Nougat-intensive methods not being an option for me...
Or it creates a new stash...
Another "How many of you ... ?" questions.
- Thread starter John Harris
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Right! The trimmings can be used in confetti soap or to make embeds, etc.. As time goes on, I have accumulated more soap bits than I can ever use and most of it is not going to make great confetti soap. Thatās when I start thinking about waste.Nougat-intensive methods not being an option for me...
Or it creates a new stash...
View attachment 60617
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
Having these trimmings (best sorted by colour 
) is 80% of the work to turn them into soap dough.
) is 80% of the work to turn them into soap dough.
Carly B
Well-Known Member
I do sometimes. I don't sell, but I will "pretty up" my soap for gifts. I treated myself to one of those cool bevelers that do all sorts of edges, and I admit, it really makes the soap look classy.
I'm still practicing with it. Planing and beveling can correct a multitude of sins.......ETA one more thing---hubby has said he likes the soap beveled because it makes the soap easier and more comfortable to hole without the sharp edges.
This! Clean the World used to accept trimmings and end pieces from the handmade community, so I had a place to donate them. When that stopped, I felt that I should save the trimmings and ended up with a lot of scraps that, in reality, I would never use. I don't sell and confetti soaps aren't my favorite to use. I came to the conclusion that, for me, it's okay to have a bit of waste. This is my hobby. Compare it to someone whose hobby is golf - how many golf balls do they lose in a season? (sometimes a lot LOL) When I did stained glass work, how many little, unusable scraps had to be discarded - a fair amount. When I was able to knit, how many ends of a skein did I have sitting around? Let's just say when I had to stop and later clear out some space in the drawer there was more than I would have thought. So all of this is to say, I'm now at peace with tossing a few grams of soap from beveling.
At times I am lucky to get the soap made, let alone make it "really pretty". I soap for me and family and so far no one has complained of the sharp edges, so I won't take the time to pretty them up. I have a container for crumbs (when I cut a loaf) or shreds (when I don't particularly like the soap) and find I rarely make confetti soap. I know in my heart I would probably end up with "stash" of confetti if I did bevel and plane.
I like Dibbles analogy of hobby waste but I have enough of that to corral with my quilting. I'm not sure I could stand another hobby with scraps...especially one that I might have to worry about them going bad. That said, I am totally jealous when I see all the beautiful pictures of soap on these pages...but not enough to get out my peeler or buy a beveler. I'll just leave all that to you and I'll be happy to drool over your pictures from time to time!
I like Dibbles analogy of hobby waste but I have enough of that to corral with my quilting. I'm not sure I could stand another hobby with scraps...especially one that I might have to worry about them going bad. That said, I am totally jealous when I see all the beautiful pictures of soap on these pages...but not enough to get out my peeler or buy a beveler. I'll just leave all that to you and I'll be happy to drool over your pictures from time to time!
Cat&Oak
Well-Known Member
I plane and bevel. I don't like sharp edges and like the way it makes the bars look.
I have made a couple of batches of salted out soap this summer - and turned it into laundry soap (half soap half baking soda) it works really well actually.
I'd be really curious to know the process as I'd love to have a good outlet for my scraps. Have you posted about this elsewhere on SMF?
And yes, I almost always bevel. It feels like a slight waste, but to me the aesthetics outweigh the loss. After you've beveled dozens of batches with a potato peeler, it becomes much easier to get an even edge. Soap is an art to me, so I like it to look as nice as possible.
I bought a fairly cheap planer from Amazon a few months ago and haven't regretted it a bit. Another way to get slightly more polished bars.
Catscankim
Well-Known Member
I just threw away a lot of soap scraps that I had intentions of using it in a future project....but it ended up taking up more room than I wanted it too.
I have soaps that benefit from beveling, others look better when I don't bevel, but I do polish up the edges with a microfiber cloth before wrapping.
Me and the planer have a love/hate relationship. I probably just don't have the right one. But it hasn't been something that I have been longing for. If I have to plane, it's only usually to get rid of ash on flat-topped soaps. My planer also doubles as a good beveler. I hate the veg peeler. I get too many "stop marks"---just made that up. It just doesn't look smooth enough. User error I'm sure.
