Blackberry Vanilla Cobbler

Blackberry Vanilla Cobbler Soap

I have wanted to make some fruity soaps and this is one of the ones that I have been looking forward to.  It has been on my list and I just couldn't wait any longer.  Unfortunately because my soaping space is unheated it requires more forethought and planning.  I have to turn the heaters on a couple of hours beforehand as well as start any oils melting.

Warming my oils and my space

I started by measuring out the water and lye for my batch.  I did not mix them however.  I wanted the lye water to be as hot as possible to help finish melting the oils.  I started by melting my coconut oil in the microwave.  It took 6 minutes before I got enough oil melted for a batch.  I had put the olive oil on top of the heater and enough of it was melted for the batch but not any extra.

I got all of my oils measured out.  I got the lye mixed.  Warning - do NOT mix lye in a small closed space.  It created some really nasty fumes.  I thought that my space was ventilated enough.  IT"S NOT.  Wow, I thought that I was going to choke, before I got the window opened a little bit.  I got it to the point where I could no longer see vapor coming from the container before I poured the lye water into my oils.

All of my colors

In the pot swirl

After getting everything to a medium trace, I poured off about 10 ounces to be colored brown before adding my fragrance oil to the remainder of the batch.  I poured off about 1/3 for white and 1/3 for natural, that I hope will discolor brown from the vanilla.  The final third I colored with alkanet oil.  I used about 30 ml of brown oxide to color the little bit of unscented soap.  You can see all of the colors here.

I molded my samples first like I usually do, before pouring the white and uncolored into the purple.  I went with 12,3,6, and 9 as well as pouring into the middle.  I offset the uncolored from the white, so that I would get a better swirl.  This swirl is called an "in the pot swirl."  I made a couple of passes through the soap with the skewer.  I poured the soap into my lined mold.  Once I had all of the soap into the mold, I used a skewer, my swirling tool of choice, to swirl the top into a pretty design.

Top Swirl ready for  piping

After I got the swirl to my satisfaction I got the  brown ready to go for piping on the top.  I used my stick blender to get the soap to a thicker trace.  I used a disposable piping bag and a flat/basket weave tip without a coupler.  I filled the bag with the tip folded over to keep the soap from flowing out.  I filled the bag with all of the brown soap.  I did have to let it sit for a few minutes, but it definitely could have been thicker.  I ended up being a little bit drippy, but I got the job done.  I used the flat side of the tip to pipe a crosshatch pattern on the top of the mold.

My space works even if it is cold ;)

After I had the soap in the mold done to my satisfaction, I still had brown soap in my piping bag.  Since it is a pretty shade of brown I decided to fill my shell molds.  I we able to put a little bit of white in a few of the cavities for contrast.  I used the skewer to swirl the white a bit as well.

I have now made 2 batches of soap in my new space.  I have to say that while it is cold, it is actually a very workable set-up.  I brought all of the soap into the house.  Since I wanted the soap to gel completely, I put it on a hot rice bag and insulated it well.  I think that it didn't split because the soap was cold from the shed.

All piped and molded

I really like the way that the swirls turned out.  Since the purple part of the soap looked a little grey I was a little concerned about how the colors would turn out.  I am glad that it turned a better purple.  I think that I would actually add a little more alkanet oil to the next batch and make the purple a little more purple and less dusty.

I love the swirls even from the side

I am linking with the following blogs:

http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com                                http://www.bystephanielynn.com
http://blackfoxhomestead.com/                                          http://www.iamannekehn.blogspot.com
http://www.hopeineveryseason.com                                  http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com
http://littlehomesteadonthehill.blogspot.com/                      http://www.sewcando.com/
http://www.campwander.com/                                          http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://coloradolady.blogspot.com                                      www.aboverubies.net
http://abidingwoman.com/                                               http://www.besimplybetter.com/
http://www.deeprootsathome.com/                                   http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/ 
http://raisinghomemakers.com                                          http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/
http://www.52mantels.com/                                             http://www.the36thavenue.com/
http://www.create-with-joy.com                                       http://teachingwhatisgood.com/
http://www.the36thavenue.com/                                       http://seevanessacraft.com/
http://katherinescorner.com/                                           http://cupcake-n-bake.blogspot.com             http://alifeinbalance.net                                                    http://www.hopestudios.blogspot.com
http://thediydreamer.com                                                 http://www.the-chicken-chick.com
http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com                       http://www.flusterbuster.com
http://www.time-warp-wife.blogspot.com                        http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
http://www.growinghomeblog.com                                 http://nourishingjoy.com
http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/