Adventures With The Sage

Liquid Bubble Bath Colors

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Do you ever listen to a little child ask you why their bathtub water isn’t blue like the swimming pool? Why can’t we give them their own colored bath with the excitement of bubbles? Now any one can have a colored bath tub of their choice, although, I wouldn’t recommend a yellow bathtub for reasons not needing explanation.

Collect needed supplies:
Liquid Soap of your choice Shower Gel & Liquid Hand Soap in One, Extra Thick Shower Gel, Bubble Bath, or Paraben Free Body Wash (I’m using the Shower Gel & Liquid Hand Soap in One)
Premixed colors from January 12, 2009
Fragrance Oil of your choice (I am using Blowing Bubbles Fragrance Oil)
Scale
Small Transfer Pipette
Mixing Bowls
Spoons
Containers for storing finished colors (I’m sending out samples in the 10 mL Lip Balm Jars)

Recipe in ounces:
6 ounces Shower Gel & Liquid Hand Soap in One
0.01 ounces Blowing Bubbles Fragrance Oil
3 to 12 drops of Premixed Colors

Mix the Shower Gel & Liquid Hand Soap in One and Blowing Bubbles Fragrance Oil together. Once mixed, divided into 6 smaller mixing containers for adding the color. This will give you red, yellow, blue, green, purple, and orange bathtub paints.

Red:
3 drops of Purple Raspberry Premixed Color

Blue:
3 drops of Grape Premixed Color

Yellow (if you desire, but I wouldn’t recommend it):
3 drops of Lemon Yellow Premixed Color

Green:
1 drop Grape Premixed Color
2 drops Lemon Yellow Premixed Color

Orange:
1 drop Purple Raspberry Premixed Color
2 drops Lemon Yellow Premixed Color

Purple:
10 drops Purple Raspberry Premixed Color
1 drop Grape Premixed Color

Add color and mix thoroughly. Pour into final containers for use. A great gift to any splashing bather.

Submit your photos and text for the guest written Embedded Melt & Pour Soap Challenge! Submissions will be accepted through October 18th at blog@thesage.com. The submissions will be released October 19th through October 23rd. Each guest writer will receive a $25 gift certificate. I have already received one entry! Don’t miss out on your chance!

Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Wow!

Adding the fragrance oil to the shower gel.

Stirring the shower gel.

Dividing the scented shower gel into 6 parts.

Finished colors in 10 mL jars.

Labeled finished jars. Click on to enlarge for more detail.

Labeled finished jars. Click on photo to enlarge for more detail.

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Mulling Pigments

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Back in May, nordagirl asked a question on the Starting With Color post. “Is there any reason you couldn’t use this same process with the dropper bottles to mix oxides or ultramarines with glycerine? If it makes any difference, I’m making CP soap only at this point.”

Unfortunately, glycerin is so thick and these pigments won’t fit through the hole of the dropper bottle. You can mull your pigments and create a thick paste to color your Cold Process Soap instead.

Now before you look at me like I’m crazy and wonder what mulling is, I’ll explain it. Mulling is when you mix a pigment to pulverize the clumps of pigment in preparing a paste for painting or coloring soap.

Collect needed supplies:
Glass mortar and pestle or a flat pane of glass and a flat bottom drinking glass
Glycerin
Pigment Color of your choice (I used Lavender Fields Color)
Rubber Scraper

There are two methods to use with mulling a pigment. I have taken photos of the first method.

#1 Pour a small amount of glycerin into the mortar. Use the pestle to coat the sides of the mortar with glycerin. Once the sides of the mortar have been coated, add 1 teaspoon of dry color into the mortar. Start mixing the color into the glycerin until you have created a tacky color paste.

#2 Scoop 1 teaspoon of dry color into the mortar. Use the pestle to make a small well in the mound of pigment. Pour a few drops of glycerin into the well. Start mixing the glycerin into the pigment and continue mixing until you either need more glycerin or you have created a tacky color paste.

Both methods will help prevent surprise clumps of color in your products, as well as allow you to store the paste in a small jar until you are ready to use the color. Yippee!

Isn’t that so easy?

Submit your photos and text for the guest written Embedded Melt & Pour Soap Challenge! Submissions will be accepted through October 18th at blog@thesage.com. The submissions will be released October 19th through October 23rd. Each guest writer will receive a $25 gift certificate.

Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Wow!

Pouring some glycerin into the mortar.

Adding the pigment.

Using the pestle to start mixing.

There still are lots of pigment clumps.

(more…)

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Halloween Pumpkin Bath Salts

Monday, September 21st, 2009

On Friday, I made Halloween Pumpkin Bath Fizzies and they were so cute, I just had to make bath salts! Feel free to drool all you desire over these adorable salts, just make sure you don’t soak your keyboard!

