6Mos. Of Soapin' Around ... IMG HEAVY

[Valledaisy]

Six months of off and on soapin' around. I was inspired to start soap crafting after reading several articles on the dangers of commercial soaps. How the chemical additives can strip skin and make you more prone to sun damage and so on. And after a lot of research and note taking I took a leap forward and dove in.

I like to keep my ingredients all natural so I don't add dyes. I am learning and pick up on what ingredients and powders can add pigment to soaps. Like the 5 1 gallon bags of dried rose hips I have can be ground into powder to make burgandyish red it is sort of itchy in high amounts though. As well as Cinnamon brown very coarse but is great to exfoliate with and you end up smelling like a cinnamon roll.

 

My husband has made me several box loaf molds. Mini molds as well as taller and shorter log molds. I've gone on to crayon soaps, body balms, lip balms, eye creams, bath soaks, lotions, scrubs, toners, deodorants and household supplies. I've been having a lot of fun making and sharing these products and wanted to post some pictures of my 'Kitchen Adventures'.

Garden Herb Soap
This stuff packs a heck of a punch. Smells of peppery basil, bay, clary sage, lavender, parsley, cilantro and dill. All organically grown in my own garden. Dried and aged before I grind for use.



Citrus Mint - Made with 4 types of mint from last years herb garden, ground orange peel and Orange EO.


Spinach Oatmeal Soap - Organic Spinach and Oatmeal Vegan Soap
Green Tea & Chamomile layered Vegan Soap


Vanilla Orange Pumpkin - Homegrown Pumpkin Puree adds to the color and the deep cleansing properties. Tahitian Vanilla Bean Powder layered with Orange Pumpkin


Banana Clove - Puree Banana and Pure Banana Juice blended with ground clove and ginger.


Echineacea Soapwart



Gearhead Soap
My hubby and I are grease monkeys. We love to tinker with cars and motors and often need something strong to remove grime. So I made up this natural alternative to the harsh LAVA type soap we were using.

Orange Oil, Ground Lavender, Comfrey, Lemon Balm, Poppy Seeds and Black Tea. Added Poppy Seed for 'grit' and super fatted with castor and shea.



Mini Soaps. I make these in small mini bread loaf sized boxes. They are perfect for soap samples and travel hand soaps.


Mini Shea All Over Body Bar and Garden Herb Bar


Mini Soaps all in a row ... including Barley Beer Bars, Organic Raw Honey Bars, Raw Organic Agave Bars, Lemongrass infused Shea and Vanilla Almond Oatmeal



Time Warp Body Bar
My hubby came up with this name after I told him all the properties of the ingredients in the bar. Loads of anti aging, restorative, soothing and deep penetrating ingredients. All organic and vegan friendly.


Lemon Bomb
I say Lemon BOMB because I put everything lemon in this one. Lemon Balm, Lemon Grass, Lemon Sage, Lemon Peel, Lemon Verbena and Lemon Mint were ground into a fluffy powdery form (mortar pestle as well as grinder) and swirled into an All Natural Shea Butter and Olive Soap. The shea and olive oils were also infused with all these lemony ingredients in various combos to each.


Barley Beer
I had a request from a family member for beer soaps so this was my first go.


Shea Body Bar
Again obsessed with All Natural Shea .. it makes a beautiful bar.


Lemon Grass Infused Shea


Shea Mini Bars


Assorted Lip Balms




First Fresh Spearmint of the Spring!! Had to share. Great ingredient.






And as I've posted before I got into lip scrubs and then lip balms as a promo item for a friend. I started making assorted flavors and types of balms. I've slowly graduated on to infused lip balms and shimmering lip tints. My 12 year old wants to wear make up. She is obsessed with bold colored lip sticks so as an alternative to lip stick I made these shimmer balms. Leaves a touch of color and a shimmery shine. She LOVES them.




I got the idea for making my own labels from AlishaMisha's post http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=365527.msg4295108#msg4295108

I made up a template using Printmaster 18 fits 20 per page.

