I have been very busy restocking all my handmade soaps these past few weeks and today was the day for making Cucumber Melon soap.  This time around though, I had a vision of this particular handmade soap with pink, cream and white layers.  It is tedious when making layered soap because each layer has to set up before pouring the next layer or the soap will run together and you won’t get clean lines between each layer.  This is the reason that I haven’t layered any soap in a while.  It just takes too darn long and I am a busy lady after all!!  I really should know better.  To save time I decided that I would pour three molds in a row instead of doing one at a time.  That means make a batch of soap, color it and then pour 1/3 into each of the molds.  Sounds good and should have worked but the 3rd layer which I colored green set up too fast when I got to the second mold.  It was like pouring thick porridge.  By the time I poured the last portion into the 3rd mold I had glop.  Just plain glop.  No amount of pounding, shaking or twisting the molds would move this soap around evenly.  I ended up using a flat edge trowel to try and even out the hills and valleys of wet soap.  I can tell you that when this happens it is an exercise in frustration.  I doubt I’d pass as a concrete finisher.   Hopefully, when I cut this batch of handmade soap up I will be able to even most of the bars out and end up with suitable and saleable bars.  If all else fails, there is always the “Ugly Duckling” box!

Popularity: 55% [?]

Share This

It’s that time of year again and I find myself back at the Vancouver Farmers Market in Vancouver, Washington.  This is my seventh year.  Wow!  I can hardly believe it.   When I first started selling here I only made handmade soap.  Now I make quite a collection of natural skin care products.  It is always a joy to go back to the market and meet up with customers that have become friends and I now know on a first name basis.  It just warms my heart that all these people have supported my business for so long.

This is a family oriented farmers market in downtown Vancouver, Washington where you can shop for fresh, locally grown produce; pick up stunning fresh flower bouquets for the table and browse for unique arts and crafts.  If you are visiting Vancouver, please be sure to include our market in your travels for a visit and don’t forget to stop by my booth and say hello! 

Popularity: 60% [?]

Share This

Why silicone of course! Why? Well, when making handmade soap pouring wet soap into silicone is a bit like cooking. Silicone releases the finished soap easily with no pulling, pushing, jumping, hopping or the dreaded “L” word, lining a soap mold. I LOVE, LOVE my silicone soap molds. Handmade soap and silicone molds just go together. It’s plain as day. There is no lining, insulating with heavy blankets or stacking of molds trying to get a good gel. An added bonus of using silicone molds for handmade soap is these molds insulate very well. Ours were custom made by my “go fix it” guy but you can get these types of molds through Upland Soap Factory and Silvermoon Soap Supply.

Up top is a photo of one of my molds. I’m not the best photographer but you get the idea. These are the best for making handmade soap.

Popularity: 54% [?]

Share This