Spellbound woods. Midnight soaping

I soaped last night with a new fragrance. I love it. It's a called spellbound woods. It does have vanilla in it and that has a tendency to go brown or tan. I hope not. The soap turned out awesome as is. I mixed to a thick trace and glopped the mix in and sprinkled gold mica between the layers. I read to try pantyhose as a screen on a container to control the flow and it worked out perfectly. I think it looks kind of like marble or maybe even jade, anyway here are some pictures

Nation's creations soap

I have successfully lured my friend Stef into the crafting world! Mea ha ha ha ha! For years I tried to get her to soap, or craft or anything and she always said she wasn't crafty. Well, look at her now. She makes amazing soap!

Little feet

I made these soaps for my sister in law's sister's baby shower. I found these little foot stamps at a leather shop.  Super cute IMO. The fragrance is coconut milk FO and I used coconut milk in it. I mixed apricot kernel in the beige to get the sand effect. I also used my awesome mold that my father in law made for me for mother's day:) I made 45 bars of soap! That's a lot for me. Usually I make 8. Sometimes I make 16, If I'm feeling a little wild. So this was a new experience. I had lots of fun! Here are some pics.

Jennifer's handmade soap

We did a soap swap and I received some very wonderful soap from Jennifer's handmade soap! I've been using her gardening soap and I love it. It smells of clove and has a little bit of grit to it to help get the grime of your hands. I like it because even though it cleans very well, it doesn't dry out the hands. That and I love clove. My 2 year old even uses it after playing in the dirt! A great soap.
I can't wait to use her other soap I received.

Lye veins

I made soap last night...One batch came out great, I'll post that later. The other batch seized on me. I used some Shea butter that smelled a little off, and I think it caused the seize. I have in the past noticed if you use an oil that has gone a little funny, that the patch has a tendency to trace very quickly or seize. Anyway, I tried to stir it and get it mixed well, and I was very hopeful. But... when I unmolded it I saw some strange, lighter striations.

When I tested it with my phenolphthalein(a chemical that reacts to alkaline substances) it came out bright pink. So sad. I made this soap especially for my husband. It had a very masculine scent and has pumice in it to get his hands nice and clean. Bummer. Here is a video of me testing it, so you can see for yourself.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=912p0sUOw1k&list=UUOoA7HKsZ_s9-zBQzFYCvjg&index=1&feature=plcp

I talked to my sister, and she suggested re-batching it. I don't re-batch often, mostly because I am not fond of my outcomes, but I gave t a whirl. I shredded it and remelted it w/ just a little bit of water. It is useable now, so thats a plus. But I am on the fence about the look of it.

Salt Soap

Ahhh Salt soap. If you haven't tried salt soap, you really should get yourself a bar.  It definitely feels like it is drawing out impurities. You would think it would be scratchy or drying, but in reality it is neither.  Here is my latest soap. Margarita Lime Salt Soap. I think it turned out rather pretty.

Best laid plans

So, I had this wonderful idea of swirling clear mp and cp soap. In my mind it looked all pretty and swirly and cool. I envisioned amber swirl in a creamy base. Didn't go as planned.  I had a minor disaster. Then a volcanic mess that just kept on oozing. I crammed all I could into my mold.  Then I took my leftover bits of soap and made  soap balls and dipped  them in cocoa powder for a little contrast and shoved them into the volcanic mess. I want expecting much, but when I cut them I was pleasantly surprised.
I took a soap stamp and used some more cocoa powder mixed with water to color the stamp. I think they turned out great.