The 'cleanin' up' part, of course refers to soap - now, I am not one of those super-talented people who can get around lye and water and come out with something lovely and useful. I envy them, but I am not them. So...wanting to make this myself, I turned to a wonderful site I used before - Bramble Berry. They have such a huge selection, not to mention a wealth of information, but they are also responsive and helpful when you email with a question. This time, all I did was refresh my memory on the process - I've done this many times, but it's been a while!
I used two different bases for my efforts this time. The trusty clear glycerin melt-and-pour base, and a new one for me - a white opaque melt-and-pour base.
The white base I tinted a lovely shade of pink, using liquid colors made for soap - and the white base took to the color beautifully. I had a mold that was a lovely 3-D heart, and this just seemed to be the perfect color and shape for my Warm Vanilla scent (from Bramble Berry - so I know it is the proper quality, and meets all the standards for something you will be putting on your face). Oh, my - this looks and smells so good!
The clear melt-and-pour soap I tinted a gorgeous color of bright pink - not obsessed with the color, but the scent I wanted for this batch was pink grapefruit - so what other color could I possibly use? I used molds in geometric shapes for the soap, and when it was done - it smelled delicious! (not going to eat it, tho!)
The other half of my idea came from my desire to make something natural and from materials made here in the US. I have described elsewhere on this blog my less-than-successful search for that. I had researched knitting stitches - finding some that were reversible - so whichever side you look at, it is pretty! I wanted to knit face cloths out of cotton - a simple, natural fiber that would feel good on your skin.
For the warm vanilla pink heart soap, I decided to use pure white cotton - and I picked "Wonder White Cottontots" by Bernat - it is pure cotton, and is made in Canada (pretty close to our own USA as a source!). I had a pattern that made raised ridges in a diagonal pattern across the cloth, which not only gave it interest, but a mild scrubbing effect too!
For the wonderful pink grapefruit soaps, I picked another of my favorite colors - specifically "Cornflower Blue Sugar'n Cream" by Lily. This is also pure cotton, also made in Canada, and the most lovely shade of blue that contrasts so nicely with the bright pink of the soap! The pattern I chose for this was called "Inverness Diamonds" - such a pretty pattern!
Both cloths have a border all around them of 4 knit stitches, and measure right around 8" square. Not too big, not too small!
These will be going up on my Studio 2:14 website later this week - but I wanted to share just a bit of the background, and a couple of photos with you here first!
More options, colors and patterns coming soon!! When they hit the website, you will be able to buy the sets as shown, or each piece separately.
3 comments:
You are SO creative! I can almost smell the vanilla (my favorite)! The cloths are gorgeous!
I envy your creativity! These soaps are beautiful!
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