Rainbow Soapies

August has really flown by.

Soap orders and my teaching job have been keeping me busy.

Our soldier son is home on leave, so we have also been enjoying some quality family time.

Here are some pictures of recent rainbow creations.

Several of them have already found their way to the Plaid Peacock.

I love the colors and the mix of fruit fragrances that are put into each of these rainbows.

I hope you enjoy taking a look!

Rainbow Peeps

Rainbow Soap Pops

Thanks for reading!

Happy Earth Day!!

I made this soap recently.  It’s inspired by the earth and smells like dirt and grass.  It’s a breath of fresh air in the springtime in Iowa.  The scent in this soap is what it smells like in my garden when I get to play in the dirt for the first time each spring.

I started off with a layer of dirt. 

Then I added a layer of grass.  I envisioned crisp layers of black and green with straight lines, but ended up (once again) pouring the second layer while the first layer was still runny.  So I knew that crisp, straight lines were not going to happen.

Once the second layer was set a bit, I added the sky.  Then at the very top, I plopped white clouds into the sky.

I cut the loaf into bars the other day.  I was so anxious to cut it to find out what each slice would look like.  I had no idea whether the look I was after would turn out at all.

Here are some of the the bars. No two are exactly alike.  What do you think?

 Thanks for reading!

Lobster Soaps

The reason I got into soapmaking in the first place is because of my sister, owner of my little studio on Kent Island in Stevensville, Maryland.  Her regular soapmaker had to stop consiging soap, so I offered to "give it a try" so her studio could still have the great smell of homemade soap.  I instantly fell in love with making soap. Thank you for encouraging me and supporting me in my soap addiction, sis!

With that in mind, it’s about time I made some lobster soaps with customers of my little studio and Island Arts in mind.  Here they are.  These guys will be on their way to Maryland later this week if all goes as planned.

I didn’t want to make them smell like raw seafood.  I didn’t think they should smell like flowers either.  I used a wonderfully earthy-salty-oceany fragrance from Bramble Berry called Sea Moss.  It’s a very fresh scent that is perfect for these soaps.

The lobsters were fun to make.  Of course they were.  I haven't made a soap yet that I didn't enjoy making.  First I poured the red and let it set up.  I forgot all about taking pictures in progress.  Then I poured in the white soap at just the right temperature so it didn’t melt the red soap.  I hope people will enjoy them.

Here's a lobster trio.

Thanks for reading!

All Things Bacon Festival Draws 5000 Bacon Enthusiasts

This past weekend, the 5^th Annual All Things Bacon Festival was held in Des Moines, Iowa. 

You can read a short report on it here http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46443423/ns/local_news-des_moines_ia/t/best-bacon-sold-out-crowd-packs-fairgrounds-event-celebrating-all-things-bacon/

I wasn’t able to attend, but from the news report, it appears they had a full house.  From the newsclip I saw on TV, it looked like a fun time. 

Maybe next year I can take my bacon flavored lip balms and share some bacony goodness without the calories.  They don’t contain any bacon, but they do smell just like bacon. Yum! Bacon without the fat and calories.

Here’s what one happy SoapArt customer said about these little gems, “good stuff! My husband and brother loved the bacon lip balm and will be wanting more! Thanks ( I do hope that any stray dogs don't chase them when they're wearing it! )” 

  

Overall Ratings of Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. Panel Fragrances

Sadly, I am finished testing the www.BrambleBerry.com fragrances in products.  It has been lots of fun.  Here are the ratings for the fragrances.  It was hard to give any of them just one star, but there were a couple that I was less smitten by (not supposed to end in a preposition, but how else can I say it? smote me less?).  And there were five fragrances I absolutely had to give all three stars. 

Here’s the scale:

*        Good
**       Better
***      Best  I want this, and I think most of my customers will too.
Please, please, please, Bramble Berry, put this one in your permanent lineup.

Here are the ratings:

#1 **  I think most customers will like the freshness of this one.

#2 *   Nice citrus blend, but doesn’t hold up as well in CP and Wax      

#3 **  Stunning in CP, great in lotion bars, but less exciting in MP and wax.

#4 *** Fresh and clean that I think almost anyone will enjoy.

#5 *    It’s pleasant and sweet, but it’s just not that memorable.

#6 *** Sweet and delicious in all test products.  I think this will have wide appeal.

#7 **  My second favorite; may not appeal to people who aren’t in love with florals.   

#8 *** Grows on you.  Better in product than in the bottle.  Yummy and sweet!

#9 *** Mild, pleasant and sweet.  Fresh, too.  Should hold wide appeal.

#10***My #1 pick.  Love it!

Here's another picture of a set I'll be giving away in the Gift Set Giveaway.  Full details will be presented next week. 

