Cherry Chocolate Valentine Soap Tutorial: Phase 2

So, you have your hearts and swirls all ready to go, now it’s time to make the cold process soap!   I’m assuming you’ve made cold process soap before, but if you need assistance Soap Queen TV has some great tutorials!  I’ve included links to Bramble Berry Soap Supplies for purchasing materials.  For this recipe, you’ll need:

• A 5 pound wooden loaf mold.  (My husband made mine for me, but it’s very similar to the one Bramble Berry sells.)
• 15 oz Olive Oil
• 13 oz Palm Oil
• 12 oz Coconut Oil
• 2 oz Sweet Almond Oil
• 2 oz Castor Oil
• 6.232 oz Sodium Hydroxide (this is superfatted at 5%)
• 14.52 oz Distilled Water
• 1.5 oz Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil
• 1.5 oz Black Cherry Fragrance Oil
• 1 tsp Pink Oxide (mixed with a carrier oil in a container).
• 1/2 tsp Cappuccino Mica (mixed with a carrier oil in a heat-safe, 32 oz container)

Make your cold process soap as you usually would. While you’re waiting for the lye and oils to cool, you can get out your hearts and swirls and give them a good spritzing of rubbing alcohol.  Place some swirls in the bottom of your soap mold; as many as you like.  Reserve some to place on the top of your soap.

Once you have a light trace, stir in the Dark Rich Chocolate and Black Cherry Fragrance Oils.

Pour about 1/3 of the soap into the container with the Cappuccino Mica.  Stir until the color is blended throughout. 

Pour your Pink Oxide oil into the remaining, 2/3, batch of soap and stir until the color is blended.  I didn’t get a dark pink color because my Olive Oil was very green. 

Pour your pink-colored soap into the soap mold.  Next, layer it with your cappuccino-colored soap.  Hint: pour your layer close to the mold so that it sits on top of the soap rather than sinks below.  Give it some time to set up before inserting your hearts.

Once the soap is firm (but not too firm), you can start inserting the heart soaps.  Start at one end and line them up one after the other, so that they are touching.  Press them about 2/3 of the way into the soap so that just the heart “bumps” are sticking out on the top.  Once you have your hearts firmly in place, you can add your swirls alongside the hearts.  You might need to press them into the soap a bit.  Below is a picture of how mine looked when I took it out of the mold but before I cut the bars.When you slice your bars, slice in between the hearts but close enough to the hearts that you can see them embedded in the soap.

Send me a comment if you have any questions.  Have fun!

Cherry Chocolate Valentine Tutorial: Phase 1

I’ve been asked how I made these cute Cherry Chocolate Valentine Soaps.  Here, I’ll provide the steps involved in making these soaps, however, I’m assuming you have a basic understanding of both the melt and pour method and cold process method of soap-making. I’ve provided links for purchasing the items you’ll need through Bramble Berry Soap Making Supplies.  I made the soaps in two phases.

The first phase is to make 18 hearts and a lot of swirls to be embedded.  Note: I didn’t record my measurements for the melt and pour phase, so these are estimates.  You’ll need:

• 5.5 lbs Bulk Clear Melt and Pour Base
• 1.5 oz Black Cherry Fragrance Oil
• .4 oz Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil
• Brown and Pink Colorant.  I used Bakery Beige from the Sweet Treats Colorant Set and Non-Bleeding Red Liquid Colorant.
• A silicone square tray mold.
• A silicone heart mold.

Hearts: Cut 3 lbs of the melt and pour base into cubes, place in a 32 oz Pyrex measuring cup (or other heat-safe measuring dish), cover with plastic wrap and melt in the microwave.  I melt mine in 20 minute increments until it’s all melted.  Let cool a bit and then stir in 1 oz of Black Cherry Fragrance Oil.  Then, add drops of Non-Bleeding Red Liquid Colorant while stirring.  Add drops of colorant until you like the color.  I wanted mine to be pink and somewhat translucent.   Pour into each heart cavity of your heart mold, spritz with alcohol and wait for it to set up. Note: I put mine in the freezer because I’m impatient that way. 

