Sunday, 25 August 2013

Cast offs

A friend of mine gave me a soap making kit. She had gotten it from her sister who didn't want it, and she thought I could use it since I made soaps. It's been sitting in the bottom cupboard for a long time now, but since the craft room has been moved, I want to focus on making good soaps. However, being my mother's daughter, I can't just toss anything or give away something someone has given me.

Have any of you tried a soap kit like this before?

Do you see what it says on the top left hand corner?

Honey, it ain't the life of the party unless there's a pitcher of margarita in that box, and much to my dismay, there wasn't.

It does come with all sorts of nifty things though: the mould, 3 bottles of FO (all unlabelled, but at least the write up tells you what they are), apricot seed, rose mica and a loofah.

I decided not to use the rose mica this time, instead using the colours I already had and just try out the basic colour and soap.

It's nice the soaps come with lines to help you cut same sized squares. Great for people like me who have trouble with cutting evenly.

Although it looks like white chocolate. Better get it used up before hubby thinks it is chocolate.
I made the first two just using the soap with some green colouring and scent. Then I thought I'd try to fill in the details in a different colour.
Maybe I should post the blue and reddish pink ones on craftfail.
The grooves aren't as deep as I'd like so the detailing sucks, to put it bluntly. Trying to get the soaps out of the mould was not easy either because the plastic mould is quite flimsy.

I was skimming TeachSoap the other day and someone had mentioned getting a soap making kit from Michael's was liable to turn anyone off of trying it again. I have to agree; this kit is okay, but it would not have made me want to continue. I'm grateful to my sister for having given me high quality materials to start with, so I wouldn't become discouraged right away.

Oh and for those who might not have seen my post on Twitter and Facebook, I got into both the craft fairs I had applied for. Very happy about that.








Posted by
Labels: ,

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous25 August 2013 at 16:03

    From what I see, the soaps with the design look very nice! It has a nice sheen and the lines are very clear. The other one does look like white chocolate! Congratulations on getting into the craft fairs! How exciting! Good luck! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoapSudsations26 August 2013 at 20:53

      Thanks Silvia. The celtic knot design is quite popular it seems, so I'm sure there's someone out there who'll like it. I think I have to keep practicing to make sure it comes out perfectly each time though

      I'm super thrilled to get into the craft fairs, hubby probably not so much since he has to help out. ;) Are you involved in any craft fairs?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous26 August 2013 at 22:50

      No, I'm not involved in any craft fair, although would love to in the future! I just started making soap nearly 5 months ago. I am really loving it! I am so happy the holidays are coming up! It gives me a good excuse to practice and make a lot of soap for me and my family to give away to friends, relatives and people we would like to thank. :-)
      P.S. Your are funny! As Teresa said, you should be a comedienne! :-)

      Delete
    3. SoapSudsations27 August 2013 at 07:03

      I think you definitely need to get into some. I did my first one shortly after starting making MP soaps and mine weren't nearly as nice as yours. You'd do very well and who knows it could be the start of a new career for you. :)

      Thanks Silvia. I'm not funny enough to make a living out of it, but if they gave away awards for snarkiness, I'm sure I'd have a few of those on my mantle. ;)

      Delete
  2. Teresa Robeson25 August 2013 at 17:47

    I agree with soapjam: the soaps didn't look bad at all!

    And this: "Honey, it ain't the life of the party unless there's a pitcher of margarita in that box, and much to my dismay, there wasn't." is the funniest thing I read all day!! You should be a stand-up comedienne with that line.

    We watched a comic tonight who did an entire 10 minute skit on shopping at Trader Joe's. I think you have enough materials to do skits about soap making. ;D

    Woohoo about getting into the fairs!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoapSudsations26 August 2013 at 20:58

      Thanks Teresa. Obviously you and soapjam didn't blow up the pictures to Godzilla proportions to see all the mistakes made. ;)

      You've been reading too many serious non-fiction of late. ;) I wonder if there's a stand up comedian who'd like to buy that line from me. :> Wow, to be able to do a 10 mins skit on one topic is pretty amazing, I wouldn't be able to remember all my materials.

      Thanks, I was thrilled to be accepted, it's like going for job interviews, you hope to be one of the lucky ones.

