In case you were wondering how the other names fared, here are the totals:

2nd place: Queen Anne’s Revenge / Blackbeard’s Gold – 37 votes
3rd place: Pink Passion / Shiver Me Timbers – 23 votes
4th place tie: For Me Mermaid / For Me Matey and Anne Bonny / Calico Jack – 10 votes each

The Girls & Guys Valentines Soaps with their new names!!

There will be just 11 of each of these soaps available for sale starting January 31st! You will be able to find them at Greatcakessoapworks.com. I hope you all enjoyed the contest!

My hubby collaborated with me on this project, starting with the scent blends. For the first time ever, we have a girls Valentines soap and a guys Valentines soap. The girls Valentines soap is scented with a blend of plumeria and Michael Kors type perfume. Plumeria (common name Frangipani) grows in the tropics and is known as Hawaii’s most popular lei flower with a rich, sweet fragrance. The Michael Kors type fragrance blends beautifully as it is also comprised of white florals, warmed with delicate top notes of bergamot, apricot, peach, and plum, finished with a touch of exotic spice, velvety woods, and sensual skin musks.

For colors, I went with white, shimmery silver, and two tones of pink.

Girls Valentines Soap by Great Cakes Soapworks

After I mixed and poured the light pink layer, hubby sprinkled on the thin line of fuchsia pink mica. Then I poured a light layer of white, and alternately poured the dark pink, silver, and more white. Once it was all poured, I used a bamboo skewer to swirl the top just a bit more. I was afraid that using two floral fragrances might be sort of tricky, but they were very workable!

Here are a couple more photos:

Close-up of the Girls Valentines Soap

Girls Valentines Soaps - more tops

The guys Valentines soap is a very woodsy blend of bamboo, teak, rainforest, sandalwood and cedarwood. I combined several fragrance oils, as well as an essential oil blend and cedarwood essential oil. The depth of this fragrance is amazing! Completely earthy, very masculine and sexy.

The colors for the guys Valentines soap are dark brown, reddish gold, silver (to match the girls soap), and natural. I used the faux funnel pour technique – partly because it almost looks like wood grain, and partly because I just love the way it turns out!

No two bars are alike:

Guys Valentines Soaps by Great Cakes Soapworks

It seemed like the soap was a little too thin as I got started pouring. Like the layers were mixing together. There are only a couple places where you can see how they mixed, and I think it actually adds to the character of the bar:

Blended colors on the Guys Valentines Soap

Here’s another one of my favorites:

Close-up of Guys Valentines Soap

About the Contest:

Here’s where I need your help. These soaps need names! Hubby and I tossed around a few ideas, but couldn’t settle on anything. We did like the idea of a PIRATE THEME though. Here are the guidelines:

1. Use a pirate theme if possible, however other names will also be considered.
2. Please submit names for both soaps that fit together.
3. Keep it tasteful, people!
4. Submit your entry(ies) in the comments section below. (Yes, you can submit multiple entries. It’s not necessary to use a separate comment for each entry.)
5. Please do NOT submit entries via Facebook or email – it’s too difficult to keep track of them.
6. Comments will close this Saturday, January 7 at 10pm CST

After that I will pick some of my favorites and create a poll so that everyone can vote for the winners! Winner will receive a free set of Valentines soaps as soon as they are cured and ready. (I’m hoping for January 31, but could be later. These are huge bars!)

UPDATE: COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED.

Jan says, “I have done melt and pour and tried to be creative, but I have so far chickened out on CP soap-making though I LONG to do so and look and look at soap blogs and photos like I’m assessing fine jewelry LOL! I would love to have this to give it a try – the step-by-step photos would be of special help – that’s how I learn as I can’t follow written instructions and videos go by too fast.”

Hopefully this book will be the push she needs to make some beautiful cold-processed soaps! Thank you to everyone who entered – if you would like to purchase the book, please go to Amazon.com and pick one up! There are just 11 in stock.

A full-colour, step by step, photographic guide to making soap.

I was sent a copy of the book directly from the owner of How2Crafts.com, an innovative website with lots of great crafting ideas. They publish books on crafts that their readers vote for, and they’ve got a really neat system going where you can upload pictures of your creations and they’ll include the best ones in subsequent editions of their books. How cool is that?

