10th ave. soapworks

Oh, happy day!  I found out last night that I won the Dandelion Zebra swirl's soap challenge on the Great Cakes Soapworks blog . I'm thrilled!  This was my entry. Thanks heaps, Amy!  And Bramble Berry  for sponsoring!  Christmas craft shows and experimenting for a new retail location won't allow me time to enter this coming month's challenge, but I look forward to rejoining the fun soon!  If you have never joined a challenge, I highly recommend it. Just in case anyone thinks I'm some kind of pro now; here are the pictures of my first attempt at this technique, as I promised. It was a mess of a batch, albeit salvageable, because a lot of soap oozed out of the freezer paper liner and the texture is odd and spongy.  I still like the colors I chose and it had a lot of potential to be gorgeous, but all that aside...there is nothing Dandelion-esque about the swirl!  So I'm glad I gave it another try. However, it is hardening and doesn...

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...

Blog views galore!  Over the summer, but especially in the last few weeks, I've noticed a distinct increase in the number of hits to my blog.  I must honestly say that I have no idea why; perhaps I'm writing something that people want to read?  Or maybe they've simply stumbled onto it wending their way to something better for all I know.  And from all over the world, too!  How humbling to think that people in gorgeous, far-flung locales paused long enough in their sophisticated, savoir faire exploits to read my occasional blathering.  (If I were you, I'd be sightseeing or nibbling on local cuisine instead.)  But many thanks! Let's see....how can I wow all of you today? ....oh, the pressure of it all.....oooh, oooh....wait, I've got it!!  And this should wow you, actually, because it's not about me. This spring I participated in a soap making challenge, coordinated...

I thrive on creative challenges--most of the time.  However, I tend to greet display decisions with the same enthusiasm that I muster to organize income taxes or to go to the doctor. But on the spur of the moment, in utter desperation, I came up with a way to display a wide array of soaps so they are easy to see. I dug through the Mister's scrap piles and found 5 chunks of wood that were vaguely similar.  I stacked them and wrapped a piece of fabric around the lumber. Voila.  Instant display.  It has proven so handy that I'm still using it for the farmer's market this summer.  I screwed the stacks together so it's easy to tote around.  I'm not looking at it as a long-term display, just until I get a fancy one, once I decide exactly what I want.  That means I'll probably be using it for years. Is this an original idea for a quick display?  It probably isn't, but I thought it was a touch of gen...

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver," reads the Proverb.  I love words that are spot-on and well-written.  On the contrary, a poorly spoken word is like the proverbial fingernail on a chalkboard or a fork scraping across a dinner plate.  If you've made soap for any period of time, you've stumbled across the term "soap porn" to describe pictures of soap.  How icky is that?  It makes me cringe every time.  To compare a beautiful, pure bar of soap to that visual filth is in the poorest taste and  just not classy , folks.... OK, now that I feel better with my little rant out there, I'll move on to last week's soap challenge .  Yes, last week's.  I was determined to get this one done, even if the next challenge assignment is already posted.  I've done gradient soaps before so I wanted a different twist to this batch.  It just so happene...

I've been hoarding a little bottle of one of the most delish scents ever, Ginger Lime.  This week seemed the perfect time to break it out.  And yay, my faux funnel swirl did justice to it! I used turmeric for the yellow, cocoa for the brown, and chromium oxide for the green swirls.  These earth tones are so "me" and I am one happy girl.  Beg and plead all you want, but I won't be parting with several bars of this batch... Want to see some more awesome faux funnel swirls?  Take a peek here .

...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....

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 h ere , 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.  Ev...