I've been studying and reading about "re-batching".... so yesterday I decided to give it a try. It's different to say the least from the making cold process soap. First, you start with cold process soap that didn't turn out quite right the first time. I had 2 loafs that were just not up to par (in my opinion LOL).
The first soap log was a batch of "Love Spell". After cutting the log up and then grating the soap bars into shreds, they went into the crock pot with a little bit of water to get things mixed up well. Then the soap started "cooking". Re-batching is really not a hard thing to do, just a little time consuming. The soap is very thick though and a little bit hard to stir. I just had to keep an eye on it and make sure that the soap didn't completely dry out or start to burn. I cooked mine for a little longer (instead of using a higher temperature) until the shreds turned transparent. Then, I added some chunks of pink cold process soap into the mix to add another color to the finished product.
The soap looked like spun sugar to me when it was time to place it into the soap log molds. I had lined the molds with freezer paper. The hardest part was packing the soap into the molds and trying to make sure that I didn't have any air pockets. I "textured" the top of the loaf (instead of leaving it smooth) and then, of course, sprinkled some iridescent glitter on top. I think the re-batched soap is going to look pretty cool when it's finished drying.
I plan on adding some decorative "icing" touches to the 2 soap logs I created from this batch and possibly cutting it into "cake" pieces instead of soap slices. Just an idea.... I'll upload some pics of this re-batch shortly.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
"Twilight Woods" Cupcakes - Oct/23/2010
I love these cupcakes... they are scented with "Twilight Woods" and just smell (as well as look) amazing. I think you'll agree!
Hope you enjoyed the pics!
Hope you enjoyed the pics!
More Finished Soaps - Oct/23/2010
While we were "decorating" yesterday with the icing, I had a few prior slices and cupcakes that I needed to tend to as well. This post will show you some of the other finished soaps that we will have available in our Etsy soap shop on November 1, 2010.
The first one is Café au lait. This soap is made with real brewed coffee - no other scents or colorants - just pure coffee. Inside the soap slices are bits of "coffee scrubs" that make this bar great to use on your "outdoor" hands. Also, coffee soap is great for getting rid of fishy and even garlic-y smells on your hands. This was soaped on Oct/18/2010 and will be cured out and ready to use on Nov/15/2010. Since I used the "Cold Process/Oven Process" the soap will not need as long of a time to cure.
Now, here's our "Expresso Coffee Scrubs" soap - it's made with strong expresso coffee and lots of ground coffee for the exfoliation properties. Not only will this soap scrub off the dead skin, it will also help to eliminate strong odors from your hands. This is a great soap for fishermen and hunters or even cooks who want to get rid of onion and garlic odors. This loaf was soaped on Oct/16/2010 and will be ready to use on Nov/13/2010 (CP/OP). The ingredients for this soap (Vegan) is Coconut, Olive, Canola, Castor and Soybean oils and Expresso Coffee and coffee grounds. There are no other added colorants or fragrances.
Now this next soap is just awesome - I love it! Introducing "Pink Grapefruit" - this soap has such a pretty color and a light to medium grapefruit fragrance with a touch of sweet sugar cookie. The smell is clean and not overbearing. The oils used in this soap are Coconut, Olive, Canola, Soybean and Palm oils and Lard. It is a nice hard bar of soap and should be very moisturizing. In addition to the "icing", there is a sprinkle of cosmetic glitter on the top. It was soaped on Oct/11/2010 and should be ready to use on Nov/22/2010 after a 6 week curing time. I think you're really going to like this one!
I just love the scent of Plumeria... so I had to create a soap for it! I choose purple... it just seemed to be the logical choice LOL! But what I didn't expect is that the scent would remind me of grapes so much.... I don't know if it's really the scent or just the effect of seeing the purple bar and expecting the soap bar to smell like grapes. So, I've named this soap "Grape Plumeria".... The scent is awesome - it's a medium scent and just smells so cool. This soap contains Coconut, Olive, Canola, Soybean and Palm oils and Lard. Some cosmetic glitter on top adds a bit of sparkle that we love so much. It was soaped on Oct/11/2010 and should be ready to use on Nov/22/2010 after a 6 week curing time.
Hope you've enjoyed the pics!
The first one is Café au lait. This soap is made with real brewed coffee - no other scents or colorants - just pure coffee. Inside the soap slices are bits of "coffee scrubs" that make this bar great to use on your "outdoor" hands. Also, coffee soap is great for getting rid of fishy and even garlic-y smells on your hands. This was soaped on Oct/18/2010 and will be cured out and ready to use on Nov/15/2010. Since I used the "Cold Process/Oven Process" the soap will not need as long of a time to cure.
