Testing Phase

I am happy to be back in the Soap shop and currently testing new fragrances.

This week 22 new fragrances have been tested in our favorite "House" recipe. All scents have been put to the test to see what 

• holds
• fades
• discolors
• rices
• speed up trace
• accelerates 
• ashes

All scents were poured in the same uncolored base recipe. Visibly you can see the soaps that thickened too quickly or poured nice and smooth, and already after 1 day... You can see discoloration in certain scents.

I keep notes on my thoughts about scents, soaping experience, fragrance out of the bottle compared to the scent after soapmaking, as well as after scent strength after curing. 

Curing takes 4 weeks...The waiting begins!!!

Which scents will make the grade and which scents are destined for the chopping block?

Fresh cut Christmas Trees

With Christmas just a few short weeks away, we have added these fun little fresh cut Christmas trees at the shop.

 A blend of Glycerine Soap with our handmade shreds added for interest. 

Gearing up for Christmas!

Christmas starts early here at the soap shop...It's always hard for me to get in the holiday spirit when there isn't any snow on the ground yet!

Planning is key, the soaps need 4 weeks curing and getting a jump start is a must!!

This one is scented with a Christmas Spice fragrance and will discolor to a shade of brown due to the vanilla content...I chose to layer this one and leave the red,white and green portions unscented.

I chose to mantra swirl the top on this one, and I really like how it turned out.

Another Christmas batch is a Cranberry Eucalyptus,with an in the mold swirl. 

These will be available in November ;-)

What's New?

Cranberry Lemonade 

Sweet, tart and refreshing, this fun scented soap bar will exhilerate your Summer Splash! 

One half Cranberry, and one half Lemonade blissfully layered together for your bathing pleasure!

Fragrance Testing

We are always looking for fun new scents to add to our all star soap line up. Today we put 10 of the 20 new trial fragrances to the test.

First things first...Math!

Our typical soap batch weighs 12 lbs. and for the test batches, our house recipe needed to be adjusted down to 4oz. sampler sizes.

It is necessary to test fragrances for overall soap making performance, scent retention, overheating, morphing or discoloration.  

Nothing is more disappointing than a fuddy dud or misbehaved fragrance oil.

For the most part, these testers were on their best behavior.. 2 of the 10 fragrances did speed up trace just a little and could possibly be difficult to work with if made in larger batches.

These soaps will hit the drying rack tomorrow, waiting to see how they hold up to the curing process. Stay tuned for results on which scents will make the cut.

  

Oh so sweet!

I finally had the opportunity to get a batch of Tubcakes made...

All  soap,

 these little cuties look  almost good enough to....EAT!   

Curing now...

Look forward to these being ready in time  for holiday shopping.



Soapy Swirls

The most recent soap out of the molds this week was a restock of  our Cucumber Melon.

 A fun, fruity Summer favorite!

Bottom view of a slab of Cucumber soap... fresh out of the mold



Top view of swirled slab

 

a view of the different swirls in each bar.



rough cut soap before trimming



cut and ready to be trimmed



Colors

One of my latest soaps on the drying rack is Grapefruit.



Mica Color



One of the hardest things about soapmaking is gettting the colors right. Just like science, you have to learn to work with the alkalenity of the soap. The ph of the soap can and does effect the outcome of the finished soap colors.

Micas swirling in Oils

I love the way the mica colors swirl through the oils before the Lye is added. It reminds me again, why I truly do love to make soap!

the colors swirl about like a kalidascope, changing, moving, mesmerizing and mingling.

Once the lye is added.. the textures and colors change.

before cutting

 I was scared this one was going to be to bright.. It was even more vibrant in person, and bordered on the verge of glow in the dark orange!

I was already planning a rebatch, trying to figure out how I could repurpose this shocking orange mess!


Grapefruit Soap Swirls

 After going through the gel phase and naturally heating up on it's own, the soap manged to end up pretty close to the color of pink grapefruit, that I can deal with!

This soap is now happily curing on the drying rack.

Vintage Inspired Pure & Simple Soap Flakes

Our Vintage inspired Pure & Simple Soap Flakes are all natural, free of additives, fragrances, dyes, phosphates and are biodegradable. Our Pure & Simple Soap Flakes are ideal for hand-washing delicate linens and vintage fabrics and can be diluted into a gentle all purpose cleaner and mild enough to use as a body wash on babies and people with sensitive skin.

Ingredients: Palm Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Sodium Hydroxide & Distilled Water

Our Pure & Simple Soap Flakes are made in small batches and shredded by hand.

Pure & Simple Soap Flakes may be purchased in vintage blue canning jars (prices vary with jar size)

or by the bag and come with complete instructions for diluting and additional recipes for body wash, laundry soap, and general all purpose cleaner.

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!

With Christmas just around the corner. The shop is buzzing with the whirring, stirring and mixing of holiday soaps.

With fresh cut Peppermint Loofahs in the air....It's beinning to smell alot like Christmas around here...Yum!

Countdown is on...Only 40 days until Christmas!

Honeysuckle Restock

 Our sweet, delicate Honeysuckle soap has finished curing and  is available for ordering on our website once again.

With Autumn in full swing and the onset of cold, brisk, chilly mornings...

I couldn't believe there was actually  honeysuckle blossoms left on the vine for  photos.

A sweet surprise for sure!

Lavender Mint

On the curing racks now...Lavender Mint is the perfect herbal infusion made with Pure essential oils.



and will be available for ordering very soon!

Fresh Soap Fridays

Sweetgrass loofahs have been added to the curing rack this week.

I had a chance to play around with soap stamps this go-round and really like the little extra somthin'... somthin'...it adds ;)



To be honest Loofah scrub bars are not one my favorite products to make here at the Soap shop. They are a little more work, a little more difficult to make, and quite a bit more trouble to cut and smooth...Did I mention more clean up time too???

Why do I make them then???

Because...I love the end result!
The natural loofah sponge is more rustic in nature




Our favorite Cedar House Soap recipe has been poured through a natural loofah sponge and sliced into bars. The natural fibers of the sponge help scrub and exfolliate dirt and dead skin cells away! Natural Loofahs can be a little rough for the first couple of uses, yet break in nicely and work great on tired calloused feet!

Peppermint Calendula

*All natural*
Peppermint & Calendula



Soothing Calendula petals have been combined with the brisk coolness of pure Peppermint Essential Oil in our favorite house blend.

This all natural bar was made to gently cleanse and sooth your skin while invigorating your senses. allowing you to remain....

Calm... Cool... and Collected!




Just added to the curing racks this week and will be available shortly!

Good to be back

It feels good to be back in the Soap shop again after a winters break!

I was beginning to wonder if I would ever make it back after Sickfest 2011, we did not escape it this year... so we should be good for another few years, right?


I sure hope so!

As usual, with the melting snow comes the rain and inevitably the shop floods.It hampers opening for the season...

and this year was no exception!

I am happy to announce that we are finally Open for a new fun filled season of Soapmaking!

Here is a sneak peak of the soaps we have been working on...

GREEN TEA & CALENDULA

this one is all natural, mild and unscented for our friends with sensitive skin... and will be available after curing on April 20th.



SPELLBOUND is done in layers...


Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

By tomorrow this one will look drastically different as the layers will discolor in tones of brown and is always a fun surprise to unmold...

and with the sun peeking out today and lifting my spirits, I was inspired to make something sunshiny and bright



I can't wait to cut them into bars tomorrow ;-)