What soapy thing have you done today?

[Guspuppy]

That Navaria is pretty smart.

 

[Viore]

Yesterday I made an ITP swirl soap fragranced with WSP's Bay Rum. I don't care for the scent so much, but a lot of other people do! I overpoured the batter though, so I couldn't do a fancy swirl on top. It feels good to be getting back into soaping after a 4 month hiatus!

 

[Stacyspy]

Two more batches cut... I've been unable to soap for so long, I had less than 40 bars in stock left. If I make 2 batches a day for the next 14 days, I should be caught back up, and actually have something to sell at my farmer's market by August...lol
Anyway, the blue and gray with the white specks is Midsummer Night, and the red(ish), blue and white is blueberry.

 

[earlene]

I've been labeling soaps for the past 3 days. Also gave two to MIL, with very pretty wrapping. Previously I had told my husband I wasn't going to give her any more soap because she 'loses' it and it just seems like such a waste. This after she hinted that she wanted some and I added a fragrance I bought specifically for her, looking for something that would remind her of her favorite perfume. She is in a nursing home and does not bathe herself, so at first I wasn't sure home made soap would be acceptable to the staff. But MIL told me it was acceptable, so I gave her some. She lost the first bar of soap and said she thinks someone accidentally threw it away. After she lost the second bar, that's when I told my husband I wasn't going to give her anymore because she apparently doesn't really want it or just doesn't use it. I don't know. Well, it's been a few months and it was Mother's Day and I was wrapping and labeling all this soap, so I had a change of heart. I decided once I give it to her, what happens to it is really none of my business. It's about the joy of giving and seeing her response to receiving. She seemed to light up, so mission accomplished. We also had dinner together, which was nice.

Today I am still labeling soaps and re-organizing my curing areas.

I need to do some planning about an upcoming roadtrip. Do I want to bring a few soapmaking supplies with me? Maybe I'll bring some felting supplies instead. I can felt soap in the evenings rather than making soap. Not as many supplies to pack and less messy all the way around. So my next project is to choose which soaps I will want to bring along for felting. And to see if I need to buy more felting needles. I think I was running low last time I looked.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Not really soap related, but kinda...?

I have made fizzies three days in a row now.

I am going to make another batch in a minute, because
1) It makes the whole appt. smell soooo good.

2) The batch is small so it is easier to get good results without overspraying the powder. I also for the first time used those candy hearts with messages on them, and stuck them on the outside of each fizzie so every person gets two fizzies each with a personal message. (I can take a picture if anyone is interested enough to see one)

3) I have made 4 new essential oil combos, and they smell sooooo good I need a fix.. err, I mean I need to test the new ones out in fizzies.

4) I am making them so I can add them to different carepackages for friends of mine that need a pick-me-up.

And to my nose, nothing picks people up like a lemony chamomile kick with a touch of rosewood, Lime and a dab of Berg - The Mot. Or sweet peppermint with a dose of eucalyptus and Rosemary.

I can feel my sinuses are clearing up already...

 

[penelopejane]

Not really soap related, but kinda...?

2) The batch is small so it is easier to get good results without overspraying the powder. I also for the first time used those candy hearts with messages on them, and stuck them on the outside of each fizzie so every person gets two fizzies each with a personal message. (I can take a picture if anyone is interested.)
I can feel my sinuses are clearing up already...

Sounds like a lovely idea. I'd definitely like to see them. Please post.

 

[SuzieOz]

Yes I'd like to see your pic MySoapyHeart, thanks

I made fizzy toilet fresheners. The toilet smells lovely - all lemony and pepperminty.

 

[Guspuppy]

She is in a nursing home and does not bathe herself, so at first I wasn't sure home made soap would be acceptable to the staff. But MIL told me it was acceptable, so I gave her some. She lost the first bar of soap and said she thinks someone accidentally threw it away. After she lost the second bar, that's when I told my husband I wasn't going to give her anymore because she apparently doesn't really want it or just doesn't use it. I don't know.

Nursing home staff might be stealing your soaps and just telling her they are 'lost'!

 

[niclycha]

I ordered my Bud Cutter today, my Lye, and found these cool silicone tester molds on clearance at Walmart today
Regular 12 dollars for only 3 dollars. ... I raided the rack for all 4 of them. 2 per pack. So 8 for 12 dollars!

 

[niclycha]

I couldn't make soap because I'm out of lye, so I shopped for soaping stuff lol. Next best thing lol.

 

[mzimm]

We (women in general) are notoriously hard on ourselves. We picture the impossible in our mind's eye and berate ourselves when we fall short. That's why so many women become Bridezillas close to their big day lol. Sometimes, it's practically impossible to live up to our own inflated standards, even when everyone else says we've done beautifully. Rather than "fail", we become immobilized. We come up with 1000 reasons not to do something instead of facing our fears and diving in. But here's the thing. I've seen your soaps. I know you do beautiful work. I cannot see the image you have in your mind. So what you present will look to me like it's supposed to look exactly that way. And I will think it's beautiful. Sometimes, you just have to trust in yourself.

Thank you, Navaria, you do help.

 

[earlene]

I ordered my Bud Cutter today, my Lye, and found these cool silicone tester molds on clearance at Walmart today
Regular 12 dollars for only 3 dollars. ... I raided the rack for all 4 of them. 2 per pack. So 8 for 12 dollars!

