Other Projects

While soap making may be my addiction I do have other awesome hobbies. My latest project is crocheting a messenger bag. I still have to finish the handle and sew in the buttons. I also plan to add some interfacing and fabric to the inside. I can't wait for this to be completed the only other thing I have crocheted is a blanket. What is your opinion? Do you have any other crafty projects going on?

Lovely Lavender

The first time I bought my first bottle of lavender essential oil I fell head over heals in love. It was not what I was used to smelling. I assume it was because the other lavender scents I had were all fragrance oils but this essential oil was amazing. It made me decided to look in to all of the ways lavender is helpful. What I didn't realize was that there are so many ways lavender can be useful.

Lavender which come from the Latin name "Lavare", which means "to wash". It was given this name because its aroma gives the feeling of a clean aroma. Having a clean feeling is exactly what it does. The uses for this essential oil are almost endless. It can be used for the skin, for circulation, muscles and joints, for respiratory issues, for digestion and for nervous system problems.

 

To help the skin lavender can be used to help with abscesses, acne, allergies, bruises, burns, cold sores, cuts, eczema, hives, inflammations, insect bites and stings, lice,  rashes, scars, shingles, stretch-marks, and sunburns.

Lavender can help with aches and pains, helps reduce cellulite, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, Lumbago, reduces swelling and pain, relaxes tight muscles, joint pain, rheumatism, and sprains.

It also can help with Asthma (when associated with emotional trauma), bronchitis, coughs, colds, congestion, flu, laryngitis, throat infections, whooping cough, and sinus infections.

Lavender is know to aid in improving digestion. With lavenders calming effects it can help to balance emotions and helps with depression, headaches, panic attacks and stress.

While lavender is a wonderful essential oil it must also be used with caution. While for most people lavender is okay to put on the skin in an undiluted state you should always do a skin test before hand or if you are aware that you have sensitive skin you should not use it undiluted.If you are pregnant you should be careful with using lavender essential oils. And as always please do your research before using an essential oil.

10 Uses for Olive Oil (besides using it to make soap)

Most people would think olive oil is only used to cook with and in soap making, but there are so many other handy uses for it around the house.Check out this list of my 10 favorite ways to use olive oil.

• Fingernails mix the oil with water and soak fingertips before a manicure or rub some oil on your cuticle to moisten it.
• Free a stuck zipper use a cotton swab to apply olive oil to the teeth of a zipper, then gently ease the tab down.
• Shine stainless steel many cleaning standbys, such as ammonia, can dull and even corrode chrome and stainless steel. Olive oil, however, is a safe and effective shining agent.
• Polish your wooden furniture make a mixture of two parts of olive oil with one part of lemon juice.  Take a soft cloth and pour some of this mixture on it. Shine your wooden furniture with this cloth.
• Prevent wax from sticking to a candle holder rub a thin coat on the base of the holder before inserting a candle. Dripped wax should peel away easily.
• Prevent pasta water from boiling over try pouring a tablespoon of olive oil into the water before boiling.
• Shaving use as a lubricant for a close shave.
• Dry scalp relief condition your scalp with warm olive oil & massage it in as a relief for dry scalp. Leave it on for 20 minutes then wash your hair as usual.
• In baths you can even pamper your skin by adding a few drops of olive oil to your bath before stepping in.
• Wooden cutting boards rub olive oil into wooden cutting boards to help prevent cracking, repel staining and marking                                                                                                                       

 
 If you have any more handy uses for olive oil please share them with me. I would love to try them at home.

Woo Hooo Give-Away! The Poisoned Apple

I was just reading SteamBath Factory blog about The Poisoned Apple giveaway and after checking out Lesa's Etsy (owner of The Poisoned Apple) I decided I just must win. These creations are amazing. Check out my favorite the Black Gothic Scrolls Chocolate Covered Caramel Halloween Wedding Apple.

To enter the giveaway please visit SteamBath Factory's blog for information!

New Mold

I found the most awesome mold from Avon a few weeks back. I was so excited when I finally got it yesterday! I could not wait to get home from work and use it! Sadly, in the rush me of trying to get home I left it at work along with my sweater.Ugh! Well at least tonight I will be able to use them.I have so many awesome ideas I don't know if I have enough supplies! I will post pictures later when I have some made.

