soap sure does do some unexpected things. i decided to do an apple cider bar this year since we didnt do one last year, and, what went into the mold ( above photo) was a muted red/mauve color... and what came out ( below photo) was almost neon orange. lol im not disappointed, it just changes its name from apple jackd to witches brew. hah if you remember and loved the apple jackd bar we had out a couple of years ago, youll love this bar too. its the same scent - just a different color lol
one of the things i love so much about making soap is that theres always a little bit of surprise -- like the neon orange apple bar. i had NO idea the cider was going to change the color that much. i didnt write down what i did the first time i made it so i had no notes to go from. .. all i remember from the first time i made it was that it was a catastrophic event and i was sweating, swearing and not expecting the bar to even turn out. lol so basically " winging it " were my notes for this year. i definitely was shocked when i unmolded this soap - but pleasantly surprised as i love having a bright pop of color around.
next up is the matcha + oat milk bar. i just made this bar the other day and although i kinda knew nothing crazy was bound to happen, its still a surprise to unmold a new bar never made before. this was my first time using actual oat milk ( not oat flour) in a soap,and doing gradient type lines with a bar can turn out any sort of way. i knew the mint oils wouldnt change the color any, but matcha sometimes has a mind of its own depending on the temps im working with, also, gel phase of soap making can often change the shades of anything once its in the mold and i was really hoping this one would stay close to the color i poured in, and.. im happy to say, this bar turned out even better than i was hoping for. totally love it. its matcha, oat milk with peppermint and spearmint essential oils. theres tiny little flecks of matcha in the layers and i just adore this entire bar.
if you followed along our social media much this week you probably noticed i got some whips whipped up and out for sale, some new chapsticks and a citrus sanitizer. the rest of my week was spent restocking staple bars like fij and rooibos, and popular products like bug spray and relaxation spritz. yesterday and today i restocked about 100 milk and honey bars and prepped my next 8 batches of soap. i can honestly that i probably wont be making anything but soap for the next good while. its that time of year where i have to focus on getting the soaps made and curing for the rest of the season and i have to accept that we are probably going to run out of some things in the meantime. and, thats just got to be the way it is for a while. so, hopefully restocking what i did this week will buy me about 2 months of uninterrupted soap making time :) thats the plan anyhow!
oh, and speaking of fij, thought i should give you a heads up that the new batch coming in about a month will have some bars looking a little different. lol i ran out of soap balls and had to improvise. haha.. actually, i kinda like it - its like monster chunk mint looked and i was always a fan of that. also, i cut the bars in the new bar shape!
alright guys, i think thats about all for now! ill be back soon to fill you in on whats been cookin in the kitchen over the next couple of weeks.
until then --- if you all would like to tell me some of your favorite holiday soaps we've released over the years, im trying to narrow down my list and would love to hear your favs to help me make that list smaller! - of course i have some new bars coming as well.... i dont like making the same exact thing year after year, some bars just need a break and we'd never know if we have a new favorite if it never got the opportunity to be here right? right.
until next,
-heidi