Trying to get back our regular schedule, with some new toys!

August 4 - 8, 2014

Why are we lumping a whole week together in one blog entry? Well, because we didn't make much soap, but we did have fun with kids and grandkids!

This week was the last week of summer vacation for Habersham County schools, and classes started on Friday the 8th. 

I had two Grandchildren who were suddenly without a sitter, and Alison had teenagers to clothe, open houses to attend, and school supplies to buy.  Plus we wanted to do some fun stuff together, think miniature golf in nearby Helen where we discovered Alison should be called Arnold, as in Palmer. Who knew she was an expert miniature golfer?!  (Alison here, reluctantly admitting that the fact that I putted last and could see everyone else's mistakes MIGHT have helped a wee bit...)

During the week several packages arrived including some scents from +Natures Garden.  We were excited about a couple of new scents we want to try - Shiraz and Capri Oliveo (both to try when we make more soap with wine).  The other scents were ones that we had made soap with earlier using a small 1oz "trial sample" size. We really liked the fragrances, so we bought larger quantities this time.

New and old scents arrived this week.

If you have been reading this blog very long, you will know we make double batches of soap frequently.  When we split a batch in two we take our 16" wooden log mold and create a divider in the middle.  Sometimes it works beautifully, sometimes the divider slips, or other times the soap batter seeps under the divider and the colors run a bit.  We've made do because new molds are pricey, and when we say we operate on a shoestring, it's not a joke. We make do whenever we can.  

BUT, finally we took the plunge! Molds were on sale, and we bought two.  They are from +Bulk Apothecary and are the perfect size for half batches.  No more cardboard dividers! YAY!

 As an additional splurge we bought a soap cutter. Using a knife has worked fine, except that the knife is almost too short to reach across our cutter, and pushing the tip down through the soap is somewhat rough on finger tips.

Our new silicone molds and soap cutter.

The sides are reinforced so they won't bow 

out with the weight of soap.  We 

can't wait to try out the molds.

The other packages that arrived weren't nearly as exciting as the scents and molds.  We needed more labels for our soap, and they arrived. Honestly, they really aren't picture worthy; they're just Avery oval labels.

After our fun, hectic, last week of vacation we got down to the business of making soap on Friday.  Of course we decided to make a split batch so we could use our new molds.

We chose scents that have gotten some very positive feedback from a variety of sources.  First was Amazingly Grace (described as Italian bergamot and sparkling lemon sweetened with freshly picked citron and neroli.  A white floral jasmine, orange blossom and rose are blended with sheer musk and cedarwood).  

And the second choice was Sweet Patchouli (described as an earthy blend of patchouli and green grass intertwined with fresh lavender and hints of licorice with crisp notes of menthol softened by amber).  

These descriptions are right from +Natures Garden where almost every scent they sell is described in like fashion. Now you know how hard it is to choose a scent; they all sound heavenly.

As both of these soaps are remakes we decided to keep the colors as close to the original bar as we could.  Sweet Patchouli would have no color and Amazingly Grace would have pink, yellow and purple.

Referring to the work sheets from the first batches, we mixed our colors for Amazingly Grace.

For the pink we combined TD, fired up fuchsia, ultramarine pine and light gold mica to add sparkle.

The purple was a mix of TD, ultramarine violet and light gold mica.

And for the yellow, fizzy lemonade softened with TD and light gold mica.

Before we divided the batter we added a combination of TD and light gold sparkle. 

The recipe we used was old faithful, combining palm, olive, coconut and castor oils with lye/water, we forgot to add the silk to this batch, next time we will.  Both batches will have a hint of a sparkle, Amazingly Grace more so, due to sparkle mica added to all the colors.

We mixed up the oils and lye/water until it was at light trace, we added in the TD mixture then divided the batter.  

 

Alison added the sweet patchouli scent to her batter then removed about a cupful (for the top).  Into the cup of batter, she mixed about a teaspoon of sparkle mica just to give a soap topping a little shine and shimmer. 

