Rubber Ducky Soap Making

I went back home for 3 days last week and celebrated my father's 60th birthday and my nephew's 7th birthday.  Before I left, I told my nephew that I'll be making Tatlong Bibe soaps for them.  Harry just smiled. I knew that smile.. It means yes, I want that.

Today, i'll share the making of rubber ducky soaps aka bibe soaps.  There is this nursery rhyme entitled six little ducks then it was tagalized into tatlong bibe (3 ducks - it was a parody featuring 3 Philippine politicians).

Just a head's up.. I sang an excerpt of the song and I dedicate this to my apat na bibe: Mama, Papa, and two nephews - Gelo and Harry.

Here is the song lyrics just in case you want to sing a long with me (Tagalog and English)

Tatlo Bibe (Tagalog Version)

1. May tatlong Bibe akong nakita

Mataba, Mapayat mga Bibe

Ngunit ang may pakpak

Sa likod na iisa

Siya ang lider na nagsabi ng

Kwak, kwak, kwak

2. Tayo na sa ilog ang sabi

Kumendeng ng kumendeng

Ang mga bibeNgunit ang may pakpak

Sa likod na iisa

Siya ang lider na nagsabi ngKwak, kwak, kwak.

Three Ducks (Translated by Cathy)

1. I saw three ducks,

Fat, Skinny, Ducks,

But the one little duck

With the feather on his back,

He was the leader who said

quack, quack, quack

2.  Let's go to the river said the leader

wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble

all the ducksBut the one little duck

With the feather on his back,

He was the leader who said

quack, quack, quack

Here is the finished product:

Photos during soapmaking:

Rubber ducky soapmaking video:

If you want to buy the same materials and equipment that I used in this project, here are the equivalent Amazon affiliated links:

1. Materials:

1.1 Rubber Ducky Toys
1.2 Square Silicon Mold
1.3 Neon Colors Non-bleeding soap colorants
1.4 Clear Soap base
1.5 Shea butter soap base
1.6 Premium Fragrance oIl set

2. Equipment:
2.1 Microwave Oven
2.2 Measuring cups
2.3 Coffee Plastic Stirrer
2.4 Bamboo Skewers
2.5 Non-contact IR Thermometer
2.6 Hand Gloves
2.7 Milk Frother

Happy Birthday Kaye.

Throwback thursday

I found my passion in soaping at a very young age. Then, few years later (1999) my parents gave me my first ever soapmaking book. It was very complex then.. Now, when I turn the pages - everything looks so simple.. was it because I aged so I can understand everything better or was it because I gained many years of experience?
I hope that you'll find your passion too..

Everything requires time and hardwork/smartwork so if you are not passionate about something or anything you will not be able to persevere all the ups and downs that you'll come across down the road.

Soap Packaging Ideas

Half of the year is gone so it's time to reflect and look back.

I compiled some of the packaging ideas that I have shared between January to June 2016.

The packaging ideas were not arranged according to its posting sequence.  I intentionally grouped together soap packaged in PVC plastic wraps and cellophanes. Followed by soap packaged in mini boxes. Then, in mooncake containers.  Last is shrink wrapping because it requires additional equipment like heat sealer, heat gun and of course it consumes electricity.

Papaya Lemon Whitening Herbal Soap

Which one will help to whiten your skin better?

Papaya or Lemon?

Papaya is known to help in lightening and whitening your skin due to the presence of the enzyme papain (papaya proteinase I).  Papain's action is gradual and subtle that is why it is widely used in herbal soap formulations. Papain in papaya helps to eliminate dead skin cells by breaking down peptide bonds in the skin surface, so it will then soon reveal a newer and healthier skin cells and a softer outer skin layer.

Lemon. No further explanation needed right? I bet it is also part of your grandma's daily routine? This old time favorite helps in bleaching and rejuvenating your skin naturally.

Now going back to our question - Which one will help to whiten your skin better?  Both are good so why choose one if you can have both?