Those green silicone molds are a fabulous bargain! I have 2 of them and wish I had more except for the cost. I'll have to check my local Walmart & see if they have any on sale, but I doubt they will. I really like them for milks or purees or whatever liquidy soapy additive I want to freeze because the lids prevent spillage. I use masking tape on the lid to ID what's inside, then transfer that label to the plastic baggie later when the cubes are frozen. Now I have lots of approximately 1 - 1.5 ounce cubes of buttermilk, carrot puree, aloe, etc. in my freezer to use when I make soap.

This morning I did a very small rebatch just using the shavings from recently cleaned up soaps I've been labeling. I added a tiny amount of maple syrup to the mix just to see what it would be like. The resulting soap left in the mixing cup lathered very nicely during clean-up. I used some novelty molds I recently got from a soapers destash. I'll leave them in the molds until we return from our roadtrip because I ended up adding in a bit more almond milk than necessary to liquify the soap and it may take a very long time to dry out. I did a rebatch with too much liquid once before and the resulting soap shriveled up something horrible, so I hope that it doesn't happen again. Only time will tell.

 

[Guspuppy]

I ordered my Bud Cutter today, my Lye, and found these cool silicone tester molds on clearance at Walmart today
Regular 12 dollars for only 3 dollars. ... I raided the rack for all 4 of them. 2 per pack. So 8 for 12 dollars!

ooh! I need to go see if my Walmart has those tester sized silicone molds! I found a local lady who runs a mission for the city of Pittsburgh's homeless, and asked her if she would like soap and she enthusiastically said yes, but wanted smaller bars. So those would be perfect AND I'd have plenty of reason to make soap all summer. Can't beat that!

 

[lenarenee]

Nursing home staff might be stealing your soaps and just telling her they are 'lost'!

Yes, or throwing them out since they are "homemade".

 

[lenarenee]

Did something I always meant to do - and took me a year to finally get to it: made tiny soap samples of each mica color I have - 54 of them. Staring at all these colors is much more motivating to me than sniffing fo bottles. However, I can also see that there's many more colors that I still need to get!

 

[TeresaT]

I finally bought a new computer today. My old one was too old and too slow. I've just purchased Soapmaker 3. I'm nearly out of lard and some other oils and need to re-stock, so this was the perfect time to get the computer and software. Plus, I've just purchased all of those micas (24 of them) and have a bunch of other things ordered that should be coming in this week. I usually just toss all of my receipts into a box that I was planning on going through next year during tax time; but this will be a bit more efficient, I think. I'll work on entering data a few hours each night after work. I hope I'll have everything loaded within two weeks. And then I can actually figure out what I have on hand and what I need. Besides lard and coconut oil, that is.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Did something I always meant to do - and took me a year to finally get to it: made tiny soap samples of each mica color I have - 54 of them. Staring at all these colors is much more motivating to me than sniffing fo bottles. However, I can also see that there's many more colors that I still need to get!

Awesome! That's a huge undertaking! I made 42 sample soaps with new FOs the other day and I thought to myself "ok, I'm done for at least a few months of testing now!"

I finally bought a new computer today. My old one was too old and too slow. I've just purchased Soapmaker 3. I'm nearly out of lard and some other oils and need to re-stock, so this was the perfect time to get the computer and software. Plus, I've just purchased all of those micas (24 of them) and have a bunch of other things ordered that should be coming in this week. I usually just toss all of my receipts into a box that I was planning on going through next year during tax time; but this will be a bit more efficient, I think. I'll work on entering data a few hours each night after work. I hope I'll have everything loaded within two weeks. And then I can actually figure out what I have on hand and what I need. Besides lard and coconut oil, that is.

Yay! Congrats on the new computer. I have soapmaker 3! I like it but I often feel the software is "clunky" I wish it was easier to use. It's not as intuitive as I would like but it does the job!

 

[Susie]

I've been labeling soaps for the past 3 days. Also gave two to MIL, with very pretty wrapping. Previously I had told my husband I wasn't going to give her any more soap because she 'loses' it and it just seems like such a waste. This after she hinted that she wanted some and I added a fragrance I bought specifically for her, looking for something that would remind her of her favorite perfume. She is in a nursing home and does not bathe herself, so at first I wasn't sure home made soap would be acceptable to the staff. But MIL told me it was acceptable, so I gave her some. She lost the first bar of soap and said she thinks someone accidentally threw it away. After she lost the second bar, that's when I told my husband I wasn't going to give her anymore because she apparently doesn't really want it or just doesn't use it.

If you could make guest sized bars for her, there would be less "accidental" loss. Just give her enough for a week at the time.

Today, I made a batch of "guy" soap for my great-nephews (my hubby is their mother's uncle). I am trying to make a batch per person coming to the vacation.

 

[DeeAnna]

I wonder if the soap Earlene is giving to her MIL is wandering off with the staff. There's not a lot of control over one's belongings in a nursing home, and a good smelling soap in a pretty package might be too tempting.

Or the used soap might be inadvertently left in the bathing area after MIL's bath and then gets discarded. Susie's idea about giving her guest-sized soaps might be a good solution if this is the issue.

 

[Viore]

I cut the ITP Bay Rum soap yesterday! I'm impressed with the swirls I got, though I don't know if it's supposed to look this way. Oh well! I'm happy with it.