Swirls: In the meantime, you can make soap for your swirls!  For this, you’ll cut and melt 1 lb of melt and pour soap.  Follow the same procedures above for cutting and melting.  You’ll then use .4 oz of Dark Rich Chocolate FO and your brown colorant.  I added drops of Bakery Beige until I liked the color.  Then, pour it into the silicone square mold, spritz with alcohol and let set.

Hearts: Your heart soaps should be ready to pop out of the molds, so do that.  Then, you’ll use the remainder of your melt and pour soap and Black Cherry Fragrance Oil to make 6 hearts.  Again, I didn’t record how much melt and pour base I used, so it’s possible that you’ll either need more base or you’ll make more than 6 hearts.   Follow the hearts directions above.

Swirls: Slowly remove your slab of chocolate-scented soap.  On a cutting surface, slice the soap in 1 to 2 inch-wide strips.  Then, use a vegetable peeler to peel each strip.  As you peel, the soap will curl; creating swirls.  See my swirls below:

Once you have your 18 hearts and your swirls completed, you can store them in separate gallon-sized zip-lock bags until you’re ready for the second phase.

Learning as I Go and a Warning

Having an Ethiopian baby presented one challenge for this White gal….what to do with his hair!?  At the orphanage in Addis Ababa, the special mothers used baby oil in the infants’ hair to keep it moisturized.  When I got back to the states with him, my African American friends confirmed that baby oil was good to use in his hair.  So that’s what we did for the first few months.
It turned out, however, that baby oil was NOT good for MY skin and, in general, poses a health risk to infants and toddlers.
Whenever Abraham is sitting on my lap, I love to kiss the sweet curls on top of his head.  All this skin-to-baby-oil contact caused me to break out with big, ugly pimples on my chin!  When I did some research into baby oil (which is pure mineral oil), I found that mineral oil can, indeed, cause contact dermatitis.  (Read here). As I researched further into baby oil, I found that baby oil can cause severe respiratory problems and even death in infants! (Read here).
Wait, what?  This product that is marketed and sold as a product to use on infants and that sits carelessly around a nursery room without a single warning label on it can cause DEATH?!  Some cases of death were from ingesting it, but other cases were caused by inhaling baby oil that was near the infant’s mouth and nose.  The inhaled oil coated the lungs and the toddler suffocated to death.
That was it!  The baby oil went in the trash.  My dermatitis cleared up, but what to do about Abraham’s sweet curls?  I looked up some all-natural hair milks that were made exclusively for African Americans and found that most of the ingredients were what I used in my lotions.  In fact, the hair milks were lotion with smaller amounts of thickening agent.
With a list of natural ingredients and an idea of the results I wanted, I went to work creating my own lotion for Abraham.  The lotion I use on his skin is the same lotion I use in his hair, and he gets a lot of compliments about both!  Now, his curls are moisturized and defined (and they smell great, too!)  I know exactly what is in his lotion because I put it in there!  My favorite ingredients to use in his lotions are Aloe Vera Liquid, Pistachio Butter, Cocoa Butter, Vitamin E Oil, Avocado Oil, and Sweet Almond Oil  I don’t use them all in the same lotion; just various combinations.  And, my chin looks great!  Bonus! 
Here are some before and after pictures of Abraham’s hair. 
Abraham has beautiful curls that are typical of the Amhara people in Ethiopia, but without hair lotion, they look fuzzy and matted.


Now, for mom’s remedy.  I wet his hair a little first and then slather on the lotion.  I use a wide-toothed comb to comb the lotion through and remove any knots in his hair.

Now, his sweet curls are shiny, moisturized and defined!

Christmas Gifts are Here!

As promised, Christmas soaps and Gift Boxes are here!  Premade Gift Boxes are very limited, only THREE in stock!  You can choose the Mint collection, Ginger collection or Cranberry collection.

You  also have the option of creating your own gift box of soaps.  Each gift box can hold up to three soaps!  After you order a Make-Your-Own Christmas Gift Box, you can send me a message at check out telling me which three soaps you want in your gift box.  I’ll take care of the rest!

