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Daily Archives: November 1, 2011

Sample Fisherman’s Soap

I wanted to make a small post (during my proofreading I’m really amused by this description) on recent work. I’m trying to meet my goals before the Nov 12th craft sale and one goal was to make a version of my Fisherman’s soap that is a little more buyer friendly. It’s an awesome soap, but a bar is a bit expensive, so I think that’s why it hasn’t been selling. It suddenly dawned on me while looking through my drawers of molds that I could use the “lump of coal” square silicone molds for sample Fisherman’s soaps. *happy dance* Some days I get to be somewhat intelligent and have strokes of genius again! Lol. Fibro fog has been a nasty challenge with creating bath products. *rolling eyes* I seriously celebrate the genius moments I get now. Lol. Anyway, 8 ounces of the soap makes about half of the tray of molds. Awesome! I need to figure up costs, but I’m betting it’ll drop the cost to $1-$2 each instead of 6+. Not to mention that they will be a great size for leaving in the tackle box. Anise oil is a natural human scent neutralizer. If a person washes their hands with it prior to handling their tackle, it usually helps to increase the amount of bites, etc. It has worked for a lot of people. An extra tip I give is to also dunk or rinse the line, lure, and whatever other tackle you use, in the soapy water. If you think about it human scent is all over your gear, so the soap would be more effective when used in combination. Otherwise you’re contaminating all over again. There is a lot of interest in the soap when I explain it, but I think price has been the deterrent. Cross your fingers that this new shape/size is the solution please!

I’ve been making little “Ginger girls” too. I accidentally failed in trying to make brown (seriously, every batch comes out different even if I do the same exact thing lol) and ended up with some pink and almost lavender little gingerbread men soaps. I was pondering over writing it off as a failure, packaging as little thank you gifts for orders, or what, when the light came on in my mind and said that girls probably won’t mind pastel ones. A lot of feminists have nattered on about that cookie shape being sexist, so having a girl version could be a lucrative line. I look forward to seeing my helper’s reaction Thursday.

I’ve also been making gingersnap cookie sugar scrub, licorice ornaments (still haven’t figured out a name yet), and updating my inventory spreadsheet. I’m trying to decide on the new basket(s) too. I keep grouping things in them and then changing them. Lol. I decided to name one basket “sweet treats”. It’ll be a small basket of dessert scented products, like cherry on top and pumpkin buttercream. It’s an uplifting and fun new combo that I’m really enjoying working on. *smile*

By the way, I detest the smell of lavender. *dramatic shudder* Blech. I know others like it and supposedly look forward to it (yep, I put on my big girl pants and made several bottles of lavender lotion a few days ago). I figure I’m allowed to dislike one item, yet suffer it for the benefit of others. Do I sound dramatic enough? A martyr for the homemade bath product cause? *teasing grin* Another by the way, my phone wallpaper thoroughly applies…My thoughts aren’t as random as they seem. Others just don’t think as fast as me. Lol. Have a great Tuesday!

Acne Bee Gone Soap

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I love this new version of my acne soap that I’ve been working on (and love the name I randomly came up with, too!). It’s a half/half blend of Shea and honey soap bases, with ground and whole oats, bentonite clay, an FO (I can’t let it smell only like oatmeal and clay), and lemon powder. The honey gives an amazingly creamy feel to the lather, which really surprised me. I had decided to alter my recipe to see if I could incorporate honey somehow, to pack more natural umph against acne. It has worked amazingly well on me! The original was great, but I saw a difference in my skin. Lemon powder and honey are natural acne and bacterial warriors, while bentonite clay is really great at removing the extra oil while not drying out the skin (for most people, but of course there is Murphy’s Law lol). The oatmeal is a gentle exfoliant and is thought to help with blackheads. This small soap round packs quite a wollop! I have skin irritation from reactions to some gluten foods, plus a genetic predisposition to Keratosis Pilaris, so it made me so happy to make a product that almost completely cleared up my arms. My mom was shocked when I showed her my arms after testing the soap for two weeks. I’m going to make extra for Christmas gifts and send to a few family members. Hopefully it helps them too! So freaking happy with this soap!!

Pre “frosting” dessert soap

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These got repoured and I experimented with coloring to look more like chocolate. This picture gives you an insider’s glimpse into the base. I think I may also just pour to almost covering the middle there, so I end up with soap donuts *grin* I think a little platter of “glazed donuts” would be a cute eye catcher. Maybe even do a wedding favor box with them standing, like in a bakery box.

Dessert Soap Experiment

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I got a new silicone mold for filled petit fours (if I misspelled, I’m sorry…sudden brain fart lol, and app doesn’t do the save and come back very well, so please bear with me *grin*). When I saw the mold I immediately thought of mini cake soaps with drizzled “frosting”. I obviously am having trouble getting a decent chocolate cake color (if the clear glycerin version comes out right I’ll post it, but they’re setting up right now). In my mind I pictured little chocolate cakes and what looks like strawberry compote on it and a glaze drizzled down the sides. I experimented with different techniques on each of these and seriously don’t care for the “jam” texture that the soap allowed. I think I’m going to go with the clean version (the small one in the back). I made little black ones in hopes that they’ll look like devil’s food cake, since the bases are not turning brown despite multiple attempts at coloring. I think it’s still a cute soap (not as a grey soap of course) even though it doesn’t have the adorable molten lava cake I see in my mind’s eye. I’m debating doing a small pour onto a cookie sheet and trying to make little balls after the first set up. Put them in the little filling dip and do the other topping pour over that, so maybe I can get a neat texture. At least they’re amusing! I definitely will change the scent profile though. Somehow it smells only like strawberry chapstick instead of chocolate and strawberries. *grin* An amusing challenge!

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