Tranquility

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Mabel

Tranquility
Contents | Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Breast milk, Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii)(*), Sodium Hydroxide, Macadamia Nut Oil (Macadamia ternifolia), Tea infusion, Essential Oils (Sandalwood, Neroli, Lavender, Chamomile), Tea leaves.

Sample bar weight: Approx 67 gms (start of curing)
Full bar weight: Approx 124 gms (start of curing)

Curing completion date | 4 March

* Ingredients sourced from sustainable and/or organic farming

Lots of stress with this one. For starters, while mixing the lye with the tea infusion, the lye stopped melting and temperature stopped climbing. So I add in a couple of frozen bits of milk. Lye didn’t climb which makes sense because it’s frozen bits of milk with already stagnant temperature. I add in all the frozen chunks of milk and gradually add in the remaining lye. The thermometer spat out a figure that was below 25°C. WHAT? But hey, the milk is melting. Gah. This whole lye-milk-tea infusion was starting to smell like soap, looked a little like soap which I understood to be normal – the reaction between the lye and the fats in the milk.

So I put it aside, measured my oils and when they were ready, I heated up the lye to the right temperature. I tried straining but there were already too much solid bits of stuff so I decided to toss the entire lye mixture in – herb leaves and all. It took a while to get to trace which I thought was normal with high amounts of olive oil and extra fat. I didn’t insulate this one – just covered the sides and that was it. After 30 minutes, I went to check and the mould was warm-cool. Wait a minute. I thought milk soaps were supposed to get bleeding hot, especially considering that I soaped at 40°C. By midnight (one hour later), it was just getting to thick trace (I moved the mould a little to see what would happen). Gah. Time to go to bed.

At 4am – after a feed – (can you see where this is heading?) I go in to take a peek. The soap wasn’t moving so I guess it was just starting to set (if you press your finger on the surface, it is still quite soft) but it wasn’t very warm to the touch. Then at 7am when I got up for the day and went to check, it definitely set and was a little harder (still soft tho) than before. Temp? Not very warm either.

I unmoulded it like 12 hours after bedding and got a nice firm log which had an even colour. There was some residual oil on the bottom – I had this with my chocolate soap – but otherwise, the log look good. No oozing and so forth. I left it sitting in the kitchen – maybe it’s a little chilly today (my soap usually saponifies in the bathroom at a nice 24-25°C and the kitchen/house is 20-22°C) – and one hour later, I see a large dark patch on all four sides!!!! OMIGOD OMIGOD, talk about panic. I immediately went to work on cutting the bars and as you can see, nothing – the inside looks alright.

I suspect I got a gel but it was weird considering that when I unmoulded, the soap was already at room temperature. Maybe the drop in temperature affected it. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens to the sliced bars as it cures. If it’s anything like my first soap, it’ll darken a little and then over time, the patch ought to even out.

But yeah, talk about stress!!!! (This is worse than searching for information on accredited online mba programs!)

(No stamping pictures – the soap is much too soft to be handled in that manner. Maybe tomorrow.)

Triple Espresso Coffee Soap (Superfat)

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Mabel

Triple Espresso Coffee Soap (Superfat)
Contents | Coffee and cocoa powder infused Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera)(*), Palm Oil (Elaeis guineensis)(*), Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Brewed espresso, Castor Oil (Ricinus communis)(*), Almond Meal, Grapefruit Essential Oil, Lime Essential Oil, Clove Bud Essential Oil, Patchouli Essential Oil, Coffee Grains, Cocoa Powder.

Sample bar weight: Approx 70 gms (start of curing)
Full bar weight: Approx 127 gms (start of curing)

Curing completion date | 3 March

* Ingredients sourced from sustainable and/or organic farming.

Remember my Kitchen Soap v1.0 (link here)? Well, the main problem with that soap was that it wasn’t dark enough despite being laced with coffee-infused oil. So I upped the ante and added in a whole lot more stuff including triple brewed super strong espresso coffee. I scouted the local shops for the strongest (yet not too expensive) coffee I could find and the result is what you see – a wonderfully ultra dark and – may I add – sleek bar of coffee soap!

