Life and general happenings

I dont usually post personal things on here, as this is the place for my soapy sensations, but lately a lot of stuff has happened. For those of you who have noticed the absence, I'm drifting from place to place around my hometown to stay with whoever I can, and hopefully in the next few weeks I will begin working for the BMW plant 30 minutes away. My goal is by September or October to have my own apartment, and then I will begin full production of soaps again. I will likely work the night shift, which is fine with me, but with things happening the way they are there isnt much time left for soaping.

I did, however, make more of my man-bar, Rustic for Men, last week. Here it is, all wet and in the mold!

Playing Catch-up

With Mother's Day come and gone, all of my mother's day baskets that were ordered completed and sent out, as well as soap finishing it's cure, I feel I'm playing catch up. Or have been the past few weeks.

Tomorrow and Wednesday are my last finals for the year, and between soaping and personal life I havent had much time for education. Granted, my professors are amazing and understanding, and have been flexible enough with me to where I am still able to complete my assignments, though I still find myself spinning my tires.

The job hunt is going well at least - I interviewed for a job int he copy/print center of Office Depot, which seemed to go well enough, now just waiting to hear back from them, hopefully, by tomorrow.

I've also finished packaging a selection of soaps to take to several stores along Main Street in the next week, seeing if I can;t find some wholesale clients, or even dropping some off at the consignment store in the library (though their rate is kind of balls, if the items are more expensive -- learned the hard way from a slightly-more-than-half cut for one of my pricier handmade journals).

In terms of soapy news, however, I have cut the bars form my latest two batches: the peacock and the coffee soap!

As you can see -- I'm experimenting with outside pictures. Woo!

I entered into Bramble Berry's Instagram contest, #soapcrafting, using the following images. Let's keep our fingers crossed for these!

I'm also trying to find the time to be more health conscious - I wouldn't mind dropping a few pounds, and my OBGYN said it would help over the next few months anyhow, as I'm changing my prescription for birth controlf rom a pill tot he 3-month shots, and weight gain is common with it. My arms feel like limp noodles from all the reps I did in the apartment weight room -- yowza! We'll see how they feel tomorrow, as I need to make a special order cherry soap for a client's husband.

So how was your Mother's day?

Soapy Sidetracking: Phoenix?

Okay, so the soapy part of tonight's blog is this: Cut soap pictures! Yay!

The cut bars of Green Tea and Willow. Smells AMAZING, nice woodsy clean spa-type smell. Slight bit of ash on the tops, but I'm going to see how steaming them does with the mica swirl (hopefully well!)

Purple Sandalwood! More ash on these, but I LOVE how the inside swirl did -- this trace was still very liquid in the pour, where GT&W was much thicker. This soap had a higher concentration of olive oil as well -- you can see my cutting marks! And fingerprints. I'll use my planar to clean them up, but it's going to irk me with the longer wait. I'm used to heavy solid oil recipes over liquid ones.

And the SIDETRACKING. Little known fact about me (sort of) is that I used to be an art major. I guess I'm still an artist, my media type has just changed (I consider soap an art form!) and I havent lost the spark, and I occasionally sketch still. My amazing obsession, however?

Phoenix.

Any kind of phoenix.

Like Jean Grey from X-men.

Even Dark Phoenix.

And White Phoenix of the Crown.

And this phoenix tattoo on my thigh.

I adore phoenix. In general, and the person. Mythos-wise, it accurately resembles my life. I've seen things. I've done things, and had them done to me. It hasn't always been easy. I grew up in a cold home, I was in a traumatic accident -- but I never let those things define me. Though Ive had a dark and bitter past, I have recreated and renewed myself for the future. Each horrible thing I encounter and survive through marks a moment in my history where I become reborn. Even as Jean battles with the darkness struggling to consume her, she always finds light in the end. 

So, in homage to my artist "past," enjoy some of my old drawings/sketches. Eye candy just for you viewers!

Dark Phoenix

Joker - Heath Ledger

Alduin - Skryim

Hellraiser Puzzle Box book cover for my hubby

Sketches on Notes

TipTopDog Hundesalon - A commissioned mural that's on a dog salon in Germany where my father lives. :) This was a doozy to paint!

Bahamut from FFX

Painted Phoenix from the first sketch

Amy Lee of Evanescence

More phoenix

Another Amy Lee (her eyes are GORGEOUS)

Self-portrait done digitally

So, what are YOUR other obsessions? Anything you do outside of soaping? Used to do? Would like to do? Let me know after the break!

BREAK :D