Sunday, February 24, 2013

Making Soap Loaves & a chance to win one!

I love baking bread - almost as much as I love making soap.
Often, I just don't take the time to do it.

Wouldn't it be fun to combine the two together and make a loaf of soap!
 
 
I decided to try out three different kinds of soap loaves - Poppyseed Carrot, Lavender with a Lemon Twist and, always a favorite scent combination, Almonds and Oatmeal.

Yum, these loaves smell good enough to eat....here's a photo of the finished loaf of Lemon Lavender with a sprinkle of lavender buds across the top.
 

I'll take you through the process of making these loaves.  First, I melted all the oils and herbs together in a large pot - coconut, olive, palm, cocoa butter, shea butter, soybean, sunflower- all 100% plant based oils that are good for your skin.



Next, I added the lye water and stirred and blended until the soap became thicker.  One way to describe it would be to say the soap now has a cake batter consistency.



Adding in more goodies - some oatmeal.


Next, it's time to add in the essential oils.



Here I'm pouring some of the soap into a smaller bowl and adding cocoa powder for a beautiful swirl of chocolate brown.


I lined my mini loaf pans with freezer paper to protect them and then poured the soap in.




Pouring the soap when it was nice and thick helped get the swirls on top. I think it makes them look more like a real loaf of bread.


A final touch - a sprinkle of poppy seeds along the top of the loaf.


After curing for a few weeks, the Poppyseed Carrot Soap naturally darkened to a deep brown.  The vanilla in the scent combination I created is the culprit.  It does make it look more like a loaf of bread though, perhaps a dark rye or whole wheat.

Let's take the loaf of the Poppyseed Carrot Soap and cut off a slice to use.



I love the look of these soap loaves, a bit like the loaves of bread in a bakery!


You can find our soap loaves, a limited few, on our website under Special Purpose Soaps.

Or, you can win one!
Today through Monday, March 4th we are doing a give-a-way.

For a chance to win either the Poppyseed Carrot or the Almond Oatmeal Soap Loaf,  just leave a comment on this page.

We'll select a winner by random, contact the winner through email and mail your soap loaf out to you. I'll also announce the winner on our facebook page. Good Luck!

Staying Soapy,
Christine Kennedy
simple ingredients, extraordinary benefits

29 comments:

  1. Christine, I love your stuff. I'm due for another order again soon. I'd love to win, especially since it's my birthday this week!

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  2. I would love to win. I just opened my last bar from you. This is the best soap I have found!

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  3. Thank You for sharing this!! I love your products. My bathroom cupboard always smells so wonderful after iv gotten a order of soap.

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  4. They look gorgeous and I am sure they small awesome! Keep up the good work.

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  5. I need to place another order from you soon! Although it would be great to win a loaf of soap:)

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  6. This looks wonderful, I can't wait for my current order to arrive. I have been hooked on your soap ever since buying a bar at a gift shop 3 years ago. I have not bought soap from anywhere else ever since. I have my husband, daughter, my daughter's boyfriend and niece hooked as well. I keep a glass jar in my bathroom containing several types of scents at all times which gets raided regularly by by daughter and niece. Thanks for what you do it keeps my family clean and happy!!

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  7. You make soap look lovely! Can't wait to try some. :)

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  8. The soaps look lovely and I sure would like to try it

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  9. Just got my order in the mail and can't wait to try it out!
    These look beautiful!

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  10. Oh my goodness, they already looked good enough to eat! I don't know how I would be able to resist tasting one! So pretty!

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  11. I only have one bar of soap left and I throw it in with my towels so that they smell fresh when I pull them out to use them. My room mate loves your soap too!

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  12. http://pictures-of-cats.org/wp-content/uploads/images/cat-image-39.jpg <- THIS WOULD BE ME.

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    Replies
    1. Congratulations, Cornelius. You were selected, at random (using random.org), as the winner of a mini-loaf of our soap. Contact me via my email to provide me with your mailing information. Thanks for entering.

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  13. love your soap. I hope you make more of the lavender lemon soon.I have sent your soap to oregon,california north carolina and tennessee. Love sending something from minnesota, and something from my hometown.Though can't believe it has been 34 years ago. David was still in high school :) OMG I can't believe it has been that long ago.

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  14. I love your soap especially the lavender scents, and the almond anything. My boyfriend loves his beer soap too. Love that its handmade, and all natural. Can't wait to try out some new scents the next time we see you at the craft show. We really love our soap bar scrubby sacks too. Really great in the shower. I also use my lavender hand lotion everyday. I keep it in my purse so at work I can relieve my dry hands, and the wonderful smell gives me a pick me up

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  15. Looks yummy......bet it smells even better!
    Thank you for a chance to win!

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  16. These look great. I bet they smell terrific and feel terrific. I'd love to win to give your products a try! Thank you.

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  17. What a fantastic idea, Christine! Whether I win one or not, I will be ordering them soon! What a great gift idea too.

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  18. What a clever idea. Would love to try this.

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  19. Love all your unique products. You can tell you really love what you do!

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  20. I love your products and I stock up every year at Applefest :) Would love to try both of these scents!

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  21. Handmade soaps are cleansing for both body and soul. Soap loaves offer beauty and function all in one package. They will leave you with scented bliss for weeks to come.

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  22. This is a great site. I loved the step instructions. The carrot poppy sound great. I would love to win it. Thanks.

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  23. I hope I'm not too late to post here! I LOVE your products! Your photos are great, too. I'm also glad I found your site here. I have a lot of catching up to do!

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  24. Thank you, everyone, for your comments. I used random.org to generate a random number from the number of comments, excluding duplicates and the much-appreciated by not-eligible-to-win-a-prize comment from my daughter. The lucky winner is Cornelius, who will be sent a mini-loaf of his choice once he provides me his mailing information. Thanks, again, everyone for entering.

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