Monthly Archives: August 2011

Soap Maker’s Lunch in GP

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We had our first lunch in Grand Prairie at the Brass Bean Coffee Shop.  In attendance was myself, Robert (from Grand Prairie) and Donna (from Granbury).

We all brought stuff to show and tell.  I brought some of Margie’s soap to show…they’re so pretty!  I can’t bring myself to use them…so I just tote them around with me…lol.  I also brought some of the silicone molds I’ve been working on.  Robert (who also does jewelry with his wife) was able to give me some silicone pointers…so that was handy!  Donna brought some samples of her goat’s milk soap.  You can see those here with the cute picture of her goat’s on the insert.  Robert brought some of his soaps…you can see the yellow one in the middle made with tea.

Robert and I learned something new today!  There are goat’s that don’t have ears!  Donna has two of them…one that gives her milk that she uses in her soap.  And then Donna and I learned something about Robert!  He went to clown school!  Yep…he’s a soapmaking professional clown!  How cool is that!?

We talked about everything including suppliers (and how much we love and will miss Star), beeswax, felting soap, goat’s milk, oils, colors, scents…pretty much everything soap making.

We had a blast!  The Brass Bean Coffee shop was the perfect spot to hang out, show off and talk soap.  

We’re planning on doing the same thing next month so look for details coming soon. 

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Amanda 

 

 

Hill Country Haiku Winner!

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And the winner is…(drumroll…)…Debbie!  She said…

“I have to go with the Oatmeal Milk and Honey. I know there are no swirls, added colorants, or a fragrance that’s screaming, “buy me”…. but do you see the complexity and beauty of the design on that soap?!!! That’s the beauty of simplicity at it’s absolute best! That had to take a steady hand a patient person and a soap of the perfect consistency. Absolutely gorgeous!”

You’ve just won yourself a bit of randomness. 

You are the winner of Wavy Gravy and Lone Star Limited from Hill Country Haiku!

I’ve also thrown in:

  • A mail tube mold with 25 liners you can see in action here
  • 3 samples of mica from www.suppliesbystar.com including Teddy Bear Brown, Egyptian Emerald and Snowflake
  • Sample bag  of lavender fom San Francisco Herb Company
  • Guest hearts mold from WSP
  • Some squirt bottles for soap designs such as this
  • A tea strainer that I use for getting the thin like of mica or cocoa powder between layers you can see in action here
  • 2 soap stone trinket boxes
  • The next issue of the Lovin Soap E-zine for free (it should be done this week or early next week; I’ll email it to you when it’s complete!)

Whew!  I think that’s everything!  Email me your address, amanda@lovinsoap.com.

Thanks to all for your wonderful comments and for playing along.

Happy Soaping!

Amanda

 

 

 

3″ Liners for PVC or Mail Tubes

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I’ve had a ton of interest in the liners and wanted to show you how to use them if you purchased them. 

They fit both 3″ PVC pipes and 3″ mailing tubes up to about 10″ tall. 

I’ve had several people ask me how much soap their molds will hold.  Here is the formula to use to figure this out.

3.14 x r x r x h x .4
where,
r = radius (center of your mold to the outside)
h = height

So if you have a piece of PVC pipe that is 3″ wide by 9″ tall you would figure 3.14 x 1.5 x 1.5 x 9 x .4 = 25.434.

We’ll round down to 25.  This number equals the amount of oils in your recipe. 

So back to lining the molds!  Simply insert the liner into the mold.  You might have to stick your hand down the inside to push it all the way down to the bottom. 

The mail tubes are easy.  You simply fold over the extra part of the liner sticking out.

The PVC requires one more step.  Since the PVC is much thicker than the mail tube you’ll have to cut two slits in order to fold the liner over.

Fold over the sides and tape down.

One you fill either tube with soap pull up on the sides of the plastic to smooth out the wrinkles that might have formed. 

Wait 24 hours and unmold!

If you would like to order liners they are 25 for $10.00.  Email me amanda@lovinsoap.com to order. 

Thanks to everyone who has already ordered!