The book itself really is a fabulous little starter for someone who wants to make their first batch of soap. It includes plenty of history, helpful hints, and most importantly: PHOTOS! Out of all four soapmaking books I currently own, this is the first one that has step-by-step photos of the entire process. It even has an actual picture of what trace looks like. This could have saved me from re-batching the very first batch I ever made back in November 2002! When I unmolded that very first soap, it completely crumbled. Figured out it was because I hadn’t actually stirred it long enough (I didn’t have a stick blender at that point). I ended up throwing it all back in my soap pot, left it in a warm oven for a few hours, and was able to mash it back into the mold. It turned out perfectly after that!

There are three different beginner soap recipes – including a palm-free one with reasons why some soapmakers choose not to use palm oil. She gives ideas of where to buy ingredients as well – although she lives in the UK, and most of the resources included are from there with a few others from various other countries. There is a glossary of soapmaking terms and a short section on troubleshooting. All very well put-together and easy to read. Only 44 pages!

If you would like to pick up a copy, these just became available for purchase in the U.S. at Amazon. (Click the photo of the book to purchase.) Or, if you would like a chance to win my copy, please leave a comment below with your reasons for wanting it. Perhaps you would like to make your first batch of soap and need more information, or perhaps you are a soapmaker who has a “friend” begging you to teach her and you would prefer to give her this book instead. Whatever it might be, I look forward to hearing about it! Comments will close Sunday night at 10pm CST, and I will select a random winner!

Disclaimer: I am NOT an affiliate of Amazon. I received the book from How2Crafts for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Prize includes three fall soaps and a small jar of Whipped Shea Butter!

Or you could win $50 toward a vinyl wall decal from Urbanwalls! This giveaway is open through Sunday, but there are ways you can add entries each day, so the sooner you get started, the better your chances! Please note that the giveaway is being hosted at The Reynolds Mom blog, so

Click Here to Enter the Giveaway

Prize Package!

The three fall soaps that will be up for grabs are: Cinnamon Apple Peach (yes, I saved one just for this giveaway – they are completely sold out otherwise!), Pumpkin Pie (also sold out), and Pepper-nut (not to be confused with Peppermint, this is the one that smells like a spicy holiday cookie!). I will post the link to the giveaway as soon as it’s available.

I’m planning to make several small batches of Christmas-themed soaps this week, and also nail down a good recipe for the solid bubble bars. I’ve mailed out shampoo bars to several ladies who have graciously agreed to test them for me. Can’t wait to get their results in a few weeks! I do have 8 more mini bars of shampoo if anyone else would like to test it – preferably in the U.S. Comment below, and I’ll contact you for more info.

Update: All the shampoo bars have been sent out! Thanks!!

Winning comment numbers

I had so much fun reading everyone’s comments for this giveaway!! It’s amazing how handmade soap has touched so many of your lives in really incredible ways. Thank you for sharing them with me! I thought you might like to read the comments from the winners:

comment 14

comment 18

comment 35

comment 57

comment 59

comment 62

Congratulations to the winners!! And thanks to everyone who participated! It was a hugely successful event!

By the way, I just made the Lily of the Valley soap available at Greatcakessoapworks.com:

Lily of the Valley Soap by Great Cakes Soapworks

Tomorrow is my older daughter’s birthday, so I may not be around much for a couple days! I actually have to clear off the dining room table a.k.a. my work space for the party! I know, crazy.

Secondly, I wanted to let you know about the Made With Love event, hosted by The Reynolds Mom. Ashley Reynolds, along with several other bloggers have put together a long list of sponsors who are giving away handmade items. Great Cakes Soapworks is giving away some natural facial care products, including one soap and one full sized Skin Glow Facial Moisturizer. You can see Ashley’s review of the Creamy Castile soap and the Skin Glow Facial Moisturizer as well as enter the Great Cakes Soapworks giveaway here. There are links to other giveaways as well. Go enter to win some prizes and please spread the word!

Huge Giveaway of Handmade Items

Oatmeal Stout Soap by Great Cakes Soapworks, photo by Cocobong

The soap is made with a rich, dark Oatmeal Stout from local brewing company Free State out of Lawrence, Kansas. (Notice the whipped soap on top!) The fragrance reminds me of oatmeal cookies, but with the subtle smell of hops.

Entering the giveaway is easy – just leave a comment telling me why you love handmade soaps and how you got started using them. Or if you haven’t tried a handmade soap, why you might want to! I’ll have as many winners as it takes to have a 1 in 10 chance of winning, or I run out of Oatmeal Stout soap!

Comments will close Tuesday, July 19th at 10pm CST, and I will contact the winners the next day. (One entry per household, please. Open to readers from around the world!)

Comments are now closed. Winners will be announced tomorrow!