I Thought It Was Time.....

......for a roundup of some of my newest soaping creations.  I have (as always) been having fun playing with new looks, colours, additives and scents.  Before I do that I want to share something very exciting that happened to me ~ my Maple Syrup Fudge soap photo has been featured on The Soap Bar blog!  Joanna is a noteworthy blogger in our industry with many, many followers. There are some absolutely amazing close-up pics to see on THIS POST sharing gorgeous macro photo soap art.  Thank you for including me Joanna xx

So, here are some of my favourite creations from the past few months......

Berry Lime Cider soap ~ this one has strawberry lime cider as the water-based part of my recipe and I matched that with both colour and scent.

Candy soap ~ scented with a fruity blend of juicy raspberries, citrus and vanilla.

Crystal Delight soap ~ this one thickened up fast so you can see a few air bubbles here and there.  It is still a lovely soap and in my favourite pastel pink.  Scented with an in-house custom blend interpreting the perfume Bright Crystal by Versace.

French Pear soap ~ scented with a lovely fragrance reminiscent of a rich, juicy and meltingly smooth pear dessert. Warm, spicy and alluring, this is an amazing pear fragrance!  I had fun creating this 'shabby chic' style and will work on getting more of a pear green tone for my next batch.

In more news ~ I have a new soap range to share with you soon.  When I was in high school I studied Ancient History and my favourite topic by far was ancient Egypt.  I was transported by tales of pharaohs, treasure, pyramids, gods and goddesses.  This year my youngest son has been studying Egyptian history and this re-awakened my interest.  Did you know that the ancient Egyptians were the first in the world to extract flower essences and they are credited as some of the first perfumers in history?  I have now been inspired to created my Egyptian Collection and in my next post will take you on a mystical journey through time......

Until then, have an awesome week!

Dance of the Fairies......

My new Fairy Dance soap is cut now and I finally got around to taking some photos for you.  I did have a little holiday in the middle there, so that side-tracked me.  Five days on Queensland's glorious Gold Coast.  Even though it is the middle of winter in the southern hemisphere, we had mostly sunny and warm days and the scenery (and food!) were wonderful.

But now it is back to reality..... and soaping pics.

Fairy Dance set up quickly in the mould so I didn't achieve the swirls and textured top that I was imagining.  What I did get is possibly even lovelier, which often happens in my magical world of soaping.  When I am in the middle of making a batch of cold process soap and things don't go to plan, I just repeat Dory's philosophy to myself.... 
"just keep swimming, swimming, swimming"

Here is how Fairy Dance looked in the mould ~

I scented it with a custom blend of fragrance oils that individually play very nicely in my soap.  Together however was a different story!  The end result is definitely worth it as the blend is fruity, tart, sweet and floral all at once. Sun-sweetened, delicious dark raspberries warmed by a hint of vanilla is then rounded out with fresh florals, greens and bamboo.
 
And now the cut pics ~

 



In closing, would you like to see a couple of photos from my recent holiday?  

Storms out to sea ~

 

 Roof top pool and view inland ~

Imagine you can hear the sound of the surf rolling onto the shore..... ahhhhhhh *smile*

While You Are Waiting......

......for a cut pic of my new Fairy Dance soap shown in my most recent blog post, would you like to see my new Chocolate Fudge soap?  I made this after a good customer requested the scent (thank you!) and I am really very happy with how it turned out.

My Fudge Soap range now consists of Raspberry Fudge, Orange Creme Fudge, Honey Fudge and Banana Fudge as well as the newest choc one.  I developed my recipe with the idea in mind of creating soaps that smell like fudge and look like fudge and, more importantly, even feel like fudge.  Each bar has a dense and velvety texture that really does feel fudge-like to me.  Lather is something very important to me as a soapmaker and I am thrilled with how this range of soap lathers.  Each bar has a lovely, thick and velvety lather that is truly decadent to wash with.

Here is Chocolate Fudge in the mould ~

Just unmoulded ~

Today, just before cutting (look how dark the brown is now!) ~

  


After cutting you can see the inside brown part is still very cream coloured.  Once it has been exposed to the air for about one week it will be the same colour as the outside ~

This soap smells gorgeous, if you love chocolate that is.  It is scented with a really rich, decadent, dark chocolate with drizzles of vanilla and cream.... yum. 

