Lace

It took me more than a month to finish making these soaps.  I made my first two layers and then I ran out of lye.  Just when you need it the most!


This look is inspired by my last coffee soap.  Now instead of just simple coffee soaps, I came up with this "espresso with foamed milk and caramel drizzle" version.


My household has been battling sickness for the last two months.  Somehow we all take turns getting sick, and now it's my turn.  I hate being sick!!    I want to get back to soapmaking!

A Jolt of Java

I still remember the firs time I used coffee in my soap.


As naive (and ignorant) as a newbie can be, I was completely unprepared for the stink that was about to assault my nose as I poured my lye into my freshly brewed coffee.  The fragrant coffee aroma quickly turned into what I'd like to describe as the smell of deep-fried shrimps.   Not that I know what deep-fried shrimps (with shells!) smell like, but interestingly enough, some of my fellow soap friends all come up with the same description.  Deep fried shrimps.  With shells.

I stop adding coffee into my soaps after that horrible first attempt, but I never stop dreaming of soaps with natural coffee aroma (without using any fragrance oil).   With this recent attempt, I think I've got it!


I call these my Triple Shots - the oils are infused with fresh coffee grinds for 4 months, the water is replaced with super concentrated frozen coffee, and before the soap is pored into the mold, more coffee grinds!

The end result is this chocolate-like soap with a mild coffee scent - not the popular coffee fragrance, but the subtle smell of coffee grinds.   I love it!  Now I only hope that the scent stays and that I don't get brown suds with all these fine coffee grinds in the soap. ;)

Been Having Fun with Cans

I've been having so much fun using food cans as my soap molds lately.    Haven't felt this way for a very long time, my soap addiction is back!

(I'm actually running low on lye now because of my recent craves for soap making.  Hubby calls me an addict when I keep saying "I'm running low.... I'm running low.....").

   

I haven't found my favourite way to play with colours yet, but the process of discovery is full of surprises.


Now if only I have enough lye for my next batch....  (pacing... pacing... )

The Ugly Truth

Well, this is the Ugly Soap.

I finally convinced myself that Ugly had been sitting on the counter for way too long and it was about time to do something about it.

The top of Ugly is a flaky combination of dry soap and dry oil.  Yuk!  I removed the flakes and rinsed off the oil before cutting it.

As you can see clearly on this picture that I attempted to create layers.  I made two separate batches of the same recipe and same oil weight, but for some reason the lower layer came to trace in a matter of minutes while the top layer somehow went through oil/water separation before it came to trace.

After the top layer eventually thickened, I gave up on the original plan of funnel swirl and went for a regular swirl with TD.  I left Ugly in my oven (at the lowest temperature setting) for about two hours and somehow my semi-solid top layer turned into liquid entirely and all the TD sank and settled at the bottom.

There was also a thick layer of oil floating on the top when I took Ugly out of the oven.  My fear was that the soap might end up being lye-heavy.  After unmolding and cutting it today, I'm sure that Ugly is definitely NOT lye-heavy.  It is extremely soft and not crumbly at all.  If you look carefully, you might be able to spot my glove prints on the soap.

Since there's no safety concerns anymore, I'll just leave them on the curing rack for a very long time before giving them out or using them as laundry soap.


So there you have it, my Ugly (but usable!) Soap.   :)

That itch you get every once a while

Cocoa Swirl

The itch.  The itch that you have to make some soaps or you'd go crazy because this idea in your head just refuses to go away.  The itch that you know this next batch you're making is going to be your next masterpiece.  It'll come out perfect.


Well, I felt that itch yesterday, and it was the first time in months since I felt the urge to make soap.  Maybe it's a sign of me coming out of my soaping slump!

Cocoa Swirl

I took out all my tools, measured my oils, and lined my mold.  It was so therapeutic, so serene, and so enjoyable.  With beautiful sun outside the window, and some light jazz in the background, it couldn't be more perfect than this - except, it'd be nice if the soap turned out ok.

To be honest, I had no idea what happened.  I'm still scratching my head a day later, wondering what could be the culprit to my disaster.


So, everything went well.  The soap thickened and traced.  Poured it into the mold.  Put the mold in the oven (I always to CPOP my soap) at the lowest temperature.   To my horror, when I went to check on it two hours later, I saw the "soap" spilled all over the bottom of my oven, and the mixture in my mold was just some dirty-looking liquid!


I quickly took out the mold and let the whole thing cool overnight.  It has hardened up, but there's this layer of bright red oil floating on top.  I used red palm for the first time yesterday, and it's the only ingredient that I haven't worked with before.   I think it's red palm, I want to blame it on red palm!


Now I have this ugly soap sitting on my kitchen counter and I'm not sure if it's safe to use (since some of the red palm did not saponify).  It could be slightly lye heavy.  I don't want to rebatch it and use it for laundry because I've heard red palm stains your clothes.


I stare at the soap, and the soap stares back at me.  I really have no idea what happened and what to do with it....


ps.  The soaps in the photos are not my Horribly Ugly.  I actually made these last weekend with a few friends.  We talked, we laughed, and made soaps together.   :)








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