The making of...THREE soaps :)

Well - really it's the making of a normal batch of "Country Skies" and then two tiny test runs of "Hansel and Gretels House" and "Saffron and Cedar".  But it's not the size of the soap it's the info in the video that counts eh?

Hansel and Gretels House I think I shall rename to "Gingerbread Man"...or maybe "Can't Catch Me" and when people ask ??? what does that mean I'll say: "Run, run run as fast as you can - can't catch me I'm the GINGERBREAD MAN" and I'll laugh wildly at the end.  What? No? Sounds Crazy?  Okay, so maybe I'll stick with Gingerbread Man....probably keep it simple like it is here too....perhaps a flat, short bar instead of a tall normal bar, but still with icing and sprinkles?  Oh how mama needs a froo froo mold for that...one day.....anyways, top came out like this:

Then there is "Saffron and Cedar" - I dunno....I was thinking I might call it "Drop Dead Sexy" or "Awesome Sexy Man" or something! I love it! Didn't think I was going to love it as much as I do...but it really is a nice fragrance! I was just playing with the colors there - but I will probably keep it just as simple when I do a big formal batch of it....the fragrance did seep out a little the first day or so...but it reabsorbed back in before I even had the chance to cut it...so no biggie there, I still love the way it smells!

This is the top of "Country Skies" - a remake really, it's the Fresh Outdoors scent from Nature's Garden - but I hadn't done a video of it (I don't think anyways) and since I was splitting off the other stuff from that one I figured "eh why not"....just love how it looks all fresh in the mold! Smells good too!

All three claim to accelerate trace - and maybe a little yes - but really all 3 did very well for me and came out pretty perfect...if this slow as heck old internet ever gets the first video up, I MAY post the video where I cut them LOL....and here it is:

Anyways...on to the next video lol...have that ready about Christmas time haha! Actually, with any luck it'll be up before the day is out ;)

FINALLY! A making of "City Slicker" video :)

I FINALLY did a video of making what I call "City Slicker for him" - it's really Black Tie by Nature's Garden and it is FANTABULOUS! I love that smell, I love how the soap comes out, it's just fun!

This is the one I do with the zebra/tiger stripes in black and white...just loving it how it goes together...

The top had a little more texture, but still overall very flat :( I don't know why - I guess it's just so dang hot, I don't feel perky and thusly my soap tops are NOT perky either lol!

I haven't cut it yet - but it's gonna look pretty much like that when I do, just love it! Elegant, but fun all at once.

Off to allow another video to upload while I do other stuffs then :P

Cannabis Flower...aka "Pimp Juice"

Okay, so to be honest, Monkey Farts was getting old - played, tired, too many reruns!  Random way to begin things when the title mentions cannabis right?  See....what had happened was....

Monkey Farts is always the soap that makes people stop and smell things...it's the name.  At markets, at the feed store, even here at the house - when people see "Monkey Farts" they ALWAYS say: "I have to smell that, what DOES a monkey fart smell like???"  And then from there they smell everything else, and especially at the market I have noticed they usually will find at least a few soaps to buy after that....When I placed the monkey farts soap right on the corner where the most traffic came from I would without fail stop a good portion of people "to see what it smelled like".

But now everyone has seen and smelled that one...lord knows I myself have smelled that one...and while it's still a nice soap, I was over it.  I wanted to do something new, something different.  Have I mentioned this before?  "Pimp Juice" was my husbands idea.  He is just nerdy enough to come up with it.  What is pimp juice you ask?  Hmmm.....let my friend Nelly tell you:
Pimp Juice - Nelly

So as we sit here one day the hubby says, "You should make a soap called pimp juice!" (keep in mind I also refer to pg600 - used to bring the goats into heat for breeding - as 'pimp juice', which is where the phrase was being used at the time and I am sure what sparked the hubby to think of using it with soap).  We talked about it, and decided that Pimp Juice the soap should smell like Cannabis Flower Fragrance oil from Nature's Garden.

So, my fragrances came, and I swear to you, as soon as I cracked the bottle open to sniff it I coughed, I giggled, I had flashbacks to younger days! Oh my goodness!   It's one of those scents that inspires you to be naughty and get in trouble like highschool style, I swear! Really - the fragrance gave me the giggles and made me hungry...I'm really having fun with this one even if it smells naughty, thought I admit, I plan to take all my receipts and such to the market with me...and a print out from their website just in case I get pulled over on the way there....ya know...to prove it's really soap.

