Saturday is Soap Day - Sorta - (EDIT - PICS)

[Dennis]

The soap gods were not with me today, but they did not outright abandon me either. So far, not a picture perfect experience.
5am - Hmm, my oil order didn't arrive yet, I really shouldn't but I want to. Have some coffee, inventory the odds and ends. Didn't plan ahead but molds are lined.
6am - Finagled around with what was left of olive, coconut, lard, palm, added a little castor and came up with enough to probably fill my 2lb mold. Soap Calc says "DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER! Give it a shot. :roll:
8am - Rats! Having a moronic morning. Reversed the water and lye amounts but caught it before mixing together. Sure seemed like a lot of lye for such a small batch. :? Had to spoon the lye back into the container. Beads jumping around. Dang it. Stop and be sure everything is cleaned up before proceeding. Not too bad but don't want even one bead left anywhere. Next time put the scale in the sink while weighing the lye.
8:30 - Okay, everything cleaned up and oil weighed and warm. I'm adding Apricot LabColor and Peach FO. Came to trace not quickly like last week, but more watery than before. Very manageable. Thanks to lard?
9:00 - Popped in the oven. After about 30 minutes the kitchen smells like peach cobbler. Remember a thread a few days ago about that. Wife says she doesn't care. We'll see. I'll take some pics when I unmold.
11am - Turned off oven and peeked. Looks a little grainy/ashy on top but smells great. Yum, hungry again! We shall see.
This afternoon's baked beans might taste like peach cobbler. Maybe I'll cook them on the grill.

 

[NancyRogers]

Wow, you got an early start! Hope your peachy soap turns out great.

 

[JackiK]

Ha! I got up in a soaping mood, too. Sounds like my supply stash is even lower than yours!! Need to make a trip to AAAChemicals.

Decided to do a one-pound batch to test the 2.5:1 water to lye ratio. (Thanks to whoever suggested this). Been having trouble with nasty looking peaks when I texture the top. Used my new Target silicone heart molds and textured after insulating for about 30 minutes. So far, so good.

Used alkanet-infused olive oil. Can't wait to see the color. Keeping fingers crossed that peaks don't turn white. Will send pics tomorrow.

Happy Soaping Saturday!

Jacki

 

[ToniD]

I did soap Friday nite cuz grandkids are here today. I made a Castile with calendula petals and coconut milk. I sented with clove.

Then I made a batch of layered chocolate peppermint. One of our favorites!

I made a batch of hair conditioner too.

Will be fun to see what others are doing.

 

[Hazel]

Dennis -

Sounds wonderful. I love the scent of peach except in the baked beans. I'm sure it will turn out fine.

I chose not to soap this weekend because I've got so many batches curing that I don't have room to set out anymore. So, I will have to live vicariously through other people's soaping adventures.

 

[Dennis]

Just a couple more hours and I'm going to unmold. Can't stand waiting! :cry:

Hazel,
The beans didn't taste like peaches after all.
I have to ask about your avatar. Is that pup a three legged or arithmetic dog?

 

[ikindred]

Dennis...good luck with your soap! I normally soap on Sunday mornings..it seems so peaceful in my house during that time.

 

[Hazel]

Just a couple more hours and I'm going to unmold. Can't stand waiting! :cry:

Hazel,
The beans didn't taste like peaches after all.
I have to ask about your avatar. Is that pup a three legged or arithmetic dog?

Oooh! Then you'll post pics?

That's Max but my BIL always called him Tripod.

 

[Dennis]

Yep, will post pics.

Tripod, I like that.

 

[AmyW]

I'm not even alive at 5am, even for soap. I'm in awe. Can't wait to see pics!

 

[Dennis]

Don't be in awe, you too will be old one day. Although my 91 year old MIL is a night owl, gets up about 9-10am. :shock:

 

[AmyW]

I'm almost 32 with 4 kids, I FEEL old LOL

 

[Dennis]

Exactly twice your age with 3 kids, one older than you and two teenagers in the mumbling stage. I am being punished for my past life. :shock: Just kidding, wouldn't change it for anything. 8)

 

[AmyW]

LOL teenagers are a special breed aren't they?

 

[Dennis]

I promised a few pics but now you have to put up with the narrative in order to see the pics. Not really, you could just scroll past all of this but think what you might miss!

