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A Great Use of Dead Space

August 28, 2010 @ 00:00 By Gavin Webber 3 Comments

Before

After

Rear Projection TV frontroomnotv

Now that there is a massive space in the lounge room left by the vacated TV we have put it to good use to dry our home made soap.

Here are a few samples of what we have created over the last few weeks.  Pretty colours don’t you think?  By the way, the green soap that I made in the video demonstration did not actually go very green.  It is at the top left.  We live and learn, but it still smells great though!

soap1aug10

As you can see we have been experimenting by trying a marbling effect, which is quite easy to do.  We split the batch of soap just before trace into two separate containers.  Then we add colour to one of the batches and then layer them in the mould.  Kim then ran a loop of wire through the trace once and you can see the effect on the batch on the right hand side.  I think they all look great.  To the rest of the batches we attempted a slight marbling effect by mixing in the colour with a balloon whisk at trace.  The reason it marbles is because the whisk does not distribute the colour evenly through the entire batch, which in turn leaves white streaks in the soap.  We are very happy with our efforts over the last week.  It has also kept our mind off of Butch 🙁

Technorati Tags: Soap Making,Sustainable Living

 soapstackaug

The fragrances from top to bottom are Violet & Lime, Sweet pea & Vanilla, Rose, Raspberry, and Mint Toffee.  We will be selling some of them at Sustainable House Day, with 50% of the profits being donated to the Melton Sustainable Living group.

Kim is so excited about our recent success that she wants to make some more tomorrow!  New smells and colour arrived in the post today.  I think we are making Aqua Marine.  It will remind me of my days at sea in the Navy.

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Filed Under: Soap Making

← Sustainable House Day 2010 Wicking Garden Beds →

About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Wendy says

    August 28, 2010 at 00:33

    I think that’s a very good use of the space vacated by your television, and the soap looks amazing!

    That’s quite a lot of soap, too :).

    Reply
  2. sawn61 says

    August 28, 2010 at 01:32

    When I read your title, I just knew it would be a gardening post,but soap making is good,too.I am always looking for more space for shelving for storage and displaying my wares. If that were my huge space,I think I would use it for a nice set of covey hole type shelves with,possibly a wider table top for my projects and displays.

    Reply
  3. GreenerMe says

    August 29, 2010 at 21:14

    Gav, I think I have said it before but your soap looks good enough to eat!

    Reply

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About Gavin Webber

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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