So I split my batch three ways, and I WAS going to do the whole "mantra swirl" thing....but DANG it was hot that night, and I was all out of patience as sweat dripped in my eyes (and no one wants a bar of soap made with love AND sweat - YUCK!)  I just flopped it all in a mold and swirled it up and added a little gold mica swirl tot he top with some green sprinkles too! I was shooting for the whole Mardi Gras/Rasta/Bob Marley kinda bright and colorful thing ya know?

Not my favorite top ever - I set it down in front of a fan (not thinking) and the paper lining in the mold blew over the top and smooshed it all around a bit....not bad, my mica still shows up nicely, but the very edges look a little ugly ya know?

The house smelled of, well, smoke for a few days too - even though I had a batch of Pink Sugar AND Black Tie AND Rosemary Mint soaps all curing! I went LIGHT on this fragrance too! Thankfully no one stopped by to have to explain it to...

I know, crummy lighting right?  But I like it!  Now if only it will be my new show stopper for a while....I think I will have fun with this one....I know it still makes me giggle when I walk by and smell a bar of it!

Crochet - A soap related Hobby?

Crochet - yarn, a hook, and your own 2 hands. Simple stuff, but highly entertaining for some of us (myself being part of the "some" here). I haven't crocheted anything in AGES! 1) It's too hot - no really, who wants to have a 5 pound blanket made of yarn sprawled across their legs in the middle of summer? 2) WHEN would I squeeze in time for such a project? Sure, there are easy peasy cute little baby things you can make that go fast...but I don't have any kids, and I don't know anyone about to pop a baby out any time soon...so there's not much need for cute little baby stuff at the moment.

THEN it hit me - BAM! Cute can be functional AND soap related! Don't get me wrong, I know I can always make stuff for babies and turn around and sell it...but why not make something that anyone can enjoy? The answer, crocheted  in 100% cotton yarn is this:

See...I often find myself awake late at night. In case you hadn't heard, my husband snores - BAD - so I (for many reason) am up until pretty late most nights. Let's be honest, I am NOT going outside in the dark, in the woods, with coyotes, snakes, and everything else creepy crawly to do "yard work" at night. Not doing it, the end....BUT...what I can do is sit in here and crochet...small easy things, like wash cloths! I can churn out one or 2 of these in an evening, and I have been. Then I set them aside in a rubbermaid tub.

My thinking is this: come the holidays (and even at regular markets through out the year) I can offer these for sale OR I can include them in gift baskets. To me this is SOOOOOOOoooooo much nicer then the shower poof thingies, or even regular wash cloths....it's hand made, it's personal, and it's somewhat "organic " in nature (though not certified or any thing. By organic, I mean "natural" - what's more natural than cotton? NOT polyester that's for sure lol :)

So....part of what I have been up to (though in small bits of time here and there) are these little devils...if anyone wants the pattern, I'll post it - heck, I may post it just because. I figure it will be a nice, personal touch of sorts in gift baskets to come.

Gotta love the men folk....

Oh yes, it's 6a.m. and here I am.....thanks to the husband, wide awake and not in the mood to do anything besides type :P  Why does he always come home from work with orders as follows: "Please send me more of the brown soap".  Okay....um, which one? Oh...AND WHY did he wait until 5a.m. to ask me for soap????

There's Kerfluffled, Rustic, and Billy Goat Buzz - all of which are dark brown due to the vanilla content, Cherry Almond, Goats Eat Oats, and Rustic Roses, all of which are tan either due to the fragrance or how they are made (Roses is a hot process soap, and goes a little tan where it's not colored).....

I just packed up a basket and stuffed a couple lotion bottles in there for good measure, so I could plod on off back to bed and abck to sleep....nope, not working, still up LOL :)

Bless their less-than-specific souls.....the brown one it is this morning! I hope in the future my note "to please save the tag for reference" helps, and I REALLY hope the message my husband took away was to tell me this stuff in the evenings and NOT when I am sleeping!

I'm BAAAACCKKKK!!!!!!!!

Yup - I just looked and it's been OVER 2 months since I have blogged! I have made some soap since then, but not very much :( There's a few videos needing posting....and much updating to do LOL! Going in reverse order of what I have been up to this summer....

There were tamales to be made.....just over 30 POUNDS of meat! Oh yes....that's a LOT of tamales LOL!

3 giant pots full of meat to cook down, masa to make, much steaming to do....

THEN, there are the "baby goats" - whom are no longer so much babies as giant terrors haha! BUT...they have been keeping me on my toes with 3 bottles each, every day, hoof trims, ears that needed tattoos done and of course much baby goat lovin's to be given!

