Aug 2018 SMF Challenge - Dancing Funnel Pour

[earlene]

psfred, if you don't get a mold made, you can use a cardboard box, such as the one I picture below.

The first SMF Challenge I joined was for a soap made in a slab mold. I didn't own a traditional slab mold and didn't really want to spend the money and wait for one to arrive, so I used a cardboard boot box lined with freezer paper. It was really quite large and made quite a lot of soap. So the next time I needed a slab mold I looked for smaller alternatives. I found this small orange juice drink box bottom that worked perfectly for a slab mold. Still as you can see on the bottom, it takes 74.8 ounces of oil for a batch of soap and that's still a lot of soap. So I looked for even smaller slab mold alternatives. That's when I found the bamboo organizer box I use in the video for a mere $7.00 at Target. It measures 2.5 x 6 x 9 inches which makes it great for a mini-slab mold. But I also have a yellow plastic container I found at a thrift store that I have used as a slab mold as well. So a traditional slab mold doesn't have to be something to stop anyone from joining in.

Here's the Yellow Plastic soap mold I found at a thrift store on the Mendocino Coast last year and have used a few times also. The soap just slips right out of it when I turn it over. Don't mind the ugly re-batch; the photo is to show the mold.

 

[psfred]

Thanks for the ideas! I have plenty of scrap wood in the shop to make one up, just need the time. It's coming up on fall preparation for the bees, the garden, the house (painting) and our beer club fundraisers.....

I will look around for a plastic container too, should be something kicking around that will work.

 

[Primrose]

I made one from corflute

 

[penelopejane]

I’d sign up if I had the vaguest hope of planing a soap so it was nice and square.

 

[earlene]

penelopejane, it doesn't have to be square!

 

[penelopejane]

penelopejane, it doesn't have to be square!

Yes I know! I meant any regular shape with 90* corners. I am not very good (understatement of the year) at planing.

 

[earlene]

Okay, I get that. Still, we'd love to see your soap if make some.

 

[earlene]

Just to let you all know, I am leaving in a few minutes on a roadtrip to California to see my eldest son. Again, I will be in wildfire country, so if things get a little sketchy and you don't hear from me for a day or two, it's most likely just an internet accessibility problem. It happens sometimes on the road, anyway, but unsually not for more than a night or two. But if power outages occur once I am at my destination in Northern California, internet would be unavailable.

In the meantime, if it appears I am not responding, dibbles will field questions or clarifications in my absence.

How's it going everyone?

Oh, and if an admin reads this, please update the link in the banner above to link to this thread so folks can easily find August monthly Challenge. Thank you in advance!

 

[Serene]

Please be safe out there, Earlene.

 

[dibbles]

Safe travels earlene. I made a first try yesterday and impatiently unmolded a little too soon. I am going to try again on Thursday, because we will be out of town for a couple of days. That should take self control issues out of my hands

 

[earlene]

You can't just delete a post?

I see that you are 'mad', but is it only about not being able to delete a post? Or does it have something to do with the challenge?

Anyway, no, you can edit a post. Or you can send a private message (now called conversations since the change-over) to an admin & request it be deleted. If you do that, you should include a link to the post in question so they don't have to search to find it.

As to not being able to delete posts, see this thread: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/is-there-a-way-to-delete-a-post.68854/

 

[SaltedFig]

Great challenge!

Safe travels Earlene

 

[jcandleattic]

Just to let you all know, I am leaving in a few minutes on a roadtrip to California to see my eldest son. Again, I will be in wildfire country, so if things get a little sketchy and you don't hear from me for a day or two, it's most likely just an internet accessibility problem. It happens sometimes on the road, anyway, but unsually not for more than a night or two. But if power outages occur once I am at my destination in Northern California, internet would be unavailable.

In the meantime, if it appears I am not responding, dibbles will field questions or clarifications in my absence.

How's it going everyone?

Oh, and if an admin reads this, please update the link in the banner above to link to this thread so folks can easily find August monthly Challenge. Thank you in advance!

That Carr fire is scary and no joke. Please be safe. My BIL and SIL and their kids were evacuated last week and were able to go back 5 days later, however, they didn't bring anything but clothes back with them in case of another evacuation.

