DIY Impression Mat for Soap ( part 1 )

So I have been using impression mats for ages, I usually get the silicone ones made for fondant (cake or candy use) They are gorgeous but not cheap! I love the way the soap picks  up all the intricate details, like this. you can also put some colored  soap "batter" into the impressions with a spatula for another pretty effect.

I have wanted to try my hand at making my own for ages, but was actually a little intimidated, I mean it's an expensive experiment of you mess it up! I finally got brave and ordered the two part silicone mix from Brambleberry. 

You can purchase additional information on how to mix the 2 part silicone from Brambleberry, it's more for doing a 3 dimensional mold rather than a flat impression mat, but I would recommend you get the additional instructions, it helps the (dreaded!) math that you will need to get the solution in the right proportions.
You'll want to use something with some texture for your mat, I used a vinyl table runner and cut it to size, this one came from eBay.

Once you have it all mixed, you'll want to do a nice job taping the lace to the bottom of the mold, if you don't do a good job the silicone will go under and you'll make a mess! Here it is all poured, I used the soap mold as my "box" since that's the exact size it will need to be. By the way, it really doesn't smell bad, I was expecting it to be bad! I also wasn't sure what to expect as far as the texture of the wet silicone, it actually reminded me of marshmallow cream, do they even still make that? 

I also used a level, otherwise you'll end up with a mat that's way thicker on one side that the other. We live in a cottage that was built in the late 40's and as with most older places, it has settled with time, so have I for that matter! 

After it's made, you'll need to let it cure for 24 hours, then, hold your breath and unmold it! Next installment will be how mine turned out and what I would do differently. Stay tuned!

Market Props

So I change the apprearance of my table pretty frequently. If you have a Market that you do regularly, you know it's important to have things of different heights and textures for visual interest, These are some of the things I currently have on my table and they are each cool for one reason or other. The silver tray came from a shop in downtown Antioch ( G Street Mercantile ) one of my favorite huntings grounds. The wire Loofa Bar holder came from a lady in Brentwood who was retiring her shop and I snagged that for $5. The wooden things were all made by my husband from repurposed wood, mostly pallets, those are my favorite because they were made with love. (the white square is velcro, I attach the price sign with that )  Do you have a favorite item on your market table?

Clip Boards

If you guys are as crazy as I am about organizing, I am sure you frequent Pinterest for cool new ideas. I saw this idea there and had to do it! You get inexpensive clip boards, in my case I used the little ones. Cover them with your fave Washi Tape ( it's like Japanese Masking tape with cute designs printed on it. Etsy has a great selction) and voila! I use mine to remember what supplies to order, what soap to make for the week, which candles and which things I need to print for the week, labels etc. So cute!

Happy New Year

Don't you love the new year? I do, so full of promise and possibility, like a new morning, but 

turbo-charged!

I didn't miss last years goal by much, this year I will 

CRUSH my goals! 

Here's wishing you a happy and healthy New Year, may you achieve all your goals! 

Inception of a new product

When I get inspired to make a new product, the inspiration can come from anywhere, our Ginger Lime soap was inspired by dinner at a local Mexican restaurant! Ginger Lime with Avocado oil! 

The shaving bar was actually something that came to me at Market one day, why don't we have a round shaving bar with clay? It's amazing for shaving ( provides "slip/slide" factor ) since we always recommend our Murray or Casablanca soaps  ( with pink Kaolin Clay ) for guys

 that want a shave bar! 

So after the initial idea, research happens, what other things would be beneficial for the skin for a shave bar, so we decided to use Bentonite Clay, that's a great one for a shave bar, we also decided that Chamomile Extract would be great as it's known to soothe irritated skin that can be caused by shaving.  We thought a nice bright citrus would be great so scented it with Orange, Tangerine and Grapefruit.  Once I had my recipe figured out I went on to designing the label, as you can see above. 

So I've made the initial batch, just waiting for it to cure so it can come to Market. I'll also list it on my website when the time comes. 

So that's basically the process for a new product! 

Podcasts

So usually when I"m working, I like to listen to music, Pandora actually, and I have a bunch of my own personalized stations that I listen to. However, I just stared listening to Podcasts! Have you discovered them yet?
Podcasts come in all sorts of formats and they are in about any subject you can imagine! Today I was listening to one called "the Moth" which features great stories. I also like to listen to a lot of them on the topic of Handmade Business, my fave being "Dear Handmade Life" which features Delilah and Nicole talking about all kinds of handmade biz info, and they always start off with a drink they've discovered, feels like you're hanging out with your girlfriends!
There are different ways to get to the podcasts, I have an android phone so went to the the Google Play store and looked for Stitcher, downloaded that and then started listening! Give it a go, lots of cool stuff to listen to! Do you have a fave podcast?

Stamping away

I really resisted stamping my soap for a while, it's a lot of extra work, but it is a great way for customers to remember where their fabulous soap came from!

 There is a bit of a learning curve as far as knowing when to stamp the soap; if you do it too soon you wont get a clean impression, the soap will want to adhere to the stamp, if you wait too long, you'll need muscles and may still not get a good clean impression. So, if you're thinking of doing that, remember it will take a minute to figure it out! 

There are a lot of places that will do the stamps, I have always been happy with Dave at Lasercutz on Etsy. He's in the UK, but I always get my stamp pretty fast and he's great at communication. If you're looking to get a stamp made I highly recommend them!