What fragrance sound the best to you?  I would love to know what you think about the fragrances after reading this and the other tester's thoughts on the fragrances.  If you don't want to reply here, you can go to the SoapArt Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/SoapArt and let me know what you think. 
I'd love to hear from you! 

If you missed the other tester's posts on the fragrance testing, here's a URL where you can find links to all the testers.  http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/summer-2012-s-o-a-p-team-clap-clap-clap/

Thanks for reading!

Wax Waffle Results for Bramble Berry’s S.O.A.P Panel Fragrance Testing

I am still having a blast testing the Bramble Berry fragrances.  Thanks, Bramble Berry (www.BrambleBerry.com) for this great opportunity!

My most recent testing adventure was with Wax Waffles aka wax melts or tarts.  I used 100% soy wax and fragranced at 10%.  The fragrances didn’t change much once in the wax.  I colored quite heavily, so if the fragrances did change color, it doesn’t show – yet.  I thought about leaving them uncolored, but if you've been reading, you know that I am addicted to color.

Here’s a very uninteresting photo of the wax waffles so you can see the colors.  I'll show you a better picture of a wax waffle toward the end of the post.

Here are very short summaries of what I smelled once the fragrance spent some time in the wax.

1.    I smelled fruit and green; in the wax there was more fruit than green.

2.    This one still smells like citrus to me.  I didn’t smell any grapefruit dry down in the wax like I did from the bottle and in the melt and pour soap.

3.    This one is just a nice fruity woody blend in the wax.

4.    I still like the name Open Window for this fragrance.  I still think of fabric softener too.  In the wax, I sensed some sort of a green/grassy note.  I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.  It’s not a sweet grass, but a minty-grassy smell.

5.    The punch is back in the wax melts.  All I got was fruit punch when I smelled the wax.

6.    This one is Pina Colada to me in everything now, even straight out of the bottle.

7.    I get mostly gardenia in the wax melts.  The green I smelled in the Cold Process didn’t seem to be there.  It’s delightfully sweet to me, but (I hate to say it) may be a bit too florally sweet for those who aren’t big floral fans.

8.    I still have no clue what this is, but it’s sweet and wonderful in the wax melts.  I’m still surprised at how much I like this one given it was not love at first sniff.

9.    In the wax melts, I get a Lemon Meringue Pie effect.  Delicious!

10. This one is still alluring in the wax melts, and is still my favorite.  Rich, dark and sultry.

I’ll post my overall ratings for the fragrances in a day or two. 

Don't forget to check back for the announcement of the Gift Set Giveaway Contest. 

Here’s a sneak peek of a set (and the promised better picture at the end of the post).  You can't see the waffle part of the wax waffles.  But if I had turned it over, you'd see that it looks wafflish.  You can see a picture of the waffle side of a wax waffle at

http://www.soapartonline.com/apps/webstore/products/show/2552457

Do you recognize this fragrance?

Thanks for reading!

Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. Panel Fragrance Testing in Melt and Pour Part 1

I have been working on putting the Bramble Berry test fragrances in Melt and Pour (MP) soap.  I guess I should say “playing” because it’s not work; it’s fun!  Here’s what I found with fragrances 10, 7 and 9.  I decided to use this feng-shui seasons mold from Bramble Berry since we are testing summer fragrances.  http://www.brambleberry.com/Feng-Shui-Seasons-Mold-P3120.aspx

I started with #10 in MP soap because it’s one of my two favorites so far.  Plus, I’ve been working with the fragrances in order from #1-10 and thought I’d mix it up a bit.

Fragrance 10 discolored the soap a little, but so far really didn’t interfere with the color of soap I was going for.  I added fragrance at 3%. 

At the initial pour, the fragrance seemed much weaker in the soap than from the bottle. But when I unmolded it, the fragrance was just right for my taste. It will be interesting to see if the soap discolors over time.

I used #7 in MP soap next.  It’s my other favorite.  In case you are wondering, I eat my dessert first, too.  This fragrance is white to me, but I decided to do it in yellow because I like color.  Again, I used 3% fragrance. 

The oil has a bit of a yellow tinge to it.  Lucky for me right now it matches the color of the soap.  The fragrance smells absolutely wonderful in the MP base.

Fragrances 10 and 7 both make pretty strong statements.  I think people will either love them or wonder why others love them.  I am the president of the fan club for both 7 and 10.

Fragrance 9 was next.  It’s the one that seems like ginger and peach to me.  So I made it orange.  The fragrance is different in the soap than from the bottle, as is usually the case.  This one is very pleasant and not too sweet or overpowering.  I still smell peach, but I’m not sensing ginger so much now.  I think this is one that most people will like, but I’m not sure it makes a strong “love me” statement.

