Soap Rocks

I saw this idea somewhere on the web and thought this would be a great idea for Father’s Day … or any day. Soap Rocks are cut when the soap is still quite soft and moulded to shapes similar to rocks. A bit more labour intensive, but fun to make!

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil and cocoa butter. The fragrance is blue man and the colour is from activated charcoal powder and soap safe mica.

Charcoal is a natural body deodoriser, that removes excess oils and impurities from the skin. It has the drawing power to remove toxins from deep tissues.

The fragrance is 'blue man' - the base note of patchouli blends perfectly with orange, coriander and star anise. It's surprisingly sweet and majorly masculine.

Goats Milk – Mahogany

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and South Australian goats milk. These soaps are fragranced with spiced mahogany fragrance oil and soap safe colour.

Goats Milk – Oriental

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and South Australian goats milk. These soaps are fragranced with ancient Sedona fragrance oil and soap safe colour.

Goats Milk – Nelly Belly

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and South Australian goats milk. These soaps have passionfruit and gauva fragrance oils and soap safe colour.

Cut Bars


Cut


In the moulds – wasn’t sure it would get there, as it started setting before I’d mixed in any colours


Gelling


Nelly’s Milk – measured and ready to be added to my soap pot

International Soap Travel Box

The package arrived … *insert* excited singing and excited dancing!!!

The Soap Travel was started by Julia over at Cocobong, when three different soaps were put in a special box. This box is now travelling from soaper to soaper, country to country and at each stop the receiving soaper gets to choose one soap to keep and replaces it with one of their treasures. Next you get an address from Julia … and send the box on it’s way to the next soaper.

The box arrived at my place in South Australia with soap from – Jennifer (Spain) of Jenora Soaps, Swanee (France) of By Swanee and Das Seifenhaus (Germany) of Das Seifenhaus.

They all smelled divine and sounded amazing … how to choose?  Decided to go to bed and check it again tomorrow!

It's tomorrow and I've finally decided … Das Seifenhaus’ Calendula Milk, why?  Good question … I think to start with I was enjoying the wrapping. Reminds me of the homemade paper I used to make with petals and leaves in the mix. I also love that this soap doesn’t have palm oil in it! The smell is gentle, citrus, fresh and divine … and I’ve never used cows’ milk or calendula petals … so they added even more sounded interest for me.

I decided to replace Calendula Milk one of my newest goats’ milk soaps – Lime Patchouli. I love the aroma and look of this soap. I hope it has a great journey and that another soaper enjoys this treasure!

Here's a photo of the soaps (including my one) with the card that Julia started and is being signed by the participants.

Next I packed my soap … took a few more photos … and sealed the box ready for it’s next address and adventure.

Goats Milk – Lime Patchouli

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and South Australian goats milk. These soaps are fragranced with lime and patchouli essential oils and soap safe colour.

Moulded

Goats Milk – Lavender

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and South Australian goats milk. These soaps are fragranced with lavender essential and fragrant oils and soap safe colour.

Goats Milk – Citrus

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and South Australian goats milk. These soaps are fragranced with citrus essential and fragrant oils and have soap safe colour.



Goats Milk - Plain

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and South Australian goats milk. These soaps are fragrance and colour free.

Making Goats Milk Soap

To begin with I made only vegan soap, but recently I decided to add a small selection of soap with goats milk. I had researched this well, but was still surprised to see how the soap batter changed colour as it gelled in the moulds.

This soap is made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and local fresh South Australian goats’ milk.

These photos show the freshly poured goats milk soap ... and some photos as it progressed through the gelling process.

Here’s a photo of some of the goats that come to see me when I go to the goat farm to collect fresh milk.

International Soap Package

I love reading the blogs listed on the right hand side of my page.

Yesterday I was reading Jenora Soaps blog, and read that she had received the Soap Package that was started on it’s world travel by Julia at Cocobong Soaps  back in November 2011.    

The idea is that a small package with three soaps in it will travel from one soaper to another and at each destination the receiver gets to choose one of the treasures in the parcel and replace it with a piece of their own work, then Julia will give you the next address and you send the parcel on it’s way again.  I’m not sure how many people are involved, but at one stage there were 19 registered, but I'm sure there's more now and it was expected to take 266 days for everyone to receive the package once. 

I think this is a fabulous way to share soap around the world.

At the bottom of Jen’s post I read ... The next destination the Soap Travel Package is off to is to Karen Hill in Australia.  Oh Wow!  Am I excited or what? 