Collect needed supplies:
Salt of your choice (I used Fine Dead Sea Salt)
Orange Color Spray Bottle (Made on September 18th)
Lemon Sugar type Fragrance Oil
Cinnamon Bear Fragrance Oil
Small Clear Gusseted Bags
Small Transfer Pipettes
Scale
Heavy Duty Plastic Zip Bags
Ribbon (I used yarn)
Black Permanent Marker

Fragrance Blend:
1 part Cinnamon Bear Fragrance Oil
3 parts Lemon Sugar type Fragrance Oil

Recipe in ounces:
24 ounces Fine Dead Sea Salt
0.03 ounces Cinnamon Bear Fragrance Oil
0.09 ounces Lemon Sugar type Fragrance Oil

Weigh the salt into the heavy duty plastic zip bag. Add the fragrance oil and then knead until there are no more clumps. Gently spray the salt two to six times with the color and mix. Repeat until the salt is the color you desire. I used about 50 sprays of color. Fill the gusseted bags and tie closed.

Enjoy!

Submit your photos and text for the guest written Embedded Melt & Pour Soap Challenge! Submissions will be accepted through October 18th at blog@thesage.com. The submissions will be released October 19th through October 23rd. Each guest writer will receive a $25 gift certificate.

Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Wow!

Adding fragrance oil to the salt.

Kneading the salt.

Spraying the salt with orange color.

(more…)

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Halloween Pumpkin Bath Fizzies

Friday, September 18th, 2009

I can’t believe that Halloween is just around the corner! As I like the scent of filled candy bags, I started some fragrance blending for a Halloween Candy Bag fragrance. I struggled making the blend because I wanted some spice to the scent, but I wanted some sweet uplifting notes too.

Collect needed supplies:
Baking Soda
Citric Acid
Cornstarch
Lemon Yellow Dry Color
Purple Raspberry Dry Color
Lemon Sugar type Fragrance Oil
Cinnamon Bear Fragrance Oil
Small spray bottle
.15 cc scoops
Small Clear Gusseted Bags
Small Transfer Pipettes
Scale
Mixing Bowl or heavy duty plastic zip bags
Ribbon (I used yarn)
Black Permanent Marker
Water

Fragrance Blend:
1 part Cinnamon Bear Fragrance Oil
3 parts Lemon Sugar type Fragrance Oil

Recipe in ounces:
12 ounces Baking Soda
6 ounces Citric Acid
2 ounces Cornstarch
0.03 ounces Cinnamon Bear Fragrance Oil
0.09 ounces Lemon Sugar type Fragrance Oil

Recipe in grams:
320 grams Baking Soda
170 grams Citric Acid
57 grams Cornstarch
0.8 grams Cinnamon Bear Fragrance Oil
2.5 grams Lemon Sugar Fragrance Oil

Color Spray:
0.15 cc Purple Raspberry Dry Color
0.15 cc Lemon Yellow Dry Color
Water to top off the spray bottle

Weigh the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl or bag and mix gently. Add the fragrance oils and mix well to break up all the clumps. Set aside while mixing color spray. Add dry color to the empty spray bottle and top off with water. Cap the bottle and shake until mixed. Don’t worry that the bottle looks like it is filled with a red color. It will be orange when you spray.

Gently spray the dry ingredients with the color spray about two to four times and then mix. Repeat until the dry ingredients all have a light orange color. I used 45 sprays of color. Set the mixture aside while you prepare the gusseted bags.

Draw a face for your pumpkin on the lower third of the bag. Triangle eyes, crooked teeth, big smiles, crazy eyes, small noses, you name it. Fill your bag with the bath fizzies and tie closed with a ribbon. These adorable bags of bath fizzies are now ready to give away! Can’t you just see a cute little stack of bath fizzy pumpkins sitting on the bathroom counter that are ready to be used?

Notes:
This fragrance blend has some spice notes with sweetness. As one of the guys on staff described this blend, “It has a tad bit of chocolate and caramel swirl with Atomic Fireballs and Jolly Ranchers!” Whatever they say, this fragrance blend is delicious, since everyone agreed that it smelled like candy. Just what I was aiming for!

If you want a darker orange color, double or triple the dry colors when adding to the bottle and then top off with water. This will make the color stronger.

Change to color to green and you could have Frankenstein. You can also make the Magic Color Bath Fizzies and make ghosts! Let your imagination run wild and play with various Halloween creatures!

Submit your photos and text for the guest written Embedded Melt & Pour Soap Challenge! Submissions will be accepted through October 18th at blog@thesage.com. The submissions will be released October 19th through October 23rd. Each guest writer will receive a $25 gift certificate.

Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Wow!

Dry ingredients weighed into a zip bag.

After the fragrances were added.

