SMF September 2023 Un-Challenge - Simple Pleasures
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Hi I just wanted to ask all of you a Question because I'm still wondering if I cut my woodgrain soap properly? I cut my soap into blocks and then I turned the block around and cut it length wise with the top still at the top is this correct? Or am I supposed to cut it the same way as a mantra swirl soap. I watched a ton of videos but they all move the blocks around to fast to tell which way to cut it, either that my brain is working to slow to keep up LOL 
. But yah I find the cut a bit confusing.
. But yah I find the cut a bit confusing.
It can be cut either way, especially if you are doing a wall pour or a one pot wonder type of pour into a loaf mold.Hi I just wanted to ask all of you a Question because I'm still wondering if I cut my woodgrain soap properly? I cut my soap into blocks and then I turned the block around and cut it length wise with the top still at the top is this correct? Or am I supposed to cut it the same way as a mantra swirl soap. I watched a ton of videos but they all move the blocks around to fast to tell which way to cut it, either that my brain is working to slow to keep up LOL
So sorry to hear you are dealing with this. Gut pain is the worst. Hope you are able to manage it well.
Hi everybody I just tried out the lather on my Orange Chocolate wood grain soap and it's pretty nice I was able to use 2 tsp of Hershey Natural Cocoa per pound of soap with about 1/2 tsp of Charcoal and my soap still has a white lather and it's a very dark brown so I'm very happy with this and thought I should let everyone know how to get this dark brown without it coloring your suds brown I have both a brown Mica and a pigment but they cause brown bubbles in my lather. Oh and you probably only need 1 tsp of cocoa with the charcoal I was just adding more to get as much cocoa in my soap as I could so it really surprised me that my lather is white and I'm so happy with this so I wanted to let everyone know!
I thought I'd let everyone laugh a little with my family inside joke. Since I have been making soap I have become a great cook in the kitchen using my soap making technique's LOL. I fold my parchment paper for my baking pans the same way I line my soap mold lol. I make sure all of my batters and gravys come to a perfect trace and I've learned how to follow a recipe properly. LOL 
It's been a little Quiet on here lately so I thought I'd give you all a little laugh! My corn bread Lol
It's been a little Quiet on here lately so I thought I'd give you all a little laugh! My corn bread Lol
LolSo true, @CLMP - and it’s it fun that the skills and techniques cross over? I’ve said before my DH refers to things around here as LBS - life before soaping - when I baked more
I was just looking at this on Etsy, the timing for your post is perfect!
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that so funny that mug is perfect lol I might buy that mug lol now I must run to the dentist hoping to get some laughing gas hehe just kidding.
I'm not a happy camper this morning all week I've been looking for my favorite ziplock containers for my son's lunches they are all gone to my surprise they have banned them and found out they have banned single use containers which to me doesn't make sense cause everybody reuses them over and over again this all means Rubbermaid is going out the door which I use for soap making how am I ever going live with out Number 5 containers for my soap making so I'm feeling pretty down about this, this morning and it seems to me they didn't do much to warn us ahead of time so feeling bummed right out.
This is news to me ~ are they coming out with something new, I wonder
I don't know if they are or not but I did notice that Ziplock now has these reusable rubber sandwich bags and they are expensive I'm now looking into getting some stainless steel containers for my son's lunches they are expensive too. My son won't eat sandwiches he likes left overs from the night before so I have to find some kind of container for him he also eats alot because he is a body builder so I need to find some nice big containers which I think I found some on Amazon. I still can't think of what to do for my soap making I might have to switch from plastic number 5s to glass and stainless steel. I do understand if Canada wants to get rid of plastic for the environment but it would of been nice if they could of warned us I have problems with change lol. I just hope I can find something nice for soap making.This is news to me ~ are they coming out with something new, I wonder
Wow ~ I am curious now and will have to check our shelves to see what our situation is
I totally agree though, advance notice would be helpful in these situations! I used to use them in all the sizes for kids lunches AND for craft storage ~ still have some too! I have been known to save the containers from pre-packaged deli meat (much to my husband's dismay), wash it and re-use it, but the lids on those don't last long and get cracks in them. I may not believe everything is better made of plastic (I do love my glass jars after all), but those little containers truly served a purpose!
My husband calls my soapmaking "kitchen chemistry."I thought I'd let everyone laugh a little with my family inside joke. Since I have been making soap I have become a great cook in the kitchen using my soap making technique's LOL. I fold my parchment paper for my baking pans the same way I line my soap mold lol. I make sure all of my batters and gravys come to a perfect trace and I've learned how to follow a recipe properly. LOL
Life has been pulling me in a lot of directions lately, but I finally had a chance to take a photo of a Simple Pleasures batch that I made a couple of weeks ago. For this Un-Challenge, I decided to make soap to match the shower curtain in our guest bathroom, because, why not?! The colorants are oxides, ultramarines and a Himilayan rhubarb infusion and the scent is BB Lingonberry Spice. I’m especially pleased with the pink and red that resulted when I added a bit of HR infusion to batter colored with red oxide.
@Mobjack Bay - those pull thrus came out really well! Great colors and Beautiful overall! 