Now I'm counting the days until this package comes to me and I get to choose a soap and replace it with one of mine.  Looking at Cocobong Soaps blog, I will be the 12th person to receive this special package.  Oh Wow!

Swapping soaps is one of my mostest favourite things to do!

Oh Wow!

Lavender Oats

New look mixing EO and FO

Lemon Myrtle Flowers

Angel Cake – limited edition soap

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil and cocoa butter. These soaps are fragranced with an oil called monkey love, which has an interesting aroma. The pink is a soap safe colour.

Soap Swap from Puri - Murcia, Spain

Here's what I received -

Top left - the soap - four beautiful bars and six bath bombs!
Top right - the parcel that was waiting for me at the Post Office
Centre right - the parcel opened
Bottom Left - the fan, soap and bath bombs
Bottom right - a beautiful fan!


 


Plus a picture of our soap swap travel -

Top left - Australia to Spain
Top right - Soap from me to Puri
Bottom left - Where Puri lives in Spain
Bottom right - The parcel I sent to Spain

Soap from Spain!

I received a note in my letterbox yesterday to say there was a parcel for me at the post office. I got really excited, as the only parcel I was expecting was from Puri, who I swapped soap with in Spain.

This morning, as soon as the post office collection centre opened, I was there to ask for my parcel. I then went to work and opened it!

Wow!!!

Thank you so much for the effort you went to put this parcel together and thank for the beautiful soap, bath bombs and fan! I am so happy that you were my swap partner and I feel thoroughly spoiled!

Photo's to follow of my wonderful Spanish Swap! Thank you to Soap Artists for organising this wonderful swap!

Translation using Google

He recibido una nota en mi buzón de ayer a decir que había un paquete para mí en la oficina de correos. Me emocioné de verdad, como el paquete único que esperaba era de Puri, que cambié de jabón con en España.

Esta mañana, tan pronto como la oficina de correos centro de acopio se abrió, allí estaba yo a pedir mi parcela. Después me fui a trabajar y lo abrió!

Wow!

Muchas gracias por el esfuerzo que fue a poner esta parcela junto y gracias por el jabón hermosa, bombas de baño y un ventilador! Estoy tan feliz de que usted fuera mi compañero de intercambio y me siento totalmente echado a perder!

Foto a seguir es de mi intercambio española maravilloso! Gracias a los artistas de jabón para la organización de este intercambio maravilloso!

Summer Petals

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil and cocoa butter. These soaps have a peony petals fragrance oil and soap safe colours added to them.

A delightfully fresh fragrance of lush peony notes underscored with hints of green fields, wild flowers, rose petals and lilac.

My Soap is in Spain

Last month I wrote about the international soap swap organised by Soap Artists and how lucky I'd been to be paired with Puri from Spain.  Today I received an email from Puri to tell me she had received my soap and written and entry in her blog.

Puri's email -

Hi Karen, who hope to have your soaps, I loved.

You can see on the blog the photos and comments

http://www.dpurarte.blogspot.com.es/

Thank you very much for everything, I hope you get mine soon.

A big hug and see you soon Puri

dPurArte

I'm so happy that I can read the excitement in Puri's email!  On her blog Puri has included two beautifully taken photos and more wonderfully kind words!

 

They're here from ... Australia

With great enthusiasm I opened the package sent from Australia to soaps Karen, my friend the international exchange organized by Julia of "Soaps Artists". Congratulations Julia for the wonderful organization and dissemination of the world of natural soaps.

Karen has given me a lot of varied colors and shapes of wonderful soaps and soap samples. They smell great, are beautifully designed and very smooth texture.What a shame to use them, but experience so pleasant.

Karen thank you very much for your wonderful soaps.

I am so excited to know that Puri's soap is on it's way to me ... and I hope I can make a great blog entry like Puri has!
 
My advice to anyone reading this ... if you get the opportunity to be involved in a soap swap ... especially an international one ... do it!  It cost $30 to send my soap to Spain ... but the reward is priceless!

Raspberry Sky

Made with olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, castor oil and cocoa butter. These soaps have black raspberry and vanilla fragrance oils and soap safe colours added to them.

This soap is a beautiful mix of sweet, silky and mouth watering flavours. Fresh, vine-ripened raspberries and blackberry notes are mixed with bergamot, Bartlett pear and softened with notes of plum wine, vanilla orchid and silky, cashmere musk.