After #1

Here's some of what I did with soap bases I received earlier this week:

They almost look good enough to eat! Soaps are 3" in diameter, about 1" thick and weigh between 4.5 and 5.5 ounces each. And they smell amazing - a rosemary/peppermint blend fragrance oil. Nice for an early-morning shower! They are covered in a layer of poppy seeds and sea salt to resemble a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, and this layer is sealed in with clear honey soap for gentle exfoliation.

More photos to come - I've been busy soaping and will have lots to take to market this week.

Before ...

... 30 pounds of glycerin soap.

After photos later this week.

I'm so excited!

My son sent me an e-mail yesterday saying he was sending me some cash to fund my soapmaking for market. I immediately ordered glycerin bases and fragrance oils from Bramble Berry and Wholesale Supplies Plus, and I'm anxious to get started! I've missed having soaps at market, and my soap customers from last summer have been asking when I'll have soap back in stock. They're great customers, all of them, but they can only buy so many greeting cards and amigurumi. Soap is something they buy on a regular basis, and it was a large chunk of my market income last summer.

The supplies from WSP should be arriving early next week, and I'll be able to get started on several best-selling soaps with the fragrance oils I have here. I want to update my unscented/uncolored line, as well, and I'll be able to get started with that, too. I'm going to be stalking UPS tracking until everything gets here!

I love, love, love making soap; and I'm thrilled to be getting back to it! I'll put up photos and links to my Etsy shop as I get finished. YAY!

Craft Project Photos

Just uploading some photos of recent soap projects.

Mash-Up Soap Slices - made from leftover bits and pieces of previous soap projects, all combined with a bit of glitter and some clear (or white) glycerin to hold everything together. I was a little worried about all the different scents playing nicely in the same bar, but I shouldn't have - it smells heavenly!

Lemon Poppyseed Donut Soap - and it actually smells like baked lemon cake. So yummy! The black sprinkles on top are real poppyseeds, which provide gentle exfoliation as you use the soap.

Pink Himalayan Salt Spa Bars. These are scented with Plum Tea, and smell good enough to lick, but don't! The salts add minerals and the bar also contains a honey layer for added skin benefits. I love using this one!

Part of the Clearly Naturals line, this bar is comprised of grated cocoa butter embedded in a hemp base. The soap is uncolored and unscented for those with sensitive skin (and noses). I'm fairly sensitive to odors, and I don't have problems with any scents that I use in my soaps, but I like having a line that just focuses on the lovely shades of the glycerin soap bases.

These are fun little soaps! The shot glass is clear soap, and the soap inside the glass is colored and scented to resemble a mojito or a limoncello shot. Such fun to smell, and even more fun to shower with!

These donut soaps are sented with toasted marshmallow fragrance oil and they smell delicately vanilla. The multicolored sprinkles on top are jojoba beads, which are moisturizing and exfoliating at the same time.

This is Bubbly Funk - another variety in my Clearly Naturals line. This one is comprised of aloe balls in a shea butter base. No colors and no scents - just pure glycerin soapy goodness.

I'll be adding lots more as I get them photographed! Stay tuned!