2012, A Look Back (and forward!)

It’s been a busy soaping year! After a hiatus from soapmaking, I decided to jump back into soaping in June of this year. After looking back through my soaping notes, I realized I needed a better system for remembering the soaps I had made and how I had made them. I decided a visual journal would be the best way to capture each soap that I made, and so Oil & Butter blog was born! This blog has been a really important creative outlet for me, and I never expected anyone else to find my little blog, but soon Laura found me, and then Jenny, then Marika, Angela, and so on and so forth, and we are now up to 88 blog friends on O&B!

These are some of the highlights from 2012:

1. Swaps: Definitely a highlight for me this year has been getting to know all my fellow soaping bloggers and friends, and exchanging soaps with them this year. What a wonderful community I stumbled into, it’s been a privilege getting to know each and every one of you. I have learned so much from following all your blogs and having the opportunity to try out your soaps in person!

2. Luxury Soap Recipe and Tutorial: In August I held a poll and giveway, asking for your help deciding which ingredients to use in a luxury soap that I wanted to make. You guys really came through and helped me pick some luscious ingredients! The Luxury Soap Recipe and Tutorial remains the most popular post on O&B, and has been repinned many times on Pinterest and was even featured on Craft Gossip too!

3. My favourite soap: If I had to pick just one soap as my favourite this year, it would be the Eggnog Mug soap. I love trying new techniques and new ingredients, and this soap contained both a new ingredient (egg) and a new technique (making your own soap mold). Close seconds would be: Polar Bear Soap, Cedar and Saffron, Blackberries and Cream, Spooky Soap and Snowman Soap.

4. Favorite fragrance of 2012: Plumeria & Pomegranate; I don’t know how, but these blended fragrances came out smelling like candy…so good!

5. Oil & Butter got a Facebook and Pinterest page! And, our Spooky Soap was featured on the Wholesale Supplies Plus series 'WSP Learns from YOU: Your Creations Inspire Us' ....Thank you WSP!

6.  I don’t think I shared this with you guys, but this past summer I traveled to Bellingham and took an advanced swirling class at Otion Soap Bar. I highly recommend their classes if you are in that area; my instructor (Kat) was excellent, and she really helped me feel more confident in picking out colors and I came home with some new swirling techniques. I’m hoping to travel back there for a class again this summer (maybe lotion this time?!), and of course to replenish my Brambleberry supplies!

7. Looking forward, these are some of the things I would like to try in 2013: New soaping oils like babassu oil, rice bran oil, macadamia nut oil. Of course, there are a million and one new fragrance oils I would like to try too! I would also like to try using more fruits and veggies, and making infused milks and oils. I would like to revisit frosting soaps. I would also like to try making some of my own butters (coffee, avocado, pumpkin, etc). And, I can’t make any promises, but I am working on being able to start selling my soaps this year too…so keep an eye on our Facebook page for more details! ;)

Thank you for joining me in a fun look back on 2012 and a look forward into 2013. What new soaping things would you like to try in 2013, and is there anything you would like to see more of on O&B in the new year?

Wishing you all the best for the new year, and a big thank you to each and every one of you that have been following my soaping journey this year. I look forward to what 2013 has in store for all of us, Happy New Year everyone! =)