Waste Not, Want Not....

You may remember I recently posted pics of my Valentine's Days soaps here.  Well, I am sad to say that Love Dust lost its scent entirely within a few days of cutting *sad face*  Never mind - the fragrance oil is soooo lovely and I will still scent my lotions and scrubs with it!


I have been pondering what to do with Love Dust as I know from experience that unscented soap doesn't sell well at my market stall unless it also uncoloured and targets sensitive skin.  Here is the first soap I have made using shavings and soap balls.  It is scented with a fragrance oil from Natures Garden called "Kiss and Tell" and is still waiting to be cut....


Love Dust reincarnated (aka Kiss Me) - just out of the mould this morning

It smells so pretty!  The scent includes notes of purple passion fruit, burgundy Tuscan grapes, sun-kissed yellow peonies, fragrant vanilla orchids, and just a hint of fresh greenery.

I will post cut pics just as soon as I can!  Have an awesome day *smile*

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day everyone ♥

Valentine's Day soaps ~ now cut :)

Hello everyone!  I have some new pics to share with you of my Valentine's Day limited edition soaps.  I am thrilled with Hello Handsome ~ my first successful hanger swirl and he smells gorgeous too...

Love Dust is softly pretty and the colours make me smile!

Soft Kisses smells so warm and inviting...mmmm...

I have three more to share once I take some pictures today.  They have been made in my divider slab mould and need trimming to be ready for their closeups ;)

Here is a quick pic of Sultry Rose in the mould...

Have an awesome Day! xx

2012 Is off to a Busy Start!

Okay, we have just finished Christmas and New Year (did you have good ones?) and, wait..... oh my goodness..... Valentine's Day is coming!  Really, that soon?  How does that happen? ;)

As I sold quite a lot of my soaps in the run up to Christmas I have lots of re-makes to do.  However, Valentine's Day is taking precedence in my soap kitchen creation area.  I have some limited edition soaps just made and not yet cut.  Would you like to see some 'quick and dirty' pics?

On the left is Love Dust ~ using an interpretation of Fairy Dust fragrance. This one set up fairly quickly so I didn't get the pretty, wispy swirls I envisioned.
On the right is Hello Handsome (corny, yes I know) ~ using an interpretation of Very Sexy for Him fragrance. They are both still gelling here.

Here is Love Dust just out of the mould. I still love how it turned out ... air pockets and all!

 

Hello Handsome and my other new Valentine's Day soap ~ Soft Kisses ~ sitting on my curing rack waiting to be cut. These are my first 2 ever hanger swirls and I think they worked! I will know more when I actually get them cut. They are still a little soft for that.
Soft Kisses is an interpretation of Cashmere Mist fragrance and smells gorgeous!

I realised after posting these pics on my soaping forum that there is a spider web residing on the wall behind my soap racks - you can see it in the photos. LOL! I actually just looked and I can't even see it with the naked eye (even wearing glasses) yet I could feel a wisp of web when I brushed at it. You do know that Australia is full of spiders - all year round? Especially in summer.
I try hard not to think about it....



I will put up some photos of the cut soaps once I am able to.  I love cutting into a new soap design/colour/fragrance to see just what I have created with the magic of saponification!


Have an awesome day xxx

To Market, To Market......

I had a wonderful day at Hamilton Clocktower Markets recently in the run up to Christmas.  I will be there on Christmas Eve Saturday too, so if you are in the area, please drop by and say hello!

You can see my new (to me) soy wax melts for tart warmers and oil burners in the above pic.  I have had so much fun making these!  I used both the clamshell moulds/containers and also fluted tart moulds in order to create a stack of melts that, from a distance, looks a little like a christmas tree...lol.


Writing my blog is fun but it wouldn't be worthwhile without YOU ~ thank you for taking the time to read and look at my pictures.  If you have left comments, thank you for that too.


Have a wonderful Festive Season and if we don't catch up here again before January, have an awesome New Year! xxx

A Very 'Beachy' Christmas.....

