Don't Give Up in the Middle of a Good Thing

Earlier this year, I set out to make another loaf of soap that would have a piped top.

It was a late night project because, as a wife and mom, I sometimes find nighttime when everyone is sleeping, to be a good time to focus on a project like soap making. It does backfire on me, though, to do it that way. I lack sleep the next day. That's never good. It also causes me to think about my project with great dismay if something didn't go quite right. I think if I'm getting my sleep, I at least feel a little more hopeful that everything is going to work out fine.

So, I was making this particular "Frangipani Scented Soap" on that late night, and I guess I was trying to make something that looked like little flowers? I don't really remember my intent. I piped big pink puffs, as you will see in the video, and then I piped little yellow dots in the "centers". I took a look at my work and I didn't like the way it turned out.

In spite of my misgiving, I took a picture and shared it on Instagram. Oh, cool -- one of my friends commented! Let me see...she said that it "looks like liverwurst and mustard". Oh no! I think she's right! You know, it DOES! Yikes! Now what? I took the picture down, because, well, I was going for flowers; not liverwurst and mustard.

But you know what happened by the time it cured? It was pretty again! Thankfully, I had sprinkled a special type of soap-safe white glitter over it, and over a short time, it righted itself and was pretty.

What is the lesson in all this? Don't get discouraged in the middle of a good project. If you are working on something that is good, and it discourages you right in the middle of it all, don't throw it out. It may work out in the end.

These soaps turned out pretty AND they smell lovely!