Lesson Learned

When it comes to almost any craft, there are times things don't go quite as planned. I had a vision of what I wanted my Flower Garden soap to be. I knew the scent I wanted and I knew how I wanted to pour.

This was my inspiration. I wanted to pour uncoloured batter on the impression mat. Then, I would colour the batter and add my scent. The first step went beautifully.

And then everything went south. When I added my colour (a mix of Moroccan Red Clay and Glitz and Glam Mica) and scent (a blend of English Rose and Sensual Amber.... smells amazing!), my batter accelerated, and fast!

I did manage to spoon it into the mold and managed to get most of the bubbles out but I was afraid I'd "smooshed" the uncoloured batter into an unrecognizable mess. I'd made a larger batch and what was left was pressed into heart shaped molds. Yes, pressed in. By the time I'd filled the flower mold, the batter had firmed up to a play dough consistency.

By the time I went to bed last night, the soap was completely firm and I could unmold it. However, some of the flowers on the top were so brittle I couldn't get them out of the mold properly. Plus, the batter had been squished under the impression mat and up the sides of the soap body.

These hearts look the worst. Today, I cut three of them into small cubes to make a confetti soap. It's in the oven, gelling, right now. My first reaction was to rebatch the entire batch but.... It IS a nice soap. Already it's hard, it lathers well, and it smells really nice, very feminine. I think I'll keep the bars (the hears will be used for rebatching) but offer them at a reduced price, just because they're not perfect.