Guess who just ordered

[artisan soaps]

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[nickjuly]

Congrats!!! Nice Christmas present.

 

[ChrissyB]

Clare you will love these moulds, they are so easy, and yes Terry is such a sweety, he is such a nice guy. And the planer, oh my god, just you wait till you get it, it's sooooo great. I can't speak highly enough, I really can't.
A little trick I've picked up with the divider moulds, after my lye water has cooled, I add a couple of capfuls of sodium lactate, this help the soap harden just that little bit more, and the dividers pop right off.
I have had batches that have kinda "stuck" and i've made a bit of a mess of the soap trying to "cut" the dividers off. Nizzy does recommend using a stronger lye solution, but dependent on fo's that's not always possible!
And probs or questions, just ask me!

 

[artisan soaps]

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[topcat]

Clare - I use SL at 2% and it works wonderfully well in Nizzy's divider mould. I usually soap a 1000 gram oil weight batch and add 20ml SL to my lye water, as Chrissy said. I usually dissolve silk into the lye water first and then add the SL when the silk is all dissolved. You can use up to 3% SL depending on how hard your batch will get before unmoulding.

Tanya

 

[ChrissyB]

I really must thank you again for that tip Tanya, it's been so helpful to me since you told me that!
Clare, I get the sodium lactate from heirloom (again, Tanya's recommendation!).
The little curls/rolls that come out of the soap planer are great, last batch I rolled them all up till they were about the same size as cigarettes, then cut them in half, then put 5 of them in each bar of soap (in the divider), they look great~ contrasting colours look fab!

 

[topcat]

You're welcome Chrissy

BTW - Where are the pics of your curly soap, pray tell? Inquiring minds want to know :wink:

Tanya

 

[whisks]

i ordered some moulds from terry last night and he's popped it into the mail already!!!
as everyone has said, he is such a sweetie, and has endured my excitement.

 

[ChrissyB]

Okay girls, have you got your NIzzy's yet?

 

[artisan soaps]

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[whisks]

i got mine first thing this morning...and i've used them already!!!!
i made the salt bars in one - 100% CO, 20% sf with sweetcakes clean FO and a sprinkle of ultramarine blue swirled on top (not how i imagined it, but never mind), and oatmeal and GM in the other.
i thought the salt bar would trace really quickly and get hard really quickly, but not for me....i wonder if i used too much water (i used soapcalc). i didn't discount because i thought it was going to trace fast and all.
with the GM and oatmeal, that traced so fast i could't believe it - i've never done one so fast. i discounted water to 35%. it also heated up really fast.
both were supposed to be RTCP, but i was somewhat impatient with the GM one and didn't wait for the lye to get really cold....

ETA: clare, you'll be getting yours soon - it depends on how good the connections are.

 

[artisan soaps]

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[whisks]

sorry.....all i can say is you'll love when you get it.

 

[artisan soaps]

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[whisks]

you should rest up before getting the moulds, but i have to admit i couldn't get to sleep i was so excited....then i woke up really early the next day because it though of more things....hopeless case, i am.

 

[artisan soaps]

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[topcat]

He is pretty awesome that is for sure! I have a collection of Nizzy's soaps too. My DD loves all his colours and fragrances, so she has snaffled a few as well. Did you get a pinky swirled one? Smells of rose geranium, lemon and patch? That one is divine. I haven't used my square dividers as yet (I had to pay for mine, you lucky duck!) but the next time I make doggy soap I think they will give a perfect size.

So what are you going to make in it first?

Tanya

 

[whisks]

both of you are so lucky - i didn't get any soap

 

[ChrissyB]

Whisks I didn't get any soap either.

 

[topcat]

Oh, my soap was in a direct swap with Terry - I took him a bar of each of my first 4 batches and he gave me some of his to take home with me. I live not far from him and drive right past his home when dropping my son off to a friend's house