Winter Holiday Release

A few more soaps...

Just one last post before my Winter Holiday Release!

 

I thought I'd share a few more soaps.  These were done using my Soap Hutch mold.  They're taller than my regular soaps but slimmer.  Also, they're not quite as heavy.   The bars weigh between 4.5 - 4.7 oz.  Still a nice size and they fit very nicely in your hand.

 

JADE

A beautifully fresh scent with Sweet Jasmine, White lilies and Violets with middle notes of Lavender and Rose combined with a delicate touch of sun ripened pineapple with bottom notes of Apple and Melon

 

I did an ITP swirl for this one, which is always a little tricky, because the FO moves pretty quickly.   My goal, of course, was to try to mimic the natural color veins in stones and rocks. 

 

SWEET TALKER

London Lemon Curd whipped with pure sugar cane on a delectable shortbread crust

 

I couldn't do my winter line-up without bringing Sweet Talker back.  It's such a yummy lemon scent that is totally wearable.  Always a favorite. 

 

OLIVE BRANCH

Bright citrus fruits mingled with Bergamot, leafy greenery with soft Musk and every so lightly sweetened with a touch of Vanilla

The only thing I don't like about having to use my regular mold for doing these tall bars, is that I can't get my skewer down in there to do the swirls!   If you want your designs to show up on the face of your soap, then it matters very much which direction you actually do them.   Once again, I had to utilize the spoon swirl technique and I like it very much :0)

 

 

 

 

 

On the Curing Rack Pink Sugar & Blue Sugar Handmade Soaps

I just love these two fragrances!  Not only they do they smell good OOB, they totally rock in Cold Process Soap.

PINK SUGAR

 A fruity blend of Cotton Candy, Lemon Drops, Caramel and Raspberry Jam on a dry down of musk

The base totally thickened up on me and I was unable to get the swirls that I wanted, but me thinks it's still pretty.

BLUE SUGAR

 Pure Vanilla with a juicy citrus center on sensual base a Sugared Musk and exotic woods

This is suppose to be the masculine version on Pink Sugar but it is very much unisex.  It doesn't discolor as dark a Pink Sugar but will go a little tan on, so definitely keep that in mind when planning your colors.



On the Curing Rack: SLEIGH RIDE Cold Process Soap

I've tried several "Christmas-y" scents from several suppliers and Bramble Berry's Sleigh Ride is hands down my favorite of all.  I started making Sleigh Ride back in 2009 and have used it almost every year since.  I just love this fragrance.  It just screams "Christmas Time Everyone"!

 

 Top notes of Orange Zest with a center of tart Granny Smith Apples on a warm and spicy base of Clove and fresh Mint

The red portion was done using Nurture Soap Supplies Rainbow Red Mica.  Nice, but still not the true, true red that I'm looking for.  Still, it's nice and stable.  The green was a blend of iron oxide and green mica. 

I used a large spoon to do the swirl and kept the tops pretty simple with just a dusting of gold mica.  Very festive.

Pulling out the Slab Mold

Since it's coming to the end of the year, I wanted to use up some of my fragrance oils that were on the shelf.  I didn't want to do full log loaves but still needed something cute and eye-catching.  So, I pulled out my Bramble Berry birch mold.  I love this mold and would probably use it more often, but the bars are a bit on the small side, so I mostly use if for specialty soaps, such as my facial soap.

 

This is a Best-seller from my summer line-up but I just had to bring it back one more time this year.

ORANGEBERRY BLISS

Creamy Orange and Strawberry supported with succulent notes of tropical fruits and Vanilla Bean

The fragrance oil for this soap has been sitting on my shelf for a few months.  If was a freebie that I chose with an order from WSP. 

 

BRAMBLE PATCH

Frosted Blackberries with a juicy center of Cassis on a warm and sensual base of Amber

 

This soap just might be making a reappearance this spring in a larger batch!

