Handmade Soaps for a Good Cause

Posted by Hirono

My daughter’s pre-school is hosting a bazaar fundraiser this weekend and was looking for some handmade items to sell, so I donated a few handmade soaps that I already had on hand. They are the lavender-scented Olive Oil Soaps and Honey Soaps.

I always struggle with creative packaging ideas for soaps … but I decided to go simple this time and just wrap the soap in wax paper and decorate it with a lovely floral washi tape I purchased from this online shop in Japan called Cafe de Savon, which, by the way, is an amazing shop that sells the best acrylic soap molds E.V.E.R.

I hope people find them interesting and decide to take them home!

Bubble-licious …

Posted by Hirono

I went into our bedroom to pick up something, and had the sudden urge to take pictures of my soap rack.

Looking at these little handmade soaps that I made from scratch in our kitchen, I realized how much I miss making them. Summer is such a perfect time for soap making because the curing process quickens in the warm weather, so I think I’m going to dust off my olive oil tub and essential oils to make a batch or two in the next weeks.

I love the fact that my next soap is only a quick step away in the bedroom, and not to the nearest shopping mall.

Oh, and did you know that soaps are like wine (and women) … and they get better with age? I used my first generation soap the other day and it was one of the best I’ve ever lathered! It was lusciously bubbly, and although the scents are barely there now, the experience made me fall in love with handmade soaps all over again.

Handmade Soap Giveaway from Lavender and Olive

Posted by Hirono

After months of experimenting with creating the best handmade soaps, I finally got enough courage to open my own Etsy shop today. YAY (and it’s 90210 today, which makes remembering the anniversary a little easier)! It is called Lavender and Olive to pay respect to two of my favorite ingredients, both to lather up and to eat! I especially love the fact that there is the word “LOVE” in the name. I will be selling handmade soaps here, and I’m hoping to expand to sell some handmade accessories and bags in the future.

To celebrate the grand opening, I would like to share some of these soaps with you! Please leave me a comment on this blog post from now until Sunday, September 19, 2010, and the winner will receive four of my favorite soaps made by yours truly. Feel free to enter if you are a regular reader of this blog (all five of you!), or even if you just happened to stumble onto it for the first time today! Don’t be shy! And please only enter once.

The winner will be selected by random drawing and I will announce the lucky recipient on Monday, September 20, 2010! Thank you and happy lathering!

Love Is in the Air: All-Natural Soaps

Posted by Hirono

One of my favorite parts of the soap making process is enjoying the incredible scent of essential oils that fill the house while waiting for them to cure. Four to six weeks is a pretty long time for anyone to have to wait for the soaps to cure and become ready for use, but having a little perk makes the entire process slightly more forgiving. My soaps are typically very lightly scented, but I can still smell the sweet and calming scents of peppermint, lavender, and citrus fragrances lingering nicely in my apartment. It’s absolutely heavenly!

Here are my new batches that I made, with my soon-to-open Etsy shop in mind. I’m hoping that these soaps turn out good enough to begin my soap selling endeavors. So far, all batches look incredibly promising. I’ll keep you posted if and when these soaps go up on sale, if any of you are interested! 🙂

The Weekend Warrior: New Soap Batches

Posted by Hirono

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!