One Soap Fail

 Uh, oh....I got a little too ambitious with my layering and my latest soap adventure split apart. Darn. I worked for hours on this loaf. Now I have to figure out what went wrong. I know I used plenty of alcohol but I'm thinking that I let the top layer harden too long before I added the next layer. I need a thermometer.

 Since only some layers split, I had plenty of fun stuff to play with.

 I had nothing to lose so I chopped it up and embedded it in some clear olive oil base.

 I finely chopped the rest of the leftovers for a bumpy topping.

 I liked the results even better than the original.

 Nothing's coming apart here. It's all stuck in there nice and solid. It's really pretty but I'm not too fond of the Chamomile essential oil I used in it. It's a bit harsh for me. Live and learn.

Later that day I made some bucket swirled tea tree oil soap for personal use. The chilly spring winds have taken a toll on my face and I needed some non-glam medicinal type soap to deal with some super chapped skin. It's got globs of shea butter and swirls of activated charcoal, too. It smells pretty bad and it looks like something the cat hacked up but it's working.

Here's what my imaginary Etsy store looked like right before Easter.
And no.....there is no real store in my future. It's only fun for me because it's pretend. What I actually had here is lots and lots of stuff for gifting. I've got quite a backlog of people I need to thank for one reason or another. Doesn't everyone?

The hardest part was hastily knitting a simple soap rug to go along for the ride. Cotton is not kind on the thumb.