# 4 days in, already making gifts.



## ashley8072 (Sep 2, 2013)

A trip to Las Vegas inspired me to start making my own soaps. I haven't done this since I was a pre-teen when my mom bought me a kit, chopping up old bars and pressing it into little molds. I've always loved different kinds of soaps and salts. Realizing that I'd spent nearly $100 on a few bars of soap, and inspiration from the spa we stayed at, I already had ideas flowing in the plane ride home. Well it's been 4 days, still strapped on cash, and no time to really shop for things, I've still managed to get some neat things up with what I've got on hand. First day I used foil molds, second day I got a tray mold, third day I found and lined a box (big thanks to JaimeM). Slowly I've been acquiring more oils and fragrances, but I've got a lot on hand already I find everyday. ATM, I'm already trying to find a good spot to store everything. The M&P method is so easy that I just whip up a couple bars whenever I'm in the kitchen for a length of time. I've also made my own bath salts for sickness and detoxing. I tried my hand for Vicks shower soothes, but my egg carton crate wasn't a great mold. Lol! I've already given stuff away for family to try out, now I'm planning on gift baskets for everyone come Christmas.
Day 1 was eucalyptus and mint bars, coffee bars, random bars, and bath salts.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 2, 2013)

Day 2
Oatmeal bars, goats milk bars, a mix of what I call the Sunburn bar, and then a bar of sage.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 2, 2013)

Day 3 was our trip to the grocery store. I finally got the loofah! I redid the coffee bar recipe (even though the rounds on day one were awesome). I did have to pull the loofah once to redo, I think too much coconut oil. So it went from being a 2 swirl color, to a purply-pink solid. Poppy seeds from the store were my choice of ingred on those day. The lonely bar is just some layering I did of the bits and pieces.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 2, 2013)

And I still can't figure out why it's only letting me post a pic at a time on the iPad. 
Last project on Day 3 was inspired by my FIL's visit for our upcoming camping trip with our group. Shaved soap, non-scented. Perfect for light backpacking, camping, bug out bags. And of course, soap on a rope I had to try. I love to hang things on the wall.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 2, 2013)

*Microwave + ivory soap + 90seconds = kewl*

I found out that when ivory soap is microwaved, it expands cloud-like. I couldn't resist making soap clouds for the girls. I didn't realize the bar was that fresh, but our 8 pieces turned to one big piece. We got 8 pieces out of it though. Unfortunately, our 11yr old thinks she's dirtier than our 3 yr old, and says she gets dibs on bath first. Lol!


----------



## JaimeM (Sep 2, 2013)

Wow Ashley! You're on a roll, mama!!  
I love with the loofah soap and that pinky-purple one! And your soap on a rope is too cool!! Love the hole through the soap, love the cord you used, love the look of the whole thing! Love it!!


----------



## JaimeM (Sep 2, 2013)

And my 6 year old wants her own soap cloud now!! LOL!!!


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 2, 2013)

JaimeM said:


> And my 6 year old wants her own soap cloud now!! LOL!!!



Haha! It's great. Prob the very first time our 3 yr old washed herself without being told. It did slip my mind that 4 soap clouds in the tub was about half a bar of soap. It was a bit cloudy. Lol! 

I just finished another mold tray of soap for my MIL. She is diabetic and has heart problems. I googled home remedies and herbs for her, and made her soap for it. Focusing on itchiness, dry skin, and circulation. 



P!


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 3, 2013)

One last batch ending off our 3 day weekend. Bath bombs made with our ice cream scooper for large ones, and melon baller for the small ones. The small ones I'm planning on using in gift sets. They smell delish!


----------



## savonierre (Sep 3, 2013)

you have been busy, everything looks wonderful..Love the cloud soap..


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 3, 2013)

Home late tonight, but DH promised me that he wouldn't do any whining while we stop at the Organic store tomorrow. I'm so excited. I've got lists and recipes galore. I even had to upgrade my notebook I was using. Tomorrow is gonna be one of those days that you're glad to make that special trip to the other side of town just to pay a bill. Hehe


P!


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 12, 2013)

A friend of my Dads, shes a breast cancer survivor, requested some soap. She has sensitive dry skin and bruises easily. Making an oatmeal soap to smell flowery was a bit experimental, but I was happy with the turnout. I went ahead and used the small mold that I picked up, because I don't plan on using much of it ourselves. The top is actually a lavender color, the pic doesn't show too well.