I handcrafted papaya lemon whitening herbal glycerine soap using papain enzymes and lemon oils as active ingredients for whitening/bleaching and added this into Yacht Bath and Body's moisturizing glycerine soap formula. 

Beauty bar in the making.. 

 

Here is the soapcrafting video:

Advance Happy Birthday to my Papa and nephew Harry.  Mahal na mahal ko kayo!

My new online partner - HP 15 AC648TX

Well, this is not soap related but I am posting it here because without a notebook, I won't be able to post any single content here in blogger.

I didn't have any intentions to buy a new notebook but I really need it because my old netbook (Her name is Grannet = short for Granny Netbook) is powered by Windows XP and it is now unsupported.

Double Happiness Soap on a Rope

June is a wedding month. Even my brother Gelbert got married in June some years ago - making Rhea, my sister in law a June bride too.

That is the inspiration for today's #soapysaturday project.

I made double happiness soap on a rope. Double happiness is an auspicious Chinese wedding symbol. I've added a rope (pink paracord) to symbolize "tying the knot".

This is an easy but time consuming project because of the extra step where I embedded 2 ends of the paracord temporarily clipped with wooden pegs to make the rope.  I placed small colored beads on the rope which is not necessary but just added for decorations.

After drying, I hanged it just to try out.

Photo taken just after packaging.

Here is the soapmaking video:

Before I end this post, I want to share 1 Corinthians 13:4-12 NIV

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 

5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 

10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 Happy Anniversary to Gelbert and Rhea (today is their anniversary!)

Advance Happy Birthday to Ate Emma and to Dra. Ruth (Did you know that the two of you were born on the same day?)

Darth Vader Soapmaking

It's father's day next week so I prepared Darth Vader Soaps for Father's Day.  Here I've used transparent soap base.  For the color I've added activated charcoal - not only it will make the soap color black it will also help in skin/body detox.

The size of the mold is very small so I made a slanted stand for it molded using cupcake liners. To achieve the slightly angled top, I placed chopsticks at the bottom of the liners when I poured opaque soap base containing activated charcoal too.

Then, when both the Darth Vader soap and stand are ready, I remelted left over gray colored soap base and used it to "glue/stick" the two soaps together.  To ensure proper adhesion between the two surfaces, I made slight scratches in the soap surfaces using toothpick.

Here are the soap output:

Just after soap drying:

Darth Vader soaps in upright slanted soap stand (left) and inverted slanted soap stand (right):

You may be wondering on why I made Darth Vader soap for father's day?

Well you know the word Vader literally means father right? Another reason is that I like Darth Vader.  Don't tell me you didn't liked him when he was that cute little Anakin Skywalker boy?

To me, he is a good son, a good husband and a good father.

He joined the dark side while thinking/knowing that what he is doing at that time was right, remember that - that was a time of chaos and adversity.  I am not here to close my eyes againts all the bad things that he have done.  In fact, everything that he have done can be traced down due to to his love for his mom, wife and kids.  Let us not forget too that no matter on which route he took, the prophecy did came true and he brought balance again.

In our daily lives, if you happen to know a real life Darth Vader will you like him, hate him or forgive him? To me no matter what.. I believe that we all commit mistakes and so everyone deserves a second chance - no matter what!

Alright, enough.. enough.. here is the Darth Vader soapmaking video.. I hope you like it.

Happy Father's day to all the father's out there.

Happy Birthday to my cousin Ate Beng.

Advance Happy Birthday to Jo. 

Hello Kitty Soap Making

This week, I made Hello Kitty Soaps.  This is a very easy project so I included a simple packaging idea.

I engraved Hello Kitty eyes and filled it up with gray colored soap base. 

After drying:

After packaging:

The video below is the first video that I had uploaded in my new channel.

I've completed migrating all the previous videos in this new channel already.

Happy Birthday to Orly.

Advance Happy Birthday to Tita Sauda and 

Advance Happy BirthdayAris.

