tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27170149592739182982024-03-14T16:25:22.600+00:00PURO SOAPSHandmade natural soap inspired by nature and created using the best ingredients.Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-55270028957831424832014-11-19T16:57:00.000+00:002014-11-19T16:58:39.805+00:00LOVELY NEW CHRISTMAS SOAPS AND A NEW ONLINE SHOP<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have got a new retail shop where you can buy our soaps easily and quickly. Please go to:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://shop.purosoaps.com/">Puro Soaps Shop</a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We currently have some lovely new Christmas soaps all cured and ready to go, we have re-designed our famous Puro Signature Olive Oil soaps which are now available in a lovely cube as well as offering some very new and exciting Portuguese inspired soaps.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnaNRk7kdjvywN-pGokHnY0FgTGMqu3uJxjJnCVdnlKCVQqQxL-BXSqwIWZvxsCxCjgPdnV1NoUkR_Gr2h6PXBnj9ia8I3o60QlFHwALICrrex4In9Kci0hdR0XMbVANa0DWVQEX1WlHr/s1600/purochunkies1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnaNRk7kdjvywN-pGokHnY0FgTGMqu3uJxjJnCVdnlKCVQqQxL-BXSqwIWZvxsCxCjgPdnV1NoUkR_Gr2h6PXBnj9ia8I3o60QlFHwALICrrex4In9Kci0hdR0XMbVANa0DWVQEX1WlHr/s1600/purochunkies1.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a> Puro Signature Olive Oil soaps</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictjk3wGpaJH-D6-9iR0pjm6JISlpIR5z7xqbdMzrbIu5t1ttFm-qVRrEjOWIWvCQSq8lJaRkAtpsA-vyPZJiJHAh3ibHXLH9SIVPMiVCSW0XY6HdtM3aFgB2-xhwBHuisUrJSIcA6dmE0/s1600/gingerbreadcc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictjk3wGpaJH-D6-9iR0pjm6JISlpIR5z7xqbdMzrbIu5t1ttFm-qVRrEjOWIWvCQSq8lJaRkAtpsA-vyPZJiJHAh3ibHXLH9SIVPMiVCSW0XY6HdtM3aFgB2-xhwBHuisUrJSIcA6dmE0/s1600/gingerbreadcc.jpg" height="280" width="320" /></a> cute new Christmas cupcakes</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-O07z67ciD7LqYIWhwnX75HCNshyMJZ47cz7Hmr_pZVoKv1y6KW5J-I9L8Ol1BEzfSkSTaeRwyehzg41V4fW9OHbM8DiO10mmlS0TAM97f0k9BeXshBCMlwqXEoOtHOGmRIRl4uHYf3Cq/s1600/snowballs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-O07z67ciD7LqYIWhwnX75HCNshyMJZ47cz7Hmr_pZVoKv1y6KW5J-I9L8Ol1BEzfSkSTaeRwyehzg41V4fW9OHbM8DiO10mmlS0TAM97f0k9BeXshBCMlwqXEoOtHOGmRIRl4uHYf3Cq/s1600/snowballs.jpg" height="320" width="265" /></a> Snowballs</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC268GgPx78UGKqtx63-cCp0OjWAwm7VB-aVo-bXeOpIVfClQEo8rWjnSlbL5BLeHLmnPxq5dsSMMlaYEy6LW4yvPfIk_S-SEeyHFFueHQ1xiLLSCl7y5kNEDNXZhsG4E1nAQvqbckBsM/s1600/Christmasmini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC268GgPx78UGKqtx63-cCp0OjWAwm7VB-aVo-bXeOpIVfClQEo8rWjnSlbL5BLeHLmnPxq5dsSMMlaYEy6LW4yvPfIk_S-SEeyHFFueHQ1xiLLSCl7y5kNEDNXZhsG4E1nAQvqbckBsM/s1600/Christmasmini.jpg" height="280" width="320" /></a> Christmas Mini Cakes</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTz7IC2z5-4Y7KIpUCPfRuO1PXyDEcm8rCprvnQVrlLQ4OJg3-nckKzAhmjWils9rZv2qTcNLPY7aIyThjLYXNPMsdvylzSZh6R9SqsxT5Lx7_N8-cxAOYlljtwAPu-GGF559JGxHH-Kb/s1600/Tileselction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTz7IC2z5-4Y7KIpUCPfRuO1PXyDEcm8rCprvnQVrlLQ4OJg3-nckKzAhmjWils9rZv2qTcNLPY7aIyThjLYXNPMsdvylzSZh6R9SqsxT5Lx7_N8-cxAOYlljtwAPu-GGF559JGxHH-Kb/s1600/Tileselction.jpg" height="261" width="320" /></a> Unique Portuguese Tile soaps</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMox3N6w25rC24CbOH5DpqwJSJFr2HvByEpNraiYbsYbxpdJBrU4bQqc-EUUH_-_CQti6afTuQCSbX1Kob3SZkObOw0hiy3rpmcEiFB2iU-x4Ig6s3rE8pzMoHkUI3WKU-IK1kzgiwWT1/s1600/Queijadas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMox3N6w25rC24CbOH5DpqwJSJFr2HvByEpNraiYbsYbxpdJBrU4bQqc-EUUH_-_CQti6afTuQCSbX1Kob3SZkObOw0hiy3rpmcEiFB2iU-x4Ig6s3rE8pzMoHkUI3WKU-IK1kzgiwWT1/s1600/Queijadas.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a> Portuguese inspired soap pastries</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAgL8MHAaxiUjzjqeFHqUvxzct2tfr44VgCnRfAj4ybzS8B9jxaieq9Q0gg7a1ijt7Jkg3ckDRNW0jynZpXRo-Bpc4dFPFp8sbmx0Vi_5pnEYaIJ9Ay5pryUfgu-sn6VWiVS3QykuErku/s1600/fishy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAgL8MHAaxiUjzjqeFHqUvxzct2tfr44VgCnRfAj4ybzS8B9jxaieq9Q0gg7a1ijt7Jkg3ckDRNW0jynZpXRo-Bpc4dFPFp8sbmx0Vi_5pnEYaIJ9Ay5pryUfgu-sn6VWiVS3QykuErku/s1600/fishy2.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a> Sardinhas! a pair of lovely guest soaps</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvDRPvH6hw9zPHsaICuUOq6FAjOaN5X3-TLlhTHqDdjTZ_CaOLO-_ZcstiB7JmujWfebVlch6kOXzCoLLfu5TMXDzrgVCeauCGzsQHZzK7B9TEJqRbUx3n-nbsjuqAzffefu8OGmO6VZF/s1600/candycane2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvDRPvH6hw9zPHsaICuUOq6FAjOaN5X3-TLlhTHqDdjTZ_CaOLO-_ZcstiB7JmujWfebVlch6kOXzCoLLfu5TMXDzrgVCeauCGzsQHZzK7B9TEJqRbUx3n-nbsjuqAzffefu8OGmO6VZF/s1600/candycane2.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a> Candy Cane</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jgQrHUm5iBpJDgvKQROVmc51WjkSwIQUocK5haoJFGCEmmzv-flZ2OUbq3feYhz-w4dYzdtML6bZi7o_UiyDD_JaTT4uZqB8D_KjBivviPEZhGzHX_5u1ufOYYOWbUKt4dZcrdRdu2zp/s1600/crosecupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jgQrHUm5iBpJDgvKQROVmc51WjkSwIQUocK5haoJFGCEmmzv-flZ2OUbq3feYhz-w4dYzdtML6bZi7o_UiyDD_JaTT4uZqB8D_KjBivviPEZhGzHX_5u1ufOYYOWbUKt4dZcrdRdu2zp/s1600/crosecupcakes.jpg" height="306" width="320" /></a> Christmas Rose cupcakes</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8rNzb7dSMxxAIy76HtgM77bxlEx39KIkbLjvfmZlNqynNfWzKx3uI6-nqy3bDbrMM41VkkIB29usnDAOCnChmjYteEj7pFfig_U0ctTjwwiU7_Duy6WHZbva4-pYUJnbcaA5Pz-Ljuie/s1600/Snowqueen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8rNzb7dSMxxAIy76HtgM77bxlEx39KIkbLjvfmZlNqynNfWzKx3uI6-nqy3bDbrMM41VkkIB29usnDAOCnChmjYteEj7pFfig_U0ctTjwwiU7_Duy6WHZbva4-pYUJnbcaA5Pz-Ljuie/s1600/Snowqueen.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a> Snow Queen</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBpeomBfV_BeS9wpThnPUa9u3R8j8mFN0ZPBIX2AVz0KXoUep65Yfvjulx_kQW_6y2Iz3WRMcYeJ_fX4LtPCMs3JxYpj2cl7An1qVKLFLafSIzmM1Xk8Y8VDGaArOxpsCRk88_s8yzMiP/s1600/Spicedgold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBpeomBfV_BeS9wpThnPUa9u3R8j8mFN0ZPBIX2AVz0KXoUep65Yfvjulx_kQW_6y2Iz3WRMcYeJ_fX4LtPCMs3JxYpj2cl7An1qVKLFLafSIzmM1Xk8Y8VDGaArOxpsCRk88_s8yzMiP/s1600/Spicedgold.jpg" height="312" width="320" /></a> Spiced Gold</div>
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Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-19656489699011797192013-10-02T15:24:00.000+01:002013-10-02T15:29:41.101+01:00Packing THAT CAKE!<br />
Yesterday I had the scary job of packing up my Skull Soapcake safely enough so it could be transported to its new owner in Germany. I have been so worried about this that I actually left the cake longer than the normal cure time just to make sure it would be as dry as possible.<br />
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The weather has been absolutely terrible here in Wet, damp and humid Devon with temperatures mostly above 15 degrees, even up to 19/20 but with torrential rain showers. The air is so damp that I have had real problems getting my soaps to dry out properly. Hence my trepidation.......<br />
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I decided to photograph the process, perhaps it might give me good luck, who knows?<br />
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Firstly I gently tucked a sausage of tissue along the outside of the lower tier then I covered the skull itself with a protective ring of tissue.<br />
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I then continued with the sausages of tissue covering the whole cake in its own protective turban, pleeeeeease let this work.<br />
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Lastly I wrapped the whole thing in a double layer of bubble wrap, then inside its own large box totally surrounded by my recyclable, non polystyrene chips.<br />
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I am sad to see it go, it has been living quite happily in our house as I have tried to get it as dry as possible, I will miss the bright colours and the lovely smell!<br />
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One great thing about making a totally unique custom soap like this is that often there are bits left over which can be incorporated into another design. I decided to re-vamp our Christmas Spice Cake which we are selling "by the slice" this season, I used some of the left over flowers which I loved. Not exactly Christmassy but a lovely seasonal red and merged with the holly and berries I thought it worked well. What do you think?<br />
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-3716246386280034182013-09-26T14:51:00.000+01:002013-09-26T18:05:43.645+01:00The Maddest Soap Cake I Have Ever Made!<br />
YES.... Here it is, I have never made anything quite as mad and crazy as this before and I must admit I like it.<br />
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My Harley Davidson Skull soap cake</div>
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And, for once, I remembered to take a few photos as it was being made, so here goes.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zmwkpGztruSOSGqNH_2KYEqEV9zjtJqjRps5TGOIfPa8ZrpPgEsZ-jqJk0-JH_rjuzzyzAR0zI3wPSqO6YvrGt_6bKQXnqHmjevKzEBWwTw2j5Mtz2fZoPlkVEXjff_tYfaQgUWipdXI/s1600/Scullcloseup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zmwkpGztruSOSGqNH_2KYEqEV9zjtJqjRps5TGOIfPa8ZrpPgEsZ-jqJk0-JH_rjuzzyzAR0zI3wPSqO6YvrGt_6bKQXnqHmjevKzEBWwTw2j5Mtz2fZoPlkVEXjff_tYfaQgUWipdXI/s320/Scullcloseup.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the skull in the process of being painted, a huge 200g skull of white cold process soap highlighted with burgundy mica</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Eo2dYLa1g2oLPQcYNUM5LpWSRXcnERi6zuz4f22BuLiv7asJP_s55lrR4Zb5xfNikCshwPBRn5YncLzs09n0ljJqg_WIh47Kc5SP673tMHx1Qv1U0XdGdI_H5w0wn3afIe5-vybJshZe/s1600/piped+poppies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Eo2dYLa1g2oLPQcYNUM5LpWSRXcnERi6zuz4f22BuLiv7asJP_s55lrR4Zb5xfNikCshwPBRn5YncLzs09n0ljJqg_WIh47Kc5SP673tMHx1Qv1U0XdGdI_H5w0wn3afIe5-vybJshZe/s320/piped+poppies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the piped red poppy flowers drying on little wax discs</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUosbqbfMtoT8Pat0Z8eNcpBMnOwBln4IhX6skzcPB_-J5pW0AZQX_QQQkyjUkBQT5GqFtsS_XBNygWsgq0ErzjH9NUTOoSqr-ThdcgpmsSjHHqOWGol0xW2FSpX9iFftyWJb8AdNsebI/s1600/logostart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUosbqbfMtoT8Pat0Z8eNcpBMnOwBln4IhX6skzcPB_-J5pW0AZQX_QQQkyjUkBQT5GqFtsS_XBNygWsgq0ErzjH9NUTOoSqr-ThdcgpmsSjHHqOWGol0xW2FSpX9iFftyWJb8AdNsebI/s320/logostart.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Harley Davidson Logo under construction, I wanted to write the whole thing but it was just too much to achieve freehand in soap so I decided to use the famous Harley flames instead</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZ1P8erFvKbazs0HBiHHpNg6tFhYMffXubJt27dBlgsGOjirF2MV3cFu2mjEq7ag9ZkeRQPQRLkq1LCDHHVaOdk-RykJupK3QpRzBq80LHq9SuDir9QGuXYONVPez6WXEJwG067uQjubB/s1600/base+cakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwZ1P8erFvKbazs0HBiHHpNg6tFhYMffXubJt27dBlgsGOjirF2MV3cFu2mjEq7ag9ZkeRQPQRLkq1LCDHHVaOdk-RykJupK3QpRzBq80LHq9SuDir9QGuXYONVPez6WXEJwG067uQjubB/s320/base+cakes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the two base cakes white cold process soap swirled with orange and black so hopefully each cut slice will look stunning</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I then put it all together with white piped icing, added the poppies, pearls and some small piped black leaves that I highlighted with Burgundy mica - this is quickly becoming my absolutely favorite colouring and highlighting product it is stunning. I am really happy with the results, a bit creepy but very eye catching. I just hope the client in Germany likes it!<br />
