The truth is, I’m not great at the business side of things so that’s what puts me off building up the soap business. If it were just a matter of making more soap, I’d be all over that. It’s fun, creative and relaxing for me – but doing paperwork, keeping track of expenses and inventory makes my brain go numb! I can’t stand it.

I got a new camera for Christmas, so I think I’m going to take advantage of that to post here and share my photos more often. There are blogs I read all the time that are just about everyday things, and I find them interesting. Maybe someone out there would be interested by my everyday life- can’t imagine why, but you never know, right?

This past week I’ve been making soap for my wholesale customer, Carberry Soap Company in Pickering, Ontario. I make round olive oil soaps for them in several different scents: Unscented for babies or sensitive skin, Lavender, Citrus blend, English Rose and a Patchouli soap made with a blend of veggie oils including hemp oil.

In other news, we got new blinds for the kitchen windows and it’s all looking very ‘finished’ now. There’s just one small thing to complete, which is some final painting around the small window over the sink. Somehow the small jobs just get put off, but I’ll get to it soon. We also need to touch up some of the caulking under the crown molding where it has cracked.

The spring after we moved into the house in 2005, we had the tiny bathroom downstairs completely gutted and renovated. We ended up with a beautiful, big, very WHITE shower stall. It looked lovely- for about 5 minutes. Then I started to realise that there is no good way to keep white tile grout clean long term. It just doesn’t happen. Nothing I did worked and I was sick of scrubbing and spraying with bleach solutions. After a couple of years it never looked white again, no matter what I did. Recently I was searching aimlessly online for a solution to this problem. I actually considering having the floor of the shower ripped out and replaced with a solid surface of some kind. I gave up on that idea pretty quickly when I found out what would be involved and how much it would cost. Thousands of dollars and basically an entirely new shower stall= not happening!  I tried to scrape out the grout myself using a dremel tool but I soon realised my knees weren’t going to take it, let alone my back. So- the shower sat unused for months during our kitchen renovations because we had to deal with that first. Luckily, we have 2 other showers in the house.

Eventually, I came across the website of Laurentian Tile & Grout. Looking at the before and after photos on his website, I realised I had found my answer! This miracle worker replaced all of the grout in the shower walls and floor in 2 days and it looks completely brand new again. The new grout is an epoxy that is guaranteed not to stain. Check this out.

Before: (this is clean, by the way)

After:

Yeah, I’m pretty happy with how this came out. Totally worth the cost.

I was just reading that last bit over and realised that I sound like a late-night infomercial!

“But wait, there’s more! If you act right now, we’ll rip out the grout in 2 showers in your home for the price of one!”

Once it was all cooked, I added my colours again till I had a pretty blue then glopped it all back into the mold. Here’s what I ended up with. Decent colour, but YAWN….kinda boring. I wanted my favourite soap to at least be interesting looking.

Time to get creative. I did a couple of embedded ball soaps before with varying degrees of success. I decided to give it another try. I cut the loaf in half and then cut half of it into long rectangles- about the size to fit horizontally into my small silicone loaf molds.

Next I trimmed the edges to get it closer to a cylinder shape, then wrapped them in parchment paper and rolled them individually against the countertop to try to get the sides rounded. It was harder than I expected it to be. This took ages! I decided to only make a few of these and do the rest into little balls I could drop into the soap. Still time consuming, but it’s not as difficult to make them nice and evenly round.

The next step was to make a couple of batches of white soap. I used goat milk and a little TD added to get it whiter. I wanted a nice contrast with the blue. The goats milk makes the lather so creamy and smooth, and I love the creamy white colour it gives the bars too. I didn’t get any photos of making the new soap. The camera was getting kinda soapy and slippery! I left the large mold outside overnight to cool and put the smaller ones in the fridge. When I use TD I like to try to avoid gel or I end up with streaky lines in the soap that remind me of stretch marks- ew!

Here’s how they looked just before taking them out of the molds them the next day, and then the larger one unmolded.

A few cuts later and here are the finished bars. I’ll let them harden up a bit more, then smooth out some of the rough edges. I’ve still got half a loaf of the solid blue bars left, but perhaps I’ll just keep them as-is. Not everyone is an artsy soap fan. Some people just want to get clean! Imagine that— I know, I don’t get it either!

This photo was taken in my new kitchen (yeah baby!) so the lighting is a bit different there. The other photos were taken in my soap-making area in the laundry room. The soap is really a creamy white colour.

I thought I’d add a bit of bling to this batch, so I used a paint brush to coat the heart shaped ice cube tray molds with a bit of cosmetic glitter before pouring in the soap.

