Saturday Soap Day became Sunday became...(RANT)(UPDATE-PICS)

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Dennis

Dennis

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...'a great big stinky pile of frustration. I can read, I can watch tutorials, I can understand chemical reactions, I can order stuff, I can follow a recipe, I can even come up with a recipe. BUT, I SWANEE! I CANNOT LINE A MOLD PROPERLY TO SAVE MY NECK! I HAVE WATCHED, LISTENED, READ, AND STILL CANNOT FOLD THE ##%!!@& PAPER PROPERLY! Oh sure, I know its easy, but the light has not come on and I'm going nuts. What I want to make has been thought out, supplies are on hand and the only thing holding me up is the mold liner. Dogs, cats, kids, and yes, even my lovely but mysterious far eastern asisstant and soap photographer should probably avoid contact with me right now. I've wasted two hours insisting I would get it right!

Think I'll have a pot of coffee and regroup.

Thanks for allowing me to rant. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
 
Dennis,

If you haven't tried this method, it may (or may not) save your sanity.

Out of cardbord, make a mock-up of the inside of your mold. Use some good old duct tape to hold it together. Cover the mock-up with the liner paper as if you were wrapping a package (you know, those cute little folded ends). Slip the liner off of the cardboard and place into your mold then fold the edges over.

Hope this helps.
 
JackiK said:
Dennis,

If you haven't tried this method, it may (or may not) save your sanity.

Out of cardbord, make a mock-up of the inside of your mold. Use some good old duct tape to hold it together. Cover the mock-up with the liner paper as if you were wrapping a package (you know, those cute little folded ends). Slip the liner off of the cardboard and place into your mold then fold the edges over.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I know about the cardboard. As a matter of fact there is a great big sheet on the table right now. I'm going to make a mock up. What is so infuriating is that after folding and folding and folding and unfolding and refolding I got one end right, looked at it in the mold and then took it out AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE IT ON THE OTHER END! AARRRRRRGGGGGGG!! :evil: This should not be that hard!
I'm ok. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Drinking coffee, feeling better.

Ok, I'm going to see if the paper has arrived and drink more coffee and read the funnies. Dilbert, Zits, and Pickles will make me feel better. GRR. :roll:
 
I guess another tutorial can't hurt. I just did this quickly.



Start by taking both ends off your mould. Roughly measure your paper against the mould leaving enough at each end to come up and over the narrow sides of the mould.



Place your paper into the mould and adjust so you have a small overlap over the edge. Run your nails across the paper (where the bottom of the mould meets the side) to mark the paper and then remove the paper and fold sharply down both long sides. Put the paper back in and run your finger down the short side (against the wooden edge) to mark and then remove and fold.
















When you've folded one end, put it back into the mould and put the end of the mould back on. Hold the paper firmly against the end and run your finger down the other end to mark precisely where you need to fold the other end. This is how you get a perfect fit. You're using your finger to score the paper against the wooden lip or edge of the mould.



Cut your corners down to the wood and tape the short ends and then the long ends.





 
I've just realised that you may be using freezer paper which we don't have. I am using baking paper which is easy to mark but I don't know how freezer paper behaves. :wink:
 
Freezer paper. When you say baking do you mean parchment paper? I'm out of parchment but am going to get more and will try it. The biggest problem just happens to be my two left hands. Besides being left handed in a right handed world. :lol:
The paper hadn't arrived so I gave it another shot. Your pics are great and I have followed them before with my usual level of success. Methinks I am origami challenged.
Molds are now lined but they are NOT pretty. :(

Now, on to soap making.

Thank you Jenny.
 
You're welcome Dennis. Can you use the same liner more than once? I peel the paper off the soap very carefully and it can last for 3 batches if I'm careful and saves me lining the silly mould each time. :wink:
 
Bubbles Galore said:
You're welcome Dennis. Can you use the same liner more than once? I peel the paper off the soap very carefully and it can last for 3 batches if I'm careful and saves me lining the silly mould each time. :wink:
Click to expand...