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Now for some more detail of the finished cake. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0C_3hVv0M-RKhyx73XIHBalYukagF_dEcdLhHpsTLctSlMOtnTv2aNa8BSfJpXxk-ep4R3JR6VaiMCmytBryYoyWEQ2ZRwDoYZab2RqVoZcVJbH6U7cvhRSaKEE_70zc7vrB5TKzCJHvc/s1600/cakecloseup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0C_3hVv0M-RKhyx73XIHBalYukagF_dEcdLhHpsTLctSlMOtnTv2aNa8BSfJpXxk-ep4R3JR6VaiMCmytBryYoyWEQ2ZRwDoYZab2RqVoZcVJbH6U7cvhRSaKEE_70zc7vrB5TKzCJHvc/s320/cakecloseup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafeUQLeDXBVn1QYrD_N7JclIRHKnIBzFOgVy1eIKf2WVzwMLtxPpZJJfoigBnsAvKCJFA5dqOFtasbTL6e2uF2wAhFxVJIfoOZ9oAyuKu_cnYxFHh2OktGy5l2SeE2J05xGejHzFjJJGs/s1600/scullcloseup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafeUQLeDXBVn1QYrD_N7JclIRHKnIBzFOgVy1eIKf2WVzwMLtxPpZJJfoigBnsAvKCJFA5dqOFtasbTL6e2uF2wAhFxVJIfoOZ9oAyuKu_cnYxFHh2OktGy5l2SeE2J05xGejHzFjJJGs/s320/scullcloseup2.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
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I hope you enjoy this project, please let me know what you think, leave a comment!<br />
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New Christmas soaps to follow soon.Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-26156648593662730592013-07-23T15:45:00.000+01:002013-07-23T15:45:27.999+01:00NEW Soapcake Minis<br />
Yes, pretty exciting really we have been waiting to get the time to trial some of these using a completely new technique which means we can make these little soaps in bulk without having to invest in lots of 4" silicone cake tins - thats even if you can find any for sale out there!<br />
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They have worked out really well, I only just put them up on the website and have already sold two! We designed them as a way of bridging the gap between our really successful but quite expensive 10" cakes and the much smaller standard cupcakes. These really are an affordable way of getting lovely cupcakes to sell either as wholesale or retail.<br />
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See how nice they look next to a full size cake....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUn4ujzwgeG3gvg1AsFlIqj-WDQJDp-lUzLmIkAkbDDiG2xUHPOGWDjQmguVsmie4QAt5gph2SnbXe7HoGbssFWRrUtkQMbFr-vYPtNJTsfAph9sVp502OHHCT6QGmjhrauDpez7mlJPF/s1600/All+soapcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPUn4ujzwgeG3gvg1AsFlIqj-WDQJDp-lUzLmIkAkbDDiG2xUHPOGWDjQmguVsmie4QAt5gph2SnbXe7HoGbssFWRrUtkQMbFr-vYPtNJTsfAph9sVp502OHHCT6QGmjhrauDpez7mlJPF/s400/All+soapcakes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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They can be fully customized, we can make to order and basically make any design, colour or fragrance required. All the soap is CP and the piping is all done by hand. We are looking into a way of personalising them (probably for a little bit more money per cake) which will make them lovely as a very unique wedding present for example. We could write the Bride and Grooms name as well as the date of the wedding on each one. As soon as we have images they will be posted. If you are interested in wholesaling our soaps go to <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=22">our wholesale page</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKoac8fl3r1y6fpuVe2o23MpmFo48aOsm899r1tW9i_U2FEHwjlwleJ7u2G_WTPfAYj3wmwX95f5lbn42Lh9GxoZz31P9ovg0gS0qcHprZW4cS8drrPk51G7HuAsalRoNNLL4as_p2DJw/s1600/soapcakeminigroup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKoac8fl3r1y6fpuVe2o23MpmFo48aOsm899r1tW9i_U2FEHwjlwleJ7u2G_WTPfAYj3wmwX95f5lbn42Lh9GxoZz31P9ovg0gS0qcHprZW4cS8drrPk51G7HuAsalRoNNLL4as_p2DJw/s320/soapcakeminigroup2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCN5FasZjLIjQOYPvbWzyudE-KizOY0CHW960xSVoi_PlNJwAcKzmj1dbIDCp19wW8U2LfodPirkbhZGCVmyyFaYAF74KcZbBtpntoGhm_VcLc01qbo-Z4t3u7rEg-xMwr_Z_WlNo5CMj/s1600/soapcakemini2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCN5FasZjLIjQOYPvbWzyudE-KizOY0CHW960xSVoi_PlNJwAcKzmj1dbIDCp19wW8U2LfodPirkbhZGCVmyyFaYAF74KcZbBtpntoGhm_VcLc01qbo-Z4t3u7rEg-xMwr_Z_WlNo5CMj/s320/soapcakemini2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Do let us know what you think also if you have any ideas for interesting decorations or styles. Thank you for reading our blog.<br />
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Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-21810007420771432452013-07-17T12:27:00.000+01:002013-07-17T12:27:57.204+01:00TEA TREE OR NOT TEA TREE? This is the questionOk now Im confused....<br />
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For quite a few years now one of my best selling soaps has been my Dirty Dog soap, designed for washing your dog with great natural ingredients and only essential oils and natural colour. The oils I use are Citronella and Tea Tree. Citronella because it makes the dogs coats smell lovely and fresh and bugs hate it, Tea Tree because I always understood it was a natural antiseptic, was soothing and helped to reduce skin problems.<br />
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Now it seems this is being questioned, sometimes quite alarmingly. Here are some links from the many I found on Google -<br />
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Against </div>
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<a href="http://www.dogster.com/forums/Dog_Health/thread/591270">Dogster.com Forum</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/tea-tree-oil/">Pet Poison Helpline</a></div>
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For - (with advice)</div>
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<a href="http://www.petmeds.org/petmeds-spotlight/benefits-of-using-tea-tree-oil-on-your-dog/#.UeZ7_4W5YUk">Pet Meds.org</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.manorvets.co.uk/pet-sub-sub/985-tea-tree/">Manor Vets</a></div>
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As a real dog lover I, of course, do not want to be in a position where I inadvertently cause any problems to any animals that have my soap used on them (many people use my soap to treat Horses with fly problems, its even been know to be used by a shepherd washing off his sheep's rear end!). I understand that problems occur with products that stay on the skin and potentially get licked off, thereby being ingested. But I dont want to take any chances at all so, a little sadly, I have changed the fragrance formula and gone for Lavender essential oil to replace the Tea Tree. Lavender is also soothing, calming, safe to use on the skin and smells great. I was unsure of the combination but, after cutting up my first batch, I am hooked, its really, really lovely.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1v1ERLJa96KNCYQMC5f4UhIJX8ekn4TEHo8dmSZ_KewcoF8mkYz4o0FJscF97QR5ecsxvOYN7-1DQQ_Gjw4P04NUH1IR9MUk0AoIKzt9tgKKOEa0hUyW7vU2uTx9-6HEghyPCc2ru5tI4/s1600/DDcloseup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1v1ERLJa96KNCYQMC5f4UhIJX8ekn4TEHo8dmSZ_KewcoF8mkYz4o0FJscF97QR5ecsxvOYN7-1DQQ_Gjw4P04NUH1IR9MUk0AoIKzt9tgKKOEa0hUyW7vU2uTx9-6HEghyPCc2ru5tI4/s320/DDcloseup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Isnt it funny, sometimes you are forced into a change, then when its done you wonder why you never made the change before?<br />
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-117315246589865032013-02-22T18:43:00.000+00:002013-02-22T18:43:54.906+00:00Trying to simplify and keep calmI just realised how long ago it was that I last posted, deep shame and embarrassment....<br />
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The only excuse I have is the busiest Christmas EVER! and the fact that I have been trying to recover and simplify ever since, well along with new soaps for Valentines Day and new Spring Soaps of course. So, today, just a few pictures for you.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSj4RgpAd0VVKzzIlbGX12nqKM4623gciL2QOvTzJADILx-Kc3t5Uf-lGce7XLGcUwmIR-iZegTwtbsfCiCuSXZNx6d-p6xbANhU6SkyLlS9DZe9Z8I-BZqcvu7Fb_u6G-qDgFdyeb5v5/s1600/MRosetop2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSj4RgpAd0VVKzzIlbGX12nqKM4623gciL2QOvTzJADILx-Kc3t5Uf-lGce7XLGcUwmIR-iZegTwtbsfCiCuSXZNx6d-p6xbANhU6SkyLlS9DZe9Z8I-BZqcvu7Fb_u6G-qDgFdyeb5v5/s400/MRosetop2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Marshmallow Rose top</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0JuO_TntNM4jWF3ryEtB74rziyjDrWZE7YMyEie2oYbzSHjV_-rWOSH8sj0G58-msAMPPYBm30gN-D-l5neTgAHfhD3ghGY7u-6BPM7HhPqy-FGzMZKg_yUBsQwoEuaeGAqFoG0kltoC/s1600/MRheader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0JuO_TntNM4jWF3ryEtB74rziyjDrWZE7YMyEie2oYbzSHjV_-rWOSH8sj0G58-msAMPPYBm30gN-D-l5neTgAHfhD3ghGY7u-6BPM7HhPqy-FGzMZKg_yUBsQwoEuaeGAqFoG0kltoC/s400/MRheader.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the same soap cut into bars</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYfEWQyOg5NoncDTutRgH80qwbqZ_7WP-pRE_W2TydV44AIPxzshDErysL-ptFLdhNsdff86cpX7SYYTBLkVtuOpUWPHMyPl8aKVpswh0aoX4diCmWkPMRKaf0H0Ta9NYOZ8NosFs5pnwx/s1600/JShead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYfEWQyOg5NoncDTutRgH80qwbqZ_7WP-pRE_W2TydV44AIPxzshDErysL-ptFLdhNsdff86cpX7SYYTBLkVtuOpUWPHMyPl8aKVpswh0aoX4diCmWkPMRKaf0H0Ta9NYOZ8NosFs5pnwx/s320/JShead.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruity and Juicy, with peppermint, 5 fold orange and Lemongrass</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKGiXtCrU_mjdB9sS3y-I-mlvfRVyDJSEh4ZrUUPufRCOpBJEkHuK4oPT0_EepFHgCThkWHCyFRSllu2YpmRxeqOL69cmOOrvFsB4L1hX-M-CehimYo5OdcoK9OrBHDGb3MPuX5OSJ3T3/s1600/G%2526Gtwo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKGiXtCrU_mjdB9sS3y-I-mlvfRVyDJSEh4ZrUUPufRCOpBJEkHuK4oPT0_EepFHgCThkWHCyFRSllu2YpmRxeqOL69cmOOrvFsB4L1hX-M-CehimYo5OdcoK9OrBHDGb3MPuX5OSJ3T3/s400/G%2526Gtwo.jpg" width="386" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ginger and Grapefruit made specially for a customer</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTim1W6YqrcABN6bQFpqGXAWUokVKOKTlZc0ePTGlz5i7jg74Kz1EIed4iDYNKn2weDR7cfv6aIGUMjsmh3SEYk3Ks8tAfFs_6k9uVj9PBu6Pnyi_8jYComMurj_bhvuExGDHbBLnkNqp/s1600/Honeybee20132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTim1W6YqrcABN6bQFpqGXAWUokVKOKTlZc0ePTGlz5i7jg74Kz1EIed4iDYNKn2weDR7cfv6aIGUMjsmh3SEYk3Ks8tAfFs_6k9uVj9PBu6Pnyi_8jYComMurj_bhvuExGDHbBLnkNqp/s400/Honeybee20132.jpg" width="388" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Revamped Honey Bee for 2013</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Lots more new soaps to follow but I hope you will forgive me, I have been busy honestly.....Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-40481597619298859432013-01-18T13:24:00.000+00:002013-01-18T13:24:04.847+00:00Happy New Year and Many Thanks to all our followers and friends on Facebook and Twitter.<br />
