On Friday, I decided to try my hand at making soap with a liquid other than distilled water. I’ve done this before with beer and cucumber juice and I’ve had mixed results. This time, I used apple cider to replace the water and scented the batch with an apple  cinnamon fragrance oil. The apple cider came from a local orchard and it sort of hurt me a little to not drink it. But, I think it was worth the sacrifice. So far, I love the way this batch, pictured above, turned out. I took this picture just after slicing the soap. The inside is still a natural cream color while the outside is a nice pink. As the soap cures, the color will even out. I’m interested to see if the pink color remains or if this will gradually cure to tan.

Handmade soap

There are so many creative soap makers that inspire us. Check out some of our favorite finds on Pinterest! (Are we pinning buddies there? We should be.)

• Activated charcoal facial soap – Activated charcoal is an additive that helps draw impurities out of your skin. I might have to try this recipe from Soap Deli News
• Galaxy soap – Not only is activated charcoal good for your skin, it’s also a gorgeous colorant. You could use it to recreate the tiny galaxies that Marte Ravn Tovik created.
• Mint & clay – Here’s another amazing tutorial from The Soap Queen that uses three natural colorants, including activated charcoal.

Good, clean fun

If you’re not following us on Facebook, here’s some of the fun you missed:

• My next read – Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite authors. Her new book is going on my reading list!
• George Costanza’s desk is now a reality – Life in the cubicle jungle would be so much better if I could hide in my desk.
• Allergies and handmade soap ingredients – If you suffer from nut allergies or have skin sensitivity, this is a great article that helps break down what to look for when purchasing handmade soap.

Previous musings from Emmet Street you might have missed

Are you craving comfort food as much as I am right now? When the leaves start to change and the temperatures drop, there’s nothing like tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. Grilled cheese would also go great with vegan barley or wild mushroom soup. Honestly, I can’t think of a soup that doesn’t go well with grilled cheese!