My friend Stephanie used to have a soap business a while back and has quite the collection of supplies left over. We have been meaning to have a candle/soap/tart making night for a while but it didn't get to happen until this past weekend. Stephanie, Giffe' and I only had time to make some tarts, but it turned out to be a really fun night with lots of laughs and spills and fragrance soaked noses.
Stephanie eyeballed the wax formula: mostly soy with a dash of pillar wax and some kind of beads that helped to hold the scent. We followed the 2 ounces of fragrance oil per 16 ounces of wax. No idea if that is accurate. But it seemed to work. We colored and poured and had fun!
This bag of mush was me using waaaaaay too much fragrance oil. I combined Barber Shop, Enchanted Apple, Fresh Picked Apple, Very Sexy for Him, and Vanilla. I went wild. So this mush mash will go in the bathroom warmer. Lord knows it's strong enough to hold off a stink. It is heavier on the apples.
Stephanie filled these "bloody pumpkins" with Fresh Picked Apple and Creme Brulee. It reminds me of Apple Noel. I like it!
Giffe' created the blue flower by mixing Fresh Picked Blueberry and Creme Brulee, while she let her daughter Mia make the red one by combining Bubble Gum and Bird of Paradise. The blueberry is yummy and vibrant. Bubble gum and Bird of Paradise actually meld really well together! Scarlette will love this one.
This is me being fancy pants. And failing. I wanted to do the embedded blueberries but they just sat there on top. I let the wax underneath get too hard before I pushed them in. Ah well! The white base combines Cake Batter Ice Cream, Creme Brulee, French Vanilla and a teeny drop of Cinnamon Leaf. The blueberry molds are Fresh Picked Blueberry and Fresh Picked Apple blended.
The blue stars are robust. A knock your nose hairs out blend of Festival of Lights, Home for the Holidays and Cinnamon Leaf. That Cinnamon Leaf holds nothing back. My lips tingle just sniffing them in the bag.
This last blend is our Friendship Blend. We all picked one oil and color then blended them all together. Stephanie picked Dreamsicle, then Giffe' chose Twisted Iced Tea and I grabbed Bird of Paradise. The tea is the strongest and the citrus notes just add some fruity fun.
It was a fun night of playing around, staining shirts and cackling over the suggestive peach mold. We all know the real test comes when you melt them. But regardless, it was all just in fun. I liked being able to get a tiny glimpse into the life of a vendor. Kudos to them and all the hard work it takes to create blends, get the wax formula right, and the constant inundation of scents. My mind was buzzing with all the aromas. Totally overwhelming at points. I am definitely appreciative of the hard work it takes. Now I am ready to try my hand at soaps.
Fun! And oh how looking at those fragrance bottles takes me back . . .
ReplyDeleteI like your little blueberry one as it is. It's like berries on a cheesecake. And all of them look way better than my attempt at tart making years ago. LOL
~Deb
I bet they do!!! I want to start playing with fragrance oils and essential oils so bad now.
DeleteThanks!! It is still cute but not what I envisioned. Giffe' texted me is it still smelling good on day two! Woot! I was pushing those berries in and my finger prints made them bumpy so I took a hair dryer to them and it have them a smooth glazed look.
Yes I LOVE this post. I love making my own tarts and candles. I like to buy the fancy blends from the vendors and make basic stuff for myself. I know yall had a great time.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy soap making and working with lye isn't as scary as it may seem. I love it and have 100's of bars of soap. Happy crafting
Thanks Yasmine!!! I bet your creations are marvelous! How fun would it be to get together with all our online wax friends and make a pile of tarts?! I know what you mean by keeping the homemade ones more simple. The simpler ones seem to smell better.
DeleteI get so giddy thinking about tackling soap. What tutorials or guides did you follow?
I learned everything from soaping blogs and YouTube. Soap Queen and Soaping101 have excellent tutorials. Here's a list of a few bloggers http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/blog/best-soap-making-blogs/.
DeleteThank you so much Yasmine! I am
DeleteEnjoying watchable Soap Queen!
How awesome!!!!!!! I've been wanting to do that forever -- you rocked it! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy! It was such a fun experience! I hope you get to make some soon. What scents would you do???
DeleteHow fun; what a great post! I've always wanted to try making my own wax.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amanda! It was great fun! I hope you are able to dabble in it too soon. I am quite enjoying your blog. Hope you have a great holiday weekend.
Deletethis is AMAZING!!!! sounds like such a great night! I love the look of the blueberry one! very country chic!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was fun!!! The only thing missing was YOU!!!
DeleteHow fun! I think you all did a great job too! The blueberry one looks so cool!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun! But MNI are bound to be no matter what we do! I am ready for Tricia time MNO/MNI!!
DeleteYes we definitely need a night out or something!!!!
DeleteThat looks so fun, more wax parties should happen! Have you melted anything yet?
ReplyDelete