I have soaps that benefit from beveling, others look better when I don't bevel, but I do polish up the edges with a microfiber cloth before wrapping.
Me and the planer have a love/hate relationship. I probably just don't have the right one. But it hasn't been something that I have been longing for. If I have to plane, it's only usually to get rid of ash on flat-topped soaps. My planer also doubles as a good beveler. I hate the veg peeler. I get too many "stop marks"---just made that up. It just doesn't look smooth enough. User error I'm sure.
I do. I plane because sometimes my cut may be a little wavy, sometimes I get drag marks, sometimes it just looks a little rough (I don't get my soap). I bevel to give the bars a more elegant look and because my husband complained that the edges were 'sharp'.
I sell to a local gift shop. People buy my soap as souvenirs or gifts, so I want my bars to look pretty and feel good. That means making interesting swirls (although I'm by no means an expert at this!), planing to remove cut marks, and beveling the corners.
Right after I get done planing and beveling, I "smoosh" all of the scraps from each batch into a soap bar. To make the scraps stick together better, I'll dampen them with alcohol or distilled water. After lightly tossing the scraps to mix the alcohol or water evenly throughout, I press and work the scraps into a compact "hamburger bun" shape. This bar of scraps gets cured along with the nice ones. My "smoosh" bar is often the only bar that gets used by the household -- the rest get sold.
I credit this idea to Irish Lass. It has solved my problem of how to store and what to do with soap scraps -- I never have any scraps to worry about.
Right after I get done planing and beveling, I "smoosh" all of the scraps from each batch into a soap bar. To make the scraps stick together better, I'll dampen them with alcohol or distilled water. After lightly tossing the scraps to mix the alcohol or water evenly throughout, I press and work the scraps into a compact "hamburger bun" shape. This bar of scraps gets cured along with the nice ones. My "smoosh" bar is often the only bar that gets used by the household -- the rest get sold.
I credit this idea to Irish Lass. It has solved my problem of how to store and what to do with soap scraps -- I never have any scraps to worry about.
Peachy Clean Soap
Well-Known Member
To Bevel or Not To Bevel... I like the look of both however as of late I'm a beveler' & save some of my scraps not all.
Peachy Clean Soap
Well-Known Member
I make "smoosh bars" the day after I make a batch of soap. At that time the scraps are still pliable and slightly sticky -- that makes the scraps fairly easy to press into a firm bar. It only takes a minute or two.
Older scraps would work too although a bit more patience might be needed. I'd thoroughly dampen the scraps with distilled water (not alcohol in this case) and put them in an air-tight container for a day or so. That should allow the liquid to soak in more and soften the scraps better. Then try to form the bars.
Irish Lass presses her scraps into molds. Hers look a lot prettier than mine.
Older scraps would work too although a bit more patience might be needed. I'd thoroughly dampen the scraps with distilled water (not alcohol in this case) and put them in an air-tight container for a day or so. That should allow the liquid to soak in more and soften the scraps better. Then try to form the bars.
Irish Lass presses her scraps into molds. Hers look a lot prettier than mine.
I use a vegetable peeler to bevel all edges (because most of my customers use the bar and no washcloth to bathe and beveled edges glide more easily and feel more comfortable in the hand) and only plane the bars of soap that I photograph and post for my website and social media.
Ah, good idea adding the water - I do this too sometimes by putting the scraps into a bar press, but it can be a crap shoot as to whether it ends up crumbly. I should try dampening it next time!
Iāve smooshed my scraps as well, but I think one key difference here is whether someone is selling or not. I make a lot of soap and give most of it away, but I like to use the pretty bars too. If I was selling, Iād be using end cuts, smooshed up scraps, etc for sure.
I like to bevel but vegetable peeler wasnāt working for me, butter knife just ok. Read this post today & just happened to have
ready to bevel! Rummaged thru back of tool drawer & whalah! Tried it, loved it. Hardly any waste. Will use this way from here on out.
Love those bars! But donāt you still have the bottom of the soap to plane and bevel?
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