Don’t forget to check my blog regularly for Discount Codes I’ll randomly post between now and Christmas!  They’ll be good for one time, one day only.  Catch one if you can!

It’s in the Details

I found these adorable Christmas votive candles at Michael’s Craft Store about a month ago and thought they’d be a perfect part of my Christmas Gift Boxes!  The only thing I didn’t like was that they looked a little plain.  No problem!  I had fun dressing them up with cute Christmas bows!  The Christmas Gift Boxes are almost finished and will make great gifts for someone who loves a bit of pampering!

Cocoa Mint Gift Box: one bar of handmade Cocoa Mint Soap, handmade Peppermint Lotion and a votive candle in Evergreen fragrance.

A Day of Making Lotion

Handmade lotion is the BEST!  Sure, I’m a bit biased, but honestly, you can’t beat the rich oils and butters and lack of chemicals and alcohol when it comes to winter skin.  I spent Sunday whipping up 72 ounces of moisture-rich, creamy lotion and then divided it into five, fragrant batches.  Here’s a peek at how I did it.

The first step is to sterilize everything that will come into contact with the lotion.  Jars, lids, mixers, bowls, spoons, droppers…you name it.  I sterilized everything using a water/bleach solution.  Once it’s sterile, I set it out to dry.

Then, I start the measuring and melting process.  I use a basic lotion recipe that’s based on percentages.  You can find it here.  It allows me to use any variety of lotions and butters that I want.  For this batch, I used Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, Cocoa Butter and Vitamin E Oil.  Below, I’m measuring the Cocoa Butter.  It smells just like chocolate!  Mmmmm!

Next, it’s time to blend my water with my oil/butter/emulsifying wax/stearic acid mix. 

Once the oils and water mix and the batch starts to thicken, I add my preservative.  I use a paraben-free preservative.  Once it was to a thickness I liked, I divided and scented five batches.  Here are the final lotions; ready for Christmas!

Time to Make the Lotion

My lotion supplies came today from Bramble Berry!  Yay!  I’ll spend the weekend making lotions that are chock-full of moisturizing goodness: Cocoa Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, and Vitamin E Oil.  Then, I’ll fragrance them to match some of the Christmas gift baskets that will be ready soon: Cranberry Fig, Ginger Orange, Peppermint….Mmmmmm.  I can’t wait!

Handmade Soap Giveaway!!

 Okay, I’m not sure how I feel about not being able to give my soap away for free.  ;)  But, because I LOVE this soap and the fragrance and I know you will, too, I’m going to run this giveaway again.  Please don’t miss your chance to win a big ol’ bar of Almond Biscotti Soap AND an organza bag filled with your choice of three soap samples!
Entering to win is super easy!  Here’s all you need to do:
1. Blog, Tweet (@catiebethbath), Facebook, Shout from the Rooftops (Okay, maybe not that one if you like your neighbors) about Catie Beth Bath and Body.  Essentially, I’m asking for your help to spread the word about my website: www.catiebeth.com and encourage folks to BUY SOME SOAP! 
Also, November is National Adoption Awareness month and I give 75% of my profits to a family who is in the process of adopting.  Buying Catie Beth soap is an easy way to help unite a child with its forever family.
2. Post a comment here telling me how you spread the word.  It would help if you posted a link to your blog post or some other way for me to see how you helped spread the word. Also, if you comment as "Anonymous", please include your name and email address in the post.
3.  That’s it!  The more times you give me a shout out, the more times you enter the contest!  Pretty cool, eh?
4.  The deadline is Friday, November 5th.

Good Luck!

Minty Meadow Unmolded

I love to unmold my soaps.  It’s like opening a Christmas present.  I do what I can to create the soap I’ve pictured in my head, but the unmolding phase is when I can see if my creation came to fruition. For Minty Meadow, I envisioned standing in a green field beneath a summer, blue sky and being surrounded with fragrant herbs. I think it turned out just right.  :)

Give Peace a Chance

Peace Handmade Soap is loaded with essential oils of Lavender, Orange and Patchouli and is oh, so pretty!   Best of all,  it’s on sale at Catiebeth.com now through Thanksgiving!  Have some peace this Christmas by shopping early.