JoAnne Poskitt was our 1000th liker on our facebook page- and a little box of goodies is on its way to you JoAnne!<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/Purosoaps">https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/Purosoaps</a><br />
velagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-56791239757040021532012-11-07T18:27:00.001+00:002012-11-07T18:32:14.663+00:00Schwarzwaelder-kirschtorte in soap!<br />
Hi everyone, apologies for the lack of blogging lately, been really, really busy with lots of lovely Christmas orders. We have one or two new things for you all this year which are pictured below, before that though I wanted to tell you about a new soapcake I have just made. A lovely customer of ours from Germany sent me an image of the famous Schwarzwaelder-kirschtorte (Black Forest Gateaux to most of us!) and asked it I could possibly make it in soap. What a challenge! I so loved the look of the cake that I was really keen to make one myself, obviously with a bit of a Puro twist.<br />
this was the image I was sent, a truly beautiful cake and very inspiring.<br />
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So I started by making the base first. Chocolate fragranced soap swirled with vanilla. I created two layers and covered the first layer in cherry soap balls. You cant actually see this until the cake is sliced - I will try and remember to photograph that for you.<br />
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Then iced the sides of the cake with plain white icing soap<br />
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then the top - this is done with the cake on a turntable just how you would make and ice a normal cake.<br />
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The cake with added piping and the soap decorations, all made in advance.<br />
Soap cherries, chocolate fragranced balls and wafer sticks dusted in cocoa powder, chocolate curls made from old chocolate soap finished off with chocolate gratings.<br />
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Detail of the centre of the cake<br />
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The finished cake with added sparkle!<br />
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So that will be winging its way to Germany as soon as it is cured. I did make two so there will be some available for sale either on the website or at the various Christmas Fairs I am attending soon, you should also be able to buy slices at Darts Farm, Topsham. <br />
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Now a quick run down of the Christmas soaps on offer. Hurry up, they are going very, very fast this year!<br />
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<b>Christmas Puds</b><br />
Designed to hang on your Christmas tree or as part of your home decorations. They will make your house smell lovely and spicy and, best of all, you can use them afterwards! Great stocking fillers too. Click <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Christmas-pudding-soap-cupcakes-p/cp1.htm">here</a> to go to the website page.<br />
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<b>Gingerbread couples</b><br />
Absolutely adorable gingerbread people, again for hanging on the Christmas Tree, fragranced with the same lovely Christmas Spice smells. These little guys are sold in pairs, Mr & Mrs Gingerbread!<br />
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<b>Ice 'N Snow Cupcakes</b><br />
Beautiful fresh fragrance, reminiscent of a crisp frosty morning. Fresh, minty ice blue icing with a glittering snowflake of soap on top and sweet glittery stars studded around the side. Website link is <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Ice-N-Snow-soap-cupcakes-p/ice1.htm">here</a><br />
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Soapy Snowmen<br />
A lovely one for the kids, natural soap with no added chemicals or preservatives, each little snowman is made by hand with hand piped coal eyes, mouth and buttons as well as a really jaunty little hat and scarf. Comes in 3 colours which will be randomly selected for you. Visit the page <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Soapy-Snowmen-p/ss1.htm">here</a><br />
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And lastly our two soap bars especially for Christmas. <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Christmas-Spice-Cake-p/csc1.htm">Christmas Spice Cake</a> and <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Follow-The-Star-Christmas-Soap-p/fts.htm">Follow The Star</a><br />
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To see more of our soaps visit out website or join our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Purosoaps">facebook page</a>, this is where you will keep updated and find out about all our new soaps first.<br />
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Let us know what you think by leaving a comment, thank you.<br />
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-22833832347008579132012-10-06T12:08:00.003+01:002012-10-06T12:22:45.999+01:00Vindima! (grape harvest)It's that time of year again when everybody in the rural areas of Portugal are working hard on the 'Vindima' or grape harvest. As some of you may know we use my neighbours red wine in one of our soaps- 'Vinha doce' or 'Sweet Vine' which has recently been re-invented for this autumn with a beautiful grape and vine leaf detail<br />
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I love taking part in the picking and always try to set aside a day to help our neighbours. It's a really sociable occasion, usually with the ladies picking, and the men carrying the buckets of grapes up the steep terraces and into the press (which is in my neighbours garage).<br />
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Lots of banter, sometimes a bit of singing and no shortage of wine and food- usually a huge lunch and several breaks for a 'Bucha' (a plug or a mouthful!).<br />
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Red wine is full of anti-oxidants and makes a wonderful skin care ingredient, with regenerating and lather-boosting qualities, so it's a fantastic addition to soap and we can certainly say this one is made with passion!<br />
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<a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Sweet-Vine-p/sv1.htm" target="_blank">http://www.purosoaps.com/Sweet-Vine-p/sv1.htm</a> <br />
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Shelleyvelagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-42174875848523520242012-08-31T11:19:00.001+01:002012-08-31T11:21:36.538+01:00Summer Markets in Portugal<br />
We've been selling at a few of the local markets here in Central Portugal. Our soaps have been received really well and we've been lucky enough to be invited to several events and fairs.<br />
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Setting up in these beautiful settings is always a pleasure. We've been by the river at the organic market in Barril de Alva, under the amazing Plane trees at the Sandomil artisan market, and even the Botanical Gardens of Coimbra. <a href="http://www.uc.pt/jardimbotanico/">http://www.uc.pt/jardimbotanico/</a><br />
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We'll be back in Sandomil this Sunday so if you're local come and find us!</div>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mercado-Aberto-de-Sandomil/127156340743716">tp://www.facebook.com/pages/Mercado-Aberto-de-Sandomil/127156340743716</a><br />
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velagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-55341562109316714212012-08-16T12:29:00.000+01:002012-08-16T13:20:58.969+01:00PORTUGUESE PASTRIES AS SOAP<br />
Now this is an exciting project, one that we have been meaning to start for a long time.<br />
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As you may know we have two manufacturing bases for our soaps, one in <b>Devon in the UK</b> and one in <b>Lagares da Beira in Portugal</b>, we use natural Portuguese ingredients such as lovely golden olive oil in our soap and we love everything Portuguese. With this in mind we have been thinking about making soaps that represent one of Portugal's most famous exports - it's beautiful egg puddings and pastries.<br />
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The most famous of these is known as <b>Pastéis de Belém</b> or <b>Pastéis de Nata</b></div>
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It is believed that these wonderful little egg pastries were created before the 18th century by Catholic monks at the <a href="http://www.mosteirojeronimos.pt/pt/index.php"><i>Jerónimos Monastery</i></a> of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC7J6wzk9Us"><i>Santa Maria de Belém</i></a> parish in Lisbon. During this time large quantities of egg-whites were in demand for starching clothes (such as nuns' habits) and also for cleaning wines, such as Porto, in wineries. This meant that there were a lot of egg yolks left over so many Portuguese monasteries and convents came up with wonderful confections to use left over egg yolks.<br />
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This proliferation and adoration of sweet pastry recipes continues today and these sweet little specialty egg pastries are very famous. The recipe for these egg custard pastries is kept a close secret. Pedro Clainha, current owner of the famous shop <i>Aniga Confieitaria de Belém</i> sais "we still use the same recipe, only three people in the world know it" Security is tight and the master bakers make the custard and dough in a locked room. <br />
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Pastéis de Nata is the name given to the imitation pastries produced all over the rest of Portugal, they are not always as good but, when you get a good one, they are never to be forgotten. My absolute favorite sweet thing in the world! (Ishbel)<br />