DUHH! Never even thought about that. Another valuable common sense tip.

Now, on to kitchen destruction!
 
I was just thinking before I got on that you had not posted and I was missing your story of the week. I am very sorry the whole mold lining thing was/is not going well. Perhaps it is time to get out of the conquer mode? Dare I suggest it? Perhaps it would be good to move on the the making soap mode? Can your lovely, mysterious far eastern assistant fold paper? Or can you get a silicon mold for future use? In any case, I hope the mold gets lined and you get to make soap. I hope you enjoy the coffee and funnies in the meantime.
 
ToniD,

Yes, you may dare suggest. Moving on would be not only a appropriate suggestion, but an excellent one.


There is so much more to the story now. :D
Soap is finally in the oven for a while. I'll probably take it out shortly and wrap it up.

Good news! My lovely assistant has expressed interest in my soap adventures. She is interested in the packaging area of the endeavor and has suggested that we attend the Christmas Creations sale at church in December. I asked what year. She said 2011, I said no. Maybe 2012. It will take me that long to master mold linings not to mention all the different blends, colors, etc. It will be a while. Besides, if it becomes work it might not be fun. We shall see.

Bad news! I have suspended lovely assistant until she attends appropriate OSHA classes and displays her 10 hour safety certification card. This morning she stumbled, uhh, excuse me, twirled lightly into the kitchen for the morning cup of java and proceeded to scoop up a tablespoon of lye crystals to put in her coffee.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Coffeee!"

"Stop. Do not move."

"Huh?"

"That is NOT sugar!"

"Huh?"

"That is LYE!"

"Really?"

"YOU'RE FIRED, GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!"

Now, it wasn't exactly like that, but close enough. Maybe not the you're fired get out of my kitchen part.

This has been a very strange weekend.

I took someone's advice (No, get your mind out of the gutter!) and have decided to start a blog. That should free up the forum space and allow me to randomly express my thoughts.
I'm trying two colors today for the first time. That was an adventure also. I'm going to go and cut some cardboard and make mold mockups. More later.
Oh, I appreciate all of you nice people here. Thanks for your help and encouragement.
 
Woot, I hoped you'd start a blog!

Here's the tutorial I sort of use, from step 8 down.
http://www.soap-making-resource.com/lin ... molds.html

I'll try to explain how I do it. I set the freezer paper on top of the mold, centered. Then use my fingers to make an impression of the inside top edge of the mold. Set the paper on the counter and make complete folds, but I make the fold just a teeny tiny bit inside the original impression so it fits freely inside the mold. At step 8, at the ends, I cut along the fold to the bottom, and then on the sides, I cut like the tutorial shows, about 1-2" away from the fold. That allows me to bring up the sides and form a very clean "box" with no bumps in the bottom corners.

I hope that makes sense.
 
Not knowing about this forum when I started soap making (or if it even existed) I used what I had on hand which was some of that corrugated plastic sign board. Cut and creased to fit inside my wood form. Once soap is set it slides out of the form and peels off. Some of the stickier soaps I use a putty knife to skin the plastic off the soap loaf. Wipe off the plastic and put it back in the form...ready to go. As an experiment I recently made a form using MDO (medium density overlay plywood), again, just what I had on hand. Got me to wondering if anyone had tried using plastic laminate (i.e. Formica) as a mold liner? Once cut to fit they'd be completely reusable and there'd be no origami gymnastics (I feel for you Dennis!), but would it release OK?
 
(excuse my grout. it's clean but I just don't care enough to keep it white LOL)[/quote said:
I used to install tile for a living (sorta). The grout stain you can buy at Home Depot or Lowe's is great. Just paint it on.

Sorry. Couldn't help myself. I used slate and black grout this time :)
Click to expand...
 
Oh god! I thought it was just me! And another lefty to boot.

Dennis, use AmyW"s idea, that worked wonders for me.

Only 2 colors? Come on go for it! That way I will not be the only this weekend to destroy their kitchen.

Then you can get stressed and have some wine :D
 

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