What soapy thing have you done today?

[Sudds]

AliOop, I am so very excited for you! Happy packing, stacking, tossing and moving!

 

[rdc1978]

@AliOop - congrats on the pending home sale. Chickens are all the rage right now, someone will want them.

This week has been so freaking busy at work. I was lured in by the BB sale and I really have too many FO's. I hope no one has a sale anytime soon, because I clearly do not know how to stop myself. So, by the time I'm done with work, I just flop down on the couch and sniff fragrance oils. I bought too many and I took a lot of risks, but I really think every fragrance I chose is great.

Oh, I also ordered a mini slab mold, which I'm pretty excited to get.

Y'all, I have so much fragrance oil. goodness.

I hope you Texas peeps are staying safe!

 

[TashaBird]

Being impatient and checking on my 2nd (ever) CP batch.
It's a olive oil/beeswax/coffee/water discount recipe. The top is firm and ready to cut but I think maybe I didn't "work" the bottom layer as much so it needs more time.
I'm used to M&P where you have to work like Sonic the hedgehog and it's done in a hour or two. So it's a bit of a anxiety trip.
Also waiting for your tools to be ok to clean is trippy too. With M&P its sooooo "gotta go fast!" So maybe I'll distract myself by making some small M&Ps to give my mind the "congratulations you were productive" achievement.

CP soaping has forever changed my relationship to time. Waiting is SOoooo hard! And then you have to start thinking about what you want to be ready a month or two ffrom now.

My extruder discs that were lost in the mail arrived! Yay! Now to see if I can get them to translate into something. I finally have to make soap dough for the first time. Gonna make a big batch!
Washed a bunch of soap dishes, and kind of rested.
Anyone else get a hard fat that arrives in a big bag that’s stuffed into a box? Any tips on dealing with it? I used to get it in a bucket. So far I’ve transferred bag/box fat to the bucket. Anyway, it’s beautiful fat and I can’t wait to scoop it all out! I may finally be ready to MB some lye and fats too.

 

[Catscankim]

Waiting for my lye/oils to cool. Making a layered soap. Part two comes tomorrow night.

Also, not very soapy, made two oil infusions with dried Helichrysm and Calendula flowers for salves and such. It will be a few weeks for the oils to be ready.

Can't get my printer to work, so all production on labeling soaps has come to a halt. I have a big following on facebook for my back home Philly friends who want to buy my soaps that I keep posting, and I have no way to sell them right now unless they want soaps with no labels lol. Best I can do to buy a new printer is next week as I am in between paychecks, but it is what it is. Sucks, cause I just put new ink in the darned thing. Coulda bought a new printer for the price of the ink LOL. I guess that I could make the label templates up so that they are ready to be printed when I get the new printer.

 

[AliOop]

@Catscankim consider buying some interim labels from onlinelabels.com. They have a variety of labels and templates, and a design tool. You pick the label you want, use their template to design it, press Purchase, and they mail you the finished labels really fast.

Lots of folks find it cheaper than printing their own. And I hear their customer service is good if you need help translating your design to their template, too.

Even if you don’t like it for a permanent solution, they have no minimum order, so you can get just enough labels to mail out the soaps that are ready to go.

 

[Jersey Girl]

CP soaping has forever changed my relationship to time. Waiting is SOoooo hard! And then you have to start thinking about what you want to be ready a month or two ffrom now.

My extruder discs that were lost in the mail arrived! Yay! Now to see if I can get them to translate into something. I finally have to make soap dough for the first time. Gonna make a big batch!
Washed a bunch of soap dishes, and kind of rested.
Anyone else get a hard fat that arrives in a big bag that’s stuffed into a box? Any tips on dealing with it? I used to get it in a bucket. So far I’ve transferred bag/box fat to the bucket. Anyway, it’s beautiful fat and I can’t wait to scoop it all out! I may finally be ready to MB some lye and fats too.

I get lard in a 50 lb “bag in a box“ but it doesn’t melt as I keep it in an unheated back porch room during the cold months. I bring it inside and squirrel it in a corner in the house with air conditioning during the few months that it’s hot. I have a large plastic paint bucket with lid from Home Depot that I fill from the bag so I only have to grab that when I want to soap and not the whole huge box. I just refill the bucket from the box as it gets low.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Do you have a brand you like?


One of my favorite tool makers also makes a wooden support for milk cartons. She also makes pull throughs for said milk cartons. This makes me hate being lactose intolerant even more than I already do... just sayin.
https://www.wildplantanica.com/prod...-extensions-and-squeeze-bottle-for-easier-cen

Ah! My mistake, your comment was referring to the horizontal milk carton.

Wow, great site. I never saw the square pull throughs for using milk cartons!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

@TashaBird I use the same brand she lists above, but prefer the George's brand since it is usually less money where I live, and it has no additives. I love AVJ for added bubbles and label appeal, but obviously it is a LOT more expensive than distilled water. One of my next soapy purchases will probably be a water distiller machine -- so I can keep soaping even through natural disasters, zombie apocalypses, etc.

Speaking of soapy things, yesterday I got to unmold my Bud log splitter. So excited that I can finally use my small Nurture slab mold to make some designs.

However, soapmaking is going to take a back seat for a bit. Out of the blue, we were approached to see if we would sell our home. We said no, the house is not for sale, and if it were, we wouldn't sell for less than $ (insert ridiculously overpriced sum of money here). They came back with an offer to buy it as-is at that price, no inspections, waiving all appraisals, closing in three weeks. WHAT??? Our market here is insane, to say the least.