Moving Forward.. See you in my new home!

I've generated 32 videos in 8 months to gain:

105 subscribers
35160 views and
89195 minutes of watch time

It took me 30 minutes to download all my videos and upload it into another channel. I'm back to square 1 due to channel migration. This new channel has

3 subscribers
313 views and
177 minutes of watch time

I wonder on how long it will take to gain everything back?
I am expecting and praying for the best.

One thing is for sure.. Days, months, years from now.. When I look back - I am confident that I won't regret the day when I made this decision.

Thanks for all your support and to those who already subscribed into my new channel. I appreciate it so much.

‪#‎cathyswisdomquotes‬
Life is all about preparedness and risk-taking. Majulah!

Click to visit my new channel

Below is the official announcement in my previous channel:

Making of Dragon Ball Z soaps

I tried to search for a video on making Dragon ball z soaps and I can't find any in youtube. So I've decided to make DBZ soaps and share the soapmaking video.  For the Dragon Ball Z soaps, I used an ice mold to create the sphere. I've also used a mini fondant cutter to make the star embeds.

I love watching anime..

Nowadays, thursdays were meant for throwbacks. During our time, (you know - when we were kids) thursdays were Dragon Ball Z day. There is a dubbed version of this anime and we used to watch it in the local Rpn 9 channel.

Here are the Dragon Ball Z soap photos:

The photo above were taken while the soaps were inside the lightbox.  The next photo were taken at normal lighting conditions and where taken just after unmolding the soaps.  Look on how does proper lighting made  the Dragon ball Z soaps shine and how did it made the star embeds appear so distinct as if it floats in the middle of the sphere.  

Here is the video.  Enjoy!!!

GTG now, I still need to help Son Gokue to find the rest of the dragon balls. 

Click here to subscribe into my youtube channel

Happy Birthday to Irish & Daphne!

Making of Shot Glass Soaps

Yah, I know.. this is the first time that you see a shotglass soap.

I believe that I am the first soapcrafter who made this. (Well, I tried to search on available postings and I can't seem to find any -- so maybe I am right and it is possible that I am wrong too)

I was thinking of a possible soap project lately.  Then, I noticed that most of the people that I came across with (housemates, friends and colleagues) were complaining about the weather.  It is really warm here. Normal room temp ranges from 30 to 33 degrees C and the humidity ranges from 69% to 76%. That gave me the idea of making a soap that looks like drinks/wine.

Here, I've used an ice mold to make the shot glass soap.  Then, I filled it up with transparent soap base where I tried to match the color or whiskey/punch. I struggled in removing the soap from the mold. This mold that I bought were very thick.  I could have easily removed it if I would forcefully do so but I am afraid that I might accidentally deform the shape of the shot glass soap.  I ended up using a tool (wooden handle of the pie cutter) and that helped me to push the soaps out from the mold without deforming it.

I liked this project so much.  Will try to make more of this in the future.

Here are the photos of the shotglass soaps. Did you know that taking the photo of the shotglass soaps is also a challenge?  We need to purposely dim the lights so that we can capture the details of the shotglass soaps and highlight its transparency.

I'm sure you'd like to see on how I struggled in demolding the soaps, so below is the video. 

Have you tried using ice shotglass silicon mold before? if yes? on what projects? Let me know your comments.

Making of Mr. Men Soaps

Today, I am bringing back the inner child in me. I made Mr. Men soaps.

I like Mr. Men & Little Miss cartoons and I was supposed to make 6 soaps.

I ended up completing half of the original plan because my phone battery died halfway while I am recording the video. I was also thinking, that even if my battery survived, I won't still be able to complete it because of the details of each Mr. Men soap and my limited time, (I want to sleep early today).  I put different colors for the eyes, for the hat, hands, body, etc. Of course, I need to wait until the first layer of colors set/dries before I can add the next one. This is really time consuming but it is all worth it because this soap project is really fun to do!

