Saturday Fun in the Soap Kitchen

Logs of Kitchen Soap

I have the day to play around in the soap room.  First off I needed to cut bars out of the logs of Kitchen soap that were made the other night to make room for more soapy creations in the works for today.  This batch turned out much darker this time because I increased the amount of coffee used and it was a darker roast than I have used in the past.  To achieve that dark coffee color in the soap I mix the fresh coffee grounds into the lye water when I mix it together which in turn "brews" the coffee and turns the lye water a very dark brown, almost black color.  When the coffee/lye water is mixed with the oils the color becomes a more muted brown color.   

In the lot of soap making supplies that I purchased last weekend, there was a soap cutter  guide which I was delighted to put to use.  The old method of cutting soap was to pull out the tape measure, mark, then cut the bars.  Often the bars were uneven in size, and harder to keep my cutter from going down straight. With this nifty gadget I ended up with a bit more even size bars, and it was so much easier to cut the bars.  I would have never considered purchasing a cutting guide had it not been included in the purchase, but now I wouldn't cut the bars without it.  I ended up with less waste and one more bar of soap compared to cutting them by hand. 

Cut bars of Kitchen Soap

The bars are now cut and on the rack curing.  Now that I have made room for more molds to be put to use, it's time to head back into the soap kitchen and be creative!

Goat Milk Soap Success

This morning I was in a hurry to get out the door and trudge the icy roads to work.  I only had a few minutes to look at the soap before I dashed out the door and noticed the soap was quite warm in the mold.  The soap was already hardened, so I quickly pulled it out of the mold and noticed it had changed to a medium tan color.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the soap had returned to the nice creamy color like it was when I put it in the mold by the time I returned from work.  After the soap was cut into bars I am super delighted with how the soap turned out!



Orange Patchouli Goat Milk Soap



Tonight I made the must have soap in my house at all times ~ Kitchen Soap.  It has coffee and orange essential oil in the soap, making it a great bar to have by the kitchen sink to use for general handwashing but in particular after cutting onions and garlic.  This soap neutralizes the odors on your hands and is nourishing for your skin. 

Kitchen Soap



I also use this soap after I have been gardening as it cuts the grime and has just enough abrasive qualities from the coffee to remove the ground in dirt that I seem to always get on my hands despite the fact that I use garden gloves. I have mechanics that swear by this soap, and have even had one person buy it when they are making Christmas wreaths as it cuts through the pitch.

Shop Update ~ I hope to have my soap supply built up enough to reopen my shop mid to late March.  :)  Keep watch for news of our Grand Re-Opening. 

I Could Wait No Longer!

Mr. Moo helps groom the snowmobile trails and had a piece of equipment that was in need of repair tonight.  So, I wasted no time jumping into bubble mode as soon as he left...move over dinner plans until the soap is mixed and in the mold!   A short time later the first batch of goat milk soap emerged.  Yippee!!!

I must say that the new soap room is the perfect space for creating goat milk soap as it is colder than the rest of the house, and perfect for keeping the soap from heating up after going in the mold.  As I have basically only dealt with powdered goat milk in the past, working with fresh milk was a new experience for me.  I mixed the frozen milk with a bit of the lye over a bowl of ice to keep the temp down, and when that was mixed in, added more in small amounts until all of it was mixed in and the goat milk completely thawed and incorporated with the lye.  The goat milk never got too hot, and when mixed with the oils stayed a nice creamy color. 

After pouring most of the soap into the mold I decided to add some mica to the remaining soap for a swirl of color mixed into the soap. This batch is an Essential Oil mix of Sweet Orange with a touch of Patchouli.  About an hour after the pour the soap is behaving beautifully and not heating up.  When hubby came home he knew I'd been the mad scientist in the soap room as he could smell the evidence as soon as he walked in the door.  LOL 

Post to follow with the unmolded log and cut bars. 

Soaping Update

On a rare moment this past week I went on Craigslist stumbled upon a large lot of soap making supplies that a local goat farmer purchased with the intent of making soap.  After making one batch they decided soap making was not for them and decided to sell the goods.  Win, win for moi!  This was a major score as the lot contained over 200 pounds of oils and butters, along with a bunch of other soaping goodies, AND about 100 pounds of frozen goatmilk.  Needless to say, I see a lot of goat milk soap on the horizon in the near future.

After lugging the score into the house, with Mr. Moo's assistance, it was time to find a home for all of these treasures.  I had an old cupboard/counter stored in the laundry room since we remodeled the kitchen in 2007.  I had decided it finally needed to go and lugged it out on the porch on Monday.  Today it came back into the laundry room so I could store the lot of soapmaking goodies.  In a very short time the laundry room was transformed into a functional workspace, and everything is organized.  The only remaining projects include hanging a metal wire shelf to store the fragrance oils and lugging a big table from upstairs and then the soap room will officially open for production.

Every time I make a batch of soap it is my intention to write a post with photos of the soapy goodness. I need to stock pile a bunch of soap before I will be ready to reopen the shop.  I can hardly wait to get started.

 

Oh the Fun of Making Bubbles!

Bubbles, soapy fun, the fragrances, the messes. Yes! I have missed all aspects of the soapy fun and creating so much! The bubble making vacation is over!

The plan in June 2011 was to go back to school and finish my degree now that my kids are all raised. Two days before classes were to begin plans changed drastically when we became full-time parents to our grandgirlies and our house was a jumbled mix of craziness. Now that the girlies are back with the parents we miss them terribly and wonder how in the world we ever survived, but we did.

The soap molds are dusted off, and a dedicated workspace for the bubble making madness is in the works. Seeing as Mr. Moo doesn't like soap in his sandwiches, this prohibits use of the kitchen for future bubble creating. I'm itching and twitching to mix and pour soapy fun in the molds!

Sandy Beach Breezes Seashell Soaps

There is this place that I like to go to. A place where I can be alone in the bright sunlight. A place where I can sit and listen to the waves of water crashing a long the shore. The Smell of salt consumes me as the water splashes along the sandy shores. This place is a wonderful luxurious place called the beach.

The nice weather this past weekend has made me a bit stir crazy, anxious for summer to arrive. I've been itching for months to make these soaps, the molds sitting in the soap room waiting for the iron to strike...and today was THE day it happened.

And they are already listed in our online shop!

Fun In The Snow But Looking Forward to Spring

I'm not a huge fan of the cold or the snow that goes with it...give me the sand, beach and hot sun! But here's a face that sure does enjoy the snow! Christina is inching right up on 2 years of age, and it is a constant battle...boots on, coat on and then it is boots off, coat off (by herself, of course) as she tools around the house begging to go outside. She knows exactly what to do when the sled is put on the ground...in she goes and waits to be pulled around. Baby sister is almost 6 months old and hasn't been introduced to snow angels or sleds just yet.

Christina's favorite Aunty taught her how to make snow angels as she tested out the new snow suit that was given to her for Christmas. And not a moment too soon, we finally had enough snow for her to get out and enjoy.

The only snow I enjoy are days when a call comes in the wee hours that we have no school due to inclement weather. This Grammy gets all giddy with excitement and the creative soap making juices flow. Several new batches of spring soap are currently on the curing rack, and will make a debut in our online store later this month.