Monday, June 28, 2010

Soap Stampin' #2


Consider this an addendum to today's previous post.  Here is my finished Heirloom Soapworks "Southern Illinois-Style Soap Stamp" -take that for what it is! : )  If you're looking for the "soap sophisticate",dahling,....she doesn't live here!

My honey mixed up some of his marine epoxy (his hobby is making duck boats)which he assures me will hold the letters well. I'm guessing that since it's waterproof, I will be able to scrub the soap off after each use, and hopefully prolong the life of the stamp. I guess I'll find out how it works tomorrow when it's good and dry.  I'll let you all know how it goes.

Happy Skin!

10 comments:

Ambra said...

I just love that look!

karen lee said...

Just came across your blog (via your comment on Jen's soaps on The Soap Bar Blog - sure you like to know how followers come across you!) and so enjoyed the last few entries and your soaps! Will work my way back...new to soapmaking (just made my first bars a couple of weeks ago - first batch ready next week!) so enjoy others experiences!

Jennifer Young said...

Becky, Wow! I just read your new home page on your blog... and I love it. I love your BAD BAR story and why you started. I also think you write very well and get personal... what a wonderful home page and I love the stamped-soap picture you put on there. Your belief in how great your soaps are comes accross... have you had an increase in sales since you changed it? I am waiting impatiently for your first Alkanet experience... one exciting thing... the colour of the alkanet steeped oil is not the colour of the mixing soap is not the colour of the soap after 24 hours incubation.... it is like one of those funky chemistry class experiments.... I am also making an alkanet soap hopefully today. If it turns out well, I will post pix. My Aloe Green Clay facial bar will be ready in 2 weeks.... I will let you know so that we can swap addresses! Your description of your soaps on your website is so wonderful, I can't WAIT to try your soap! xo Jen

TheSoapSister said...

Hi Karen Lee, and welcome to the fun, fascinating (and sometimes frustrating)world of soapmaking! Congratulations on your first batch of soap...isn't it cool when you mix the oils and lye and SOMETHING HAPPENS? It's good to hold on to that feeling of wonder and excitement...not always easy when you've made quite a bit of soap. Soapmaking is one of those things, much like a relationship, in that you get out what you put in. It can be wildly artistic or white-bread plain, same-old same-old or you can keep trying new things. I'm so happy that you've discovered soap making. You're going to love it! Please feel free to contact me here or through my website if I can help you in any way. Happy Skin! ~Becky

TheSoapSister said...

Hi Jen! Thanks so much for the compliment on my new home page! As you know, I like to read up on different subjects, (soap making, search engine optimization -SEO, etc.)and my latest subject is coypwriting. I felt that my writing was very "bleh", overly "wordy", and, well, I imagined my web page sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher! "Whah whah whah-whah." So, that's why I changed it & got more personal. (I do think people appreciate the complete transparancy...sales are up a bit since I changed it!)Thanks for the tips on alkanet! I plan on trying it today. I also have to make a double batch of Old Fashioned Lye for an order, so I'll force myself to do that first, with the "reward" being my playtime with the alkanet soap. BTW I absolutely LOVE the photo of your green clay soap! VERY LOVELY! Do you sell your soaps online? I tried to find them and couldn't. I really think you would sell a ton! Do you have a website? If so, please refer to it here & let folks know, o.k.? We gotta get you out of your day job! The world needs you soaping 24/7, girl! : ) Happy Skin! ~Becky

Jennifer Young said...

Becky, Your comments and enthusiasm are sooooo sweet. You are right I GOTTA get out of my dayjob. But as everything happens for a reason - the stress, responsibility and ambiance I have there has pushed me toward the business I am creating in my mind.... I just keep creating it. No web-site yet but I am close. I think for Jan 2011, I will most likely start the bus' officially. But do you know that to run a business here in Spain you have to pay the government almost 300€ monthly regardless of what you take in? Unbelievable, but true. So, I have to be sure of what I am doing. Can't wait to launch... but still in creating and perfecting mode.... and for some reason I feel rather secretive about it all... as if I am afraid someone is going to steal my ideas? Anyway, I will reveal when the time is right. How long have you been soaping full time? I am about to go off and try my Mediterranean Lavender soap with NO GOAT MILK. I have given up on goat milk and alkanet together... it just turns a pathetic sick looking greeny grey.... xoxo Jen

Jennifer Young said...

One more thing... I am glad you like the photo of Aloe Clay... I like the look of it too, EXCEPT - I am not sure I like the feel of the black (cocoa powder) line in the middle of the soap. It is like kindof hard. So, appearance versus use... hmmm... I hope you try the cocoa powder line, then try your soap and let me know if you like it. I think appearance is important but feel and suds and cleaning power and use is MORE important. I have a feeling you agree... xo Jen

TheSoapSister said...

Jen, In answer to your post, I am still working on getting to the "soaping full time" thing. I actually took a year-long hiatus in 2009. My Mom had back surgery, busy with my son's school, blah blah blah. Now that I'm back to the "business", sales are steadily increasing. Enough to keep me busy, but not overwhelmed. That works for me!Also, a piece of advice -keep your ideas secret! You won't regret it. While I was "off" in '09 I didn't keep my website up (big mistake), and someone actually registered "www.heirloomsoap" and talked about "Grandma's recipes" ...coincidence? I'm not convinced! (I've had the name Heirloom Soapworks trademarked for years, so this person is seemingly dancing on the line.) My point is that you are wise to keep your cards close to the vest!Secondly, I love that cocoa line in your soap! I've been thinking about using "all natural caramel coloring" that I bought some years for a customer's specific "chocolate soap" application. It didn't seem to affect the finished soap at all (you're right, the soaps use is #1 with me)so you may want to try some. If you lived close by I would give you some of mine, I have more than I can use! I'm planning to mix it in a little bit of soap and pour it as a super-thin layer, I think. I think I'll add this element to today's Alkanet experiment! Do you ever feel like something of a "Mad Scientist"? I sure do, and I love it!

Barrs By The Bay said...

hi Becky...i love the stamps. i too have been known to fiddle around with my labels (as you indicated before) and the thought of stamping each bar in lieu of a 'busy' label is appealing to me. anyhow, my ?? to you is this: would you be interested in taking some photos of the stamping process? i've made some pretty hard soap and cannot grasp in my mind how you can imprint each letter so clearly- at least not easily. thanks again for a great blog... glad i found you! christineps, etsy has some fantastic letter stamps if you do a simple search- prices seem way more reasonable, as well as an abundance of choices, than the local craft store. :)

TheSoapSister said...

I would be happy to photograph the process, but it ma be a bit boring...I basically just whack the stamp a few times -pretty hard, and that's it. (My "Old Fashioned Lye Soap" is the most difficult as it gets hard very quickly.)I'll get some photos & post them though. Thanks for the suggestion!