Soap Art Continued

The best part of cutting into a loaf of soap is that every slice is a surprise. Here are a couple bars from this earlier post. Love the abstract patterns!

Soap Queen's Loofah Bars

There is a new episode of Soap Queen TV and we have the scrubby bars from it at Otion! Learn how to incorporate two different types of loofah in melt-and-pour soap. We love the 12 bar silicone mold and the scent blend Anne-Marie uses in the pink and yellow bars. Absolutely perfect for Mother's Day!

Mother's Day Flower Bars

This is a cute little melt-and-pour project that I'm experimenting with today using Sheer Freesia fragrance oil (new!). I used a dropper to free-hand a flower in the bottom of my oval mold and then filled the rest with opalescent green mica. The pink flower petals came out a bit faint, so I did a layer on the surface to pop out the color. The trick is to use very cool soap so that it stays in place where you put it.


Don't worry if free-hand designs aren't your thing-- roughness adds to the charm!

Soap Art?

Hello everyone! This is Kat blogging from the Soap Bar. Funny thing happened this afternoon while making another colorful cold process loaf. My soap started accelerating slightly because my temps were a bit high, which sent me frantically dripping and layering colors until the mold was full. I pulled the colors through with a skewer on the top and came out with something fairly abstract. There was a rush of carefree madness to the whole messy process, which felt a lot more like making a painting than making soap. I think the line between craft and art is a fine one.

Certainly not a masterpiece like Jackson Pollock's famous large scale painting, Mural, from 1943. But I had a darn good time pretending!

Make Your Own Luscious Lip Balm

Making lip balm is almost too easy! I made 48 strawberry lip balms from 8 ounces of pre-made lip balm base. The ingredients list is wonderfully natural and soothing: coconut oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil and beeswax. I left mine uncolored, though you can use a lip safe mica or oxide for a pretty tint.

What you need:

Microwave safe Pyrex measuring cup
Lip balm base
Flavor oil
Lip balm pouring tray
Dropper
Lip balm tubes
Spoon
Knife or spatula
Scale

Step 1. Start out by weighing 8 ounces of base in your Pyrex dish and microwave for 1 minute increments until melted.


Step 2: Add flavor oil at 12ml per pound (16 oz) base. I used 6ml of flavoring for 8 ounces of base. Mix well.



Step 3. Pour into lip balm tubes that have been pushed into the pouring tray from underneath. Scrape up extra base that poured over and re-melt to fill more containers.



Step 4: Let sit and harden for about 30 minutes and then trim the tops with a knife or spatula. Cap, label and enjoy! Check out this great lip stick tutorial post for Mother's Day.

Easter Goodies

Easter is coming up this weekend and SoapQueen has the perfect glittery egg soap project for your basket. Click here for the detailed tutorial on how to make these cute bars. Embed toys inside for a fun surprise!

For those of you who have visited us at our retail location, Otion, you know we are right across the street from yummy Rocket Donuts. Take a look at their doughnut of the month. They call it "The Nest." Cuuute (and delicious)!

New Fragrance at Otion!

Our newest addition, Lavender Chamomile Huggies (Type), is powdery fresh and lightly floral. Back by popular demand, this fragrance is absolutely delicious in baby products. It's soft, sweet and just amazingly kissable. It starts out with top notes of Lavender, Chamomile and a bit of Orange and Eucalyptus. The blend is rounded out with Cedarwood, Musk and Hay, making it absolutely precious smelling. I paired it up with the adorable Hummingbird and Lily Heavy Duty Mold and the Low Sweat White Base.

Color Inspiration

It's that time of year! Gorgeous tulips and daffodils are in bloom and the famous Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is the place to go for a country drive full of color. Make sure to bring your camera!

Ocean Rain Shell Soap

This fun and easy melt-and-pour project is perfect for a beach theme bathroom. Ocean Rain is a clean, crisp scent that both men and women enjoy. It also blends really nicely with Lime. Here's what you'll need:

Clear Melt-and-Pour Base
White Melt-and-Pour Base
Cellini Blue Mica
Ultramarine Blue Pigment
Honeyed Beige Mica
Gold Sparkle Mica
Ocean Rain Fragrance Oil, 4ml per pound of soap
Guest Shells Mold

With some clear base, combine a scoop of gold sparkle and honeyed beige mica to create the shell layer. Remember to scent each layer of soap.


Use the white base and cellini blue mica for the second layer to pop out the detail of the shell. Make sure to wait for the first layer to harden and spray with rubbing alcohol before pouring a layer.


Finish the back of the bar with clear base and ultramarine blue pigment.


Let the soap harden at room temperature for a couple hours, or speed it up in the freezer for twenty minutes. These little guest bars make great gifts!

April 10th Basic Cold Process Class

We had another fun CP class last Sunday with all beginners to soapmaking! Everyone made four bars of soap in class and enjoyed trying different colors and additives. Here's a look at our afternoon in pictures:

From Bellingham to Australia to Cambodia

Photos above of children receiving bags with soap inside.

It may seem like a little bar of soap, but the difference it makes in the lives of those who have nothing is enormous. Thanks to our dear friend Kelly, some of the soap that we donated to aid Australia in January also made it to people living in poverty in Cambodia, specifically the Village of Aranh, 6kms from Siem Reap City. The SCC (Strengthening Cambodian Communities) Project through KidsCare is the amazing organization responsible for getting our soap to Cambodia. Please take a look at their site for more information and for ways you can help.