Please welcome, Mr. Bump, Mr, Strong and Mr. Daydream:

Here is the soap making video:

You know, I realized that somehow I am a combination of Mr. Daydream, Mr. Strong and Mr. Bump.

I don't know on why but I always bump into so many things. Like, I know that there is a fridge somewhere, or I know where the sofa is. Yet, I kept on bumping here in there. So whenever I watch Mr. Men I can understand on what Mr. Bump is going through.

Ah, I am an optimistic person and so I believe somewhere in my heart and in my mind, Mr. Daydream resides.

Well, for Mr. Strong it is very obvious I may not be as physically strong as Mr. Strong but deep inside I know that I am a strong woman.  For me, being strong is not just a physical aspect it is something intangible and really hard to describe. When you can persuade another person - you are strong.  When you can survive your day to day challenges - you are strong.  When you can face your fears - you are strong! The list will definitely go on and on and on and on...

So goodnight everyone!

Making of Orchids Soap

I am thinking of what soap should I make for Mother's day.  Then, I remembered that I had an orchid theme soap mold that I bought some time ago. I didn't have any reason to make an orchid soap but I really really like the design of the mold so I bought it. Now I find my reason already!

I made orchids soaps in preparation for mother's day. I know that mother's just like my mama loves gardens and flowers. She didn't have any orchids at home because she told me that taking care of orchids at home is a big responsibility. You need to know the correct environmental conditions to successfully grow and maintain orchids.

Speaking of orchids,  did you know that orchids is the national flower of singapore?

Vanda Miss Joaquim var. Agnes, an orchid hybrid, was selected as Singapore's National Flower on 15 April 1981.  This inaugurated the first National Flower Week in Singapore.  The plant is named after Agnes Joaquim (1854 - 1899), in whose garden it first appeared.  It is considered the first orchid hybrid from Singapore and the first Vanda hybrid to be registered. Source: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_752_2005-01-10.html

Alright, alright, going back to my soaps - here are the photos and the soapmaking video:

Happy Mother's Day to my Mama and to all the Mommies and Grandmommies out there!!!

Making of Sugar Scrub Cubes

This morning I received candies from a friend who went overseas.

When I looked at it, this candies immediately inspired me to make solid sugar scrub cubes.  Well, they really looked like solid sugar scrubs to me (of course I know that this are candies, duh! hhahaha.)

When I got home, I had a quick dinner first and immediately started my project.

Here is my output:

I used half/half of raw brown sugar and white refined sugar. Raw brown sugar is not only good for your health it is very good for your skin too!  I tried to somehow recreate the candies I had this morning but I don't want the exact copy of that so I made this sugar scrub cubes in a different color.  

I will immediately use this tomorrow to exfoliate my skin. I am very excited.

Below is the recipe and remember to watch the video for instructions:

Ingredients:

403g Granulated Sugar

305g Soapbase*

62g Olive oil

4 g Jojoba oil

Aroma:

6ml Fragrance oil or 4ml Essential oil

Colorant:

D&C colorant, quantity sufficient depending on your preference)

Making of Lavender Lemon Bath Bombs

Using the base recipe shared with you a few weeks ago, I made Lavender Lemon bath bombs. ☺ I love this scent so much, so relaxing!

I've used a japanese rice mold for the heart and star shaped bath bombs. For the egg shaped bath bombs, I used the same mold as the previous easter egg bath bombs.

I also used the same recipe that I used for the easter egg bath bombs.

Here is the recipe and below is the video on to I made this cute bath bombs/fizzies:

Dry Ingredients:

 256g Sodium Bicarbonate

106g Citric Acid

56g Cornstarch

56g Dead sea salt

50g Epsom salt

Wet Ingredients:

65g Cocoa Butter (melted)

5ml Essential oil or fragrance oil

Food coloring (quantity sufficient depending on your preference)

If you need a detailed instructions on how to make bath bombs, please browse through my previous posting on Easter egg bath bombs posted on 11 March 2016.