I just could not stand waiting! About 7pm I peeked, pushed on the top of the soap and found it to be squishy. It looked awful. Grainy/ashy looking on top. Stuck a knife in it and it came out slick but dry. Wrapped it up, silently berated myself for the lack of patience and decided to wait until morning.

Fast forward - 1:30am. Woke up, smelled bread. What the devil? Tripped over a dog. This is a strange household sometimes. Found two loaves of fresh Amish Friendship in the kitchen - still very warm. Thank you, sweetie! Retrieved soap mold from the laundry room. Hm, it's much firmer, time to open up. Still ugly.

Retreived imported special tool because I know the loaf will be stuck in the mold. I took the mold end off earlier and it was so soft a little squooshed out the side.

Imported special tool in action!

So easy! (Operators standing by, only 8 EZ payments of $9.95 plus exhorbitant shipping and handling charges. Have your credit card ready.) Notice the squoosh on the mold end in the back, also on the liner. That's where I took the end off and checked it. Just couldn't leave it alone. I had a sinking feeling when it squooshed after all those hours setting. Figured it was my first really ruined batch. Not yet, but I'm sure it's coming.

Here it looks more brown than apricot, but reminds me that I dislike apricots after having to eat them every day overseas in the military so long ago. Yuck, no more of this color. I must say that the scientific method for measuring the colorant is what I call the glop method. "Put another glop in, see what happens." It does smell peachy, maybe a bit much but that might soften in cure.

Again, the imported special tool in action. (Call now!)

You can see that the top 1/8" is kinda grainy/ashy looking. This was almost immediate when I put it in the oven at about 160 degrees. The top was not covered. Should I cover?

Again, notice the top. Comments?

Tribute to Stanley Kubrick (2001-Space Odyssey)

This was a odds n ends batch that was really not planned ahead. Here's what I found in the cabinets, refrigerator and in the garage. Gotta get organized some day.
Coconut Oil - 15%
Palm Oil - 18%
Olive Oil - 37%
Castor Oil - 5%
Lard - 18%
Canola Oil - 7%

This is only my third batch and it has revealed to me how much I have to learn. A few people that have been given bars think I should sell them. NO! Not even close to that level. I understand with each batch how much there is to learn, how little I know and how easy it is to make mistakes. Some of you make as many batches in one day as I have made in three weeks. I feel a couple of vacation days are in order when I can hide at home and do nothing but make soap. Must order more stuff and play!

 

[c.a.p.]

I think they look fine. Enjoyed the narrative, too. And if you were selling, all you'd have to do is cut that top off.

Try a chopping knife instead of a serrated edge knife. Now it may cost you 4 payments of $10.99 a month, but you can splurge.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Your soap looks good Dennis. Would you like to know how to fold your paper so that it doesn't leak? Gonna tell you anyway, or show you in a photo or three. :wink:

 

[NancyRogers]

Jenny, nice visual tute on the lining. I don't always have the patience for all of that folding, so I just stick some masking tape over the corners and hope for the best.

Dennis, I spray the tops of my soap with rubbing alcohol (91%) and that seems to eliminate ash most of the time. I spray right after I pour and again one or two more times while it's setting up. I have had FO/EO that want to ash even with my efforts to avoid it, but this works most of the time.

 

[Dennis]

Jenny,
Thanks for the folding lesson. I also watched a vid somewhere on how to. Watched so many I don't remember what was what. Your lesson will be put to good use. I sat at the table and measured and drew and measured again and redrew and folded and was so proud and then stuffed it in the mold and something wasn't right. :roll: So I made it work. WRONG. :evil: Now I understand where I goofed. The pic looks like hospital corners, right? Another soap lesson.

C.A.P.,
I'll go with the chopping knife even with 6 payments left on this one.
It might sound silly, but it bothers me to cut the tops off. Hmmm. Probably some deep seated psychological thing there. UHOH. Ok, I'll cut the tops off before I give any away also, but will keep and use them for myself.

Nancy,
I've read about and will now try the alcohol spray. I was hoping that it might be identified as something else that could be avoided with a change in something instead of addition. But ok, one more nugget to keep and put to use. (Note to self: This spray bottle is water for barbecue. This spray bottle is alcohol for soap. Do not confuse them. Label them, store in different places.)

Thank you all for the kind constructive comments. They will be put to good use and I will report on my next batch in my journey toward soap perfection.

Gotta try some of those pvc molds cut down to about 1 1/2 or 2 inches also.

 

[falldowngobump]

I think you did a great job!!!! Isn't soapmaking addictive? Love the pictures!