Etsy

I was really hoping to have things on my Etsy up and ready for sale yesterday but sadly, there were a few snags along the way. I will have to put off opening the shop for a few more days. However I will be putting up a few more soaps then I expected!

Warm Honey

Relaxation

Tye Dye Christmas?

As much as I hate the sn*w, I love Christmas. I enjoy decorating my apartment and I thought this year could be diffident with a very colorful Christmas. I love color and things that are bright so in this thought process I made tye dye Christmas trees. Take a peak.

Two New Soaps

I think I am ready to put my two favorite soaps up for sale! I hope all of you enjoy them.

Eucalyptus Mint Shea Butter

Eucalyptus Mint Shea Butter

Vanilla Lavender Shea Butter

Vanilla Lavender Shea Butter

These soaps will get even the dirtiest pirate clean! YAARRRR 

Happy Soaping

Don't Say the S Word

That of year is just around the corner. The SN*W will soon fall and all you will be able to see is a sheet of white as far as the eye can see. Well, at least that is how it is here in the Midwest. I try not to say the S word until it actually happens.

But since Christmas is right around the corner I decided to try making SN*WMan  Soaps. My first batch wasn't as pretty as I wanted it but I think the next one will be better.  I will post pictures in about an hour.


UPDATE:
Here are the pictures I took of the sn*wman. While they are not as pretty as I had hope for they are still useable. I need to get a smaller syringe.

Guess Who's Back!

It has been far to long! My computer took a crap on me and I have just finally gotten a new one! While I have been away I have still been making soaps. I have been trying to focus more on MP soaps so I can perfect those. I am learning how to use an oral syringe to put small amounts of color in places. I have also decided to change from Royal Suds to Sun Fall Soaps. I will post more later I do have to run! Happy soaping!

How I Miss The World Wide Web

Don't worry I am still here kind of. My computer is screwed up so I am trying to save for a new one. I will be back soon.

Candles, candles and more candles

A while ago I picked up a book from the recycled book store. The book was a giant craft book made my Micheals craft store. I was reading about the soaps when I came across the candles they seemed quite interesting but I just put it out of my mind until now when I was at the thrift store. I walked past a martini glass and my first thought was "Jeeze, Mike (my older brother) would love a candle in that!"  It made the wheels in my head start spinning. I am thinking I might start making candles as well! Has anyone done it? Any advice or any good books to read?

Back to the Best

I always wonder why people started making their own soap? Is it just a hobby? Is it because of a skin condition? because is more economical? Well here is my store about why I got in to being a bit more natural orientated.

One weekend years ago while my sister and I were staying with my Aunt Nancy and Uncle John, my Aunt had decided to take us to this farm where she purchased most of her groceries. I had never been to a farm to get groceries. I was slightly confused. Why didn't she just go to the grocery store like my mum?

As we walked around the store my Aunt explained to me the difference between most of the foods you find in your local grocery store and the ones found at this farm. She explained about all the perspectives and chemical processes the foods go through before they reach the shelves. I was slightly disgusted. Why did they do all of that to the food I will be eating?


We continued to walk around and she was nice enough to buy me some natural make up. Before this day I couldn't wear any make up since everything makes me break out. This make up however was amazing. It actually cleared my face up!


Since that day I decided to try and use as many organic and natually made products. I do my best to buy organic foods when money permits. I try to make everything myself. I always look at items and think, "I bet I could make that myself."

What's your story?

I have a love/hate relationship with technology

I went to go turn on my main computer last night and to my surprise it told me there wasn't a hard drive.  I was really confused. It worked earlier in the day and now there is no hard drive? WTF? Now, I am forced to use the other computer which is much slower.  I think I may have to buy a new hard drive which means it will be even longer before I can soap again. There goes another hundred dollars out of my pocket

I wanna be in a Tropical Paradise

Everyday as I walk past my soap closet, I can't help but smell my tropical vacation scented soap. It has made me slightly crazy. I have now decided I need to take a tropical vacation. The Caribbean? The Bahamas? Hawaii? Who cares! Somewhere with a beach, sun, and the amazing smells!