Now, here's our "Expresso Coffee Scrubs" soap - it's made with strong expresso coffee and lots of ground coffee for the exfoliation properties. Not only will this soap scrub off the dead skin, it will also help to eliminate strong odors from your hands. This is a great soap for fishermen and hunters or even cooks who want to get rid of onion and garlic odors. This loaf was soaped on Oct/16/2010 and will be ready to use on Nov/13/2010 (CP/OP). The ingredients for this soap (Vegan) is Coconut, Olive, Canola, Castor and Soybean oils and Expresso Coffee and coffee grounds. There are no other added colorants or fragrances.
Now this next soap is just awesome - I love it! Introducing "Pink Grapefruit" - this soap has such a pretty color and a light to medium grapefruit fragrance with a touch of sweet sugar cookie. The smell is clean and not overbearing. The oils used in this soap are Coconut, Olive, Canola, Soybean and Palm oils and Lard. It is a nice hard bar of soap and should be very moisturizing. In addition to the "icing", there is a sprinkle of cosmetic glitter on the top. It was soaped on Oct/11/2010 and should be ready to use on Nov/22/2010 after a 6 week curing time. I think you're really going to like this one!
I just love the scent of Plumeria... so I had to create a soap for it! I choose purple... it just seemed to be the logical choice LOL! But what I didn't expect is that the scent would remind me of grapes so much.... I don't know if it's really the scent or just the effect of seeing the purple bar and expecting the soap bar to smell like grapes. So, I've named this soap "Grape Plumeria".... The scent is awesome - it's a medium scent and just smells so cool. This soap contains Coconut, Olive, Canola, Soybean and Palm oils and Lard. Some cosmetic glitter on top adds a bit of sparkle that we love so much. It was soaped on Oct/11/2010 and should be ready to use on Nov/22/2010 after a 6 week curing time.
Hope you've enjoyed the pics!
Saturday Morning - Oct/23/2010
Wow, yesterday was quite a busy day in the kitchen. Instead of cooking up food, I've been cooking soaps :-)
Yesterday I soaped "Love Spell" - it's a Victoria's Secret fragrance dupe that is so good... Here's the description:
Blend of Summer Flowers and Orange Comparable to: Victoria Secret
This loaf is Vegan and made with Canola, Coconut, Soybean, Palm and Olive oils. The Canola, Soybean and Olive oils will make this soap nice, emollient and moisturizing while the Coconut and Palm oils will give it the sudsing and cleaning attributes. The bar should cure out to be nice and hard as well hopefully making it a long-lasting bar for the shower. Are you ready to see the loaf? Oh, and I made a few cupcakes and some petit fours as well :-) I can't wait to cut this log into slices this morning and see how the swirl worked! I'll make another post after I take those pics.
How do you like the "icing"? I think this adds such a beautiful touch to the soaps! And, of course, we've got to top it off with a little light-catching glitter!
Yesterday I soaped "Love Spell" - it's a Victoria's Secret fragrance dupe that is so good... Here's the description:
Blend of Summer Flowers and Orange Comparable to: Victoria Secret
This loaf is Vegan and made with Canola, Coconut, Soybean, Palm and Olive oils. The Canola, Soybean and Olive oils will make this soap nice, emollient and moisturizing while the Coconut and Palm oils will give it the sudsing and cleaning attributes. The bar should cure out to be nice and hard as well hopefully making it a long-lasting bar for the shower. Are you ready to see the loaf? Oh, and I made a few cupcakes and some petit fours as well :-) I can't wait to cut this log into slices this morning and see how the swirl worked! I'll make another post after I take those pics.
Twilight Woods Loaf Cut - Oct/22/2010
The "Twilight Woods" loaf turned out gorgeous... but you've got to see the soap slices! They are awesome!
I can't wait for these to cure up... I hope that the colors stay vibrant and bold. These bars will be ready for use on Dec/02/2010 after curing for 6 weeks.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Twilight Woods Poured - Oct/21/2010
And it's beautiful.... I can't wait to list this when our Etsy store opens on November 1 :-)
The scent is Twilight Woods (a dupe of Bath & Body Works scent). The base of the soap log is white and it is topped with cinnabar and black that has been swirled. The loaf has a creamy "topping" sprinkled with glitter :-)
The cinnabar color is an orange-rusty red.... the contrast between the white, cinnabar and black is amazing! I can't wait for it to harden up so I can cut it. I'll post some more pics of the slices later so you'll be able to see what the inside looks like.
The scent is Twilight Woods (a dupe of Bath & Body Works scent). The base of the soap log is white and it is topped with cinnabar and black that has been swirled. The loaf has a creamy "topping" sprinkled with glitter :-)
The cinnabar color is an orange-rusty red.... the contrast between the white, cinnabar and black is amazing! I can't wait for it to harden up so I can cut it. I'll post some more pics of the slices later so you'll be able to see what the inside looks like.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
At Work In The Kitchen Today! - Oct/21/2010
It's going to be a busy day..... we have another shipment of supplies arriving around 11 AM this morning. It's some of the micas and colorants that we've been waiting for to soap some special batches. I can't wait for the mailman to arrive :-)
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