What soapy thing have you done today?

[ItsForrest]

Took a few pictures of my curing stash of soaps.

In front is the loaf I poured yesterday and cut today. It's a 3-color in-the-pot swirl using three kinds of clay and sweet pea fragrance from WP. In the back we have Pine tar, Coffee, unscented shea butter, and oatmeal porter.
Since it's been a month now I tried the shea butter this morning and am pretty pleased with it. It should be even better with a bit longer cure.

 

[Odinrescue]

I am waiting for my second batch ever to harden...going on 48 hours. I can see how addicting this could be though.


when you wash stuff, don;t you just do it right away or is it better to wait?[/QUOTE

I like to clean my utensils utensils straight away I use old tea towels wipe as much soap off as I can put them in a bucket and wash them next day , then just clean everything else .

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Setup my soap display in the living room as a test run for my show on Saturday. I bought (2) 5-tier metal racks (my soaps are shrink wrapped so it should be ok to display on metal), and a 3-tier basket for bubble scoops, so I wanted to make sure everything fit and looked good. I added a 4ft table to the setup, so I now have enough room for good signage, which I will work on this week. My "bargain bin" soaps will go into the old tray setup that I had been using for everything. It looks like a much cleaner and professional setup. I'm liking the 5-tier racks, even though they don't stack for transporting, so I may have to buy one more once I get fully stocked again. There will still be room on the 6ft table for it. .

ETA: Oops! Sorry. Didn't see Carolyn's post. No pressure tho...

 

[shunt2011]

I like to clean my utensils utensils straight away I use old tea towels wipe as much soap off as I can put them in a bucket and wash them next day , then just clean everything else .

Many will leave their soaping stuff for a few days to let the soap saponify and become soap then wash. I wash as I go due to not having anywhere to keep it. I wipe out as much as I can then wash in hot soapy water.

 

[amd]

I will get pics of my setup taken tonight! (Last night was an interview with a pastoral candidate, so I left work at 4 and went straight to church, got home at 9:30 and was zonked.) On my other soapy things list was planning out the soaps I need to make in the next week or two with the 36lbs of oil that I will hopefully get to masterbatch tonight.

As for cleaning, I do the same as Shunt: wipe everything out and then wash with Dawn dish soap. I have a tote in my soap area that I put my dirty dishes in, and have several of the same dishes so I can usually make 3 batches before I have to do dishes. I also use old sheets cut into rags for wiping out. I keep those in box until the box is full and then throw in the washer with about 1/4 the amount of detergent normally used. I figure the detergent helps pull out some of the oil left on rags, but I don't need to use a lot because many of the rags are already soap. I do occasionally have to throw out a rag because it has become so saturated with oil that it is waterproof.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Soapy thing 1:

I cut a small batch of soap (1000 grams) to re-test an older fragrance from Nurture that they have discontinued a long time ago. I never liked it, and that is not often I can say that, as I haven`t ordered anything from Nurture that I didn`t like. Before this one, that is.
This one was Blue Cotton Candy.

I have tested it before of course, 2 years ago, at 5%, and it was so weak and.. non descriptive, kind of meh. Which is why I put it in the back of the supplycabinet.

This time I used 6%, trying to make it work somehow. But nope, still so meh. Luckily not much left, this will not be used again, not even as a blender, it is just too... well I am not going to repeat myself, lol.

On the positive side though, this soap will cure into a murky, dark and muddled black/green/blue/brown/sauce colored piece of soap.

So at least I have that going for me! Uhm...

Soapy thing 2:

I have been sniffing the Vanilla Cream & Anise soaps THREE times today.

Seriously, what`s WRONG with me!!?

 

[amd]

This is just the 6ft table. My 4 ft table to the left will have my pamphlets, newsletter signup, business cards, and then my bargain soap bin, I haven't set that up. I have some tweaking to do with the material in the baskets and signage. My daughter and I played store tonight and I like the setup.

I also got masterbatching done - so much happy.

 

[earlene]

Spring Break trip at our favorite beach vacation spot, with Yellow Submarine soapmaking project in tow. Granddaughter & I drove to Mobile, had dinner & retired to our hotel to carve submarine halves. She worked on the bottom half while I carved the top half. After a couple of hours when her hands started cramping, we cleaned up & finished for the night. Tomorrow we continue our scenic drive along the Gulf and will check into our resort at the beach. This is her first 'Spring Break' in Florida away from her parents experience, so it should be quite fun for her. Even with Grandma as chaperone. Mostly, it will be walks on the beach, a bit of sunbathing and artistic soapmaking.

 

[shunt2011]

View attachment 29334 This is just the 6ft table. My 4 ft table to the left will have my pamphlets, newsletter signup, business cards, and then my bargain soap bin, I haven't set that up. I have some tweaking to do with the material in the baskets and signage. My daughter and I played store tonight and I like the setup.

I also got masterbatching done - so much happy.

I love that. Nice job! Where did you find those great shelves? Those are perfect.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Took a few pictures of my curing stash of soaps.

Mmmm, they look good enough to eat! Great job

(ok, I think I have to go and make dinner, I see food in everything right now, sorry! )

View attachment 29334 This is just the 6ft table. My 4 ft table to the left will have my pamphlets, newsletter signup, business cards, and then my bargain soap bin, I haven't set that up. I have some tweaking to do with the material in the baskets and signage. My daughter and I played store tonight and I like the setup.

I also got masterbatching done - so much happy.

That is just lovely set-up. It`s neat, tidy and very pretty

 

[amd]

I love that. Nice job! Where did you find those great shelves? Those are perfect.

