Framed Art Soaps - Part 2

I wasn't sure how I felt about the horizontal layering lines on my first batch of framed art soaps, so I made some more stamped soaps without them :) I've also sealed the design on these new ones by pouring a layer of clear soap on top so that the design won't start to fade away the first time you use them.

Unfortunately, most of the stamps I have right now are pretty intricate, which makes this kind of design a bit tough to get right. Right now they're a bit time-intensive but I'm working on perfecting the technique a bit more. Stay tuned for further developments in framed soaps!

Essential Oil Experiments - Geranium Lavender Lip Balm

I am completely addicted to lip balm.

Just like many other lip balm junkies out there, I'm one of those people who feels completely naked without some sort of lip protection. I also tend to carry a separate tube in each purse or bag that goes out with me. My earliest memory of this little habit was using my mom's Mentholatum as a kid. Yeah, I started with the strong stuff. I just loved the tingly sensation on my lips whenever I used it and even more exciting was the sinus clearing action I experienced every time I had a stuffy nose.

I made my first small batch of lip balms last weekend. I've made a solid perfume base from shea butter, beeswax and olive oil in the past that was the perfect consistency for lip balm, so I decided to try mixing it with essential oils to create a nice multi-purpose lip balm, just like my childhood favorite.

I measured one ounce of the lip balm base and added five drops each of two different essential oils: geranium and lavender.


I chose Egyptian Geranium and Hungarian Lavender for the multitude of beneficial properties associated with each of them.

Geranium is known for soothing all sorts of skin issues, including acne, bruises, burns, cuts, and eczema. It also aids circulation, sore throat, feminine issues attributed to PMS and menopause, stress and neuralgia.

Lavender is known for a long list of beneficial properties as well. It has a very soothing, calming effect on nervous conditions, headaches, respiratory and even digestive problems. It's a natural antibacterial and antiviral, as well as a decongestant, deodorant, and sedative.

Working together, lavender and geranium also provide strengthened antiseptic, antidepressant, healing and moisturizing properties. Finally, both provide beautiful, uplifting aromas which promote calm and soothing reactions and feelings to physical and emotional stresses.

The base of the lip balm consists of shea butter, beeswax and olive oil. The shea butter is a moisturizer which promotes the healing of dry skin, acne, chapped lips, stretch marks, and many other issues. The beeswax and the olive oil act as barriers that help absorb and seal in the moisture. The combination of the moisturizing qualities of the lip balm, the healing properties of the essential oils, as well as their intoxicating fragrance make these lip balms


I've been using the lip balm all week and I love it :) Not only are my lips silky soft, but the aroma is so intoxicating that I keep catching myself puckering up to catch a whiff!

The rest of the batch is floating around as samples, and I can't wait to hear what the recipients think of it.

Thoughts on Essential Oils

One of the major elements of soap making is the aroma. Some people buy soap and other body products solely for the fragrance. There are a lot of great fragrance oils out there to choose from if you just want nice smelling products, but you can open up a whole new world of benefits if you use pure essential oils instead. I've been reading up on essential oils and aromatherapy lately and I'm sold. It's a giant world to explore, but if I can make multipurpose body products that not only serve their purposes as soaps and lotions and lip balms, etc., but also help soothe someone's cold with lemon and eucalyptus, promote healing for their damaged skin with lavender, or lift their mood with geranium, I think that's a path worth exploring.

Framed Art Soaps - Part 1

I had planned, for my first real post, to start at the beginning and talk about some of the soaps I made when I first started photographing my projects a couple months ago. I have to postpone the old projects, though, because I had a super soaping day on Sunday (yes, super soaping Sunday = bliss) and I'm pretty darn proud of the outcome:


Framed Leaves soap bars:
-hemp and goat's milk soaps
-oak moss fragrance oil
-no, your eyes are not tricking you. Those are copper (mica) leaves and BROWN (oxide) frames (...and a stain in the table runner I'm using in the background- crap!)



I'm fairly new to this whole blogging business, but since becoming a mad soaper, there are a couple blogs I've been keeping my eye on. My favorite is the Soap Queen (aka Anne-Marie Faiola of Bramble Berry). My inspiration for these framed soaps came from a Valentine's themed rubber stamping tutorial she posted last month. I really liked her final products but her stamps were a bit different from the ones I already had. Mine have a square-shaped rubber border surrounding the edges of the design which ends up making a ridge in the finished soap bar, contributing to the frame effect.












I really like the framing effect here and the way the copper (stamped) leaves shine and shimmer in contrast with the white. In that last photo especially, though, you can see that I made these bars in three separate pours. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, but I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the stripes on the side. (Mainly because the imperfections bug me.)

I have to admit I'm really proud of these two (and the Peek-a-Boo Bamboo I made at the same time). They're the first soaps I've made that really make me want to go back through all my other projects and marvel at how far I've come :P

What do you guys think?

Until I have the time...

Thanks so much for visiting my new blog!

I already have a giant list of projects and other soaping tidbits that I'd like to share with you, but since I created this blog late on a Sunday night before a regular work week (boo!) it might take me a while to get everything up. In the meantime, please feel free to check out some pictures of my soaps that I've posted to my Flickr account.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebeccaloft

Keeping it clean!
Rebecca

Welcome to Rebecca's Adventures in Soap Making

So I decided to jump on the blogger bandwagon...

For anyone reading this who doesn't know me, my name is Rebecca Present-Thomas and, among other things, I am an aspiring soap maker. I started playing around with melt and pour soap making at the end of 2008, when I decided that I wanted to make useful and inexpensive holiday gifts for my coworkers. I went to the local Michael's for inspiration, found a Life of the Party soap kit, and 4 months later, here we are.

My main purpose in starting this blog is to share (and keep track of) my adventures in soap making. I intend to use this blog mainly to share stories about my soap making adventures: new projects, inspiration, suppliers, etc. - and I'll post pictures as often as possible. I imagine that I'll occasionally be posting non-soaping anecdotes as well, but I'll try to keep those minimal (or at least interesting).

Enjoy!