Two Soap Night

So, last night I had to take my partner to the  hospital for problems with depression.   This left me feeling pretty stressed out myself,  so I dealt with that stress by making soap of course.  I had run out of castor oil, so had to modify my normal recipe.  I had decided I wanted a purple color, so I used alkanet root powder.  I had not finished my infusion,  so I added half a teaspoon at trace.  

I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly everything worked out.  I used the fragrance oil Country Garden from Peaks Candle Supply.  The powder mixed in easily enough despite me spilling a fair amount on my stick blender.   The resulting soap turned a nice dark purple,  but that shade may change as the soap cures. 

The second soap I made last night was scented with Juniper Breeze.  I used green oxide and did an in the pot swirl.  This soap I poured into my PVC mold as my log mold was already being used.  I had done some rearranging in the kitchen and the place I normally used for keeping my mold steady had been removed.  I found a place to put the mold after it was filled, but did not know how to brace it to pour.

I then got the (not so) brilliant idea to hold it against the sink and brace it with my stomach.  I soon realized that holding the mold upright, pouring soap, and holding the bowl of soap batter is easier said than done.  I managed to get most of the soap into the mold without making too much of a mess.  I will likely post pictures of that one tomorrow.  I have taken it out of its mold, but still need to take pictures of it.

In other news, I got an order of essential oils in this afternoon.  It was only two essential oils (lavender and lemongrass), but they were both eight ounce bottles.  I also was able to put in an order with Wholesale Supplies Plus last night thanks to my friend Matt (aka Jethal from EverQuest 2).  So a big thank you to Matt!  I would also like to thank Elizabeth from the Soap Making Forum for all the help she has given me with the soap swap that I am hosting.  She has been great at keeping me on track and remembering the little things that I might otherwise forget.