Today I am cutting & trimming soap made last night & a few days ago.
What soapy thing have you done today?
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I took Friday off and started working on clearing out my curing room and converting it into a soap-supply room so I can recover my kitchen. I'm still working on it. I'll get there eventually and post some before and after photos, but this is ridiculous. I'm finding stuff I bought and had no idea I had. I went to Walmart yesterday and bought a bunch of glass jars to store stuff in. I bought two 2-gal jars, six 1-gal jars, five 1-quart jars, six 2 oz jars with spoons. That wasn't enough jars. I need at least a six more 2 oz sized jars for micas that came in pouches and probably some larger 4 oz jars for misc things. I'm off tomorrow and Tuesday. I'm hoping I'll have this crap figured out by then. I also want to get some more shelving units to put in that room. I have space for at least one more along that wall.
ETA: I transferred a bunch of fragrance oils from their plastic bottles to glass bottles. I drink a tea called Runa that comes in glass bottles. I've been saving the bottles for my fragrance oils. Today was the day. My house stinks right now. Even though I used rubber gloves, my hands smell like FO. I'm heading to the shower to get the smell off.
ETA: I transferred a bunch of fragrance oils from their plastic bottles to glass bottles. I drink a tea called Runa that comes in glass bottles. I've been saving the bottles for my fragrance oils. Today was the day. My house stinks right now. Even though I used rubber gloves, my hands smell like FO. I'm heading to the shower to get the smell off.
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bumbleklutz
Well-Known Member
Yesterday, I made a batch of 39% EDTA solution. I've never used EDTA, but I'm excited to see what it adds to my soap. I have very hard water here, so I'm hoping the EDTA allows the soap to rinse off more easily/leave less film.
Also, I master batched fats for my standard recipe. It's amazing how much time is saved by master batching when making soap. Now I'm looking at master batching my lye as well.
Ordered more HO sunflower oil and vegetable glycerin; plus a coconut lemongrass FO.
Made a batch of Satsuma Orange soap with a simple ITP swirl. (I'm absolutely in love with Nurture Soap's Satsuma Orange FO right now.)
Made a batch of "Rain" soap with three differently colored layers with mica lines between the layers. Not sure how that one is gonna turn out. Fingers crossed.
They're both still too young to unmold and cut; but I'll update with pictures when I do.
Also, I master batched fats for my standard recipe. It's amazing how much time is saved by master batching when making soap. Now I'm looking at master batching my lye as well.
Ordered more HO sunflower oil and vegetable glycerin; plus a coconut lemongrass FO.
Made a batch of Satsuma Orange soap with a simple ITP swirl. (I'm absolutely in love with Nurture Soap's Satsuma Orange FO right now.)
Made a batch of "Rain" soap with three differently colored layers with mica lines between the layers. Not sure how that one is gonna turn out. Fingers crossed.
They're both still too young to unmold and cut; but I'll update with pictures when I do.
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Yesterday, I made a batch of 39% EDTA solution. I've never used EDTA, but I'm excited to see what it adds to my soap. I have very hard water here, so I'm hoping the EDTA allows the soap to rinse off more easily/leave less film.
Also, I master batched fats for my standard recipe. It's amazing how much time is saved by master batching when making soap. Now I'm looking at master batching my lye as well.
Ordered more HO sunflower oil and vegetable glycerin; plus a coconut lemongrass FO.
Made a batch of Satsuma Orange soap with a simple ITP swirl. (I'm absolutely in love with Nurture Soap's Satsuma Orange FO right now.)
Made a batch of "Rain" soap with three differently colored layers with mica lines between the layers. Not sure how that one is gonna turn out. Fingers crossed.
They're both still too young to unmold and cut; but I'll update with pictures when I do.
I love the Satsuma FO too!
bumbleklutz
Well-Known Member
Today I:
Made a batch of soap with Nurture Soap's "The Olive Branch" it was a white base with a yellow, blue and green ITP swirl.
I made a batch of soap with Nurture Soap's "Hellstone" it was a grey base with a black, red, orange, and yellow ITP swirl.
I master batched lye.
I master batched more oils.
Checked the soaps from yesterday, they're not quite ready to unmold and cut yet. :cry:
Made a batch of soap with Nurture Soap's "The Olive Branch" it was a white base with a yellow, blue and green ITP swirl.
I made a batch of soap with Nurture Soap's "Hellstone" it was a grey base with a black, red, orange, and yellow ITP swirl.
I master batched lye.
I master batched more oils.
Checked the soaps from yesterday, they're not quite ready to unmold and cut yet. :cry:
I just received and order for 40 gift size bar soaps for a Baby shower in April. I am making them out of Goats Milk and scented them lightly with "Lily Of The Valley" scent. I will pour them into my 23" soap mold and then cut each bar in half. I plan on making a custom made brown craft paper wrap on them with what she wants to say onto the wrapper. I also started a couple of weeks ago to start a new line of Hemp & Goat Milk line of Hand & Body lotions to my growing line of lotions.
