Happy Thanksgiving

It's been very busy couple of weeks for me.  I have a big soap order for someones wedding that I have been rushing to complete, which has been taking up a lot of my time! But luckily it is finished and I can now focus on churning out Christmas themed soaps!  My first soap, which really can be used anytime, is Cranberry Orange Soap.  Here's how it looked just after I swirled it:

It was also the first time I've used sodium lactate.  What is sodium lactate?  Sodium lactate is the sodium salt of lactic acid that has a mild saline taste. It is produced by fermentation of a sugar source, such as corn or beets, and then neutralizing the resulting lactic acid.  It is sometimes used as a food additive, but is great as a soap additive because it is a very effective humectant and moisturizer.  It also makes the soap harder and quicker which means a faster curing time.  Unfortunately,  I don't think I used enough the first time because the soap came out very soft.  I'm not sure why, but I'm guessing because I made it with the oils and lye at room temperature.  I will try adding a bit more on my next try.  It does smell really nice though, a sweet mellow fruity scent mixed with a citrus tone.  Some of the other things I've been working on has been a recent Etsy order for a chick hat.  I was very happy with the finished product!

For those of you who are looking for a unique present to give to friends and family, why not go handmade?  You will be supporting an actual person who works hard and puts a lot of care into the product you are buying.  I will be having a sale at my shop this Friday and Saturday (starting at Midnight Eastern Standard Time), you can get 20% off your entire purchase!  The coupon code is 2012HOLIDAY.  If you are in the US, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  And for the rest of you have a great weekend!

Heart Hat & New Soaps

How cute is this hat?  I really enjoyed making this hat, and plan to make a head band version for adults or children that you can use as ear muffs or for those that like to keep their hair up.  The link to this pattern can be found on Red Heart's website.  I modified the hat by using double crochet to make the beanie and following the instructions on how to make the heart and attaching it.

A couple days ago these soaps finally cured and are now ready to be sold on my Etsy.  The first one is a favorite of mine, it's Peppermint & Spirulina.  I could sniff it all day long, it's so refreshing! It's scented with peppermint essential oil.  Spirulina is added for it's color and because it is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that can help protect cells from damage. 

This soap was my first attempt at using inbeds in cold process soap.  I think it turned out really nice, except that I did wait a couple days before using the imbeds and they got very hard.  When I cut the soap, some of the stars crumbled a little bit because of how hard they were.  I used a mixture of dark purple and dark blue to swirl around the stars, however, you can barely tell.  I also sprinkled a little bit of white sparkly dust on top of the soap, which gives it a lovely white glow.  I call this soap Tranquil Sleep Soap.  It is scented with a lovely fragrance, that is more perfumey than my other soaps. It has a strong floral smell with a faintly sweet vanilla undertone.

I am currently swamped with making holiday soaps, as well has filling a big order for tropical soaps for someone's wedding.  I will try and post pics as I make them.  I'm really excited, some of the new holiday scents I'm waiting to arrive (today!) are: cranberry orange, frankincense and myrrh essential oil blend, and spearmint essential oil.  

 

Black Raspberry Vanilla (3rd Batch)

I totally forgot to try to swirl the black into the violet and white parts of the soap, so it turned out to be just layered colors.  But I like it, and I especially like the tone of the violet on the bottom.  It smells lovely!