An order for xmas soap gifts

[Catscankim]

My work friend who ordered from me last year for Valentine's Day soaps wants a largish batch of soaps for xmas gifts. I have a few problems that I need to overcome here. So I am looking for opinions.

So she wants 50 bars of soap. I small batch, so making sure I get the colors exactly the same over several batches is going to hurt my brain. I was originally going to go with light blue soaps and a white butterfly swirl with some gold on the inside (I got the idea from BB pictures, but she didn't do a butterfly swirl). So I am thinking white as the base, then light blue as the next main color for the swirl, and darker blue and gold whisps of color. I am going for a christmas feel, but something that is not too christmasy.

But I think the white will be easier to keep more consistent than the blue across the batches... And nobody knows that it is supposed to be a butterfly as each recipient will only be receiving one bar.

Also, her fragrance request is "something linen/sea salt-y" which isn't exactly xmas. So I am going with Abalone and Sea. (any opinions on this?). I think it fits the bill (or maybe it is just my favorite smell LOL)

Maybe a decorative high-ish top with some holographic glitter on top to make a "snow" effect?

Or am I going in the wrong direction with this? She made it "chef's choice" basically, and I don't want to disappoint.

 

[TheGecko]

When I made the soaps for my son's wedding, their colors were Navy and Rust. I was using small decorative cavity molds and given how expensive they were and not something that I would use very often, I only bought six of them so I was making 24 soaps every two days. I needed to keep the colors consistent and while I could have simply weighed the mica each time, I found it easier just to calculate the total number of soaps and create a Master Batch for each color. Then when I need to make a batch, I'd lightly melt the bucket, weigh out what I needed, add the Lye Solution, FO and make a batch. Two days later, rinse and repeat.

The only problem I ran into was that we had an unusual amount of rain. The first two batches of soap came out of the molds with no problem after two days, but then the heavy rains came and I lost two batches of soap until I figured out how much more Sodium Lactate and time I needed. Fortunately, I had added 25% to the batch and an extra four weeks into my calculations so I ended up with the exact number of soaps I needed and all fully cured the day before the wedding.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I love @TheGecko idea of making a batch of colorant and weighing it! So smart!

I’d love to have the holidays at the ocean, so I like your idea. Plus, the holidays end and the soap will still be there, so I’d say it doesn’t have to be full on Christmas, especially since the person specifically asked for something different. I don’t know that scent, but if it’s your fav, it must be good!

 

[AliOop]

Those sound lovely to me, @Catscankim, especially with the glitter added.

 

[Jersey Girl]

My work friend who ordered from me last year for Valentine's Day soaps wants a largish batch of soaps for xmas gifts. I have a few problems that I need to overcome here. So I am looking for opinions.

So she wants 50 bars of soap. I small batch, so making sure I get the colors exactly the same over several batches is going to hurt my brain. I was originally going to go with light blue soaps and a white butterfly swirl with some gold on the inside (I got the idea from BB pictures, but she didn't do a butterfly swirl). So I am thinking white as the base, then light blue as the next main color for the swirl, and darker blue and gold whisps of color. I am going for a christmas feel, but something that is not too christmasy.

But I think the white will be easier to keep more consistent than the blue across the batches... And nobody knows that it is supposed to be a butterfly as each recipient will only be receiving one bar.

Also, her fragrance request is "something linen/sea salt-y" which isn't exactly xmas. So I am going with Abalone and Sea. (any opinions on this?). I think it fits the bill (or maybe it is just my favorite smell LOL)

Maybe a decorative high-ish top with some holographic glitter on top to make a "snow" effect?

Or am I going in the wrong direction with this? She made it "chef's choice" basically, and I don't want to disappoint.

I recently made these with a lighter and darker blue swirl. Gold would be a nice addition. These are scented with clean cotton.

 

[dmcgee5034]

Beautiful @Jersey Girl

 

[Whillow]

I recently made these with a lighter and darker blue swirl. Gold would be a nice addition. These are scented with clean cotton.
View attachment 74872

These are beautiful @Jersey Girl I would love to know the blue that you used.

That is a great idea about the masterbatch colour @TheGecko I may try that instead of all the measurements I try to record each time.

I also did wedding soaps of little gnomes. I also only had 4 molds. Thank goodness they gave me a long time to create them. Had to make 125 of the little buggers. I had gnomes everywhere in my house curing and staring/judging. LOL

 

[Jersey Girl]

These are beautiful @Jersey Girl I would love to know the blue that you used.

That is a great idea about the masterbatch colour @TheGecko I may try that instead of all the measurements I try to record each time.

I also did wedding soaps of little gnomes. I also only had 4 molds. Thank goodness they gave me a long time to create them. Had to make 125 of the little buggers. I had gnomes everywhere in my house curing and staring/judging. LOL

Thank you @Whillow. I used two shades of Klein Blue from NS for these. I can’t tell you the amounts because I just make a slurry and add it to the batter until I like the shade. The lighter shade I think I added a bit of TD to.

 

[Whillow]

Thank you @Jersey Girl. That is a beautiful shade. It reminds me of those China dishes with the white and blue.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Thank you @Jersey Girl. That is a beautiful shade. It reminds me of those China dishes with the white and blue.

oh my gosh….Blue Danube. I have about a gazillion pieces of it from my mom‘s estate that I need to sell. Lol.

 

[Grantxw8]

These are beautiful @Jersey Girl I had gnomes everywhere in my house curing and staring/judging. LOL

That conjures up so many funny images in my head.

 

[Zing]

Sounds like a great plan! I like to use BB snowflake sparkle mica on the tops of my soaps, year round. I like the color idea because the recipients will get it on Christmas and can use it after Christmas when all the reds and greens are gone. Can I ask you something, tho'? Just curious why you need consistent color batch to batch? Recipients won't see what other recipients get, right?

And I'm gonna copy @Jersey Girl 's idea -- Gore. Juss!

 

[Savage Daughter]

Would it not make your life easier to:

• find a good, sturdy box - cut the sides down if necessary (I have seen some awesome banana boxes from supermarkets which wouldnt require cutting the sides down)
• line said box with some foam board - available at dollar stores - to stiffen up the sides & bottom if necessary
• hot glue the pieces in so they stay put
• line it with freezer paper or whatever works

Use it as a makeshift slab mold for this order. It could be reused many times, actually. This eliminates worrying about getting the color right between batches & everything else which could potentially go sideways.

This is what I would do. I can't even imagine making that many small batches of soap over & over again....I would begin hating the entire process half way through & *never* want to do it again.

It's your call