Therefore, I renamed this soap as the Triple Espresso Coffee Soap. It’s superfatted meaning while it cleans well, it isn’t supposed to dry out skin so you can take it out of the kitchen and use it in the shower. I added in coffee grounds and almond meal to help with exfoliating as I read that caffeine helps minimize the appearance of cellulite and contain high amounts of antioxidants.

Ahah! More reason to hang on to this recipe and reproduce it!!!

I have also started stamping and polishing the edges off my bars. I still need to work on those pesky air bubbles. It is way less and similar to the Passion soap but nonetheless, their existence annoys me. Hopefully I’ll see less and less of them when my beakers arrive. In the meantime, it’s back to my usual things – reviews on cedar cottage playhouses, the kids and life as a SAHM.

Oh, did I mention that I got a new soap cutter to go with my harp cutter? Kekekeke.

How do you do it?

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Mabel

Soapmaking, that is, especially considering that I have two kids below the ages of two five. It’s actually very simple.

I only make soap when the kids are asleep – during their afternoon nap or at night. I usually prefer to work in the afternoon because the natural light allows me to see the actual colour of the soap plus I don’t feel like I might wake my son up if I make too much noise.

If Nil is at home, he knows not to bother me when I’m crafting. It has been like this since I started my handdyeing business in 2008. You could say that he’s well-trained to leave me alone and with good reason. We don’t live in a huge place so if there are two people in the kitchen – where I soap – it’s crowded and crowded spaces means increased risks of accidents. With dyeing, it means things like spilled powders which are fine and toxic if inhaled in large quantities. With soapmaking, it’s caustic burns from the lye and those are n.a.s.t.y. Search the Net for images of these burns and you’ll see what I mean.

Having said that, he’s a gem – always reminding me to put my health first by keeping things safe – read: wear gloves, goggles, mask, apron, shoes.

My supplies are arranged in boxes/plastic baskets under the table in the kitchen and Eva knows that she can’t go around poking her hands and nose in them. It’s training from her days of being an infant crawling everywhere around the apartment in Singapore. I allow her free access to the kitchen BUT she needs to learn to obey one thing – stay away from the cabinets. It is something she carries with her till this day. (She even knows that soap for the dishwasher is meant for the dishwasher and not for eating. Soap for laundry – soapnuts – is soap and not for eating.) My utensils are high up and out of reach and so are my soaps while they are curing.

Ventilation is an issue as I don’t have fans installed so when I’m mixing lye with water, I open the windows. It’s freaking cold when soaping during winter when temperatures are around 1 or 2°C like today and I had to stand in front of the window (you cannot just dump 90 over gms of lye into 200 gms of water – unless you want a volcano-like eruption – so that means gradual mixing and constant stirring). It’s okay by me. Lye fumes are toxic plus they are stinky so I’d rather it be stinky outside and me a bit cold than the fumes staying in the house.

When I start soaping, I’m organized – training from my days baking and cooking. The laptop sits on kitchen counter to give me the recipe and exact figures and no distractions from movies, music or things like dark magic yoyo. I start boiling some water and once that is done, pour them into a large plastic basin that contains my hard oils – coconut and palm (if I’m using them). This is to help them melt – especially important with palm oil as stearin sinks to the bottom as the oil cools.

Then I measure out ingredients for the lye and water/liquid first. Once the solution is done and is cooling, I move onto the additives and fragrances. After this I prep my mould and start with the oils. Once this is done and the oils are heating on the stove bain marie style, I clear the table of my weighing scale, oils, fragrances and things I don’t need anymore. Now, an old T-shirt takes its place on the table together with my handheld blender, containers for my spatula and and whatever else I need. Even the stool on which my mould will sit on needs prepping – an old towel for insulation.

Then I start soaping.

