New Fragrances in the Mail!!

I am super pumped!!  I just ordered my first order of fragrances from Wholesale Supplies Plus and it arrived yesterday, along with some new soap books I bought on Amazon - gotta give my Prime trial a workout!

I ordered the Caribbean Coconut fragrance oil to finally make a beach soap using some sand I saved from the beach where my husband and I were married last November.  I cannot believe how amazing it smells!  The bottle leaked a little bit, so the fragrance oil is stuck on my fingers and I can't stop smelling them...

I also ordered some other great fragrances that smell incredible, including:  Strawberries and Cream (request for strawberry soap from my roommate), Honey Almond EO & FO blend, Black Raspberry Vanilla (phenomenal!!), and Tobacco Caramel Type fragrance oil.  I really cannot wait to start to soap with these and others that I have purchased.  

I am also really looking forward to my Christmas presents from my husband.  He had bought me a multi-bar soap cutter from Bud Haffner's Etsy Shop, which should arrive tomorrow.  He also bought me a custom mold from Rich at Soap Hutch.  I can barely wait for when that arrives too!  Don't worry - I'll blog all about them when they arrive ;)

I don't have any pictures for this blog post, but I'd love to hear input from you all on the fragrances I've purchased, or which ones I should start to soap with!

~Chrissy

I'm back!!!

Hey everyone - I've had a really long hiatus from this blog (and from soaping), but for some good reasons...

I have mentioned before about my upcoming wedding, and I was away for a few weeks for the wedding and honeymoon at the amazing Atlantis in the Bahamas!  It was an absolutely phenomenal time - we couldn't have asked for better weather for us and our guests.  We got there a few days after Sandy blew through, and even though Sandy did some damage on the beach we had chosen, we were able to upgrade to an even better beach to have our ceremony.  My husband's uncle conducted the ceremony, we had steel drums for music on the beach, and we had the most amazing food and music!  I had such a good time, and I know everyone else did, too!

We had some phenomenal vendors for our wedding, including wedding planning by Gretchen Culver at Rocket Science Weddings and Events, hair and makeup for the ladies by Brett Dorrian Artistry Studios, photography by Studio Laguna, amazing flowers by Wildflowers in Nassau, and the best wedding music ever (even though I *may* be biased...) by DJ Jose in Nassau.  It was an amazing time!

Then, my new husband and I returned home for a week before we headed off to Detroit for his birthday and Thanksgiving celebration with his family.

Whew!  That's a whole lot of travel in the past month and a half, and I am ready to get back in the swing of things here.  I am working on some new soap recipes with some new fun ingredients I have gotten recently - including hemp oil, pistachio butter, and silk - and trying out some new techniques.  I cannot wait to get back into soaping!!  Have to get my stock back up for all the holiday gifts coming up :)

Here's one picture from our incredible wedding from Katrina at Studio Laguna:

~Chrissy

October Projects

I have more soap downstairs than I know what to do with right now.  Good thing in just 3 short weeks, I'll be getting married on the beach and I can get rid of at least 40 of these bars :)  And by "get rid of", of course I mean, "send these bars to fantastic homes"!

I have been playing around with a couple different projects - take a look at what I've done so far!

 This was an experiment with pumpkin puree and cream and BB's Pumpkin Spice FO.  I knew it'd discolor, so I only added the fragrance to half the soap (the side that turned brown).  I really like how this one smells, and I love how the swirls turned out!

 

Here is a Gingersnap soap I tried with coconut milk.  It took a good 3 weeks before I could tolerate the smell, though - I think the coconut milk smell is too much for me.  I had also hoped it would turn more brown like the Pumpkin one above, but no such luck.  And unfortunately, I used a slab mold, and these were the biggest bars I've made, and the ones I like the least...  I think after another 3 weeks, I'll love them.

 

Here's an invigorating soap I made for my guests - it's a blend of anise and peppermint EO.  Will really get you going in the morning!

 I love this one the best.  I am trying out a luxe formula, and this one is made with all kinds of goodies - shea butter and avocado oil, and is scented with NG's Christmas Pine FO - smells really "fir-y" and I love it! 

The pattern turned out so great!  I started out with a funnel pour, but the soap started to thicken too much for the funnel, so I finished with a faux funnel pour.  Love how these colors look and the soap feels great!

 I made some peppermint EO soaps with cream for a friend who loves mint-y soaps.  The top one kind of looks like the soap's wearing a bikini :)

This one is for a friend who cannot tolerate scents or colorants.  She just wanted a relatively plain bar of soap in a fun mold.  I made for her a soap with honey, beeswax, and oatmeal.  It smells great, and I love how it feels.  The mold was only around $6 from BB, which was a bonus!

~Chrissy

First!

The first post always seems to be the hardest.  I wanted to start a blog to share my soapy journey, new ideas I have, lessons learned, and, probably most importantly to me, document my skills as a soap maker.  I am excited to be able to look back at these soaps that I've done below, that I'm so proud of, and see what I am creating in future years' time!

I have been a crafty person the majority of my life, but I started buying handmade soaps when I became an adult.  I loved their smells and designs, I loved that they were created locally, they made great reminders for me of places I've traveled.  I wanted to make soaps for my guests at my upcoming wedding, so I decided to learn for myself.

It's been addicting so far, as you can see by some of the projects I have sitting around through September.

 I made this one from Soap Queen's Sunshine Soap recipe here. Love the scent!

 I really love this scent - BB's Earl Grey Lemon FO.  The top soap (swirl of the left overs) is my favorite!

 This is BB's Christmas Spice FO - really accelerated on me, so I kind of slopped it in the mold.  Still looks okay, though, and smells great!

 Hobbes is an adorable model, but he's really hard to work with. I'm going to have to have him watch Top Model with me - learn his angles.

 He does love the soaps I've been making, though!

 Here is one soap I made for my wedding guests - Guinness beer!  Scented and colored only with Guinness (my favorite beer).  Next time I'd add some activated charcoal or something to make the beer part darker...

My shop assistant, Hannah :)

~Chrissy