Here in Australia we celebrate Christmas during a long, hot and often humid summer.  Many of my fondest Christmas memories from my childhood and teen years centre around day trips to the beach... the waves rolling rhythmically onto the sand; my sun-warmed beach towel underneath me; heated body cooled while eating an orange ice-block (icypole); suntan oil liberally spread...


Let me introduce you to 'Beach Christmas' soap.  Each layer has a different scent which, when sniffed, take me back to those lazy summer days... ahhhhh...

The painting in the last picture was my inspiration for the colour and look of the top two layers.  It was painted by my uncle and given to me as a fantastic 50th birthday present for my last birthday <3 

What nostalgic scents come to mind for you when you think of Christmas?  I would love to know!


Have an awesome day *smile*

Merry Berry and Citrus Spice ... Getting in the Christmas Groove!

As with many soapers, food seems to be a catalyst for several of my creations.  I am very partial to food-type scents and decided to play with blending fragances just for Christmas.


Merry Berry has a custom fragrance blend of berries, wild currant, fig, citrus, sandalwood, musk and vanilla ~ with juicy berries and citrus being the most noticeable part.  It makes my mouth water to sniff it!  Some opal white and Christmas red glitters set it off nicely.

 

Citrus Spice has Australian red clay, with just a titch of ground nutmeg added and a little cinnamon essential oil, swirled through a white soap.  The white is scented with a fresh and mouthwatering tropical citrus blend ~ yummy!  Of course, being a Christmas-themed soap I did have to add glitter *wink*

Stay tuned for a few more 'just for Christmas' soaps to come!

Trees and Stars.....

My first batch of Christmas soaps turned out just as I expected.  This is hardly surprising, as they are simply creamy white soap made with one of my favourite oil blends ~ olive, coconut, soybean and shea butter. With red or green embeds and sparkly glitter (have to have glitter on Christmas soap!) they look elegant, yet festive.


These are scented with Bramble Berry's 'Fresh Snow' fragrance oil ~ designed to mimic the feeling of peace and tranquility after a fresh snow fall.  I really love this scent and it soaps beautifully.

 

 

Thank you for looking!  Have a wonderful day *smile*

My Latest Soapies......

Back in June I mentioned here that I would share a pic of my Lime Fusion beer soap, made with my Dad's homebrew.  So sorry for the delay but I sold it all before I could photograph it!  I recently made it again so here it is before it is all gone again!

With its label, named for my Dad...

I also made a yummy Oatmeal Stout beer soap, fragranced with Bramble Berry's gorgeous scent.  It smells like Anzac biscuits warm from the oven with extra spice and orange zest.  This one set up quite quickly so it does look a little rustic, which I think suits it very well.  It looks like baked goods rather than soap *grin*

The last one I want to show you is my new look Heavenly Hibiscus.  
Here it is in its first incarnation...

And here is the updated look...

I chose the purple to match my lovely native hibiscus which is flowering right now.  Not quite a match yet still a gorgeous purple...

Have a lovely day! *smile*

Soaping For a Friend.......

Tonight my post is about a challenging time in a good friend's life.  In September she found out she has Islet Cell cancer, also called pancreatic endocrine neoplasm tumor ~ the same type of cancer that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had.  Luckily, hers was found in its very early stages during a scan taken for other medical reasons.  Most pancreatic cancers are not diagnosed until symptoms eventuate and this is often too late for a successful cure.  My friend recently had surgery to remove the growth at the Mayo Clinic and should make a full recovery now ~ hallelujah!  This procedure has not been without its complications, however she now has the all clear to travel home.

I, along with many others from our soaping forum, created a new soap to send to her as a 'get well' gift.  This new soap was not without its challenges, setting up much too quickly for the finished effect I was going for....lol.  However I am still pleased with the result and a bar will be winging its way to the US very soon.

I have called it 'Mystique' aka 'Krissy's Dream'.  Scented with a mysterious fragrance ~ wafting from ancient sacred spaces, filled with the aromatic scents of a romantic time past ~ an enlightened blend of juniper, earthy patchouli, musky oakmoss and rich vanilla; rose geranium and jasmine weave throughout to give an uplifting sweet note.
I added moisturising buttermilk, silk and a generous amount of organic cocoa butter for extra luscious lather...

For you Krissy!