Skip to main content

Oh Honey - You're so Sweet!


Since I was approached with a fairly large custom order to showcase some locally produced honey,  I've been doing alot of  research for tips on making soap with honey and beeswax.  Thanks to a fabulous video featuring a honey soap project by Jenny of I'd Lather be Soaping, I was able to pull it off. (Jenny's videos are so informative, she makes everything seem like a breeze! Be sure to tune in and follow her you tube channel.)

I learned I should be prepared for some extra heat because of the sugar in the honey, so I didn't attempt to gel the soap - it went straight  into the fridge for 24 hours.  Lining my loaf mold and topping it with bubble wrap gave me the look I was hoping to achieve.   The soap is free of any colorants, and scented with  "Honey and Shea" from WSP.  I've used this fo in candles before, but it really comes alive in CP soap.  If you close your eyes and smell these soap bars, you get the vision of a big goey slab of honeycomb glistening in the sunshine - I love it!  It does have some vanilla content, so I'm expecting some darkening from the golden hue you see here when it was cut.  I'm hoping the scent will hold up and stay strong - I can't wait to see the final results after the cure!

I feel confident enough now to move forward with a triple batch of this recipe to complete the order..! BTW -  I'd gratefully accept any tips from other soapy friends on working with a larger batch like this that could heat up,     Wish me luck -  and have a great weekend!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Balancing the Possibilities

Many soapers like myself aren't living the dream of operating a full time soap business.  We have other types of work and careers that must remain top priority to pay the bills and keep our families going.  Those of us who are taking a shot at soaping as a side business have to squeeze out the extra time for it in rather creative ways. We can't be profitable if we aren't working at it several hours a week.  I'd venture to say many of us are in that same boat. I've done alot of thinking this weekend about moving forward in a new marketplace this season, and had another wonderful opportunity offered out of the blue.  Lots of exciting things are happening, but this also brings with it a degree of fear and anxiety for me.  I have a wonderfully supportive husband, but why do I immediately worry about failing?  I swear I have a dozen batches of soap curing right now and lots more already packaged and waiting, but still I fear I "won't have enough"!  When I...

Lots of experiments

Today I got the chance to indulge in soaping for most of the day.  I did four batches today, using a technique I've never tried before, courtesy of a great   Youtube tutorial from SophiasNaturals .  She demonstrates an interesting form of thermal transfer that I haven't seen, immediately mixing the lye water into the hard oils until melted.  The liquid oils are added after.  I used this method for all my soaping today and it seemed to work well.  I didn't need to use the stick blender very much at all, which helped me tremendously as I often tend to overmix.  I wanted to attempt the "Holly Swirl", which is basically an in the pot swirl done twice.  Sorta..  I had a lot of half bottles of fragrances, so I did some custom scent blending, too. It was a day of experimenting. Top:  Small batch trying  Sweet Cakes "Aria" .  I used a some ruby mica for a cute little swirl.  It smells so good right now. Middle:  This wa...

Gearing up for Market Season

Eucalyptus Spearmint           It's finally feeling like spring...in typical Kansas/Missouri fashion, it was 80 degrees on Saturday and dropped to 35 by Sunday night! Nevertheless, the farmers market season is fast approaching - only two more weeks.  These babies are curing as we speak and smell out of this world.  I've still got to paint my metal display pieces and I should be good to go.  I have so many ideas in my head I can't seem to narrow them down to try in real life.  Last year was my first experience in the market venue and, while I got lots of compliments on my set up, I'd really like to increase my sales this year.         I've heard it said that you should design your market space just as you would in a store or boutique.  To me, I think simplicity is the way to go in a market setting.  My plan this year is to have one unwrapped bar of each scent displayed up front, and baskets with the packaged...