What soapy thing have you done today?

[MySoapyHeart]

Does it count as a soapy thing if I was walking my dog at the park and saw a lady run past with a crazy shirt and immediately thought, "She has a Clyde Slide shirt on!" ??

The jury is back from deliberation, they`ll allow it... : D

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Made this. Now freshly cut.

Tried to make a sortah kinda clyde slide but didn`t have enough of the lighter batter to make it. Will try do better next time, I winged it so no wonder it didn`t work out the way I hoped...

It isn`t that ugly, but all I see is an owl... *toot-toot*

PS. The top picture is more true to the color, the bottom one looks paler but isn`t IRL.

 

[mx5inpenn]

I placed an order with nurture for mica and a few fo samples in anticipation of making soap again soon!

 

[TeresaT]

Dunno about Tenn, but in PA jewel weed grows along creek banks and in ditches along the roads!

Thanks!! I'll have to look for photos of jewel weed and see if I can find any along the back roads. If so, I'll tell my neighbor to go pick some and bring it to me. If he wants jewel weed soap badly enough, he'll scrounge for it. (Yep. I'm mean.)

 

[reflection]

i ordered lye for the first batch evah! and herbs & other supplies. still need more supplies before i can start, but i really want to just. make. soap.

 

[dibbles]

Sent a box off to Clean the World. A home for the fugly, faded fragrance, end pieces, scraps and trimmings. Yay!

 

[shunt2011]

Making 6 batches of soap. 2 batches of Lemon Verbena and Cracklin Birch done. Now what to make for the others.

 

[amd]

I have a batch of barber shop scented soap that I have to rebatch. Boy did that FO not cooperate for me.

Oh! What happened? I noticed a few spots on mine where it possibly did not get mixed well, otherwise it was lovely to work with (as far as salt bars go).

As long as I was on a salt bar roll, I kicked out a batch of rose shaped and scented salt bars. The color has morphed a bit since this photo was taken. I adore them even though I am not a rose fan. Also did a batch of pumpkin salt bars... Holy acceleration! I used 50/50 puree and coconut milk and it was like slinging concrete. I did not take pics because they are horrid looking. They smell lovely though.

 

[DeeAnna]

I have men coming out of the woodwork lately to tell me how much they love Cracklin' Birch from Nature's Garden. I use it in a soap I make with beer as full replacement for water. Utterly surprised at this reaction. One fellow liked the sample bar I gave him awhile back that he asked me to make 10 bars for him. He got the soap a couple of days ago and must have taken some to work. He wrote today:

"...Based on the reactions from these tough guys, I am not the only one who loves the smell. Remind you, these are all middle aged guys, all former Navy and Submariners. They were checking those bars out like kids a new giant candy. Just made my day that they really seemed to enjoy this...."

Wow.

 

[jules92207]

I have men coming out of the woodwork lately to tell me how much they love Cracklin' Birch from Nature's Garden. I use it in a soap I make with beer as full replacement for water. Utterly surprised at this reaction. One fellow liked the sample bar I gave him awhile back that he asked me to make 10 bars for him. He got the soap a couple of days ago and must have taken some to work. He wrote today:

"...Based on the reactions from these tough guys, I am not the only one who loves the smell. Remind you, these are all middle aged guys, all former Navy and Submariners. They were checking those bars out like kids a new giant candy. Just made my day that they really seemed to enjoy this...."

Wow.

I'm so excited you posted this cause I was trying to figure out what to make this weekend and I have some cracklin birch and need more men scents. I think I'll make it this weekend. Thanks DeeAnna!

 

[DeeAnna]

If you haven't used it before, it's a strong scent. At first it may seem overly spicy -- almost peppery -- but it mellows out. The description of the scent at NG is not remotely close to how I (and others who wrote reviews) perceive the scent. To me, it has a spicy top note (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom) with an underlying base of warm wood and resin scents and maybe a touch of musk. Most people would perceive it as more of a masculine or fall scent, although I like the fragrance for myself.

There's been a learning curve on using this FO in products. I like to use it at the max recommended dosage in soap because it mellows down so nicely and sticks so well, but I've learned to use it with a very light hand in anything else. At 1% in an emulsifying sugar scrub, it was offensively strong to the point of being unusable. It is one of the few FOs that obviously lingers on the skin.

It discolors to a golden tan, which works well in a beer soap. I get mild acceleration from using this FO.