      Delete
  3. Cee25 August 2013 at 21:07

    I see lots of detail on those soaps, love the colors! I have to agree with you on those particular kits not being the best quality though, it sure does make you appreciate the wonderful suppliers we have access to.

    Congrats on getting into the fairs, and I 2nd Teresa's nomination for you doing soap making skits...you always manage to make me giggle with your posts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoapSudsations26 August 2013 at 21:01

      I was hoping to not blend the green into the soap too much to give it a sort of swirly effect, but that wasn't quite a successful as I'd hoped. You're so right Cee, after working with high quality products and easy to use moulds, it's really hard to step down from that.

      Awww, thanks! Sometimes I think I have a little too much brain farting and diarrhea of the mouth, but I'm glad it makes you guys smile.

      Delete
  4. LatherBeSoaping26 August 2013 at 14:14

    The soaps from the kit look very pretty, Monica! I started out with a kit similar to that when I first got into soaping. I had a 50% coupon for the craft store and figured I'd try the kit just to see if I liked the process. I already knew about BB, so once I realized that I liked the craft, I ordered supplies online and was hooked. I'm glad that I don't have to rely on the craft store for my supplies! What did we do before we had the internet? And congrats on being accepted into the craft shows!

    ReplyDelete
  5. SoapSudsations26 August 2013 at 21:05

    Thanks Jenny. I keep looking at them and thinking I could've done much better with them, but they'll be good to use around the house at least.

    Probably having a kit to try out the whole process is a good idea, but yeah the stuff from craft stores that carry a bit of everything don't tend to be the best choices. OMG, what did we do before the internet? Rely on word of mouth and hope for the best?

    Thank you, I'm happy to get into the fairs, it's tough competing against CP soap makers, so this was nice that these shows took me in.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Diva Prirodna Kozmetika27 August 2013 at 03:09

    Haven't used any kit so far, but if I was begginer now, I supposed it would be great thing to start with. Do you break this 'white chocolate', upon using,or.... The moulded soap are cute,like the pattern. And margarita made me smile,too! You're so fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoapSudsations27 August 2013 at 07:02

      You could make your own moulds Maja and sell them to newbies. Actually you could teach classes on how to make soaps. Yes, I cut up all the pieces based on their score marks. I do like that part of it since I'm horrible at cutting up the blocks of soap normally.

      The moulds are a nice pattern, I can see people liking them at the fairs, so I guess I better make more before the holidays.

      Ah the margaritas, I haven't had one all summer, which is why I was so disappointed there weren't any in the box. ;)

      Delete
  7. Grace27 August 2013 at 04:48

    I have always been drawn to Celtic designs. Those soaps are lovely! And congrats on getting into the two craft fairs. Haley and I always get a kick out of the fairs that have "crafty" in their name. When you come to Boston I am so there to help out!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoapSudsations27 August 2013 at 07:05

      They're probably not as intricate a design as you normally like Grace, but they're good enough for this. Thank you, I was very happy to be accepted, my bank account isn't quite as thrilled at the moment though. :P

      Yeah I love their play on word for their name, it's very cute. Yay, I've got it in writing that you'll help me out! Now I just need to get to Boston.

      Delete
  8. Michelle28 August 2013 at 21:33

    I don't know if they still sell it but the "life of the party" soap making supplies were popular at Michael's. I remember seeing them all the time when I'd scope out their soap and candle aisle (when I was new to candle making). Their pix were always so fun to look at but I never tried their kits. Lots of botanicals and fragrances. Cool wrapping ideas too.

    The soaps you made look really cool!

    Good luck at the craft fairs. Are they for around Christmas time?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoapSudsations29 August 2013 at 21:29

      I don't know either Michelle, I haven't been in a Michael's store in quite a while now. I think you've done wonderfully without resorting to a kit, you make wonderful soaps and candles.

      Thanks, yes, they are both around Christmas so hopefully people will be in the buying spirit.

      Delete
  9. Unknown30 September 2013 at 06:01

    I love the celtic ones!!!! They are beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoapSudsations30 September 2013 at 12:43

      Thanks Lucille and welcome to my little blog. So you're the one who posted the cute little mice on the Brambleberry post, those are too adorable!

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)