JuLeeRenee
Well-Known Member
I made an elephant embeds mold today.
What soapy thing have you done today?
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Adobehead
Well-Known Member
View attachment 57693
Your Rhubarb root infusion is beau-ti-ful. I don't know why your indigo does that, mine doesn't, maybe I used a bit of TD in mine. It did make blue bubbles though and was plant material i got from a weaver.
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
Today I sorted my scraps, planing residues and test bars, if they qualify as rebatch base material (left) or rather as confetti material (right):
On the other hand, the ball-embed discussion started by @The_Phoenix inspired me, not to make classical confetti soap, but maybe first rebatch the colourful scraps into balls, and then embedding these?
I expect my new indigo shipment (fabric dyeing grade) to be delivered tomorrow. And just after I'll have finished the (roughly) 28.100 things that are more important, I'll dig deeper into these indigo mysteries.
Btw, this reminds me that another lollipop swirl of mine isn't yet there, too.
On the other hand, the ball-embed discussion started by @The_Phoenix inspired me, not to make classical confetti soap, but maybe first rebatch the colourful scraps into balls, and then embedding these?
I'm not alone
I expect my new indigo shipment (fabric dyeing grade) to be delivered tomorrow. And just after I'll have finished the (roughly) 28.100 things that are more important, I'll dig deeper into these indigo mysteries.Do so! Best into the April challenge thread that has gained some traction lately.
Btw, this reminds me that another lollipop swirl of mine isn't yet there, too.
For the plant indigo, the color change doesn’t seem to be due to exposure to air. It happens on the exposed surface as well as inside the mold. A temperature gradient? I thought about burying the molds in a box of rice, or setting them in a shallow pan of water (like egg custards) while they gel. If you can solve the puzzle, I will buy you a beer the next time I’m in Germany!I'm not alone
The synthetic pre-reduced indigo I have that’s made for dyeing is very strong and makes a beautiful blue, but I don’t think I ever tried it in individual cavity molds.
KimW
Well-Known Member
I did a variation of an OPW, "opposing swirls" is my old made-up name, to test an EO blend that occurred to me. 50% Lemongrass, 45% Bergamot and 5% Pine Fir Needle. Sometimes things my brain spits out actually work. Smells like an "I can't believe I'm functioning at this hour" early morning walk past the flower wall garden at Ronald Reagan Int'l Airport, and I can't wait to wash my soapy rags tomorrow!
Worked on a new vegan recipe. This was an attempt at a flower design that totally did not work at all! But it still looks cool. Scented with lemon and lime.
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@KimW I'm intrigued because I love those scents but haven't combined them. Um, for those of us who have not had the experience of 'I can't believe I'm functioning at this hour" (actually I feel that often!) early morning walk past the flower wall garden at Ronald Regan Int'l Airport, can you compare it to something or describe it more?
Also are you sure it's "Pine Fir Needle" -- not just Pine or just Fir Needle?
KimW
Well-Known Member
Zing you are a soapy friend indeed and you are right. It is "Balsam Fir Needle" EO. Thank you, sir. I guess I was a wee bit excited.@KimW I'm intrigued because I love those scents but haven't combined them. Um, for those of us who have not had the experience of 'I can't believe I'm functioning at this hour" (actually I feel that often!) early morning walk past the flower wall garden at Ronald Regan Int'l Airport, can you compare it to something or describe it more?
Also are you sure it's "Pine Fir Needle" -- not just Pine or just Fir Needle?
I could find only one picture of part of the flower wall garden, and it's obviously at the end of the season, because none of the flowers are in bloom. It's along a path between two parking garages and part of it is along the old Abingdon Plantation site.
Imagine this wall packed with of every type of flower you've ever seen or heard of in full bloom and at the height of their fragrance, before the day's heat and still wet with dew. You can even touch them and put your face full in them. There's mostly roses of every imaginable color and variety, but there are plenty of other fragrant perennials with some fragrant annuals stuffed in for good measure. Quite a lovely calming before an upcoming business flight to yet another project that will see you working so late you pass all the ladies lining up at the bail-bondsmen, and then realize you're going the wrong way down a one-way in downtown Houston only because you finally notice the traffic lights are facing the wrong way. Good times.
Today I realised I was almost at the end of my masterbatched oils, so I decided to use it all up in a special project.
Ever since I saw Whitney from Cheeky Goat soaps making woodgrain soap, I've been a little bit obsessed with it.
So today was the day.
I did it slightly differently because I'm not confident in my FO discolouring as much as needed, so I added some gold and copper micas to the batter to make it brown, and then also used them both as mica in oil drizzles for extra contrast.
FO is a 50/50 mix of "mahogany teakwood" and "dragon heart".
I looped the video over and over as I did the pour and followed along as closely as I could, including the panic when it started thickening up
At least during the process it was looking pretty good, dying to cut it now and see!
Ever since I saw Whitney from Cheeky Goat soaps making woodgrain soap, I've been a little bit obsessed with it.
So today was the day.
I did it slightly differently because I'm not confident in my FO discolouring as much as needed, so I added some gold and copper micas to the batter to make it brown, and then also used them both as mica in oil drizzles for extra contrast.
FO is a 50/50 mix of "mahogany teakwood" and "dragon heart".
