How cold is it? Too cold to do much of anything outside so I decided to make soap. Lots of soap.
I've got some on the curing shelves but I need a lot more. The Mister loves to give it away and with the holidays coming I thought I better be prepared. My fall soap went fast.
The problem with this soap session is that my favorite calculator doesn't work for me anymore. I've always used Brambleberry's which was pretty simple and straight forward but they stopped including lots of the oils that I use in favor of only the ones they sell. The other online calculators are full of mumbo jumbo I don't understand. That's the one I have to use now in the photo. I'd need a chemistry degree to figure it out but I think I muddled through it. At least I hope so. I'll know in 6 weeks.
I spent a lot of time watching people make soap on You Tube while I was at Daughter's so I was inspired to venture out of my comfort zone.
All my little gifting soaps are my same old, same old but I went crazy with this big chunk of a soap I made just for fun. I used the aloe juice instead of water. I think the sugar in it must have heated it up too much because when I went to check on it all my pretty gold dusted swirls had flattened out to an ugly plop. I'll have to cut the top off when I take it out of the mold. Oh, well. I guess you can't win'em all.
I have to confess that I am still obsessed with the grocery store soap. I just bought this bar of lavender yesterday.
I bought the lemongrass last week and that itty bitty sliver is what's left of my first bar. They are a very soft soap and only last about a week with daily use. I like them for my body but I hated them on my face. They make it tight and itchy.
Here is a bar of my clay soap that I started using in the tub weeks before I even thought of buying the other soap. It's still got a lot of life left in it and I show it as much love daily as I do the store bought soaps. I don't know if that longevity is a good thing or a bad thing because I've got a lot of the odds and ends soaps piling up around here.
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My Mom used to put the odds and ends of soaps in an old nylon and tie it shut. We then used it in the shower. I don't know how that would work with different scents like you use though! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are so multi-talented. I do hand-work. Knit, crochet, cross stitch, embroidery. That's it. You do everything. You're my hero!
Blessings,
Betsy
Six weeks is long time to find out whether you win or fail. I would be anxious all this time. You are very adventurous! And we are lucky to have you. Liana
ReplyDeleteWow! That looks too complicated for me - lol. I cannot believe how much the temp has dropped!
ReplyDeleteYour soap making posts are always fascinating.
ReplyDeleteOoooh - you're making me want to draw a big hot bubble bath! Everything is already cold and snowy here.
ReplyDeleteYour soaps are just beautiful! The new calculator you are using would be a challenge for me. You are just so talented!
ReplyDeleteFascinating--don't lop off that dark soap-I think it will look good when you slice the bars!
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the calculator--I use their's , too.
You have to be part Chemist! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree, don't lop it off. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm only a week late reading this so... Hope you didn't lop off the top of the gold sparkle. I'm curious - if you failed (which I highly doubt) can you recycle the soap into something new? My mom used to save all her little slivers of soap, grate them up with a cheese grater if they were big enough, add a tiny bit of water and mash them all together into balls - like she was making meatballs. It made for some strange looking soap balls but they worked just fine.
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