Playing With Patchouli

My business partner in crime, Samantha, was playing with Patchouli last night. She whipped together some fabulous ingredients, including shea butter and goats milk, got crazy with some color, and let the soap do it's thing. I am really digging the results! They're groovy, man..... groovy. We may have to add these babies to our site!

Looking like a Rock Star!

We've decided that like any true rock star, The Rock Star Suds Bar, demands a bit more style. So, within the next few months, we'll be walking on the wild side and introducing an all new look to this spectacular bar. This new look is sure to have the crowds gathering, women screaming and the paparazzi swarming!!

OOPS! When Good Soap Goes Bad

Oh, I've heard tale of it happening..... but I never thought it would happen to me! Everything was going along as planned. It was just an ordinary day with the soaping pot. Suddenly, out of the nowhere, it happened. "BAM!!!" My entire pot of beautiful Cedar & Saffron became quick cement! I drew upon the wisdom of soaper's past and all of the inner strength that I could muster, and feverishly glopped it into the mold.

Here are the sad results......... Looks?? Uhhh, not so much! But, hey, it does smell AMAZING! Hubby named it Cammo and with the olive, beige, and brown coloring, I'd say he's dead on! Admittedly, this look will not be winning any major awards. Nor will it make it to the shopsuds.com website. However, like an ugly child, Mama is seeing the beauty in it :-)

Are you a Lemon Head?

I have unmolded and cut the new log of Lemon Head and I am pretty happy with it. It's fun and it smells incredibly fresh and zingy! If you are a true connoisseur of everything lemon, this bar is sure to make you one seriously happy Lemon Head!

Soap is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

Well, yesterday I poured a log of Lemon Head and a slab of White Tea & Ginger Me. I felt really good about it because, due to the work involved, I normally average just one pour a day. Being able to squeeze two pours in, as well as take care of the family and keep the house clean, is quite an achievement. I should be able to unmold them tonight and send them to the curing rack. I can't tell you how much I wish that I could just unmold and sell. This is the reason that a lot of the handmade soap that you buy is actually just Melt & Pour soap base that people buy, melt down, add scent, color, wrap and sell. They can do that in one day, whereas soap from scratch is a serious exercise in patience. The 4 week cure time is quite difficult for me. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I lack patience. Perhaps that is why the Lord has led me to soaping..... He is teaching me something that I have somehow failed to learn along the way.

The funny thing about making soap from scratch is that the colors you end up with can often be quite different from what you started off with. I look forward to waking up in the mornings so that I can run to my mold, uncover it, and see what colors and textures I have created. It is very exciting because it is very much like Forest Gump had said. "Soap is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Sometimes I am very happy with the results and sometimes I think to myself, "Here is another one for the Misfit Box." In case you are wondering, the Misfit Box is going to consist of all of the miscolored or mishapened soap bars. Although, they will still be wonderful Suds bars, we will offer them at a reduced price, due to the fact that they did not fit our vision for that particular scent.
This is my 3rd attempt at Lemon Head. I have called this soap my nemesis. It isn't that it has misbehaved at all. There has been no ricing or tracing. It is just the color. I have a vision for this bar. I can see it in my head.... I just haven't been able to pull it off. After I get the bars cut, I'll be sure to post pics.

Our new soap packaging!

Well, we spent quite a bit of time trying to find the right packaging to convey Suds fun & unique style. For now, we are quite happy with the results. What do you think?

..... had a nice little break :-)

Well, hubby and I decided to take the kids on a much needed mini vacation to Cedar Point. It has been a long time since we have gone away, so we were determined to make it happen. We loaded 7 of us into the van and headed off to Ohio. The drive itself wasn't too bad. The baby slept most of the way, and that always helps. I have to say, I wasn't too happy with the hotel, though. We stayed at Comfort Inn Cedar Point South. The name is misleading, as we ended up driving much further to Cedar Point than I had figured we would. The cleaning, also left a lot to be desired. It was difficult to find accomodations for all of us in one room, however, and this hotel offered 3 double beds, so this was where we ended up. We spent most of the first night swimming and then headed to Pizza Hut, where we proceded to stuff ourselves to the point of immobility. My family and I are pizza fanatics... and Pizza Hut has our all-time favorite crust!! Ok, back to the story.....
We got up very early the next morning, had breakfast, and made our way to the park. The forecast called for rain so we were a bit concerned, but it was light rain, so it didn't hinder us one bit. We threw on the ponchos and ran all day from ride to ride. Hubby is a total thrill seeker. While he is completely geeked to ride on The Dragster and The Power Tower, I was pushing my limits to ride on The Mantis... but I did it, and I loved it! The kids had an absolute blast. We all screamed and laughed until our voices were gone. We stayed right up until the park closed and then drove nearly 4 hours home.
I am exhausted, but so happy that we went. The kids will never forget it, and I will never forget the looks on their faces as we hit that first hill on The Gemini. :-)

...... now I just need to muster the energy to make some soap!!