The disappearing/reappearing pig....who has also taken up residence in the goat pen WHEN he is home! I'm always keeping an eye out for him...some days he wanders off in search of greener pastures....

I finally made the decision to sell one of the does - she just wasn't growing up to be what I want or am going for in my herd, it was hard....but it needed to be done. Keep and breed only the best right?
I miss her, but I know she has gone on to a VERY nice pet home!

The whole herd got a bath, and hoof trims a few times since last I was here and...drum roll please....FIVE does have been "exposed"/bred for November babies!!!! I still haven't sent in bloodwork to confirm pregnancy yet....but fingers crossed I get what I want LOL! We did however send in bloodwork for CAE (all negative of course) and that was nice to be done with as well!

Five kittens were born out there, who always seem to be literally under my feet....though thankfully we are a mouse free property I must admit!

 I have a date every few weeks with Murray....our lawn mower! Keeping the grass cut down to a reasonable height takes about a half a day at least out here! THANK GOODNESS Murray is a riding mower!

The other pig...Breakfast...is growing well and doing great! I anticipate her heading off to the processor in a month or 2 more...maybe 3 months, but I bet just 2 more and away she will go and back will come pork chops, hams and bacon!

Several days were devoted to the stocking up of jams and jellies for us for the year....apple cinnamon jelly, raspberry peach jam and blueberry jam....and then I was given a heap of jalapenos so those were pickled and canned for future use in goat cheese (mmmm.....garlic jalapeno chevre!).....HOT, long, sweaty kitchen days...but nice to have enough good stuff put up for us!

A trip was made and geese were brought home....COTTON PATCH geese! Rare, heritage type geese, pretty cool birds actually! I had to do some "remodeling" outside and set up for them as well - they are happy birds, funny too! When the horses call to me, the geese honk and call back! I can't wait until next spring when we have baby goslings running around!

The hens are doing well, and I am now getting about 3 eggs every day from them! Keeping us happily in enough eggs to have breakfast for dinner whenever we please :) I do so love my poultry!

I got the herd on "milk test" - a very simple (though tons of time to figure it out) process with once a month test days where we weigh and send in samples on the milk....makes things more official in the milk department for the goats, and I like having one more bonus to market with them as I can prove how much milk they give!

I also expanded on the doe pen - put up 120 feet more of fencing and "yard" for them....I figured if I wanted to be gone more to markets selling soap and if I wanted to be inside more MAKING soap I needed to give the goats more room to roam and run and play. I felt guilty on the days when I couldn't walk them about...so I added on to their "facilities"....they like it and I feel better now, but that was yet another loooonnnggg week of hard work outside!

There's the magic "pimp juice" that helped to get the goats all bred out of season for them and synched up to be bred on the same day! That way I only have to wait on babies at one time, and not spread out over the fall!

The old water heater had a Chernobyl stile melt down and I awoke one day to a flood of Noah's Ark proportions...so a weekend was spent getting a new one put in. YES, we only have a tiny water heater, in a tiny spot....it's a tiny house, what can I say? It works...no super long showers, but I have enough hot water to test out my soaps LOL, and that is all that matters!

And that's it! WHEW! Looking back, it has been a REALLY long 2 months! I'm going to try to get the few videos I made up, and THEN, I have a TON of supplies on the way this week, so I will hopefully be making more soaps and getting THAT stuff up as well! I spent the early part of the afternoon premixing colors and getting ready to do the few more soaps I can with what I have here...but I didn't realize until last week how empty it was looking in there in the supply department! CRAZY how fast stuff can go when you aren't even trying! And never mind all of the blogs and youtube vids and such I need to sit down and watch and get caught up on! Oh my good grief I have missed SO MUCH being outside like I have been! I am not gonna lie...it's kind of nice to get away from things like television and computers for a while, but I also miss the interaction with other people of similar mindsets...it's just me and the goats most days....hanging out, chillin, and they don't talk you know?

So....off to fidget with a few things and get back on a roll with soapy stuffs and what not :) Glad to be back finally, but I really did need to focus on the farm for a while :)

Excited for the market tomorrow!

Hitting up my old stand by - Olde Security Square Flea Market - this weekend! Haven't been able to do a 2 day market weekend in a while, just been way too busy! So I am excited to be getting out of the house and heading out!

I know some people DREAD all of the work that goes into this kinda thing - I admit, it IS indeed a ton of work!  But, I really do enjoy the majority of my clients that come through and I really get a kick being about and talking about soaps and goats all day!

I know what I need to be doing at this moment is laundry so I have a clean outfit AND packing...but instead I am playing online...hehehe...naughty me right?  Just can't help it! I am TOO excited! Two whole days outta the house! WOOHOO!