Fragrance 4 was really fun.  The scent tamed down once it was in the MP base.  It smelled very fresh, and kind of nipped my nostrils like mint does.  I really like the clean, fresh scent of this one.  This fragrance is also very clear.  It might be a good one to use when embedding water soluble paper (as shown on www.SoapQueenTV.com, Episode 9).  I like this one even more now that it is in the Melt and Pour Base. 

Fragrance 1 is pretty clear and didn’t seem to discolor.  I still smell melon now that it’s in the MP.  But a friend smelled more of an outdoor foresty scent.  It’s a very fresh and mild fragrance that I think would have wide appeal.  The notes in the fragrance are still somewhat elusive to me, but I like it a lot.

 
That’s a recap of half of the fragrances in MP.  Later I’ll post on the other half, then finally I’ll post a summary (not so many words) on the 10 fragrances in MP. 

Thanks for reading! 

Cold Process Soaps on the Curing Rack

Earlier this week I showed you some of what is on the curing rack.  Here’s a picture of more cold process soaps that are curing.  They should be ready in about 2 weeks.

Top Left: Extra Bubbly Good for Shaving

This is one of my more popular soaps.  It is scented with Cold Water fragrance from www.BrambleBerry.com.  It has clay added to help the razor glide smoothly over the skin. 

Top Middle and Right: Oatmeal, Milk and Honey

This is another customer favorite.  It is probably my most requested soap.  It is scented with Oatmeal, Milk and Honey fragrance from BrambleBerry.  The soap contains ground oatmeal, which is great for the skin.  It also provides gentle exfoliation.  The pleasant and mild fragrance lasts a very long time.
 
Middle: Ocean Shore
This is a small test batch.  I used an Ocean fragrance and sprinkled activated charcoal in the middle part.  This one will remain in my private stock. 

Bottom Rack: Gardener’s

The gardener’s soap is another popular soap.  It is scented with Rosemary and Lemongrass essential oils.  It contains corn meal and poppy seeds to give it extra scrubbing power. 

Bottom Left: Cherry Blossom

This turned out a very pale pink.  It is scented with BrambleBerry’s Cherry Blossom fragrance.  The pink is a bit lighter than I had planned, but they smell great!

Bottom Left in Cup: Rosemary Mint All Natural

This is actually finished curing – I just haven’t done anything with it yet.  It’s a bit of left over from a batch I made a while back.  The soap smelled wonderful and sold quickly.  This little reserve is for my private stock.  I need to make more soon.  The soap was scented with Rosemary and Peppermint essential oils.  I added ground rosemary to take the medicinal edge off the rosemary essential oil and to make the soap mildly exfoliating.

Bottom Right: Lilac

This is another staple that I try to keep in stock.  Again, the fragrance is from BrambleBerry.  It’s the most realistic lilac I have ever smelled.  Customers love it too!  The fragrance really holds up well in the cold process soap.  Some fragrances fade after a few months, but this one stays strong indefinitely.

On the Curing Rack and a Science Lesson Too

If you have checked out my website (www.soapartonline.com) or my Etsy Shop (www.Etsy.com/shop/SoapArt), you may have noticed that i make two different kinds of soap.  The glycerin designer soaps are made by adding things to a premade glycerin base.  The soaps from scratch are just like they sound.  They are made by me with high quality oils (lots of olive oil), water and lye.  This post focuses on the soaps from scratch.

I make soaps from scratch in small batches using the cold process method.  I can combine the ingredients at room temperature, and then wait for saponification to turn the concoction into soap.  Here’s what Word Web (www.wordweb.com) says about saponification.  “A chemical reaction in which an ester is heated with an alkali (especially the alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or oil to make soap)”.  In my words, it means that the oils and lye work together to create soap.  Pretty technical, I know.  The lye is what gives the soap its cleansing power. 

The saponification process takes time.  The soaps from scratch need to sit out in the open with air circulation all around them (this is curing) for about a month.  This allows the soap to completely saponify, and also allows some of the water to evaporate.  Curing makes the soap milder and longer lasting.

You made it through the scientific stuff, and are still reading!  You don't know how much I appreciate that.

When I walked into the soap room this morning, the first fragrance to reach my nose was the lemongrass/rosemary essential oil combination in the gardener’s soap.  It will be ready in about two weeks.  I can hardly wait! 

Here are some of the other soaps that are curing.  It’s so hard to wait for the soaps to be ready, but they are so much better after they have cured for a month or more. 

Top Left: Clove All Natural Soap

This is one I try to always keep in stock.  It’s one that I use daily, and one that customers come back for time and time again.

Top Right: Raspberry Bliss

This is a customer favorite that I also like to keep in stock.  The fragrance is very sweet and long lasting.

Middle: Sherbet Soap

This one was a bit of an experiment.  The colors aren’t quite as vibrant as I had intended, but the delicious fragrance is hard to resist.  This one literally makes my mouth water.

