Saturday, December 28, 2013

Mahalo

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas season! We’ve had a nice relaxing holiday, and I can’t believe another year is coming to a close already. I’ve spent some of my time over the holidays organizing my craft room/computer room into a dedicated soaping space. Up until now, I’ve always hauled all of my stuff out to the kitchen to make soap, but because I want to try and increase production this next year, I’m going to try to keep everything contained in one room. I’m not used to making soap without a sink nearby, so that will take a bit of getting used to, but it’s workable, and I’m thankful to be able to have a dedicated space for all my soaping related paraphernalia. I’m curious, where do you all make soap? Do you have any tips or advice for soaping in a sinkless area?  

Back to the soap! In October of this year, we visited the beautiful island of Maui. We had a wonderful time, so many beautiful places to visit and scenes to capture:


I brought back some Black Lava and Red Alaea sea salts (which I haven’t used yet), and I’ve been meaning to make a soap inspired by our visit ever since we got back. I decided to make my interpretation of a tropical flower, I brushed yellow, pink and burgundy mica onto the flower to add depth:



I swirled the soap with purple, pink and yellow colors, and placed the flowers on top:



Out of the mold:



Mahalo is a Hawaiian word meaning thanks, gratitude, admiration, praise, esteem, regards or respect…so,‘Mahalo’ everyone for taking the time to visit and read my blog, and for your continued support, I really appreciate it! :)


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24 comments:

  1. Beautiful soap and lovely inspiration! It reminds me of frangipani!
    I wish a healthy 2014 year, Christine, and a lot of inspiration( can't wait to see your Black Lava and Red Alaea sea salts soaps) and much love!

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    1. That's the look I was going for but could not think of the proper flower! Thanks so much for the nice comments Nat, I wish you a very happy new year too! xo

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  2. Hi, Cee! I started my soap making totally outside of the house, on my veranda, because I was so scared of handling lye first. There was no sink or running water nearby, only large table covered with oilcloth and old newspapers, big bottle of vinegar and one hotplate for melting oils. I didn't move to kitchen until it was too cold to process out in the garden. But I've been planning to do same thing as you, concentrate everything in one room - haven't had time or energy to do that yet...Happy New Year 2014! And those flowery soaps are just like a dream, as all your soaps are! :)

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    1. Hi Signe, thanks for sharing that! I did make my 2nd batch in the room today and it was definitely easier this time...I sort of feel like I'm learning how to make soap all over again! :) Wishing you all the best for the new year too!

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  3. Oh so beautiful! The flowers remind me of frangipani too :)

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    1. Thanks so much Renata! I forgot to mention that the soap is fragranced like that too, with a Pikake-type fragrance :)

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  4. Love the tropical, lovely look of these bars, soooo nice! I traveled to Maui a few years ago with my sisters and had a wonderful time as well, so much beauty there.

    I still cart most of my soaping stuff out to the kitchen!
    I recently converted a portion of the kitchen cabinets to soaping ingredients and that has helped. I have grand ideas of converting a little room in the garage for my soap, like you I am wondering about a sink.

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    1. Hi Anna, Maui is amazing, isn't it?! I really did appreciate the laid-back pace of the island.

      If it helps, I actually haven't missed the sink as much as I thought I would. I just cart all of my used soaping dishes out into the kitchen to wash, it's actually easier than I thought it would be, but I'm still getting used to it!

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  5. Now I can see where you got the inspiration for this beautiful flower soap. I would also like to visit Maui.

    In our old home, I always soaped in the kitchen but now I don´t know where the best place would be. We have now an room for the computer and all my soaping stuff, but no sink. And then we also have a large bathroom that would have a perfect pace for soaping. I´m just worried that the ventilation would not be good enough when mixing the lye solution.

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    1. Yes, ventilation is definitely a consideration...either a fan or an open window helps. I definitely miss having the sink so close by, but it's not as difficult as I thought it would be to work around. Sound like you have some nice options for soaping spaces in your new house! =)

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  6. Maui looks amazing. How nice that you were able to get a bit of R&R in before the craft season began Cee.

    The flowers are so pretty, I really like the way you painted in the colouring in the middle, just like the real thing. ANd your colours for the soap is wonderful, beautiful blend of colours.