I will start my soap this weekend, and see how it goes. I've never done this type of pour before, so it will definitely be a challenge.

 

[earlene]

That Carr fire is scary and no joke. Please be safe. My BIL and SIL and their kids were evacuated last week and were able to go back 5 days later, however, they didn't bring anything but clothes back with them in case of another evacuation.

I will be avoiding Lake County altogether for that very reason. Besides not wanting to drive into a fire (I've been burned badly, so don't have any plans to repeat that experience), I don't want to add to the burden of the fire fighters by being someplace I don't need to be. I've been keeping a close eye on CDF's CalFire data site: http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/
Of course, it changes daily, but it sure helps with planning my route. I do see a new listing for another fire that I did not see 24 hours ago; it was just added yesterday. So I'll be looking at it again tonight and tomorrow night to determine if I need to alter my route again.

Although my route is altered quite a lot from what I would normally do, I am taking the safer Southern route via Sacramento route over to 101 and then North from there. If there were no fires, I'd be taking 20 from the Yuba Pass all the way to Mendocino County, but that's not a safe route right now, so the extra miles are not an issue. My son and I stay in touch by phone, too. He was scared out of his mind last year, but seems less worried now that he lives in town that last year when he lived in the actual forest outside of town.

I am really looking forward to hearing about your soap, jcandleattic.

.

 

[chela1261]

I see that you are 'mad', but is it only about not being able to delete a post? Or does it have something to do with the challenge?

Anyway, no, you can edit a post. Or you can send a private message (now called conversations since the change-over) to an admin & request it be deleted. If you do that, you should include a link to the post in question so they don't have to search to find it.

As to not being able to delete posts, see this thread: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/is-there-a-way-to-delete-a-post.68854/

I was more frustrat than mad so I hit the wrong button. I read your post about the challenge and I thought it funny because I was just watching videos on the dancing funnel technique on YouTube looking for something different to do. I did it for Amy's soap challenge but I never download the instructions for the challenges. Then I started watching the first video you posted and I realized I had just watched it on YouTube. I wanted to tell you that and as soon as I hit "quote" I said I don't want to do that on her technique post so i tried deleting it. It wasn't even posted yet and I couldn't get rid of it "your post" from my reply box. Finally I selected all and hit backspace and finally your post disappeared. I hit "save changes" because there wasn't anything else to do and when I did it said I had to put text in the box. I was at my wits end so I wrote what I wrote. I can't remember why there is a second post. I must of done something wrong again and tried to delete it, gave up, and hit a face and posted it. So that's what happened and thanks for the link

 

[earlene]

Thanks, for explaining, chela. I've actually had similar stuff happen. I always chalk it up to some weird computer or software glitch. But, yes, it is frustrating.

 

[mommycarlson]

1. dibbles - happy dancing!
2. shunt - going to try (if I have time)
3. amd - it's been on my "to try list" for several years
4. Misschief - I've tried a couple of times, time to perfect the technique!
5. Scard - I can dance...not! but I'll try
6. Artemis - we'll see if I have time to play!
7. jcandleattic - Maybe I'll actually have time to join this one?
8. BattleGnome - mold size vs squirt bottle size....
9. Primrose - better buy some squirt bottles ...
10. Mommycarlson - you can dance if you want to!

 

[earlene]

Dance a little bit each day!

Caveat: Careful when dancing and pouring soap at the same time!

 

[Roselyne]

1. dibbles - happy dancing!
2. shunt - going to try (if I have time)
3. amd - it's been on my "to try list" for several years
4. Misschief - I've tried a couple of times, time to perfect the technique!
5. Scard - I can dance...not! but I'll try
6. Artemis - we'll see if I have time to play!
7. jcandleattic - Maybe I'll actually have time to join this one?
8. BattleGnome - mold size vs squirt bottle size....
9. Primrose - better buy some squirt bottles ...
10. Mommycarlson - you can dance if you want to!
11. Roselyne - really hope I'll have time to make it!

 

[amd]

Is there a recommendation for brand of bottles? I use ones that I get from Hobby Lobby in the art supply department for mixing TD, but it is a really poor bottle. Any amount of squeezing pressure and either the lid pops off or the soap oozes out of the lid. Even shaking to mix my TD has to be done carefully or I end up covered in TD.