SwampFires is Spreading!

We are opening a retail shop! SwampFires products will be available at our new retail shop starting November 12, 2016! This is a "soft opening" of our new location with limited retail hours and weekend classes. Please see our Retail Location & Classes page for updated store hours. Why are we opening a shop? Well, a little background will help. We are...

Wood Grain Opal Soap - Great Cakes Soapworks Challenge

The October challenge for The Great Cakes Soapworks Soap Challenge Club is to create a soap that looks like natural wood grain. And wouldn't you know it - the birthstone for October is Opal. So, I chose wood that has become Opalized.This was my inspiration for the challenge. Petrified wood with an opal matrix. This sort of opal is very rare,...

Adventures in Mold Making Part II - Sprigs to Soap!

I've been making soap for I don't know how long, maybe 20 years. My first soap was made using Melt and Pour (MP) base purchased at a local craft store. Almost all the big-box craft stores carry a selection of MP soap kits and accessories. (Although, the quality of the "soap" isn't necessarily the greatest. It's also not really soap,...

September Soap Club Challenge - Piping Techniques

So as a new soaper, and dessert lover, I decided to enter this months contest from Soap Challenge Club. I'm entering the newbie category, as this is only my second soap attempt on record. This month's challenge was piping techniques using cold process soap. I chose to do dessert soaps and use an icing technique learned in Wilton Buttercream classes....

Adventures in Mold Making Part I - Plaster Sprigs for Pottery

First, a little history. Making pottery making is extremely labor-intensive, so we look for aids to reduce labor and time wherever we can find them. Molds are one of the oldest tools potters used to create functional objects that were affordable and beautiful.  There are many kinds of molds and forms used to make pottery. The most common type of...