When last we journeyed into natural color (The Thing about Natural Color, Part 1), I had reported my experience of the pros and cons of natural (plant-based) vs. synthetic/processed (micas, oxides and other mineral-based) color in soap making. I'm currently engaged in a plant-based, soap color challenge where mineral-based color isn't permitted. Read on for how I approach coloring soap using only botanical color...
Ah, polka-dotted soap - who doesn't like a candy pink, peppermint-scented confection studded with racy hot pink + black symmetrical design-work? Looks lighthearted and innocent, sure, but Jezebel Soap* earned its historically controversial name. The polka-dot technique was the brainchild of Tatiana Serko of @bysteso, introduced to me through a Soap Challenge Club invitation by Amy Warden. After coming up with a design concept, color palette, and scent, the production process started with a matching top/bottom template for precisely-spaced holes that have to be drilled into some kind of base. I used corrugated cardboard taped with packing tape to help shore up the structure. Though I chose to do a simplified version of this design, using a standard 10" loaf mold and common-sized straws, fitting the straws into...
A few years ago I helped my parents downsize their home in preparation for a move to a place with a third of the living space.If you've ever had to sort through years of possessions, you know: it can be a hugely time consuming, emotionally fraught job. Especially debilitating for those who have lived through lean times and developed a fear of "someday" needing the item they're letting go of. Or a feeling that parting with that item means releasing the good feelings of the time or person associated with it. In my parents' defense, I'm not immune to attachments to objects/nostalgia, though I do attempt to continually clear the build-up of possessions and clutter (it's ongoing and often overwhelming, honestly). In their day, things were likely quality handmade, rare, pricier, but made to last and therefore "dear."...
I recently discovered these corrugated boxes by Sunshine Valley. Their Kraft E flute boxes contain 32% recycled content, their manufacturing plant in Randolph, NJ recycles 20 tons of corrugated scrap and paper per month, and their lid corners are glue free.I'm trying to consider the impact of my business. Because, friends, whatever we get rid of never actually "goes away." Let's have as gentle an impact as possible. Our choices matter.
In February 2021, I fell in love with the Kiss Pour. A Kiss Pour is achieved by combining colors from two different containers by having their spouts "kiss" (meet) during a simultaneous pour onto a surface. What results from this? Magic. The Kiss Pour technique an exquisite combination of both versatility + unpredictability. Like Forest Gump's chocolates, "You never know what you're gonna get."