Thanks @dibbles and @dmcgee5034 !
Here’s another soap that’s suitable for the Simple Pleasure Un-challenge. Plan A was a Taiwan Swirl scented with rosemary and lavender eos! Plan B evolved when the newbie soap maker I had over for a lesson found an FO she really liked. The testing results on the website for this new to me FO, BeScented’s Sea Island Cotton, were promising, so we went for it. Uh, bad idea. The simple pleasure here is in the save of a batch that was madly accelerating.
The soap is colored with a fair trade indigo from The Yarn Tree and annatto. The indigo turned out to be a pretty purple-ish blue but was tricky to use because I had to grind it with a mortar and pestle to make a powder fine enough to disperse in oil. The olive greenish brown is the same indigo plus some annatto. I cut the soap as early as I could, sacrificed one of the bars to patch the others and used what was left of the remaining dough-like soap to make the sea creature embellishments.
Here’s another soap that’s suitable for the Simple Pleasure Un-challenge. Plan A was a Taiwan Swirl scented with rosemary and lavender eos! Plan B evolved when the newbie soap maker I had over for a lesson found an FO she really liked. The testing results on the website for this new to me FO, BeScented’s Sea Island Cotton, were promising, so we went for it. Uh, bad idea. The simple pleasure here is in the save of a batch that was madly accelerating.
The soap is colored with a fair trade indigo from The Yarn Tree and annatto. The indigo turned out to be a pretty purple-ish blue but was tricky to use because I had to grind it with a mortar and pestle to make a powder fine enough to disperse in oil. The olive greenish brown is the same indigo plus some annatto. I cut the soap as early as I could, sacrificed one of the bars to patch the others and used what was left of the remaining dough-like soap to make the sea creature embellishments.
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1. Mobjack - feeling inspired!
2. dmcgee5034 - I’ve got an idea
3. Tammyfarms - I have been planning something that fits perfectly in this category.
4. CLMP - I'm not sure yet what I'll do but this sounds fun!
5. Cindy D. Oh goody another soapy idea swirling around in my head, while I tell myself "finish the vest" repeatedly.
6. Gecko - I can do 'simple'
7. K.C - I have a simple but lovely idea I've wanted to make all summer
1. Mobjack - feeling inspired!
2. dmcgee5034 - I’ve got an idea
3. Tammyfarms - I have been planning something that fits perfectly in this category.
4. CLMP - I'm not sure yet what I'll do but this sounds fun!
5. Cindy D. Oh goody another soapy idea swirling around in my head, while I tell myself "finish the vest" repeatedly.
6. Gecko - I can do 'simple'
7. K.C - I have a simple but lovely idea I've wanted to make all summer
@Mobjack Bay oh my I love both of your soaps they are amazing I really love those pull through soaps nice colors and I love the little creatures. I've tried to make soap dough a couple times but failed I don't think my recipes are good for soap dough so I gave up. But I find people using soap dough very interesting you can do much with it.
My simple pleasure was making soap while visiting my mom in Woodinville, WA. I made soap molds for the first time using a Pringles can (my husband was happy to eat the chips) and a Cheetos box (again, my husband was happy to eat the contents). I bought HO sunflower oil at an at a local store, and ordered other ingredients on Amazon.
My mom can use only unscented soap, but I wanted to do a swirl and a natural fragrance, so I ordered Cocoa butter to make chocolate soap. I colored the dark chocolate portion with a half square of unsweetened chocolate. I’m not sure what caused the bloom at the top of the bars. It is not soda ash. One bar home and planned it, and it’s beautiful. The reddish chocolate swirls turned dark brown after being exposed to the air for a day. With a very high amount of cocoa butter, these bars smell divine!
I made Shea butter soap in the Pringles can. I filled it exactly to the top, but learned it was mistake as the soap batter tried to grow out of the can as it gelled. Later, I learned that I needed to leave the top inch unfilled. The soap shrank most of the way back into the can, and my mom got to cut it.
My mom has enjoyed my soaps for years, but these bars will be special because she got to watch me make them.
I’ll add one other simple pleasure: I got to meet a soap maker from the board and talk about soap! This is the second time in the last few months I got to meet in person with another soap maker from SMF.
My mom can use only unscented soap, but I wanted to do a swirl and a natural fragrance, so I ordered Cocoa butter to make chocolate soap. I colored the dark chocolate portion with a half square of unsweetened chocolate. I’m not sure what caused the bloom at the top of the bars. It is not soda ash. One bar home and planned it, and it’s beautiful. The reddish chocolate swirls turned dark brown after being exposed to the air for a day. With a very high amount of cocoa butter, these bars smell divine!
I made Shea butter soap in the Pringles can. I filled it exactly to the top, but learned it was mistake as the soap batter tried to grow out of the can as it gelled. Later, I learned that I needed to leave the top inch unfilled. The soap shrank most of the way back into the can, and my mom got to cut it.
My mom has enjoyed my soaps for years, but these bars will be special because she got to watch me make them.
I’ll add one other simple pleasure: I got to meet a soap maker from the board and talk about soap! This is the second time in the last few months I got to meet in person with another soap maker from SMF.
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