Kneading the bath fizzies.

Spraying the bath fizzies.

Finished bath fizzies color.

Drawing the faces on the bags.

Filled pumpkin bags!

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Posted in Color In Products, Fast and Simple Gifts, Fragrances | 3 Comments »

Testing Colors, Part 3

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Melt & Pour on the left and Cold Process on the right.

Today, I’m going to show you the Yellow Lip Balm Color in Melt & Pour Soap and Cold Process Soap.

Melt & Pour Soap Notes:
I melted some Transparent Melt & Pour soap in a large glass beaker and then added about 8 drops from the Professional size of the Yellow Lip Balm Color to the melted soap. Again, I used an immersion blender at the very beginning of the test. The color never changed and remained looking like a pitcher of orange juice.

Cold Process Soap Notes:
Yellow:
I added 8 drops of the Yellow Lip Balm Color to the oils once they were melted and used an immersion blender to make sure there were no particles of color floating in the oils. At this point, the oils were a yellow orange color, like orange juice, and then I added the lye mixture and used the immersion blender to mix. The color didn’t change at all as I blended the soap or even after I poured it into the mold. Once I cut the soap, I noticed that the soap was a smooth bright yellow color.

8 ounces weight Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
4 ounces weight Coconut Oil
4 ounces weight Olive Oil

2.2 ounces Sodium Hydroxide
6 fluid ounces cool water

Weighing time: 8 minutes
Adding lye to water: 5 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of stirring
Heating of oils time: 2 minutes
Adding color to melted oils: 1 minute
Pouring lye solution into the fat mixture: 5 seconds
Using immersion blender to mix soap solution: 90 seconds
Pour into mold: 10 seconds
Allow soap to rest: 24 hours

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Testing Colors, Part 2

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Melt & Pour on the left and Cold Process on the right.

Yesterday, I showed you the Blue Lip Balm Color in Cold Process Soap and Melt & Pour Soap. I thought that I would continue the color testing of the Oil Soluble Lip Balm Colors until all of the colors have been tested. Today, I’m going to show you the Coral Lip Balm Color in Melt & Pour Soap and Cold Process Soap.

Melt & Pour Soap Notes:
I melted some Transparent Melt & Pour soap in a large glass beaker and then added some of the Coral Lip Balm Color to the melted soap. Again, I used an immersion blender at the very beginning of the test. I was hoping that the color would stay in the same range that it started in. The color didn’t change much in the Melt & Pour Soap and I was very excited.

Cold Process Soap Notes:
I added the Coral Lip Balm Color to the oils once they were melted and used an immersion blender to make sure there were no particles of color floating in the oils. At this point, the oils were a warm coral orange color, and then I added the lye mixture and used the immersion blender to mix. The color didn’t change much as I blended the soap, but after I poured it into the mold, it turned a pretty pink color. Once I cut the soap, I noticed that the soap changed colors to a warm orange.

8 ounces weight Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
4 ounces weight Coconut Oil
4 ounces weight Olive Oil

2.2 ounces Sodium Hydroxide
6 fluid ounces cool water

Weighing time: 8 minutes
Adding lye to water: 5 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of stirring
Heating of oils time: 2 minutes
Adding color to melted oils: 1 minute
Pouring lye solution into the fat mixture: 5 seconds
Using immersion blender to mix soap solution: 90 seconds
Pour into mold: 10 seconds
Allow soap to rest: 24 hours

The pictures don’t give these soaps justice.

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Testing Colors

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Cold Process Soap on the left and Melt & Pour Soap on the right.

Last week, I showed my tests of the Ruby Lip Balm Color in Melt & Pour Soap as well as Cold Process Soap. After my test was over, I started to wonder what using some of the other colors would turn out to look like. Today, I’ll show you how the tests with the Blue Lip Balm Color turned out.

Melt & Pour Soap Notes:
I melted some Transparent Melt & Pour soap in a large glass beaker and then added some of the Blue Lip Balm Color to the melted soap. Considering my test with the Ruby Lip Balm Color and that it didn’t blend unless I used an immersion blender, I used an immersion blender at the very beginning of the test. I was extremely excited to discover the soap remained a bright vibrant blue.

Cold Process Soap Notes:
I added the Blue Lip Balm Color to the oils once they were melted and used an immersion blender to make sure there were no particles of color floating in the oils. At this point, the oils were a dark blue color, and then I added the lye mixture and used the immersion blender to mix. At first, the color started to turn a green color and then it changed to a murky brown color. The soap stayed at that murky brown color for a short time and I was so sad, but as soon as I had come to terms with the soap being brown, it changed color again to a burnt orange! The soap stayed at the burnt orange color until the soap had hit trace. I poured it into the mold and then allowed the soap to rest for 24 hours. Imagine my surprise when I came back after 24 hours to discover that the soap had turned a lovely purple! Wouldn’t you agree?

