Archive for » May, 2011 «

Island Time

31
May 2011

It’s not perfect, but I am really happy with how this turned out!

coconut, pineapple and mango scented soap

I made the half-circle with an annatto seed infusion on Sunday. The next day, I made the other two batches – the top is colored with madder root and the bottom is alkanet powder. All of the infusions were done in grade A olive oil, warmed then left over night to cool.

I will probably pull back on the alkanet – it’s actually darker than I wanted – while boosting the annatto a titch, but the madder root is so lovely, I think it’s my favorite color. I did a quick lather test with an end sliver, and was relieved that none of the colors bled.

And it smells incredible – perfect for summer! I’m calling it Island Time, as it’s scented with coconut, pineapple and mango. Yum! :D

I also did a straight up alkanet colored soap with lavender fragrance and essential oils. I’d also pull back on the alkanet on this one. Amazingly, I reduced it from 44% to 25% of the total olive oil, and it’s still that dark. It really must not take much!

This one is called Provence, which is probably obvious. ;)

lavender scented soap

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Get Lucky

30
May 2011

I made another soap with nettle leaf for color – this one smells so clean and fresh! Clover and aloe and eucalyptus…I’m calling it Lucky.

In case  you’re wondering, this is organic nettle leaf that I powdered in a little spice grinder and added at trace to small portion of the batch.

Clover, aloe and eucalyptus scented soap

I did have some issues with it wanting to accelerate, but I’m learning to be more confident of light trace.

Hope everyone has had a relaxing Memorial Day.

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Vanilla, ginger and ocean breezes

29
May 2011

As I play with different fragrance and essential oils, I realize on a very personal level why it drives soapers nuts to have trace accelerate on them! You’ve got this great swirl or decorative thing planned, but the soap has plans of its own – usually to turn into a stubborn lump in the pot!

This was supposed to be a eye-catching swirl of golden, calendula studded soap enveloped by a richly ginger-scented base.

ginger scented soap

As it stands, it will probably be rebatched into another bar. It smells heavenly, but I’m not crazy about the shape – I used the new mold from Bramble Berry. I bought it with the intention of making thin layers of soap for cut-outs, but thought it might be handy for swirling, and it might, but not with this particular batch.

I’m also perplexed by the color I got from my first attempt at using indigo powder.

It’s more of green-blue, that may not come across well on all monitors. It is very pretty, though not the straight blue that I had hoped for.

clean, ocean floral scent

I tried to blend the indigo powder into the water before adding the lye, hoping to get a truer blue.

Clean, ocean floral scented soap

I also tried taking pictures on different backgrounds, trying to bring out the distinct color.

I’m calling this one Innsmouth, by the way. It has a very clean, unisex ocean scent.

Clean, ocean floral scented soap

Finally, I made a predictably tan vanilla with white for contrast. Yay – something went as planned!

This is Orchid Thief.

vanilla scented soap

I love the way the white soap sets off the tan.

vanilla scented soap

So I have some alkanet root powder soaking in olive oil since yesterday. May give that a try today and see what that yields.

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In which I figure out what to call this soap

23
May 2011

I think my swirling is improving, though I can’t wait to get my new square slab mold from Bramble Berry.

I’m not sure what to call this one, but I think it’s my favorite scent so far:

tobacco and tea scented soap

I’ve run through Drawing Room, Smoke Rings, Smoke Signal, Humidor, Black Hat, Pipe Weed, and 10 others I can’t remember right now.

Humidor sounds good, but I don’t like the way the word looks, if that makes sense.

I need something that evokes the warm, rich scent of tobacco and tea, with a good measure of vanilla sweetness, but still masculine.

tobacco and tea scented soap

Hmm…The West End… St. James’s… Baker Street. Yes. Baker Street. That’s perfect.

Blogging as stream of consciousness decision making – awesome. :D

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Holy Acceleration, Batman!

22
May 2011

I was really worried about this batch. I used a blend of FOs, including a heavy pine scent, and boy did something accelerate trace like it needed to get through rush hour traffic on Friday night!

That gorgeous green color comes from nettle leaf powder. I had planned for this bar to have more going on inside – I was going to attempt another swirl – but it almost went solid in the bowl, so I ended up incorporating the colors.

pine and earthy scented soap

I like the flecks, but I think next time I’ll try infusing the olive oil with nettle.

pine and earthy scented soap close up

I’m also very happy with the first scented shaving soap, which uses a blend I call Calico Jack – notes of bay rum, lime and tobacco. Very clean and masculine.

scented shaving soap - bay run, lime and tobacco

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Black Jack

21
May 2011

This is really getting under my skin now. I actually made this on a Thursday – at night. I’m soaping at night now. Not just on weekends, but during the week, after work, at night. Soon, I won’t need to eat, I won’t need to sleep, I’ll just need to make soap. :D

So I made this:

anise lime and black pepper soap

Black Jack – he’s scented with anise, lime and black pepper, gets his hue from activated charcoal, and fancied up with some Tabula Rasa bits.

