Soap Stamps

I don't sell my soaps, but that shouldn't stop me from wanting to personally autograph (stamp) every bar of soap made by me and used by my Mister and me right? I just didn't know what kind of a stamp to make though. To scratch out my name would be too hard and I didn't want the world to know (when I actually start to sell my soaps) I was the one who made that horrible soap (God forbid!!!). While I was drawing out small patterns on a paper, I saw the marker's cap had a pretty simple but sweet design. A round with small spokes radiating out...kind of like a small kid's drawing of Mr. Sunshine. 

Off to the trusty craft store I went, and picked up some modelling clay and got to work almost immediately.  I also picked up a wooden people peg, which I planned to use as a handle and this is what I created....

Wooden people peg handle with hardened clay stamp

Stamped

I was very proud of the creative bug who lives inside me and Mister was totally amazed. He took me out for dinner that night!! What a sweetheart!! Later I made another stamp which I still have to stick on the wooden peg, but this is how it looks on the soap:

Stamped again

The soaps that got stamped are my coffee soaps. I plan to stick with the second pattern (the flowery one). :)

  

Sindelfinger Handwerkermarkt

This is where I was on Saturday. The handicrafts market in Sindelfingen. Lots of stalls with beautiful handmade creations.....baskets, little dolls, textiles, jewelery, ceramics, wooden artifacts, and SOAPS too.

The basket stall

Illusions in wood

The first soap stall I visited

My treasures

Green soap: Lemon Verbena
Tan colored soap: Juniper
Yellow soap: Citrus

Another soap stall

Very prettily packed soaps 

A small treat for me

Lavender soap

Little doll factory

At work

Bell casting

Pouring in the molten metal

Smoking!!!

I am not terrific at photography, but most of the pictures were taken from far or from weird angles, as I didn't want to disturb the artists. I had a great time watching the geniuses at work.  

Capricorn love

Made on: 23.03.2011

Still riding high on the beginner's luck wave and having just received my essential oils and Shea butter supply, I got brave and picked up some fresh goat milk from a bio-store. Everyone is raving about the goodness of goat milk, so why should my skin be deprived of the loving goat-y pampering?

On your marks, get set, GOAT!! All hard oils were melted and liquid oils were added to bring down the temperature. I used Shea butter, olive, coconut, palm and corn oils.The lye was added bit by bit to the mostly frozen goat milk. I thought all was going well, but then saw the lye and milk solution was turning yellow. How do I get a white soap with yellow lye solution?? Panic!! So the beginner's luck wave had crashed!! I kept stirring the solution to make sure all the lye was dissolved. What do I see??? The solution is not so liquid-y any more. It was turning into a darker yellow colored pudding kinda thing. More panic followed by frantic pacing... 

Do I give up and try again some other time or do I just go ahead and see what happens?? I could be the inventor of some great new thing....That's the spirit!!! I went ahead with the experiment. I also tried doing the cocoa line which I first saw on Cocobong's site. The soap was scented with Orange, Lemon grass and Rosemary essential oils. I still didn't have a proper mold, so I used juice cartons that were fashioned by me to take the place of a log mold. 

After some time I noticed some oil had leaked out. :( Then reading on the net I found that some citrus EO's could do that, but usually the oil gets absorbed. I decided to wait and see. The next morning......it was soap!! No more extra oil :D I had read a lot about the goodness of goat milk, but didn't read that goat milk when combined with lye becomes creamy and yellow. I knew all along that one goat doesn't make another goat cry (me is a Capricorn). ;)

Just out of the mold

Goat milk soap with cocoa line and with cocoa

Creamy Castile Mithai

Made on: 17.03.2011

I wanted to make a pure olive oil castile soap, but was dilly-dallying coz I love a good smelling soap. Another thing was that olive oil soaps don't lather much (but it gets better after a long cure process). Hmmm! It was too big a decision to make so I held back for a few days. Then I thought and re-thought and finally decided to make a small batch. Depending on how I felt at the moment, I would leave it pure or add fragrance or color or both or something more. 

I got all the ingredients together and kept the EO's and also some olive oil infused with turmeric right next to me....just in case. The mold was also ready. I opened the fridge to take a swig of apple juice and found a bottle of cream staring at me. So, I picked it up.

Did I make a pure castile soap you ask? NOPE! I whipped it up with whipping cream, rosemary, palmarosa and lemon grass EO's and a colored (turmeric) top layer.

The mold was a gift from my dear hubby <3, who thought of me when he saw a sweet box brought to office by a colleague from India. They all ate the sweets....I got the empty box. :)

The soaps are still curing, but the color of the top layer has faded completely. About 3 weeks into curing, I tried one and observed it did lather. Not a lot, but quite enough to be called soap. Me is happy!!

Turmeric top layer pattern made with a whisk

Out of the mold and ready to be cut 

Cut up

Minty Coffee Soap

 Made on: 16.02.2011

After a tea soap, I thought, why not coffee!! I love south Indian filtered coffee...made with a thick coffee brew, freshly boiled milk and lots of sugar....mmmm Heaven!! For a great cup in the morning, ground coffee is put into the top vessel with tiny holes, the filter is placed on top, boiling water is poured over it and then the lid is fitted so that the water seeps through the coffee with the help of gravity and collects slowly in the bottom vessel through the night (actually a couple of hours). Me thinks nothing says 'Good Morning' better than a cup of filter coffee. Here's a picture of the filter if you like:

Not my picture, found it on the internet

They are also available in brass in pretty designs and I plan to buy myself one (when I go to India). I like things made of brass, because they have a traditional Indian feel.  Back to my coffee soap! I heard coffee soaps have the power to rid the hands of ugly fish, onion and garlic smells to name a few.  I formulated my own recipe this time.

Coconut oil - 32%
Palm oil - 32%
Canola oil - 32%
Sunflower oil - 5% (I don't know why I thought of that 5%)

A very basic kitchen soap. The lye solution was made with very strong coffee brew and the coffee grounds were added towards the end into the soap for a scrub effect. I also added some ground cinnamon. I love spices! :)

When I wrapped up the soap in a fleece blanket to gel, it became really really hot. It must have been the cinnamon. The soaps gelled wonderfully...

Soap going through the gel phase

Before(left) and after(right) gel

Mint, lime and clove (more spices, why not?) essential oils make this soap smell really fresh and clean but also warm (and spicy?). I love the fragrance! Just wish I had used a more skin caring olive oil or some butters instead of so much coconut oil. My hands feel a little dry after washing, but the food smells really vanish.  My minty cinnamon-y coffee soap says 'Good Morning'!