    I moved my craft room up into the second bedroom, which has a bathroom right next to it, and down the hall a bit is the laundry room. So I have lots of access to a sink when I need it, not that I need it much for MP soaping.

    Can't wait to see what you do with your salts too.

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    1. Thanks Monica! I do have a bathroom in the hall outside this room too, so the close proximity does help. Even for MP soap it's nice to have a sink nearby...I'm so messy! :p

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  7. I am really glad that you will expand your soaping! ! Concentrating all needed stuff and equipment in one room will for sure increase your efficiency. You can master batch 50:50 water/ lye solution in good ventilated area and use it in your soaping room. This will for sure reduce risk regarding lack of ventilation. Just keep the bottle properly labeled in order to prevent miss usage. I currently keep my soaping stuff in several different cupboards and it is really nightmare. I dream to have everything in one place...
    This soap turned out really beautiful! I whish you healthy, creative and successful 2014!

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    1. Wow, I never realized that you could do master batch with lye solution as well! How long you can storage it? I was near an accident with lye solution once (the bottom of my glass jar cracked off), so I'm very careful with lye nowadays.

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    2. Thank you so much for this reminder about masterbatching lye Gordana...I really need to try it out, I've saved a really heavy-duty plastic container just for this purpose, and it would make things so much easier! Wishing you a wonderful 2014 also!

      Signe - Silvia (SoapJam) did a wonderful masterbatching tutorial a few months ago. I'm not sure how long you can store the pre-made lye, but maybe you can ask her...you can find her post here: http://soapjam.wordpress.com/2013/09/01/lye-master-batch-how-to-make-and-its-application/

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  8. Mahalo! It's such a beautiful word from an equally beautiful place and people. Your Hawaiian-inspired soap is so pretty!
    Like many soapers, I don't have a dedicated area, although how I wish I did! I make soap in the kitchen but most of my things are in the guest room, which has become my stockroom of sorts. I will try to free up some space in the kitchen to store some of my soap stuff.
    Wishing you good health, peace, joy, and a prosperous new year!

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    1. Keeping some of your supplies in the kitchen would definitely help cut down on the trips back and forth, it's amazing how much soap stuff we accumulate over time! Wishing you all the best for 2014 too Silvia!

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  9. So much like plumeria! This wonderful flower looks so real,how nice and precise you did the mica brushing. The soap looks great, so feminine, lady-like.
    Luckily, I still can keep my stuff at one place, this is my soap cabinet, placed in the kitchen. Only lye I keep separately, on the upper floor. I also need a sink and running water, I couldn't work differently. I'm glad that you can, having a dedicated room is something we all crave for.
    Have a fabulous New Year's eve and may 2014 bring you lot of happiness, laugh and work! :-)

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    1. Thank you so much dear Maja...I hope you have a peaceful and joyous Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family too! :)

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  10. Mahalo is a gorgeous soap soap, Cee! I love those little flowers on top. It sounds like you had a lovely time in Maui. I spent four months in Oahu in 2003-2004. Such beautiful scenery - thanks for sharing your photos. It's great that you will soon have a dedicated soaping room. I would imagine soaping without a sink nearby would be a challenge, but you'll figure out how to make it work! I'm still dragging everything into the kitchen when I soap, so I don't have any advice. I'd love to have my own soaping room someday, though!

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    1. Wow, 4 months would be a wonderful amount of time to spend in Hawaii! I've been to Oahu as well (a long time ago) and I'd love to go back again someday!

      It definitely does present a challenge not having the sink right beside me, but it has gotten easier with each batch I've made (thankfully!) :)

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  11. I love the flowers Fee! And just seeing the pics of Maui makes me want to be there

    In this new place I soap in a corner of the kitchen. I have more work space but I have to store my oils in a closet down the hallway. Still getting used to it but do far is working! HAPPY NEW YEAR! looking forward to more soapy blots in 2014!

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    1. That's so nice that you have a bigger workspace at your new house, I bet you really appreciate that! Having your things moved around takes a bit of getting used to, but it will be worth it! Happy New Year to you and your family too Roxana! =)

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