Turning Trash Into Treasure

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but is it me or do companies send out freebies of their least-selling product or overstock? Case in point, I ordered some stuff from Brambleberry recently, and I got this soap mold of a bear. My first response was "Ugh!!! I don't want this crap," and I tossed it to the side. Three weeks later, I'm cleaning my work space, and I find this mold buried under some bubble wrap, and a light bulb goes off: Add it to your Soapy Critters collection dummy! Well, a bear is a hell of a critter, but I'm now in love with this mold. It holds a whopping 6+ oz of MP soap, and I love the look of this bar! I decided to stick with Brambleberry throughout this creation, and I used their Almond fragrance oil. This thing smells so good, I want to bite it. I'm using an olive oil soap base. The pigments are from Peacock dyes. I used Paula's Tool Kit from PJ soaps. As a MP soap artist (as I like to refer to myself,) you must have this kit. It has everything you need to color all those little crevices of your soap mold. It's a time-consuming process, but the end result is so worth it. I use it on my Monkey Bars and all my other little critters.

So, in parting, I say "Thank you, Brambleberry for unloading (or bestowing) your extras on me." Honestly, it was a nice departure from the mini FO sample I usually get.

Who Knew.....

that this monkey soap would be my best seller? Not only is it my most popular soap, but it's the most time-consuming and difficult to make. Don't get me wrong, I love my Monkey Bars, but whenever I get an order for one, I'm like, "Don't make any plans for the next hour and a half...."

I truly love the art of melt and pour soap crafting, especially when there are multiple crevices involved such as this one. Take a look at all the individually-colored parts of this soap: the fruit (looks like a mango, but I color it yellow to make it pop), the stem on the fruit; the monkey's eyes; his face; his body; and finally the background. When I first started making this soap as the first pic will show, I colored the monkey one color all the way through. I was too intimidated to try to show the detail of its face. Then I discovered these crafting tools from PJ Soaps. They are another "why didn't I think of that..." I let each section dry for at least 20-30 minutes depending on the size. When I'm working with small sections like the fruit and the monkey itself, I don't scent it. I save the scent for the background since it's the "meat" of the soap. Monkey Farts (a delicious blend of banana, mango, strawberry, and bubblegum) is a powerful scent, and all you need is a little.

Well, I'm waiting on my little monkey to harden before I pop it out of the mold. I let these set a full 24 hours because in the past I've always popped it out too soon, and I'd lose an eyeball or the fruit would stick. Then I'm like "%$#%P%" and have to start all over!