Bubble Bars

Bubble Bars are a really fun way to take a bath.  It's bretty much a solid bubble bath.  You simply crumble the bar under running water and the water preasure will create the bubbles. 

Monkey Farts Bubble Bar

Most peolpe like to cut them into half or even into 3rds.  I like lots and lots and lots of bubbles, so I use the entire thing.  For an even more luxurious bath, I use the corresponging soap and drop in a matching Bath Bomb OR create a "Bath Cocktail" by using different scents that compliment each other.  I once used a Salty Mariner Bubble Bar with a citrus scented Bath Bomb. The bathroom and my skin smelled soooo good.

Monkey Farts Gets a Makeover

I really wasn't that happy with the way my first batch of Monkey Farts turned out, so I decided to give it another go. Initially it was still going to be yellow but I wanted to improve the red swirl. The red swirl turned pink and then lost it's sharpness and sort of started to blend into the yellow. I used mica and oxides this time, so the colors will stay put and I'll be happy :0)

I found these really cute stickers to decorate the package for the soap  as well as the matching Bubble Bars.

Rock Starr has a new look

I'm back :-)  Happy new Year to everyone.  It was a crazy and busy 2 months for me closing out 2010. Which was awesome because that meant SALES!  Now that things have slowed back down, I can get back into the groove of things.  Starting off, I'll share my newest batch of Rock Starr which is a dupe for LUSH's Rock Star fragrance.

This scent wasn't a favorite of mine when I first made it (still isn't) but it's grown on me. 

My thing right now is all about trying to get cool swirls in a loaf soap without doing the in pot swirl.

Oatmeal Stout Beer Soap

Move over Oatmeal, Milk & Honey...there's a new kid in town!! I swear this is one of the best fragrances that I have ever, ever smelled!. (Pumpkin Lager too, but I'll talk about that in another post.)  Bramble Berry really outdid themselves with this delicious fragrance. 

Do you know how we aren't really suppose to sniff the fragrance out of the bottle to determine it's true scent?  Well sniff away I say!  Even through the rigors of cold process soaping, it still smells the same as it did oob.  This fragrance oil  totally delivered and all of the promised flavors came through beautifully.

Using Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout beer, I mostly followed the soaping instructions found on the Soap Queen blog. 

*NOTE - She really does mean don't turn your back on the beer while boiling! Don't ask me how I know ;0)

The only exception is that I soap at room temps, so I placed the beer in an ice bath to cool down while melting and mixing my oils.  This fragrance oil does accelerate trace a bit but it wasn't really a problem.  It discolored to this gorgeous shade of brown that has darkened to a rich chocolate since taking these photos. 

Overall, I give this Oatmeal Stout fragrance oil two enthusiastic thumbs up OR for any In Living Color fans out there: "2 Snaps Up!"

Snowcakes Soap (semi-whipped)

This batch of soap is a dupe for the wildly popular Lush fragrance "Snow Cake".   The soap was suppose to discolor to a light beige but I really wanted it to stay white, so I used Titanium Dioxide. 

To doubly ensure the whiteness, I also used more hard oils than usual and whipped them up some with an electric hand mixer before adding the liquid oils.  For the "stars" I did a second batch of soap that was completely whipped and pipep them on using Wilton 2D & 21 decorating tips.

While purchasing my tips from Michael's I also grabbed a few flexible rubber molds that are perfect for leftover soap batter.  I can make these cool samples to give away to my awesome customers!

As you can see, the 2D tip is my favorite.

Lime Coconut Pie Soap

I was browsing the net and came across this super yummy recipe for Lime Coconut Cheesecake.

  Right away I start thinking of the soaping possibilities.  I rarely plan batches of soap out, but I worked on this one for a couple of days before settling on a design.  At one point I even considered pulling out my spring form pan do try to mimic the actual dessert. I decided to go with the loaf though...

This batch is scented with a non-discoloring Key Lime Pie (Southern Soapers) fragrance oil. I had some leftover end cuts from a batch of Island Coconut (Brambleberry) CP Soap and since that batch did discolor to a pretty goldenish color, it was perfect for the toasted coconut required for the recipe. I  used Wilton's 2D tip to pipe some whipped CP soap for the whipped cream portion.  Finally, I topped it with real lime zest for garnish.

There was even enough left over to  get 2 soap cupcakes.

Bamboo & Sugar Cane Soap

Awww!  This fragrance is an intoxicating blend of Cane Sugar, Roses, and Jasmine with burst of Citrus.  I love it.  It's the perfect combination of Sweet & Fresh. 

There's a thin layer of ash on top, but this time I actually don't mind.  I like how it made the colors lighter.