On the Curing Rack: DUSK TO DAWN

This was another of the soaps that my mom helped me work out.  She suggested the colors and I went from there.  This was a faux funnel pour which is not a technique I normally use.  I like to have a bit more control over the final look.  In, this case however, I glad I just let the soap do what it was gonna do.
 

DUSK TO DAWN

A truly clean unisex fragrance with top notes of Orange Blossom and light florals with a warm center of spices and hints of Spearmint on an earthy base of musk.

I really like how they turned out.  The scent combination doesn't really sound like something I'd normally go for, but oh am I soooo glad I did.  I'll have to grab one of these for my private stash ;0)

On the Curing Rack: CANDY ROCKS Handmade Soap

You know how every now and again you get an idea for a soap and you go to make it and slice it the next day and... it actually worked?!  Well this time I had one of those moments.

CANDY ROCKS

A juicy blend of sugared berries with a tangy splash of Citrus and an icy blast of Peppermint Candy

 My mom was recently here for a visit and we sat and brainstormed for some design ideas for a few of my new soaps.  This was one of them and I have give her most of the credit.  My only real contribution to the design were the "ice cubes" on top, lol 

She encouraged me try a few color combinations that don't exactly match and really play with the contrasts.  I really like clean and neat designs and we were able to come up with something a bit different for me, yet still not too far out of my comfort zone.

On the Curing Rack: ACHILLES BAY

Has anyone else noticed the trend of making tall, slim bars of soap?  I don't now how long it's been catching on, but I'm always late and it's pretty new to me.  

ACHILLES BAY

 Top citrus notes of Grapefruit and Clementines blended with tropical Mango, cracked Coconut & Pineapples on a bed of Freesia and Ocean Moss.

Last year, I paid a nice bit of ($)change($) to have a soap mold custom made for me by Rich (The Soap Hutch).

 So, needless to say, I won't exactly be in the market for a new one anytime soon.  This has presented a bit of  a dilemma  for me, because I've been dying to try these bars.

Fortunately, I had the mold made a bit taller than my actual bars.  So, it was a pretty simple trick to use it for this style.  How I actually did this is a bit difficult to explain.  I should have taken pictures.  But, in short, I over filled my mold to make sure the bars would be tall.  Once unmolded, I cut the length of log into seven 2 1/2  inch chunks.  Then, those chunks were turned sideways and sliced into 1 inch bars.

If you're obsessed with soap designs, like me, you'd be amazed at how much more interesting your funnel pours, swirls, embeds, etc. will look down in these taller, slim bars.

On the Curing Rack: BLOWING BUBBLES Handmade Soap

This is a customer favorite and I must admit, a favorite of mine as well.  The scent is super yummy and the design is pretty cool.

BLOWING BUBBLES

A fruity berry combination of strawberry, blackberry and wild huckleberries touched with a hint of pineapple and soft rose on a sweet caramel bottom

 

I've made this several times in the past, but only actually got it right the first time.  Every time since then has been (in my opinion) a failure.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you already know how I feel about embeds.  They're a pain in my...  

Embeds are very time consuming and as a stay at home, home-schooling mom, time is not something I have a whole lot of, lol.  I only do this soap once or twice a year as a result.  So, it's extra important that when I do, it turns out as planned.
 

No soap gremlins this time!  I'm very happy with the final results :0)

On the Curing Rack: COCO MINT Soap Cake Slices

My experience with the Rainbow Cake, got me itching to try my hand at soap cake making again.  For so long, I've been content just admiring the beautiful creations from other soap-makers.  Once you get the hang of it, it's really not that hard.

COCO MINT

Hot Cocoa with a delicious blend of Hazelnut, Toffee and Vanilla with a cooling swirl of sweet Peppermint Leaf

I haven't had a lot of success finding a chocolate that I love, so this time I blended one and I'm very happy with the results.  I blended several oils in there but the main key was the touch of Vanilla. It warmed the chocolate and gave it just the right amount of buttery notes.