Not like I have been here that much really - I made a trip to the middle of Texas this week, have had a TON of errands to run, just been on the go - but this is different.  I get to go and stay put for the day once I get there, it's nice :)

Better go fix the goats their bottles though....or they will come and yell at me shortly :)  I have some more videos loading as I type...sloooooowly :P Trying to get all caught up after a being double busy!

Cutting a TON of soaps!

Well, here goes I suppose.  There will be more of these for sure haha, but for now, here is the cutting of "Rosemary ROCKS!!!" a rosemary mint fragrance from Nature's Garden that I absolutely LOVE!

AND THEN....since the "making of" videos were crud...here is the one where I cut a bunch of other soaps LOL.  "Berries & Cream" which is Black Raspberry Vanilla fragrance from Nature's Garden, "Kerfluffled" which would be my name for Pink Sugar fragrance from Rustic Escentuals (the "SNC" version since they have several).

There is also a little bitty loaf of "Malibu Heat Type" also from RE - I haven't renamed it yet since it was just a test run on that one...but I am in love again :)

The true special here is "Summer Nights" which would be Moonlight Pomegranate from NG....even though it is so special it will get it's own blog post...for now it is one video and displayed as such.  I LOVE the way it came out!  Looks so neat!  Took a bit...may not be doing that again LOL....but I was amused :)

So...without furher ado yet another cutting video: 

Mother's Day has come and gone...

And a healthy little stack of boxes went with it full of soap orders LOL :)  That's just a portion of what went out last week - it was nice, but tiring!  See....MOST people can get the post office to come right to THEM to pick stuff up - um, no, not here :(  All delivery personnel avoid our dirt road like the plague.  This is probably for the best as they would otherwise most likely end up stuck in my driveway (got a GIANT sink hole happening of sorts, we refer to it as "the quick sand").

So I had to treck into town with all that, unload it with no assistance, and THEN get a lecture from the guy at the post office about someone else picking it up at my door...hahaha...LOL...ROFL!!!!!  I had to tell him they won't come to my door - he looked a little crushed on my behalf.  It was nice of him though to try to let me know about it.  I have to admit, out of all of the major delivery services available, the United States Postal Service is by far the most cost effective for me and at one of the local post offices they are pretty nice (the other one is 'eh soso').

I must admit, I am kinda glad to see one more holiday behind us for the year - it means moving on and ahead to other things, other soapy themes and ideas if you will.  I am TOTALLY ready to start making Christmas soap - but I am trying to hold out until August to start all that :P Perhaps I should focus on summery stuff and Father's Day for the time being don't you think?  Lordy me, I AM a soap mess aren't I?  All ready for Christmas and it isn't even JUNE!

Oh well, guess I should go out and give those baby goats their bed time bottles and then head off to sweet dreams myself eh?

Restocking L.O.V.E. (now on video)

Oh yes...I am all video crazy now!  Sure, it seriously takes like 12 hours to get a video uploaded...first from the phone to "google +" (I think that's what it's called...idk....all I know is it's the method I have figured out - I am sure there is a better way).  Then from there to being saved to the computer, THEN on to youtube...T E D I O U S!  But..I LOVE making the videos!

So...we made a restock of L.O.V.E. (the love spell type fragrance) yesterday - I had my niece here to help run the camera and she has never been old enough yet to make soap with me.  FINALLY she is old enough AND available!  All in all it was fun :)  AND it's one of her favorites that I make!

The newest NadaLotta Camera skills on video (LOL) :

The cutting of "Billy Goat Buzz"

I am in LOVE with this fragrance!  The house still smells like yummy delicious coffee! MMMmmm :)

Made a video - used my new "soap cutter" (aka cheese slicer) - and I think even if it wasn't exactly what I was going for, this is one nice soap!  And of course I am overly proud of my cheesy videography skills :)

OH!  Had a moment at the end and cut off the camera before I got the final shots of the cut bars...here's the still photo of that:

 I was shooting for a "Holly swirl" as they call it....I over swooshed a bit...but still a nice looking bar I think :)

So...presenting the cutting of "Billy Goat Buzz":

Billy goat Buzz - the new version!

Yup - finally caved and added fragrance to the coffee soap instead of coffee.  SMELLS WONDERFUL!

Made a video - getting better a bit - though it still takes me literally the entire next day to post it.  Gotta love that super slow country internet we have out here! T E D I O U S as heck waiting on it to do it's thing!