Next, I poured the soap and set it aside to harden. See me pouring with my left hand while I took the photo with my right?  NOT easy- aren’t you impressed? (I guess that would be why this photo is so blurry- ha!)

When the tiny soaps were cooled, they easily popped out of their molds and I set them aside for later. Don’t they look like candy in this photo?

Next I weighed out the oils to make the main part of the soap which is done by cold process. Here is the coconut oil being weighed out. Then, I melted it and added sweet almond  and castor oils. Salt bars need a high percentage of coconut oil so they will lather well.

I added the lye water and the essential oils at this point. I used a blend of Lavender, Eucalyptus and Rosemary. I call it my ‘spa blend’. Notice my gloves? Lye burns are no fun!

Here, I have split the batch into 2 bowls so I can make layers of different colours. I added titanium dioxide mixed with a bit of water to one half to get bright white, and raspberry pop mica mixed with a bit of glycerin to the other half to get pink.

I used a stick blender to make sure the colour was mixed well into the pink portion, then added the sea salt.

Here I go with my left-handed tricks, pouring while taking photos. This is just for the photo- I had to pour all the rest of them right-handed:-) I poured the pink soap into the molds to about half full. These silicone heart muffin tin molds were a great bargain. I picked them up at Target one day on the ‘dollar shelf’– $2.50 each!

Back to the white portion of the soap, I added the salt and gave it a few blasts with the stick blender to thicken it up a bit.

Then I gently spooned the white soap on top of the pink layer. I remembered not to fill them too full this time so I would have some space for adding the tiny hearts afterwards.The first time I made these they kind of overflowed and I had to do ‘plastic surgery’ on the edges to tidy them up.

After a few minutes, the soap started to set and I pressed a tiny heart soap into the centre of each bar. I like the way the white soap puffs up around it a bit when it’s pressed down.

Now, they will set for a couple of days before I un-mold them. Salt bars can get kind of crumbly if you try to remove them from individual molds too soon, so I’ll have to try to be patient. I’ll update here with un-molded photos when they are ready.

Thanks for reading!

Update Thursday Dec 30th:
So much for waiting a couple of days- I have no patience at all when it comes to soap! I un-molded one bar today (after about 17 hours) and it popped out perfectly, so of course I had to take them all out and do photos. I was surprised that the layers look so equal. I thought I had poured too much for the pink layer. I ended up with one and a 1/2 solid white bars that didn’t have embedded hearts. I took notes so that next time I will know how much M&P I need to make enough hearts for the whole batch.
These will get incredibly hard as they cure. Salt bars don’t feel gritty at all- they shine up like a polished stone with use and last for ages.

My favourites in terms of fragrances are Sandalwood Vanilla, Spiced Mahogany and Clove Mint. I have to mention Summer Melon Spritzer too because I’m taking that one directly to my shower. It reminds me of summer time and I am really sick of fall right now!

My pick for best design has to go to Anne-Marie for her incredibly complex embedded and layered bar scented with Cranberry Fig. It’s just gorgeous!  There’s a How-To posting on her blog about it here.

Here’s a breakdown of the soapy bounty I received today, with links as I was able to find from the packaging.

Sandalwood Vanilla from Owl Tree Soaps

Marrakesh Goat Milk Soap from a soapmaker in Grant, Michigan

Cedar Saffron from Foster Creek Soap & Botanicals

Summer Melon Spritzer from Tub Time Treasures

Clove Mint from Freshwater Handmade Soap

Mango Sangria from Sweet Peas Soap

Cranberry Fig from Anne-Marie at Brambleberry

Spiced Mahogany from Dreaming Tree Soapworks

Karma Essential Oil Blend from Carmel Soaps

Lychee Red Tea from Barclay’s Soap Box

Cranberry from Bungalow Soap Co.

Rosehip Jasmine from Ali Mendelson

Looking forward to the next swap- this was so much fun!

]]> http://www.triagefromhome.com/2010/12/my-haul-from-the-soap-queen-swap/feed/ 5 http://www.triagefromhome.com/2010/04/the-soaping-process/ http://www.triagefromhome.com/2010/04/the-soaping-process/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:51:12 +0000 Helen http://www.triagefromhome.com/?p=1290 I realized the other day that I only had a couple of bars of lavender soap left, with a big selling event coming up! I haven’t been making much soap lately because my inventory is pretty full so it was fun to finally make a new batch. I took a few photos of the process and the outcome to share here.

First- here are the measured and melted solid oils next to the liquid oils, ready to be mixed. In this batch I used palm and palm kernel flakes for the solids and olive and castor oils for the liquid.

