Not Quite How I Envisioned It....

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I wanted this soap to be a bright, obnoxious shade of pink, but I obviously did not use enough raspberry pop oxide.I scented these flowers in Perfect Peony. I have plenty of that fragrance so I just may try again, but I can't help to be disappointed at the outcome. I think I'll try again and relegate these to the Family Fug...

The Fruits of My Labor...All Shot To Sh....

Happy Labor Day!

Since I had a 3-day weekend away from working for the man, I decided to take the plunge and make my first cold process salt bar. It looked fantastic in the mold (why didn't I take a picture??). It was a lovely shade of pale pink and it smelled divine-very floral and feminine. Then I cut it, and this is what I got:

Chopped and screwed soap! In my research, I read that the soap sets up fast-okay, I get that. What I didn't realize is that I should have sliced the soap immediately after it did set. After about 2.5 hours in the mold, it was rock-hard. As I cut the first slice, it literally crumbled-f#%$%! As I cut the second slice, it crumbled worst than the first-sh#%$! And so on, and so on, and so on....

Thank goodness this was merely a test batch. Lesson learned? Don't make salt bars in loaf molds. I'm sticking with my individual cavity silicone molds thank-you-very-much. One of my FB fans told me I had instant soap samples, and you know what? She's right! I'll be giving these away with every order til they're all gone, and that's about 20 orders' worth! Now back to the salt mines....

Damn, Damn, Damn!!!!

I'm channelling my inner Florida Evans here (Good Times for ya'll who don't know whom Florida Evans is!)

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This fragrance behaved for 3 whole weeks while curing-no doo-doo spots or nothing, but out of nowhere, the vanilla monster reared its ugly-ass head! I added vanilla browning neutralizer, and I kept my fingers crossed for almost a month. My lemon chiffon poppy seed soap looks like somebody took a dump on it, but it smells really good. I don't know what to do with it.....

Consolation Prize: New York

So I get a call from my sister Myia about a month ago asking if I could get the week before Memorial Day off. I knew she had something sinister up her sleeve, but I didn't think she was planning a trip to The Dominican Republic! "Nooooooooooooooooooo..." I told her. But then she told me that she paid for the airfare and hotel. Okay, I'm thinking, maybe I can roll after all, but wait: There were some hidden fees involved: expedited passport, $160.00, round trip train fare from DC to NY and back, $200-ish-probably more..." WHOA NELLY!" That's almost $400 and I aint even left the country yet!!! That, along with my lovely parting gift from the IRS has left me destitute (okay, I'm exaggerating, but all my "play" money is gone.) When I broke the news to Myia, she was silently pissed and disappointed (I think more so because the tickets are non-refundable.) So, what do I get out of it-a trip to NY for her birthday weekend. That's doable-I only have to spring for a gift and dinner. I was secretly looking forward to going to DR though. A really good friend of mine is a native of that country, and she always talks about how beautiful it is. Why couldn't I be like Jesus and whip the sin out of the tax collectors??