Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Just wantcha ta know, I'm starting a cart! LOL I'll have one of these because it is SO me and one of the Gahdawful-sounding Bacon Beer Chocolate & Coffee! Just my way of paying homage to your creative spirit.
What soapy thing have you done today?
- Thread starter FlybyStardancer
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I am waiting for an order of new colorants and some caster oil which I'm totally out of so I'm twiddling my thumbs in the meantime. I ended up spending the afternoon in my soapery (guest bedroom) where I organized all my recipes and soapmaking notes. I did a little beveling and planing and that's about it.
Yesterday I finished cleaning out the closet in that room removing pretty much everything non soap related so I have all my supplies including my trolley of tools in one spot. I have a few soaps in there but most are curing in the bookcase.
Yesterday I finished cleaning out the closet in that room removing pretty much everything non soap related so I have all my supplies including my trolley of tools in one spot. I have a few soaps in there but most are curing in the bookcase.
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Just wantcha ta know, I'm starting a cart! LOL I'll have one of these because it is SO me and one of the Gahdawful-sounding Bacon Beer Chocolate & Coffee! Just my way of paying homage to your creative spirit.
Just wantcha ta know, I'm starting a cart! LOL I'll have one of these because it is SO me and one of the Gahdawful-sounding Bacon Beer Chocolate & Coffee! Just my way of paying homage to your creative spirit.
Thanks! I’m trying to use what I’ve got on hand. I actually posted those pink lotion soap bars today and my friends snapped em up! I’m not really selling yet. But, these turned out really great! And, I need some new supplies. Already labeled up, and packaged for the PO tomorrow. That’s kind of a good feeling!
The soapy (silly) thing I did today was to try and get my sweet potato soup to trace with the stick blender. So weird to use it for food. 
I also tried a small tester bar from a batch I made almost 10 weeks ago.The lather felt so nice that I kept going back to that bathroom whenever I needed to wash up.
I also tried a small tester bar from a batch I made almost 10 weeks ago.The lather felt so nice that I kept going back to that bathroom whenever I needed to wash up.
Saponificarian
Well-Known Member
We must be practically neighbors then!
Our border is one of the best I think for crossing goods. On any given day I'd go to the mailbox and bring back up to $250 - $300 without comment and often they'd just wave me through... and that's just an over and back situation. I think they have a mandate that if they can't collect at least $50 in tax, then it's not worth their while to do the paperwork! I also have a Nexus card so I go through a pre-approved line which may help some. Whatever - it works for me. Or at least it did til Covid!
I am eternally jealous of you guys tat are so close to the border!
Not doing us much good at the moment but yes, it's great! We did a reno a few years ago and I bought so much from the U.S. - such a money saver. I have a small U.S. income so I'm not paying our high exchange rate as well.
goat soap rulz!
Well-Known Member
Are y’all running out of room to cure your soap? No, just me... ok lol
*Looks around while slowly raising hand*
...
... I ran out of space yesterday.
goat soap rulz!
Well-Known Member
LOL! I bought some shelves at ace hardware about a week ago. I bought 6 shelves. They are all filled up!
Although, the funny thing is, is that I'm waiting for piping to set up right now LOLL! It is just too fun!
Although, the funny thing is, is that I'm waiting for piping to set up right now LOLL! It is just too fun!
I keep just emptying book shelf and closet shelves to add more soap. Soap, tools and supplies have taken over the guest room closet and I found a unique way to make more space... I found an 18" cooling rack at a thrift shop and as it turns out, it's the exact width of the middle part of my closet. I put those little thingies that hold the shelves up and set the rack on it. Air can circulate all around it! So then I found some really good and really cheap racks online - 18" also but the wire must be a bit thicker and they are just millimetres to big which is disappointing however I still can use them on the bookshelves. I still have 4 book shelves used for non soap purposes - it may mean packing some stuff away as I've already done a monster purge. 
Hopefully you are lining those racks with something, yes? I seem to remember you posting about that but want to be sure. Also want folks who read your post to realize that it isn't recommended to store soap directly on any metal, since even stainless can get cracks or have impurities that react with soap to cause DOS.
Yes, I bought quite a few needlepoint canvases which I put on the racks before putting the soap on. I'd be interested in know what other people line their racks with.
goat soap rulz!
Well-Known Member
That sounds like a good idea... I've found the pattern of the needlepoint canvas transfers to the soap after I 'wash' them which means I usually have to plane them.
I cure in card board boxes with holes in them and paper on the bottom that I change out.
I first cure on plastic cafeteria trays which are lined with parchment paper and shelf liner material on top of the paper. I don't get impressions from the liner material which I thought I might. And I like the paper below the liner as it is easy to catch crumbs and dispose of them...they tend to stick on the trays and takes a bit more to clean off. I weigh the bars weekly and once they have the same weight two weeks in a row, they go into shoe (and other) boxes by batch and stacked with no lids until I use them or give them away.
goat soap rulz!
Well-Known Member
Do you weigh every single bar, or just one from each batch?
I remade the very first soap I made. The first was a tea tree oil soap that I got from the web. I had no clue at the time what I was doing and it turned out the oil amt was 500 gr - I used a standard mold that was for 1000 gr! So they were very small bars. The recipe itself was high in coconut oil which I wanted to change. So I increased the batch, changed the recipe slightly, added coconut milk to the lye/water and some ground calendula flowers to the batter and some on top.. No colour but again added tea tree oil + lemongrass. CPOPing at the moment but I think it will be nice.
I have some 3 week old soaps that I was VERY worried about when I made it. There were wet looking spots on top. I did the zap test and burned the crap out of my tongue. I sure they were awful and would have to be tossed. It must have all reabsorbed! I zap tested them all over the place and NO zap, much less burning. YAY! I think this is happening when I use a lot of activated charcoal. I haven’t seen this with any other formula.
I weigh them all and then round down to the lightest even number for my labels.
I received some glitter to try out and although I told them I couldn't use it in soap because it's not biodegradable, I did use it to take some photos and I like how it turned out. (and I used my stamp as well)
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