Saturday, February 28, 2015

Chocolate Chick

I usually make soaps with the  Milky Way Chicks mold sometime around Easter. In the picture above, you can see the colours I tend to use, pastel colours that I associate with Easter and Easter Eggs. I wanted to use some Chocolate Chip Cookie fragrance this year to I went for a chocolate coloured chic instead.
I used Goat Milk soap base coloured with some cappuccino mica and I'm really happy with the way it looks and smells. Let's hope no one tries to take a bite!

Friday, February 27, 2015

Mango Cherry Paisley Tray

 
I trashed my Paisley Tray soap mold last year. After many uses and a bit of rough handling, the corners had all cracked, you can see below how I tried taping them up. I was sold out of these molds and my patch job only lasted so long so I switched to using other molds for a few months.

Last month I ordered in a few new Milky Way molds and restocked the Paisley Tray and the Shell Tray as well. Below is my first soap for the year with my new Paisley Tray. Its fragranced with Mango & Cherry fragrance oils. The majority of the soap is Goat Milk base coloured with a little Lime Green colourant. The Glycerin soap is Pink Glycerin soap base and I've added a little Pink Mica to amp up the colour a bit. You can see how I poured it here.
 I tried a close up thinking the green would show a little better, its not as pale in real life, but not really bright either.
 I'm going to put aside a spare of this mold for myself, just is case. The Paisley Tray and Shell Tray will both be 10% off for the month of March. Thanks for stopping by.
 

 


Sunday, February 15, 2015

Great Soapy Display From Lion & Rose

What I like about this display:
 
The boxes are all the same, this gives the display a nice uniform look. ( I think they are wooden CD holders). The simplicity lets you focus on the soap.
 
The fragrances are clearly marked and easy to read. You don't need to pick up the bars or even look at the bars to read the fragrance. By displaying the fragrance on the box the print is large and clear.
 
The price is also clearly marked and easy to read. The name of the business plus the price are the focal point of the display, there are also business cards with the sign in a tidy holder.
 
Its a little hard to see but there are tags attached to each soap that I am guessing list the fragrance and ingredients. This is genius, a person could read the ingredients list without actually picking up bar.
Having said all of that, how could you resist picking up a bar when the display is so simple and inviting.
 
 Next time you are planning your craft sale table, think about this soaper and her wise decision to let her soap to be the star of the show. Step out from behind your table and a few feet or even a few yards away. How much important information  can you pick out just from walking by. What would make you want to stop and walk over? Lastly, I want to mention  the most important aspect of this whole setup, the smile on the person behind the table. She is the owner of Lion & Rose Handmade Soap, you can read more about her here on her blog. Thanks for stopping by!
 
 
 
 

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Measuring Cup Molds - Hearts!

I found these plastic measuring cups at Superstore, the set of 4 was only $1.00.
 They're a little deep for bath bombs and I probably wouldn't fill them all the way for soaps either. I think I filled them about 1/2 way up, that's after I had pressed the bath bomb mixture down really well with my fingers.
I guess the way I've stacked them here you can't really see the contrast in sizes but they are definitely four different sized bath bombs produced by using these cups as molds. Not great for pricing individually if you are selling them but great for gift baskets, the variety if sizes add more visual interest. And really, where can you find a 4 cavity mold for $1.00? Thanks for looking!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Raspberry Swirl CP Soap

 I wanted to make at least one batch of Cold Process soap before January was over and I managed to do it at the very end of the month. This soap was made Friday the 30th and cut last night on the 31st.

I didn't try anything new, I used my usual recipe with some Pink Ultramarine Colourant made darker with some Pink Mica and Sweet Raspberry fragrance. I used my trusty hanger to swirl the soap, the hanger is pictured at the bottom of this post.
Receipe (for 3 lbs)
340 grams Coconut Oil
298 grams Palm Oil
75 grams Coco Butter
370 grams Olive Oil
 
156 grams Lye
404 grams Distilled Water
 
I coloured a little less than half the soap, I actually had one container with medium pink and another container with a darker pink but it all turned out about the same shade. The layering went white, medium pink, white, darker pink and then white.

 I swirled my hanger a little differently this time, kind of looping it up and down across the  soap. I thought I would get loops of colour but it didn't really happen. I like the way it turned out though.
And below is the hanger I made. I have some wooden skewers taped to the bottom. If you're interested in swirling with a hanger there are lots of great videos on You Tube.
Thanks for stopping by and reading!