What soapy thing have you done today?

[KiwiMoose]

It’s Xmas day here already! And look what DH made for me! He’s done a lovely job- all sanded and smooth.

 

[Chris_S]

It’s Xmas day here already! And look what DH made for me! He’s done a lovely job- all sanded and smooth.

Does it fit a silicone mold in or to be lined?

 

[KiwiMoose]

Does it fit a silicone mold in or to be lined?

It’s to be lined with paper. I have a Silicone Mold but if I do a fancy heaped top on the soap it will get wrecked when I turn out the soap. So this one just opens wide up with a hinge along the bottom.

 

[Relle]

You might end up with a line down the middle from the spilt on the base of the mould, even with it lined.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I’ll give it a practice run tomorrow and report back. I’m thinking peach and chamomile, with swirls

 

[KiwiMoose]

One peach and chamomile, with my first go at an in-the-pot swirl, as promised!

I'm out of some my oils now, and many of my suppliers are closed until 3rd Jan - or worse - 7th Jan! So I might have to go cold turkey on the soaping for a few days....
Or make @Zany_in_CO's no-slime castile, now there's an idea! I have a litre of Olive oil here just crying out to be used

 

[Loralei]

@KiwiMoose that looks gorgeous - you are so brave, to rock out the swirls... I'm still gearing up to try multiple colours

 

[KiwiMoose]

Unmolded my loaf from the new mold - oh so EASY to get it out! Then cut..

 

[Chris_S]

@KiwiMoose that looks gorgeous - you are so brave, to rock out the swirls... I'm still gearing up to try multiple colours

I saw a method the other day that looks like the easiest way of doing swirls yet. cut a piece of thick corigated card the lenght of the mold you can put pieces at the ends to sorta wedge it in and then use 2 colours one in each side then lift the card then use something to swirl can do it just at surface then would be a block at bottom. i use a metal skewer to swirl

 

[Misschief]

I tidied up my soap room this morning; you can actually see the bed now.... and walk around it. So far this afternoon, I've corrected one CNF (Cosmetic Notification Form) and submitted another. That was enough math for one day. What to do next.....

 

[Misschief]

I saw a method the other day that looks like the easiest way of doing swirls yet. cut a piece of thick corigated card the lenght of the mold you can put pieces at the ends to sorta wedge it in and then use 2 colours one in each side then lift the card then use something to swirl can do it just at surface then would be a block at bottom. i use a metal skewer to swirl

That's one way of doing it. I use that method for my Salt & Pepper soap. For my Lemon & Poppyseed, I pour both sides at the same time, giving almost the same result. In both cases, I use a chopstick for swirling.

 

[Chris_S]

That's one way of doing it. I use that method for my Salt & Pepper soap. For my Lemon & Poppyseed, I pour both sides at the same time, giving almost the same result. In both cases, I use a chopstick for swirling.

Iv not tried it yet but i was just thinking if she hadnt tried more than one colour or swirls it might be a nice simple way to get into the hang of it. Iv made a little 8 section thing the same sorta way to try only going to do 2 or 3 colours thought it would look pretty cool.

Iv tidied my soaping shelves best i could today ordered some wax dyes and made a batch of lavender candles cleaned all my candle molds and going to make another batch before i go bed not technically soapy but it was fun and started because i tidied my soaping shelves.

Does it have to be at medium trace to pour from each side to get the same sort of effect? Reason i use skewers is because i use the chop sticks for my candle and melts making and iv kinda lost them lol

 

[Barney]

One peach and chamomile, with my first go at an in-the-pot swirl, as promised!
View attachment 34548

I'm out of some my oils now, and many of my suppliers are closed until 3rd Jan - or worse - 7th Jan! So I might have to go cold turkey on the soaping for a few days....
Or make @Zany_in_CO's no-slime castile, now there's an idea! I have a litre of Olive oil here just crying out to be used

That's Beautiful!

 

[Misschief]

Does it have to be at medium trace to pour from each side to get the same sort of effect? Reason i use skewers is because i use the chop sticks for my candle and melts making and iv kinda lost them lol

Not really. Obviously, you want it at a little more than emulsion but a light to medium trace would work just fine. And, hey, skewers work, too. I just happen to have quite a few chopsticks from Chinese take outs. They're free and readily available.

I find that, as long as I'm pouring both at the same time from each side, even at light trace, the colours don't really mix. Here's one of my soaps, done that way, with an extra colour poured down the center.

 

[Chris_S]

Not really. Obviously, you want it at a little more than emulsion but a light to medium trace would work just fine. And, hey, skewers work, too. I just happen to have quite a few chopsticks from Chinese take outs. They're free and readily available.

I find that, as long as I'm pouring both at the same time from each side, even at light trace, the colours don't really mix. Here's one of my soaps, done that way, with an extra colour poured down the center.

View attachment 34568

oooooo that looks amazing ill have to try this method next batch i do

 

[Carolyne Thrasher]

@Chris_S I tried the cardboard dividers and they were a pain. Soapmaking 101 has a video on Taiwan swirl freehand .

@Misschief those are really pretty.

I haven’t made any soap for a few weeks and my shelves are looking bare. I’ve got lye water cooling and oils measured for a small batch. I’ve done a short rosemary (from my garden) infusion in the olive oil.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I find that, as long as I'm pouring both at the same time from each side, even at light trace, the colours don't really mix. Here's one of my soaps, done that way, with an extra colour poured down the center.

View attachment 34568

Nice work Missy! How did you get the extra colour in the middle - just pour it after the other two? Then swirl it through? Is the white part of the soap just natural or did you lighten it?

 

[Misschief]

Nice work Missy! How did you get the extra colour in the middle - just pour it after the other two? Then swirl it through? Is the white part of the soap just natural or did you lighten it?

I poured my mold with the two colours till it was about half full. Then, I poured the center pink "line" from slightly higher so it sank all the way down instead of sitting on top of the two colours. I repeated that for the second half and then swirled.

I did add a little TD to the white part, but not much. The soap was pretty white already.

 

[Loralei]

Thank you for the suggestions, @Chris_S and @Misschief ! I'm the kind of gal who reads and studies for months on end, before taking the plunge, haha! I'm off work until Jan 2nd, and will be trying a small batch of lotion today, but I think that I see swirls in my future!!

 

[Misschief]

I couldn't take just sitting around again yesterday and doing nothing soapy so I got out my KOH and my scale, measured what was left and re-sized a recipe to make some liquid soap paste. I used a recipe from Catherine Failor's book. Right now, the paste is cooling its heels in the spare bedroom, which is unheated and nice and cool. I may dilute it later today or I may wait a week or two; I haven't decided yet.

We'll see how today goes. The plan for today is a Valentine's soap and a batch of Salt bars but we may get out of here for a couple of hours. I'd at least like to get the V Day soap done so I can stop thinking about it.