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
bumbleklutz
Well-Known Member
Today I unmolded two logs of soap, but they're still a little too soft to cut. I dented one of them getting it out of the mold. :headbanging:
A
amd
Excuse the bad photo quality, my phone camera has a broken gyroscope (or so the fiancee tells me). When I have more soaping space I'm going to try saving my soap shreds by color to see what cool looks I might get. I'm dreaming of yellow lemongrass soap with green shreds...
Speaking of dreaming... The fiancee and I looked at a house today and I fell in love with it! It has a soap lab with a sink and counter plumbed in and everything! I guess some people might call it a laundry room...? Crazy. On my drive home tonight I was dreaming about my soap lab (and the rest of the house) and missed my turn...by ten miles!
So other soapy stuff done today: ordered 25lbs Shea butter, 32lbs sodium hydroxide, and officially have insurance for my soaps. I might put in an order at NDA yet tonight too before Chris cuts off my spending...
A
amd
Thank you! I used bodacious blue neon from Micas & More and Titanium Dioxide.
penelopejane
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TBandCW
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Made 12 lb of soap and 20 bath bombs. Since my last full gm soap didn't gel all the way thru with my new loaf mold I threw that 4lb in the freezer. Keeping my fingers crossed that it didn't gel at all! All in all it was a good soapy day.
Bubbles1189
Member
I made...a huge mistake this week. I wanted to make Easter egg soaps with a Troll color scheme for part of my daycare girl's Easter baskets but many mistakes later I somehow ended up with vague rock shaped pink and green blobs. How did I end up there you may ask? Well let me lead you down a long trail of oops.
Mistake 1- I couldn't find my FO jar that measure out my fragrances in so I thought "Hey this dixie cup could work." See where I'm going? FO everywhere over my kitchen counter.roblem:
Mistake 2- I forgot to rub my molds with mineral oil before I started. They were the jello brand whole Easter egg molds so...no they didn't come out.
Mistake 2-somewhere down the line I must have messed up my recipe (I knew I should have just changed the batteries on the scale) So instead of hardening into soap, I have stuff that's the consistency of play-doh.
Mistake 3-Once the FO was cleaned up I salvaged what was left and measured out more....which I promptly forgot about for half my batch.
Mistake 4- Trying to get the **** soap out of the mold. I had used one of my favorite scents (Bite Me by NG) and refused to just toss the molds. I ended up prying the mold apart with a screwdriver and ruining one grapefruit spoons to get it all out. I tried to just mold the pieces with my hands into weird pink and green rock shaped abominations and now I'm left scratching my head as to what to do with them. They aren't lye heavy, create tons of bubbles and actually made my hands really soft so I don't have it in my heart to toss the batch but I can't give it to the girls now.
Mistake 5- Not exterminating all soap gremlins :headbanging:
To be honest, this was the first time a soap has misbehaved with me. I've gotten lucky in the few years I've been doing this and I only had one other batch that didn't set up right. (Bad scale at the time) I think from now on I'm gonna soap with a glass of wine or two.
Mistake 1- I couldn't find my FO jar that measure out my fragrances in so I thought "Hey this dixie cup could work." See where I'm going? FO everywhere over my kitchen counter.
roblem:Mistake 2- I forgot to rub my molds with mineral oil before I started. They were the jello brand whole Easter egg molds so...no they didn't come out.
Mistake 2-somewhere down the line I must have messed up my recipe (I knew I should have just changed the batteries on the scale) So instead of hardening into soap, I have stuff that's the consistency of play-doh.
Mistake 3-Once the FO was cleaned up I salvaged what was left and measured out more....which I promptly forgot about for half my batch.
Mistake 4- Trying to get the **** soap out of the mold. I had used one of my favorite scents (Bite Me by NG) and refused to just toss the molds. I ended up prying the mold apart with a screwdriver and ruining one grapefruit spoons to get it all out. I tried to just mold the pieces with my hands into weird pink and green rock shaped abominations and now I'm left scratching my head as to what to do with them. They aren't lye heavy, create tons of bubbles and actually made my hands really soft so I don't have it in my heart to toss the batch but I can't give it to the girls now.
Mistake 5- Not exterminating all soap gremlins :headbanging:
To be honest, this was the first time a soap has misbehaved with me. I've gotten lucky in the few years I've been doing this and I only had one other batch that didn't set up right. (Bad scale at the time) I think from now on I'm gonna soap with a glass of wine or two.
Bubbles1189
Member
For science
Also the soda ash is killing me.
