First Trial Live Video Soaping Session

About a month ago I announced the decision on my Facebook page to run a trial for the potential offering on live video style soaping session hosted by me.  I figured, there's no point talking about it over and over, just put it into action and see what happens, it's called trial and error!
Thanks to all 5 volunteered participants!  We did it using free Google Hangout, not without glitches but no major failure either.  Here are some photos from the session:

LeeAnn Atwood from Dairy-Aire Craft & Gifts

Louise Vargas from SoGa Soap & CupFakery

Deborah Jones from Peculiar People (UK) 

I pre-made a demo log before the session to show:

Then I made one during the session:

 

 

Thanks to this first trial I got to experience what it's like live on teleconference style soaping.  There's a lot to improve in terms of session sequencing and most importantly, the hosting media.  For sure 2nd or even 3rd trial is needed.  If you are interested in volunteering, have a look out at my Facebook page, I will announce it when I'm ready.

Don't you want to learn more about how to make multi-color layering (gradient) soap?  There are so much more I can offer.  Be on a look out in the very near future!

My Twist to Elemental Swirl

The first time I heard about this swirl is from Otion Soap Blog, see their original post: Elemental Swirl

This is basically doing ITP (in the pot) swirl 2 times with 2 different color schemes, separately.  Usually it is done with one ITP, pencil line on top, then pour the 2nd ITP on pencil line without breaking it.

My problem is, to do ITP my soap batter has to be relatively thin to medium or else colors don't swirl within.  But to ITP first then pencil line before the 2nd ITP will make my later one too thick to pour.  Why?  I'm slow and annal... it would take me time to do my perfect pencil line and clean up all sides before the 2nd ITP pour.  My typical restless mind started to roll, is there a reason why I can't pour both ITP at the same time?!  What's stopping me?!  Is pencil line really important in this case that I cannot live without?!  What's the purpose of the pencil line?  To separate the 2 ITP, to prevent the 2nd ITP to break and mix with the 1st ITP.  But, if I pour my both ITP at the same time simultaneously side by side, they should be able to hold each other's territory without help from pencil line.

Here it is, Sandalwood Rose

(This is by no mean the typical sandalwood rose, it's my own blend.  This is sandalwood without sharp camphor note, sweeter with a powdery finish, plus a none typical rose, I used Alaskan wild Denali rose instead.)  If you are interested you can get a bar here: Buy Sandalwood Rose Soap

And no, I did not use a divider!

Color Inspiration: Flirt with Me Soap

Haven't had a soap project went so smoothly for awhile, from planning to cut, all as expected!  Wow~ how often is that?!
If you follow my blog (what?!  No?!  well, you should!) you would remember I've done a few posts about putting inspirations into real soap.  Design Seeds is one of the sites I use very often for inspirations.  Flirt with Me soap is scented with a duplication fragrance from Victoria's Secrete Bombshell perfume.  It is a very fun sexy type of fragrance, and I want to play with that feeling!

It is inspired by this sexy fun flirty pair of high heels from Design Seeds:

How do you like it cut?  Flirty enough?!  Get your inner animal out!

 

Big Announcement

I have been pondering around the idea of offering "teaching" since so many people asked me.  Problem is I do not have a facility nor do I have extra equipment and materials to do so physically.  In addition, everyone is located everywhere in the country and outside the countries.  It is proven hard to get everyone to be at the same place at the same time.  I want to make this very affordable and trouble-less to say the least, to me and to all participants.  Upon casual online discussions I had with various soapers for months, live video conferencing seems to be a great idea.  But of course, it is not free.

Live video conference soaping is new, I have not seen anyone done so exclusively.  How to make it educational and informative but at the same time still hands on and productive is my biggest hurdle.  I had put that idea behind my mind for a long time simply because I have no complete solution yet.  At the mean time I kept on making soap videos to show what people want to see.

Last week I woke up one day thinking I should just do it.  It's useless to keep on simulating it in my head, put it in action and see what comes out, it's called trial and error.  I would never know if I don't give it a try, right?!  Let me paint you a broad picture of my new upcoming adventure:

• It's not a typical soap "class" per say, it's definitely not for beginners.  I call people who want to join the participants, not students.  I'm simply here to offer you the way I think when I soap, for you to understand why my soap come out a certain way.   Therefore, my offerings will be soaping sessions on online live video conference.
• I'm offering you inspiration together with tips and tricks.  I'm certainly not offering exactly how to soap like me!  That is not the point, the point is so you can develop your own style.
• This will be hands on, not watching me soap from a video camera.  And yes, that means a lot of prep ahead of time before session starts.
•    I should have put this at the very top, everyone has to be equipped with computer they can set up in their soaping area for all of us to "see" each other while soaping.

