Skip to main content

Yes, I was a bum..

...and skipped last week's soap making challenge.  I had the best of intentions with my batch planned out but just couldn't fit it in during the week.  So I decided to make it on Saturday afternoon after the farmer's market ended but by the time I got home, I just collapsed and took a nap instead!  And I'm not even sorry.

Truth be told, I wasn't as keen on this challenge as I've been on others even though I decided at the beginning of the year that I would work on experimenting with blends.  Oddly enough, this "always ready to experiment" girl doesn't like to mix up her fragrances.  I think blended essential oils are exquisite but I never seem to have the variety or quantity in stock to do a lot of experimenting outside of my few go-to blends.  And I'm fussy about my fragrance oils.  If I thought they needed tweaking, I wouldn't have liked them so much in the first place.  It's just messing with a good thing.  But thanks for the kick start, Amy, to remind me take a few (hesitant) steps out of my box.  I actually came up with a simple blend of fragrances that will make a lovely raspberry lemonade soap for this summer (to be soaped soon!).

Speaking of essential oils, alas and alack, I have to order some peppermint e.o. soon.  I've had this bottle for (ahem) awhile now....


Actually, this is a gen-u-ine, circa turn of the century bottle from Bramble Berry and it's seen me through scads of herbal experiments.  A little goes such a long way that I thought it would last forever....sniff...
Labels:

Comments

  1. Amy WardenApril 23, 2012 at 8:16 PM

    No worries! It's definitely that busy time of year! :) You've had that bottle of peppermint HOW LONG? My best selling soap has peppermint in it, so I go through quite a bit! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the next challenge! (Even I'm not sure if I'm going to make a new soap, or just do the lazy thing and say, yep I've done this before!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amy@10th Ave.April 23, 2012 at 11:09 PM

    I've had it since about 2000, 2002?? Not quite sure. I actually haven't used much peppermint e.o. in soaps, until I discovered a rosemary-mint blend that I really like. Before that I've just mainly used a drop here and there in herbal steams, lip balms, etc. I'm going to be using a lot more of it in the future!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jessie YApril 24, 2012 at 9:01 AM

    I use peppermint in one of my popular facial soap. It's a blend of rosemary, lemon & peppermint. Even though the % has to be very minor not to dominant in the result, peppermint can be very comfortable EO. I also drop a little bit in my blend for ultrasonic nebulizer to help the aroma. It's a great EO :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownApril 24, 2012 at 12:30 PM

    A rest is not being a bum. We all need recharge sometimes. I did last weeks challenge, for the first time!

    The smell is amazing. The soap is a tad ugly! LOL!! The scent is going in my line, tho.


    Fresh Ginger, Grapefruit, lime, and a lot of the best coconut FO I've found. The mix is sassy and very unisex. Oh, I forgot the Litsea to anchor. I don't much care for Litsea Cubeda. It does have it's uses. I hot processed the batch and it got too hot. Learned a valuable lesson, and made a fabu scent.

    Win-Win

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amy@10th Ave.April 24, 2012 at 9:32 PM

    You know you're tired when a nap trumps soap! :)

    Both of your essential oil blends sound amazing. I definitely need to experiment with them more.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anne-MarieApril 25, 2012 at 4:42 PM

    That is an older bottle. ;) But I'm glad that you are using Peppermint more often, it can be a challenge to use some of the stronger smelling EO's but it is such a reward when you make a blend with them and it smells so yummy!

    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 powder can get a little
21 comments
Read more

Soap Challenge--Piping

I'm jumping into Amy W's soap challenge here in week 3--piping soap.  I chose to make a version of a batch I made last year--my Sweet Pea scented soap.  It was really popular for me last summer so why mess with a success? Some soapers assume that piping soap means that it must be whipped, but it's not necessary to whip it first.  When I don't want the whipped look (or more frequently, don't want to clean beaters) I just let it sit until it thickens up on its own.  (By the way, don't you adore these itty-bitty dishes?  I just bought them a few weeks ago. A set of four cost $1 at the Dollar Tree!) I used a Wilton tip #3 to make the little squiggles. I added tip #103 sweet peas and made leaves with a # 352 tip. One thing I love about piping soap....it never leaves even a trace of ash to spoil the design.   And then I took lots of pictures (it was a rather photogenic batch).  Here are a few-- These will be cured enough to have them at t
37 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