Thursday, January 24, 2008

M&P 101


Thanks to a post in the TeachSoap Forum, I just found Soapnuts, a site all about soap making. There is a great quickstart guide to using melt and pour ("M&P") soap there. If you'd like to try your hand at some soapmaking (or soap crafting as some people call it), you can get basic supplies at most craft stores and can have a cool batch of soaps that same day!

BTW, TeachSoap is also a great site for lots of awesome pointers on soap making, an inspirational soap gallery, and tons of projects and recipes! The forum is new and has topics ranging from M&P soap making to trends in B&B. Check it out and join in! :)

New Ladybug Soaps!


I just got these cool new ladybug molds from Brambleberry. They're so adorable! The dots on the wings are actually raised. I couldn't resist using my striped soap to create a "lovebug."

I have a whole mess of circle cutters so I got the ones closest in size to the raised dots and hand placed the striped soap into the spots after I filled up the mold with clear red. My fingers were totally caked with soap after I was done, and it was still hard to get the circles to line up, but that's the nature of handmade! :) The pink parts were actually made first - I made solid pink ladybugs, cut the heads and rear ends out, then put them back in the mold when I poured the clear red.

Anyways, they're scented with yummy Cherry fragrance and are available in my Etsy shop. I only have 3, so if you want one, snap 'em up! :)

Saturday, January 19, 2008

New Garden Party Soaps!


A few days ago I received some new fragrances and one of them really stood out to me. It's called Tomato Leaf, from Bramblerry.

When I opened the bottle to take a sniff, I didn't know what to expect. I was immediately tickled by how much it reminded me of when I had the luxury of a garden and grew lots of wonderful tomatoes. Whenever I pruned them I enjoyed the sweet smell of fresh cut tomato vines, and that is what this scent reminds me of. Somehow it's even better than the real thing because it has a slight floral twist that would make it pleasant to enjoy by anyone - even someone who has never had the pleasure of growing their own tomatoes.

The design was inspired by the latest Anthropologie catalog, which is all about romantic gardens and the combination of prints. I used my favorite colorant which is Brambleberry's non-bleeding red. These striped polka dots will look just as great a month from now as they do today.

I'll be listing these in my Etsy shop today. Since they're only about 2" across I'm selling them for just $4.00 each. Considering how much time I put into making those striped dots, I think that's a pretty good deal! :)

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Love is... waffles?


I'm not sure what's so cute about waffles, but they rank right up there with cupcakes and popsicles in my book. The problem is you can't exactly find waffle soap molds.

So making one has been a quest of mine for months. I majored in fashion design, not sculpting, so I've been trying to educate myself about suitable materials. The stuff I used for these soaps is really designed to cure with the "master" in it, but I just tried to manually press the texture in with the side of a balsa sheet. As the putty cured, it puffed up and made my design really shallow. I would really like to nail this down, so I have one more product to try, but I just hate all the money I'm spending on this! But, alas, the obsessive nature in me insists.

These soaps were specifically made for Mahar Drygoods, along with a PB&J version. They'll be in his shop soon, so if you'd like to pick up some soapy treats for Valentine's Day, check it out! :)