Now that I have a house full of products I'm looking to spread my wings and fly. Thinking Farmer's Market or a seasonal shop for the summer. Don't know. Excited still the same.

I have tons of more photos but I don't want to seem to be selling something. I'm just sharing in hopes to inspire the same way all the posts I've seen inspire me.

Happy Soapin' Everyone!

[SunflowerSmiles]

 I love your post!  Lots of great information and I LOVE what you've put into these bars!  Sounds like you put in a lot of work and I know if you sell at a Farmer's market they would go like hot cakes.

I've wanted to start making these things as well..like the lip balm and body butters and such. This is really inspiring and I for sure bookmarked your post.

I would just love to go on a smelling fest at your house I'd died and gone to heaven, I do believe!

[Mandyhello]

Holy crap 

Everything looks amazing, but I really like the citrus mint and vanilla orange pumpkin!  That's a ton of work, you should be so proud of yourself

[tiffi_333]

wow you definately have been very busy. they all look great though i love home made lipbalms..i made a really nice batch at christmas, a super small one because its just for me, and i still have loads left. It definately goes a long way I think its great that you're letting your daughter use those instead of real lipstick since most lipsticks do contain lead. Maybe as she gets older you can try making other make-up for her as well, Im sure she'd love it more than buying it from the store.

[Valledaisy]

Thanks Ladies.

Tiffi I've seriously been thinking about making my own make up products. I've made blush as they discontinued the snowy plum color I loved oh so much. I've read ingredients on things for years and often wonder what else is in there they don't tell us about. Apparently there is no law that says companies HAVE to tell you EVERYTHING that's in their products. That scares me. Both of my daughters suffer from Eczema and I've made them treatment balms and lotions after learning that the products that the doctor had prescribed cause liver and kidney issues.

I do a lot of sewing and gardening as well. I make it a point to switch up what I'm doing throughout the month. And when I get to soapin' around I get a little excited at the possibilities of what I can make. So I end up with about 30lbs a month ...  WOW I didn't realize that until just now!! My first batches I tested out on family and friends and donated some to the community shelter and some churches. After positive feedback I started branching out into other bath and body products. My kids are a great inspiration and my eldest (12) can't wait for summer so she can help me make soaps. She's been watching and learning can't wait to let her whip up some soaps of her own.

I could go on forever ...

[MareMare]

Beautiful! I love the combinations you come up with, very clever!

[Ignitetheairwaves]

This makes me want to try soap making. Your pictures are beautiful!

[I Sew Cute]

This makes me want to try soap making. Your pictures are beautiful!

Ditto! I just might give it a try!

[DaBunny]

That banana clove sounds amazing. I did a banana oatmeal soap a while back with banana puree. What fun that was. I love the way it feels on my skin. Did you add a fragrance to that one or leave it all natural?

[Valledaisy]

I strongly suggest you go forth and make soap. It's so much fun. I hear a lot from friends that they'd be afraid of the lye. Don't be afraid just be safe. Set up your station, I always have a spritz bottle of distilled vineager on hand when making soap. I had a sploosh take place and had a few blobs of not yet to trace soap hit my forearm above the gloves it then rolled down in the glove not fun but didn't scar me for life. Spritzed and it was fine. And that's been my one encounter with the lye in a bad way don't let it scare you.  I can't wait to add more pics of soaps and stuff I've been working on.

@

That banana clove sounds amazing. I did a banana oatmeal soap a while back with banana puree. What fun that was. I love the way it feels on my skin. Did you add a fragrance to that one or leave it all natural?

Dabunny

I left it all natural. I don't actually use any fragrances in my soaps. I've wanted to keep them natural some have stronger scents than others. Did you chill your banana puree and juice before adding to the lye water? My first time around I didn't thankfully it was a small test batch. It was foul for a while but after I made the soap and let it cure it redeemed itself. I did some reading and checked with a few people in blogs and learned that chilling was a good thing. When I made the larger batch I chilled everything banana and I added a touch of clove oil in addition to the ground ingredients.