Soapy Valentines for Kids

Hearts, Roses & Shells

I started looking at prices on valentines and realized very quickly that I would do better to make soap.  I also wanted to go with something besides over processed candy.   I picked up some heart candy molds at Hobby Lobby to go along with the rose candy molds that I already had from making lotion bars.  I also planned to make some larger hearts for the teachers.

My two colors 2nd time around

I started with working up my recipe on SoapCalc.com.  This is my usual program for working up recipes and I have been really happy with the results.

I started by measuring out my water and lye and mixing them together.  I set this aside while I measures my oils.  This was my first batch made in my new space and let me just say that the cold makes a huge difference in how your mind works.  I finally got all of the oils measured out and blended up.  The oils were so cold that it looked like I was making a smoothy not soap.  I added the lye water to my congealed oils.  Now it really looked like a smoothy.  I almost didn't have to use the stick blender at all to achieve trace.

Molds all filled and you can see the
effects of putting them in the oven
on the one in the front corner

I separated it into 2 equal parts one to color white the other pink.  I added my colorant then realized that I had forgotten to add my fragrance oil.  I scraped all of the white back into the main bowl.  I mixed the fragrance oil in by hand - Blackberry & Southern Peach from Brambleberry.  Then I separated it back into 2 and tried to color the second part with a little more madder oil.  I poured the lighter color back in for an in the pot swirl.

Once I got it all together, I started to spoon the soap into the molds.  I started by filling the heart molds.  Next I moved to the Roses, the shells and the large heart mold.  After put all of the molds I had used all of the soap, I had to carry all of the molds into the house.  The cold will drastically slow down saponification.  I tried to put all of the molds in the oven at 170*.  I quickly discovered that candy molds DON'T like the heat.  My oven didn't even finish pre-heating before the connecting part of the molds started to shrivel.  Fortunately, the soap was still cold enough that none of the cavities warped.  I immediately pulled out the candy molds.

I forgot to take my camera out so I could take pictures.  I have to make another batch though so I will use the pictures from that one.

My clean up set up since I don't have
running water in my new space

The second batch went much more smoothly.  For one thing I put my fragrance oils into the oils before adding the lye.  For another I took my batch to a thicker trace and used a piping bag with just the very tip cut off to fill my molds.  In order to achieve any swirl with this method I layered the colors in my bag while filling.  As I filled my molds I got a light to medium swirl.  I actually think that I may use this for filling small molds more often.

As always you have to remember the cleanup aspect of soap.  I do let my soapy dishes sit for a day or two just so that all of the remnants of soap finish saponification.  This makes them much easier to clean and means that I don't need the quantity of detergent that I would need to clean them right away.  However I do wash all of my lye water dishes right away.  Since my new space has no running water I have come up with this solution.  I bring hot water from the house and this way I can wash my dishes without freezing my fingers off or having to worry about any germs,  It is actually a very nice solution and I like to think that I am also using a little bit less water as well.

Coming Monday - Printable and packaging for soapy valentines

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

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/