The beauty of soap

I think the beauty of soap, especially the cold press soaps, is that no two batches are the same.  I love the individuality each block comes out with, it is like each one takes on it's own identity.  They go into the same wooden blocks, the same receipe but because the paper might crinkle, or twist or something they come out with a different shape.  I love the cup cakes and the colours and what you can do with them.  I am now wrapping soap, which is a bit mind numbing however have a new colour wrap deep pink and it looks great.

Hot

Wow it has been hot, always know when the weather is hot and dry the soaps dry much quicker.  I have to catch up with wrapping, have been busy making lots of bath bombs.  The Rose geranium soap is looking good, however I feel that Rose Geranium e.oil just does not have the smell it used to unless you buy the very expensive ones, which it is almost as expensive as Rose oil now.  Our take on eton mess cup cakes look great and are drying nicely will be available in a couple of weeks. 

Busy busy bee

Six pink milkshakes and four chocolate completed and for once the soap on the top worked without messing about.  Pink and mauve penguins and dolphins done, 21 medium bath bombs and I spent two hours doing someones garden, thats what I call a good day.  Let the chickens out, put the chickens in, let them out and then ten minutes down comes the rain and then put them back.  Is it going to stop, we all moaned about the dry weather but in Britain when it starts to rain it forgets to stop!!!!

Summer

Well I am busy making and selling flip flop and milkshake soaps, but don't know where the summer has gone.  The cup cakes I made the other day have come out great.  Our post ruined a parcel, looks as if it was dropped and stood on - great.  Fortunately it is the first one over the last two years, so I suppose our post is not doing too bad.

Fairies

The fairy castle's look good this morning, a couple have got a little bit squashed, well I notice, with the cling film. Otherwise they are pink, cute and fairy like.  The gardeners soap has come out well, was worried as I have worked out that the latest bottle of neem added with melissa speeds up the setting process immensly, had that happend with the dog soap and was not ready for it, but this time was.  It looks good this morning.

Cup cakes

Busy busy day, have made two batches of gardeners soap, one batch of Aloe Vera and Lavender.   Last week I made the base of cup cakes with vanilla bean, a real vanilla smell.   Today I have put strawberry whipped soap on top.  It is my take off of Eton Mess, but my daughter said they remind her of Fairy Castles, so maybe fairy castles they will be.  I have also made english rose and honeysuckle, they smell so lovely together, really reminiscent of what you imgage one of those famous gardens smell like on a warm summers evening.  Lovely, they are all pink and white and pretty pretty with a lovely lilly pink soap daisy on the top.  I love working with the whipped soap as it just gently takes it's time to set allowing one to do all sorts of things with it.

Cup cakes

Yesterday I iced around 60 bath bombs and made another 30 so have now caught up with what I need in stock, just need to get some more soaps done.  I have a lot of cup cakes sitting on the rack waiting for the soap icing on the top so I need to do those today.  I wanted to go and pcik nettles but it is so wet I think I will end up really wet in amongst those nettles, so nettle soap can wait another day.  People find it interesting when I say about nettles, when I have picked them, I always put fresh chopped ones into the soap but dry a lot out for me for my nettle tea, nothing better for arthritus.

Rain

We were in Horsham park for the opening of the garden, it rained, however, the soaps behaved and did not start to bubble and we only took the wrapped bath bombs and they were ok.  Thanks to all the lovely people who braved the rain and bought our soaps.  It can rain now until Friday night as Saturday we are outside at a village day.

Like a big bubble

I am so like a big bubble, I was down a while ago trying to sort out my work load.  Then I had a phone call, my first really big order arrived at the shop they loved them so much they have straight away ordered lots more. 

Sunshine

Looking out it is such a beautiful day.  I have put my cup cakes in the sun to dry for a while, too long and they will start to fade.   Went down to the beach for ten minutes and wanted to stay for the day but too much too doooo.

Fragrances

Getting my head around these cup cakes and the smells.  The fragrances are great, really strong, but the essential oils are almost to subtle.  Will have to see how they are in a couple of days.  Have covered them with cling film to keep their smell in while they dry.  Have lots of catching up with stock after the weekend, I thought I made enough snowmen at Christmas but the flip flops have surpassed the snowmen.

Warnham

Went to Wrnham village fete and it was a lovely day, the organisers had worked hard and there was entertainment going on all day.  Sold lots of soap and made new friends, so it was a really lovely day.
Made new cup cakes on Friday and unmolded them today.  Taken to making the tops with whipped soap so much easier to work with, in fact it almost takes too long to begin to set to be able to put it through the icing nozel.  They look the best yet, it is great fun looking and trying new things.

The not so nice

Have been made by the boss (my daughter) to work out all the costs because I had said that essential oils were going up in price.  Unfortunately it means that the new lots of soaps will have to go up to cover the cost of ingredients and making.  It would be so nice if for six months nothing went up in price and maybe petrol came down!

Purple Fairies

Tuesday I made Lavender cup cakes, unmolded them on Wednesday morning and thought oh no they are not mauve.  Opened the cupboard this morning and the purple fairy had done her work, they are all lavender colour.  I have a mauve powder colour, one I bought in my very early days of soaping and I find it such hit and miss when colouring, so yesterday actually got around to ordering a new colour mauve in liquid form from Gracefruit where I find the colours great.  Of course whilst there could not resist ordering some new fragrances for the bath bombs and soaps.

Daisies

Found brill cutter for my daisies, been cutting them out and leaving them to dry, they smell lovely - pink in lilly fragrance.  Spent the day making lots of flowers, I have the fiddly little ones but they look so sweet on the cup cakes.  Off to ice the cup cakes now and realease the next set of flip flops - raspberry out of the moulds.

Soap

Flip flops - keeping up with them, I have lost count how many I have made, now have eight pairs drying at a time.  Lavender is in bloom so just made lavender cup cakes and also glycerine cup cakes in  cherry red, honeysuckle yellow and pink english rose, need to ice them tomorrow.  Off to Warnham fete on Sat, sounds a good day with dog show, gun dogs, and lots of other entertainment. 

wow

Wow what a hot day it was yesterday. We were in Petersfield town and it was so so busy.  Thanks to all those who visited our stall and bought our soaps, we are now gearing up to make make make this week to replace.
Look forward to doing another at Petersfield.