Lavender Escapades Part 3

*waves* Hey y'all! Hope everyone is doing well! As promised here's another installment of our Lavender Escapades series. :)

Ok so I wanted to do something a little bit different this time. I thought it would be interesting if I took the lavender herb that I had on hand, and brewed it into a tea, and used goats milk. I used half of each to make the lye mixture. So here we go. :)

I decided to separate the soap batter, and only use honey in the off white section for a better contrast, instead of throughout the entire loaf.

I then poured the off white batter into the lavender colored batter in order to do a swirl...

Up close and personal...

See the swirl? ;)

I was concerned of course that with the natural sugar from the honey, and the natural sugar of the goats milk, that it may do like my first batch which was superheat and crack a bit. Fortunately I soaped at such a low temperature that it didn't happen this time. :)

I cut it open from the center to see what it looked like on the inside and it is beautiful!!

I took it outside to get better lighting. It smells yummy, and you can really smell the honey in it. Its a very creamy bar. I am looking forward to testing this when it cures.

:)

Well the first official day of summer is here and the pool has opened, so I have been spending some time with my kidlets at the pool since they got out on break, hence me being a bit scarce. Do come back for our next installment of my journey through soap making!
Stay cool out there!
Suds & Bubbles,
Soapy

Lavender Escapades Part 2

*waves* Hey y'all! Ok so y'all know I have been on this lavender kick lately, and have been making soap like there's about to be a soap shortage. lol I went on ahead and made some lavender rosemary glycerin soap mostly because I was ready to use a soap now that had the scent. lol Hey now, any reason is a good reason to use some handmade soap. *winks*

Before you say, "Soapy, you skipped some steps didn't you?" Nope, I sure didn't. I used a premade glycerin base for this and just added to it, which happened to be, yup you guessed it, water, Lavender and Rosemary and a smidge of a special ingredient. *grins*

After pouring. You know, normally it takes only a couple of hours for glycerin to really set, but it was so hot here that I had to leave it to the next morning before I unmolded it.

Here is the finished result. :) I am going to need to shave the back of the soap a little bit but overall I love it. :)

I have no idea why I have been so stuck on rosemary and lavender lately lol, but I love the combination of the two to pieces. :) Well folks, it's that time again. Getting ready to hit the hay so will see you next time!
Yes, I know, I made another soap the same day and am keeping you hanging a bit. I plan to post about it tomorrow so don't worry. lol
Y'all sleep good!
Suds & Bubbles,
Soapy

Lavender Escapades Part 1

*waves* Hey y'all! Hope everyone is managing to stay cool in all this heat. It has been sweltering here lately and rain keeps bypassing us unfortunately, but it hasn't stopped me from going out into the shop and feeding my soap addiction. So the other day I got a little lavender happy to put it mildly. lol I went to a local shop and got a bag of fresh lavender , and some rosemary oil, came home and made 3 batches of soap. It's picture time!

Bypassing the whole making the lye water, seperating the batch, coloring it, and jumping right to adding the lavender flowers.

I added it at a thick trace so that the lavender wouldn't all sink to the bottom.

I had already added just a little bit of rosemary oil to the soap batter, and poured the white into the lavender and only slightly stirred and then....

Poured into the mold. I couldn't resist doing the top because the soap was at a nice thick trace.

I love doing whipped tops like this!

Ok so I had set it aside, and went inside to do my soap dishes, came back out and this is what I found.

Eeeek! Earthquake!!! The soap had superheated, quickly hardened a little and begun to crack. So I called for the hubby panicking that my soap was likely to erupt any moment and he rushes to my rescue. Yayyy hubby! We stuck a a skewer inside the crack and found that there was thankfully no liquid in it. The hubby put the oil jugs that I had on each side to press it together since it was still a little soft in the hopes that the cracks that had formed would reseal.

So I crossed my fingers and when we went in yesterday to unmold and cut soap, this is what we found:

My hubby is my hero..Only one slightly visible crack left in this loaf of soap.

We held our breath and cut the center of the loaf and wallah! It looks fab!!

