The Final Patchouli Orange Vanilla Soap!

The soap turned out great! The brown swirl will darken over the next few days due to the vanilla content.

I love the ground vanilla beans in the dark swirl  and on top! What do you think?

Spring Has Arrived

We are still experiencing snow in ice in the MidWest , but in my soap kitchen, Spring has arrived!

 This green and yellow soap is made with 3 different pear fragrances. The scent is light and fresh and perfect for Spring!












The swirl was to be light and airy, but as soon as I poured the fragrance oil in, the soap thickened up
and I jammed the soap into the mold. Not a bad
outcome!

 I made this soap just yesterday. When I added the coloring, I thought this soap would be bright neon pink! The soap IS very pink, but not as bright as the batter looked!
I scented this soap with fresh strawberry and iced pineapple fragrance oil







I think it came out perfect!

I will be listing the Pear soap soon, along with Cucumber Mint. Cucumber Mint which was made with real pureed organic cucumber!

Making Natural Body Wash From Scratch

 There are many ways to make liquid soap, so I thought I would share how I made mine.
First, I add the hard and soft oils to a large stainless steel pot. Make sure you are not using an aluminum pot. I can't remember how large this pot is, but I think it's a standard stock pot.

 While the oils are melting, I measure the potassium hydroxide. This comes in flakes and  after measuring, it is added to distilled water. When the lye dissolves, it makes a loud "swishing" sound...sort of how a train sounds. Right after mixing, the lye/water is added to the melted oils. I do not wait for the lye to cool down.

 This is what the mixture looks like right after adding the lye/water solution. The pot is placed on low heat. I use a gas stove, so I use the simmer setting.

 After stick blending for a minute, the mixture looks like thick milk.

 Now this is the tricky part.  Stick blending  speeds up the reaction between the lye and oil, but you have to be careful that the mixture doesn't overheat. If it does, it can volcano out of the pot..a big mess....don't ask me how I know!

The trick is to stick blend the mixture while the pot is off the heat and hand stir when the pot is on the heat. I just rotate (on and off the heat) every min or so.

 Patience is the key! The mixture takes a long time to reach the next stage and how long depends on how much heat you use, and how long you use the stick blender.
At this stage the mixture becomes thicker and is similar to thin pudding texture.

 Now, this is the fun part! The "mashed potato" stage happens quickly! One second the mixture is thin pudding, and then it resembles mashed potatoes. Now, I stir and stir until I can't anymore.

Next I place my pot (with the cover on) into the over, which is set at 200F. Every 30 minutes I check on the mixture (now soap paste). The paste will turn from white to opaque when it is finished. This process takes between 2 and 3 hours.

 While I am waiting for the soap paste to finish, I measure out my Borax and distilled water. This solution will dilute the soap paste and help neutralize the soap paste.

 Don't forget your goggles! One tiny drop of lye in your eye, can blind you for life. The risk is just not worth it. Always, always, wear your goggles! Ok, I will step off my soap box.

This is what the soap paste looks like after just an hour. It is still quite white.

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This is what the soap past looks like when finished. The paste should be the color of Vaseline, a shiny amber color.







After boiling the distilled water, and dissolving the Borax in the water, I add the solution to the soap paste.

This part is not a fun part. The paste has to dissolve into the water. This takes lots of stirring, and stirring, and stirring. I usually stir the pot, and come back every half hour and stir again. Keeping the lid on, and a towel over the pot, keeps the soap warm and easier to dilute. Did I mention you have to stir and stir and stir?

After a few sessions of stirring, I put the lid on and wait until the next day. After a night of resting, the lumps are easier to dissolve.

You can add fragrance when you add the Borax solution, but I like to keep mine unscented. I add the fragrance as the body wash is ordered. Adding fragrances and essential oils can change the density of the soap. Some will make the soap thicker, and some will thin the soap. I like to keep my liquid soap a little thick in case the fragrance thins when added.

You can see the body wash in the above picture. It is a light amber color. I don't color my soap, but when I add a fragrance that contains vanilla, the soap will turn a darker amber color.

 Making body wash/liquid soap is not hard, but it is time consuming. I find it very rewarding after it is all finished. My recipe makes 6 pounds of liquid soap, so I make a pretty large batch.

I hope you enjoyed the process! Handmade body wash is made with pure fresh oils, and doesn't contain any additives or chemicals like store bought soap.

Learning how to take pictures

I have wanted a new camera for several years now, and I finally received a new one for my Birthday! It has many bells and whistles, which is fun, but it means I have to learn how to use all the bells and whistles!
I tried my hand at taking pictures off the auto setting.

We went to the Americana Music Awards in Nashville last month. I took this picture inside. I obviously need more time on the camera!

This is a better picture!

I plan to use this camera for product pictures and videos for YouTube. Here are some pictures I have taken using the camera.

I love how clear the pictures are. Now I just need to work on lighting and staging!
I have been quite busy lately. I am placing my product in another St. Louis retail shop, and between filling this shop, and keeping my other retail locations stocked, along with my Etsy shop, I can't seem to catch up!
I made quite a few hot process soap batches so I could stock up on soap. When everything slows down, I will get back to making my favorite cold process soaps!

The top green soap is Eucalyptus Mint and the bottom soap is French Blend (lavender, tea tree, and clove). They don't look as pretty, but they sure smell good!

How much do you love bath and body? Now you can buy at 50% off!

Coming June 1st - A MONTH long hunting game! Every day I will "hide" a word, number, or symbol somewhere in one of my Etsy listings. I will post the "search" every day and the first person to find it in my shop will receive that item for 50% OFF! I will post the "search" during various times each day so everyone had a chance to find it. Check back every day for the new hint!
So, be sure to check out my shop at ABreathOfFrenchAir every day for fun discounts!

We Were On The News!

Our local CBS station came to interview our shop the day before our Grand Opening. It was exciting, but very nerve racking! Of course, they picked the only time my voice cracked...oh well...it drew TONS of people into the shop!

CBS

The Cook

I decided to pull the crock pot out and make some soap today. I was pretty well stocked for several weeks, so I haven't made soap in what seemed like ages! Above is the "cook". The oils and lye/water are almost done cooking. I melted my oils on high and cooked on a low setting.
Here it is all ready to add the essential oils. This batch has Lemongrass and Basil oils. It smells divine! I waited a few minutes between turning off the crock pot and adding my essential oils.
One plus of soap making is that clean up is easy! I put the crock pot in my sink, add all my spoons, cups, and spatulas , add water and walk away!
Of course, I will have to come back and rinse everything off before I put them in the dishwasher. :)
A long shot of the finished soap. I sprinkled lemon peel on the top. It will be ready to cut in just a few hours. These will be in my shop, at Crestwood Court, in a few weeks.

A Sneak Peak At My Spring Collection!

Although I have been pretty quiet on my blog, I have been super busy behind the scenes! I have many new exciting, and delicious soaps coming soon! Here is a sneak peek at some new soaps that are on their way.
If you would like to be contacted when these are in my shop, feel free to leave your email address and I'll send you a note when they are available.

Super Busy And Some New Things

I added some new packaging to my shop this past week. Above is a picture of my new lotion bottles. I love the bright blue color! They are 4 ounce bottles, but hold almost 5 ounces of lotion.
I love the round look and how I was able to put the list of ingredients on the side of the bottle.
I also decided to add lip balm in tubes. I, personally love lip balm in tubs, but most people like the tubes....so here they are! Right now I have Coconut Lime, Cafe Latte, Sweet Raspberry, and Peppermint!
Stay tuned for more products to come in this week!

FREE Shipping This Weekend on Cold Process Soaps, Lip Balms, Solid Lotions, and Body Lotions!

Buy six or more bars of soap and receive FREE shipping!
Buy six or more Lip Balms and receive FREE shipping!
Receive FREE shipping for orders of three or more body lotion!
And last, but not least, FREE shipping on 5 or more solid lotions!

Come stock up for the holidays!! ABreathOfFrenchAir.Etsy.Com
**mention "blog" in your notes to seller and receive a free gift!

The Fall Craft Show Was A Sucess!

The show is over...whew! It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! Above is my table. This was taken before the sun went down and right after the doors were first opened.
I was the first table by the front door! Lots of wonderful comments on all the wonderful scents everyone smelled when they walked up to the table.
The view from the side of my table. We had, I think, 23 booths! The bar was in the back. We served cheese and crackers and there was a cash bar.