Skip to main content

Soap Challenge--alcohol

You've probably caught on by now that I love herbs.  One of my favorites is the dandelion.  Seriously!  It's an herb.  And God made them reproduce so abundantly just because they are that good for you (and so you won't even feel the temptation to pilfer your neighbors'.)  Take a peek here, here and even here.

A couple of years ago, my friend had the idea to make dandelion wine.  Well, it sounded like such a grand experiment at the time that I decided to make my own batch.  Collecting mixing bowls of blossoms and picking the yellow petals from the green part was a delightfully brain (and finger) numbing way to spend a day.  I even added my own homegrown raspberries to the batch.  How resourceful is that, I ask you? 

After it was "done," I tried a sip.  I noted a bouquet of nail polish remover with fruity notes, but then I am no wine connoiseur.  By any means.  Even the smell of anything stronger than kombucha makes me a little erpy. The mister confirmed that it did indeed taste like wine, so I guess it was a success?!  Knowing that someday I might have an ailment that can be cured by nothing less than dandelion wine, I tucked it away.  And I am happy to report that in two years, that particular epidemic has never required its use.

So, what better use could there be for my dandelion wine than soap, I ask you? 

I don't keep a large inventory of fragrance oils on hand, so my initial dilemma for this challenge was finding the right scent to pair with dandelion wine.  Sweetgrass from Nature's Garden was my first choice, but I'm out. So...in the end, I decided to combine several almost empty bottles to create a one-of-a-kind fruity herbal blend.  (This puts me out of my comfort zone--I don't believe in Winging It when it comes to scenting.) 

I decided to be all earthy and natural with the coloring and imagined a soft yellow (annatto seed) swirled with a delicate pink (clay) with my own yard's dandelion petals sprinkled throughout.  Yeah.  Things went really wrong, really fast.  The annatto half traced instantly and I had to pull out the stick blender to get the clay half to trace.  And then it went from zero to mashed potatoes in, like, 10 seconds.  A picture or two will suffice here, I believe.












As if this isn't bad enough, it stinks.  Reeks.  I blended a sample scent that I dislike, watercress and aloe, with a raspberry fragrance and a touch of a honeysuckle.  I wasn't able to mask it enough to make it tolerable.  

Day 2, batch 2.

I decided to simplify and used a simple essential oil blend of litsea with eucalyptus.  Nothing fancy at all and everything went perfectly, leading me to wonder what all the drama was about.  Dandelion wine can be soaped!  Isn't it beautiful?
Labels:

Comments

  1. HollyApril 14, 2012 at 9:44 AM

    I LOVE how your second batch turned out! It's beyond beautiful! I'm happy you took the pic outside like that in the grass too! SO PRETTY! I think the first batch doesn't look too bad. Too bad it stinks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SoapchickApril 14, 2012 at 10:14 AM

    Thats lovely looking soap, so smooth and natural. I wish I could try your wine, it sounds fab!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. BeckaBooApril 14, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    The dandelion wine has such a lovely blush color! The second batch looks creamy and wonderful! The first batch doesn't look awful; maybe the stink will lessen as it cures? :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. PattiApril 14, 2012 at 11:38 AM

    The second batch looks so creamy! I love making wine, especially when it turns out. Great job for making dandelion and raspberry wine!

    ReplyDelete
  5. CarolApril 14, 2012 at 11:59 AM

    Glad you tried again, that second one is so creamy looking! Here's hoping the first one suddenly starts smelling lovely!(one can always hope, right? :-))

    ReplyDelete
  6. TinaApril 14, 2012 at 12:05 PM

    What a fun read!!! I love a happy ending and your photo of the end result... perfecto!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Traci RApril 14, 2012 at 1:11 PM

    How fun! I love that you used your own wine.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Amy WardenApril 14, 2012 at 2:08 PM

