I resorted to SoapCalc.
What soapy thing have you done today?
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Ugeauxgirl
Well-Known Member
I just poured a batch of eucalyptus mint (from nurture soap- thank you for the recommendations) I used the last bit of coconut oil and almost all of the Savage garden mica. Gotta go shopping...
Ladka
Well-Known Member
Together with my second daughter we've been building a new house to live in (her family with five boys+daughter+son-in-law+I). It is a wooden prefabricated type constuction and the frame was erected in three days. I witnessed the very first steps and then the completion which in my country is marked by placing a small fir tree on the highest point of the house.
I was so happy everything went smoothly and fast and wanted to show my joy to the director of the building company so I gave him a piece of soap.
This morning I asked him how he likes my soap. He said he did use it once or twice but then decided to not use but rather keep it as a dear memory of building our house.
Never had the slightest suspicion anyone would like to do it with my soap
I was so happy everything went smoothly and fast and wanted to show my joy to the director of the building company so I gave him a piece of soap.
This morning I asked him how he likes my soap. He said he did use it once or twice but then decided to not use but rather keep it as a dear memory of building our house.
Never had the slightest suspicion anyone would like to do it with my soap
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CelineEnilec
Member
Out of the bottle, I prefer BB's as an Oatmeal Milk and Honey Fragrance. I do love NS's but to me it smells more like homemade frangipane (custard + almond cream), which is one of my all time favourite small in the world but not what I'm after here.
I gave the soaps a sniff yesterday and the BB batches kind of smell like nothing, although I've had experience with one of my earlier batches where I couldn't smell anything for a while and then it bloomed. Now the question is whether the smell is absent because of the reduced rate at 1.95% vs the old 3% or if it will bloom later. We shall see.
For the NS batches, at the moment it's a "it smells nice but nothing exceptional" result.
I'm reserving judgement until the end of cure and the first highly scientific test of using them one after the other and deciding if I like it or not
Thanks for this detailed assessment. My preference has been for BB's OMH, but it's been so long since I used the one from NS I've forgotten just how it smelled. Looking forward to hearing more from you soon!Out of the bottle, I prefer BB's as an Oatmeal Milk and Honey Fragrance. I do love NS's but to me it smells more like homemade frangipane (custard + almond cream), which is one of my all time favourite small in the world but not what I'm after here.
I gave the soaps a sniff yesterday and the BB batches kind of smell like nothing, although I've had experience with one of my earlier batches where I couldn't smell anything for a while and then it bloomed. Now the question is whether the smell is absent because of the reduced rate at 1.95% vs the old 3% or if it will bloom later. We shall see.
For the NS batches, at the moment it's a "it smells nice but nothing exceptional" result.
I'm reserving judgement until the end of cure and the first highly scientific test of using them one after the other and deciding if I like it or not
I just placed an order with Bramble Berry because of their $20 savings on shipping. I'm kicking myself that I missed their essential oil sale last month.
Sis is visiting and brought me sunflower oil! The only sunflower oil I can find here is organic and cost prohibitive. Sis wants more lip balms!
And I'm plumb out of lye. For weeks our tub and sink have been slow to drain and I've poured a ton of lye down the drain, a great sacrifice from my basement soap shop. However, yesterday all the DIY methods failed. With 4 house guests coming this weekend and only 1 bathroom we were a bit panicked. Luckily a plumber saved the day.
Sis is visiting and brought me sunflower oil! The only sunflower oil I can find here is organic and cost prohibitive. Sis wants more lip balms!
And I'm plumb out of lye. For weeks our tub and sink have been slow to drain and I've poured a ton of lye down the drain, a great sacrifice from my basement soap shop. However, yesterday all the DIY methods failed. With 4 house guests coming this weekend and only 1 bathroom we were a bit panicked. Luckily a plumber saved the day.
Hooray for day-saving plumbers!
And for Sisters who come bearing gifts. Enjoy your family visit, @Zing.
