First, let me just say that I hate Blogger's new "look." It was fine before (as was Gmail) and now it sucks. Everything is moved around and there are so many symbols with no words that it is making me a bit cranky. Not that I need an excuse, just sayin'.
So my (blogless) friend Awana came over on Monday for a day of soaping. She is new to the Wool Thing and had never made soap. I have more supplies than one person who is not a professional soapmaker should have, so it was a perfect match - we traded labor for soap and it worked out great.
First we made lotion - dead simple with a prepared base that has been sitting around for I don't know how long. Add warm water, 8 drops of fragrance for each 4 oz canning jar, and Bob's yer uncle, lovely lotion!
Here's a warning for you, kids - see that stick blender there? When rendering beef fat, don't think you're being all clever breaking up the chunks with a blender - the melting fat is very much hotter than you imagine and will melt your blender before you can say, "Oh, sh!t." Really. The beauty of blogging is that the stuff that Goes Wrong need never be put up for public consumption. Of course, one must be very careful to keep the mistakes and misguided Great Ideas out of future photos, no? Now you know that things don't always go according to plan here on the Rockin' Red Rabbit Ranch.
We made four loaves of soap (shampoo bars not pictured because I am lame and lazy today) -
 |
| Smoky Patchouli, Garden Gate and Orange/Allspice |
Even got creative with a cupcake pan (the white on top is grated soap flakes) -
 |
| Juicy Lime Cupcakes! |
Goat's milk bars scented with Wine & Roses -
 |
| Multi-colored bars |
And lots of molded bars -
 |
| They are a strange color because they are frozen to help the mold release |
Altogether, this represents four separate batches, some with shea butter added, some with sweet almond oil, all with goat's milk and oxide colors. Awana was a great helper, suggesting scent combinations, color combinations and swirling - I generally just pour it into molds and call it good, but this was much more fun. Thanks, Awana!
Here's a warning for you, kids - see that stick blender there? When rendering beef fat, don't think you're being all clever breaking up the chunks with a blender - the melting fat is very much hotter than you imagine and will melt your blender before you can say, "Oh, sh!t." Really. The beauty of blogging is that the stuff that Goes Wrong need never be put up for public consumption. Of course, one must be very careful to keep the mistakes and misguided Great Ideas out of future photos, no? Now you know that things don't always go according to plan here on the Rockin' Red Rabbit Ranch.
Altogether, this represents four separate batches, some with shea butter added, some with sweet almond oil, all with goat's milk and oxide colors. Awana was a great helper, suggesting scent combinations, color combinations and swirling - I generally just pour it into molds and call it good, but this was much more fun. Thanks, Awana!
2 comments:
"The beauty of blogging is that the stuff that Goes Wrong need never be put up for public consumption."
Yeah, but where's the fun (or the interest)in that? There's more to be learned from the results that are unexpected.
BTW I *hate* the Blogger comments interface. Never works with my Wordpress ID.
I hear ya! It appears that I already talked about the melted blender, so I guess I reveal more about the stuff that doesn't work than I thought I did - should probably read back thru the old posts, eh? :-)
Post a Comment