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The adoration of the Pastéis de Belém is easy to understand after you have taken a bite. The shell is made from massa folhada, Portugal's equivalent to our puff pastry. It spirals up creating a nest of hundreds of crispy layers. Inside is a luscious, rich, warm custard sometimes with a thin blanket of powdered sugar and a tap of cinnamon on top - absolute heaven.<br />
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So, here at Puro love a challenge as you know, we now have lots of Portuguese followers and we thought it would be nice to create a soap that meant something to them, would make them smile and, most importantly would be a lovely, bubbly treat. Here they are, hot off the making bench, soon to be available on our website <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/">www.purosoaps.com</a><br />
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We hope you love the look of them too. There is still room for improvement, I think the pastry cases need to be slightly more coloured for that "just out of the oven" look and the toppings could be warmer in colour but they smell really lovely, a fragrant vanilla scent that will make your mouth water and your skin smell warm and delicious.<br />
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Let us know what you think and if you are Portuguese we would love suggestions of more Portuguese pastries and puddings that could be created in soap.<br />
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Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-78306338685461208422012-08-04T15:57:00.000+01:002012-08-04T15:59:54.832+01:00Soap Challenge - Final Thoughts<br />
I know its a while since we took part in the Great Cakes Soapworks Soap Challenge but we have just been so busy since then that there has been no time to blog again. I went off to Portugal early July and made some exciting summer cupcake soaps along with Shelley, we had fun, made lots of soaps and talked, talked, talked!! Its pretty hard running a business together when we live at totally different ends of Europe so when we get the change we spend as much time together as possible. One of the good things we were able to do was to look at planning a schedule for new designs and creations for the Autumn and Winter seasons so watch out, lovely new soaps will be coming soon.<br />
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Back to the Challenge. I thought it might be good to let you know what we got out of it. Firstly here is a line up of all the soaps created between the two of us<br />
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My thoughts - Ishbel<br />
I really, really enjoyed the challenge, it made me think hard both about my design ideas and pushing myself to make things that I had never tried before. A lot of the things we were asked to do such as making soap using milk we do all the time so it was tricky to follow the brief while still making it unusual and taxing. My favorite making project was the Jubilicious soap on week 9, the challenge was to make a soap with a textured top. This is something that we do regularly so I decided to give myself the task of creating a top that looked different and was an integral part of the overall design rather than just a rocky top. The design was based on the Jubilee celebrations in the UK, I waned to create a red, white and blue soap topped with a matching crown. The scent of this soap is fabulous too, Lady Grey tea, bergamot, lemon and orange, its refreshing and sweet at the same time and I love it! Im definitely going to push to get a soap with this scent combo in our main range.<br />
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My most technical challenge was piping soap roses (week 3), not only was it a challenge to produce the actual roses, I made my first Puro video of it too! A difficult thing to do but I have been practicing since and it is paying off. Our first Piped Rose Soap Cake is about to go off to one of our wholesalers in Germany.<br />
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So I feel like I have put my new skill to good use. Thanks to Amy Warden for organising this wonderful event, I hope we can take part in another one, but not for a while!!!<br />
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My thoughts: Shelley<br />
I loved the challenge too! Not only did I learn new skills which I probably wouldn't have got round to trying- like making a landscape soap (not as easy as it looked!), but I also learnt new techniques from seeing the ones Ishbel made. The faux funnel swirl that Ishbel made in week 6 got me hooked, and has been my latest favourite swirling technique. I also really enjoyed doing the gradient layered bar- not sure I'll be repeating that one too often, as its quite time consuming, and I think I'm more of a fan of the crazy swirls than the controlled layering - but it's a great technique to have mastered!<br />
My favourite soap challenge of all was the fragrance blend of week 5. I had to do a bit of homework with this one. After learning all about the theory behind blending essential oils, and a rummage through my left over stocks of Essential Oils, I came up with a blend which just produced the most beautiful soap. Unfortunately I don't think it will be included in the range as it was incredibly expensive to make- but who knows!<br />
I'm off now to have a play with the icing technique Ishbel used on the cake above- all these ideas, that Amy encouraged us to try, are not only inspirational but addictive! ;-)<br />
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-6325151956825790612012-06-27T19:34:00.000+01:002012-06-27T19:34:44.220+01:00Natural Soap Cupcakes, new designs coming soon<br />
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Just a quick post to let you all know that our Ice cream summer range of <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/cupcakes-made-of-natural-soap-s/36.htm">soap cupcakes</a> are now available on the website and for <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Wholesale-s/22.htm">wholesale</a> orders. <br />
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they look great and smell even better<br />
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Also we have been playing with some more ideas for summer cupcakes, some lovely floral ones. We have just added them to our cupcake photo album on our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Purosoaps">facebook page</a>, do please go and have a look and see which ones you like best. We still have not decided which we like and may come up with some more too, these are a start!!<br />
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Just to give you an idea..........<br />
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As you know, we love comments so please do let us know what you think.<br />
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-9021552741218367032012-06-11T15:33:00.000+01:002012-06-11T15:34:18.032+01:00Banana Cream Soap Challenge<br />
Shelley and I really are quite sad, this is the last of the<a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/"> Great Cake Soapworks</a> soap challenge, we are a week late posting, but here is the last of our new challenge soaps.<br />
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Our challenge this week was to make soap with natural ingredients. Well, again, this is a bit strange for us as we always use as many natural ingredients in our soaps as we can. I decided to try a fruit pulp soap as I have never made one of these, I also wanted to give my soap embellishment skills an additional boost by trying something I have never done before. So, as a combination of new skills, I felt this was suitably challenging!<br />
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I decided to use bananas, mainly as we have a new banana fragrance oil that I use to make Puro Soaps Banoffee ice-cream cupcakes and it smells yummy. In addition we use a banana soap slice on each cupcake (see above), I normally hand paint each one and wanted to try a technique that would give us an endless supply of slices.<br />
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If you have ever got interested in making things out of polymer clay, you will probably be familiar with the technique of Millefiore, it is also often used to create beads and interesting jewellery. Essentially you start off with a large version of the form you want to create and stretch it, sounds easy doesn't it? How to make it in soap though? The object is made as a short fat cylinder, much bigger than you finally want and stretched one way to alter the dimensions and make the object appear much smaller than you originally started off with. The pattern should also appear when the lengthened cane of soap is cut through at any point along its length.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My banana model in the background and the three different colours of soap needed to make a banana cane</td></tr>
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So I got on with it and made a fairly successful cane of banana, not quite as accurate as objects made of polymer clay but I think that is because soap has very different properties. It took quite a long time so Im not sure how time saving it would be in the long run but I did enjoy the task.<br />
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then I put the soap together and made this video whilst doing it.........<br />
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When cut up the soap was very strange, it was seeping a bit of oil (definitely not lye - I think it was vitamin E) and along the length between the white 'cream' soap and the tan coloured 'banana' soap there was a strange cave-like structure which I have never seen before. I have no idea what this is or how it was created but overall I am very happy with the finished result. The soap itself is very, very creamy with a rich double cream like lather, it smells really good too. It came out of the mold quite wet, not actually sticky, but feeling heavy and wet. I put this down to the banana pulp adding weight and moisture to the soap mix. It is already curing nicely and has an interesting speckled finish as well as the strange cave effect. The oils have all been re-absorbed and it seems pretty solid and stable. I'm really looking forward to using it.</div>
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All that remains is to thank <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/">Amy Warden</a> for organising this brilliant Soap Challenge, I know I speak for both myself and Shelley when I say how much we have enjoyed it. I think what it has shown us is that there is never any end to what you can learn and how much you can push yourself with the amazing craft of natural cold process soap making. We hope to still be challenging ourselves in many years to come!!</div>