Lavender Rosemary Soap..I will rename it later. :)

Ok y'all , I just came up with another Lavender soap idea (I know, am stuck on lavender right now) so headed back out to the shop. :) Look for Lavender Escapades Part 2 later today!
Sud's & Bubbles,
Soapy

Hey Strangers!

*waves* Hey y'all! Hope this finds everyone staying cool and doing peachy! :)
I have been slightly busy lately with activities with my youngins, among other things so have had little time to post. So just wanted to update y'all.
I made a glycerin batch of soap last week and sent a batch with a friend to sell along side her handmade jewelery at one of the big flea markets. I figured why not, I had a big ol' glob of glycerin so why not put it to good use. (I also sent a few of the other soaps I had made) I added a couple of things, put it in some empty yogurt containers to set up, then sliced it into 3 1/2 oz sizes. I had Citrus Cocoa Butter Shaving Soap, and Cucumber Shea Butter soap. I did a peach orange color for the soap, and did a small swirl for the cucumber. I unfortunately was unable to get pictures though because "someone" *clears her throat and gives a pointed look to one of her kidlets* had my cell phone and that is generally how I grab my soap pictures at the moment.
I haven't made any new cold process soaps because I need some additional materials although I am considering making some Castile soap. (100% olive oil) I also need to get some scents (haha! play on words) because what I have is low now. I have however decided on my main base soap recipe based on what some of my guinea pigs have told me about their experiences with the soap samples I sent them. I pretty much had an idea of what I was going to use before sending it out, but wanted their reactions and they have all been generally saying the same thing. I just didn't want my preferences to sway their opinions.

The next big undertaking that I am planning is herbs, & clays both for their health properties and colorant properties in soapmaking. I found a local store who sells herbs and heck if it is quality and saves me on shipping then I am all for it! I seem to be very drawn to rosemary and lavender right now for some reason. We'll see how it goes.

I am also interested in trying to make liquid soaps, and making shampoo bars. I attended a festival this past weekend with one of my son's, and there was a lady selling candles, soaps and such and she had shampoo bars. I have heard in the past how shampoo bars can weigh your hair down and sometimes you need to do a vinegar rinse. Apparently it isn't such a big of an issue as I had heard. She mentioned using Jojoba which is pricey as heck. I am going to hit research mode when I get some time. I want to do some lotions and such also, but not sure summer is the best time to begin that. I am worried since the south has such hot sticky summers that it will all melt. Any thoughts on that? Anyway, I have rambled on long enough and have some things to do. Hope everyone is doing good! Until next time..

Suds & Bubbles,
Soapy

Yummy Soap!

*waves* Hey y'all! So glad y'all could drop by to read my latest soap adventure. :) Yes I made the Oatmeal, Goats Milk and Honey soap night before last!! Can I get a wooowhoooo??? lol
I was both excited and worried about making this soap because of the amount of natural sugar in both the honey and goats milk, but I was pleasantly surprised with the end results.


I got together all of my oils, and incidently I only used 3 oils this time and figured since I would be using honey and goats milk that I could increase the coconut oil and it wouldn't be too hard and would have loads of lather. Of course I won't be 100% sure that it worked for a few weeks but hope springs eternal. ;) Ok picture time!!

Am bypassing the whole melting the oils, and mixing lye stuffs because y'all have seen all that before. So I add the honey right at trace. I didn't want to add the oatmeal before the honey and run the risk of it superheating and cooking the oatmeal. Just to let you know, I soaped at 110 degrees on both the oils and the lye milk. After I added and stirred in the honey, the temp was 117 which wasn't that bad at all. 

After adding the oatmeal. Doesn't it look like oatmeal cake batter? lol

After pouring, I had so much that I had to break out the other mold. Y'all know how I like to do the swirls and fancy looking tops? Well I knew I wouldn't be able to do that, so instead I did this......

I know, I couldn't resist sprinkling it on there. lol

Ok so I was on pins and needles all night hoping that it wouldn't volcano while I was asleep and be surprised in the morning to have a mess all over my work table. I am happy to say that didn't happen! But what did happen was interesting.

