Big Boo Boo

A couple weeks ago, I shared with some of you about a boo boo made by a student in soap class.  I think a picture is worth a thousand words will work for this real well.  To make a long story short, his spatula was missing, so I got another and continued helping decorate the top of the soap with the student.  Well, as he cut the soap, he found the spatula.  Maybe he can use the hole to hang a rope through for a different version of soap on a rope.   

Getting Ready for the Week End

I will be at the All About Her Expo at Century 2 this weekend.  I am wrapping and labeling as fast as I can.  Here is some of the progress.  I also purchased a new camera and I had to test it out.  This was in the evening in the living room.  How does it look?  Come out and see me.  I will have a lot of lovely products to purchase.  Blessings to you and yours!  Dawn

Getting Out of Bed

Anyone that knows me will know that I am not a morning person.  Well, today was no exception.  I hit the lamp next to my bed as I was rolling over to get out and the top came off and landed on my nose.  Then I had the nose bleed from hell!  It poured from my nose all over me, my clothes, and the floor.  It finally got under control after ice packs and time.  I will be black and blue later today.  Today was one of those days that I would have been better off staying in bed.  LOL  Blessings to you and yours!  Dawn

Soap Making Class

  Robin is working hard!

Isn't this a cool mold.  The mold can change to accommodate the batch size! 

Dennis made some nice looking soap!

I made soap without glitter!

There were just three of us in the soap making class this morning, but we were able to do a more hands on approach.  We used the room temperature, cold process soap method.  I was able to make 3 small batches also!  I am sharing some photos of our day.   Blessings to you and yours!  Dawn

Soap Class Reminder

I just want to remind those who wish to take advanced and beginner soap making classes, they begin at 10 am tomorrow morning.  

Dress comfortable.  Meet me at 4141 South Seneca at Southlake Village Apartments Clubhouse.   It is 1/4 mile south of Seneca and MacArthur and 1/4 mile west.  Wind through the community and the clubhouse is by the pool.  We will be in the upper level.  I will have coffee or hot tea available.

We will see you there!  Dawn

Pina Colada Soap

I am experimenting with some some ideas this week.  I want to make pina colada soap with realistic pineapple chunks.  I found round, plastic cracker storage containers.  I thought I could use these as a mold to make round soap pieces for cutting into pineapple chunks.  I made a batch of soap which contained more than the amount to fill a cracker tube.  I wanted to test my new sunflower molds and with the left over I made yellow soap and sprinkled it with coconut flakes and yellow pearl cake decorating beads. I also used annatto seeds to naturally color my soap.  The annatto seeds were left to infuse in the oil for 3 weeks.  At the beginning, my soap was an orange color until it began to trace while I mixed it using my stick blender, and then it lightened.   The sunflower molds work perfect and the soap sets up quickly.  The soap is extremely easy to remove from the molds.  The only thing I notice is that the sunflowers are not flat once they are turned over.  I will smooth the bottoms some once they have set up a tad bit more.

Today I was surprised with bright, beautiful, and tasty cupcakes for my birthday.  Tracy H. made them.  She made roses and  mums on top of the cupcakes.  I only had 3 left when I took this photo.

I was able to test my experiment with the round cracker storage container.  I lined the sides of the container and froze the container for easy removal.  I learned that I needed to remove the bottom of the container in order to remove the contents.  This was expected and not any problem in the future since I have a screw on lid.  In the future I will be able to remove the lid and  push the contents out.
I learned that I could not cut the soap while it was frozen.  It tends to crack in uncut spots.  I was wondering if anyone has ever placed lye water and oils together before they have cooled and found the mixture to resemble an oatmeal and water mixture?  I came across this issue again today.  In the past, I learned that I just need to mix the solution for a while and allow it to cool as I alternate between the use of the stick blender and stirring with a large spoon to allow the stick blender to cool between uses.  I have burnt up motors in the past when I did not permit my stick blender to rest every few minutes.  As I mix the soap , the solution will begin look like a lovely smooth pudding.  At this time I place the solution into the log molds and I have very little time to work with it.  I placed the pineapple looking soap pieces in the center of the soap and also on the top.  They are placed more heavily on the top.  I put shredded cosmetic grade Mylar on the top also.  

Spinning Batts Differently

Sometimes we blindly follow those that are more experienced in our craft and assume they know what they are talking about.  I made a video on how to spin a batt in a different way, aimed more to new spinners.  I hope this is of some help.  Thank you for tuning in!  Dawn

Robin Egg Blue

We have a robin on a nest of three eggs perched on the outside of a window where I work.  I took this picture when the robin was off the nest.  The window is not real clean on the outside so the picture is not as sharp as I would like it to be. 

Isn't that robin egg blue a beautiful color?