We had a very special guest at Otion for a 3 Day Private Soapmaking Lesson. We were able to cram a lot of soaping into the class because Ralph was such a quick learner. He was a natural at soapmaking and covered all the types of soapmaking, all the types of molds he could use (including a nifty Vertical Mold that hasn’t even hit the Bramble Berry product line yet!), all the types of colors to use (including herbal infusions) and experienced a wide variety of soap situations (diluting Labcolors, seizing soap, accelerating trace soap to name a few).
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| Geode Soap from this tutorial |
Ralph spent almost an entire day on all of the ins and outs of melt and pour soapmaking, culminating with swirling and layering. But before we did that, we did the freeform Gem Soap. Both batches turned out great
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| Adding Fragrance (Cold Water) |
Ralph also learned how to make lotions from scratch and do Liquid Soap, from scratch. All of his bottles turned out perfectly and he and I both breathed a sigh of relief when none of his fragrance oils seperated or did anything funky in liquid soap (as they are prone to do). You can make your own liquid soap from scratch; we’ve got an ingredients + video + e-book tutorial here.
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| Just a small sampling of the soap we made in 3 days |
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| Our whipped CP soap, in-process |
We had a really good time with Whipped Cold Process soap and everyone enjoyed the Cotton Candy Look of the project.
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| Rock Soap |
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| The Birchwood Mold makes swirling a breeze! |
Thanks for visiting Ralph! We can’t wait to host you again and this time, take a day to explore the sites (skiing anyone?).
I think I’d like some tea ceremony fragrance! Such fun photos and good luck to Ralph and family!
Will do – we’re still perfecting it but we’re excited to share.
Love those rock soaps!!! Please dedicate a post on how to make them when you’re ready!! <3
That pastel cream, blue and pink looks lovely in the mould. I just never tire of the exciting moment when the blade runs through that new log!! I’ve had a little success with BrambleBerry fragrances lately myself. See: http://www.washpoolfarm.com.au… I’ve combined Turkish Mocha with Chail Latte for the base and a combination of citrus/spice essential oils and Energy for the top.
Aw, you’re so sweet. I’m like every pregnant woman out there and I don’t
feel all that cute but I love what’s going on inside me =) The little one is
super fun because he kicks often during the day, just to remind me that life
is definitely about to change =)
Any time you’re in the area, definitely stop by. We’d love to meet a soaper
from down under! =)
You will LOVE this project then and I’m betting your soaps will look much
more realistic than mine! =)
Ha =) You’re tormenting me. You know more than anyone that the whipped CP is definitely a tutorial and a half! =) I want to take one of your classes, BTW! =)
What a dream day this sounds like! the geode and rock soaps are ABSOLUTELY gorgeous (and you look really cute pregnant!!!). Can’t wait to learn the rock soap technique!
Wish I’d known you when I had to go to Seattle on business, would have made the trip to Bellingham!! Or that now was the time I had those business trips! But at least we have you on blog/forum/shop/video form, and that’s great!!
We did have a fun time. He is a really great guy – so polite and friendly and easy going. He made the entire thing easy for sure =)
All the soaps look gorgeous – what a great time you and Ralph must’ve had. I love those rock soaps!!
A beautiful collection of soapy stuff! But where’s the whipped CP soap tutorial? 😉
I want to make the gem soap!!!! Really bad! Because I am also a Gem Dealer and Silversmith.
Aw, thanks. I feel really lucky to have a job that allows me to be so creative. =)
He really caught on so quickly; it was pretty amazing. We were lucky that he was so smart because we really crammed that 3 days full.
I had a really good time; we even got to go out to dinner with Ralph one night and learn more about Lebanon and that was a real treat.
He really was an extraordinary student – and incredibly well spoken. It was such a great cultural exchange from our end too. We got to quiz him a lot on Lebanon and that was very interesting.
Rock Soaps are a melt and pour process. I’m hoping to perfect it for a blog post – Ralph got a mostly-perfect recipe. I still think it can be improved just a bit….
It was definitely a group effort – I taught some, Kat taught A LOT and Jill taught Lotions and Erik was there to assist the entire time. =)
I love that you take the time to share things like this, and others, with all of us. You inspire me to try new things and feel good about doing what I love and enjoy. Thanks so much!!
He did great! Of course, he had the best teacher! 🙂 Such fun projects too.
Looks like Ralph did an awesome job!
Thanks for sharing looks like a good time was had by all.
That really looks like loads of fun 🙂 And wow – I can hardly believe it was his first time to soap!
looks like a fun time! loving those rock soaps are those melt and pour or cp soap?