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Check out this <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/index.php/kudos-to-the-soap-challenge-survivors">link to Amys site</a> to see other soapmakers challenge results, you will be amazed. Unfortunately this blog was a little to late to get into the week 11 line up but there are lots of superb soaps there to look at. We are planning a photo modeling shoot for all the soaps we have made during this 11 week marathon, so watch out for that.</div>
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Please, please let us know what you think of our latest creation, pass on the site and make sure you sign up to our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Purosoaps">facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/purosoapclub">Twitter</a> pages, this is where you hear our news first.</div>
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thank you for following us......</div>
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Ishbel and Shelley</div>
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-5673322741295828622012-05-26T11:21:00.002+01:002012-06-02T11:48:51.977+01:00Serra da Estrela Landscape Soap<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is Week 10, and the penultimate week of the current <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/"><span style="color: #015782;">Great Cakes Soapworks</span></a> Soap Challenge organised by Amy Warden.</div>
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I personally think this has been the most challenging one yet!</div>
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I thought I'd have a go from Portugal, as again Ishbel has more experience of making Landscape Bars in the past, and I wanted to have a go at a Portugal inspired Landscape bar.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dhJL501GiJnrRITPMGsCzUhSR-Dqzt3bBr49KxLHMJvy8RuVgcuF8GBKrLY6YAi0zzgBN8hQqw7aULci7L8Vuqs7z010dm3VfHqooTGHsIez3nI1RFuZehbpGsqlp16vQweDdMjpTEk/s1600/pupsncakesnstuff+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dhJL501GiJnrRITPMGsCzUhSR-Dqzt3bBr49KxLHMJvy8RuVgcuF8GBKrLY6YAi0zzgBN8hQqw7aULci7L8Vuqs7z010dm3VfHqooTGHsIez3nI1RFuZehbpGsqlp16vQweDdMjpTEk/s320/pupsncakesnstuff+022.jpg" width="320" /></a> So, all these photos are the inspiration behind my soap bar. First of all I wanted to create the rock of the Serra da Estrela- which is our local mountain range, a National park, and is the highest range in Portugal. I did this by piping a lumpy rock through the middle of the soap loaf.</div>
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Then I wanted to give a layer of the pine forests- so I added a green with some dried crushed parsley to give texture. Followed by the lush green pastures- so this was a very slightly lighter plain green.</div>
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Then I sat in the Portuguese sun- (i mean I sat a bright yellow tube of soap sun into the bar- I didn't have time for sunbathing at this point!)</div>
These bottom layers were fragranced with all the smells of The Serra da Estrela- Pine, Eucalyptus, some cedar and the wild herbs of Bay and Rosemary.<br />
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Above the sun I wanted to create the wild amazing skies that we often get here- I swirled Orange, Pale yellow, white and a deep grey-blue red and scented it with the fruity floral scents of Portugal- Orange blossom and Citrus.</div>
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So..... here's the final soap.</div>
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It has the boulders, the green forest, the sun and the colourful sky.</div>
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I'm really happy with the result - it was a tricky soap to make, but I think it needs refining. It reminds me of a childs painting- and although clever (it is soap after all!) I would like to make it more sophisticated. (It also reminds me a bit of something from the Expressionism art period!) Perhaps I need to simplify it- take one element- the mountains for instance in more subtle colours- I'm not sure!! Let me know what you think!!</div>
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However I do know its going to be a fabulous soap to use- it smells wonderful and has the usual lovely local Portuguese ingredients- my neighbours Goats milk and our local Olive oil. </div>
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This is the double bar before I cut it in half.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCC44CvJM9QjFRmT4KJVw9PCJL8BF1KccCbpTYvbw3zrf1pHD0iKU6dbX1AJIGSregi169T4XsmMVyU4h3p2AcBQNjXCq9jmECi5SbVj9NXQAVGPfmVragxojGf-P8vomnVPrwI1omLhM/s1600/alandscape+024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCC44CvJM9QjFRmT4KJVw9PCJL8BF1KccCbpTYvbw3zrf1pHD0iKU6dbX1AJIGSregi169T4XsmMVyU4h3p2AcBQNjXCq9jmECi5SbVj9NXQAVGPfmVragxojGf-P8vomnVPrwI1omLhM/s320/alandscape+024.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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This is the final bar.</div>
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Again. another brilliant challenge- and again I can't wait to have another go and refine another new skill I've learnt!</div>
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Shelley</div>
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<br /></div>velagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-85098536718216749922012-05-17T20:04:00.001+01:002012-05-17T20:04:40.034+01:00RED, WHITE & BLUE - LADY GREY NATURAL SOAP<br />
So, some of you may have noticed a couple of small little things that are going on in the UK this summer? No? well let me tell you....<br />
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Firstly its the Queens Diamond Jubilee, a pretty major happening here. The main events take place between June 2nd and June 5th although there seems to be things planned all year, even 'The Archers', Britain's longest running soap, on Radio 4 is hosting a special event to celebrate. This is the official <a href="http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2011/AnnouncementofplansforthecentralDiamondJubileeweek.aspx">Website of the British Monarchy</a> for those of you who might be interested in finding out more about this Right Royal Event.<span style="background-color: red;"></span><br />
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Then there is the <a href="http://www.london2012.com/">London 2012 Olympic Games</a>, now surely that could not have escaped your attention, many visitors will be coming over to the UK and the country is due to be plastered in Red, White and Blue Union Jack flags along with a complete take over of TV, radio and newspapers. There are bound to be lots of exciting stories and many records broken. The dates for this event are the 27th July until 12th August, now while some residents may be using that as an excuse to escape the madness and leave the country, many will be staying for the fun and parties, oh and to watch <a href="http://www.teamgb.com/">Team GB</a> of course.<br />
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Why is all this relevant? Well, as part of the <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/">Great Cakes Soapworks</a> soap challenge (this is week 9 already) I decided to do something that would celebrate both events in some way as well as fulfilling the challenge brief and trying something new. This is <b>Ish</b> by the way!! I know it gets a bit confusing as there are two of us making soap for <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/">Puro Soaps</a>.<br />
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So........... <span style="color: red;">Red</span>, <span style="background-color: black; color: white;">White</span> and <span style="color: blue;">Blue</span>, had to be the colours for this soap really didn't it?<br />
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Did you know the Queens favorite tea is Earl Grey? and, those of you who know Shelley and I, know that we cannot function without tea, tea and more tea, so I decided to create a special Earl Grey tea fragrance (natural of course) for this soap.<br />
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I remember seeing a wonderful Twinings advert for 'Lady Grey' tea with the fabulously English and gorgeously sexy <a href="http://www.nigella.com/">Nigella Lawson</a> (see below) and that got me going.<br />
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Earl Grey tea is china tea which has added bergamot, Lady Grey is a lighter alternative with infusions of lemon and Seville orange peels, a more sophisticated tea I think (I like both). So to create this scent I used essential oils of Bergamot, 5 fold Orange and Lemon and mixed, it smelt exactly right in the pot, I just hoped it would survive the rigors of cold process soap and smell as good in the soap.<br />
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The challenge for week 9 was to create a soap with a textured/peaked top. Ha, well we already do this most of the time so my challenge was to create a peaked top that represented the Jubilee (by looking like the Queens Crown) as well as being slightly individual for each bar. When we make our soaps we use large wooden molds which are double the width of our finished soap bars, this means that not only do we cut our loaves of soap across to create slices, we also have to cut them in half again to create the individual slices. In practice this makes it quite hard to create an individual peaked top for a single bar. So I set myself the task of doing just that. Here goes.......</div>
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I got my usual recipe mix ready, brought it to a light trace then divided it up into 3 jugs for the colours. I used natural pigments for this, Ultramarine blue and Red Oxide as well as Titanium Dioxide for the white. I decided to layer the 3 colours fairly thickly, retaining a little bit of each to do thinner layers on top of the loaf. I hoped this would mean that when I started working the top texture I could draw the thin layers up together to create red, white and blue peaks. It sort of worked!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtudnXREGqgwEAQ7qPfX-_3F2kjzAnZ1EL7zeuD7sSHykP0hHm7txr25fgBaIIV8Mlhb_uJFwavZlel8PH3PhdAJV0b4JI45C2Fz7zLYnfHvU-bsKdZGvDdDaTBY8y3FMdHtKQbD4-3iy/s1600/starting+top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOtudnXREGqgwEAQ7qPfX-_3F2kjzAnZ1EL7zeuD7sSHykP0hHm7txr25fgBaIIV8Mlhb_uJFwavZlel8PH3PhdAJV0b4JI45C2Fz7zLYnfHvU-bsKdZGvDdDaTBY8y3FMdHtKQbD4-3iy/s320/starting+top.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Remember, I also wanted to create an individual, crown like peaked top on each bar to represent the Queens Crown and the Jubilee. So the finished loaf looked like this...</div>
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A little sparkle of glitter and then the overnight wait for it to set up. Here is another close up of the peaked effect before cutting</div>