Bottom: Feel Good Spa Soap

This is one I have made before, but I did it a bit different this time.  This is scented with a variety of essential oils, with the strongest being ylang ylang.  It also has a touch of vanilla fragrance. The tan color comes from the vanilla fragrance.  Vanilla tends to discolor soap from white to anywhere from off-white to brown.  I love the color this one turned.  The red comes from Moroccan clay, and the black comes from activated charcoal, which has detoxifying properties that are wonderful for all types of skin.

Standing Soaps:

The one on the left is the Sherbet Soap. 
The one on the right is Feel Good Spa Soap

Thanks for reading!

Valentine Candy Heart Glycerin Soap

I tried to resist buying the mold for these soaps.  I really did.  In fact, I resisted for at least two years.  I have way too many molds and seem to keep collecting more.  A while back, I was on a “mold moratorium”, but I still managed to find some molds I couldn’t resist.  I think the moratorium has been lifted due to constant infractions.  At any rate, more molds keep showing up in my soap room.

These little candy heart soaps turned out so cute.  And there are so many different combinations of color and fragrance that will go with them.  The soaps are designed for Valentine ’s Day, but who couldn’t use a “hugs” soap any time of year?  There.  That’s my justification for buying the mold J

The soaps are offered at www.soapartonline.com and at www.etsy.com/shop/soapart  and they come individually or in groups. 

These soaps are about 2.5” x 2.5”.  I saw molds that can be used to make soaps similar to these, but at the real-life size of the candy hearts of about a half inch across.  I think those are really cute, but they seem kind of small to me for using as soap.  I just might have to get that mold some day and try it out.

Here are pictures of some of the heart soaps I made.  The pastel ones smell like cotton candy and the red ones have a long lasting cinnamon fragrance.

Primary Circles

When I started working on this loaf of soap, I made lots of red, blue and yellow “bubbles”.  Then I set them in a white base. 

As the soap is used, new patterns will continually emerge.  That’s part of the fun.  The fragrance is a strawberry-kiwi-berry combination that is sweet and mild.  I was able to cut 11 bars from the loaf, and each bar looks similar to the others, but has unique characteristics in it. 

The idea came from a book called "SoapyLove" by Debbie Chialtis.  It’s a fun book with lots of ideas and beautiful pictures.  Thank you, Debbie, for the idea! 

You can find the book here http://www.soapylove.com/product/soapy-love-squeaky-clean-projects-using-melt-and-pour-soap and on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Soapylove-Squeaky-Clean-Projects-Melt---Pour/dp/1600611702/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327592723&sr=8-1

Soap On A Stick

Glycerin soap base offers endless possibilities for crafting and creating.  It's fun to work with and fun to try different things.  So far, I have made soap on a stick to resemble fudge bars, orange cream bars, semi-transparent popsicles, and swirled smoothie type bars.   

The name of this soap was inspired by the Iowa State Fair, where you can find all kinds of food on a stick.  Instead of food on a stick that you can eat, this is soap on a stick that your skin will love. 

The decorative and functional soap is made from a glycerin base that is full of lather and cleaning power.  With lots of natural goodness, this soap is sure to be a welcome treat for skin anytime of the year.  Soap on a Stick weighs 3 ounces and is the size of a regular Popsicle. 

You can see more about this fun soap at www.soapartonline.com.

Soap Therapy

Today I had a bit of soap therapy.  By that I mean I got to make soap.  My favorite soap to make is the soap from scratch.  It’s so much fun to make, but it’s hard to wait the three or four weeks until it’s ready.  I had a heyday today and made three different kinds! 

I made clove soap because I’m almost out, and it’s my go-to soap that I always keep in the shower.  Then I made a batch of lilac.  It’s another one that I love, and I try to always have it on hand.  The lilac smell is just like spring lilacs in bloom.  The third batch I made was a first timer.  I love the At the Lodge fragrance, and regularly have soy waffles in that fragrance melting in my wax warmers.  I’m anxious to see how it turns out!

Jasmine Goat Milk Soap

I'm keeping track of Hurricane Irene by watching the weather channel while I get some much needed soaping done. I'll share pictures of today's creations in an upcoming blog.

I recently made a batch of soap that was kind of an experiment. I am working on perfecting a goat milk soap recipe, and I think I finally got it. I colored this with neon pink and blue and swirled the colors together. The jasmine started out very strong, and it’s still pretty good. I’m happy with how it looks, but the best part is how it works. It is very creamy and has lots of wonderful bubbles. There are big bubbles and little bubbles. And I love how my skin feels after I use the goat milk soap. The picture shows the soap in the pan before I cut it into bars.

The picture below shows some individual bars that I cut from the pan.