What soapy thing have you done today?

[SoapAddict415]

Beautiful soaps GreenDragon and your "helper" is adorable lol! Is that a mask around his neck? Lol I love it!

 

[GreenDragon]

lol he has two toys in his mouth. He wants to play.

 

[Kittish]

@GreenDragon- he looks like he's hard to say 'no' to.

I got my loaf splitter today! *happy dance* Going to make a mantra swirl soap in the next few days just so I can try it out. Now to decide what colors and scents I'm going to use. :think:

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I shipped the last two batches of GM Lotion off to my wholesale customer today. But earlier this week I had fun making my first M&P soaps with the help of my M&P soaping buddy in AZ. With her tips and tricks, my first trial turned out better than I expected! Whew. Then I started fiddling around and the next 3 batches weren't as great. For one, I forgot to add the fragrance! For another one, I kept reheating the soap to pour easily and it got weird. I don't have a way to post pictures but I found this pic of the mold on line:

These soaps are for my grandnephews in the Seattle area. The boys are 5, 11 and 13. They often get live lobsters to cook and I hope they like these soaps. The ones I made were all red lobsters like the pic, but the background was colored with sea kelp powder to give a "fishy" smell and a bit of green & blue mica to make the water background look more realistic (unlike the turquoise color in the pic). I used a sea Kelp FO that kicked the fragrance up to a mellower scent, but still a hint of fishy.

http://www.thesoapdish.com/fragrance.htm

A fresh spa-type scent which captures the essence of the ocean with crisp green watery notes and fresh floral ozone notes. Mid notes of gardenia, coriander, lilac, and parsley. Base notes of clary sage, fir needle and oakmoss. Test notes: No acceleration, ricing, or discoloration. FP: >200°F.

 

[earlene]

I am in Wisconsin Dells solo for several days using up some timeshare points, so soaping was my goal for this trip. I also brought along Magneseum Hydroxide and Babassu oil to make more deodorant, but forgot the beeswax. After spending a lot of time getting the babassu to melt, I realized my mistake, so only made enough for one stick and about 1/4 of a stick of deodorant. I used BB's Sunflower FO to scent this batch. Tomorrow I will try and find some beeswax at Jo-Ann's or Walmart. I know they both carry it, but whether or not these stores here will have any is a toss-up. I wanted to make several tubes with different fragrances, since I brought lots of FOs with me for scenting soap.

Today I organized all the supplies I brought with me, so I can get started making soap tomorrow. Too tired tonight. But at least I got something done. I found that the electric fireplace is the perfect adjunct to melting hards oils: just stand the bottle a few feet in front of it and turn it occasionally, shaking as needed. It's more fun than sitting the bottle in a sink full of hot water, which is what I normally do. Not sure how well this method will work for cocoa butter, but for the 'softer' hard oils, it's good.

I am getting over a very bad cough that lasted about 3 weeks or so, and at long last I didn't cough much today and never needed a cough drop at all.

 

[amd]

After a few weeks break from soapmaking, I made my second batch of New Year Castile. Last year's Castile soap is just about ready to come off the cure rack. I made a bunch of embeds for the next 2 batches of soap, and one"batch" of soap cupcakes. I still do not have the hang of figuring out how much batter I need. I made way too much frosting. I have tomorrow off, the kids have school, and Chris has to work, so I have the house to myself. Hopefully will get 24 lbs of oils masterbatched in prep for some on the fly soapmaking this weekend. I'm a bit behind on February soaps so it will be a crunch - and I want to make some salt bars for Chris' birthday the end of Feb. Hope you all have a great holiday!

 

[MorpheusPA]

Because I fell under 150 bars in stock with what I'm giving away this Christmas, of course the urge to make some overtook me. I managed to resist all but a four-bar test...

It's a whitened olive-heavy soap for good conditioning and mild cleansing, with a heaping teaspoon of colloidal oatmeal I scented it with vanilla and rosewood, heavy on the vanilla, which is why the color is already cream.

It overheated when I CPOP-ed, hence the graininess. That should fade and if not, I still think it looks good.