 

The brown portion was colored using Hershey's cocoa powder with a pinch of black oxide to keep it dark.  This green is a mica from Nurture Soap Supplies and it is a little tricky.  I've used it several times now and find that it starts green, then slowly turns to a odd grayish/green before slowly coming back to itself.  So, if you're using it for the first time and experience some fading, don't be scared.  The color will most likely return during the cure.

On the Curing Rack: SUGAR PLUM FAIRY Handmade Soap

For quite some time now, I've struggled with finding a great stable purple colorant for my soaps.  Recently,  I found out about Nurture Soap Supplies through a Soaping 101 video.  The Rainbow Micas were also what I used to make the Rainbow Cake soap. 

 

(Sweet Sugared Plums with a heart of Citrus Zest on a base of warm Vanilla Musk)

 

Now, while I can't say that this is 100% my dream purple, it is very close.  It was nice not to have to blend any additional colors to create the purple.

 

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I can't recall if I've mentioned this in a past post, but the 24K Gold Mica from TKB is the best gold mica that I've used for soap-making and believe me when I tell you, I've tried many!  The color is deeper and the sparkle from the mica really comes through in CP soap.

 

 

Overall, I have to say that I'm very pleased with the results.  There are some micas from the Conservatorie's Happy Hour Collection that I still want to try.  I'll be sure to share the results once I do :0)

 

 

 

 

On the Curing Rack: FALLEN SNOW Handmade Soap

Now, that my Fall Release is behind me, I'm gearing up for my Winter Holiday Release.  Seems like there is barely a break between the two, lol.  I'm behind already.

 

FALLEN SNOW

A fresh clean blend of Siberian fir needle, Green Apple and Lemon zest with a sheer floral center on a base of woods and Patchouli

This soap has such a relaxing snowy scent!  I know people get turned off when they see "patchouli"  but I promise it's barely there.  The scent is so incredibly clean.
 

 

I did a snow white base with a 2 toned blue utilizing the spoon swirling method.

Rainbow Layered Cold Process Soap Cake with Petal Piping

Well, its only taken me 2 months to get up the nerve to try this but I'm so happy with the results!  The entire process took 3 days. 

 Day 1 for pouring the initial cake layers using 6 small batches.  The goal was to allow each layer to firm up just enough that the next layer wouldn't sink through.

 

On Day 2, I was able to unmold and frost.

 

 

The cake is scented with a really delicious fruity scent.

You can watch the process below :0)

 

FALL RELEASE 2013

So, my Fall Release is just one day away and I though it would be fun to share just a few of the soaps that will I've been working on.

 

First up:

 

VENOM

An effervescent blend of juicy cherries and berries highlighted with fresh citrus notes and vanilla

 

This is a fun design that I came up with 2 years ago inspired by an amazing cake that I believe originated from the Cake Alchemy's Lauri Dinutto .   I'm loving it much more this year with my thicker bars of soap.

 

Not only is this soap pretty cool to look at, it's also very good for your skin.  The base is colored with activated charcoal.

 

EVENFALL

Sweet forest berries leading to a heart of soft florals on a base of earthy roots, resinous amber and warm vanilla musk

 

Pumpkin Buttercrunch

1 of 3 soaps in

THE GREAT PUMPKIN Trio

Baked pumpkin puree seasoned with brown sugar, spices and a splash of buttered rum topped with delicious toffee bits

 

PHANTOM

Now this is truly a unique kind of scent.  A wickedly sensual blending of purple plums and sweet citrus leaf on a base of dark woods and vanilla.

 

It may be difficult to see in this picture, but those are purple and gold swirls down in there with gold and purple mica dusted on top.

 

CANDIED FIGS

Moroccan Figs drizzled with caramelized sugar and blackstrap molasses with a warm finish of vanilla and maple syrup

 

I kept the colors pretty simple here.  For the coloring, I used French Pink Clay which mildly detoxifies and is works well for most skin types.

