hoping that my "Love & Peace" will be a cool experimental loaf :-) Here's a couple of pics of the soap in the mold:
I modified my soap recipe just a little bit and included beeswax in the oils. There are many benefits in using beeswax in your soap oils. One is that it has natural moisturizing and healing properties. Beeswax is also high in vitamin A, which is important for human cell development. Beeswax is also known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial properties as well.
Beeswax will also make your cold process go to trace much faster too.... and sometimes, that's not a good thing when you're soaping! LOL I was only able to get one section on the bottom of the soap loaf swirled before I added the embeds. I had wanted to also swirl the top as well but the soap just got too thick too quickly.
I also used this loaf as a "trial" on mixing glycerin soaps as embeds into cold process soap. I've ready where others have done this successfully so I thought I would give it a try. From the information and opinions that I've read, using glycerin as embeds in CP works much better than CP embeds in glycerin soap. I thought that by using the glycerin embeds it would give me a more transparent embed that might look pretty cool. The embeds are hearts and flowers :-)
The base of the soap loaf is a beautiful blue... I hope that the color stays the same as I poured it and doesn't morph on me LOL The top is a beautiful red gloppy frosting with small red glycerin reds on top (and glitter sprinkled on top of that of course).
I checked it this morning and it seems like the soap loaf has completed going through the gel phase and is beginning to cool down. The loaf is still soft to the touch and will need more time in the mold. I will probably leave this loaf in the mold until Monday morning - just to be sure it is completely ready to slice.
Sometimes soap making is really just an experiment - with each batch you cook, you learn something new. It might be something like how adjusting or adding one additional oil or butter affects trace or it might be learning that a particular fragrance makes a soap go to a thick trace (or seize) almost immediately. But it is always so much fun when it's time to slice the soap and see what it looks like inside.
I'm hoping that my "Love & Peace" will be a cool experimental loaf :-) Here's a couple of pics of the soap in the mold:
Laundry Soap (Batch #2) -- Cucumber Melon
This morning the 2nd batch of laundry soap had completed gelled and started to cool down. So I took it out of the mold and cut it before the soap became really hard. It was actually still a little warm... It was so much easier to slice than the first loaf.
The color is very pretty but I can't really smell the scent very well at all. It might be that when the soap going through the curing phase, the scent will begin to come back out, or at least I hope so! I really liked the cucumber melon scent...
I still have one more loaf of this soap to make that will be completely unscented for those who require unscented laundry detergents.
And I have some cool news - I cut mini "stain sticks" from several of the bars of the cucumber melon laundry soap... and as soon as they are cured out, I will be sending these as free samples in my Etsy orders :-)
Here's a couple of pics of the soap slices... the color isn't showing up very well in the pics - it's actually a very pretty light teal green:
The color is very pretty but I can't really smell the scent very well at all. It might be that when the soap going through the curing phase, the scent will begin to come back out, or at least I hope so! I really liked the cucumber melon scent...
I still have one more loaf of this soap to make that will be completely unscented for those who require unscented laundry detergents.
And I have some cool news - I cut mini "stain sticks" from several of the bars of the cucumber melon laundry soap... and as soon as they are cured out, I will be sending these as free samples in my Etsy orders :-)
Here's a couple of pics of the soap slices... the color isn't showing up very well in the pics - it's actually a very pretty light teal green:
Update on Laundry Soap
I'm glad I peeked at the laundry soap that I had in the mold.... the gel phase was completed and the soap loaf had cooled down. AND it was hardening up very well.... so I got it out of the mold ASAP and cut my slices LOL So now it's curing up. I'm got to remember now that I shouldn't wait a full 24 hours on these laundry soaps because they do gel quite quickly and the bars start to get hard quickly as well. Here's some pics of the peppermint laundry soap (notice the center "gel" ring):
The 2nd batch of the laundry soap I made, I colored it with a green teal color mica. So it looks very pretty. I added 0.5 oz of Cucumber Melon and the soap did find. But when I added the 2nd 0.5 oz, the soap started seizing on me. I quickly got it into the soap load mold and covered with plastic wrap. It's already curing right now! The entire center is a hot gel... So, I'm think that sometime tomorrow morning, I will need to check on it and as soon as it has cooled down, I will need to immediately get the soap log out of the mold and sliced. I can't wait to see how the fragrance turns out.
