I made my first two bars of soap in mid-February with a girlfriend of mine who teaches craft classes. When she said come on over, I thought were would going to make the soap from scratch, but it was M&P. Because I was thinking we'd make a really natural product - one color with the point being the ingredients, I hadn't given the slightest thought to anything else. I decided to just layer some colors and I started with a thin layer of white base. She said the clear M&P will give me brighter colors if I wanted to try colorants (as opposed to the white base). So, I poured some green. It was looking extremely plain but I didn't know what to do. She had a bunch of little soap embeds and decorations she'd made in the past - most were way to cute for me. I'm not much for decorating with flowers but I found a little daisy that at least didn't clash. I meant to put it in the center but I accidently dropped it on the corner. I was going to pick it off and try again but the soap was already setting - I work super slow.... I decided to pour a little more soap to help secure the flower in its place. The soap was really cooling off and by the time I finished, a little chunk dripped out of the cup. When I finished, I realized it looked like a stem. It actually improved the look! My second try that same day was an oval shaped bar in three layers- yellow , blue and green. It was so hideous that a couple weeks later, I chopped it up, stuffed it into a 4 oz mold and poured clear M&P around it. It is the second photo. It's nothing special but looks alot better than it did in its original form. The next day, I went online and bought a few jungle molds. I had only seen them in solid colors and it was my intent to pour these molds with solid, muted colors. But, the molds were really small and a little mis-shapen!!! I didn't think they'd make a nice gift for anyone! I ended up pouring different colors and when it set, I put it in a regular 4 oz mold and poured around the little soaps. A sister of mine has traveled alot in African countries and her sister-in-law owns and elephant farm/sanctuary in Arkansas. So, I sent these to her.
I have bought various oils to make cold process soap, but I haven't worked up the courage to try it. I've been experimenting with colors, different designs, and some cute soaps for kids. I'm really impressed at what everyone has done with cold process on their first try! Maybe I'll get my courage up before my oils go rancid ....