Meanwhile  a mixture of lye, salt, sugar and water sits in an ice water bath to bring the temperature down. The lye water and the oils should be nearly the same temperature when they are combined. I’m usually too impatient to wait and end up soaping hot. Doesn’t seem cause a problem most times, unless I’m using a touchy fragrance oil that might speed things up.

Here the oils are mixed with the lye solution and I’ve added some grape pop mica which is a skin safe colourant. It makes fantastic bright colours in soap.  I added a little pearl whte mica as well because I thought I added a little too much grape. Sorry this photo is out of focus and the doorframe reflection doesn’t help!

At this point I didn’t stop to take any photos, but I separated some of the batch into another container and added more grape mica for a deeper purple, then I mixed both bowls with my stick blender to thicken them to a medium trace. I wanted the bars to be swirled with the 2 shades of purple, so I poured the darker soap back into the main batch and mixed once or twice, then poured it into the waiting mold. I saved a bit of the darker soap to pour on top and add a bit of swirls using a cardboard coffee stir stick.

Here’s how it looked in the mold after that:

Jon made my soap molds so they would fit perfectly inside the oven. I nearly always oven process my soap for one hour at 170 F, then shut the oven off and leave the soap in the oven overnight. It’s ready to cut first thing in the morning. The only soaps I don’t oven process are my milk or honey recipes since they can heat up pretty well on their own. I usually leave my individually molded soaps like the cupcakes or hearts out to set at room temperature as well.

Here’s how this lovely lavender loaf looked after I unmolded it the next day. I was kind of bummed that the colour faded.  Too bad – I would have liked more contrast between the two shades.

…and here it is about to be sliced into bars with my handy dandy craftman soap cutter. This cutter is awesome- eight perfectly straight cuts in one go. I love this little gadget.

Finally, here are the cut bars all ready for the curing rack. They will air dry on the racks for 4-6 weeks for the excess water to evaporate. The soap gets better and better as it dries out and ages.The curing time also ensures a hard bar that will last a long time. Aren’t they pretty? They smell great too. Lavender is a scent that has grown on me since I started making soap. It really is very soothing and relaxing.

I’m quite excited about a new online shopping site for handmade items called Zibbet. They also have members who sell crafting supplies and vintage items, like Etsy. The great part is: you can join and list items for FREE with a basic account! I think this is great for new sellers who are just trying to test the waters. Basic accounts let you list up to 25 items for free. Premium accounts are a monthly subscription- right now they are offering it for $8 a month— NO listing fees, NO percentage of sales. You can list as many items as you like for no extra charges.

I signed up for a premium account today because I wanted the extra functionality such as adding widgets to my shop (Faceboook, Twitter, links to my blog, etc), unlimited listings and customizing the look of my shop with colours and photo sizes. They even have their forums OFF site, so that sellers can disuss things away from the buyers. So many great features that Etsy doesn’t have! I’ve always felt like a tiny fish in a HUGE ocean on Etsy, especially being a soap maker since there are SO many soap sellers there. On Zibbet I’m more likely to be noticed. The down side of course is that Etsy is the Ebay of handmade online and Zibbet doesn’t have the traffic…YET.

I’m giving it a try and will be tweeting about it to try to drive more traffic there. I’m not leaving Etsy yet, just branching out but so far Zibbet gets my vote!

(If you’re an artisan and want to sign up for a premium account on Zibbet, please use my referral button on the left (or above)  I get a discount on my subscription fees for every new member referral- and you can do the same!)

If you want to try a premium account for FREE, you can use the coupon code FREETRIAL when prompted during sign up and you get the first 7 days free, cancel anytime! You can also use this code if you start out with a basic account and want to upgrade to a premium account.

Trying to set up, I realized just how MUCH product I have made in recent months. A 6 or 7 foot table just wasn’t going to cut it. Jon and I managed to get nearly everything out, but I don’t like the cluttered look. It’s hard to see individual items when there is too much on the table.  I’m going to have to streamline the display for the Make It Show in May. I’ve got a wonderful shelf unit that I bought from a soaper who was going out of business, but it’s so tall and wide that it makes it more difficult to see from behind the table and I like to be able to connect with my customers. I’ll have to do a little research to figure out a more efficient display. Perhaps I’ll give a try at making another stepped display out of styrofoam packing and just use one on each end of the table. Here’s how it looked at one of my Christmas craft fairs.

It was fun to be able to share some of my products with new customers. It was a lovely day too which helped! I’m considering signing up for the outdoor event they are having in June. Instead of using the hall, vendors will set up outside along the sidewalk. Should be fun! I’ve got a 10×10 tent I can use in case of too much sun- of course rain is a good possibility in June as well.