Forest Moon and Clean Shave – scented! – are sleeping now. Can’t wait to see how they turn out.

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Orange Wedge

16
May 2011

I am so stoked about this batch! It smells amazing, and turned out beautiful!

orange chamomile bergamot scented naturally colored soap

I used the tomato colored soap I made a few weeks ago. It initially smelled like pasta sauce, but rapidly – thankfully – lost its scent, and a lovely muted orange color remained.

Which got me thinking “Citrus – yum.” So I had some five-fold orange EO and a bergamot/chamomile FO that I blended into half the batch. That’s the layers of pale golden orange that you see. It’s got just the right amount of citrus and herb going on – so refreshing!

On a completely different note, this little guy was at our feeders this morning:

american goldfinch

He’s an American Goldfinch, and I’m a little concerned about seeing him this far east at this time of the year. By April, most have migrated to cooler areas. He’s only about 100 miles east of the migration line, but I hope he’ll be okay.

From the view I had, he didn’t appear to have injuries or issues like House Finch Eye Disease, so he may just be passing through.

American Goldfinch

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I made this!

15
May 2011

My friends and I used to watch the X-Files religiously, and “I made this” became a catch phrase. That was the first thing that came to mind when I cut into this batch this morning:

coffee and cream scented soap

I made this! It looks so cool! And the chocolate coffee scented disaster from a few weeks ago is redeemed! Woohoo! It smells wonderful, and I hearby re-dub it “Coffee and Cream”.

I also had way too much fun with my new salad shooter, and some fragrance oil samples from Bramble Berry and Elements Bath & Body. I call this one “Chocolate Almond Coffee Cake.”

chocolate almond coffee scented soap

I swear, I loved soap making because I didn’t have to eat the results, but these food-scented things are going be a challenge. I know what Dennise at Briny Bar Soap means about wanting to eat things that smell like your soap!

If smell-o-vision comes to the internet, it will be because of soap makers.

chocolate almond coffee soap close up

I’m going to play around with the tomato soap from a few weeks ago – the scent has faded (thankfully), and so has the color, but it’s still a nice, muted orange. I’m thinking a citrus spice would be good… :)

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The value of time

12
May 2011

My best friends from Miami are visiting and I haven’t made soap in over a week. A part of me is going crazy – chomping at the bit to get back into my kitchen laboratory and start really producing soap – especially now that I have a solid, no palm oil formula to work with.

But I’m also forcing myself to step back for a minute, to use this time to absorb new information, new ideas. On Monday, we went to Brookgreen Gardens – one of the most beautiful botanic gardens I’ve ever been to, and I’m lucky enough to live this close to it. There was so much in bloom, but the star jasmine, also known as confederate jasmine, was the most intoxicating.

star jasmine aka confederate jasmine
(source: wikipedia)

We spent Tuesday in Myrtle Beach, where I was able to eat Thai food (yay!) and Wednesday in Georgetown, walking up and down historic Front Street and putting a hurtin’ on the credit cards. I love the herb garden that the River Room restaurant has right outside their door, and was relieved to see the harbor walk had reopened, even though we ran out of time to walk the whole thing. Next time we go, I’m definitely eating at Limpin’ Janes – they use all local produce – farm-to-table! And although I finally made it into Kudzu Mercantile – a kitchen-gadget lovers dream come true – I still haven’t been to neighboring Kudzu Bakery where my library director eats nearly every day. Must get there soon!

My plans for this weekend are to make a large batch of Tabula Rasa, test Gold Rush without palm oil and play with all of the new essential and fragrance oils that have arrived. Can’t wait!

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Happy soaping!

05
May 2011

Although it’s only been a couple of weeks, I’ve tested the bars I made without palm oil today. I am beyond thrilled with the performance of the shaving bar!  It was my main concern, since palm oil contributes to a creamy, stable lather. But although I often feel overwhelmed by the infinite variables that soapmakers have at their disposal, I am learning the properties of oils and am getting much better at creating formulas that yield predictable results – at least most of the time!

The most exciting thing about Clean Shave working beautifully is that I can now go into production! I only have to test Gold Rush, the coconut milk and calendula bar with the base no palm oil formula, and that will take care of my starting line up.

Six soaps, no palm oil, and a limited amount of fragrance. I’m still mulling the virtues of EOs vs. FOs.

I really love the peppermint rosemary scent in the shampoo bar – it’s invigorating and fresh – but I think I can replicate it with EOs, which would also provide more nourishment for the hair and scalp.

The only downer has been the coffee bar with the two FOs. It’s so soft, I could squish it into a ball right now, which I’m considering doing just save it from complete ruin. Limited edition mocha coffee marbles or something…

Jay and I have some friends from Florida visiting this weekend, so I’m not sure I’ll be soaping, but they will have a chance to see the lab – I may even be able to convince them to try making a batch of their own!

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