----------



## JaimeM (Sep 12, 2013)

Very pretty! Good job!


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 12, 2013)

*Everything's still an experiment*

Well I failed to coat all my cubes and lost about half the loaf to falling cubes. This is antiseptic soap, so I thought that small bars would be more suitable. I also couldn't help myself from sprinkling some beeswax shavings over the top. This was my first loaf batch of embeds, still pretty happy with it.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 13, 2013)

I squeezed another small loaf I'm before bed last night. I was talking to DH about the antiseptic soap, ad didn't even realize it would be good on his welding burns. Since I had a bit left, I made swirls with it. Then used aloe Vera in a new base. I was really looking for a red soap, but pink was fine.  


Sent from my iPhone using Soap Making


----------



## Marilyna (Sep 13, 2013)

Your soaps and things are very pretty! Just be sure to try everything yourself before giving them away. It will save you some problems, down the road.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 13, 2013)

Marilyna said:


> Your soaps and things are very pretty! Just be sure to try everything yourself before giving them away. It will save you some problems, down the road.



I make sure to try everything. It is causing a problem as far as soap space in the tub though.  I've also had to make sure that I write down all the ingredients. My Aunt that lives next door takes a lot of pres meds for her heart and such. She has to watch exactly what she puts on her skin, so it doesn't react badly with her meds.


----------



## Stakie (Sep 13, 2013)

It's always good to write down everything. Just in case you want to make something again.. or not!


----------



## paillo (Sep 13, 2013)

Wonderful first tries! Did you know you can grow loofah sponges? I grow them on a tipi trellis made from branches from our woods, lashed together at the top. Loofahs are a kind of goard, I order seeds online in the spring. They grow beautiful yellow flowers, and the goards form mid-summer. They get very tall, so a TALL tipi is in order. More fun than store-bought loofahs, and much, much less expensive


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 13, 2013)

paillo said:


> Wonderful first tries! Did you know you can grow loofah sponges? I grow them on a tipi trellis made from branches from our woods, lashed together at the top. Loofahs are a kind of goard, I order seeds online in the spring. They grow beautiful yellow flowers, and the goards form mid-summer. They get very tall, so a TALL tipi is in order. More fun than store-bought loofahs, and much, much less expensive



I did not know that. That's awesome! I just checked that out and I wants.  I knew that they were from some sort of natural material, but not knew they actually grew on trees. Thanks!


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 14, 2013)

Did a full loaf of sage soap this evening. My temps were still on the upside, but I got a little swirl in the mix. I used a hint of lemongrass to give it a toned scent. I wasn't planning on selling it, but I've had 3 offers since posting on FB. Looks like I'm gonna have to make more for my Native family.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 14, 2013)

I was going for an egg nog look, but I had some mixing issues and ended up having to rebatch the whole thing together. I put too much cinnamon in the middle, that when I went to slice the first loaf, it nearly split each one. I guess that's the beauty of soap. I can start over and never lose any money to the trash can. I added the brown shreds inside on the rebatch.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 15, 2013)

Much better. This is one of the first bars I made using the single mold, compared to the loaf I did this morning. I'd say practice makes perfect.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 16, 2013)

I've had a couple people ask for soap for oily skin. This is what I came up with. I was hoping to get almost a black color with what I had, but ended up being very purple.


----------



## karenbeth (Sep 16, 2013)

I love the embeds in that last one. Are they melt and pour?


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 16, 2013)

karenbeth said:


> I love the embeds in that last one. Are they melt and pour?



Thanks. Yep. All melt and pour.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 23, 2013)

So I got curious about what's in my so called Stress Relief hand soap that I bought years and years ago. We don't use it much, but the bottle is very nice looking. I paid a pretty penny for it, so for a long time, I didn't even let anyone else use it.  Well, the ingreds list is horribly long. Then I felt the need to make my own to replace it. It's Eucalyptus and Spearmint scented, just as the product is. I did add a hint of Vit E in it too.


----------



## ashley8072 (Sep 23, 2013)

I've also been very busy in new creations besides soap. Here's a few things that I've skipped over doing. This doesn't include that I've learned and started making my own laundry soap (which is a big success with my picky Dad that lives next door). I made shave soap (tested at the time using a school paintbrush, turned out super awesome when I finally got a shave brush), and I changed my coffee soap to look more like a cappuccino. On another note: We are very pleased with using the ball of foil for a static sheet, and I have also made a batch of homemade deodorant (also turning out to be very very good).


----------