The vendor next to me on Sunday mentioned that she loves patchouli scented soap. Sandy has a fun and really creative selection of crafts. You can check her out at at FireFlyNotes on Etsy.  So far, the only bar I’ve made that contains patchouli essential oil is part of a blend– my Instant Karma soap. It’s a great blend, but not ‘pure patch’, so I decided to make a small batch as a tester. I added some dried patchouli leaves, a pinch of silk fibers and goats milk. The scent is actually growing on me! I avoided oven processing so poor Jon wouldn’t have to cope with a patchouli scented house. Here’s how it looks:

They will be ready to sell in time for the Make It Show on May 1 & 2. I’m excited for this event because if I make lots of sales it means I can make more soap! Right now my inventory is pretty full so it’s hard to justify making more.

Now, tonight I have to make dinner because the family is coming over. Off to find a good recipe to make pork tenderloin into something delicious. Wish me luck!

Here’s how my cart is set up. This took Jon and I several hours to do on Sunday evening.

I made up some great Valentines Day Gift Packs for this. Here is one for the ladies.

It’s got 3 bars of soap:

- Bouquet of Roses (scented with English Rose)

-Bottle of Wine (scented with White Zinfandel)

-Box of Chocolates (scented with Expresso Chocolate)

A handmade cotton facecloth (not by me, I can’t crochet!), and a little wooden soap deck that Jon and I made from some solid wood trim boards.

Another one for the girls…these are Matching Scent Gift Packs, each contains

A bar of soap, a jar of whipped body butter and a jar of emulsified sugar scrub.

I did these  in 4 different scents:

Black Raspberry Vanilla

White Tea & Ginger

Love Potion

Lick Me All Over

Next I did a Chocolate Lover’s Gift Pack containing:

Edible Chocolate Massage Butter

Chocolate  Expresso Sugar Scrubs

Chocolate Scented Soap

Chocolate Orange Lip Balm

I think this last one is my favourite.  A Six Pack O’ Suds beer soap gift pack. I had a lot of fun making soap with six different types of beer and choosing scents to match. This is what I came up with for the soaps:

Ginger Lime, made with Nut Brown Ale

Rosemary Mint, made with Lager

Unscented, made with Guinness Draught

Oatmeal, Milk and Honey, made with Oatmeal Stout

Chocolate Expresso, made with Chocolate Stout

Salty Sea, made with Honey Brown Ale

This is how the packaging looks. I had a custom stamp made

for this. Inside, I added kraft paper crinkle shreds and a handmade cotton facecloth.

I’ve got to get there super-early tomorrow- proabably 6 AM-  because the Olympic Torch Relay will be taking place right outside the mall tomorrow morning around 6:30 so the main street will be closed.  I’m disappointed that I won’t get to see the relay come through here in Delta, but Devon will see it in front of his school later in the morning. I think they are starting classes later so the kids can all see the torch going by.

I chose a winning comment by using a random number generator, and Lisa was the winner of my handmade soap giveaway! Congratulations Lisa and thanks everyone else for coming and entering the contest. Here are the bars that Lisa requested as her prize:  Bubble Gum, Lemongrass & Lime and Sea Salt Spa. They are on their way to Maryland today. I hope you enjoy them Lisa!

Happy New Year everyone! To start the year off right, I’m holding a little giveaway contest.  If you’d like the chance to WIN your choice of THREE bars of my handmade soap, here’s your chance.

Shipping of the prize is limited to Canada and the USA.

It’s so simple to Enter to WIN !

**Just hop over to my etsy  shop here, and/or the soap list on my own site here (more products are listed there) Have a look around and then come back and leave a comment telling us which soaps you would like to win  (don’t forget to leave your email for contact- it won’t appear publicly)**

For additional entries:

1. Tweet a link to this giveaway! (one entry per tweet– no limts!)

2. Follow me on Twitter here

3. Subscribe to my blog

4. Add a link back to this giveaway on your own blog (give us the URL in a comment here)

5. Blog about this giveaway with a link back here

6. Add my blog to your blogroll

7. Post a link to the giveaway on Facebook

8. Add my blog button to your blog

Please leave a separate comment below for each of your entries. The contest will run for 2 weeks, from Jan 1st till Jan 14th at noon (or as soon as I get a chance to do the draw that day)

Winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. The winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn and you’ll forfeit your prize.

Good luck everyone!

Jan 14/10 Update: The contest is now closed. Thank you everyone for visiting and entering to win. The winner has been contacted and has 48 hours to respond to claim his/her prize.