Friday, April 27, 2012

Sometimes it works...and sometimes it doesn't

Ever have one of those batches that looks great sketched out on paper, and beautiful in your minds eye?  You've made a plan, sketched it out, readied your ingredients, have the perfect fragrance picked out..essentially everything is ready.  And then you make it, it's all going great, your fragrance behaves beautifully, you can see your idea coming to life, and when your done you look up and say "this is going to be awesome"...and right there...you've jinxed yourself. 
because the next day you unmold to find this horrid looking block of soap that just doesn't look good to you.  The colors are off, the fragrance turned into something that doesn't match the color scheme, or the entire project just didn't work.
Yep I've had a few of those...and just last week I had THREE in a row....thank you to those mischievous little soap pixies.

Wanna See...

I'll start at the beginning....It was a beautiful day...just kidding!
I got this amazing fragrance from one of my favorite Candle Fragrance suppliers called Pineapple Coconut.  It was so yummy OOB that I fell in love, it reminded me of the shampoo that really good salons use when you go get your hair cut, absolute heaven.
I tried originally to put it in a candle, but it has to much coconut in it and ended up smelling like toasted coconut/pineapple skewers...yuck. So in to the Soap fragrance bin it went (I love it when they are body safe too). 
My first plan with Pineapple coconut was to accent the pineapple with yellow and green colors.  I was thinking a yellow base with green top and make it spiky, or add soap curls for added pizazz. 
Wrong..bad...horrible idea...the curls looked terrible so I cut them off thinking that would help..nope wrong..still horrid. (well at least to me)







Once I cut the curls off I tried to bevel the edges and get it looking better.  By the time all was said and done they were not near the right size or weight that my soap should be.  Into my find something to do with these bin they go. 






 Then a few nights later I came up with a great idea.  So I shredded 2-3 bars of the above soap's yellow part only.  I thought how cool would it be to use the soap shreds in the bottom, with white on top.  Brilliant, I know I've seen it done before somewhere (sorry can't find where & I forgot to pin it) So There I went planning another experiment.  I had it all sketched out and ready to go. After pouring I had the hardest time waiting to un-mold..I was dying to see if it worked.

It did not...the layers did not stick together and some of the bottom portion fell off.  Maybe not enough alcohol spritz in between layers, or too much of the shreds? I don't know. 

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I was determined to at least try to save this batch the best I could.  I cut of the bottom portion, and just cut the bars much thicker than my standard bar so they at least where the correct weight.  It's going to be a bit of extra work making a soap wrap that is the right size just for these bars...but it was worth it to save this otherwise beautiful batch!

  
I do plan on trying one more batch of this fragrance.  I know I am a sucker for punishment.  However this time I will go basic, no fancy footwork or experiments just a nice plain, but elegant batch.  My goal this time is to try and get it whiter and more whipped texture on the top...and of course some glitter.  I am really loving this new glitter I got from Bramble Berry I am quickly becoming addicted, because, well every girl likes a little sparkle every now and then!

Thanks for taking the time to read this unusually large blog post, sorry it was so long.  I hope that if you were not inspired, you at least learned from my mistake, and if anyone has done the soap shreds with desired results; my hats of to you!



4 comments:

  1. Monica, they all look great to me! And the sample you gave me is fantastic! I am looking to trying out a candle, when is your next event where I could smell your goods? Thanks!

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    1. Thanks! and I'm glad you are loving the sample. I will be in Monroe Wed May 9th @ Paula's Wine Knot (monroe river valley farm) for the Mother's Day shopping extravaganza. Then I will be up in Sedro-Woolley for blast from the past June 1-3rd.

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  2. I have often had soap ideas that look great sketched out in my mind (or on paper) but didn't necessarily turn out the way I planned in reality.

    Even though it wasn't what you planned, your soaps look absolutely gorgeous and I love that how you matched your color to fit the fragrance. Great job!

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