Piano

One of my dearest friends from high school is expecting her first baby.   What do you, a confessed soap-addict, do when you hear good news like that?


Whip up a ton of soap of course!


These piano soaps are my tribute to my girlfriend's love for music.  She is aspired to be a music therapist because she believes in the power of music.  I know her baby will be the luckiest kid on earth!


The final product isn't exactly what I had in mind.  The "black keys" are kind of crooked, and the "white keys" aren't exactly white.   The yellowish tint comes from chamomile-infused olive oil, and I kind of like it this way because the color serves almost like a telling sign to my not-so-secret ingredient.

The infused olive oil sped up the thickening time and I only had very little time to put in the black keys.  I end up with only five of these piano soaps, but since I love them so much, I'll be sure to make more (so I can keep some to myself too!).

Versatile Blogger Award

Thank you, my dear friend Anita, for giving me the award!  Now I can't stay quiet anymore, can I? (smile)

So, the rules of the award are --

1 – Make a post and link it back to the person who gave you the award 

       (and include their website address)
2 – Share 7 random things about yourself
3 – Award 7 recently discovered bloggers with this award, 

        and contact them to let them know they have won.

Here we go...  7 Random things about me -

1.    In addition to soap making, I also enjoy sewing and baking.

2.    I love going to the beach and just do nothing.  So relaxing......

3.    I'm a dog lover but don't like small toy dogs.
       Especially the hysterical, loud, and aggressive ones.

4.    I find Captain Picard sexy and yes, my husband knows that. Ha!

5.    I'm still learning to wear heels.
      The last time I wore them (yesterday), I got blisters on 5 toes!  Ouch!

6.    I love baseball and listen to the game on the radio every day.
       Go Jays Go!

7.    I don't like eating olives because they're usually too salty to my liking and...
       and they look like little rubber rings/balls. :P



Now, it's time to forward this award to other interesting soapmakers in the blogosphere.  Ready?


bbee's soapsite

Jabones Ramy

My Daily Soap

Natural Aroma Beauty

Sparklebrook

The Fat Bottom Farm

Summerbaby - Seifen




These talented bloggers make some of the most stunning and creative soaps.  Go check them out and you'll know what I mean!


Stay cool everyone!

Between Friends Handmade Soap

To see my latest soaps, please find me at Between Friend's photo album on Flickr.

(Last updated: 2011-07-20)

Funnel Swirl

Funnel Swirl

I know it's been quiet here.
It took me a long time to write a new post, but I didn't expect it to be even harder to reply to all your warm comments.   A big heart-felt thank you to all of you who sent me your warm regards.
I'll continue to make soaps, but only quietly and slowly.


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Lavender, what else?

Has it really been almost three months?

I've been so disconnected from my own blog that I don't know how to start writing again.   How about I start by saying, "how did I manage to blog on a regular basis before?"

The last three months have been both exciting and sad.

I travelled to visit my family and friends on the other side of the world, ate a lot of amazing food, and had tons of fun-filled conversations.   I made this soap for a dear friend who has been one of my most loyal customers from the very beginning.   She recently moved from Toronto to my hometown and would like me to make her soaps enough to last her a year.

On the sad note, my grandmother passed away during my visit.  She had been bedridden for years, and my family had known that this day would come eventually, but it was still extremely hard to let her go.   I was grateful that I was able to see her during her last days with us, I just couldn't imagine not being there.

Now that I'm back in T.O. again, life has slowly returned to normal.  However, I know I'll never be the same because grandma, who managed to give me one last lesson in life, taught me to live everyday to its fullest and to always show those I care about how much I love them.


So, to all my dear friends, I love you and thank you for being my friends.


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Charcoal Swirl with Hemp Seed Oil

Soap making is always full of unexpected surprises, and this time, the surprise is more than pleasant!


I've tried a few "in-the-pot swirls" before, but have never been one hundred percent satisfied with the look.  This time I'm actually pretty happy with the way it turns out, but when I made it, it looked so bad that I was even considering putting these in the "failed" box.

The reason why I thought it would turn out to be disastrous was because the soap came to trace literally in less than 3 minutes.  I turned around to grab my charcoal powder and that's when the soap caught me off guard.  I decided to move quickly and mix in the colour anyway because that was what I had promised to make.   By the time I had the colour ready, the soap was thicker than yogurt.  I scooped the soap into the mold and feared for the worst.  

I let out a small scream of joy after making the first cut.  Sooooo, THIS is how you make in-the-pot swirl!  No wonder I haven't been successfull.  I have to wait a little longer before I swirl!  Isn't it funny how we learn our lessons from the most unexpected "mistakes"?





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