And yes...had a "uhoh" moment there - camera slipped outta position, stick blender is a tad bit wonkey and cannot be trusted to set still and was stuck in soap and I had 2 hands when I needed 3!  Just, don't do that at home folks!  I was all alone and not trying to edit videos and splice them together yet - heck, I'm doing good to get it up as one video....

Slowly, I am getting better at the whole camera thing....really probably just need a real one complete with a tripod for all the stuff I want videos of...it's coming...

It seems like there was something else important to go along with this I wanted to say...hmm...nope, forgot...been having lots of spacy moments when I write these days (my mind is on those baby goats about to be born mostly).

Wasn't too happy with the top at first, but I got a few good pics and it's growing no me.  The flash kind of washed out the "wet look" and since it was actually late at night a while back now when I made it withOUT the flash the colors aren't right...oh well, all the photos are still pretty in their own way I suppose AND the Top came out better than I thought (yes just a sprinkling of real coffee is on there - it's the only real coffee though):

So, here we are - SOAP WITH NO FARM DRAMA FOR A CHANGE :) YAY!

New soap cutter = I am in LOVE!

I know, it's just a CHEESE SLICER from Walmart but to ME it is the best $20 I have EVER spent on soap right now!  No really - I am in goat farmer soap maker HEAVEN tonight!

I'm going to have to name it something VERY clever and appropriate - like Jaws LOL!  This bad boy had me all a-flutter when it arrived finally on Monday.  Here in the sticks, we do not carry froo froo fancy pants cheese slicers such as this on the shelves in our Walmarts...oh no...you gotta special order them! It really didn't take it too long to get here - but when you go make 8 batches of soap in anticipation of trying this thing out on arrival it makes the wait that much harder. ESPECIALLY when you usually have no patience in waiting to cut your soaps for more than a day! But I waited...patiently...and I was rewarded :)

I was so happy to see it, I made a video even! Go look....I was positively GIDDY Monday afternoon when it was unpacked!

So then, what I really more than anything in the whole world wanted to do was make a video using it.  But I got all over anxious and forgot :(  Oh yes, I was so excited to go cut soaps I left the camera (aka my "too smart for me phone") in the living room.  I went in and began slicing away...took a couple of bars to adjust to but DANG WOWZA AMAZING!  No, seriously, AMAZING I said! 

Usually I make a batch or 2 at a time and cut then next day right? Takes me about 30-45 minutes to cut them up and my loaves make about 11-12 bars depending on how crooked I cut things.  A little bit off each time affects the end result ya know?  So I go in and start with the guillotine mad crazy chopping slicing and WHOA! NO WAY!  I cut EVERY soapy loaf of goodness in 45 minutes! For me this is AMAZING! I counted - some I did smaller and flat style...so they only make 10 bars in a batch...and the rest I did normal for me and those I get 12 out of right?  Totaled out to 88 bars cut up in 45 minutes and THAT my friends for me is a record!

Who needs a super fancy top of the line tank cutter?  NOT THIS FARMER!!! The time I save is terrific, the money I saved is ANOTHER NEW GOAT LOL!!!!!  (Don't go telling the husband though okay? We're gonna slide that one by him later....) OH and the truly best most fantabulous part here?  MUCH STRAIGHTER BARS!

Why yes, I tend to cut things crooked a smidge....I just am not a "stay between the lines" kinda gal I suppose....but with my new super gizmo I cut straight for the first time ever! HAHAHAHA!!!!

Yup...I have a new toy for soap making and I am officially in LOVE!  Singing songs and such as I go...

Pink Sugar - a video experiment...

Okay...so first off this is like what, video number 4 maybe?  You know, for all that I spent all 4 years in high school VERY active in Theatre Arts, I am a freaking THESPIAN!  (No, for real, and no smart remarks ya'll, I have already heard them)...anyways, yes, a thespian I tell you and I canNOT do awesome superb videos????  What is wrong with me right???

I dunno...but I am actually fairly pleased with this one....oh yes, not the greatest, but I like it :) 

I got 2 samples of "Pink Sugar" with my latest order from Rustic Escentuals.   If I did it right, that link should show off the fact that they carry MULTIPLE options for Pink Sugar FO and ALL of them sound pretty good right? All sound pretty close, all are bath and body safe, same price...AHHHH!  So I picked 2 - SNC and their "best seller".

So far....my vote is the "SNC" copy....the best seller may sell best, but to MY nose at least it does not SMELL best!

I do think they are just absolutely GORGEOUS though! 