 

[earlene]

MorpheusPA, I don't know how you could resist the urge to make lots of soap! I like you colloidal oatmeal castile. Very nice.

amd, congrats on your New Year's Castiles. I haven't started any yet, and still have so much from last year yet to evaluate.

One of the things that my extended trip to California, which later was extended even further when I visited my other son in Texas, was that I didn't make the cannibas leaf soap for my brother as early as planned. So while in Wisconsin last week, I made a test soap using Nature's Garden's Cannabis Flower FO in a recipe using a low percentage of Hemp oil in the recipe. Boy does it smell like the real thing in soap! Sitting in the living room last night after taking the 4 soaps out of their molds (individual molds), I kept thinking 'now my house smells like marijuana!' and wondering where I am going to put these soaps to cure! But this morning I don't notice it so much. Perhaps overnight my nose became accustomed, or perhaps it as on my skin, even though I did wear gloves while unmolding and washing the molds. The fragrance was quite strong last night. My assessment at this point is that when the soap suds up the smell permeates the area. When I pick up the soap and begin to move it toward my nose, the fragrance is still quite strong. So I can only assume it's a combination of my nose chose to adjust to the odor overnight and the sudsing while washing the molds yesterday was what seemed to me at the time was being bombarded by the fragrance for several hours.

I only wish I didn't have to wait for the cure to get my brother's impressions. He lives in Oregon now, so it's not like he can come over and take a whiff while it cures. At least I can bring some with me to Spring Training in a couple of months and get his impressions then.

 

[bathgeek]

I only wish I didn't have to wait for the cure to get my brother's impressions. He lives in Oregon now, so it's not like he can come over and take a whiff while it cures. At least I can bring some with me to Spring Training in a couple of months and get his impressions then.

Cant you just mail it to him with strict instructions on not using it until X, but asking him for impressions prior? ^_^

 

[GreenDragon]

Lets get organized!

It's been cold and wet here in central Texas, so decided to get my soaping house in order :snowman:

Yesterday I made 5 batches of soap to start curing:
1. My first re-batch using all my scraps and least favorite soaps I've collected over my 5 whole months of soaping LOL
2. A batch of my favorite Man Soap
3. A batch of my Wife's favorite Soap - mild with charcoal and peppermint oil
4. A traditional 100% OO Castile
5. A modified Castile with 80% OO with 10% CO, 8% PO, and 2% SA.

Today I decided to organize my soaping rack with a place for everything and everything in it place

 

[SunRiseArts]

That is pretty cool green dragon, I wish I had that much space. And your soaps look very nice

I was going to make a small batch today, and after making soap all this time, always freaking out about lye, and nothing serious ever happened in 2 years, very stupid of me I tip the lye water, and got burned. Is bad but not horrible. I poured water for 15 minutes and my skin is red and a little blister. It hurts, but is just that, so I am afraid it can get worst ?

Thankfully I was wearing protection and long sleeves, but a little got through.

Oh boy. Needless to say, I poured the lye through the drain, cleaned everything, and took a good shower. No soap for me until I make sure I am better.

A reminder for all of us that accidents can happen..... always wear protection.

 

[SunRiseArts]

I shipped the last two batches of GM Lotion off to my wholesale customer today. But earlier this week I had fun making my first M&P soaps with the help of my M&P soaping buddy in AZ. With her tips and tricks, my first trial turned out better than I expected! Whew. Then I started fiddling around and the next 3 batches weren't as great. For one, I forgot to add the fragrance! For another one, I kept reheating the soap to pour easily and it got weird. I don't have a way to post pictures but I found this pic of the mold on line:

View attachment 26866​

These soaps are for my grandnephews in the Seattle area. The boys are 5, 11 and 13. They often get live lobsters to cook and I hope they like these soaps. The ones I made were all red lobsters like the pic, but the background was colored with sea kelp powder to give a "fishy" smell and a bit of green & blue mica to make the water background look more realistic (unlike the turquoise color in the pic). I used a sea Kelp FO that kicked the fragrance up to a mellower scent, but still a hint of fishy.​

http://www.thesoapdish.com/fragrance.htm​

MP can get overheated . And if you melt it too many times, it can lose moisture and some lather. I have learned that when making more than a couple of bars, or a loaf of MP is better to melt it in a pot. I have one of those that are the same used for candles, that I only use for soap. You have better control of the temperatures, and extended working time.

