Making Clove Soap

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I don’t know where 2012 went.

Some parts of it are just a blur.

The year was full of blessings.

For that I am thankful.

 

Best wishes to you all

For a blessed year in 2013.

 

I finally soaped again on Friday.

That is, I made soap from scratch.

It had been too long since the last time.

 

Here are the first soaps of 2013!

Now comes the hard part –

Waiting for them to cure.

In 3-4 weeks they will be ready to go.

Today I'll tell you about the clove soap.

Future posts will focus on the others. 

I made a five pound batch of clove soap.

I wanted to make double that amount.

But clove essential oil tends to accelerate trace.

I thought I better play it safe with my first batch of the year.

 

 After mixing the batch and bringing it to a light trace,

I separated it into two equal parts.

I added ground cloves to one part.

 

I like using a wire whip to mix in the cloves.

 

See the little patterns in the soap?

Those indicate trace.

That means the process of saponification has started.

Saponification per WordWeb:

"A chemical reaction in which an ester is heated with an alkali

(especially the alkaline hydrolysis of a fat or oil to make soap)"

This chemistry is part of why I love making soap.

 

Ingredients are measured by weight in making soap.

Here the essential oil for one part is weighed out.

I like to use Clove Leaf Essential Oil from Bramble Berry.

 

Here the clove essential oil is being mixed into the plain base.

 

Now the clove EO is mixed into the base with the ground cloves in it.

 

I used a technique called in the pot swirl.

It involves pouring one part into the other.

 

Here it is all together in one pot.

For this batch, I didn't combine them any further before pouring.

 

As I poured, some of the base with cloves went into the mold.

And some of the base without the cloves also went into the mold.

No two batches come out exactly the same.

No two bars are identical.

I love that each bar is a unique creation.

 

All the base is now in the molds.

 

The finished loaves.

I decided to make little peaks on the top.

Just for fun.

 

This soap is a good seller.

It is also my go-to soap.

I won't say it's my favorite soap.

That would be like choosing a favorite child.

It just can't be done.

I usually keep a dozen or more bars of clove soap on hand.

And I always keep one in the shower.

 

Thanks for reading!

Candy Cane Soap Tutorial

 

This is a fun project for intermediate level soap makers.

If you enjoy layering soap, you'll enjoy making this.

 

What you'll need:

20 ounces white melt and pour soap base

20 ounces clear melt and pour soap base

Peppermint Fragrance Oil

Red Non-bleeding Soap Colorant

Loaf Mold - I used a 40 ounce silicone loaf mold.

 

Carefully cut the soap bases into cubes.

Keep the white and clear soaps separate.

Melt the white soap in the microwave.

Use short 15 second bursts.

Stir every 30 seconds.

 

Once most of the cubes are melted,

Stir until remaining cubes melt.

Add 1 Tablespoon of Peppermint skin safe soap fragrance.

Stir well to fully incorporate the fragrance.

Place loaf mold on a tray.  Place tray on scale and tare to 0.

Pour 5 ounces of white base into the mold.

Melt the clear soap base in the same way as the white base.

Stir to melt any remaining cubes.

Add 1 Tablespoon of Peppermint skin safe soap fragrance.

Add several drops of non-bleeding red soap colorant.

Stir well to fully incorporate the fragrance and color.

Keep stirring the soap as it cools down to about 120 degrees. 

Make sure the white base has nearly set up.

Place loaf mold on a tray. Place tray on scale and tare to 0.

Spray white soap liberally with rubbing alcohol.

Carefully pour 5 ounces of red soap over the white soap.

 

 

Continue alternating white and red layers until mold is full.

 

 

Let loaf fully harden.

Unmold soap.

Slice and enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Bacon!

Come and get it!!

 

Last holiday season I began offering Bacon Lip Balm.

It was my single biggest holiday seller.

 

Recently, Bacon Lotion Bars were introduced.

 

Now you can get

A Bacon Combo.

 

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

 

And I hope you saved room for bacon.

 

Thanks for reading!

Polka Dot Soap Scented with Refreshing Ginger Ale Fragrance

This soap is scented with Bramble Berry’s Ginger Ale fragrance.

It’s clean and fresh and a little bubbly.

So the polka dot bubbles seem like the perfect match.

Making this soap involves several steps.

 

Step 1:

Make the spheres.

I used an earlier version of

Bramble Berry’s 9 Ball Silicone Mold.

I included glitter in some of the spheres.

Now and then I like a little sparkle.

 

Step 2:

Make the white base.

I melted about 40 ounces

Bramble Berry’s White base.

Step 3:

Add the fragrance.

I added about an ounce of Ginger Ale fragrance.

My kitchen smelled soooo good while I was making this!

 

Step 4:

Pour about a half inch of white soap into the loaf mold.

Let it cool a bit.

Spray a few spheres with rubbing alcohol.

Drop them into the white soap.

Let the soap harden.

 

Step 5:

Remelt remaining white soap.

Let it cool to about 120 degrees.

Pour enough in to cover most of the spheres.

Spray more spheres with rubbing alcohol.

Add them to the mold.

 

Step 6:

Repeat Step 5

If you want a little extra sparkle,

You can add glitter to the top.

 

Step 7:

Once soap has completely set up and cooled,

Carefully remove it from the mold.

 

Step 8:

Slice the loaf as desired.

I like the look a crinkle cutter gives the slices.

 

The soap is now ready to use and enjoy.

 

Thanks for reading!

Veteran’s Day

Happy Veteran’s Day!

 

Thank you to the men and women

Who are currently serving our country.

Thank you to those who have served our country in the past.

 

A special thank you to the families and friends of

The brave Veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Words are insufficient in light of your loss.

 

We enjoy the security quality of life we have today

Because of our Veterans.

 

On a personal note, I'd like to individually thank some

Very important people in my life who have served our country.

 

To our son who is currently serving in the US Army.

Thanks, son, for giving of yourself to make our country a safer, better place.

We are so very proud of you.

 

Thank you also to:

My Dad for your service in the Army during the Korean War

To my Father-in-Law for your service in the Army during WWII

To my Brother for your service in the Navy

To my Uncles for your service in various branches

 

Our country is stronger thanks to all of you and the many other Veterans of the Armed Forces.

 

May we never take for granted what we have because of your service.

 

How are you observing Veteran’s Day?

 

Thanks for reading!

Pink Flamingo Lip Balm

Crazy about Pink Flamingos?

This fun lip balm is bright pink.

It’s flavored with wild cherry flavor.

It’s a perfect little gift for your favorite

Flamingo Fanatic.

 

It's available now in my Etsy Shop

 

Thanks for reading!

Billiard Ball Soaps

I love making soap in spherical molds.

 

The first soaps I made in them were rainbow spheres.

The most recent project is a set of billiard balls.

 It’s a fun challenge to get the colors just right.

The solids are pretty easy to do.

The stripes are a bit more complicated.

 You can find these on Etsy as a complete set.

 

Also on Etsy is a single ball option.

8 ball anyone?

 

Thanks for reading!