We scrambled and found ONE place that we absolutely love, and which we can buy for cash using the sale proceeds. They accepted our offer today. Soooooo apparently we are selling our house and moving in a few weeks. And then we will be debt-free. I might have to call Dave Ramsey's show and scream, haha.

My only sadness is that we cannot bring our beloved chickens. If the buyer doesn't want them, I must find wonderful homes for them, stat.

All that to say, I may not be very soapy or very active here for the next month or so. Then again, the stress of it all may drive me to make LOTS of soap and to seek solace from my soapy friends. We shall see!

Congratulations on your move' how exciting & stressful at the same time.

 

[KimW]

I might have to call Dave Ramsey's show and scream, haha.

Darn tootin' you should call Ramsey! LOL Oh, wow and wow. What a blessing and so thrilling. Many congratulations, @AliOop ! So sorry about your chickens. Will be praying for a smooth and easy transition and move, and chicken adoptions.

 

[KimW]

I'm changing my tag line...Just so y'all know...

 

[TashaBird]

I get lard in a 50 lb “bag in a box“ but it doesn’t melt as I keep it in an unheated back porch room during the cold months. I bring it inside and squirrel it in a corner in the house with air conditioning during the few months that it’s hot. I have a large plastic paint bucket with lid from Home Depot that I fill from the bag so I only have to grab that when I want to soap and not the whole huge box. I just refill the bucket from the box as it gets low.

My bag in a box fat comes in 27 lbs. Fortunately my garage stays cool enough it’s solid. But, I think I’ll transfer it to the 5 gallon bucket, for ease of use. I was debating on weather I needed to wash and dry the bucket last night, or just scrape it clean. I washed it.

 

[AliOop]

Darn tootin' you should call Ramsey! LOL Oh, wow and wow. What a blessing and so thrilling. Many congratulations, @AliOop ! So sorry about your chickens. Will be praying for a smooth and easy transition and move, and chicken adoptions.

Chicken adoption update: some good friends want the chickens and the coops! I sure will miss my girls, but I’m so excited that they will have a good home!!

 

[Guspuppy]

So happy your chickens get a new home. My niece loves loves loves chickens.

I could only dream of someone wanting my house that badly. I'd LOVE to sell! Happy moving!

 

[AliOop]

@Guspuppy The funny thing is, it’s not THAT great of a house. Mixed flooring, Formica counters in kitchen, nicely painted but old kitchen cabinets, older bathroom stuff.

We do keep it up nicely and have made it look nice despite the older finishes. And it is a large lot with big trees and no HOA.

Still, it is a pretty basic 70s ranch house that just happens to be in a hot market. May you be blessed at some point with a similar outcome!

 

[TashaBird]

I ”borrowed” a rubber scraper from the kitchen last week. Now my eggs taste like vetyver FO. Do not recommend. Blech!
I need more scrapers. I have a bunch that suck. Do you have ones you recommend?

 

[GemstonePony]

I ”borrowed” a rubber scraper from the kitchen last week. Now my eggs taste like vetyver FO. Do not recommend. Blech!
I need more scrapers. I have a bunch that suck. Do you have ones you recommend?

Most of mine have come from Target: sturdy, reinforced 1-piece silicone that can't come apart and has with no creases for batter to hide in. Stiff enough to get into corners, but flexible enough to scrape well. $5 each.
And when I'm cooking or baking, I find myself bemoaning the terrible quality/quantity of the kitchen spatulas, because I'm not good at remembering life things while I'm thinking soap things.

 

[AliOop]

I ”borrowed” a rubber scraper from the kitchen last week. Now my eggs taste like vetyver FO. Do not recommend. Blech!
I need more scrapers. I have a bunch that suck. Do you have ones you recommend?

Yeah, I have quite a few former kitchen spatulas that are now rosemary-scented soap spatulas (because I use rosemary EO in my henna-indigo hair coloring mix). Oops. BLECH is right! Love to season things with dried or fresh rosemary, but the EO? JUST NO.


ETA: I have this set from Amazon and love them for soaping! Had to buy another set in a different color so I could differentiate between the ones for soap and the ones for food.

 

[Babyshoes]

I got to cut my 4th batch today. It's milk and honey FO, with about a third coloured with gold mica and I attempted an in the pot swirl, but once again I used the SB slightly too much, so the uncoloured batter was quite thick. I'm still quite pleased to have some visual interest within the bar at least.

I have enough of the same FO to try again soon. I think I'll use a yellow mica since the gold reads more like caramel to me in the swirls. This time I'll aim to be more patient, and just keep stirring instead of thinking "I'll just give it a very quick pulse with the stick blender..."

 

[Angie Gail]

I got to cut my 4th batch today. It's milk and honey FO, with about a third coloured with gold mica and I attempted an in the pot swirl, but once again I used the SB slightly too much, so the uncoloured batter was quite thick. I'm still quite pleased to have some visual interest within the bar at least.

I have enough of the same FO to try again soon. I think I'll use a yellow mica since the gold reads more like caramel to me in the swirls. This time I'll aim to be more patient, and just keep stirring instead of thinking "I'll just give it a very quick pulse with the stick blender..."

View attachment 54441

You can definitely see the swirl though so that's good! I've been mostly making hot process soap and I usually blend that to medium trace and now with cold process I realize I've got to go really easy with the stick blender. From a lot of the videos I've watched about CP soap making, it looks like a lot of people blend to just past emulsion and when I did that with my last batch the in the pot swirl came out much better.

 

[Babyshoes]

@Angie Gail thank you for that tip! I'll try stopping just after emulsion and see how that looks as a swirl. I think I was concerned that the colours would start mixing if they were too runny...