Ugh! What a boo-boo!

Oh phooey! I guess this is what happens if your oven doesn't maintain an even temperature when your are oven processing your beautiful soap. that milky looking stuff is oil and that fuzz/bubbly looking stuff, well I'm not sure what that is. But, I think it is the white soap from underneath that 'boiled' up thru the chocolate layer. Hmmm, note to self: Just turn the oven off and let whatever heat is in there do the work. I am so bummed. It was so beautiful last night. Now it looks like poo-poo. Hrrrrmpphh! Well, this may be my golden opportunity to learn about re-batching. I'm going to try to ignore it for a day or 2 and see what happens. Meanwhile, I am planning the next batch......lemongrass scented soap with ground lemongrass in it. Mmmmmm, i love the smell of lemongrass.

Edit: I cut this and just made 2 bars and trimmed off the ugly top. It has been just sitting on the counter waiting for me to decide what and when to do something. It actually looks pretty good now. but I think I will just re-batch it and use coffee for the liquid and put coffee grounds in it to make a nice kitchen soap. the little blob that I scraped out of the pot and that I am using at the sink is really nice soap. The saga of the poo-poo soap will continue........

Chocolate Swirl Soap Anyone!?

I am so excited. I made my first 'swirled' soap! I can hardly wait to see what it looks like after I cut it. I have to perfect the pouring and swirling a little bit. But I think it looks pretty cool for my first try. I mixed a little cocoa powder in with a little of the oils that I was using in the batch and then when I got to light 'trace', I took out a couple of cups or so of the soap and mixed in the cocoa/oil mixture. Poured the un-flavored soap into the mold and then drizzled the choc. soap back and forth top to bottom and left to right. then I took a spoon and went from upper left corner to lower right corner, swirling back and forth. Then did the opposite. Cool bean! Ay?

AHA!!! I can upload piccies, again.!

I have piccies of my handmade soaps, today. I'm so excited that I was able figure out how to upload from the new printer to my blog.
The first batch was just a very moisturising soap that I mentioned in my last post, here.
Yesterday, I made this lovely soap. I added castor oil, ground oatmeal, lavender essential oil, and tea tree essential oil to the same recipe. For anyone who isn't a soap maker: castor oil helps make bubbles. I only had about a 1/2 teaspoon of the lavender EO and I didn't want it overpowered by the tea tree oil, so I only put 20 drops of the tea tree in it. It look so nice. I took a little sliver off a corner and tried it in the kitchen sink. Very nice. I'm sure that we are going to love it. Now, I'm planning the next soaps. I hope to make some hunter's soap soon. Will be casting on some hunting/boot socks for DGD Nick very soon and hope to make some hunter's soap to go along with them for his BD coming up the end of Feb. I think I will include a nice bar of the oatmeal/lavender/teatree soap with DGD Laura's strawberry milkshake colored boot/slipper socks for her BD in 3 weeks. I have to get busy and find the recipe for the hunters soap again.
I'm kicking myself because I have lots of lavender blossoms that I dried from my plants and I could have crushed some up and put them in the soap that I made yesterday. Oh, well. another batch. Now that I have started making soap, I don't want to quit. I have all kinds of ideas for more 'flavors'.
Knitting? you ask:
I worked on the heel flap of my opal socks tonight. and I am almost ready to do the toes on Laura's socks. Should have Laura's done by the weekend and then I can cast on for Nick's BD socks.
Gotta scoot.

I'm back online

At last I have another computer and I'm starting to get caught up. The old cantankerous puter finally did one last crash. DD#3 gave me her old puter, but it didn't come with a printer, I finally got one. But, I haven't figured out how to use the picture card slots to take my pics from it to the pc and upload to my blog. That is something for 'later'. LOL Have been busy knitting but not accomplishing much.
Right now, I'm working on a pair of Wool-Ease Blush Heather slipper/boot socks for DGD Laura. they look like a strawberry milkshake. I also have a couple of pair of socks for me going in Opal self patterning. I keep doing other things and they aren't going very fast. I really need new socks, too. I am trying to wear slipper socks over my socks in the house to keep the ones that I have from wearing out. Silly! I have a basket full of sock yarn. LOL I just keep knitting for everybody except me.
Oh my goodness! I have finally started making handmade soaps again. I can't believe that I ever quit. I used a bar from my first batch in the shower yesterday and it is divine! I used olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil and lanolin and crisco in it. Oooooh, it's so creamy and my skin just loves it. I plan to make a batch of basically the same soap this week. But I will be subbing some shea butter and jojoba oil for some of the coconut oil and either some of the crisco or olive oil. Gotta check it out on the soap calculator to make sure it will have the same and better qualities. I will be using either some cocoa powder or melted bakers dk choc. to color and flavor some of it to be swirled in with the plain soap for my first attempt at creating a marbled effect. Mmmmm, I can hardly wait for it to be done and take that first shower with it.
gotta run, DJ