Thanks! I like the simplicity of it too, and that it's easier to see from further away. My other setup (which will now be what I use for my bargain bin) was a tray with 5 or 6 dividers, and I had to prop up the top end so that people didn't have to look straight down. I discovered that sometimes people would get overwhelmed with picking up the soaps to see the name or fragrance, so this stand has a slider bar in it to slip a tag (I don't really know how to explain it well), so I'll get soap names printed out on cardstock this week (hopefully tonight) to slide in there and for my irregular priced items they'll have the price. I also like it because it loads really nice from the back for restocking during shows. I think between the display racks and my new labels (I moved the soap name to the fold that goes over the top so people no longer have to pick up a soap to see the name) it should be a more appealing setup for browsers to stop and make "impulse" buys.

I got the racks through Amazon Business. I paid right around $40 each, so they weren't cheap, but after Chris saw them he said it was a better deal than buying wood and him fiddling with making the stands that I wanted.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Run while you still can!

Granddaughter & I made soap today, phase one of our 'Yellow Submarine' process after she shared her design concept. Being Sunday & day off for Dad, both parents showed great interest and leant a hand in the beginnings of vidoetaping the process.

Can;t wait to see it! Is that for the un-challenge?

Zany I am dying to see the soaps you make, you have so much experience, I want to look!


Here is my lavender and mint soap. it smells so good. But I am upset that my purple turned pink.... oh well.

 

[amd]

Last night I made tags for my display stands. I cleaned up the soap lab a bit, photo'd, packaged and labeled some soaps.

I have a Soap of the Month Club for my customers - they pay 6 months at a time, and I make one special soap for them each month, usually I have a theme revolving around that month. E.g. January was a snow man soap, February was "I Hate Winter" with a beachy looking soap, and March's is an Irish Spring dupe. I have April's soap done, but was struggling with an idea for May. I started thinking about the apple trees in my old yard and how much I love the scent of the apple blossoms in May. Well, I don't have an apple blossom scent on hand so I decided to combine an apple pie and apple scent together, and it came out lovely. I had intended to do the apple soap last fall, but never got around to it, so I still had the apple stems and leaves embeds on hand. However after getting my embeds out, brushing the leaves with gold mica ('cuz heaven forbid I just leave anything without some kind of shimmer/glitter), lining the mold, finding a red mica that will look ok with the tan discoloration, and combining the FO's... it was after 10pm. Too late for this girl to soap. So I will be making that soap tonight. It will be a simple tan (discoloration) and red swirl with a layer of red on top and then apple stem & leaves in each bar. I really enjoy making those slightly fancier soaps for the club, but my fingers have been itching to get back to making simpler soaps too. Don't worry, I'll put gloves on those fingers while I'm doing it

Feeling happy about the desire to make soap again. I only have 24lbs of masterbatch on hand because I ran out of castor oil. I am also low on cocoa butter, so I need to get some cash flow for my Soapers Choice order that I will need to place. Really hoping this show goes well. I'm still learning the art of budgeting my business - last week I used up most of my cash flow signing up for shows through the summer... oops!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Here is my lavender and mint soap. it smells so good. But I am upset that my purple turned pink.... oh well.

I luv that hot pink!

Zany I am dying to see the soaps you make, you have so much experience, I want to look!

Aw, that's sweet! So sorry, Maria. I have too much on my plate at the moment. I'll be watching from the sidelines. Also, I don't have a way to take photos... Maybe some day, but I just can't seem to get around to it.

 

[amd]

I made my apple soap last night. All was going well until I added the !@#$ fragrance, then "hello, Ricing, I have missed you [not]". I did manage to beat it out, but in my fear of overmixing and not being able to do my ITP, I don't think I got my TD mixed in properly. When I unmolded this morning the white was looking mottled on the sides. I will cut this afternoon or evening - depending on if I go back to work after lunch. (Yesterday I had no work to do from 11-4, so sat around twiddling my thumbs. If it turns out to be that slow today, I'm just taking the afternoon off.) I will post pictures after the cut. Tonight will be cherry almond soap. I'm down to two bars and its always a favorite at shows, so I better stock up.

I also sent out my first newsletter yesterday, via mailchimp. It was fun to put together, but I got hit by anxiety after I hit the send button. Ugh. Silly right?

I finished my signs for my show setup. Good thing that I did one last walk through of my setup because I had forgotten my lip balms and my daughter's soap! I also found some plastic tubs that will fit better into the wicker baskets for bubble scoops. I like that better than the material. Everything is packed up and triple checked. I just need to get it loaded up tonight and I'll be ready to roll in the morning. The show venue is about 5 blocks from my house, so that is nice

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@amd: I'm excited for you! Have fun & good luck!

 

[amd]

Cut of the Summer Apple soap. That is all.

 

[toxikon]

Soaped for the first time in a month and everything went swimmingly. Batter was a delight to work with, no soap gremlins!

I finally went ahead with my beach/sea soap for my wedding favours. 2 batches down, 3-4 to go. I'll do more next weekend. Looking forward to cutting these loafs up, they should be lovely.

 

[lizzysoap]

So I had made Easter egg soaps for the kids (mine and nieces and nephews). I just used regular Easter Eggs from the store, the soap is not releasing very well at all. But each one is colored differently, I only have one completely out of the mold. So here it is.

 

[dibbles]

Yesterday I made a column pour soap for the first time. I can't believe how long it's taken me to give that a try. Lye cooling now for yet another attempt at that T&S Shimmy with an outline.