Last night I made soap. It's the first night this week that I've actually felt like I could stay awake long enough to complete the task, which is to be another example of making soap with two (in this case more than two) swirls in the same soap for the August Challenge. I actually forgot to get a couple of the photos I wanted in the process because it's just a pain in the neck to wash off my soapy messy gloved hands in order to hold the phone to take a photo and then continue with the swirl and do it again. It really does mess with the flow of the process. But I did get some between process photos, and need to upload them today.
Tonight is our last night here in North Carolina. We will be spending three days in Tennessee with a side trip to Hendersonville to take a look at an Adjustable Muli-bar Soap Cutter that I mentioned here. I just have to see it in person, hence the side trip.
Just a hint at what went on last night or early this morning (before I went to sleep):
Actually I did more with the soap after my night's sleep. I decided to speed up the process by heating it up in the oven because nestled in towels in a dresser drawer it had not got quite warm enough. So I pre-heated the oven and popped it in there for 10 minutes, turned off the oven & after an hour popped it back into the nestled towels in the dresser drawer. Don't want to forget it in the oven while cooking today, so dresser drawer will have to do for the final phase of CPOP.
And for Sisters who come bearing gifts. Enjoy your family visit, @Zing.
Last night I made soap. It's the first night this week that I've actually felt like I could stay awake long enough to complete the task, which is to be another example of making soap with two (in this case more than two) swirls in the same soap for the August Challenge. I actually forgot to get a couple of the photos I wanted in the process because it's just a pain in the neck to wash off my soapy messy gloved hands in order to hold the phone to take a photo and then continue with the swirl and do it again. It really does mess with the flow of the process. But I did get some between process photos, and need to upload them today.
Tonight is our last night here in North Carolina. We will be spending three days in Tennessee with a side trip to Hendersonville to take a look at an Adjustable Muli-bar Soap Cutter that I mentioned here. I just have to see it in person, hence the side trip.
Just a hint at what went on last night or early this morning (before I went to sleep):
Actually I did more with the soap after my night's sleep. I decided to speed up the process by heating it up in the oven because nestled in towels in a dresser drawer it had not got quite warm enough. So I pre-heated the oven and popped it in there for 10 minutes, turned off the oven & after an hour popped it back into the nestled towels in the dresser drawer. Don't want to forget it in the oven while cooking today, so dresser drawer will have to do for the final phase of CPOP.
Ladka
Well-Known Member
What soapy thing have I done today? NONE! Grrr ... because I forgot I was running low of my NaOH after my last soaping session in the end of May. Early in July a heat wave struck and I haven't been able to do much all these hot days so I only keep to the basic necessity.
And I've just obtained some sheep tallow and rendered it additionally (it had been already rendered by the farm lady) and wanted to test how thoroughly it is cleaned and whether it is odourless
And I've just obtained some sheep tallow and rendered it additionally (it had been already rendered by the farm lady) and wanted to test how thoroughly it is cleaned and whether it is odourless
That's 2 so far who are out of NaOH! Well, me too, at least until I get back home again in a week or so. Looks like I need to find an ACE Hardware or a Tractor Supply Company store to purchase more if I want to make soap while still on this trip. I have the oil, just used up the last of my Master Batch Lye last night.What soapy thing have I done today? NONE! Grrr ... because I forgot I was running low of my NaOH after my last soaping session in the end of May. Early in July a heat wave struck and I haven't been able to do much all these hot days so I only keep to the basic necessity.
And I've just obtained some sheep tallow and rendered it additionally (it had been already rendered by the farm lady) and wanted to test how thoroughly it is cleaned and whether it is odourless
I just responded to an email from the wife of the Adjustable Multi-Bar soap cutter to confirm I am still showing up on Monday to take a look at the cutter so she can be there to demonstrate and answer any questions, etc. I may end up having to buy it after all this wonderful personalized service! Anyway, back to our travel plans. Itinerary to include a stop for NaOH to be scheduled.