Have a wonderful day *smile* 

A Happy Accident.....

Have you ever felt really frustrated when a project you are attempting just doesn't go to plan?  My new Fairy Dance soap frustrated me... big time!  I soaped a custom scent blend using fragrance oils that I know do not accelerate trace in my soap, yet my soap batter set up very quickly.  For non-soapers, 'acceleration' means the soap batter gets thick fast and this can foil the best laid swirly plans.

Fairy Dance didn't do what I wanted it to - but it turned out very pretty even so.  Surprisingly so actually.  I was sad when I first finished it and could only see its imperfections, yet now I have embraced its voluptuous texture *grin*

Here is her top view in the mould ~

  

I was asked how I achieved my swirly top decoration so for those who are interested it was very simple.... I used a chopstick to 'draw' figure 8 swirls through three coloured lines of thick soap poured along the centre, like so.....

Once Fairy Dance is cut I will share more pics here.  Now I hope the inside swirls worked!

Have a wonderful day xxx

A Few More New Soapy Creations

Hello everyone!

I have been having fun soaping just lately.  Well, I always have fun..... but I have been playing a little more and using my creativity.  This can be challenging and the results are always worth it! 

Here are two new ones for Mothers Day ....

Hydrangea Holiday ~ Scented with a realistic, fresh hydrangea fragrance to transport you to your own private Mediterranean escape! Teamed with gentle olive oil, silk and with shea butter added for a creamy, moisturising boost. 

This fragrance accelerated very quickly - as florals can do - and my usual chopstick swirl texture on top ended up a little lumpy, so I liberally sprinkled glitter and voila!  This is so pretty I will be keeping it in my regular line up.

Ma Belle ~ This is one of my luxury buttermilk soaps scented with a blend of citrus, rich florals and earthy herbs; balanced on a glowing base of precious amber, rich vanilla bean and warm musk ~ warm, enveloping, sensual and comforting. 

 How do you dress up a gorgeous smelling yet quite brown soap?  I was encouraged to try brushing mica on top and I think it gave this soap an elegant look to match the rich fragrance.

Another soap I made recently was a complete experiment with how I can make a soap look.  I have developed my own take on common soaping practices with coathanger swirls and in-the-pot swirls and layers, yet I haven't ever let my creativity loose on developing my own swirling style.  This new soap was my first step in that direction and once cut it will either be a total mess inside or a work of art.... lol.  I blended lavender essential oil for a refreshing twist on my usual berry scent, so I call this Raspberry Lavender ~

Thank you for visiting and have a lovely day *smile*

I have been very remiss in posting to my blog just lately and I am so sorry!  Here is just a quick 'catch-up' post, showing you pics of a few of my latest creations. 

Have a wonderful week xxx


Sweet Blossoms ~

Rainbow Sunshine ~

 

Lavender Fields (new look) ~

Love Dust ~

Peach Delight ~

And last but not least..... Maple Fudge soap, just poured and textured in the mould ~

Can You Believe...?

Christmas is just around the corner!  It always seems to sneak up on me, which sounds silly I know.  I have a busy month in October each year ... then suddenly (it seems) it is November with December looming ;)

My thoughts have turned to food as inspiration for soap, but not your usual Christmas fare.  Living in a country that celebrates Christmas in Summer we tend to eat salads and cold compilations at Christmas time.  Why did I start craving fudge?  I have been eating sugar free since February so that may have something to do with it.  I have found several wonderful blogs dedicated to healthy eating and discovered that you can make sweetly indulgent treats without sugar, and fudge has been enticing me for a while now.

This craving has transferred to my soaping creations, so please welcome my new range ~ Delightful Fudge Soaps.  These soaps have moisturising olive oil and creamy cocoa butter with luxurious colloidal oatmeal added too.

Raspberry Fudge soap ~ scented with a black raspberry and vanilla fragrance

Honey Fudge soap ~ scented with a honey and vanilla scent

And Vanilla Fudge soap ~ scented with a rich dessert vanilla in the brown and a sweet milky vanilla in the white

Are you feeling hungry yet? *grin*

Have an awesome day xxx

Spring has Sprung!

