Sometimes, I have really bad ideas. Sometimes, my really bad ideas seem like really good ideas but I need a voice of reason to talk me down from the ledge of creativity. You see, I get these amazing ideas, obsess about these amazing ideas, create an unrealistic plan of how to execute these amazing ideas, actually execute these amazing ideas and then I am sorry I ever thought of anything that amazing. The Smiling Snowman Soap falls into this category.
My bib overall wearing buddy is often accused of stifling my creativity. He is a bib overall wearing nay sayer. I want to take cake decorating classes so I can then pipe soap, he says, “Nay.” I want to create a plethora of new products, he says, “Nay.” I want to create a new soap every other week, he says, “Nay.” He stifles me. We are opposites, that is why we work so well together. I would create something new everyday and he has the focus and discipline to stay the course. He often tells me as he listens to my new ideas that, “it must be fun to be you.” I am impulsive, everything is a possibility, and I don’t worry about poor outcomes. He also tells me my, “laser focus is more like a disco ball” and I am “cat-like because I am easily distracted by anything shiny.” He’s not very charming sometimes.
This relationship works for a lot of reasons and one being we don’t stress about the same things. It’s good we don’t melt down over the same things. It maintains balance. However, I wish he would have shut me down with the snowman soap. One of the few times he chooses to indulge my whimsical fancy and here we are, making snowmen for a week…sigh. Actually, we have the process down at this point and it isn’t too bad until we have to break out the hypodermic needles. Yes, you read that correctly, hypodermic needles.
I will give you a quick run down of the process for the snowman soap. First, we make two-inch round tubes of white soap. They sit for twenty-four hours, are unmolded, cut to the length of our loaf molds, shaved on two sides to fit together nicely, and then left to sit for another twenty-four hours. Secondly, we make the surround soap, pour solid dark blue on the bottom, sit the bottom of the snowman into it, and then make another small batch and incorporate the bits we cut from the snowman into this batch. It creates a snow storm effect. We then pour this into the remaining space in the mold and cover the “head” of the snowman so it is held in place. That must sit for twenty-four hours. Next, we will cut the snowman into singular bars, use a nail mold The Bibbed Wonder created to impress a snowman face and buttons into the bars. Lastly, we will take a hypodermic needle fill it with soap batter and inject each hole that was created for the face with the batter. We finish by hand piping a scarf around his little snowman neck.
It is indeed tedious, time consuming work but they are adorable when they are finished. We debated about whether we should even create snowmen this year. We did not have time to make them before the Ligonier Country Market Christmas Market and we aren’t sure how they will do solely online. However, we will create a mere 60 bars of full snowmen and approximately 60 bars of just the snowman faces. It is less than half of what we normally create but we feel this is a safe number and a manageable work load. This is also one of the few times I wish The Bibbed Wonder would stifle my creativity. Today is the day we have to use the hypodermic needles to fill all the tiny little holes. I will spend my day bent over a table injecting soap into teeny tiny holes, stress about less than perfect results, and use colorful language. The Bean will be required to wear her headphones during school and I’m sure will repeatedly hear, “Bean, earmuffs!” before a colorful tirade begins.
Yes, I face today with trepidation. However, the result will be worthwhile and rewarding. Every year, we declare it to be the last year for the snowman soap. However, he has become a tradition in our happy little company. He will be available just in time for the holidays to put a smile on faces we have come to love and appreciate.
As always dear reader, stay safe, stay smart, remember to smile, even if it’s under a mask, and of course, wash your hands.