I looped the video over and over as I did the pour and followed along as closely as I could, including the panic when it started thickening up
At least during the process it was looking pretty good, dying to cut it now and see!
Today I labeled some soap for a friend's bridal shower. Slightly time-consuming work, but fun!
(Disclaimer: my sister, not me, made the Cactus Flower bar.)
(Disclaimer: my sister, not me, made the Cactus Flower bar.)
LMAO! Now I'm skerred about you in Houston! Be careful out there, soapy friend!! Thanks for clarifying the fir needle EO. I have pine but used it only once because it's too pinesol-y. I much prefer fir needle. I love love love your description of this wall -- it may be worth a special trip. And this blend is on my bucket list.Zing you are a soapy friend indeed and you are right. It is "Balsam Fir Needle" EO. Thank you, sir. I guess I was a wee bit excited.
I could find only one picture of part of the flower wall garden, and it's obviously at the end of the season, because none of the flowers are in bloom. It's along a path between two parking garages and part of it is along the old Abingdon Plantation site.
Imagine this wall packed with of every type of flower you've ever seen or heard of in full bloom and at the height of their fragrance, before the day's heat and still wet with dew. You can even touch them and put your face full in them. There's mostly roses of every imaginable color and variety, but there are plenty of other fragrant perennials with some fragrant annuals stuffed in for good measure. Quite a lovely calming before an upcoming business flight to yet another project that will see you working so late you pass all the ladies lining up at the bail-bondsmen, and then realize you're going the wrong way down a one-way in downtown Houston only because you finally notice the traffic lights are facing the wrong way. Good times.
View attachment 57787
This is stunning and I cannot wait for the cut!!!!!!!!!!! This has long been on my bucket list and I'm pushing it up.Today I realised I was almost at the end of my masterbatched oils, so I decided to use it all up in a special project.
Ever since I saw Whitney from Cheeky Goat soaps making woodgrain soap, I've been a little bit obsessed with it.
So today was the day.
I did it slightly differently because I'm not confident in my FO discolouring as much as needed, so I added some gold and copper micas to the batter to make it brown, and then also used them both as mica in oil drizzles for extra contrast.
View attachment 57804
FO is a 50/50 mix of "mahogany teakwood" and "dragon heart".
I looped the video over and over as I did the pour and followed along as closely as I could, including the panic when it started thickening up
At least during the process it was looking pretty good, dying to cut it now and see!
View attachment 57805 View attachment 57806
I beveled my newest soap badly (sorry Lily of the Valley), planed and re-beveled an older soap that nobody was looking at because it ashed badly (both the ash and my cleanup were bad, but at least it looks more like soap), and no, I'm not posting pictures of my misdeeds. I also discovered that one of my other soaps had dropped into water so just an edge was submerged, and it was so ridiculously creamy but also bubbly I'm reconsidering trying to figure out cream soap. Like, can I just remake that recipe, but sub KOH for like 40% of the lye, throw in a preservative and more water, and call it good? Is that a thing? I'm super tired, so I'm probably not thinking straight. I know oils behave differently with KOH than NaOH, so probably not.
Ooh ooh, I made a soap using my new favourite design - OPW. As I was pouring it I thought maybe I have another contender for the challenge entry, but then of course I didn’t have a snap of the pot before pouring. So that’s the decision made for me. I can’t wait for the cut tomorrow. I blended White Tea FO with Jasmine FO and a touch of Sweet Orange EO.
Yeah, I feel ya' on that.
Catscankim
Well-Known Member
Cut last nights soap...drop swirl with my dreaded favorite color. It always locks up on me lol. I beat it this time by not adding fragrance to it, just the other two colors. Scented with Abalone and Sea. My friend named it, without even knowing the fragrance. So this is Ocean Breeze.
Just beautiful! Is that two different shades of blue in there?
Cut the woodgrain soap! A couple of bars (the first ones I cut) came out a bit funny because the batter was very thick at that point, and there was more white than in the rest because I used up the ends of all the colours in the last pour. But after that, I really like them! The bars are kind of big and ignorant because I used the standard sized mould and couldn't figure out a better way to cut them; next time I think I'd use T&S so the loaf is the width of a normal bar.
It was almost too hard to cut this morning already, so I went ahead and planed and beveled it also. Got some great looking wood laminate and shavings out of it
(although they also remind me a little bit of bacon...)
The end grain is also pretty cool looking:
It was almost too hard to cut this morning already, so I went ahead and planed and beveled it also. Got some great looking wood laminate and shavings out of it
(although they also remind me a little bit of bacon...)
The end grain is also pretty cool looking:
H.Soap
Member
Hi.. all
This is my siprulina & aloe vera soap what u think! I like the color
This is my siprulina & aloe vera soap what u think! I like the color
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
“a little bit”, yes, hmm
. Admit it, you were at the butcher's again… Cutting cuboid pieces of meat out of your victims like a crazy serial killer [ETA context]. That chocolate HP soap didn't turn out well either.Do you expect the FOs to darken another bit, so that it looks more brown than pink, more like carpentry than slaughterhouse?
I very much hope so! From my previous testing I'm expecting a brown/orange shade, but I don't think it will get anywhere close to as dark as the one from the video, hence the pre-emptive top-up.
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