OH!  and what I was trying to say in the video towards the end:  When a fragrance discolors to a dark brown, it's not that people are not clever or creative with it..BUT...we are ALL stuck with that color (the brown discoloration) as part of the soap SOMEHOW right???  Which is why I haven't ever soaped this fragrance until now - I already have several brown vanilla sweet smelling soaps and I didn't know that I wanted another...but I think I see myself heading off into more cupcake type stuff with this one.  It is very delicious to sniff :)

And...what else was I gonna tell ya'll??? OOOHHHH!!!!!

So...at about the 16 minute mark....watch for the blackout!  No really, power went out for a second only...but see!  I am NOT making it up, living out here is CRAZY most days!

And there you have it:  I am going to work on getting better with the video thing...but I like making videos :)  At least I am talking to share with other people and not just talking to myself LOL :)

Cutting the Mica Swirl Tops Soaps :)

I was all "video makin' happy" last week lol! I got these all cut and on tape and then I walked away from the computer (mostly) for a few days...sooooo...I am FINALLY getting around to posting these!  IDK how great the video is in reality.  In MY head at least I think it is wonderful because I finally did it :P

But anyways, I HOPE it came out okay :) I was uber excited and still am!  Black Raspberry Vanilla and Moonlight Pomegranate - mmmmmmm :)

I think before I officially go post my link on the GreatCakes page I will go get some still shots and put those on the blog - just because my video is NOT that great - but yes, giddy excited a bit I was when I figured out I had a perfect spot to perch the phone and still get ok passing for viewable videos! Happy dance happy dance :)

I want to say I was having a less than beautiful day - but let's be honest, that's how farmer woman tend to roll.  Old t-shirts and make up free! If I really like this video thing I may start doing my hair first LOL :)

Also - please note the OCD with my cutting - I never get a straighter than straight bar and I have some issues haha! Perhaps someone (husband dear) will get me a REAL cutter soon! Actually, maybe I will get me a REAL cutter once I am done with baby goats next month.

And yes, before I start I scrub the HECK out of my hands!  I can't cut for beans in gloves, I tried, didn't work, my hands gets all slippy.  VERY ugly scene!  SO I scrub my hands like medical style before I cut soaps. Just saying - I dunno, another OCD thing with me.

Guess I better go get those pics then so I can post my link for real huh?

Cutting "Key Lime Pie Soap" (aka da Lime in da Coconut)

I've been making videos! YAY froo froo fancy pants phone!  No, no video camera here - just an android phone - but still!  Okay, so don't laugh - there's some MAJOR double chinage going on...but here it is! My "Key Lime Pie soap" all cut and purdy-fied!

The scent is really called "da Lime in da Coconut" from Rustic Escentuals, and it's harder to see in the video that this is indeed the same sparkly mica dusted tops, but it is :) Smells OH SO GOOD!

I have been dragging my feet getting things uploaded BECAUSE I have been moving and grooving doing some "spring cleaning" in this house!  Actually....it was just well over due time to clean the fuzzy dusty house, not because of spring...but you get my drift I think :)

And so, may I present, Key Lime Pie (soap) :)

Back to the market??? Oh yeah baby!

Ok, so I'm not gonna lie...even though mankind CAN try my patience, I actually REALLY do like people!  Living out here where there aren't many people, I find myself craving them sometimes.  So back to the market I went this weekend! I REALLY had fun last weekend when I sit down and look back at it and you know, the cash is nice.  Plus, to have more room on my soap shelves to make MORE fun soaps is really helpful too!

See, when I really looked at it, I had lotions a-plenty, and TONS of stuff I have been making since February and March - like for real, probably 200 or 300 bars of soap (when I count I'll let you know). I'm not gonna lie, even though that one redneck kinda pushed my buttons, most of the people I met were pretty awesome.  And yes, the lady with the noisy toys...the toys drove me AND come to find out another lady nuts LOL...but she was at least nice.  So, I loaded up and headed back this weekend - I know, crazy right? But why pay for insurance if I'm not gonna make an effort and really sell some stuff eh? Plus, with baby goats coming I won't be able to do it again for a few weeks at least ya know?  Can't leave when mommas are due any minute....

Anyways, I HAD A BLAST!!! Met some awesome people, pretty much sold out of everything else I had that was ready to go and now I am WHOOPED! Overall, the environment is relaxed, the market handles all the "tedious" part as everything is covered so no tent needed, and they have a LARGE table in each space so I don't even have to mess with that either! Just show up and put out my stuff :)  I think I might be addicted lol :)

Plus, get this - they do a drawing each day at 3p.m. for a space number and the winner gets $50 - and GUESS WHAT!!! No, really, guess...come on, guess.....YES!!!!!!! I won today!!!!!!!!!!  And to be honest, I NEVER win anything, not even a dollar on a scratch off! No, seriously - the only stuff I ever win is phone calls from time shares :P and I won something :)

So, I had a tiring but fruitful weekend.  Now, I need to regroup, get pictures of last weeks work posted for ya'll, and get ready for baby goats AND my garden...oh my sad attempts at a garden :(  I HAVE to get on that!  But oh yes, I think I am an addict to selling things, I KNOW I love talking about my goats and my soaps all day and I will return!