Since I really can't afford to take a vacation like that any time soon. I decided to find some tropical vacation inspired soaps.

Passion fruit Papaya Soap By Sagegold Soaps

Ocean by Hoooked Bath and Body Soap

Island Pineapple Soap By Blushie

Lemon Poppy Seed Soap Update

I have been allowing the lemon poppy seed soap  to cure for a little over 2 weeks. Most of the bars are starting to harden to the point where I can pick them up without crushing them and those mushy icky brown spots are becoming harder as well. However the fresh lemony smell I wanted has turned in to a slightly fresh lemony smell. I am not to sure how I feel about that.The bars haven't shown any signs of DOS yet and I hope it doesn't but only time will tell.

I did get a little to excited to try it so, I cut off a little piece to try. I really like the way it makes me skin feel. It doesn't do much in the bubble department but the soap makes my skin just feel amazing.

Any suggestions on how to rework this recipe? The original one was:

Avocado Oil 39.3%

Sunflower Seed Oil  19.7%

Sweet Almond Oil 19.7%

Coconut Oil 13.1%

Palm Oil   8.2%

Awesome Soaps I Found!

I love searching around the internet looking at soap. I love to see what other people have come up with and what others are doing. Here are a few I thought were great!

 

 

I Can Only Dream

I had such an awesome weekend in Chicago. I went to go see NKOTB and BSB on Friday, with my mom and my sister. Then drove back to Milwaukee, only to end up back in Chicago on Saturday. It was such an awesome time. I really miss Chicago.

As a result, I am now to broke to buy more oils. Boooo. 

Also, I decided not to re batch my failed lemon poppy seed soap. I have been letting them cure to see what happens. As it turns out they may not be a fail. They are hardening by the day. Hopefully the will be useable.  Now to go dream about soaps I could be making.

Good Night!

Mystery Scent?

While I was making soap yesterday I decided I was going to use some of the mystery scents my Step-Grandma gave me. I mixed a combination of Rosemary and Mystery Scent. I was a little nervous the scents wouldn't blend well. To my surprise, I opened my refrigerator and BAM! The smell just encased my nose. It was absolutely AMAZING. Let me say it again, absolutely amazing! Why can't someone invent smell-o-monitor. Haha!

Brownie Bites

While I have made quite a few batches of soap I am no where near pro yet. However I thought I would show you my 2nd batch ever! I call these brown bites. I made it with vegetable shortening, cocoa powder, instant coffee and ground coffee. They look and smell GREAT.

PLEASE DO NOT EAT lol.

Life as a Princess

When I was younger I used to tell my mom I was going to grow up to be a Princess. To this day I still love the idea of prince and princess'. I love they whole idea of royal life. The crowns, the clothes and especially the vintage clothes. Here are a few things on Etsy  I'd like to share.

Purple Purple Everywhere

I was so excited when I got home last night and grabbed my mold out of the freezer and set it in to the refrigerator. It looked like such a nice soft purple. It was so hard not to just grab the knife out of the drawer and start cutting like a mad woman. However, I was patient and waited until this morning to cut.

I was so pleased with how it came out! . I love how it is very light on the top then gets really dark.

What do you think?

Cypress Essential Oil

One of the reasons I got into soap making was because you can use essential oils. I have always been really interested in aromatherapy and natural ways to cure ailments.

When I was living in Chicago I didn't have any heath insurance and I had to find a natural way to cure everything. I could not afford to go to the ER so I spent a lot of my sick time at whole foods or zooming around the interweb seeking ways to cure myself or my boyfriend. 

I have found A World of Aromatherapy to be very informative and interesting. If you know any of these statements to be false please let me know and I will fix them accordingly.

Cypress essential oil is one essential oil I find quite interesting. It  has a very relaxing and refreshing effect. Because of its sweet scent and can be paired well with Lavender, Citrus Oils and Juniper.  It has antispasmodic, astringent, diuretic, and expectorant properties. It can be used to help ease the symptoms of menopause and menstruation. Please note Cypress has antispasmodic properties and should be avoided during pregnancy.

I Got The Itch!