I love to SWIRL!

My friend, Rose, gave me some Bergamot infused Olive Oil that she made herself with Bergamot grown in her garden.  How awesome!  I combined it with Lavender EO, Basil EO and Peppermint EO and am calling it “Minty Meadow”.  It smells so lovely!  I used equal parts Bergamot infused Olive Oil, Palm Oil and Coconut Oil with 5% Mango Butter.  Here it is in the mold.  Can’t wait for the unmolding!

Essential Oil Blends

As much as I love all the Christmas fragrances, my nose wants to take a break for a while. Today, I decided to pull out my essential oils to see what blends I could come up with. I’m often asked how I determine what fragrances to use in my soaps. A lot of the time, I use a pre-blended fragrance oil, but sometimes, I like to create my own blends using natural, essential oils.

I try to let nature be my guide. If it’s a scent that smells good together in nature, then it will probably smell good together in a soap. If I’m not sure what essential oils pair well together, I Google the essential oil I want to work with and find other essential oils that blend well with it. Then, I take it from there.

Essential oil is more expensive than fragrance oil, so I don’t want to mix them together without first knowing that I’ll like the result. So, I do a “smell test.” I cut a Q-Tip in half and then dip each half in an essential oil I want to use. I then place my Q-Tip halves in a zip-lock bag, label it and seal it. Over the course of a couple of days, I check on the scent. If I like the blend, then I’ll use it. If not, then I haven’t wasted much essential oil.

Right now, I’m smell testing six essential oil blends. After I choose the ones I like comes the fun part: deciding how the soap will look.

New Arrivals!

Do you remember that spearmint-colored, sparkly, swirly soap I posted a month ago?  It’s now ready and in my online shop!!  Wintergreen is a sweet, sparkly soap that smells of apples, oranges, peppermint and cloves.  It’s a bright, winter scent!  You can find it here.

 

Also new in the shop is Almond Biscotti.  It smells just like a mellowed Almond Extract.  This is a BIG bar of soap…almost 5 ounces!  It’s a pretty soap with brown, beige, pink and purples hues.  You can find it here.

More great soaps AND lotions to come!

Winter Wonderland Soap Contest!

I haven’t worked with Melt and Pour soap in a while, so I jumped at the opportunity to  enter a soap contest.  The contest is to create a “Winter Wonderland” soap and the winner receives a $100 gift certificate from Bramble Berry Soap Supplies (I buy most all of my soap supplies from them!).  I had to create the soap specifically for the contest, so I couldn’t use any of the soaps I’ve already created.  Also, I didn’t want to make a new batch of soaps just to enter one soap.  I wanted this one to be special. 

I asked myself, “What is a winter wonderland?”.  The answer…Alaska!  This time of year, the aurora borealis is on full display. I can remember quiet nights when it lit up the sky with its changing stream of colors.   The snow literally glistened beneath its glow.  I wanted to capture those sensations in my one bar of soap.

I had to tread in completely unknown territory to create this bar.  I knew I would have to work in layers to get the desired effect, so I drew each layer on three pieces of vellum.  Then I set to work creating each layer.  The first layer consisted of the trees and the aurora.  Next came the snow-covered hills.  Then, the dark night sky.  Finally, a hint of glitter on the snow to capture the reflection of the aurora on the snow.

The bar of soap weighs 3.5 oz and is scented with Peppermint eo.  Peppermint is a strong, nose-clearing scent that reminds me of the brisk, freezing cold nights in Fairbanks, Alaska when it was almost too cold to breathe.

You’ll have the chance to vote for my bar of soap to win starting November 16.  I’ll post more information about how to vote when that date gets closer!

On the Rack

I can’t wait until these Christmas soaps are ready for sale! They should be ready by the second week in November. Each scrumptious bar of soap is only $4.00. They’ll make great stocking stuffers, teacher’s gifts, hostess gifts, secret Santa gifts…you get the idea! Also, look for cute Christmas gift sets to hit the website in November. Each gift set will include a bar of soap, a 4 oz jar of lotion and a votive candle for just $15.00.

Cocoa Mint

Sweet Cranberry

Gingerbread