    What a great soaping story!! I was giggling the whole way through. :) I can't say for sure, but I would definitely bet money that you are the only one who made soap with dandelion wine that they made themselves for this challenge!! AWESOME. And I would also bet money that the fragrances you put in the first batch are to blame for the instant mass of solid soap.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Donna OShaughnessyApril 14, 2012 at 4:43 PM

    Darn those fragrance oils! But hail to your second bath. That is one super classy looking soap. Nice photography

    ReplyDelete
  10. TopcatApril 14, 2012 at 6:56 PM

    Day two soap is divine! I kinda like your first one though - it has character :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Simple Pleasures Handmade SoapApril 14, 2012 at 10:30 PM

    Now aren't you glad you made that dandelion wine? I feel your pain with the first batch - mine didn't go so well either. Your second try looks great though; maybe I'll have to give mine a second shot.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Amy@10th Ave.April 16, 2012 at 6:09 PM

    Yes, it was definitely reminiscent of a fragrance oil seize. Thanks for all your nice words and I'm glad for a happy ending too, Tina!

    ReplyDelete
  13. KimApril 25, 2012 at 12:28 AM

    I hate when things don't go as planned but it looks like the second batch is a real winner. I just got some litsea yesterday for the first time. It smells lovely. I envy you making your own wine.. impressive!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Amy@10th Ave.April 26, 2012 at 8:34 PM

    Thanks, Kim! Wine-making was an adventure I probably won't repeat!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soaping with Madder

I know that any color added to soap can morph into a surprise, but there is an added element of unknown when using botanicals to color my soap.  Some people jump out of planes or ski off mountains, but this is how I live on the edge these days.  Hmm.  If I weren't having so much fun, I'd be embarrassed. I recently had my first go with madder.  So....whatsa madder?  It's a root--the root of the madder. Ahem. (I love puns...) I infused 8 oz. of olive oil with 2 t. madder root powder for almost a week.  This amount worked out to be 20% of the oils in my batch. I wanted something in the way of embeds to add visual interest.   I dearly love my soap balls but I don't want to over do a good thing.  I've recently done square-shaped embeds, so this time I cut a bar of white soap into slices. I panicked a little that it wouldn't get dark enough--it was kind of a dusty peach--so I added 1/4 t. dried powder right before pouring. Madder powd...
21 comments
Read more

Loofah--from vine to soap

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you've already seen a post on one of my favorite things to grow--loofah, but I think it's time for another one.  People are often surprised when they learn that loofahs are grown.  No, a loofah isn't a sea sponge, but the mature "skeleton" of a zucchini-like plant.  Everyone knows they are good for the bath but they also make great natural pan scrubbers in the kitchen.  They are so popular that I have to remember to tuck away any that I want to keep myself. I raise three or four plants every year.  Like a zucchini or a cucumber, it likes to spread out with little regard to another plant's personal space.  Here is last year's crop. Early in the summer, the loofahs remained neatly on the trellis: But then they wandered over to the basil: Cozied among the tomatillos: And hung out with the butternut squash: Harvest time was a regular treasure hunt.  But I ended up with about 20 loofahs fr...
17 comments
Read more

Soap Challenge--Dandelion Swirl

This Great Cakes challenge started off, well, challenging for me.  I had internet problems (a lack of it) and something went rather tragic in my attempt to cobble together a recipe without access to my online lye calculator crutch or a good saponification chart.  Obviously, I need to work on this skill, since my first batch of soap is still not firm enough to cut.  I've seen firmer marshmallow cream.  I'm estimating that I'll be able to cut it in a week or two or maybe three. The top came out pretty, though, didn't it? Sigh.  I wonder what the inside looks like. On to batch number 2.  I went for a winter/snowy theme this time, scented with BB's Fresh Snow fragrance. I made a small 6-bar batch.  I kept noticing that my divider (a dollar store cutting mat) didn't stay in the center but kept migrating toward the edge with every pour.  I was concerned that it would ruin the design, but it held well enough. I know this challenge was all abo...
29 comments
Read more