I expected everything to be a deep honey colored especially with the olive oil, the milk, and the honey combined. Imagine my shock when I saw it was an off white, very light tan color. So we cut the loaf up, and found something interesting.

The inside is honey colored! Isn't that interesting? Color me fascinated folks! Oh I love the little patterns that the oatmeal made on the inside. It looks wonderful and is a creamy bar. Smells delicious too! I have to tell you, I don't like to eat oatmeal. I can't stand the texture of it when I have tried it. I am odd I know. lol I will tell you though, smelling this soap made me want to overlook the fact that I don't like to eat oatmeal and make a bowl for breakfast.I didn't but I did strongly consider it. lol

The top of the bar.

On the curing rack. They will be ready to use the day my youngin's get out of school. lol

So I am watching this batch closely due to the oatmeal and honey in it. I think it will be fine but I am a bit of a worrywart. lol
Well, I hope everyone is doing good, and having some adventures of their own. Check back soon for more on my adventures in soapmaking. ;)
Suds & Bubbles,
Soapy

Yayyy for Oils!!

*waves* Hey y'all!! So my oils came in thankfully, and goodness gracious am I ever ready to whip up another batch of soap! I am down to 10 ounces of Lye so enough to do a batch of Goatsmilk, Honey and Oatmeal soap! Doesn't it sound yummy?!?! lol I have a bit of a worry though. Pure honey has natural sugar in it, and of course we all know so does Goats milk and both can superheat with lye. So I am worried that it may be a double whammy, although I am using frozen goats milk to mix the lye in so maybe that will keep the double whammy from happening.
    
       So I have been hitting research mode again on how much honey per pound of oils to use, and when is the best time to add it. Alot are saying to add it right before trace, but I am concerned that it will react like my very first batch of goats milk soap that superheated. So I am a bit nervous but I really want to do this soap, so we'll see what happens. I will be sure to get pictures should it turn into a volcano. lol
  
In another update, I started a garden, hence the other blog that I created awhile back (that I need to post the first entry for lol) , but we did the garden little bit wrong. lol But at any rate the rosemary that I planted is growing like a champ. So decided that I am going to make a batch of Rosemary Essential Oil to use in my soap stuffs. The process is lengthy from my understanding, but it will safe me money in the long run and Rosemary is good for so many things. Seems to almost be a cure all. Will get a picture of the plant and post it soon. Perhaps I will have an herb blog in the future. lol
Well folks, I have to run and get ready soon to take one of my youngins to the doctor. Will try to post again later!
Suds & Bubbles,
Soapy

Rebatch Escapades!

*waves* Hey y'all!! Hope everyone is doing good and had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!
There's not much to report since the coffee batch that I made, am waiting on some more oils so that I can jump back in. I did however do a rebatch on the blueberry soap that I made awhile back and I have to tell you, it turned out so ugly I am too embarrassed to show pictures of it here. I declare it looked like some liverwurst with white chunks in it. lmao!! Altho one of the chunks looked blue, it was just odd.

I started melting it out in the shop in a homemade type double broiler, and well that took too long and the burner just wasn't getting the job done. So I brought it inside and threw it in one of my crockpots. I tell you what, it felt like days for it to melt down a bit. Needless to say my neighborhood smelled like blueberry muffins and one of my youngins came in and asked for some cause it smelled so good. lol! He changed his mind of course upon finding out what it was.

So anyhow..I get it melted down a bit and glopped it into my mold. To be honest with you I think I didn't melt it enough but I just couldn't get it to go any further than where it went. You can only cook something but for too long before you have to give up the ghost. I didn't want blackened soap, although the end it wasn't much better than it would have been anyway. lol! It smells good, works wonderfully but no way in heck am I ever gonna sample it out! It is truly ugly soap to the 9th power! What made it so bad was I added some blue colorant in the hopes that it would help the color but it didn't do anything but make it a deeper color of brown. Was horrid. lol I imagine this is why they say "Never rebatch unless you have no other choice but to." Another day, another lesson learned. ;)
Well y'all, I have some stuff to get done, and will write again soon.
Suds & Bubbles,
Soapy