Frankenmolds.

The glue on the bottom here is to make the box level. Pretty!

Amazingly, I still do not have the flu. Everyone around here is getting better (for those of you who want to know) but they aren't well yet. They are however, circling the refrigerator like sharks wondering when the jello will be done. That's a good sign.

After everyone went to bed last night I stayed up and got some soaping done, so pictures will come soon. Otherwise, today I made some box molds!

I have a couple of box molds that I love. They have liners in them and all I have to do is make the soap, and not worry too much about the lining. Well, I wanted more. So I bought more. But something went all wonky with the vendor, so I haven't received them. Wah. So... I sat up googling trying to figure out a work around. However, I want my work around to not involved spending any more money. So that eliminates buying 20 pounds of liquid silicone. Maybe next year.

I found this really interesting article on how this taxidermist makes silicone molds for his... er... dead things... using 100% silicone caulk and acrylic paint, so that is a nice little DIY project that I may try.

So at any rate, I took a cardboard box, did some measuring and made myself two molds today. I wrapped each side of the box in packing tape to help protect it from soap leaks. Then... I got my glue gun and sealed up all of the edges. I then line the box with freezer paper. Once the soap hardens, you just lift the freezer paper out with the soap. In theory... this should work great.

We'll find out! - H

Beware! Beware!

I realize this isn't soap, people. (Hmmm... but maybe it could be! *note to self*)

No soap today. Everyone but me at my house has the flu. The bad one. I don't know how I am the last (wo)man standing, but I am. So if I drop off of the face of the earth for a few days, you'll know why. But I have lots of fun soapy news to share... so stay tuned! - H

Mr Bumble turned out beautiful!

So as you can see, Mr Bumble's Soap turned out just dandy. Made with cocoa butter, avocado oil, almond oil, coconut oil, palm oil, beeswax, oatmeal, and scent. Smells yummy.



The big bar will go into my Etsy cache, and the smaller bars will go into a sampler pack I'm putting together.

Frankensoap

Peppermint up top... chocolate on the bottom. I'm going to cut it tomorrow, I think.

When will I learn though? Leave the soap in the mold for at least two days. This soap is fine... it just would have sharper edges and a smoother surface if I wouldn't touch it!!! Gah!

I swear I'll stop taking pictures of these now.

Lavender - These guys are pretty. The swirl is good and goes all the way through.

I know I've been doting on these two bars this week, but I've had a setback. So they've been getting all of the love. I tried to make a CPOP batch and failed.

CPOP is when you make the soap as usual, then put it in the oven for... er... I thought 2 hours. But now I'm not sure. I ruined it and now it's in my trash bin. Along with all of my hopes and dreams of shortening my cure time. *sigh*

So this morning I got back on my horse and made a batch of cocoa... and a batch of what I'm calling "Mr. Bumble's Oatmeal Soap." Mrs. Bumble (me) forgot to put milk and honey in... so instead of being Oatmeal, milk and honey... it's just oatmeal. It will still be good though. My mind must be somewhere else today.

The Morning After...

I took the the freezer paper off of the lavender this morning. It looks great. Now I put the molds somewhere *where I won't touch them* because I poke & prod until I'm fully dissatisfied. So they're hiding in a safe place.

Let's Give Them Something to Blog About...

I didn't make any soap today. The day's not over, but I think sleep may win out tonight.

*BUT* I had a great soap day! Let me tell you why. The other day I read this post on Anne-Marie's (of Brambleberry) Soap-Queen Blog. There are some super cute soap molds with knitting yarn on them. I immediately thought of my friends at Island Wools here in Friday Harbor.

I love Island Wools. When we moved here it was cold! Last winter with the help of Theresa on YouTube (tjw1963) and Island Wools, I taught myself how to crochet. Friday Harbor can feel pretty small when you have a new baby so I always looked forward to going in to Island Wools and figuring out what was next. (My favorite yarn is Puffin by the way.) Check them out when you're in Friday Harbor. They're right on the main drag (Spring Street.)

At any rate... I showed Rusti the molds and she loves them. Hopefully, I will have some pictures of knitters soap bars to show you soon. We shall see! So that was fun.

Now a confession. I peeked. I shouldn't have. But I did. This a lavender bar I made last night. There's freezer paper on the top of the mold there, but through it, you can see that the swirls looks good!

I peeled the paper back, just a little and then put it back. I really shouldn't look at it for another two days. Nighty, night! - H