8 ounces weight Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
4 ounces weight Coconut Oil
4 ounces weight Olive Oil

2.2 ounces Sodium Hydroxide
6 fluid ounces cool water

Weighing time: 8 minutes
Adding lye to water: 5 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of stirring
Heating of oils time: 2 minutes
Adding color to melted oils: 1 minute
Pouring lye solution into the fat mixture: 5 seconds
Using immersion blender to mix soap solution: 90 seconds
Pour into mold: 10 seconds
Allow soap to rest: 24 hours

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Searching for a Red Color

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

In my quest to find a red color for Melt & Pour and cold process soap, I thought I would test the Lip Balm Colors, Oil Soluble to see if the Ruby Lip Balm Color would work. Imagine my surprise when both types of soap turned a vibrant orange color.

Melt & Pour Soap Notes:
I melted some Transparent Melt & Pour soap in a large glass beaker and then added some of the Ruby Lip Balm Color to the melted soap. When I first started stirring, the soap had a beautiful ruby color and I was so excited. Then I realized there were still particles of colorant floating around in the soap. I couldn’t get the particles to mix in by hand, so I grabbed the test kitchen immersion blender to see if I could blend in the color particles. Once I started blending, the soap turned orange! I was so shocked, I almost knocked the beaker off the counter!

Melt & Pour Soap on the left and Cold Process Soap on the right.

Cold Process Soap Notes:
I added the Ruby Lip Balm Color to the oils once they were melted and used an immersion blender to make sure there were no particles of color floating in the oils. At this point, the oils were a rich ruby color, and then I added the lye mixture and used the immersion blender to mix. Wow! It turned a bright orange color so quickly, I couldn’t even say “lip balm.” Once the raw soap had hit trace, I poured it into the mold and then allowed the soap to rest for 24 hours. When I cut the soap, it was still a vibrant orange.

8 ounces weight Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
4 ounces weight Coconut Oil
4 ounces weight Olive Oil

2.2 ounces Sodium Hydroxide
6 fluid ounces cool water

Weighing time: 8 minutes
Adding lye to water: 5 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of stirring
Heating of oils time: 2 minutes
Adding color to melted oils: 1 minute
Pouring lye solution into the fat mixture: 5 seconds
Using immersion blender to mix soap solution: 90 seconds
Pour into mold: 10 seconds
Allow soap to rest: 24 hours

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Coloring Soaps Red: The Problems with Red Color

Friday, June 12th, 2009

My patriotic soaps!

I’m a patriotic girl, and I’m proud of the flag that flies for our country. For me, that flag represents the freedom I have and so much more. Every time Independence Day rolls around, I want to make a layered soap with red, white and blue stripes. The only problem I have is that we don’t have a color that creates a true red without bleeding or fading! Let me show you a soap I made with Melt & Pour Soap that contains Purple Raspberry Dye. I’ll set one bar of this soap in the direct sunlight for the next couple of weeks, another bar will sit in indirect sunlight and the last bar will sit in an office with fluorescent lights. Every Friday, I will show you new pictures of the soaps as they age.

Enjoy!

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Melt & Pour Soap, Day 2

Monday, April 13th, 2009

I forgot to release this completely Friday, so here it is now!

I’m once of those M&P soapers that gets jealous over the swirled soaps we made for the Cold Process Soap Week. I couldn’t stay jealous, so I decided to resolve the issue and make a swirled soap for M&P soap.

Collect needed items:
White Melt and Pour Soap
Transparent Melt and Pour Soap
Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil
Brick Red Color
Big Bar Soap Mold
2 Containers for melting soap
Transfer Pipette
Straw or chopstick for stirring
Mixing Spoon
Measuring Spoon

In one container, measure a small amount of White Melt and Pour Soap (approximately 3 oz). Melt this soap. In the other container, melt the Transparent Melt and Pour Soap (approximately 13 oz). Once the soap is melted in both containers, add 1 mL of Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil to the White Melt and Pour Soap, and add 4 mL of Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil to the Transparent Melt and Pour Soap. Pour the large amount of Transparent Melt and Pour Soap into the mold, leaving some space left for the colored soap. Stir the soap while it is in the mold, so it can be cooler for the colored soap. If it is too hot, the soap will not swirl correctly. Add 1/4 teaspoon of Brick Red Color to the White Melt and Pour Soap. Stir in the color. Once the color is completely mixed into the soap, pour half into each bar mold and swirl the color with the straw. Allow to cool and then remove from the mold and cut.

Notes:
If the soap is too hot, it will mix together and you won’t have defined swirls.

Andee
Next week is all about fun with Lotion! Head to toe moisturizing and enjoying it!