Cutting the Soaps - Sweet Confetti and Cream Peppermint w/ Chocolate Swirl

And I am very happy with the results of my Sweet Confetti soap! :)  Now, I usually mix up 176 ounces of oils, and once I mix in my lye mix, I split the pot in half and make 2 different flavors of soap. Since I had cut up 8 bars of colored soap to use as my confetti imbeds, I had to do a little math to adjust my recipe. After much brain smoldering, I determined that if I decreased my oils to 156 ounces, I would have enough for one log of Creamy Peppermint with Chocolate Swirl, and one log of Sweet Confetti. And dang if that didn't come out perfect! :-D

The recipe ... olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, castor oil. Goat milk. Lye and distilled water. Peppermint essential oil for the first one, swirled with some cocoa. Hmmm yum, smells like a Peppermint Patty!  The second one, scented with a little bit of Fresh Cut Rose. Poured the confetti imbeds right into the pot and stirred, then poured into the mold.

Here are the soaps just poured into the molds ..

After a little while, I took a wooden spoon and peaked the top of the Sweet Confetti a little.

Here's the Sweet Confetti, ready to cut.

Cut, and still in The Tank. I'm happy! :) I like it! And each bar smells just a little different depending on the imbeds. 

Ready to be whisked away to the soap room. A good birthday soap, or a good soap for New Year's Eve parties!

And the Cream Peppermint with Chocolate Swirl. This one cleared my sinuses right out. Love that peppermint! This one is a restock. I have some ready to go on my website! It's one of my more popular soaps and I try to always keep some in stock!

Creamy Peppermint w/ Chocolate Swirl

Preparing Confetti Soap

Today I am preparing for making a confetti soap, which I'll do tomorrow. Started by taking a few different colored soaps from the soap room. A Blue Moon soap, a couple of green Eucalyptus Mint, a dark brown Apple Pumpkin Raisin, an orange Carrot and Goat Milk, and a couple of pink Fresh Cut Rose soaps. I cut the bars into quarters, then cut some into 1/2 inch cubes and some into 1/2 triangles.

First, the blue Blue Moon

Then the green Eucalyptus Min

The Apple Pumpkin Raisin

The Carrot & Goat Milk

And the Fresh Cut Rose (hmmmmmm, sort of looks like cubed Spam) :-D

Mix 'em all up. I think that's plenty colorful enough!

Tomorrow, along with a batch of Creamy Peppermint with Chocolate Swirl, I'll mix these pieces in with the remaining batch, scent it with just a bit of Rose, and call it Sweet Confetti.

Honey and Goat Milk

I find myself using honey more and more in my soaps, especially my goat milk soaps. I took a bar of my Honey Patchouli soap into the shower, and I was OMG this soap is fantastic! Creamy and lots of lather, and left my skin feeling soft and pampered. Here are a couple of the honey and goat milk soaps I have in my shop.

Honey Patchouli

Honey Eucalyptus

Creamy Honey Lemon

And of course, Goat Milk Oatmeal and Honey

So now I'm thinking of other honey and goat milk soaps to make. I want an unscented one, either with no additives, or something different than oatmeal. Maybe Rhassoul Clay, or tumeric which is suppose to be good for skin. And I'm thinking of one scented with clove and cinnamon. Which could produce instantaneous combustion during gelling, because between the honey, the goat milk, and clove & cinnamon, which are all heat producers, this would be one HOT log of soap!!

A couple of things about honey and goat milk soaps. Number one, they are not the hardest bars of soaps on the soap rack. And never ever leave them setting in a wet non-draining soap dish! Both honey and olive oil (which is about 50% of my recipes) are humectants (a substance that helps a product retain water). These soaps pull water and moisture to them, and will turn to a slimy gooey mess if left in the shower. I always take mine right out of the shower and leave them in a well draining soap dish so they are dry in time for the next shower. 

And B, I can't do too much fancy with them colorwise. Between the honey and the goat milk, they are going to be a brown soap. No fancy swirls, no colorful layers. Just a mild, creamy, silky, wonderful brown bar of soap!

October Soaps

I've been keeping busy! Lots of soap to make, lots of birdwatching to do. :) Mostly I have been making restocks, so no new soaps on the curing rack, just restocks.

Some of the soaps I have listed in the last month -

Cinnamon Layered Soap. This smells great! Don't let the kids lick this one. :)

Frankincense and Myrrh. Classic holiday scent, with a little bit of gold glitter.

Blue Moon. This is the soap I made on the day of the August Blue Moon. Scented with White Sage.

This one has been listed for awhile,  but it's a great holiday soap so I'm showing you again. Apple Pumpkin Raisin, made with pumpkin puree and goat milk. Smells so much like fall!

Last month we had a great opportunity here in Tucson. The Space Shuttle Endeavour was on its last flight to it's resting place, and they did a fly over here in Tucson to honor Mark Kelly, and his wife Gabrielle Giffords. Ray and I went up on A Mountain (real name Sentinal Peak, called A Mt because it has a huge letter "A" made with white rocks on the side of it.) We had a fantastic view as the huge jet carrying the Endeavour made a low, slow circle around the university then passed right in front of us. Fantastic!! 

Photo by Ray Goodwin

Last week Ray and I took a birdwatching trip to Madera Canyon. It was a gorgeous day, finally cooling down enough to get out and walk around without sizzling in heat. Saw lots of birds, including Painted Redstart, Acorn Woodpecker, Red Tailed Hawk, Red Naped Sapsucker, Mexican Jays, Rufous Hummingbird, Broad Billed Hummingbird, Anna's Hummingbird, and tons more! And a herd of about 8 or 9 javelina. They didn't seem too concerned about us, we were able to get about 12 feet from them before they scampered off.

Photo by Ray Goodwin

You can read more and see pics on Ray's Blog - Madera Canyon Walk 

Website Makeover

I gave my website a really good makeover. Head on over there and take a look! If you feel inclined to buy some soap, use coupon code THANKYOU for 10% off! :)

Aunt Nancy's Handmade Soap

Hope to see you there! :)