Out With a Bang

 

When all of the soap making things are in the dish washer you know that Soap Week is over. I wash them after every batch but only run through the dishwasher before storing them away. 

Before all the cleaning began there was a flurry of activity using up as much of the oils and butters as I could with the new lye that just arrived.

I had three loaves left to make. This is Showgirl. When I put it in the mold I thought it looked more like peas and carrots. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I cut it. I think I nailed the Showgirl Era colors. All the glitter doesn't hurt either. This one is full of glycerin rivers meaning it got a bit hot. I think I went a little heavy on the honey. That'll do it. 

It and Winter Wonderland were layered pours meaning I took a wire and pulled it up through the colored layers to make the patterns. 

Opalite was the last batch I made and it was a rescue mission. When I first started this soaping session I had bought a new scale. I knew right away it was not right. I have markers on all my equipment that helps me make sure I've got the right amount of everything. Measuring is critical. I could see right away it was wrong. I had too much oil in the mixture. I put it all in a jar and left it until I could figure out what to do with it. Before making any more soap I bought a new scale so I weighed it all out again and re-made the formula. 

I made 13 batches which gives me 65 bars for gifting in total. I get five bars to gift per loaf and two ugly ends that I keep. Look for these to be sent out after January 18th when the USPS shipping rates go back down after the holidays. Right now they are keeping my Barbie collection company while they go through their 6 week cure. 

In the meantime, I still have a lot of cleaning to do. As careful as you are, the room becomes an oily mess. I need to get moving on it because I need the space for Christmas card making. I settled on this stamp and die set for this year's cards. It's a new collection called Reading Tree from Mama Elephant.