Crack + Crap

"Crack" in the morning light

It's hard for me to admit my failures. I can admit to my personal failings, but when it comes to things I make, it's much harder. (What's THAT about?) I'd rather ignore them, put them in the corner and try again without letting people see the ugly process before I get a handle on things.

My Apple Bread soap (aka "Crack") came out today and it looked lame (aka CRAP). My intention for this puppy was to pour the plain soap, then save some soap and use titanium dioxide to lighten the topping so it looked like whipped cream or frosting, sprinkle colored sea salt on top (looks like sugar but won't attract ants), and then drizzle goat milk melt + pour on top like a drizzle of icing. I have never worked with m+p before and I was so gung ho about the whole thing, I melted it and drizzled it on top of the freshly peaked and sprinkled topping, except it just lay there like an oil slick. WHAT? Ack! So I got my handy plastic whisk and mixed it into the topping reapplied my sea salt sprinkles, but the topping just wasn't as white and pure as it was only moments before. You can see the close up...not white and pure. Swirly and blotchy. :(



I drizzled the m+p soap onto a cured bar of soap and it worked like a dream! Guess I should have checked if their was water in the pool before I dove into it. The other thing is this: I tried a new formula and it made my hands dry, so I don't want to sell it or give it away either. I can cut it up, add some shea butter or olive oil and cook it. Any other suggestions?


So not only does the soap look dumb but it's drying and I can't even give it away!

Soap Crack

No. I am not on soap crack. My soap cracked. I have been reading up on why soap cracks down the middle of a soap loaf while it sits in the mold and now I'm feeling a bit disappointed I didn't figure it out before this morning. The last time I had a crack down the center of my soap loaf when I was about to unmold the soap, I hadn't been finicky about covering the soap well when I put the soap to bed. I assumed it was the coolness or humidity factor that caused the soap to change too rapidly and freak out, get cracked. Well, the last four days, the humidity level is low, not it's normal 100% and the temperature went from 85 on Sunday to 60 on Monday and has been 60-75 every day for days. Lovely perfect blue sky kind of days.

I made high peaks and didn't want to put a wood lid on the soap mold and squish them, so I put a large plastic storage box on top of it with a tablecloth on it. "Hmmm, this should do." And as I walked away, I thought to myself...."should I stick this in the oven for an hour? It's kind of chilly and dry in here this morning", walking around in my UGGS, long pants, and hooded sweatshirt cradling my hot coffee cup like it was was the only heat source on the planet. My fears were confirmed. My pretty soap is now cracked and not so pretty as it was this morning.

It's dark and my soap is still in the closet, so I'll photograph it tomorrow. Probably a "nothing to see here" moment.

Now, forget the crack, how about some soap PORN tomorrow??

Goodnight soap queens...

The Soap Guild

"The Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild (HSMG) is an international non-profit professional trade association". I just became a member a week or so ago and I am pleased as punch. I have gotten so into making soaps, I've even gotten passionate and my experience with every soapmaker I've come across since I started this blog has made me love soaping even more. Who else would be interested in seeing my new batch of soap or sharing tips and recipes? Well, my daughter gets excited when I reveal a new loaf of soap...and definately me.

The soaping community is made up of extremely generous people and I am PROUD to be a part of HSMG and all it has to offer. It promotes the soapmaking industry in general, shares resources, information, vendors names, etc...

Last year, I read Anne-Marie's blog and Heather's blog and their amazing time at the Vermont Soap Guild Annual Conference. Oh, I wished I had been there. I am definately going to try to make it to the upcoming 2009 Conference in Palm Springs, California on May 12-14th. I have two cousins that live in L.A. so I can visit with family AND make the conference, although I may not even have time to tie my shoes let alone visit with family AND do the soap thang!

The Soap Guild even has a blog so you can read about what's going on if you are thinking about becoming a member or if you just want to keep up on soap news. You can read the Soap Guild Blog here.

Thea + Joe

Thea Gilmore

Joe Jackson

I went to see Joe Jackson play in Miami Beach on Sunday night and it was amazing. He has such raw talent and it is so apparent LIVE. When I was younger, I didn't like his stuff at all. Steppin' Out, to me, was boring and I just hated it. (I know. Harsh.) Since then, I've heard much more of his music, and I have to say, over the years he has cranked out some eclectic, interesting and talented work.

So back to Sunday... Brad and I went to the city and saw Joe Joe. We couldn't have chosen better seats than what we got. We were about 15 feet from the stage, saw every expression the man made, AND I was up against the side stage, so I had my own table for my glass of ice water. I was spoiled rotten. The songs he played sounded different from the originals because of his musical originality. It was absolutely stunning. What more can I say?

The opening act was a British singer/songwriter, Thea Gilmore, who I fell in love with instantly. What a honey! She has a beautiful voice with a nice tone to it. So give a listen. It's a bit sad, though, so just warning you..... in this video she sings with Joan Baez (second voice).



Music nights are good.

An Unfortunate + Unintentional Food Imitation

I thought green - FRESH!- right? A great color for Sexy Laundry Day, right? Looks nice, I think and even could have been a little darker. But to add a little eye candy to the mix, I threw in some other Sexy Laundry Day scraps I had lying around and I stepped back and saw .... food. GUACAMOLE.



Wow. NOT the look I was going for. AT ALL. Maybe the individual slices won't look Mexican in nature, but as a loaf, it strangely resembles our local Mexican restaurant's guacamole appetizer. I added some glistening glitter to break the stereotype. Snap the brain back into reality. We'll see. It wouldn't bother me so much if I made this soap that smelled like cilantro and pepper or garden basil or something, but when people look at a soap that looks like a salad, maybe they don't want that rubbing on their naked body. Or maybe I know nothing and the world is much different than I have it pictured in my head. Hmmm. Something to think about.

Either way, now I know, that when I add embeds, I'll think ahead of time how the color works and if it evokes something yucky that I don't want on my body, like guacamole salad.