One thing awesome about making soap is that the cleaning up doesn’t take place immediately. Because fresh soap batter is very caustic (don’t ask how I know), it is best to leave all utensils aside for at least 24-48 hours. Once the batter has finished saponifying, then you can start washing up. Ain’t it grand for us folks who don’t like washing dishes and such? Hehehe.

“Passion” Soap (Superfat)

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Mabel

“Passion” Soap (Superfat)
Contents | Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera)(*), Palm Oil (Elaeis guineensis)(*), Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) juice, Tangelo zest, Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis) extract, Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis) Essential Oil, Neroli (Citrus aurantium) Essential Oil, Sandalwood Amayris (Amyris balsamifera) Essential Oil.

Sample bar weight: Approx 70 gms (start of curing)
Full bar weight: Approx 127 gms (start of curing)

Curing completion date | 2 March

* Ingredients sourced from sustainable and/or organic farming

This is my first log using fruit juice as well as my own lye solution from scratch. My previous logs have been made with pre-made lye solution which I just heat up in a double boiler/bain maire and use as is. While pre-made lye solutions are quick and simply – just pour out of a bottle and use – what you can do with it is limited as it doesn’t allow you to do things like water discount or play around with liquids and purees.

The hubby bought some passion fruit over the weekend since it was going for cheaper than usual and I thought why not get some extra fruit for soapmaking. Since it’s winter and the season for oranges, he bought some tangelos – a cross between grapefruit and orange/clementine/whatever (I forgot but it looks like a tangelo) – as well and I decided to spend some time at night while the two kids were in bed grating up zest from them. I set them out to dry on some paper towels over my heater and by the next day, they were ready.

I wanted something not too strong yet still natural in terms of fragrance and remembered that I purchased some aromatic extract (it’s natural flavoring made from passion fruit juice, sugar syrup and 30% alcohol). This together with a citrusy blend of essential oils makes for a very delicate yet sweet and not too overpowering scent.

I’m in love.

Of course, after I made the soap, I discovered that adding too much citrus juice can neutralize the lye and as my soap was saponifying, I wondered if I would end up with soap. It was the longest 24 hours ever since I first starting making soap. I even had time to blog and search the Net for metal switchplates (don’t ask!). I was peeking under the insulation to see if anything funky was happening. When I finally saw that I got gel – 6 hours into saponification – I literally jumped up and down. Hubby thought I went insane! He hasn’t seen this batch of soap yet so lets see what he says when he gets back. Hehehe.

By the way, did you notice that the shape of the soaps are different this time?

Knit: Nil’s Quick Beanie

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Mabel

Nil’s Quick Beanie
Pattern | Koolhaas by Jared Flood
Yarn | 100purewool.com Merino Worsted 3 ply in Blue & Bluish
Needles | 4.5 mm & 5 mm circulars

I finished this in the beginning of the month but never got around to blogging about it due to all the excitement with my soaps as well as going through salesforce reporting assignments.

I must be frank – I have never knitted much for my hubby. Every time I offered to knit something, he would declined. If I made something on a whim, I end up being the one to wear it like that blue entrelac scarf I made a few years back. So it was not surprising that whenever I do knit something for him, I either take ages or…urm, I just don’t do it. Hehehe.

This time around, *he* asked for a knitted item but only because his trusty beanie sported a hole and stank to high heaven. It was something his late grandma made for him and I could see that he cherishes it. He continued to wear it year after year and only recently when his dad bugged him to get a new one, did he finally ask me to make him one. But true to form, he gave me a pretty tight deadline and was quite picky with the colour.

“Nothing too bright” (when I suggested a nice red)
“Nothing too small or weird” (when I suggested a pattern)

The pattern he originally picked was…well, complicated so I got tired and settled on Koolhaas which I had done before for my brother. I knew it was a forgiving pattern which allowed for plenty of stretch. In the end, Nil was quite happy with the knit but not so happy with modelling it for me (as you can see in the picture).

I still have half a ball of yarn left so will either chuck it away until I need it for something small or…make another hat with it?

