Real Snow This Time!!!

I am really pissed about this snowfall. I awoke to a beautiful site (Don't let the electric lines fool you. The view from my living room is actually quite lovely) only to find out that I still had to go to work. That sucks ______________. Not a road, street, or sidewalk had been plowed which means I had to leave my apartment 30 minutes earlier just to clean 6inches of snow off my car. I literally crept all the way to work. A 30 minute drive took me 75 minutes. And why do people with SUVs think they are invincible? Freakin' morons! You can't go 60 mph with 8 inches of fine powder on the road!!!

To conclude this fun tale, I get to work only to find out that I could have taken my time to get there-they weren't charging folks who were late-SOBs! Why didn't they say that on the inclement weather hot line! I coulda slept another hour-or two!!! I'm done!

Rebatching Revisited

Rebatching soap has been the bain of my existence since I've started making cold processed soap. There are several methods available including the stove top boil-in-the-bag (to which I've had disastrous results) and the oven method. I've been scouring soap blogs to find tutorials on rebatching, and I came across this one on Soapaholics Anonymous. It looked easy-breezy, so I decided to give it a try. I had some strawberry soap that I made months ago that just looked awful, but I didn't want to throw it out. I'm glad I saved it. Here's how it looked before I shredded it.

All of my kitchen utensils have now become my soapmaking supplies. I took my grater and proceeded to shred about 3 pounds worth of strawberry-scented soap. It took me about 2 hours and about 3 scrapes and cuts to finish it all. Here's how it looked once it was all shredded.

According to Soapaholic's tutorial, you add about 1/4 cup of liquid for every 2 pounds of soap. She used milk. I used a combo of milk and water, but I ended up using 3/4 cup of liquid and here's how it turned out after about an 1 1/2 hours in the oven at 250 degrees (I did stir the contents about every 20 minutes because it does start to pucker as it heats up.)

At this point, I added about 2 TBSP of Strawberry Shortcake FO and stirred well. The soap was still fragrant, but it was very strong, so I added a little more. Your soap won't be completely liquified, but a thick, mash potato-y consistency. At this point, I lined my mold and spread the mixture evenly.

I've covered it and will let it set for a bout 3 days to harden. For complete instructions, visit Soapaholics Anonymous. Wish me luck. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

And The Winner Is......!!!

Congratulations to Laura!!!!!

You are the winner of my blogiversary giveaway!!! Congratulations and please contact me (thesoapseduction@verizon.net) with your prize selections and contact info.

Thanks to everyone who entered. I truly appreciate your support, and be on the lookout for my next giveaway coming VERY soon!