OH!  I forgot to say...when you ask "Where have you been?"  I have been at "Olde Security Square" - and I have LOVED IT!

Welders and Goat Milk Soap...what a MESS!

In a good way LOL, but still...the guys my husband works with crack me up! He's a welder you see - we aren't talking about "mild mannered suit and tie office workers".  Oh no, these are hard core rough neck types, and they are a HOOT to sell soap too!

I packed the hubby up with a few baskets of soap this morning before he headed out.  He called me about lunch time with the tally on sales - which was pretty awesome - and THEN he rattled off everyone's suggestions:

1. make more camouflaged soap - I've done a batch or 2 before and wouldn't mind doing it again.
2. Make a Houston Texans soap - um, no can do...I can do the colors as a theme, but not embeds, I'm not embed kinda gal right?
3. Make a John Deere soap - I think I have the perfect fragrance all picked out, can do.
4. Make a Harley Davidson soap - sure, got to pick a scent, but I can do that I think, color wise at least.

The list went on for a bit, THEN he told me what everyone had bought.  One guy bought "Monkey Farts" for his wife without even smelling it - just because he liked the name! Cracked me up! Another  bought the NG fresh outdoors scent I call Country Skies and after leaving it in his car decided he needed to leave it there and not shower with it because it smelled so good!  Okay, it's your soap now, though I suggest showering with or without it I said to tell him...hehehe....and THEN I found out this little tid bit!

Guess what, no really, GUESS!  Now, keep in mind hubby work for a HUGE company on a HUGE complex way out in the big city - well- guess what they do a few times each year?  Oh yeah baby, they host a huge craft fair thing for employees and their families!  FREE!!!  You go, you get a table and you sell your stuff while people come and mingle through out the day.  Did I mention it's a SUPER huge complex????  Soooo...one of the office ladies - who also bought some soap - is going to get me an email with the info!  How exciting :)  I love free stuff and free stuff where I can make a little money - even if it's not a ton - is TEE-TOTAL-RIFFIC! 

So...perhaps later I will see about posting some pics of the soaps I cut today.  I am VERY excited with the "Key Lime" soap - can't wait until that one is ready as it is FANTABULOUS for real I declare!  And my mica swirl - OH SO PRETTY!  Came out how I envisioned it so perfect too!  Okay, guess I better get outside and go feed the herd.  But a nice pleasant day was had AND not only did I make a little $$$ but I also got some gardening in :)

And WHERE is my promised acceleration???

I know - sounds CRAZY right? A soaper looking for acceleration....hmmm...perhaps I have lost my mind? Aren't most soapers trying to find ways to fight it so they can create beautiful swirls and designs? Nope, I promise I am of sound mind - barely - but sound, and I was ready for this particular fragrance to create and issue or two and ti didn't, which then affected my plans a bit. Have you ever planned a batch around it's warnings and then not gotten any of that stuff? For example - it says "slight accel." - and then nothing? Hmmm....maybe I have lost my mind...see, what had happened was:

I went in yesterday thinking I wanted to soap "da Lime in da Coconut" from Rustic Escentuals.  The plan in my head was:  dark brown and white swirl base with green drop swirls down the middle and a pearly white mice swirl top.   Sounds REALLY pretty doesn't it? However...I paused to check the specs on this one and to quote the manufacturer:  "CP Notes: slight accel., no discoloration, scent holding well, no scent morph"  See it?  Yeah - slight accel - uh oh....I'm not a "loosey goosey" kinda soaper...generally slight accel = soap on a stick if I am not VERY careful....

No really, I KNOW part of my "thick soap batter no matter what I do" problem is my milk.  Milk, when subbed for water 100% in your lye mix, is not actually all liquid itself!  No really, milk is made of part solids and part water!  Now, when your milk is raw straight from the goat, you have ALL the fats, and all the proteins and such that came in that milk too!  Oh yes, store bought milk, even goat milk, has been stripped down of quite a bit before it hits the shelves!  I tried once using store bought goat milk and FINALLY got a "thin trace" and ya know, I hated it! I'm use to my soap tracing in like 2 whirs of my blender - well, it's emulsified at least :)  The store stuff was horrid, took forever to trace and smelled funny since they add lipase to it :(  Just YUCK!  Never did that again ever! (My girls were all dry at the time...and I was desperate to soap but I got over it pretty quick and waited for them to come back into milk after that.)