Tulips in the house!

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Mabel

The weather has been awful of lately. No sun, foggy, wet (either it rains or drizzles!) and well, just awful. To add some cheer to the house, I thought of getting some flowers. It was a thing I did at a whim, really.

You see, what happened was I went to the store to buy groceries for Friday’s meal with Eva and Noah in tow – can’t leave them at home, y’know. And despite the drizzle and being “charmed” by reviews on mobile computer carts, I braved the weather. At least we got out of the house.

We reached the store, walked around and just as I made my way to the cashiers, these lovely bunch of tulips stared right back at me. Eva went “Look, flowers!” and I was sold. I paid less than €5 euroes for twenty stalks of tulips and for a few days, the house looked cheery enough.

Flowers…nice way of bringing some colour and cheer into a bleary winter week.

Destashing

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Mabel

Am destashing these pretties since I don’t cycle through my yarn and fibers fast enough and my storage cabinet is busting at the seams. Will probably be adding more to the destash bin over the next few days.

Hover over the image for more info and prices.

Fiber

Yarn

Wollmeise 100% Merino Superwash in Die Auster (Medium), USD23 plus actual shipping

NOTE
All fibers have been carefully stored in my non-smoking, no pet home.

Unless otherwise noted, prices do not include shipping, but I do charge just the actual shipping costs and do my best to keep it as low as possible.

If the price information is missing on something that you are interested in, please do not hesitate to contact me as everything in this section is available for purchase.

Payment via PayPal only at this time.

International buyers: I really do understand that duty/taxes on parcels can cost quite a bit, but please do not ask me to change the value on the customs forms or mark the contents as a gift, as this is in violation of US and international regulations.

Missing/lost items: I cannot be held responsible for missing/lost items in the post so if your area or place is notorious for your postal service pinching stuff, do consider registering the parcel and contact me for a revised shipping quote.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do contact me at [mabelteoh@gmail.com] and I will do my best to help!

More on soaps

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Mabel

Now that I’m into my fourth log, I’m seriously rethinking a few things. Some planning is in order lest I get lost (no commercial gps for soapmaking unfortunately!).

For starters, I’d like to keep things simple with my soaps in terms of colours and additives. Am looking to head towards an all-natural direction with my colours. This means sticking to either clays or spices like turmeric, paprika or flowers and fruit to add colour to my soaps. So you won’t be seeing things like funky purple or electric blue.

I’ve been getting a lot of my fragrances and essential oils from overseas so will opt for a local supplier to keep things low plus nothing too fancy. I actually prefer to use essential oils instead of fragrance as they lend more value to a soap than just scenting it. (I will retain chocolate, coffee, vanilla and honey as part of my fragrance collection though – they are just too yummy to kick out!)

In terms of what to add to my soaps, I am thinking of going along the line of “what’s in my pantry”. These include:

Tea (green, fruit/herb infusions – am drawn to this tea to help with sleeping)
Rice (basmati, long grain)
Grains, nuts and beans (chickpeas, lentils, coffee, almond meal, oatmeal, etc)
Fruit (coconut, bananas, limes, mandarins, lemon, berries, etc)
Vegetables (cucumber, tomatoes, etc)
Herbs and spices (cinnamon, clove, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, lemongrass, basil, etc)
Milk (goat’s milk, breastmilk – have about 2 L of the stuff in my freezer, soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk, etc)
Beer

Appearance-wise, I’d like to try embeds like soap balls and soap cubes along with layering and swirling again although I must say that the overall one colour, simple soap attracts me far more than multi-coloured ones.

So far, no real theme yet to my soaps. Perhaps in the near future. Right now, it’s all just about experimenting and trying out new things!

thescarfer.net

knit. spin. weave. sew. bake. cook. hike. think. live.

Tranquility

Triple Espresso Coffee Soap (Superfat)

How do you do it?

“Passion” Soap (Superfat)

Knit: Nil’s Quick Beanie

Tulips in the house!

Destashing

More on soaps