This blog is inspired by the day-to-day findings of everything that is natural and beautiful. I find beauty in photos, people, handmade items, fashion & beauty.
I am a crafty diva at heart who loves to make soap and bath products. I enjoy taking "Me" time and developing a great craft for almost anything!
Holiday Message
Happy Holidays!
I want to take this moment to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.
Many thanks to the many readers and supporters of Brooklyn Bath.
May new and exciting things happen for you and yours in the New Year!
Best wishes,
Rose
BrooklynBath
It Is Definitely Winter
We’ve finally had our first snowfall here in Eastern Massachusetts.
For me it was still hard to believe considering the roller coaster temperatures we’ve had all summer and fall.
It’s definitely Shovel Time!
Cold Process Soap
Today I embarked on a new journey in my soapmaking venture. I made my first batch of cold process soap. What is cold-process soap?
Pineapple Delight
Cold-process is the saponification of vegetable oils or animal fats with lye and water. The process has a cure time of about 4- 6 weeks and the end result of this process is a pure-made soap with glycerin (humectant) as its by-product. Glycerin helps to attract moisture and helps the skin retain it.
I was very excited to experiment with my first batch as I my skin truly understands what a difference using handcrafted soap is versus a commercial bar of soap. Nothing is better than rewarding one of the most vital parts of your body. Soapmakers take a considerable amount of time and effort to create handcrafted soaps. Their love for this craft is clearly shown in the outcome of the beautifully created handcrafted soaps produced and its homely goodness only one can experience with them.
My first batch took a couple of hours to make since I wanted to make sure I took my time and fully comprehend my instructions. I prepared myself prior to making this batch by pouring over reference materials (see below for links) on the soap-making process. Taking a course in Handcrafting Soaps & Lotion Making with La Shonda Tyree – The Handmade Soap Coach helped me a lot (I’m a visual-learner).
I took full precautions when handling Lye by using safety gloves, goggles and a face mask and I still kept my gloves on throughout the whole process. I used a combination of palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil and castor oil to make my soap.
I finished my soap with using an Iced Pineapple fragrance oil (an essential oil can also be substituted for anyone allergic to fragrance oils). I also incorporated a swirl pattern on my soap to give it an appealing visual effect.
Overall, I was very pleased with my first batch and can’t wait to make future batches in time for the Holidays!
References:
Mango-Papaya
How yummy does this soap looks to you?! Scented with tropical mango-papaya it takes you back to the tropics and an order for a daiquiri.
Mango Papaya
Battle of Brooklyn
To read about The American Revolution in Brooklyn: www.flickr.com/photos/silkbowl/3393535403/sizes/o/
Special thanks to my favorite photographer William Ruderman
Grapeseed Oil
Grapeseed oil is a vegetable oil and that is taken from the seeds of the grape plant. The extracted oil is used in salads for its nutty taste but is also widely used in skin-care. It is a lightweight oil and the skin can absorb it rather quickly.
I love using this oil mainly because how it feels on my skin once it dries and it is great for oily skin (which I have). It is extensively used as a massage oil base and it is noted for its skin-repairing capabilities for the skin around the eyes. I love to use grapeseed oil in bath bomb and lotion recipes and I find it to be a great alternative to sweet almond oil.
You can easily find grapeseed oil in the ‘oils’ section of the supermarket or online from skin-care suppliers.
Handmade Laptop Sleeve
For those of you who are lucky to find a laptop/notebook sleeve for an average sized- laptop you are lucky!
My new laptop is a Dell 15.6 inches, and it’s wider than the average 15″ notebook sleeves you can purchase at any retail store. Any sleeve that I did find was just over my budget.
So I decided to get crafty and become my own designer!
With pen and paper handy to write my measurements down, I measured the area of my laptop and added a 1″ allowance. Not only this enabled me to pull my laptop out of the sleeve but it allowed me to insert it back with ease.
I picked the fabric I wanted and according to my measurements cut two panels. I cheated a little and used the padding from my old laptop sleeve since I couldn’t use it anymore (My old sleeve was made for 13 inch laptops). I sewed the padding onto the inside of my panels and completed the project by adding the velcro band.
I love the way my new laptop sleeve came out!
New Laptop Sleeve
You can visit eHow website for detailed instructions at
http://www.ehow.com/how_4965527_design-own-laptop-sleeve.html
Homemade Carpet Powder in 5 minutes!
Home Made Carpet Powder
What to do when company is arriving in less than half hour and you have no carpet powder to freshen up the living room carpet?
If you have these two household products sitting in your pantry closet then you’re in luck! You can whip up some homemade carpet powder in less than 5 minutes and makes a great conversation piece!
Recipe – Homemade Carpet Powder
- Large mixing container
- Baking soda
- Borax
- Choice of fragrance oil or essential oil
- Aluminum foil and tape
In a large mixing container combine equal parts baking soda and borax (We only needed enough for our living room and foyer so we just used one cup of baking soda and one cup borax). Mix well.
You can add your preference of scent (In our case we added 3-4 drops of lavender fragrance oil).
Time was of the essence so we just covered the container with aluminum foil and taped around the container. We poked various small holes into the foil and voila! you now have our own makeshift powder shaker.
Scent of the Month – Plumeria
I’ve seen this fragrance oil on the display before many times and have bypassed it each time. Learning from the old adage, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” – or in this case by its name”, so I finally took the plunge and unscrewed that cap and fell in love – with Plumeria!
For those that are scientifically-inclined it goes by the name of Frangipani but you wouldn’t know that considering that it is used most often by the Pacific Islands to make leis.
Considering that I prefer floral and fruity notes I wasn’t sure how I never gave this bad boy a chance. It’s tropical scent is heaven to my nose. A sniff of this scent and I’m imagining I am laying down in a bed of lilacs and that something else. And it’s sweet scent is not at all like those dessert smelly kinds either that you find in commercially-made products.
You can grab your fragrance on-line or at apothecaries. I bought mine from Bridge Apothecary on Jay St and Front St in the Dumbo area of Brooklyn. They carry a variety of fragrance oils from Wellington Fragrances. So of course, I picked up like 9 different scents!
So whenever you’re sitting down at work and feeling down, grab your Plumeria and indulge in the tropical and heady scent. But remember to come back to earth and attend those emails!
Enjoy!
