What soapy thing have you done today?

[Marilyn Norgart]

4 batches last night, 1 witchy FO

did it turn out ok anyways? can I ask what the FO was?

 

[earlene]

Tried out my new mallet for stamping my soaps. OMG, it works so much better than what I was using before. I found a teardrop mallet at Harbor Fleet that is perfect for me. The weight & balance are just what I was looking for, although I would have preferred a shorter handle, but it works exactly as I wanted when I stamped soaps this morning. Now I can take that make-shift rubber-banded rubber cover off my little (also perfectly balance & weighted for me, but not for stamping) ball peen hammer and put it back in my tool box.
Also ordered a planer like IrishLass uses. I've been wanting one for about 2 or 3 years & finally just broke down & bought it. Hubby helped me look for something similar yesterday, but no one, not even him, understood what I was talking about. None of the big box stores seem to carry any really specialized wood working tools, so I have never been able to find one and yesterday decided it's not worth the search when I already know where to get one thanks to IrishLass. So I ordered it from Lee Valley. When it arrives, I'll probably be beveling up a storm!

 

[Nanette]

What sort of mold do you use for guest soaps? I want to make small soaps and tried cutting my larger bars but always end up with some uneven cuts-waste. Very frustrating.

Ive used molds from Milky Way. They have a lot of small bar molds...really cute shapes. Other than that I am a rustic look...nothing even...sigh.

 

[earlene]

What sort of mold do you use for guest soaps? I want to make small soaps and tried cutting my larger bars but always end up with some uneven cuts-waste. Very frustrating.

I am not seven, but below is one of my molds I have used for guest size soaps. I originally bought it to make soap for my SIL when she was talking about turning their Colorado house into an Air B'n'B.

About the size of hotel soaps; tray with cutting lines built-in; soaps weigh less than 2 ounces each; plastic Milky Way mold:
https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/products/goat-milk-guest-milky-way-soap-mold-tray.aspx

I have lots of individual molds that work well for guest size soaps, and fill them with left over batter, so get lots of small soaps that way.

Here's a silicone loaf mold for guest size soaps that you can cut uniformly with a soap cutter:
https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/products/guest-loaf-silicone-mold.aspx

And there are multi-bar slab molds with dividers for guest size soaps from other vendors, but they tend to be on the more expensive side.

 

[msunnerstood]

Tried out my new mallet for stamping my soaps. OMG, it works so much better than what I was using before. I found a teardrop mallet at Harbor Fleet that is perfect for me. The weight & balance are just what I was looking for, although I would have preferred a shorter handle, but it works exactly as I wanted when I stamped soaps this morning. Now I can take that make-shift rubber-banded rubber cover off my little (also perfectly balance & weighted for me, but not for stamping) ball peen hammer and put it back in my tool box.
Also ordered a planer like IrishLass uses. I've been wanting one for about 2 or 3 years & finally just broke down & bought it. Hubby helped me look for something similar yesterday, but no one, not even him, understood what I was talking about. None of the big box stores seem to carry any really specialized wood working tools, so I have never been able to find one and yesterday decided it's not worth the search when I already know where to get one thanks to IrishLass. So I ordered it from Lee Valley. When it arrives, I'll probably be beveling up a storm!

Wait, you stamp soaps with a Mallet? Could you post a pic? or do you mean you hit the soap stamp with the mallet?

 

[earlene]

Wait, you stamp soaps with a Mallet? Could you post a pic? or do you mean you hit the soap stamp with the mallet?

The latter.

I don't have any photos of me doing this as it takes 2 hands, but here's a video of someone else doing it:



I don't like the mallet they use. It's too big and unwieldy for me. I really do like the teardrop mallet better, although I wish it had a shorter handle. But the balance and the weight works great for me.

 

[msunnerstood]

Ahhh, I do like the tea drop mallet

 

[TAS]

I have infused shea butter with the, now rare, Amber Resin, and hope to be able to gather up my energy to make some soap. Send happy soap vibes - been outta the soap loop for too long. Rusty as all get out but still loving my craft.

 

[DWinMadison]

I have infused shea butter with the, now rare, Amber Resin, and hope to be able to gather up my energy to make some soap. Send happy soap vibes - been outta the soap loop for too long. Rusty as all get out but still loving my craft.

Hey TAS, we haven’t met. Welcome back to the obsession. Make some soap. Let’s have fun.

 

[TAS]

Hey TAS, we haven’t met. Welcome back to the obsession. Make some soap. Let’s have fun.

Hi DWin, happy to be back. Sadly it’s been a 5 year hiatus.

Because you said we have not met I’ll just briefly share — when I was a child my mother used to make soap outdoors using grandmother’s big bass pot. This was generally done after butchering a hog and she’d render the lard. She'd never let me near her soap pot but I guess the soap bug bit me way back then. My first soap batch was in 2002 and I was hooked. Moved to the Foothills of Boulder and after settling in I started to make soap. I had a website, TAS Touch, now defunct. We moved out of the Foothills - to the farm lands in Boulder county in 2014. Between moving to a new place, selling our mountain house, and moving my truly wonderful 95 year old mother-in-law in, as well as selling her house - well I’ve simply have not had time for my craft. I now have a sweet little space in our basement and, although rusty and slower, still love making soap. I am truly amazed and humbled by the absolutely, insanely gorgeous soap that is being created by the current soap makers.

 

[Dawni]

I haz pretty, swirly HP soap!

 

[KiwiSoap]

I haz pretty, swirly HP soap!

Wow, that is pretty and swirly, and HP?! I'm not ready to change processes yet but I hope you'll give us a full report on how you did this!

 

[Lin19687]

More cut soap last night.
I haz lots oh cutz zoap too

 

[TAS]

More cut soap last night.
I haz lots oh cutz zoap too
View attachment 39159

Wow! good stash. better wash up!

 

[earlene]

Plan on making soap today. Started cleaning dishes from last soapmaking endeavor.

But first I am doing some work in SoapBuilder (soapmaking friend) - need to update a recipe so I can make soap; evaluating how some functions are working or not, as the case may be. It takes away from time making soap, though, and I am not sure I am in the mood for that right now.

After the first thing this morning was filling out a survey for the Nurse's Health Study and having to recall traumatic events in my life, I am just not in the best of moods. But the Nurse's Health Study is important for women's health, so I am dedicated to it and have been for decades.

edit: spelling corrections

 

[Bladesmith]

I haz pretty, swirly HP soap!

Very nice!!

 

[Lin19687]

Wow! good stash. better wash up!

i am wicked behind in supply for up coming supplies.

@earlene that is hard to do, hope you are strong to get through them

 

[The Cat Lady]

I made a batch of soap this afternoon experimenting with new blend of essential oils.

 

[earlene]

Well, I got a few supplies entered into SoapBuilder, so that's good. Entering supplier information wasn't as time intensive as I thought it might be. Most of that stuff is available in my email from the invoices.

But backtracking and finding invoices to and then doing the entering, is time consuming, But at least I have some of it in there. It's nice to have made some progress on inventory.

While doing that, I managed to do a bit of eval of soapmakingfriend (I call it SoapBuilder to differenciate in my mind from SMF, which is this forum.)

Now I can make soap. I have so much soapmaking stuff all over the place, that I'd really like to get put away again, but want to make soap first; at least 4 more batches.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

More cut soap last night.I haz lots oh cutz zoap too

Oh my. You have been busy! Well organized too! Well done, Lin. Keep up the good work!

I have so much soapmaking stuff all over the place, that I'd really like to get put away again, but want to make soap first; at least 4 more batches.

At least you have your priorities straight.