The 2nd batch of the laundry soap I made, I colored it with a green teal color mica. So it looks very pretty. I added 0.5 oz of Cucumber Melon and the soap did find. But when I added the 2nd 0.5 oz, the soap started seizing on me. I quickly got it into the soap load mold and covered with plastic wrap. It's already curing right now! The entire center is a hot gel... So, I'm think that sometime tomorrow morning, I will need to check on it and as soon as it has cooled down, I will need to immediately get the soap log out of the mold and sliced. I can't wait to see how the fragrance turns out.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Laundry Soap
Just to let you know what I'm soaping today.... Laundry Soap!
Yes, laundry soap - this is the soap that I personally use to make my homemade laundry detergent. Laundry soap is made from 100% lard and lye... that's it!
There are two different ways to scent your homemade laundry detergent - the first way is to start with scented "laundry soap". So, for this batch (in keeping everything natural) I scented this loaf with peppermint essential oil. This is the first batch that I've made scented with peppermint EO. So, I'm a bit anxious to see how the homemade laundry detergent that I make with it turns out :-)
The 2nd way to scent your homemade laundry detergent is to start out with unscented, plain laundry soap and add essential oil to your completed batch of laundry detergent. I don't prefer this method because it seems to take so much more essential oil than the first method.
Laundry detergent is easy to make from laundry soap, borax and washing soda. And it's a natural product that isn't filled with lots of chemical names that you can't pronounce. I've read that it's safer on septic systems and also better for the environment. An added benefit is that it is low sudsing and great for the new high efficiency washing machines!
I just checked on the laundry soap loaf and it's beginning to heat up and gel. I also poured several small sample sizes that I will be giving away as freebies in my Etsy orders about a month from now (after the soap has had time to cure out). I will also include the appropriate amount of borax and washing soda with the soap samples so that customers can make their own homemade laundry detergent and give it a try in their washing machines.
My plans for the future include offering an unscented, an essential oil scented (like the peppermint or maybe another EO) and a fragrance oil scented laundry soap. I will keep everyone updated on when these will be available in our Etsy soap store.
Tonight I have several soaps to make - first, the Christmas Sugar Cookies. I can't wait to make this soap. It's in the fragrance dup of Yankee Candles "Christmas Sugar Cookies". I LOVE LOVE LOVE that smell!
The next one that I am planning on soaping tonight is the "Iced Cranberry Citrus". I'll be doing the "mantra" swirl which I love doing. I just love how the swirls turn out. Plus, it's a fun swirl to do.
The last one (that I hope I have time to soap) is going to be our Lush "Karma" dup - which I'm calling "Love & Peace". This scent so reminds me of the 60's! I can barely remember the 60's with the "love & peace and not war" thing going on. I can remember the vivid, bright colors, the peace sign... So, I'm going to incorporate hearts and flowers into this soap loaf! I really think it's going to be a fun soap to make and I can't wait to share it with you!
Yes, laundry soap - this is the soap that I personally use to make my homemade laundry detergent. Laundry soap is made from 100% lard and lye... that's it!
There are two different ways to scent your homemade laundry detergent - the first way is to start with scented "laundry soap". So, for this batch (in keeping everything natural) I scented this loaf with peppermint essential oil. This is the first batch that I've made scented with peppermint EO. So, I'm a bit anxious to see how the homemade laundry detergent that I make with it turns out :-)
The 2nd way to scent your homemade laundry detergent is to start out with unscented, plain laundry soap and add essential oil to your completed batch of laundry detergent. I don't prefer this method because it seems to take so much more essential oil than the first method.
Laundry detergent is easy to make from laundry soap, borax and washing soda. And it's a natural product that isn't filled with lots of chemical names that you can't pronounce. I've read that it's safer on septic systems and also better for the environment. An added benefit is that it is low sudsing and great for the new high efficiency washing machines!
I just checked on the laundry soap loaf and it's beginning to heat up and gel. I also poured several small sample sizes that I will be giving away as freebies in my Etsy orders about a month from now (after the soap has had time to cure out). I will also include the appropriate amount of borax and washing soda with the soap samples so that customers can make their own homemade laundry detergent and give it a try in their washing machines.
My plans for the future include offering an unscented, an essential oil scented (like the peppermint or maybe another EO) and a fragrance oil scented laundry soap. I will keep everyone updated on when these will be available in our Etsy soap store.
Tonight I have several soaps to make - first, the Christmas Sugar Cookies. I can't wait to make this soap. It's in the fragrance dup of Yankee Candles "Christmas Sugar Cookies". I LOVE LOVE LOVE that smell!
The next one that I am planning on soaping tonight is the "Iced Cranberry Citrus". I'll be doing the "mantra" swirl which I love doing. I just love how the swirls turn out. Plus, it's a fun swirl to do.