Also the soda ash is killing me.
Dreamed I was trying to make a pink cotton candy scented soap, really bizarre as I would not like that scent lol. I ended up making a brown and green rosemary/cedar soap instead. Smells really good, can't wait to cut it.
bumbleklutz
Well-Known Member
I made...a huge mistake this week. I wanted to make Easter egg soaps with a Troll color scheme for part of my daycare girl's Easter baskets but many mistakes later I somehow ended up with vague rock shaped pink and green blobs. How did I end up there you may ask? Well let me lead you down a long trail of oops.
Mistake 1- I couldn't find my FO jar that measure out my fragrances in so I thought "Hey this dixie cup could work." See where I'm going? FO everywhere over my kitchen counter.
Mistake 2- I forgot to rub my molds with mineral oil before I started. They were the jello brand whole Easter egg molds so...no they didn't come out.
Mistake 2-somewhere down the line I must have messed up my recipe (I knew I should have just changed the batteries on the scale) So instead of hardening into soap, I have stuff that's the consistency of play-doh.
Mistake 3-Once the FO was cleaned up I salvaged what was left and measured out more....which I promptly forgot about for half my batch.
Mistake 4- Trying to get the **** soap out of the mold. I had used one of my favorite scents (Bite Me by NG) and refused to just toss the molds. I ended up prying the mold apart with a screwdriver and ruining one grapefruit spoons to get it all out. I tried to just mold the pieces with my hands into weird pink and green rock shaped abominations and now I'm left scratching my head as to what to do with them. They aren't lye heavy, create tons of bubbles and actually made my hands really soft so I don't have it in my heart to toss the batch but I can't give it to the girls now.
Mistake 5- Not exterminating all soap gremlins :headbanging:
To be honest, this was the first time a soap has misbehaved with me. I've gotten lucky in the few years I've been doing this and I only had one other batch that didn't set up right. (Bad scale at the time) I think from now on I'm gonna soap with a glass of wine or two.
I feel your pain. I've had soap days like that.
Just made a batch of activated charcoal soap. I bought an FO on sale with 8% vanilla and figured a black soap would suit that nicely! I've been having way too much fun with additives lately, so I ended up throwing in some bentonite clay and 25% dissolved sea salt to make it a brine bar. Also tried 95% NaOH/5% KOH for the first time. Seems like it should be a pretty nice facial bar.
I was going to get creative with some white swirls on the top, but the FO accelerated like crazy on me so I glopped the batter into my cavity molds. I'm sure they'll be FULL of bubbles, but at least I got everything incorporated well before it reached pudding consistency. And they smell great!
I was going to get creative with some white swirls on the top, but the FO accelerated like crazy on me so I glopped the batter into my cavity molds. I'm sure they'll be FULL of bubbles, but at least I got everything incorporated well before it reached pudding consistency. And they smell great!
bumbleklutz
Well-Known Member
Today I watched tutorials and read posts about hanger swirls and hanger swirl tools.
I sacrificed the life of one innocent wire hanger (No! More! Wire! Hangers! :twisted and a length of aquarium tubing and made myself a serviceable hanger swirl tool. I'm not particularly handy, and any kind of DIY "projects" I attempt usually end with much cursing, pain, blood and a call to a professional to come fix whatever it is I've happened to screw up beyond all hope of repair. Often, that is followed by a trip to the ER to fix me. (Don't ask about the time I tried to replace the toilet.) So I was sort of impressed with myself when my hanger tool came out pretty good.
Having had one success, I decided to put my newly minted hanger tool to good use and make a batch of hanger swirl soap. It was scented with Nurture Soap's "Day of the Dead" and colored black, white, orange, and violet. It's in bed resting peacefully as I type this, hopefully it will gel. I can't wait to cut it and see how it turned out. I will post pictures when I unmold and cut.
Here's the homemade hanger swirl tool:
I sacrificed the life of one innocent wire hanger (No! More! Wire! Hangers! :twisted
and a length of aquarium tubing and made myself a serviceable hanger swirl tool. I'm not particularly handy, and any kind of DIY "projects" I attempt usually end with much cursing, pain, blood and a call to a professional to come fix whatever it is I've happened to screw up beyond all hope of repair. Often, that is followed by a trip to the ER to fix me. (Don't ask about the time I tried to replace the toilet.) So I was sort of impressed with myself when my hanger tool came out pretty good.Having had one success, I decided to put my newly minted hanger tool to good use and make a batch of hanger swirl soap. It was scented with Nurture Soap's "Day of the Dead" and colored black, white, orange, and violet. It's in bed resting peacefully as I type this, hopefully it will gel. I can't wait to cut it and see how it turned out. I will post pictures when I unmold and cut.
Here's the homemade hanger swirl tool:
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