 

[shunt2011]

Nothing, in too long. I'm so low on stock I can't even completely fill an order I received this weekend. Plus my site is screwing up and not charging shipping (yay)....lucky them. Now that I have no restrictions for lifting following surgery I need to light a fire under my butt and get soaps and other stuff made. Fortunately, I had 200 lbs of lard, oils/butters delivered the beginning of December so I'm ready to go.

 

[penelopejane]

I was going to make a small batch today, and after making soap all this time, always freaking out about lye, and nothing serious ever happened in 2 years, very stupid of me I tip the lye water, and got burned. Is bad but not horrible. I poured water for 15 minutes and my skin is red and a little blister. It hurts, but is just that, so I am afraid it can get worst ?

Oh boy. Needless to say, I poured the lye through the drain, cleaned everything, and took a good shower. No soap for me until I make sure I am better.

A reminder for all of us that accidents can happen..... always wear protection.

You poor thing. Good luck. I hope it heals quickly.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Thank you Penelope. Good thing I acted quickly. Is just blister and red, should be fine in a week or so.:cry:

 

[GreenDragon]

Thanks everyone. We have a relatively small house, so a few years ago I converted our garage into a man cave for extra room. Insulated the walls, ceiling, and door and put in an AC. The only down side is now when we have the rare ice storm / hail storm we can't bring the cars in. It's a trade off.

But all the extra room is totally worth it! I'm thinking about picking up a microwave and putting it in there too. Then I can soap in the garage and not have to fight for kitchen space.

 

[annalee2003]

I made salt bars using aloe vera juice in place of the water in my lye mixture.
Tried to use indigo powder as well and was a bit disappointed they they came out Grey instead of blue.

 

[earlene]

Cant you just mail it to him with strict instructions on not using it until X, but asking him for impressions prior? ^_^

I could, but I won't send out uncured soap. I feel obligated to be sure the soap is skin safe before it leaves me. Besides that, the formula is new and I have to be sure it does not develop DOS. Although I only used 10% Hemp oil, I cannot be sure until I have continued to observe it through cure. I will be seeing him in a couple of months, so if all goes well, I will bring at least one bar with me then. Hopefully more.

 

[earlene]

I gave my husband an assortment of several bars of soap to take to work to share with his colleagues on Christmas day. When he got home I asked which ones were the least popular (the ones left behind at the end of his shift) and he mentioned that the felted soap didn't get picked because no one knew what it was. Another one that didn't get picked which surprised me he said got lots and lots of oohs and awes, but then he said he believes it was being set aside for a staff person who didn't work on Christmas because it was scented with a Margarita FO and she drinks margaritas.

And he said the one bar of coffee soap was a huge hit with one colleague, who said, 'Finally! Someone made soap especially for ME!' So I guess she likes coffee.

So all in all, they were a hit. Plus I was able to move more soap. I haven't been to the Nursing Home to give away my usual 3 dozen bars because this cough persists and I don't want to expose the clients or the staff until I am positive I am not contagious.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Green Dragon, that is great! I would put the microwave in the garage, and declare it a no go zone! I wish I could do something like that, but the HOA here are like piranhas! :silent:

We have put an offer on land, and my husband will built me my art zone, he promised ......

Earlene I totally understand you, I would not let anyone else use something that I have not use myself first. One never knows.

annalee2003, I think your bars are lovely! They look so pretty, was that one of those plastic molds? Salt bars are tricky, sometimes I get them good, sometimes I just throw them out (don't ask). If you have blue cosmetic glitter, you can spray them with alcohol, dust them with glitter, and then spray them again, and the glitter should stick, and it will give you an iridescent blue shine.

I did something soapy, I had a bag of calendula flowers whole, and separated the buds, and put the petals in the grinder. I do not like the wholes in my soaps.