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The next day I got the soap out of the mold and the scent was fabulous, it really does smell like Lady Grey tea, a light, fruity scent with the distinctive bergamot tones over the top. Then I set it up, ready to cut and went for it.</div>
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I was pretty happy with the first thin cut end piece. The colours are not quite as bright as I wanted but they have actually darkened a bit now 2 days later so I am hopeful they will not fade at least. Oh but the smell, it is so lovely, I had to stop and make a cup of tea!<br />
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Cutting the final bar, and the division has worked! That was really the most important result for me in this challenge, to end up with a bar of soap that had its own individual, crown like, peaked top. Here is a close up, you have to use your imagination a bit, but I do think the top does look a little like a crown, the glitter helps.<br />
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And here are the finished bars in all their Jubilee/Olympic/tea glory! Now all we need is a name for this soap, can you help?</div>
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The best suggested name will receive a free bar of this soap as soon as it is ready. It will be judged by Shelley and I and the winner will be announced on our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Purosoaps">facebook page</a> and via our new Twitter account <a href="http://purosoapsclub./">@purosoapsclub.</a> (please do follow us on Twitter)</div>
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<b> Please note, sorry but due to postage costs, this offer is only open to UK and EU residents.</b></div>
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Please add your name suggestion to your comments on this blog post - you know how much we like them! You could also leave your name suggestion on our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Purosoaps">facebook page</a> too.</div>
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Thanks for taking part, and thanks, as always, to Amy Warden for organising this great event. The next challenge will be made by Shelley in Portugal, it is to create a landscape soap - very exciting!<br />
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-675338497722557242012-05-12T09:50:00.000+01:002012-05-12T12:29:20.080+01:00Salt BarWe're on Week 8 of the soap challenge set by Amy Warden of <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/"><span style="color: #015782;">Great Cake Soapworks</span></a>.<br />
This week it's a Salt Bar, and it's ....made in Portugal! (Shelley).<br />
The reason I'm doing the challenge again is because Ishbel has already made salt bars and had a lovely one in her range previously, so I just wanted to have a go really! Only one problem- I have never seen a salt bar, used a salt bar or made a salt bar, so I have apsolutely no idea what it's supposed to turn out like!<br />
Ishbel passed on her recipe to me- it was basically about 66% Coconut Oil, 11% Castor Oil, and about 22% Palm Oil (we dont use palm oil in any of our ranges any more, but i have a small amount of old stock- it's organic and sustainably sourced from a small RSPO approved producer).<br />
I used about the same amount of salt (ordinary fine table salt) as coconut oil (it seemed like alot!) and more fragrance than I would normally add- around 6% fragrance to base oils (we usually use 3%).<br />
Ishbel instructed me to add the salt to the melted oils and mix well, and then add the fragrance, and finally the lye mixture (I just used water for this)- it took a while to trace (surprisingly) but was a gorgeous consistency. I chose a fragrance of Bay Rum, and Peppermint Essential Oil- (the peppermint being the major part), and coloured it with a pale bluey sea green. The whole room took on an amazing aroma- the peppermint being so zingy and invigorating!<br />
I was intending to do a small loaf mould- and add a layer of ground dried seaweed I had found in my box of goodies, but in a last minute change of heart I poured the mixture into chunky heart moulds and left them plain!<br />
So here's the result- sorry there aren't more photos- my hubby has had the camera with him for the last few days, so I was unable to photograph the making process. Also these photos don't really show the colour very well- it's a lovely pale duck-egg blue/green.<br />
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I'm still uncertain if it's how it should be- I have to admit I imagined a more glassy bar. I will have another go with this method, but add more dimensions- maybe include some botanicals and layers of colours, but I really wanted to strip it down this time and keep it simple. Can't wait to see the other results of the challenge- I've been making soap for several years now and the challenges have shown me there's still loads to learn! It's been a brilliant process- thanks Amy, and thanks to everyone else who's taking part and giving everyone such positive comments and encouragement every week.<br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;">A quick P.S!</span>i just wanted to add- i've just tried a little bit of this (it should be cured first- but I was curious!) and it does turn very smooth and glossy once it is in use- the only thing I wish I had done differently is added some texture - I feel like it should be scrubby! Overall I'm impressed (and converted- i was dubious!) and I love the peppermint- I will definately be doing a new and improved version soon!<br />
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<span style="color: #073763;">Shell</span>velagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-22171715260879726282012-05-05T10:21:00.003+01:002012-05-05T12:37:20.550+01:00Gradient Colour Soap!We're on Week 7 of the soap challenge set by Amy Warden of <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/"><span style="color: #015782;">Great Cake Soapworks</span></a>- Gradient colored soap! This week it's ....made in Portugal! (Shelley)<br />
I've had friends here from the UK for the last week so I thought it was a good opportunity to invite them to join in, and make a really fun bar which they can take back as a souvenir of their trip! Plus it's been raining all week so what's better to do when its grim outside- make soap!! <br />
Some of our soaps do have simple layers in, but not quite to the degree which we have been asked to do in the challenge this week!<br />
We've used our usual recipe which has lovely Portuguese olive oil and Goats Milk (this time from my neighbour Glorias goat!), but we only made a small 2lb/1kg loaf sized batch.<br />
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My friend Kate chose the fragrance we would use- it's called Tropicana, and it's a lovely blend of fresh tropical fruits- papaya, succulent peach, crisp melon, dry pear and strawberry. This immediately made us want to choose bright, fruit-inspired colours, and feeling brave we thought we'd do two colour gradients- red/pink and yellow/orange. The only problem was I couldn't remember if it was fast tracing so we made sure the temperatures were low and kept the soap in a very liquid state!</div>
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We started off with the bright red at the bottom (which actually came out a fabulous hot pink!) and whizzed up each layer just before pouring it, so we wouldn't be waiting too long for the layer to set. We added the titanium dioxide and made paler pink layers, and then we went onto the orange layers, which we did in reverse- so we started with the pale creamy yellow and then a bright yellow, and then an orange (i did add a little bit of red to the very last layer to get a good papaya colour!). </div>
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I just couldn't wait to turn the soap out the next day to see how it had worked- and was so pleased with the result- i LOVE it!!</div>
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Amy's soap challenge has really pushed our soapmaking skills and I can't wait to try this technique out again!</div>
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The finished bars cut and stamped with our logo</div>
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If you want to have a look at all the other challenge results please visit <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/index.php/soap-challenge-week-7-link-up/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #29aae1;">this page</span></a><br />
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Shell</div>
<img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFM9IJdIoc7kfPZRZFke7sgL3tTlZWnMrzFlrO9m_11Ra4gndgz7IHBeH7yaNpac-OCAFWG2dZwmBHd8oi6_D6_ixryjOlDM873QcyRrL-LM6e5g8oahank4YOEIIMIsWDnlgMX6_tL8/s320/designs+010.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 335px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 976px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" />velagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-28670813653536995872012-05-03T19:57:00.001+01:002012-05-03T19:57:47.899+01:00Cutting Bridge Inn Beer Bar natural soap with new wires on the cutter<br />
I did promise after the last video that I would remember to order new wires for my old and well used cutter. The problem I have found with it, and I know others in the soap world have too, is that wire cutters work very differently from knives when it comes to cutting soap.<br />
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If the wire is fairly thick, mine came with 2mm stainless wires fitted, they do not actually cut the soap bars, they seem to push curls of soap out of the way on their journey through your soap loaf. This leaves a rough, kind of bobbley surface on the finished soap bars, which does not look nice and means you have to scrape the soap off before packaging.<br />
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I got fed up with this so I investigated the thinnest wires I could use on my cutter and ordered stainless steel guitar E strings from Amazon. Now they come very cheap (£1.24 for a set of 5) so I ordered 3 sets thinking that I was bound to break a few when setting up the cutter.<br />
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In fact I only broke one, carefully tightened the others and this video shows you how good the result was. I am thrilled, I can't tell you how much nicer, and quicker, it is now to cut a huge loaf of soap up. These Bridge Inn Beer Bars (a big favorite here in the UK) are going to look so good in our new boxes too, I cant wait to see them.<br />
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Our new packaging is looking really great. We have new boxes for our soap bars:<br />
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and lovely new cupcake pods which should really protect them as well as allowing customers to see how beautiful they look.<br />
