What a week

Well we are on Wednesday and as I said to my children I have spent two mornings in class.  Meaning I have been looking and reading.  Tuesday completed my first faux funnel pour soap, yes it looked great.  Was worried about the colours as my mauve is over a year old and has a mind of its own and blue goes any colour but, so must get new colours.  The new ones I have red and yellow are great and the yellow has held up, the orange has got a bit lost, so need to pour more of the orange next time, the mauve did it's own thing between deep mauve and blue, but overall it looks superb.  Will upload pictures soon.  Then today I cracked the bubble topping of my bath bombs.  I usually just ice them which looks good but have been searching how to make them with shea butter and found it on Soap Queen.com. so thanks for that.  Needed some adjusting but the basic receipe worked.  So fab, these will be uploaded soon.  So now we have two different fantastic bath bomb cup cakes.

Soaps

I feel I should make a soap called rain.  I have seen enough of it out of my window to last me till November, but still it will rain.  Spent yesterday arguing with hair shampoo. I enjoy the challenge of reading discovering and finding out for myself, but sometimes I think I will have to give in and go on a course, but when I have done that I find they go over everything you know and you come out not a lot wiser.  So back to the challenge of the making the hair shampoo.  Perhaps I should explain at this point that I have made the shampoo, my kids all use it and say it is great but I am a perfectionist and to me it is not quite right and that is the bit I am trying to sort out, maybe I should stop and remember that what you buy commercially is actually not runny soap but chemically inhanced, somewhere in the begining soap was involved, but the final article if the chemicals where stripped away it would be hard to find the soap.

Inspiring

Following the Soapworks Challenge, today was posted six new weeks, one I was unsure of so I found a video on you tube and was blown away, now I can't wait to make the Faux Funnel Pour Soap.  I watched www.iamhandmade.com, loved the banter between them and the great soaps she makes.  Well inspired to begin a new week with new ideas.

Soap challenge week four

I joined the soap challenge and it has been interesting looking at other soapers and how they do their soaps.  The last challenge was beer soap and I love the ones who did it with other alcoholic beverages.  My beer was a different one to previous I used Porter beer from Hammerpot Brewery in Littlehampton a local brewery to where I live.  I like to use local ingredients where possible.  They make their beer with chocolate and coffee and I continued this theme and the soap smells - well I would have thought - a mans dream, beer, chocolate and coffee.  Made in plastic drinking cups it has the shape of a cup, it also has betonite clay and can be used either and/or washing / shaving.  The soaps is very gentle, smooth and the betonite clay I am told aids with the shave, being female I don't know.  Any men who wish to try and give me feedback let me know.
 www.greatcakessoapworks.com

April

I am hoping as the season for outside events begins that the weather will warm up and the sun will shine, it makes everything look so much better.  I have been following a particular Amercian blog and enjoyed reading hers and also her soap challenges.  I think it is really good to meet people, like the Laday I met yesterday and realise how far you yourself have come.  I have been soaping for three years now and love it.  The house work went to pot a long time a go and having just visited a relation whoose house is spotless , (I used to worry about my own)  but think that I would rather be thoroughly enjoying and being totally absorped in my business than doing the house work (i'll get around to it). I enjoy looking at other peoples soaps and talking to people who are just begining and helping them as when I began I rarely met anyone who made or sold soaps.  I still rarely meet anyone who actually makes all their own soaps like I do.  Having said that, why do poeple have to say they are handmade giving the impression that they made them, when they know they bought them in?  Anyway I have some big fairs in May and the May Chang and Lavender is looking great, white with a mauve top, the Rose and Patchouli, now my favourite looks great and I am really pleased with the new Rose geranium and it's pretty flowers.  The cup cakes are looking good and yesterday the reacation that people cannot believe that they are not real edible cup cakes is so inspiring.  Wow it is so great to do a job that you love.