 

[BlackDog]

I have men coming out of the woodwork lately to tell me how much they love Cracklin' Birch from Nature's Garden. I use it in a soap I make with beer as full replacement for water. Utterly surprised at this reaction. One fellow liked the sample bar I gave him awhile back that he asked me to make 10 bars for him. He got the soap a couple of days ago and must have taken some to work. He wrote today:

"...Based on the reactions from these tough guys, I am not the only one who loves the smell. Remind you, these are all middle aged guys, all former Navy and Submariners. They were checking those bars out like kids a new giant candy. Just made my day that they really seemed to enjoy this...."

Wow.

I've had a 1oz bottle of this sitting around for about 6 months and I think you've finally inspired me to soap with it.

 

[McMomWV]

Made carrot puree soap with a bit of tumeric for color. I loosey gooseyed mixing the tumeric because I wanted speckles. Still on the fence about that though.

 

[jules92207]

If you haven't used it before, it's a strong scent. At first it may seem overly spicy -- almost peppery -- but it mellows out. The description of the scent at NG is not remotely close to how I (and others who wrote reviews) perceive the scent. To me, it has a spicy top note (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom) with an underlying base of warm wood and resin scents and maybe a touch of musk. Most people would perceive it as more of a masculine or fall scent, although I like the fragrance for myself.

There's been a learning curve on using this FO in products. I like to use it at the max recommended dosage in soap because it mellows down so nicely and sticks so well, but I've learned to use it with a very light hand in anything else. At 1% in an emulsifying sugar scrub, it was offensively strong to the point of being unusable. It is one of the few FOs that obviously lingers on the skin.

It discolors to a golden tan, which works well in a beer soap. I get mild acceleration from using this FO.

Oh excellent input, thank you, and I do have some frozen beer, that sounds like a good choice for it.

 

[CTAnton]

I made my third version of LS soap tonight, IL's recipe with the cocoa and shea. The first was Isg's recipe and then Carrie Thompson's version. I'm using the
soap in foamer bottles. So far I like the 2 I've tried as do my testers. They all comment on how homemade soap is so residue free feeling, whether liquid or bar. I will say the first 2 formulas feel to be highly cleansing; IL says her formula is conditioning which I bet will be welcomed come winter time.
In her tutorial, she speaks of the flying bubble or Lawrence Welk stage, adding that sometimes that doesn't happen. Well it happened to me tonight...like magic...and smiled.....

 

[Arimara]

I made an 8oz (226g really) batch of soap with about a 1/4 tsp of indigo in the lye solution. I just wanted to see how it would come out, let alone see how to use that stuff. Maybe I'm in over my head with it.

 

[jules92207]

I stared at my bottles of fragrance oils and essential oils trying to figure out what to make next. I've had a few weeks off from soaping and I just can't get my butt in gear.

 

[shunt2011]

I have men coming out of the woodwork lately to tell me how much they love Cracklin' Birch from Nature's Garden. I use it in a soap I make with beer as full replacement for water. Utterly surprised at this reaction. One fellow liked the sample bar I gave him awhile back that he asked me to make 10 bars for him. He got the soap a couple of days ago and must have taken some to work. He wrote today:

"...Based on the reactions from these tough guys, I am not the only one who loves the smell. Remind you, these are all middle aged guys, all former Navy and Submariners. They were checking those bars out like kids a new giant candy. Just made my day that they really seemed to enjoy this...."

Wow.

Cracklin Birch is one of my top sellers. I make soap, shave soap and aftershave in it. I made two batches the other day. My husband loves it.

 

[niclycha]

I have men coming out of the woodwork lately to tell me how much they love Cracklin' Birch from Nature's Garden. I use it in a soap I make with beer as full replacement for water. Utterly surprised at this reaction. One fellow liked the sample bar I gave him awhile back that he asked me to make 10 bars for him. He got the soap a couple of days ago and must have taken some to work. He wrote today:

"...Based on the reactions from these tough guys, I am not the only one who loves the smell. Remind you, these are all middle aged guys, all former Navy and Submariners. They were checking those bars out like kids a new giant candy. Just made my day that they really seemed to enjoy this...."

Wow.

Have you ever tried Bonfire Bliss from Rustic Essentials? I'm going to try the Cracklin birch. Wondering if it smells alike

 

[DeeAnna]

No, I've not tried Bonfire Bliss. I'm seeing the reviews and the product description say things like vanilla, toasted marshmallows, and smoke. I'd have to say these aren't words I'd use to describe Cracklin' Birch, so I'm guessing CB and BB are different scents. But without having tried BB, I can't say for sure.

Edit: Also the IRFA % is much higher for BB in soap than for CB. Bonfire bliss -- Soaps solid and liquid: 43.51%. Cracklin' Birch: 5% for same.