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So, as always, let us know what you think of both the new video and our packaging. We really love to hear your comments. Please feel free to share this too. You can visit our new <a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdl5_BBTLTUXiRBMObiWOZQ/videos">You Tube Channel </a>and if you do please be sure to subscribe. We hope to be making many more.<br />
IshbelXXX <br />
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-91828179540600901772012-04-28T20:04:00.000+01:002012-04-28T20:05:47.586+01:00Swirly Wurley Psychedelic Sixties Soap!!<br />
Strange title but true.. This is Week 6 of the Soap Challenge organised by Amy Warden from <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/">Great Cakes Soapworks</a>, I cant believe we have already got to Week 6 and there are now over 90 soap makers across the globe taking part, what a fabulous soap making party we are all having!!<br />
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Seriously, the challenge has been great, testing skills, making us think and, most of all, great fun. The best thing for both us as makers and you (I hope) as watchers is that it is to continue. So below are the next few dates and the challenges we have to rise to:<br />
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Week 6 (starting April 22): Faux Funnel pour soap<br />
Week 7 (starting April 29): Gradient colored soap<br />
Week 8 (starting May 6): Salt Bars <br />
Week 9 (starting May 13): Peaked Tops<br />
Week 10 (starting May 20): Landscape soap<br />
Week 11 (starting May 27): Making soap with natural ingredients<br />
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As before, we make the soap during the week and then on Saturday Amy posts the link to which we post our photos, videos, blogs etc.<br />
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So, what have Puro Soaps done this week? We have decided to split the challenges up, as we did before. This gives us both the chance to play and expand on our skills. Week 6 was Ishbels week...........'made in Devon'<br />
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Well the challenge was to make a soap using the Faux Funnel technique, don't ask, if I tried to explain this to you I would be here all week! So instead I have made a video (with the help of my lovely son <a href="http://ember-threads.blogspot.co.uk/">Ryan</a> who is an excellent graphic designer), both of the making and then the next day cutting so you get to see the whole process and the final bars of soap. It is shorter than the last one, honestly. I hope you stick with it and watch until the end, the music is great (I would say that as its my choice) and you do get to see the whole soap making process in its entirety. this soap is our really fabulous 'Beijinhos' which means in English 'Little Kisses', it's fragranced with Kismet - (Lush Karma Type) Patchouli, orange, lemongrass, lavender, pine, gardenia, sandalwood, and musk - Its gorgeous!! and, more importantly, behaves very well in cold process soap.<br />
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OK, so click and watch, please remember to leave us comments, we LOVE them, and do visit and sign up to our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Purosoaps">facebook site</a> too, thats where you get to hear about all the special offers and new products first.<br />
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If you want to have a look at all the other challenge results please visit <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/index.php/soap-challenge-week-6-link-up/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+greatcakessoapworks+%28Great+Cakes+Soapworks%29">this page</a>, I hope you do and if you like what you see do leave a comment. We soap makers work very hard to design and produce what we do and to hear that you like it too makes all the difference.<br />
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<br />Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-90823336537917177002012-04-21T09:52:00.000+01:002012-04-21T18:08:28.085+01:00'Scent'sational Soap Challenge Wk5!<br />
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This weeks soap challenge set by Amy Warden of <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/"><span style="color: #015782;">Great Cake Soapworks</span></a> is all about blending your own fragrance. It's something we have done in the past but I've not thought about it quite so scientifically before.<br />
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After doing a bit of reading about the different 'notes' of essential oils I thought I'd try and make my blend with the recommended mixture of three parts from the top note group, two parts from the middle group and one part from the base note group. I noted down all the oils which work well together and came up with a formula of complimentary scents.</div>
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Less is more I told myself- or KISS- 'Keep It Simple Stupid'! Only problem with this was that just using three essential oils just wasn't daring enough this time, and I saw this as an opportunity to have some fun! So... I went to town!! <br />
For the top notes I used three parts of each bergamot and orange, for the middle note two parts of each geranium and lavender, and for the base, one part of each rose and geranium. These were all essential oils I had in my fragrance stock, including...gasp..actual rose otto essential oil- well in for a penny, in for a small fortune! The essential oils were weighed to make up 3% of the soap base oils.</div>
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My next decision was to keep it plain and natural or...wait for it... Go to town!!! I just thought well, hey, its gonna smell extravagant (hopefully), it should look extravagant! So I added a bit of colour to turn it a lilac colour (representing the lavender) and added toppings of bright pink roses (the rose bit) and dark purple butterflies (don't ask- I'm just into butterflies at the moment!)<br />
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You can see the colour of the blended oils in the small pot in front of the pan above- it was really dark and thick!</div>
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I added one last little white swirl just to bring in some contrast to the lilac colour (getting a bit carried away by this point!), added the toppings and then kept my fingers crossed it would work as this is probably one of the most expensive soaps I have ever made!</div>
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I removed the block from its mold this morning- it was very soft but looked and smelt wonderful- I can't wait for it to cure to see what its like to use.<br />
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I have to say the whole scent is stunning- but I am finding it hard to pick up all the elements. I can't smell the orange for instance, and the lavender and geranium are definitely more recognisable. I asked my husband what he thought it smelt of- his answer was 'mmm nice Bubble Bath' !!! (not sure if that was a good answer or not!)<br />
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This really should be a luxurious bar to use- it's made with our usual recipe with Portuguese Olive Oil and Goats Milk and is totally Natural and Palm oil free.</div>
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If you want to see all the other soaps created in this challenge click this <a href="http://purosoaps.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/scentsational-soap-challenge-wk5.html">link</a>. We both hope it will go on as we have enjoyed that challenge of trying something new and pushing our boundaries - Thank you Amy for this wonderful opportunity. </div>
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Shell.</div>velagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-26921773653011404912012-04-14T09:40:00.002+01:002012-04-14T17:02:51.969+01:00Wine O'clock! (Week 4 of the Soap challenge)<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Week 4 of The Soap Challenge set by Amy Warden of <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/">Great Cake Soapworks</a> is to create a soap made using alcohol. We currently list a lovely beer soap but we have been recently trialing a wine soap, as there is no shortage of good local red wine in our area!<br />
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To see all the other soaps in Week 4 of the challenge go to <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/index.php/soap-challenge-week-4-link-up/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+greatcakessoapworks+%28Great+Cakes+Soapworks%29">this link.</a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhit_aRpGbtJQGK-daEdFuaj9F1Q8AsStmlQAH2mYvLlOaA5qTpkZAtmnpBJfQCkDl7Qab5foUTejyieFFxjmrhbTdaTjJkoXJTDvdqfFJ6qG8yKWtsJ7R-ezW_bjhT8fWS_kJs_SFw3hQ/s1600/grapepicking+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhit_aRpGbtJQGK-daEdFuaj9F1Q8AsStmlQAH2mYvLlOaA5qTpkZAtmnpBJfQCkDl7Qab5foUTejyieFFxjmrhbTdaTjJkoXJTDvdqfFJ6qG8yKWtsJ7R-ezW_bjhT8fWS_kJs_SFw3hQ/s320/grapepicking+010.jpg" width="320" /></a>All our neighbours make their own wine and we get given a lot (mainly red), so it seemed like the perfect thing to include in our range of Natural Portuguese Soap. I personally love the whole process and always get involved in the the grape harvest and pressing and, as some of you know already, we are both partial to a drop of the old vinho tinto!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sMJE-v6cvBZ6IapwM1KVernDYSBWUeUGPgWlhx7D7z3YGlPAzIX0b0zquQrzv0sE2fvatgMtApNFP7qdeubPu2r_m0OUbwOS_VOPxYxisEUBNXv5avNLPceOZqU_ebgEJ5Ve3q4wcAw/s1600/grapepicking+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sMJE-v6cvBZ6IapwM1KVernDYSBWUeUGPgWlhx7D7z3YGlPAzIX0b0zquQrzv0sE2fvatgMtApNFP7qdeubPu2r_m0OUbwOS_VOPxYxisEUBNXv5avNLPceOZqU_ebgEJ5Ve3q4wcAw/s320/grapepicking+004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
I can't tell you how brave I had to be to post this photo of me pressing the grapes with my neighbour last autumn- but I thought it important that you know we at Puro will always go the extra mile when it comes to making our soap!!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPh7tRZJndakRJbxjGrcQA3VyTWh2wkDurAgkTyP8dJEPCCAJtg-L40kbhu1CU7RVPQp8rD7vwkB8L0vyBp9VSfPwXBIuibOWF_jMyAmgao08cTP0Ihct3-cQKAjnyFq03wldotsTT3uk/s1600/grapepicking+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPh7tRZJndakRJbxjGrcQA3VyTWh2wkDurAgkTyP8dJEPCCAJtg-L40kbhu1CU7RVPQp8rD7vwkB8L0vyBp9VSfPwXBIuibOWF_jMyAmgao08cTP0Ihct3-cQKAjnyFq03wldotsTT3uk/s320/grapepicking+044.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Having done a little bit of research- I thought it best to simmer the wine first to reduce the alcohol as I had read about explosive results when mixing the lye and alcohol. While the wine was simmering away I felt inspired to add some other ingredients into the pan - slices of lemon and orange peel and a stick of cinnamon- I just fancied making the wine a little fruity and spicy- almost like a mulled wine or sangria.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJmACzs1_rkQ_5kU7EEG-UZ_qP4d80xmosB7ZL8RHwNUxltMgGkQ6Ov6nl1wiGI7fKbfMR0uVg5AaPQ1xE1VaWIO5zVnNt6Qs3fjCWCXU-STgI87mRuiZuSzPU99WLpslZOtLg_Ekzgk/s1600/sept11+058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJmACzs1_rkQ_5kU7EEG-UZ_qP4d80xmosB7ZL8RHwNUxltMgGkQ6Ov6nl1wiGI7fKbfMR0uVg5AaPQ1xE1VaWIO5zVnNt6Qs3fjCWCXU-STgI87mRuiZuSzPU99WLpslZOtLg_Ekzgk/s320/sept11+058.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
