I Thought It Was Time.....

......for a roundup of some of my newest soaping creations.  I have (as always) been having fun playing with new looks, colours, additives and scents.  Before I do that I want to share something very exciting that happened to me ~ my Maple Syrup Fudge soap photo has been featured on The Soap Bar blog!  Joanna is a noteworthy blogger in our industry with many, many followers. There are some absolutely amazing close-up pics to see on THIS POST sharing gorgeous macro photo soap art.  Thank you for including me Joanna xx

So, here are some of my favourite creations from the past few months......

Berry Lime Cider soap ~ this one has strawberry lime cider as the water-based part of my recipe and I matched that with both colour and scent.

Candy soap ~ scented with a fruity blend of juicy raspberries, citrus and vanilla.

Crystal Delight soap ~ this one thickened up fast so you can see a few air bubbles here and there.  It is still a lovely soap and in my favourite pastel pink.  Scented with an in-house custom blend interpreting the perfume Bright Crystal by Versace.

French Pear soap ~ scented with a lovely fragrance reminiscent of a rich, juicy and meltingly smooth pear dessert. Warm, spicy and alluring, this is an amazing pear fragrance!  I had fun creating this 'shabby chic' style and will work on getting more of a pear green tone for my next batch.

In more news ~ I have a new soap range to share with you soon.  When I was in high school I studied Ancient History and my favourite topic by far was ancient Egypt.  I was transported by tales of pharaohs, treasure, pyramids, gods and goddesses.  This year my youngest son has been studying Egyptian history and this re-awakened my interest.  Did you know that the ancient Egyptians were the first in the world to extract flower essences and they are credited as some of the first perfumers in history?  I have now been inspired to created my Egyptian Collection and in my next post will take you on a mystical journey through time......

Until then, have an awesome week!

Dance of the Fairies......

My new Fairy Dance soap is cut now and I finally got around to taking some photos for you.  I did have a little holiday in the middle there, so that side-tracked me.  Five days on Queensland's glorious Gold Coast.  Even though it is the middle of winter in the southern hemisphere, we had mostly sunny and warm days and the scenery (and food!) were wonderful.

But now it is back to reality..... and soaping pics.

Fairy Dance set up quickly in the mould so I didn't achieve the swirls and textured top that I was imagining.  What I did get is possibly even lovelier, which often happens in my magical world of soaping.  When I am in the middle of making a batch of cold process soap and things don't go to plan, I just repeat Dory's philosophy to myself.... 
"just keep swimming, swimming, swimming"

Here is how Fairy Dance looked in the mould ~

I scented it with a custom blend of fragrance oils that individually play very nicely in my soap.  Together however was a different story!  The end result is definitely worth it as the blend is fruity, tart, sweet and floral all at once. Sun-sweetened, delicious dark raspberries warmed by a hint of vanilla is then rounded out with fresh florals, greens and bamboo.
 
And now the cut pics ~

 



In closing, would you like to see a couple of photos from my recent holiday?  

Storms out to sea ~

 

 Roof top pool and view inland ~

Imagine you can hear the sound of the surf rolling onto the shore..... ahhhhhhh *smile*

While You Are Waiting......

......for a cut pic of my new Fairy Dance soap shown in my most recent blog post, would you like to see my new Chocolate Fudge soap?  I made this after a good customer requested the scent (thank you!) and I am really very happy with how it turned out.

My Fudge Soap range now consists of Raspberry Fudge, Orange Creme Fudge, Honey Fudge and Banana Fudge as well as the newest choc one.  I developed my recipe with the idea in mind of creating soaps that smell like fudge and look like fudge and, more importantly, even feel like fudge.  Each bar has a dense and velvety texture that really does feel fudge-like to me.  Lather is something very important to me as a soapmaker and I am thrilled with how this range of soap lathers.  Each bar has a lovely, thick and velvety lather that is truly decadent to wash with.

Here is Chocolate Fudge in the mould ~

Just unmoulded ~

Today, just before cutting (look how dark the brown is now!) ~

  


After cutting you can see the inside brown part is still very cream coloured.  Once it has been exposed to the air for about one week it will be the same colour as the outside ~

This soap smells gorgeous, if you love chocolate that is.  It is scented with a really rich, decadent, dark chocolate with drizzles of vanilla and cream.... yum. 

Have a wonderful day *smile* 

A Happy Accident.....

Have you ever felt really frustrated when a project you are attempting just doesn't go to plan?  My new Fairy Dance soap frustrated me... big time!  I soaped a custom scent blend using fragrance oils that I know do not accelerate trace in my soap, yet my soap batter set up very quickly.  For non-soapers, 'acceleration' means the soap batter gets thick fast and this can foil the best laid swirly plans.

Fairy Dance didn't do what I wanted it to - but it turned out very pretty even so.  Surprisingly so actually.  I was sad when I first finished it and could only see its imperfections, yet now I have embraced its voluptuous texture *grin*

Here is her top view in the mould ~

  

I was asked how I achieved my swirly top decoration so for those who are interested it was very simple.... I used a chopstick to 'draw' figure 8 swirls through three coloured lines of thick soap poured along the centre, like so.....

Once Fairy Dance is cut I will share more pics here.  Now I hope the inside swirls worked!

Have a wonderful day xxx

A Few More New Soapy Creations

Hello everyone!

I have been having fun soaping just lately.  Well, I always have fun..... but I have been playing a little more and using my creativity.  This can be challenging and the results are always worth it! 

Here are two new ones for Mothers Day ....

Hydrangea Holiday ~ Scented with a realistic, fresh hydrangea fragrance to transport you to your own private Mediterranean escape! Teamed with gentle olive oil, silk and with shea butter added for a creamy, moisturising boost. 

This fragrance accelerated very quickly - as florals can do - and my usual chopstick swirl texture on top ended up a little lumpy, so I liberally sprinkled glitter and voila!  This is so pretty I will be keeping it in my regular line up.

Ma Belle ~ This is one of my luxury buttermilk soaps scented with a blend of citrus, rich florals and earthy herbs; balanced on a glowing base of precious amber, rich vanilla bean and warm musk ~ warm, enveloping, sensual and comforting. 

 How do you dress up a gorgeous smelling yet quite brown soap?  I was encouraged to try brushing mica on top and I think it gave this soap an elegant look to match the rich fragrance.

Another soap I made recently was a complete experiment with how I can make a soap look.  I have developed my own take on common soaping practices with coathanger swirls and in-the-pot swirls and layers, yet I haven't ever let my creativity loose on developing my own swirling style.  This new soap was my first step in that direction and once cut it will either be a total mess inside or a work of art.... lol.  I blended lavender essential oil for a refreshing twist on my usual berry scent, so I call this Raspberry Lavender ~

Thank you for visiting and have a lovely day *smile*

I have been very remiss in posting to my blog just lately and I am so sorry!  Here is just a quick 'catch-up' post, showing you pics of a few of my latest creations. 

Have a wonderful week xxx


Sweet Blossoms ~

Rainbow Sunshine ~

 

Lavender Fields (new look) ~

Love Dust ~

Peach Delight ~

And last but not least..... Maple Fudge soap, just poured and textured in the mould ~