Saturday, June 27, 2009

My Swirl Soap

I tried this soap swirling method from the Ellen's Essential website

Slab Swirl Slab Swirl
It looks a bit like mille-feuilles my mum used to make (without the pink, and the black was chocolate! LOL!). It didn't quite turn out like I expected it to, but if I don't think about it too much I can love this soap!! Here are the cut bars:
cut bars close up cut bars
It looks like cheesecake on the inside (though, not too sure what flavour the black stuff would be)

sides


I used the lid of an A4 box of paper which I lined with freezer paper. I undid the lid so the flaps would be on the outside. Which also makes it easier to line.
I think next time I'll try a simple two colour swirl. This one (though you wouldn't know) had three colours added to the cream base.

For the first time I used macadamia oil in a soap! It's considered a luxury oil! I can't wait to see if I see a difference!!

Other than that I'm signing up for a third month of boot camp training with Fit For Health it's been hard but fun. My plantar fasciitis is behaving itself, which is wonderful news after so many years of feet pain and not really knowing what it was. I had my cortizone shots almost two years ago (21 months) and it's still good, but I do have shin splints at the moment, mainly in my right leg, but while I walk while others jog and I shuffle (jog as impactlessly as I can) while others run, I figure doing what I'm doing is better than not doing anyting at all. I had a nice surprise yesterday when the lab coat I wear once in a blue moon at work (mostly during Winter months) buttoned around the hips! It had never buttoned up and the one time it did, it snapped as soon as I sat down! Now, the scales may not show much progress, but buttoning up a lab coat, that's exciting!!! (well to me anyway!)

I'm trying the Flock browser at the moment, and while it's a bit over my head with all the "social networking" aspects of it, I find it's great to add pictures to this blog, or to forums, really handy. I really love Maxthon as a browser as some of the add-ons are just fantastic, but it doesn't co-exist very well with Vista (I love some parts of vista, but there's other that make me cringe!!).

It's been almost a year since I've done any serious rubber stamping, and a bit less since I've done any serious polymer clay. Time just flies. I want to do stuff, but with everything else going on (just regular life stuff) and this soap making, and making my own shampoo, and not wanting to do takeout more than once a week -- it's our Friday treat, the girls get Maccas and Hubby and I get Subway (I get the healthy veggie one!) but the bonus is that one of the Woolworth's I go to (Woolworth in Australia is a food chain, btw, as is Coles, nope, not a bookstore chain here!! though they do sell magazines!!)... anyway, one of the Woolies here has coupons for Subway on the back of their receipts, so when I'm lucky and I buy enough stuff (read: Groceries for the week) I get one, sometimes two coupons for Subway. The coupon is "buy one 12" sub and a drink, get one 12" sub free" so, even though we never drink the whole drink, it's still a 2nd sub for the price of the drink, which is less than $3, so that's a really neat savings, and I don't have to make dinner, which is always very much appreciated on a Friday... they also have coupons for pizza and other things, but the Subway coupons is what we like!!!

Well, here you go, my soap progress, boot camp progress, and how to live frugally tip all in one!!

Oh, btw, Sulea, you won that soap a few months ago and I just remembered you never emailed me back, I'll go pester you on your blog, I have a nice selection to pick from now!!! :)


Images in this post shared with Flock - The Social Web Browser http://flock.com/

8 comments:

Pauline Laing said...

Ooo, I had Plantar fasciitis for a while - it made me sad! It finally went away by itself, which was interesting. If I'd known that might happen, I could have saved a lot of podiatrist visits!

Nice coupon work, too

Gail Kirby said...

I like the look of your new soap - it's pretty! Good job on the boot camp!

Julie H said...

This soap looks great - like so many of your others. I have been wondering, are you selling your soap or do you have a REALLY dirty family? haha
Seriously...
And congratulations on the exercise.
Was thinking the other day that you might like to unstamp stampgropers as so many of us do so much more now (soap, jewellery, collage etc) - um, artgropers, just an idea.

Anonymous said...

Yes, what do you do with all that soap? lol Congrats with the exercise, and the coat. Keep at it! Do some for me too, hahaha.

hazelblackberry said...

Hi France,

Been a fan of yours for a while and I think you were in my boot camp class this morning. I was going to come & say hello but wasn't sure and it was one of those days where I didn't feel like looking like an idiot. Hope to see you there again!

France said...

Oh no! That means I have to start going to early-bird bootcamp!!! (I sent you an email Hazel, hope you get it!!) cheers!

France said...

Oops, forgot:
Pauline: glad to hear yours went away, I had to have cortizone injections, in BOTH HEELS!!! one at a time of course!
Hi Gail! :)
Julies... we are very dirty :) and I have lots of showers since I started boot camp :) with stupid NICNAC laws, I can't sell soap unless I pay $381, and since I won't make $381 in sales I think it's silly, plus there's all the insurance side of it, what if someone uses my soap, gets it in their eyes and decide it hurts and they sue me? Or they have an allergy to the Fragrance used and they sue me, or they prefered being dirty and they sue me? LOL! Seriously though, most people who sell soap have liability insurance, and you need another type to sell at markets... I like to barter though, one lady gives me eggs, I give her soap.
Funny thing, whether I sell $100 worth of soap or $49,999 worth, the fee is $381, a bit unfair. Ok, off my soapbox now :) in more ways than one!!

7slaper said...

Hi France,
Wow, you are a busy girl :D

love your blogs and all the creative things you do.
Allways think that when you're allready busy anyway, you find time to do more!
You remind me of the times my children were as young as yours are now ;)

Awesome soaps and gifts!

Corry