This month Amy from Great Cakes soapworks set the challenge for the soap club as a winter themed soap with 2 options – all natural or synthetic.
I chose to do the all natural option as I really want a chance to win the prize: Anne Marie Faiola’s new book Natural Soap making!!
My idea was to have a Christmas tree with pretty coloured baubles floating on the branches…..
I used French green clay, Rose clay, paprika, and cocoa powder to make the baubles.
This was a disaster. Not quite sure what went wrong but I think I mixed too much oil with the colours. The soaps were hard and crumbly and I was unable to make little baubles out of them, but I pressed on all the same. Fortunately I had some of the pink soap in a larger batch, made for Roses which did not go crumbly (I am guessing this is because there was so much more so and less oil?)
The idea was to use Coconut oil, Canola, Palm, Olive for the Baubles and insets and then Coconut, Palm, Avocado, Canola for the "snow" and Verbena essential oil.
Fortunately the cocoa powder soap worked well and I had my tree trunk.
Once I had the bables made up I put them in my mould that had two sides positioned at angles to create the tree.
I poured layers of french green clay soap ontp each other to try and make an ombre tree. I don’t think it work too well.
Once I had my layers done I put the trunk into the green soap and then poured more soap over it!! Sutpid. It is supposed to be a trunk and stick out! So I had to do a bit of quick thinking.
The rescued tree trunk help in place with wooden skewers.
Day two – soap base poured into the mould and the christmas tree inserted into it. Left over night to harden
More soap base poured onto the tree.
The finished soap. Cut and beveled. Not quite what I wanted but cute all the same.The Verbena oil reacted with one of the oils and made the base a little yellow but it is okay. Looks pretty good.
#Riverlea Soap
