Dirt Diver Soap

Another old favorite...

It amazes me that there is an actual fragrance that smells like dirt. I, mean, actual, potting soil dirt. Call me weird, but I love it! And so do a few other kooks who can't seem to get enough of it.

I'll admit that I'm not brave enough to shower with this one, and I love using it as a kitchen soap.

Trying To Find My Way Back...

SURPRISE!!!!

Guess who's back?! Sorta... I've abandoned this blog, and it used to be such a source of joy for me. Storytime:

I started this blog and making soap and stuff as a form of self-medication. I was at the lowest point in my life and needed a hobby, a diversion. And it worked! For five or so years, I immersed myself into soaping and blogging and even selling a few things. I thought at one point, I would turn this into a second career, but it soon downgraded to a glorified hobby, and then to sometime-hobby, and eventually, oh yeah, I make and sell soap...

As I started to feel better, this all became an afterthought. I kept my Etsy shop open and even sold a few things, but then I began closing it more than I did operating it...ugh. I haven't made soap since...March? It was real pretty too, and as we approach fall and holiday season, I'm starting to feel like I want to get back into the groove of things-slowly...

I'm revisiting all my favorite soap and bath & body blogs for motivation and inspiration. The soap making bug never really goes away. It was just dormant.

The Verbena of My Existence

The evolution of a soap...Lemon verbena is one of my most favorite scents. It's soft with a hint of lemon and flowery essence with a buttery-like finish. I never design this soap the same. Come to think of it, I almost never design any of my soap scents the same...This soap is part of a holiday gift set I'm planning. It will be a variety of lemon scents. Pics to come...

I decided to keep the design simple this time.

When I was young and fancy...

I'ma Nerd

 

You know you're a nerd when gel phase excites you!

 

I Am Here...

And I'm still making soap. Sorta...I miss my soapmaking friends. Nobody blogs anymore :(

Another Castile Soap

Another Castile soap…scented in essential oils of lemon, sage, and ginger…Again what is Castile soap? It is soap made with a formula of 100% olive oil-meaning no other oils or butters were used in the making of this soap. This soap is still so friggin soft even after 3 days in the mold! I steeped some grated lemon peel in my lye solution to give it a sunny yellow color which of course you can’t see cause I didn’t angle the soaps right duh…I sprinkled the tops with some dried calendula.

I’ll have to let this soap cure for at least 3 months-just in time for the holidays. I’m hoping it will be rock hard by then…

It's Loofahpalooza 2k14!

New year. New look...I love putting "stuff" in soap lol and loofah is one of my faves. The grocery store near my job was selling footlong loofah's for around $4 and it was divine intervention because I swear I was looking for loofah on Etsy and other suppliers. Score!!!!

Anyway, this one's about as all-natural as it's gonna get-no coloring and scented with litsea cubeba (May Chang). It's very sweet with a heavenly citrus aroma almost like a flowery orange for lack of a better description. I love it! Yup, that's about all I can say...

The Big Damn Chocolate Bar...Soap

 This is one of my faves because I'm a lazy soap maker (meaning I have no patience for intricate design and pattern). It's so easy-no frills, no fuss, no pomp and circumstance...This soap mixture really reminded me of whipping up cake batter. I added real cocoa powder to my soap oils, then whipped til thick. I used a proprietary blend of chocolate fragrances, then poured into my mold. To keep the soap from looking too "ordinary", I whipped it to a very thick track so I could create swirlies on top. And that's it...

I Made Soap!

Just a few photos of my latest version of Bay Rum...

Cherry Blossom Kiss V2

So I made some soap...Cherry Blossom Kiss. I went a little too heavy on the colorant. I wanted a pinkish tint, not a full-blown red. It smells dee-vine though:)

An Old Favorite

My all-time favorite scent...ever? Me think so...

 Black Raspberry Vanilla

I wish they made bubblegum in this flavor

I shall expand this scent throughout my product line

Let's Have Cupcakes!

Cupcakes are wonderful. Cupcakes are delicious. Cupcakes are....LIFE!

I decided to make a little fun, holiday/any day soap to celebrate CUPCAKES! Who doesn't love a cupcake? Wait, don't answer that...

A Sample Box Soap

 

I'm getting my feet wet again. I have not made any soap since August! Caribbean Queen is one of my favorite, yet most challenging soaps to make. I love the scent-very tropical and fruity. The technique on the other hand, requires a quick hand. This is only my second time making this particular soap because I incorporate 4 different colors. However, in this photo, you can really only see 3, maybe 3-1/2 lol...I used yellow for the base, then swirled green, purple, and what was supposed to be a pinkish/red, but it turned out lavender, so it looks like purple, lavender, and green.

But it's all good! It smells heavenly, and it's for a sample box I'm participating in this month.

Just A Few Pics

I made 2 batches over the weekend! Major feat...seriously. I'll post the deets when I cut and photograph them:)

Top 50 Baby!

This blog has been given new life! I received an email the other day, and to my complete surprise, I was informed that I was named one of the top 50 soap making blogs by Nature's Garden. If you don't know Nature's Garden, you better get your life, and go visit! I buy many, many of my supplies there, and I must say that this post was totally unsolicited. I perused the list, and I am in excellent company:)

I'm really honored because my blog has been collecting dust for most of the year, but I'm back baby! I have been in the lab kitchen cookin up some new goodies, so I'll be back to posting at least twice a week if not more. I've been re-tweaking my formulas, and brainstorming new ideas. My head hurts...