I was not gonna let my last soap batch get me down. So this morning after my coffee, I got the itch again. I worked on making just a very basic batch with coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil. I decided to try and not gel it again. Hopefully this batch will turn out MUCH better then the last. 

I can't wait until I get home from work so I can peek in on it. I really think that this batch will come out better. I will post pictures as soon as I can.

The Pictures of a Horrible Soap Experiment

As I said earlier I don't think my lemon poppy seed soap is going to work out. The swirls didn't work, its got these icky, mushy, brown spots. I feel really upset. 

I will just have to try out a different recipe. But you soap and you learn right? I hope. 

 Any ideas on why its brown and mushy?

How sad

So I have let the lemon poppy seed soap sit for 3 days and now it has just turned UGLY. Its gotten dark and mushy in some spots I don't think there is anything I can do to save it.

I cut a small piece off of one my single bars and while it lathers great the inside is still soft. I will try and let that one cure a bit and see how it goes

The loaf its self seems to have only gone ugly where the yellow is. I think I will just let it sit as well. Pics to come when I get new batteries. 

Smells Lemony Fresh

Today, I spent most of the morning trying to decide how exactly I wanted to make this lemon poppy seed soap. I would I attempt the "Lyn" top, try swirling or just leave it alone? Should I gel or not gel? After a few hours of consideration I decided to try swirling some yellow into the soap.

It looks like it came out okay. There are some oil pockets. I hope they soak back in.  It's so hard not to be nosy and peak in on it!

My Package is Finally Here!

It's here! It's here! I have been waiting for a week for this! My package from WSP finally arrived.

I only need to go out and grab more coconut oil and the poppy seeds and I will be ready to make this lemon poppy seed soap!  Look forward to a ton of pictures. 

If there is anyone who would like the packing peanut to reuse I will gladly send them to you for the cost of the shipping.

Thoughts and Ideas

As some of you know, I do want to make my soaping into a career. While I am not really ready for it yet, I am very much a multi-tasker and am thinking not only about how to make the best quality soap but also what exactly I want to sell and how my product will look. I was thinking of maybe selling gift baskets. I have been making them myself for years with store bought bath and beauty supplies. I would love to include soap, bath teas, bath salts, bath bombs, bath goodies and candles. All homemade of course. What do you think? Do you make gift baskets?

Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY!

Since my oils are still not here (I should have ordered earlier) I decided to try making whipped MP soap I was gonna make some cool looking dodads by piping but that really did not work out as i planned so I remelted the soap back down and poured it in to my log mold. The results were quite nice. The bar came out with like this foam feel to it. Its very light weight and smells AMAZING!!

 The scent is a mix of Tropical Vacation and Orange Valencia from Brambleberry.

When Life Hands You A Lemon Make Lemonade or Lemon Poppy Seed Soap

People say "Accidents will happen", but sometimes I think why me. Yesterday my car was hit by a deer, while no one was hurt it still pains me to look at my car. Most of the damage is minor but ugh. More money to spend on things I don't want to spend it on.

So, in-spite of all of that I thought one way cheer me up would be to order more soaping supplies. I ordered everything I need from WSP to make my new lemon poppy seed soap. All I need to buy is more coconut oil and poppy seeds. I was gonna run down to Restaurant Depot to get the poppy seeds since they are super cheap there.

I am really excited to try this soap. I plan to not gel it and see how that works.

Lemon Poppy Seed Soap

I can't wait until tomorrow!  I will be ordering everything I need for a new recipe for a lemon poppy seed soap. I can almost smell it! I will post pics and an update as soon as everything gets here.

Welcome to the world of Royalty.

Welcome to Royal Suds! I created this blog with the intent to share my experience in the cold process soap making world. 

I started making melt and pour soaps about 8 months ago and soon became addicted to making soap. One day when I was googleing prices for soap bases I came across a website called Soap Making Forum.  This website changed my views on soap completely. I had no idea I could actually make soap from scratch. I started reading everything this site had to offer. I looked everywhere for books to read on the subject. 

With in about 3 months I ready to try my hand at it. I made a very basic vegetable shortening soap. I was amazed at what I had made. I couldn't wait for it to cure. Since then I have made many batches of soap and have fallen in love with every last one.