To the remaining batter Alison added three tablespoons of colloidal oatmeal which turned the batter a light gray color.  She thoroughly mixed the oatmeal into the batter then poured it into the NEW mold. After tamping it down to release any possible air bubbles, she topped off the soap with the white batter she had removed earlier.

White shimmery batter tops off the Sweet Patchouli soap.

As you can see half a recipe of old faithful fits into the NEW mold perfectly! 

We are doing the happy dance!!  

(Really...we are. Just be glad that we didn't force you to watch it!)

I have to apologize for the lack of pictures, in addition to making two batches of soap at the same time, a repairman was in the kitchen fixing my stove, so we were a little distracted.

The same time Alison was soaping I had added the Amazingly Grace scent to my batter then removed about three-fourths of a cup for each color.  I poured white batter in the bottom of the mold then made a layer of pink, yellow and purple batter, then repeated the layers.  I left enough batter to design a swirl on the top.  

At this point there was a layer of white, all colors, then white again, I added another layer of colors, then white to this.

After all layers were in place I used our hanger swirl tool to swirl the colors.

Once the batter was swirled I added the remaining white batter on the top.

I scraped and scraped to get every drop of white batter on the top.

I dribbled the remaining colored batter in random order on the top.

I began swirling then Alison had the great idea to do a video.

Our favorite part of soap making - swirling!

We put the soap in the curing box and spritzed them with alcohol several times to prevent ash build up - we hope.  

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon. 

This is what the soap looked like in the molds after it cured for 24 hours.

We unmolded the sweet patchouli first. It came out of the mold slick as can be. The edges are sharp, there are no ugly tape lines, no uneven sides; the NEW molds are great!

Now we try our new cutter, which worked like a champ. The only problem is that the wooden sides of our homemade cutter are too high.  The handle of the new cutter hits the top of the guide leaving the edge of the blade about 1/2" from the bottom of the soap.  We had to pull the soap out to complete the cut.

This can be fixed!

Sweet Patchouli soap - looks almost identical to first batch we made and smells great.

Amazingly Grace soap, looks very similar to first batch and smells just as good.

These soaps will be cured and ready for sale in six weeks.

Sometimes it's Kathy, today it was Alison

Friday August 1, 2014

What's up with Alison you might ask?  Maybe it started with her having to paint her son blue this morning (for band camp), or the horrible almost asthma she was dealing with that kept her up last night, or maybe it was because the fragrance that she was positively swooning over didn't quite work out.

You can probably tell this is Kathy writing tonight. Alison and her family are making their yearly excursion to visit friends in Brevard, NC (a place both of us love).  So, I will fill in the blanks for you on our latest soaping adventure.

We read about soap, heck we probably dream about it, but in this case what we read is about adding tussah silk to the lye/water.  We've seen it in youtube videos about soap, we've read about it on other blogs, and on web sites, silk, silk, silk.  It makes the soap shiny, smooth and very very (what else)  - silky.  So we bought some silk and today we used it for the first time.  

Our research indicates that  we don't really need to add too much to a batch. We added about a cotton ball size into the just mixed lye water.

This is what the silk looks like in the bag - kind of a blonde wig gone bad.

This is the silk up close; it has been chopped into small segments. As I said we only used a cotton ball amount, so we should have plenty for many batches to come.

Since we decided to do a half batch apiece, we each picked a scent (from our many, many sample sizes), and we chose the colors we wanted to use.  I chose a scent from www.fragrancebuddy.com , a new supplier for us located just north of Atlanta.  I decided to use some of the new colors we recently got from +Rustic Escentuals.  

The Aborigine Amber will give me a soft brown and I'll mix it with Cornflower Celebration (blue).  My scent is called Black Cedarwood and Juniper by Jo Malone Type Fragrance.  I think that means they have duplicated a Jo Malone scent, the description says, and remember they are trying to sell something here - "Midnight rain.  Seductive with the carnal touch of cumin and chili leaves.  Dark with cedarwood.  Humid with moss.  Modern and Urban".  That is quite a pitch!!  It does smell nice though, hopefully the soap will smell good too.