The last one (that I hope I have time to soap) is going to be our Lush "Karma" dup - which I'm calling "Love & Peace". This scent so reminds me of the 60's! I can barely remember the 60's with the "love & peace and not war" thing going on. I can remember the vivid, bright colors, the peace sign... So, I'm going to incorporate hearts and flowers into this soap loaf! I really think it's going to be a fun soap to make and I can't wait to share it with you!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Rock It Out!
It was so much fun designing and creating this soap! I wanted it to be loud and bright... and of course, it had to have STARS incorporated into the soap loaf :-)
On each soap slice, there is a large star on one side and a small star on the opposite side. Also, across the top of the soap loaf, I've applied stars on top of the purple mound of soap frosting (with some glitter of course).
This is a really fun soap and the scent is a dup of Lush's Rockstar. I think you're going to really like this one:
On each soap slice, there is a large star on one side and a small star on the opposite side. Also, across the top of the soap loaf, I've applied stars on top of the purple mound of soap frosting (with some glitter of course).
This is a really fun soap and the scent is a dup of Lush's Rockstar. I think you're going to really like this one:
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Snowy Banks - Oct/27/2010
I went a little "out there" in creating this next soap. It's Snowy Banks - our dupe of Lush's "Snow Cakes". When I picture snow, my most favorite scene is a frozen pond with banks of snow all around it. The pond has sparkly snow flakes all over the top of the frozen ice just waiting for someone to skate across the untouched surface. Well, I was actually able to create the scene I have in my head into a loaf of soap! So far it is my daughter and husband's most favorite soap. So here's another sneak peak at one of our Christmas soaps for 2010 that I'll be opening my Etsy soap shop up with next Monday:
The base of this soap is a creamy white with lots of blue swirls. I have already cut the bars and will be getting pics of them posted for you tonight.
Sugar Plum Fairies - Oct/27/2010
I really enjoyed the design phase of this soap and even more so the actual creation. Introducing "Sugar Plum Fairies" - the fragrance is a blend of plums and sweet oranges. It's not overwhelming - it's subtle. I really like this scent and it reminds me of fairies, sugar plums and Christmas :-) As the soap has begun to cure, I'm able to smell more of the oranges.... It's awesome! Here's a quick sneak peak of some of the pics I took before I cut the bars... enjoy!
The base of the soap is a beautiful purple topped with lots of creamy icing. Then, I've added some meringue style pink "do-dads" on top of that. Then all of the icing was sprinkled with sparkly glitter for hints of "fairy dust".
Here's more pics...
Here's more pics...
BUSY BUSY BUSY (and "Love Spell") - Oct/27/2010
Sorry I haven't posted for a couple of days. I've been busy making lots of new soaps!
But before I get started talking about all the new soap creations, I'm going back to post some pics of the cut bars of "Love Spell". They are amazingly beautiful! I really think you're going to like them alot! The colors are a medium teal green, pink and cream. The swirl in these soaps really turned out so nice! And all of the bars are topped with our signature frosting sprinkled with lots of iridescent glitter :-)
I do have a question and would like some input -- what do you think about the imprint on the soaps? There are many soapmakers who have a specialized imprint for their company. I am thinking about using this....
And now -- the "Love Spell" cupcakes are so cute!!!! The cake portion is in the teal green and pink and each cupcake is topped with fluffy, cream soap icing that is sprinkled with lots of iridescent glitter. Here's a couple of shots of the cupcakes:
Our Etsy shop opening date is getting really close! November 1st is this next Monday! Yikes! I still have more soaps in the production line too. I want to open the soap shop with a good level of inventory as well as a great selection.
Here's the link to our Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KCherieSoaps
I'll be posting more in just a bit. I have some more pictures to upload of the latest soaps!
But before I get started talking about all the new soap creations, I'm going back to post some pics of the cut bars of "Love Spell". They are amazingly beautiful! I really think you're going to like them alot! The colors are a medium teal green, pink and cream. The swirl in these soaps really turned out so nice! And all of the bars are topped with our signature frosting sprinkled with lots of iridescent glitter :-)
And now -- the "Love Spell" cupcakes are so cute!!!! The cake portion is in the teal green and pink and each cupcake is topped with fluffy, cream soap icing that is sprinkled with lots of iridescent glitter. Here's a couple of shots of the cupcakes:
Here's the link to our Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KCherieSoaps
I'll be posting more in just a bit. I have some more pictures to upload of the latest soaps!
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