Skip to main content

Mixing it up

So what have I been up to lately?  Besides ignoring my blog, that is?  Ahem, about that....I can tend to throw all my attention to one or a few things to the neglect of everything else.  But in this case, my primary focus has been madly soaping and oh, have I been busy!  (Taking pictures as I go obviously has not been a focus!)

Here are just a couple of the batches that I did get around to taking pictures of, however.... 

I'm a literalist when it comes to coloring soaps, but I've been making a conscious effort to avoid some of the expected colors for a change.  So for the first time, I made a batch of Energy (Bramble Berry's citrus blend) that wasn't in citrus-y colors like yellow, green, orange, and pink.  I am in love with this mustard/lavender combo! 

The lavender as the main color didn't come out as strongly as I'd hoped and turned gray in this batch of Black Raspberry-Vanilla.  But I'm okay with the black/white/gray mix for a change (although I did make a second batch with my usual pink, so I have lots of this scent!)


I have stacks of stuff to share with you in the coming weeks, including a grapefruit essential oil soap update!
Labels:

Comments

  1. Alegria Mediterranea October 19, 2012 at 3:58 AM

    I love these colors, are very autumnal.
    Much Love,Claudia.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LatherBeSoapingOctober 19, 2012 at 7:08 AM

    Both soaps are gorgeous, Amy! I like the yellow/purple combo in the Energy soaps, too, and that is such a nice scent. The Black Raspberry Vanilla looks great, too. The color is nice, and I like the embeds.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amy@10th Ave.October 19, 2012 at 12:45 PM

    Thank you both! I see more creative coloring in store for me... :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. LauraOctober 19, 2012 at 12:49 PM

    They are both lovely, I really like the BRV!

    ReplyDelete
  5. NataliaOctober 19, 2012 at 1:45 PM

    They are both beautiful! I love the colour combination from the 1st soap and the purple-grey colour you got with the second soap is so rustic.

    ReplyDelete
  6. SoDakSoaper {Kalla}October 19, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    Both are pretty! I love the colors together of the Energy one..very beautiful. The balls in the br-v one just reminded me that I have some soap balls stored away, lol. I'm nervous to use them for some reason!

    ReplyDelete
  7. CeeOctober 19, 2012 at 4:25 PM

    I really love the lavender/golden combo too Amy...both are beautiful soaps!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anne-MarieOctober 23, 2012 at 4:37 PM

    What great color combos! I love the gold and lavender. :)

    P.S. Thanks for the shout-out!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Donna OShaughnessyOctober 24, 2012 at 8:42 AM

    So much fun, your soap! They make me grin all the way down here south of I-80

    ReplyDelete
  10. Amy@10th Ave.October 24, 2012 at 9:22 PM

    Thanks, everybody!

    I don't know if it's some irrational fear I have, Kalla, but I always use embeds within a day after I make them. I just don't like the idea of combining cured soap with uncured and not knowing what will happen when part of the batch shrinks with curing.

    Your compliments make me smile all the way across the border into WI, Donna! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousOctober 25, 2012 at 8:58 AM

    Hi Amy!
    The purple and yellow is a beautiful combination and it looks great in your soap.
    It happens sometimes - the color doesn't come out as we have imagined it but it is still beautiful, eye-catching.
    I love the colors of the soaps above.
    Maya

    ReplyDelete
  12. Amy@10th Ave.October 26, 2012 at 7:21 AM

    Not knowing what you'll end up with is part of the fun of soapmaking, isn't it, Maya? :)

    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