Alison decided to do an in the pot swirl.  She mixed up three colors - the Aborigine Amber, Black Mica and a bit of Titanium Dioxide, once mixed it became a nice warm grey color with hints of brown.  The scent she chose is one she LOVES, every time we start checking scents she gravitates to this one -  Suede and Lace, the description says:  Suede, woody, earthy, A fresh and clean aroma full of leather and white musk.

After we mixed the lye and water together, we added the silk. The above picture shows what it looked like right after it was dropped in the liquid.  We had to stir for about 10 minutes straight to get the silk completely dissolved.

In this picture we had just added the lye/silk/water to the oils, the stick blender is going causing the emulsification to begin.  We stirred until we had light/medium trace.

Looking good, nice and smooth, at this point we evenly divided the batter.  We almost simultaneously added the scents to our halves, a pivotal moment.

In this picture Alison has just added Suede and Lace,. Once she began mixing the scent in.....that's when she noticed something was amiss.

At the same time I mixed about 1/2 cup batter into both of the colors i had chosen.  I added a layer of white then alternated blue, white, brown, then repeated, three times total.

This is the first two layers, each succeeding layer looked pretty much the same only with different colors.

In this picture the side is almost filled.  I covered the top then did a quick hanger swirl. 

I had a little batter left, so poured both colors mixed with some of the white with on top then swirled it.

Alison added her scent, then removed about 1/4 of her batter and added the color.  Within 30 seconds of her adding the scent she noticed little lumps forming in her batter, in this picture you can see them.

Alison mixed the colored batter back into the non-colored and gently swirled it in the bucket. This is called an "in the pot swirl".  The little bumps were multiplying, and it was just her batter, so it must have been her scent, and it just had to be the one she loves so much!  

Not fair!

Alison has mixed the colors for an in the pot swirl, poured it into the mold, lots and lots of bumps, we came to the conclusion that this must be ricing, nothing to worry about - so they say - just strange to look at.

Here Alison has added the last bit of uncolored batter to the top of her mold, after she spread it out she gently swirled it.

And this is the pretty design on the top, the ricing seems to be diminishing - somewhat. I guess when we cut the soap, we will know if it's truly nothing to worry about.

We discussed the difference between today's two soaps and decided that it had to be fragrance oil related. Both soaps came from the same batter, and everything was exactly the same until we added FOs.

We sprayed the soap with alcohol every 30 minutes for the first hour and a half to prevent ash build up.  So far so good. This picture (above) is about an hour out.  You can plainly see Alison's soap (on left) going through the gel phase, it looks darker because the center part of the soap is gelling, which is part of the saponification process.  

So far my soap on right looks ok.

This picture was taken about 6 hours later, the gelling has stopped and the soap looks great, unfortunately there is a slight crack in the top, but that is probably from the heat that built up in the loaf as it went through the gel phase.  There is just going to have to be a crack.

Even though we sprayed and sprayed with alcohol consistently, I have ash on the top of my soap.  It looks like little light colored swirls here and there.  Again, not much we can do, there is just going to be ash on this soap. Ash doesn't hurt anything and it doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the soap.  It is a sometimes by-product of the saponification process, and it just means that the soap isn't as pretty as we like for our soaps to be.

I will check the soap on Saturday to see if it's ready for cutting.  If so, I'll take a few pictures then post to the blog.  Hope everyone has a happy, safe weekend.

****************************

It's Saturday so I unmolded the soap in mid-afternoon.  It's hard to tell if Alison's soap is ok. At this point it's still rather soft and needs to cure a bit to see where the colors are going to go. It smells great.

There are a few mysterious spots on the soap, the ricing did not seem to cause any problems, and the only place you can still see it is the top.

My soap (Kathy's) looks pretty good right now.  I cannot be sure yet if the color will remain true or if it will begin to darken as it cures.

Following are a variety of shots of the two soaps.

These soaps should be ready around Sept. 12.