Or so it seems in my little corner of the world.  My jasmine is blooming and freesias are opening up right now and as for the daffodils ~ they are practically finished!  Who said Spring has to start on 1st September anyway?

To celebrate Spring I have been busy in my kitchen creation station with these new lovelies....

Introducing 'Springtime'.  This is scented with a delightful fragrance reminiscent of fresh spring days ~ a blend of soft florals and juicy citrus; teamed with gentle olive oil, silk and with shea butter added for extra creaminess...

'Freesia Delight' is another new one.  Scented with a soft and creamy spring floral fragrance ~ sweet freesia top notes settling on warm white musk...

I also have re-made my 'Frangipani Holiday' in new, softer colours.  This is scented with Bramble Berry's Plumeria fragrance, which takes me away to a tropical island holiday in my mind...

My most nostalgic memory from my childhood is walking along the lakefront, picking freesias from the grassy banks and inhaling their gorgeous scent.  What is your most precious childhood memory?

Enjoying My Swirls!

Hi there!  Today the sun is shining (when they said it wouldn't) and a very cool breeze is blowing my washing line dry.  Here on the East Coast of Australia we have been blessed with frequent rain (frequent rain...) over the past two years.  We are usually a very dry continent, so all this extra rain has been either a bonus for gardens and lawns, or havoc waiting to be wreaked via floods.  Still, today it is not raining and my washing is drying nicely so I am thankful.


I have been making soap for a new wholesale account and actually thought to take a couple of pics of a new batch in the process of being swirled in my mould.  Would you like to see how I create my swirls?  It is such a simple process with a lovely result.  I use the 'In The Pot' method to colour my soap and once it is poured into the mould it swirls itself. 


Here you can see the soap batter has been poured into my Nizzy mould and I have drizzled the last drops of coloured soap over the top in diagonal lines (sorry for the blurry photo). 

Now you can see it after I have used a chopstick to pull through the soap diagonally back and forth across the mould, starting at the top right corner and finishing at the bottom left.  I then swirl in the same manner across my first lines, starting at the top left corner and finishing at the bottom right.

Lastly, I place my dividers into the soap batter and now you can see how each final bar will look once unmoulded and trimmed.

I have lots of new soap photos to take on our next sunny day, so until then have fun and I will be back with fresh soap bling *smile*

I'm Sorry!

.... really, really sorry.  I am having trouble believing how long it has been since I posted here.  To me, it feels like only a few weeks.  

What have I been doing you ask?  I have been spending time catching up on soap re-stocks as well as spending time on more mundane things, like work.  Hubby and I have also been 'spring cleaning' in winter.  

It is winter in our part of the world..... brrrrrrr.....

The reason?  A really, really good one ~ we have had quite a lot of our interior rooms re-painted (for the first time in more than 18 years!) so it was very well worth scrubbing walls, ceilings, skirting boards and architraves for that.

To make up for how long I have been neglecting you all I am sharing some quick pics of new creations (click on the pics to see them better).  I will have some prettier 'staged' photos very soon, I promise!




New soap 'Rooibos & Lychee' using rooibos (red tea) for the lye liquid and sprinkling rooibos powder on top.  This is scented with a Bramble Berry fragrance oil called Lychee and Red Tea and it smells totally yummy ~

Here is a new version of my 'Kiss Me' soap, using cubed soap embeds on top rather than soap balls.  It still has lots of sparkly glitter on top and soap confetti inside ~

Another new soap 'Vanilla Sunshine' - using vanilla bean powder and tolu balsam essential oil for the swirl and folded orange essential oil for the main scent, this soap smells very orange zesty with a vanilla base note.  It also has almond milk and kaolin clay added ~

I have also been playing with lovely body creams.  Here is my newest emulsified body butter, called 'Beautiful Butter' because it is.  It has lots of lovely moisturising ingredients and was originally created for my niece to use on her pregnant belly.  We soon discovered it to be totally excellent for dry, chapped winter skin anywhere on your body ~

Lastly, I have been creating and testing facial moisturisers.  My favourite so far is 'HoneyBee Cream'.  I add royal jelly and a modified beeswax called cera bellina and it is perfect for my normal to oily facial skin.  It makes a very nice light body cream too ~

I will be back very soon with some polished up pics to share.  Thank you for being patient with me and have a lovely day!