{"id":6160,"date":"2011-05-12T12:53:43","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T18:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatcakessoapworks.com\/handmade-soap-blog\/?p=6160"},"modified":"2017-09-19T21:02:38","modified_gmt":"2017-09-20T03:02:38","slug":"the-usual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatcakessoapworks.com\/handmade-soap-blog\/index.php\/the-usual\/","title":{"rendered":"The Usual"},"content":{"rendered":"

That’s what I’m up to lately. Nothing feels particularly blog-worthy, so I haven’t posted for a few days. <\/p>\n

Tonight I’m doing a 30-minute presentation for a small PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization)<\/a> group of ladies (one of my customers invited me to speak), so I made a small batch of soap yesterday so I could bring it along with me and cut it in front of them. Thirty minutes seems like a long time to talk about soap, but I’m sure it will go by fairly quickly. Also planning to bring other visual aids to make things more interesting. Here’s the soap I made:<\/p>\n

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Plumeria Pear Soap - looks like it overheated a bit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If nothing else, I can demonstrate what happens when you use a floral fragrance – it can overheat and create cracks in the soap and cause liquid to seep out (which should re-absorb into the soap as it cures). I can also tell that the fragrance may be a bit discoloring, even though the supplier claims it isn’t, since the pink is now more of a peach color. There are other colors underneath which shall be revealed in due time!<\/p>\n

While I was making a batch of soap for the presentation, I decided to go ahead and test the Honey Almond essential oil blend from WSP in a batch of goat’s milk soap. After reading reviews that the scent likes to disappear in the soap, I decided to use 1 oz per pound of soap and see how it goes. Still smells pretty strong as of today, but it’s still in the mold. We’ll see what happens once it has a chance to cure.<\/p>\n

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Honey Almond Goat's Milk Soap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I also made a custom soap ball order that I make every year for a customer in Pennsylvania. She orders ten Citrus Basil soap balls that are about the size of a tennis ball. I use my hot process method in the microwave<\/a> for these. They will look like this once they are packaged up:<\/p>\n

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Citrus Basil Soap Balls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week I was also asked to participate in another giveaway on Facebook. Remember the one I told you about at KDNovelties<\/a>? They are at 1993 fans, and the giveaway closes when they reach 2000, so it’s nearly over! It’s been a great way to network for me – I’ve gained at least 50 fans from it (I forgot to check how many I had when it started!). If you act quick, you can still enter to win the Gardener’s Dream Skin Care Set I’m giving away here<\/a>.
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Gardener's Dream Skin Care<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

The other giveaway I was asked to participate in is hosted by The Reynolds Mom<\/a>. She is going to run a similar giveaway on her page, only hers begins<\/em> when she reaches 1500 fans. Still trying to decide what I’ll give away for that one. <\/p>\n

Today I made another batch of Hand & Body Lotion<\/a> so I can scent some with the Honey Almond blend. I need to come up with at least one more all-natural scent blend for lotion, so if you have any stellar ideas, please let me know! I already have Stress Relief (mint\/eucalyptus), Lavender Meadows, and Grapefruit Parfait (grapefruit\/vanilla). I sold one of the Grapefruit Parfait lotions to the guy who came over to estimate a new roof for our house! Once he heard that I made soaps, he asked about lotions which he wanted for his super-dry hands. <\/p>\n

Ok, now I feel better about not posting. I guess I’ve been busy! What are you up to this week?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That’s what I’m up to lately. Nothing feels particularly blog-worthy, so I haven’t posted for a few days. Tonight I’m doing a 30-minute presentation for a small PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization) group of ladies (one of my customers invited me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,23,10],"tags":[589,588,590],"class_list":["post-6160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fyi","category-giveaways","category-great-cakes-soapworks-new-products","tag-all-natural-hand-lotion","tag-facebook-giveaways","tag-handmade-honey-almond-soap"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t