We pause for a commercial

Thursday July 31, 2014

As Alison and I have waded deeper and deeper into this fun venture, we have met many lovely people.  Some of them we knew BSL (before Soap Lily), but others have come into our sphere as a direct result of Soap Lily.  

We didn't make soap today because we delivered soap to one of our local customers. Please indulge us in a brief commercial.

When we first began learning about soap-making (at the time still thinking that we were just trying to make some homemade Christmas presents), we ventured out locally looking for essential oils, and other ingredients.  One of the places we looked was Roots N Remedies, a "natural health & lifestyle alternative" shop on the square in Clarkesville. The staff at Roots 'N Remedies, specifically Krupa (who is also the owner) gave us great input as to what was ahead of us.  

During the Mountain Laurel Festival our booth was almost directly in front of R 'N R, and as the day passed, Krupa, her staff, and her children all came by the booth.  Before the day was out Krupa had purchased some soap, and we had promised to come to the shop to discuss her selling our soap!  

We were thrilled, flattered, and apprehensive at the same time. We had many many  "what ifs," but at this point, we were "out there", and having a booth at the Mountain Laurel Festival put us there. Actually, during the show we met several people who planted the seeds of some good ideas, including one for selling our soap in an online shop on Etsy. 

Krupa liked our Mountain Laurel soaps; she liked them enough to buy two bars each of several different scents. Needless to say Alison and I were ecstatic!  We delivered the soap and heard several days later that they had sold out of "Grandpa."  Several weeks passed and Krupa called to tell us that they needed more soap. 

WOW! 

Fast forward to today. We went into Roots 'N Remedies to visit Krupa carrying a large flat basket filled with over 15  new scents. In addition we had some of the first soaps that she had originally ordered.  

What can we tell you? We left the store with an almost empty basket and had to go back to get extra bars of several of the scents!

Krupa's enthusiasm for our product almost makes us blush.  She loves our soap, she loves the variety of scents and colors, and she likes that we don't use harsh chemicals or preservatives in our soap. Her effort to supply the NE Georgia area with products that are both healthy and good for you coincides with our mantra of "make it good for your skin".

You can find Roots N Remedies at 1436 Washington Street (On the Square) in Clarkesville, GA.  The phone number is 706-754-6898, and the web address is  www.rootsnremedies.com  or www.garoots.com.


*******

During the latter part of June we participated in the annual yard sale held at The Homestead House.  During the course of the day HH owner Leigh Johnston came by our booth and purchased several bars of soap.  As we discussed our soaps and the fragrances, Leigh asked us if we could create soap with a more old fashioned or rustic look, one that might be more in line with the Homestead House motif. Heck yeah! And so our second business relationship was born.

Leigh and her friendly staff (Polly and Mary) have probably the most authentic looking Early American gift shop in all of North Georgia (including Atlanta).  The front half of the shop is located in an honest to goodness circa 1700 log cabin that was moved and rebuilt on site. They added a more modern addition to the rear, but it is finished in exactly the same style as the log cabin, and it's hard to tell which is the new part.  I almost expect to see Uncle Ned walk up and tie Daisy the mule to the handicapped railing!! 

The store is stocked with all things primitive and Early American. Not only do they carry period upholstery, but they also have candles, pewter, lighting, rugs, genuine antiques, baskets, linens, seasonal items, and so much more.  The selection is varied, yet the Americana theme runs true through the store.   

Leigh wanted our soap to blend into the primitive look of the shop, so the four scents she ordered are wrapped in homespun fabric, have the Homestead House label and are tied in twine.  Our name is not on the soap, just Homestead House and a list of ingredients.  This is our first venture into private labeling, or, soap specifically made to order that does not have the SL label.

You can find The Homestead House at 511 Grant St., Clarkesville, GA.  The phone number is 706-754-0789, and the web address is www.homesteadhouseprimitives.com.

We are thrilled to have our soaps carried in two local shops. We know we are far from big time, but just knowing that something we created is sitting on a shelf in a shop where someone besides one of us says how great it is, well, we think that's pretty neat.