Making of Patience Soap using Hanger Swirl Technique

A couple of weeks ago I have shared the making of an improvised hanger swirl tool. Today, I would like to share with you the making of Patience soap.  In this soap making project, I have used the improvised hanger swirl tool that  I made by myself.  You may find the making of an improvised hanger swirl tool to be simple but for me I am proud of it.  (Remember, I saved some money on that.  So I bought a few raw materials - not for soap making but for another craft project. I won't share the details yet.  It's a surprise!  but be assured that it will be for bath and body products too.)

This soap contains Activated Charcoal and Bentonite clay which is good for detox and acne buster. It is suitable to people with normal to oily skin.  If your skin is on the sensitive side to normal skin, Acitivated charcoal and White Kaolin Clay will be good for you. Here is the video link.

If you want to see the video for Activated Charcoal and Kaolin Clay soap, feel free to browse on my previous posting.

Bubble Bar DIY Tutorial

I received a few request from my friend and from another youtube friend for a good bubble bar recipe. I noticed that many are selling their bubble bar recipes but for me I have decided to fomulate and just give it away for free. Simply because, it's my birthday month and I want to share something to those who would like to make their own bubble bars.  In my little ways, I hope I can help them to save some money or to earn extra income if and when they have decided to sell their bubble bars for profit.

Here is the video tutorial.  I have included the recipe inside too.
I am giving the recipe for free and you can do whatever you want to it, except claim it as your own recipe in your blogs, vlogs or whatever postings. Remember to be a friend and give credits to me for taking the time in formulating a free, simple,  workable and good recipe for you.

Have fun!!

DIY: Improvised Hanger Swirl Tool

In this video I had improvised a Hanger Swirl Tool using a hanger from my cabinet.

A little bit of bending, twisting and squeezing here and there helped me to save some money.

Here I save 5USD to 30USD on hanger swirl tool (excluding importation shipping cost plus taxes).

I plan to use the money that I saved here to buy raw materials and consumables for soap making. 

I also plan to use this improvised hanger swirl tool in my next soapmaking project. Let's see  on whether this will pass the "Reveal Time" test!  Wish me luck!!!

New Soap Colorants

Today, I am so happy. I received my new set of neon soap colorants, glitters and micas that I ordered from Nurture Soap USA a couple of weeks ago.

I am so excited to try it but my time is already packed with my pre-planned schedule. I can only try this colorants after 2 weeks. Next week, I won't be posting any new soap making video in observance of the Holy week.

What excites me more is that the vendor gave a small bottle of fragrance oil. Based on my guesstimate that small bottle contains 10ml to 15ml of fairy garden fragrance oil.  I can't resist the temptation so I immediately opened the bottle and I tell you, the aroma is mild and gentle. So heavenly!

GTG. Goodnight everyone!

Sakura cupcake soaps with Recipe & DIY Tutorial

Today I made cupcake soaps using a basic 3-oils recipe that I had formulated.  Normally, my recipe is composed of 7-8 oils but today I reduced it into 3 because I will give it to my friends who requested for a recipe.  I made it as simple as possible so they can follow it (this will be their first time to try cold process soap making).

For the design I used the Rose Russian frosting tip that I bought online. See how easy and how simple it is to produce a nice rose bud design in soaps. I first found this frosting tip used in baking.  When I saw the lady demonstrated on how to use it in her cake decoration, I immediately told myself  that I can also do that in soaps too. I just need to increase my hard oils and make sure that I reach heavy trace so that the consistency would be very thick and just nice for frosting.

After 8 hours, it is ready to unmold.. tada!