Thanks again to Deborah and the team at NG for this dubious honor. I've once again been inspired and motivated...

Bath and Body Oil Redux

 

I'm getting my groove baaaaaaaaaack! I am in the process of creating a batch of soap for a sample box I'm participating in, and I've decided to revamp almost all of my product line. It's out with the old and in with the new. First up, it's my bath and body oils. I freaking love these! They are uber versatile, and seriously lightweight. They soak into your skin like a sponge. They don't feel heavy or sticky and the scent lingers for what seems like eternity. You'll lift your arm, and you're like "Oh, what's that smelling so garsh darn delicious?" Then you'll go, "Oh, that's ME!!!!"

Firstly, I changed the bottle. Four ounces just wasn't cutting it. I have one customer who buys 2-3 bottles at a time per month! I lover her:) Now, I'm offering them in 6 oz bottles. Two ounces doesn't sound like a big difference, but with these, it's like getting a free gift. You only need a little to go a long way. This concoction spreads like butter...

old 4 oz bottle

 Secondly, I'm offering a few more scents, and an unscented version. I have to keep reminding myself that not everyone likes or can wear fragrance. I love how these oils are so crystal clear. There's no clouding even when the fragrance is added!

New 6 oz bottles

Lastly, these are multi-purpose oils. Who says you have to use em just for the bath or as a body moisturizer? Use them on your cuticles and your hair. The unscented version can also be used to oil cleanse your face. Here's the lowdown on the ingredients:

• Avocado Oil
• Sweet Almond Oil
• Apricot Kernel Oil
• Jojoba Oil
• Vitamin E (as a natural preserver)

I've yapped enough. Check them out here!

Oh, Hello!

Oh my gosh, this blog used to be my baby. I have neglected my baby. I'm sorry baby...but mama need a life too!

The last year and a half has been one of personal growth and exploration. I used this blog and this craft as a means of therapy for all the shit I was going through. Now, that I've had a breakthrough, I don't need the crutch as much anymore. I still love to make soap and goodies, but it's no longer consumed my life like it did for a 3-year span. Matter of fact, I haven't made a batch of soap since February or March? Oh, I take that back, I did do some shower favors last month, but I don't count that because that was a special order. I mean I haven't made a soap for the shop since winter.

I admit that I miss it. I just ordered a bunch of oils, and my hands are itchin to make some soap. I'll post some pics next week:)

African Black Soap

 I've always been curious about African Black Soap. I read on all kinds of forums how wonderful it is for the skin, specifically, problem skin which I was born with it seems, so I decided that I wanted to make some. But when I read how the soap is actually made, I was like "How in the hell am I supposed to do that???" So I gave up....

Well lo and behold, one of my favorite suppliers, Elements Bath and Body offered an additive called coconut carbon, which is purportedly one of the active ingredients in the making of African black soap, I jumped on it. Of course, I was hoping my soap would look traditionally like this:

But this is my result:

Duh...of course, it's gonna be black. The coconut carbon is a fine, powdery substance, much like activated charcoal, and a little goes a long way. I scented this batch in a blend of eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils and sprinkled some dried calendula on top just because...I can't wait to personally test this soap. I love the medicinal smell of it. I wish I would have made these in my cubed mold though. Maybe next time...

So Yeah, It's Been Six Months...

I had no idea it's been this long since my last post! This blog was my baby for four years, and what turned into a mini hiatus turned into a missing persons alert. Seriously though, all this social media stuff made my head want to explode you know? I've all but given up Twitter and Facebook, and I've been creating sparingly. I need my mojo back!!! Come back mojo!!! Hope everyone had a happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan (If I missed something, sorry...). We survived the Mayan prediction of the "end" (But really, I think that can be interpreted in so many other ways-like the end of human kindness and compassion.) Let's all make soap and be happy!

Anyway, I did sneak some soap making into my life. Here are a few pics:

Black Raspberry Vanilla-My love for funneling has not grown tiresome yet

 

There's Beer In My Soap Soap: My first and probably last beer soap. I made it with MGD Lime beer and scented it with patchouli and lime EO. I love it, but it's not selling at all. Like my "hops"? They're dried calendula, lol!

Perfect Rose soap: No artificial colors or fragrances. I used French red clay and palmarosa EO

Goatmeal Soap: It's scented in Oatmeal Milk & Honey and made with powdered goat's milk and oats. I love this one! It's like taking a shower with an oatmeal mask, lol.

So I Was Bored...

And decided to make some soap-WOW! This is my first batch in, like, forever...seriously. I've decided to make a soap version of my Wake That Ass Up Salt Scrub. I call it Wake That Ass Up Salt Bar. Real original right? Umm, yeah...

The main soap I used is dentritic salt. I really like dendritic because it's very fine, and it absorbs scent like friggin crazy. I added peppermint essential oil directly to the salt to boost the aroma. I had these ginormous salt rocks that I ordered by accident (well, not accident, I just didn't think they'd be the size of baby hail stones.) Anyway, I decided to color some and scent them in pink grapefruit essential oil and embed them on top of the bars...NICE...

The top part of these would make a great foot scrub. I would not rub these directly on any body part because these hail stones are no joke. Definite use a wash cloth or poof...

Til next time...