I already publicly requested free trial participants and got 5 right the way.  Session should be held in about a week.  Before it starts everyone will get electronic preparation sheets.  Everyone needs to be prepared before the session, we are not waiting if one starts to scramble because he/she is not prepared.  How exciting is this?!  I will report back hopefully soon!

Soap Top Colored Sugar Crystal Obsession

I told you I get obsessed from time to time!
I'm going to show you a simple last minute trick to spice up soap top!  This item is very common in supermarket or any baking supply store.  It is cake decorating sugar crystal, yes, the eatable sugar, just in bigger crystal size than regular white granulated sugar.  However, if you live in tropical high humidity place this might not work for you, you don't want sugar water on top of your soap!  You can use it as is, just sprinkle wherever you want:

Or you can color it lightly first then sprinkle all over:

Or, you can color it intensively then sprinkle:

Tip, do not use water or oil base colorants!  Colorants should be powder form, best to be shimmery or sparkly but don't use dye!

Too Little Heat Too Much Heat

Do you know that some fragrance oils out there can be as moody as us the women?!  Seriously, no joke!

(Yes I admit, I can be moody, but I called that being sensitive, ha!)

The #1 most common moodiness from the fragrance oils we use to soap is acceleration of trace, worst case, soap on a stick, meaning once it hits the batter you can lift the whole "batter" up with your spatula!  This usually happens to heavy floral or spice noted fragrance oils.  We got so well trained by these we learn to go around it.

Today I want to talk about the more rare soaping fragrance moody behavior.  As a fragrance addict I "collect" well over (and ever growing) 100 different ones... yes I know, I need help...  Out of all I soaped with, I can count with one hand how many fragrance I have encountered with this rare naughty behavior.  The first common characteristic of these naughty fragrance oils is that they do not accelerate soap trace, in fact, some even slows it down.  So what curve ball do they throw at us?!  ASH INSIDE OUT!!!

No, it is not stearic spot, trust me, I made a big batch to split into 2 and poured into same mold with divider, this one got it, the other fragrance got absolutely NONE.

How about this one?  Oh gosh the ash is so evenly distributed, should I thank it or should I hate it?!  Let me show you more of the my earlier soap that did the exact same thing.  What do you think of this one?!  It was so bad on the top I had to chop the whole top off, but even that it was just way too ugly to sell.

 Or these?!

(I washed off the outer ash but the inside ash just wouldn't give)

After 3 years of soaping I finally had semi success in eliminating most of the ash.  I figure maybe it just need a little more heat, to speed up the saponification!

Hey, didn't I already mention before that no soap can ever defeat ME?!  I soaped that first blue soap again, this time I pre heated lowest setting of my oven before I soap then turned it off.  I did whatever doodad I usually do, sprayed rubbing alcohol on top a couple times, then popped it into the warm oven.  I'm guessing the temperature at that moment was probably somewhere around 140F or even less.  An hour latter I open the oven to check and it was perfectly fine, no gelling no nothing.  Total false sense of security!  I fell asleep for a quick weekend afternoon nap.  By the time I got up, the soap was already cooling down and a couple big cracks showed up on the top.

!@#&*)*^%$)^_#&(_*^(&%!!!

I'm pretty sure it wasn't that hot in the oven or else my blue colored sugar crystal would have melted or my plexiglass mold would have deformed.  But that cracks were obviously caused by over heating.  How can soap over heat when it didn't even go through gelling?!

Well, at least this time there's no ash inside!  I can live with that, embrace the cracks!  Yes, cracking top was totally my design intention can't you tell?!  LOL

Swirl in the Swirl

I'm in love with this new easy to make swirling technique!

I saw Holly from Missouri River Soap did one, see her post here: Green Apple Rose and I just have to try.  She made it look so effortless I don't think I can ever compete with her Green Apple Rose.  This is basically swirling an ITP (in the pot) swirl in the mold with another base color.

Here's my Rainforest Soap:

Then I just did this best fresh peach scent, my White Peach Soap: