I used to bake to relieve stress but now, I find myself making soaps in the kitchen as a way to relax and unwind. I have a “no working on a Saturday” policy (okay, I just made that up last week just so that I can watch the Olympic games all day) so even if I have mountains of work I have to finish by Monday morning, I use the day to relax, without feeling guilty. If I’m not working out with my sister, an amazing personal trainer, my Saturday is usually spent doing household chores like laundry, grocery shopping and other not-so-exciting but absolutely necessary tasks. But in between running to the laundry room and Trader Joe’s, I always find time to make soaps on a Saturday.

Here are some soaps I made:

Green Tea Soap: I colored the soap with green tea powder. Instead of adding the power at the end, I dissolved it with distilled water and mixed it directly to the lye. At first, the batch had the dark, brown, unappetizing hue, but it settled into nice, light green after a few days. I mixed in a handful of cut-up baby soaps that I made the other day to add the playful, confetti-like effect. I added the White Tea and Ginger fragrance oil and they smell delicious! I especially love these soaps because hey look a little like Japanese sweets!

Apple Straw Hat: I used the recipe from my favorite soap book, Soaps for the Four Seasons. I added the dried Calendula that I got as a sample from Bramble Berry (score!).  I love how these soaps came out. They remind me of the soaps I find at Soap Kitchen!

Rose Avocado Soap: I made this soap with my mother in mind. Unlike my father and sister who drank my soap Kool Aid, she is still a little hesitant to use my handmade soaps because she thinks that bar soaps would leave her skin dry. She loves the liquid body wash for its moisture so I decided to make a soap with lots of wonderful ingredients with moisturizing properties. I found this soap recipe while browsing through nice avocado oil-based soap recipe. I used rose water and English Rose fragrance oil so I hope she’ll like it!

Cherry Petal: This recipe also came from the above-mentioned Japanese book. Instead of adding the pink confetti, I decided to make the entire batch pink! I used paprika powder to create a nice, orange-y hue.  I scented it with Sweet Pea fragrance oil.

All these batches should be ready for use before Easter!