Amanda

 

Hill Country Haiku

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I’m sitting here holding a bar of soap in my hand just mesmerized by it.  As I turn it over in my hand or rotate it- it seems as if I’m looking at it for the first time all over again.  Each time I view it…it’s new.  And it’s beautiful.  And it makes a big grin spread across my face.  This is the real deal.  These soaps were made by a true artist.

These were sent to me from Margie Lemmons of Hill Country Haiku. 

Moroccan Mint

Jolt

Wavy Gravy

  

Lone Star Limited – Demo soap from the Lone Star Gathering

She sent along two of the Wavy Gravy and Lone Star Limited.  So I’m going to pay those forward along with some other soaping goodies (a surprise)!  Visit her site, come back here, leave a comment and let me know which soap you liked the best (and why) from her beautiful lineup.  We’ll draw a winner on Mon, August  15. 

Website | Facebook

-Amanda

 

Natural Soap Colorants Gallery – Clays added at trace

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Here are some results using cosmetic clay to color your soap naturally. From Nature with Love has an awesome clay sample pack (affliliate link).

Sea Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Rose Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Rhassoul Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Red Kaolin Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Red Illite Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Pink Kaolin Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Multani Mitti Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Green Illite Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace


French Green Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Yellow Illite Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Liners for 3″ PVC and 3″ mail tube molds

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I love soaping in PVC.  It’s one of my favorite molds to use for making 3″ round soap! 

It can sometimes be a bit tough to unmold your soap especially if you’ve used a recipe high in soft oils or a recipe high is castor oil (which makes sticky soap in high amounts).  You can rub with mineral oil.  But you know…I don’t want to use mineral oil. 

So I’ve found a source for liners that fit 3″ pvc pipes and 3″ mailing tubes that are up to 10″ tall.  I use these to line the molds in my soap making classes. 

Line the mold with the liner and pour in your soap.  After you pour your soap in you’ll pull on the liner a bit to smooth out any wrinkles or creases that might form.

24 hours later simply pull the bag of soap out.

Remove the liner from the soap.  Turn inside out and peel from the soap.  It comes off very easily!

Slice up your soap!

These make lining 3″ PVC pipes or 3″ mailing tubes a breeze. 

These are so nifty, I wanted to offer them for sale.  $10.00 will get you 25 liners and includes first class shipping in the US.  Payment through Paypal – email me, amanda@lovinsoap.com to order. 

-Amanda

Cleaning up after a soapy session

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One of the questions I get asked quite often either in classes or by email is how do you clean up after a soap making session.  There are two schools of thought. 

  1. Clean up right away or
  2. Leave the dishes sitting around until the next day when they will have turned into soap.

I often do several batches in a row so I tend to clean up right after a batch.  I also don’t really like dirty dishes sitting around.  If you’re cleaning up right after a batch you want to wipe as much raw soap as you can from containers, utensils…mixing buckets…etc.  You really don’t want the raw soap to go down your drain.  At this point…it’s really oilly and you know you’re not supposed to pour oil down the drains.  I simply use paper towels and wipe out/off as much as possible.  I’ve read some people use cloth towels, let them sit overnight and then wash the next day.  I don’t really like this idea because if you superfat your soap it’s gonna get your washing machine a bit gunky.

If I leave my dishes to sit overnight to turn to soap I still wipe out as much raw soap as possible so I’m not having to scrape off thick layers of soap the next day. 

I know some people use vinegar in their cleanup efforts.  I don’t unless I’ve spilled raw soap on a surface.  But I don’t tend to douse utensils or containers with it.  I simply rinse well with water and then wash with dish soap.  No need for vinegar.   

To help clean your stick blender fill up a container with hot water and run the blender in it.  Sometimes the blades can be a pain to clean so this helps with that.  This is also a good tip if your stick blending different colors of soap in a row for a multi-colored design.  Between each color, dip your stick blender into the hot water and blend for a couple of seconds and move on to the next color. 

I tend to use plastic cups when doing multi-colored swirls so I can just throw them away instead of having to wash.  Although I guess that could be a bit wasteful.  It does cut down on the cleaning. 

Do you have any tips for easier cleanup?  Please leave a comment!

Happy Cleaning!

Amanda