Here is the recipe:

Cathy05SG's Cupcake Soaps

Lye Solution:

230g water

74g Sodium Hydroxide

Oil Mix:

185g Palm oil

160g Coconut oil

156g Olive Oil

Aroma:

25g Fragrance oil or 15g Essential oil

Colorant:

Quantity Sufficient (Use Oil soluble D&C colorants)

Optional Additive:

0.01g EDTA 

I am fine if you would try this recipe on your own. Even if you want to try this to sell your soaps it is also okay with me. Just remember to give credits to me for formulating this soap recipe and sharing it for free. Avoid copying this formula in your blogs and claiming it as your own. Thanks.

This post is not complete without the DIY tutorial video:

DIY Bathbomb tutorial using my own recipe

Easter Sunday is coming so I've  decided to share my bath bomb recipe. I know that I am still 2 weeks early but I want to give some time to others who may want to try my recipe.

What is so different about this bathbomb is that I used an egg shaped mold that I bought from Daiso.  I embedded a toy inside because I was inspired by the chocolate Kinder Joy.  I cannot find any small toy at home so I ended up using a cake topper (Santa Claus) from last christmas and a keychain ( I love SG).

I love the round bath bomb too. I can't believe it. It looks like mother earth to me. :-)

If you wanna learn how to make a bath bomb and save some money instead of buying outside. Then just watch the video below.  I have dictated the recipe and gave a simple recipe summary inside the clip.  Have fun and enjoy.

Here is the recipe:

Dry Ingredients:

 256g Sodium Bicarbonate

106g Citric Acid

56g Cornstarch

56g Dead sea salt

50g Epsom salt

Wet Ingredients:

65g Cocoa Butter (melted)

5ml Essential oil or fragrance oil

Food coloring (quantity sufficient depending on your preference)

For instructions, please watch the video. Thanks.

Persistence Soap - Detox and Pimple Buster Soap

I kept on having pimples.  I never had problems with pimple during my adolescent days. So why now?  I had this pimple problem for almost a year now and trust me I've done everything I can. I even followed strict dermatologist instructions.  Well, no use because I have hormonal imbalance.

Since I love making soaps, I've decided to formulate a soap for myself. Atleast, it can help to detox my skin and hopefully fight the other pimple causing factors out there.

Meet Persistence Soap. 

I added activated charcoal for detox and kaolin clay.  I've used tea tree oil which is also good in fighting pimples.  I had blended it with lavender because that is soothing to the skin. Lemongrass, because of its citrusy scent and its refreshing too.

For the design, I really love how this soap looked like. Using the Zebra swirl technique, I produced something that looked like a butterfly, letter s and other cutie and nice swirls in my soaps. 

Of course, this post will not be complete without the official photo and video link.  Below is my favorite shot taken by Peter. 

Resilience Soap

My friends Peter and Heli requested for a cold process soap for men. They mentioned to me that I kept on crafting soaps for women and give it around to my friends including them but the scent is for ladies. They said that I better make a soap especially crafted for men.

What else can I do? As you know Peter and Heli are like my official soapcrafting partners. When I need a hand to cut PVC pipes for molds, they are on the rescue.  When I need an immediate feedback on my videos before I publish them, no matter how busy they are.. They will find time.  So the soap I crafted today is just a simple way to thank them for all the unmeasurable help, guidance and assistance to me.

Here is the photo of the loaf just after crafting the soap.

As usual, I slept at ~11+pm but I cannot sleep. I am very excited to see and cut my soap. So at around 2am, I went to check the soap. Here is the photo at 2am. It is now on gel phase. Whoot! whoot!  Now I can sleep, everything looks going smoothly.

The next morning after breakfast. I immediately cut the soaps.I am happy to see the swirl betwen blue, green and yellow. It looks translucent. Just like water!!

Here is the youtube thumbnail.. Now a days, I am so crazy about thumbnails. I don't know why! lol.

I named this soap Resilience.  

The soap was scented with Cool Water for Men.  For the design I tried the in the pot swirl.  The soap looks good but I find that it will look better had the colors were more vibrant. I think, I will start from sourcing out new colorants somewhere. Let's see how.  Before I forget, here is the video:

That's all folks! until next time!