 

Last, but not least

EQUINOX

Every year, I do a version of Blood Orange & Patchouli and this year was no exception.  Every year, I say "this one is my favorite blend to date" and this year is no exception.  I'm one those people who actually loves the scent of patchouli straight up.  However, my goal is to find a blend that can please the patchouli lovers but not scare off everybody else.  To my nose, this scent really fits the bill :0)

 

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Señorita Margarita Handmade Soap

This is the best, most realistic margarita scent ever.  I absolutely love it.  You can smell the Lime, Tequila and even the Salt! Very fresh and perfect for the summer. 

Since purchasing my HDPE mold from Soap Hutch, I've struggled a bit with the unmolding process.  It's nothing that I can't handle and generally, I manage to get my loaves out with little or no damage at all to the loaves themselves.  It just takes patience and sometimes quite a bit of elbow grease. 

Lately, I've been playing around with water discount levels and more recently, Sodium Lactate.

You can use Sodium Lactate at 1oz per lb. of base oils.  But, be careful, because I've read that it can cause crumbling if too much is used.  I've been using it at 1.3% of my overall oils and that combined with the water discounts have really been helping my loaves firm up much more and therefore unmold much easier.

I may one day venture up to 3% but for now, this is working for me just fine.

Making "Monkey Chunk" Cold Process Soap

Monkey Chunk is my twist on the popular Monkey Farts scent.  It brings a few more fruity elements to the blend that covers the bubblegum notes that my nose detects.  My latest batch also includes a  cocoa scented (colored with cocoa powder) swirl that brings a bit of milky chocolate that really makes the fragrance extra special.

 

YUM!

La Cabaña Handmade Soap

This is one of my favorite summer blends.  Take Coconut Lime Verbena, amp it up with some extra citrus juices and you have:

 

La Cabaña

A fresh tropical heart of Coconut Milk and Lime Verbena with a crisp splash of Citrus juice rounded with powdery notes of Vanilla & Musk

 

 

My blue neon pigment seems to be a lot more stable than the purple and yellow.  No color blending was necessary here!  I'm very happy with the result.

 

Purple Rain Handmade Soap

A beautiful blend of Sweet Orange and Lemon with a fresh heart of Lavender on a woodsy base with Orange Blossoms

 

 

Once again I pulled out my neon pigments.  I learned my lesson from the color fail on Misehavin.  Can't remember if I mentioned this on a previous post, but I found the key to getting the color to stick is adding just a bit of Violet Ultramarine to the mix

Same with the yellow.  It's been my experience that yellow mica pigments as well as the neons will fade unless you use a whole lot or fix it with a bit of oxide.

 

Playing around with blending these colors has allowed me to come up with so many bright shades that I've never used before.

 

 

 

 

 

Cedarwood All-Natural Cold Process Soap

I'm a big fan of earthy scents like Sandalwood and Patchouli so naturally, I had to get a Cedarwood batch in my line-up.  It's maybe a bit on the masculine side, but I love the scent all the same.

 

 

Once again this was colored using Oxides, TD, Cocoa Powder and Activated Charcoal.

 

 

Firebied All Natural Cold Process Soap

I've been soaping like crazy over these last few weeks and been so focused on production that I haven't spent enough time on social media.  So, let's play a little catch-up.  Due to request for some all-natural Essential Oil soaps, I decided to add a few.  Of course, just because they're natural doesn't mean they have to be boring, so I had some fun being creative with Oxides, Clays and Botanicals.

 

First up: Firebird - A bright All-Natural essential oil blend of Blood Orange and other Citrus oils grounded with just the perfect amount of Patchouli

 

Enriched with unrefined Shea Butter and Orange Peel Powder & Safflower Petals

 

This batch was colored using Iron Oxides & Activated Charcoal