Lavender Bliss

Finished Soap

This is not my first batch of Lavender Bliss soap, but I didn't blog the others and I have made a few changes.  So I decided to blog about this batch.

Old design

I wanted to keep the basic recipe pretty close to the same only changing the design and the colors a bit as well as adding some silk to this batch.  The last batch I had only used purple and uncolored.  This time I wanted to add some white.  The last batch I did a hanger swirl design.  This batch I managed to pull off a drop swirl.  

I started by measuring out my water and lye.  I went with mostly water with about 4 ounces of ice.  I added the lye to the water but waited to add the ice.  I added the silk to the lye water and stirred it in.  

The swirl in the sample mold

After my lye water was mixed, I started to measure out my oils.  I reserved 3 ounces of my olive oil for the alkanet infused olive oil. I also reserved an ounce of olive oil to add zinc oxide to for my white.  After I got all of my oils into the bucket, I took my stick blender to blend out the palm kernel and coconut oil.  This ensures that the oil will all melt when I add the lye water to the oil mixture.  I added the lavender oil to my oils so that I wouldn't forget to add it to the batch.  

Swirl on the top of the full size mold
after pouring and before swirling

As soon as my oils were ready, I added the ice to the lye water and made sure that it melted before adding all of the lye mixture to the oils.  I blended the entire batch to just past light trace.  I split the batch into three parts.  I left one natural.  I added zinc oxide to the oil reserved for that purpose and added that mixture to one part of the batch.  To the last portion I added about 2 TBS of ground lavender buds and all of the alkanet infused oil.  

Top Swirl

I started molding by pouring the uncolored portion in the bottom of the molds, the full size and my sample mold.  Next alternating between the purple and the white I poured the remaining batter into the mold in three rounds.  I poured from about 4 inches above the top of the mold and went down one side before going up the other side.  The soap sank nicely down into the mold.  I could barely wait until it was ready to cut.  Since my last attempt at a drop swirl totally bombed I really wanted this one to turn out well.  

Close-up of the Swirl

My soap did gel, very quickly as a matter of fact.  I made the soap in the afternoon and when I checked on it that evening I could feel the heat from the gel through the wood.  I did get some soda ash but that will steam right off.  I decided not to add the buds to the top of the soap because they always just fall off.  After cutting I was thrilled with the results.  I think that you will agree that this time my drop swirl turned out beautifully.

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/              http://trayerwilderness.com/
http://timeforseason.blogspot.com                                     http://mylampisfull.blogspot.com/