Monday, February 18, 2008

More Springtime Experiments

I found a few more photos of the CPHP flower experiments. The first one is scented with a daffodil fragrance:

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The second was my attempt at a coconut ice soap:

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The key to doing any sort of decorative CPHP is fluidity. I used sodium lactate as well as extra water. I also 'thinned' the soap with a small amount of glycerine.

11 comments:

Joanna Schmidt said...

Thanks!! I wrote about you hee:

http://thesoapbar.blogspot.com/2008/02/gracefruit.html

gracefruit said...

Hi Joanna,

Thank you for the lovely write-up!

Anonymous said...

Your soaps are a real work of art Elizabeth.....I would expect to see them in an art gallery rather than a bathroom:)

Chrissie

gracefruit said...

Aw, thank you Chrissie. These were a lot of fun to make.

Tricia said...

These soaps are beautiful.

I am from the Caribbean - Barbados to be exact, and I also make soaps - I thought mine was artistic until I saw yours.

I have a blog as well at http://www.brendabays.com/soaplady

Would you mind if I introduced my Caribbean following to your site through my blog so that they can really see that the possibilites are endless?

Just amazingly beautiful. Love, love, love them.

Tricia

gracefruit said...

Hi Tricia,
Thank you so much. :) You've really made my day. I'm adding your blog to my links list now. Please feel free to list mine however you'd like.

Thanks again!
Elizabeth x

Kim said...

Your soaps are so beautiful!

I am also a HP soapmaker. It is always a challenge to create "fluidity" in HP soap due to it's texture post-cook.

I use a bent wire hanger to create a black swirl in the middle of one of my soaps. I am still trying to figure out a more sophisticated way to get the same look, but I just keep going back to the hanger.

Kim/Stella Marie Soap Co.

gracefruit said...

Hi Kim,

Thank you so much! It's really hard to get the balance right with regard to fluidity. Too much liquid and the soaps warp badly while curing. Do you use sodium lactate? For me, it has the most dramatic effect.

I used a wire to get these effects, but I can't seem to do it consistently. Any secrets? :)

Elizabeth x

Kim said...

I have not used sodium lactate, but I have heard that it makes soap easier to manage :)

To get the middle swirl, which isn't a perfect circle by any means, I place a roll of dyed soap in the center of the mold, after filling it nearly halfway. I then fill the rest of it and take my hanger, which is bent in a sort of handlebar way, insert it halfway and make a spiral-like motion from the center outward. I like the unpredictable nature of the swirl, actually.

Kim

gracefruit said...

Hi Kim,

Thank you for sharing your technique! I can picture exactly what you're doing. Have you tried this with CP, too? I bet you'd get beautiful results.

Elizabeth x

Kim said...

No, but I should definitely give it a go.