Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Carrot Soaps - CUT

These soaps turned out really well! I can't wait to use them. The pictures show the soap being a little darker towards the bottom but it's just shadows. I don't know how we can have such heavy, dark clouds but no moisture at all. :(

Bay Rum Cream

Carrots & Cream

Monday, December 20, 2010

Carrots & Cream Remake And A Batch Of Bay Rum

I have long been out of Carrots & Cream and have discovered that I'm not okay with that situation. It is such a gentle soap and the air is so dry which makes skin so much more sensitive. It was not a good one to be out of. I chose to make a big batch and split it in two. The orange soap is plain and just has carrots and cream added.

The other half of the batch (the brown one) has a masculine bay rum scent. I made it for my husband in particular. I figured I could work with the orange from the carrots as long as I was at it. The main body of the soap is the same as the plain. For the topping, I added some copper color to a bit of soap and swirled it around a bit. I sprinkled just a smidge of gold to the top for a little sparkle. I had to add a little sparkle in there somehow!


Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I Didn't Expect That....

...these would turn out so cute! I think I'm in love! Now to just decide if I want to try to do it again....



The swirled ones aren't too bad either.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

It Was Worth A Try

I had just enough supplies to make one batch of soap so I decided to try something experimental. I was attempting to follow this tutorial by Amanda. I was going along fabulously but then my soap thickened up too much on me. I used full water and used a slower tracing recipe, but I knew there was a pretty darned good chance that it would happen. I played around the best I could before the soap wouldn't even come out of the squeeze bottles. I used up the last little bit of my mediterranean fig fragrance oil and the soap will be perfectly fun for me to use so it's all good. :)



Now it's time to head into the real kitchen in this house and whip up some Rice Krispy Treats and Ina's Mac and Cheese.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

A Life Deliberate Soap Co.

A Life Deliberate Soap Co is a bath and body business based in Michigan. I'm honored to say that the owner, Lori, has become a friend of mine. She makes several fabulous products that I splurge on often but there is one product that I can't live without. I tried once and it didn't go well. :) The product I am in absolute love with is the Gourmet Body Mousse. I didn't order it at first but instead some soaps and the dead sea mud scrub but she stuck in a sample of the body mousse and I quickly become addicted. She formulates the most dreamy scent called Chocolate Covered Raspberries. I am goofy for that scent. It is a specialty scent and not always available. I have tried several other scents as well, including Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Wild Strawberries, Summers Night, and Unscented.
Scents aside, it's the way the mousse moisturizes that keeps me coming back for more and more. For me, it is the ideal moisturizer. It's thick but light, slides on nice and smooth but it isn't greasy, and it seals and protects my skin for hours and hours afterwards. I have used many lotions, thick and thin, natural and drugstore, and this is the only one that is the complete package for me. I've given it as gifts and have gotten the same reviews back about this glorious product. The oils used are very luxurious and include red raspberry oil (sounds dreamy on it's own!), macadamia nut oil, and avocado butter.



Not only is the mousse top-notch, but Lori whips up some amazing cold process soaps as well. I've tried many of them and as soon as she debuts a new scent, I usually have to have it. Now as a soap maker, I have rows and rows of my own soap ready and waiting to be used, but there is just something wonderful about splurging on a luxuriously made soap that isn't made by me. :)

I have yet to try all the different products offered by A Life Deliberate, but I can highly recommend the body mousse, (I get the unscented for my daughter), the deep conditioning cream, and the goat milk and aloe body butter, the soaps, and the scrubs.

I'm a bit of a product junkie and have ordered from many Etsy shops and other online retailers but I keep coming back to A Life Deliberate Soap Co, time and time again. Go get ya some!

A Life Deliberate Soap Co

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Sunday Soapings - CUT

It appears I could go a bit stronger on my colorants but otherwise I'm pleased with how these turned out. The rosemary mint scent definitely overwhelms the others but as a result our basement/family room smells awesome!



I got my first gray using grape pop mica. I've heard of it happening but I hadn't experienced it until now. I'm thinking that it has something to do with the particular fragrance oil because otherwise I get a very bright and pretty purple.


Once again we had a dreary old afternoon while I was trying to take pictures so the colors are off a little and a bit dark but ya know, whatever!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Sunday Soapings - Just Poured

I had that wild hair to go make soap again today and I'm so happy I did. I made three successful batches. Also, I was going to clean when I came back upstairs from my soaping zone and found that my hubby had cleaned the bathrooms and done the other cleaning too. WIN-WIN! :)


Chamomile Lavender Cream: For those that know me, they know that I love this combo. I've made it many times with different recipes and different milks. My favorite milk right now is heavy whipping cream and so that is what I used in it today. I didn't use any colorant or any other additives other than the light sprinkling on glitter on top. Even if it is all natural, how can I not add glitter?


Rosemary Mint - this one also has cream and has a combo of rosemary and peppermint essential oils. This is a very popular combo and to me, smells just like an Andes mint. YUM! I colored it with a tiny amount of chromium green oxide and it also has a sprinkling of glitter. I chose to pour my soaps at a fairly thin trace today as I wasn't in the mood for whips and fluff. (Weird right?)


Blackberry Cream - This one is scented with Black Raspberry Vanilla but I just made a batch with that scent and I'm just plain tired of calling it black raspberry. I'd much rather have a blackberry anyway. :) It also has cream and is colored with just a smidge of grape pop mica.



I'm very pleased with today's batches and it's always so nice for them to be successful. I think I can make one more batch of soap before I'm out of some important ingredients. So I'm off to Brambleberry.... it's time to order more glitter! :D