I know, I hear you, you're saying "What about your oils???"  No, really, even 100% olive oil soap goes thick on my in like 5 minutes of barely trying!  And no, it doesn't seem to matter if I add MORE milk to my lye solution - I still get THICK batter and SQUISHY soft soap that takes MONTHS instead of weeks to get remotely hard!  It's got to be the milk - Nubian milk is pretty rich and my saanens are far behind them...I'm okay with that - the more butter fat in my milk the happier I am.  I actually have learned to like it and don't really like working with thin batter, thin trace, thin anything - heck, I'm a chubby girl, thin is NOT in my vocabulary anyways lol!

So...back to the point.  Slight accel = don't risk crazy swirls!  At least in my world, that's what it is "code" for.  So, I sat down and re-planned this batch in my head.  After sniffing the bottle a few more times, I decided I smelled more LIME than COCONUT anyways and it came to me:  MAY A KEY LIME PIE!!!! Well - I don't have any nifty pie thingies...but I can make a loaf that LOOKS like a pie!  Okay - so now I was set!

I went on in, got ALL set up - oils weighed and measured and melted CHECK, mold lined CHECK, colors ready CHECK, milk and lye prepped CHECK.  And away I went...First I mixed it all up to that nice emulsified point, and poured off a tad for the "crust" and colored it a medium brown - NO fragrance!

Very "crusty looking" - should have added some spices or ground walnuts or SOMETHING to make it more "graham crackery" but alas, I didn't think of that until later :(  Still...nice smooth crust....on to the "pie"!  I split the rest and adjusted my fragrance into the correct portions for each.  The plan was to add fragrance AFTER color was in there and then pour before it could set up - like I said, this ain't my first rodeo with the phrase "slight accel." right....

So, in goes my minty lime green - a tad more mint than lime - but that's okay:

See how it's already thick enough to stick to the sides there?  No fragrance yet either - thick is just "my thing, my style, how I roll".  So, holding my breath, I grab my wisk - NOT the blender - and dump my fragrance, stir like a mad woman and into the mold!

Wait a minute, just wait one stinking minute here!  See how SMOOTH that is???  A few lumps, yes, but not my usual consistancy with something marked "slight accel."!!!  At this point, I am thinking to myself "WOW! Maybe I FINALLY worked fast enough this time!"  You know, one of those "If I had given it a minute it would be more gloppy, I'm just lucky moments"....oh no!  No, no no no no NO!  I was more than lucky, I had a reverse curse!

Curse you say?  What's WRONG with this lady???  Well, see, I was banking on that slight accel bit for the top - I wanted to be able to frost/pipe the top and then go make dinner.  I wasn't in a hurry, but I figured I wouldn't have to wait long as it would set up and I would move all speedy like and then be done right?  Nope...I mixed my white into the top and it's little bit of fragrance and sure, yeah, it was thickER, but not THICK.  Not like I was thinking it would get...so, I put it into my piping set up and thinking "It's coming any minute now I better hurry!" I began to pipe and got this:

Why yes, BLOBS of soft soap batter!  WHERE IS MY SLIGHT ACCELERATION?????  Now I am kinda mad...I REALLY wanted that swirly white brown marbeled soap with green in it and a mica swirl top as I am digging the mica swirls at the moment!  I was thinking I should have gone with said design, I was ready to walk away for a bit anyways, and so I did, I went and started dinner.  Seriously, like 15 minutes later it was STILL soft!  WHAT????  Only me....

I FINALLY got this - still a bit soft - but REALLY pretty when it's all dusted with pearly mica no?  Yes, very pretty indeed I think!  I unmolded it this morning, but haven't cut it yet - I had to go out and feed and milk first and felt like blogging a bit before I got all soapy cutting stuff.  REALLY shiny pretty soap!  Not quite as fun as swirls would have been, but unique unto itself and yes, it smells VERY key lime and not so much coconut still, so I am happy with my decision there :)

It really is crazy how soap can do sometimes isn't it???  I suppose the last few weeks have gone "not as planned" for a reason though - probably the universe setting me up to get a bunch of buck kids instead of does next month - but still....I'm kinda excited to go cut stuff up now. I REALLY am in love with that top now that I look at it again.  Bet I couldn't get so lucky twice that's for sure!