My soapy thing today was receiving an email from the events coordinator at the three craft fairs for which I signed up as a vendor. She just accepted an offer for her dream job, and is closing her events business. That means she has canceled all scheduled events, and will be refunding all of our application fees.
I had just been reminding myself that the deadline was drawing near for me to make a lot of soap to have sufficient stock for the first event in late September, and to begin ordering some holiday scents for the Nov and December events. I was also really struggling with how I wanted to package and label everything.
Now I'm really glad I procrastinated! The only investments I've made so far were two black fitted table covers from Amazon, and some shrink-wrap soap bands from SKS that I'd added at the last minute to my packaging order (which consisted of lotion bottles for an upcoming ladies' retreat for which I'm making lotions and scrubs to go in the gift bags). My husband also hadn't started on making the collapsible riser shelves, either.
I'm going to look around a bit and see if any other events catch my eye. If not, I'm ok with that. The realities of all the packaging and work to get to and from the shows (especially if our heat wave continues!) was beginning to weigh on me and drain the fun out of making soap. I need to pay attention to that feeling and perhaps reconsider whether I really want to try it, or not.
I had just been reminding myself that the deadline was drawing near for me to make a lot of soap to have sufficient stock for the first event in late September, and to begin ordering some holiday scents for the Nov and December events. I was also really struggling with how I wanted to package and label everything.
Now I'm really glad I procrastinated! The only investments I've made so far were two black fitted table covers from Amazon, and some shrink-wrap soap bands from SKS that I'd added at the last minute to my packaging order (which consisted of lotion bottles for an upcoming ladies' retreat for which I'm making lotions and scrubs to go in the gift bags). My husband also hadn't started on making the collapsible riser shelves, either.
I'm going to look around a bit and see if any other events catch my eye. If not, I'm ok with that. The realities of all the packaging and work to get to and from the shows (especially if our heat wave continues!) was beginning to weigh on me and drain the fun out of making soap. I need to pay attention to that feeling and perhaps reconsider whether I really want to try it, or not.
Ladka
Well-Known Member
If I can't make soap without NaOH I can prepare a recipe, and so I did. I now have a recipe with sheep tallow + HO sunflower oil + coconut oil + castor oil ready. A part of a soaping session completed.
I did nothing even remotely soapy today. This morning, my husband asked if I felt like getting out for a while. So, we did. The intention was to go for a swim after stopping for some lunch but all the beaches were crazy busy so we ended up going for a nice drive after a tasty lunch.
After a marathon of markets Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I made a ton of soap today - black rasp & vanilla, mango papaya, vanilla coconut, and watermelon. People have been loving the fruity soaps at farmers markets. For the vanilla coconut I reserved a quarter of the batter and added ZCS to the rest - did a hanger swirl - hoping for a brown swirl in white. We’ll see.
My sister is visiting for the first time since COVID. We made soap together! I thought teaching someone how to make soap would be fun. It wasn't. It was stressful!
I've taught 4 people to make soap. They were all just curious, not really wanting to do it regularly. By the last time it was really fun, but I better knew what to expect. When you have been making soap for awhile, you have your own rhythm/flow to the process. You tend to forget how slow you were in the beginning.
I tend to be a bit controlling about some things. It's why no one ever wants to cook with me...which I truly prefer. I'm not proud to admit that but I 'yam what I 'yam. Ya know? I tried really hard to let go and not over-manage the activity. It was a good exercise in emotional regulation (for me). And focusing/staying on task (for her).
We won't talk about teaching kids to driveI tend to be a bit controlling about some things. It's why no one ever wants to cook with me...which I truly prefer. I'm not proud to admit that but I 'yam what I 'yam. Ya know? I tried really hard to let go and not over-manage the activity. It was a good exercise in emotional regulation (for me). And focusing/staying on task (for her).
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