After it had cooled down I bagged it up and popped it in the freezer ready for when the both of us could get soap making!<br />
We added the caustic soda to the frozen wine which meant it didn't immediately get too hot. It didn't smell too bad either! but it did go a dark sludgy brown, so we added a small amount of red soap colouring to the batch which turned the soap a rich shade of cinnamon. We made the toppings to continue with the fruity theme and added soap citrus slices and cinnamon curls. The smell was absolutely wonderful!</div>After unmolding the following day, the soap mellowed to the warm wine red you see below.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> The resulting soap which we are calling 'Sweet Vine' (Vinha Doce in Portuguese) is beautiful and smooth and surprising creamy and luxurious. You can see more pictures of this lovely soap and full ingredients by visiting this <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Sweet-Vine-p/sv1.htm">link to our website.</a> If you missed the line up of Week 3 outcomes you can still <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/index.php/soap-challenge-week-3-link-up/">see them here</a>, there are some wonderful ideas, all based on piping cold process soap, along with our video entry, piping roses.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIc1klyV_2T5X2DPapYrZsB0h2F4PWeXGeGFfjMlIq9mNu08lFW0Isfps4i1w4ArSLoMwZWfAVMOR1R4Arlb8Ru1MzDDoN5-MILK4zXnK-GQNO5XmAcqp64hHUxJ01SiJtImAvUzXB1kg/s1600/grapepicking+029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIc1klyV_2T5X2DPapYrZsB0h2F4PWeXGeGFfjMlIq9mNu08lFW0Isfps4i1w4ArSLoMwZWfAVMOR1R4Arlb8Ru1MzDDoN5-MILK4zXnK-GQNO5XmAcqp64hHUxJ01SiJtImAvUzXB1kg/s320/grapepicking+029.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
We'll leave you with a photo of one of our lovely neighbours Gloria, who in the typical Portuguese hospitable manner, is never far away with a jug of the local wine!</div>velagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-48292956133058711822012-04-11T16:07:00.003+01:002012-04-11T18:23:57.198+01:00Soap Display Stand Challenge!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wWXDnqajp6HcfpqWNuBZ1ooXYjaJE57UyOwQvdxqjgG1gMaxgb7YgGq04h8CrUheEyT24DczIvZWEhyphenhyphenkj3k8g8PkJWn6HKWZ-D1bxA9slqzIgO5bCbxUgcXI3oRT2vpNSyC1ZNLtQDI/s320/ashelf.jpg" width="240" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Phew!! It's finally done! </div>After our success of making the trugs last year I thought I'd have a go at building a display stand for one of the shops we supply here in Portugal. The trugs we have are lovely- especially for things like markets and fairs, but we'd had some feedback from friends that in this particular shop display it was hard to see the soaps properly.<br />
Right! Display Case- 'How hard can it be?' (our normal answer to a new challenge!!) The truth is that actually this time it was quite hard! Once we'd got the basic unit together (I have to admit to having a bit of help from the hubby for this bit!), it became apparent that the shelves weren't all that strong. Easy solution- we'll put some dowel up at the front of each shelf for extra support.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8zNy64Y11zuT_KMnsdFENRzKM8P0KqmT5uuSF5bMwuueUpGBQLXnHuaa9Glcml5sTgH8YaMqJavwbnLCcu7heFp9Br62Mhpb-VULutQUA_KvT5VZUGP-NELw98IJn1QLFoxweJ1jsyE/s1600/klomp+stand+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8zNy64Y11zuT_KMnsdFENRzKM8P0KqmT5uuSF5bMwuueUpGBQLXnHuaa9Glcml5sTgH8YaMqJavwbnLCcu7heFp9Br62Mhpb-VULutQUA_KvT5VZUGP-NELw98IJn1QLFoxweJ1jsyE/s320/klomp+stand+003.jpg" width="240" /></a></div> The only problem with this idea was that Dowel is very hard to get in rural Portugal! We tried making the struts with pieces of wood which had been routed to make them less square but it felt too chunky. Had I thought about it I could've gone into Ishbels house here and nicked her curtain poles (just kidding Ish!), but i ended up having to bring them back in my luggage from B&Q in the UK!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWsLXBnPYKh-n1dUUumR2DOKndMiA3dVmPEtnKUUwmdNRCByMGtkqz3W2zOrG-7YwT6GwILku3usC-LbkKjb6Vpu_Khiu35x9dWS5ObxVzDmdfbQVpc22c9KPoXgOhsPcF-DY3KalEKQ/s1600/klomp+stand+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWsLXBnPYKh-n1dUUumR2DOKndMiA3dVmPEtnKUUwmdNRCByMGtkqz3W2zOrG-7YwT6GwILku3usC-LbkKjb6Vpu_Khiu35x9dWS5ObxVzDmdfbQVpc22c9KPoXgOhsPcF-DY3KalEKQ/s320/klomp+stand+004.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>After fitting some corner triangles at the back of the shelves, and the dowel struts, the stand felt really sturdy (hubby said 'thats strong enough to sit on, that is!' but I'll take his word for that!)<br />
I blended some paint to get some nice fresh Spring colours, and got the local printers in the village to make up some vinyl banners with our lovely logo.<br />
One final coat of varnish and it was finally ready for some soap!<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This is what it looks like in situ, and it just happened to be the same colours as the spring display which was being put together as I arrived- result!!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dBa8YUtV3sO20wzWgQuab-ePWjdSHkvrdOEhGaf96Hk3eQaMpJtEou0Lo4UvDPJ61Jde5XStQFk9-kry2yWDpIHtX0VrFIGreGjPNlMBZ9rO9t-nOaNCiwLDw8JjgvPAW9pudF6y2S8/s1600/klomp+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dBa8YUtV3sO20wzWgQuab-ePWjdSHkvrdOEhGaf96Hk3eQaMpJtEou0Lo4UvDPJ61Jde5XStQFk9-kry2yWDpIHtX0VrFIGreGjPNlMBZ9rO9t-nOaNCiwLDw8JjgvPAW9pudF6y2S8/s320/klomp+010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> You can find it in <a href="http://www.deklomp.pt/">http://www.deklomp.pt/</a></div>velagotahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13510873610378698904noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-41852792205801400792012-04-07T10:54:00.000+01:002012-04-07T10:54:11.362+01:00Our first video - piping roses in natural soapHi everyone, Ish here. I'm so excited, thanks to a comment received last week from Carol, I managed to get my camera settings right and now I can make a video and load it onto my computer. Next big trick is to see if I can get it loaded up here too!!<br />
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This is a video for Week 3 of the Soap Challenge, organised for us all (88 soap makers from all over the world) by Amy Warden at <a href="http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/">Great Cakes Soapworks</a>. It has been such fun, I really have enjoyed challenging myself to go that bit further and do things that I have never attempted before. Next weeks challenge is going to be interesting, making soap using alcohol.<br />
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Anyway, back to Week 3, we were challenged to pipe cold process soap, which for us at Puro is difficult to turn into a challenge as we are known for our <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/cupcakes-made-of-natural-soap-s/36.htm">cupcakes</a> and <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Soapcakes-s/70.htm">soapcakes</a> which all feature spectacular soap piping. So, this is meant as a challenge right? I decided to undertake a piping experiment that I have never done before, piping roses. I have done two different ones, the first being the easy option and the second considerably harder. I hope you like the video, it is a bit long (I got carried away!) but I hope you stick it out to the end. Let us know what you think, did you like it, is this a format you would like us to use again (but perhaps a bit shorter)?<br />
Thank you for watching.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zjtuVRdEV4E?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2717014959273918298.post-75303824106680356812012-04-05T22:53:00.000+01:002012-04-05T22:53:52.454+01:00Natural soap goes a bit fruity!<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Just a very quick blog before the Week 3 soap challenge reveal, had to let you know that Shell and I have added two new soaps to the website, the most amazing is:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our revamped <b>FLORESTA VERDE -<a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Floresta-Verde-p/fv1.htm"> GREEN FOREST</a> , </b>a firm NMSPortugal favorite returning in a new guise. This soap was loved by everyone who tried it so we are really happy to announce its relaunch. Lovely creamy white soap with ice blue hints, decorated with beautiful handmade soap pine cones, leaves and nuts - the fragrance is fantastic,</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span>pine, eucalyptus, spruce and menthol it is frosty clean and fresh!</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HudbnU9rHiwYTIol0ojepyyJ_icNTIFyZG2KocuqJjuaLv3BrHyFGrPxP4ArBhpbdGG2gzY_ldUuNIqTBwZ3xYcAD-bkPFVCO1Eu3Rm_QT0IzvhOdblLryhW0dFem6SWz7-wEalsf1Fk/s1600/FV1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HudbnU9rHiwYTIol0ojepyyJ_icNTIFyZG2KocuqJjuaLv3BrHyFGrPxP4ArBhpbdGG2gzY_ldUuNIqTBwZ3xYcAD-bkPFVCO1Eu3Rm_QT0IzvhOdblLryhW0dFem6SWz7-wEalsf1Fk/s320/FV1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">We also have a new <b>FRUIT CAKE - <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/Fruity-Cake-p/fc1.htm">BOLO INGLES</a></b> soap - an aromatic offering, warm and homely, scented with fruity fig, sweet blackberry, raspberry and warming sultana - its yum, yum, yummy!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7tmE_JxB-jcQdebdLCRPqKtZNVVFLZ6t_kFNs7ue-F6aNpZ7DtYkVR9QfMqDmWV5Rx_-FhhjwVPXVWcD47kz3zmrMKktkNSRVVLQ6Xz7mPMOd87Ixe0Uugv_Ne7AGL8BBGnn00iDAOog/s1600/FCheaderP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7tmE_JxB-jcQdebdLCRPqKtZNVVFLZ6t_kFNs7ue-F6aNpZ7DtYkVR9QfMqDmWV5Rx_-FhhjwVPXVWcD47kz3zmrMKktkNSRVVLQ6Xz7mPMOd87Ixe0Uugv_Ne7AGL8BBGnn00iDAOog/s320/FCheaderP.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>So go along to the <a href="http://www.purosoaps.com/">website</a> and have a look at the rest of the photos and information, we really like these new soaps and we hope you will like them too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span>Let us know what you think....</span></span>Soapchickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12946366536802042307noreply@blogger.com2