What soapy thing have you done today?

[Zing]

Just emerged from my basement soap shop. I masterbatched oils and lye solution -- this time WITHOUT a certain problematic brand of palm oil.

I also made my annual attempt at a reverse feather swirl evergreen tree soap. 5 colors and lots o' dishes and I'm pooped! I'm trying to be zen about the cut. If it's not gift- or sell-worthy, at least I'll get great smelling soap for personal use.

I think Mrs. Zing has gotten bit by the soap bug because she is seeing things through the lens of soap, poor li'l lamb. Every other weekend we visit my elderly dad, a 4 hour trip on rural Midwestern roads. Friday she was loving the fields of dried corn under a cloudy gray sky and thought those would be great colors for soap. Then the sun was setting and could I do an ombre with pink and blue? And then today on the return trip, she said to make sure I include that distant tree line....

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I think Mrs. Zing has gotten bit by the soap bug because she is seeing things through the lens of soap,

What's not to love? Maybe Mrs. Zing needs to take up watercolor painting?

 

[LynetteO]

Today is my last day of quarantine and I’m feeling fabulous post C-19. So I made, you guessed it, !
I thought I’d get some snowflake soap made for Christmas gifts. It’s a recipe from my INS 160 experiment this summer. I know better than to SB too much, especially if batch has GW415 included & it did. However, my SB was throwing out massive bubbles on low, so I dared to speed up & pulse a couple times to see if it was the speed or the bell?! OyVey did I have to work quickly because over blending with soy wax was/is NOT a good idea! Poured at a much thicker trace than I wanted, but alas all is well.

 

[basti]

Trying out a paper lined wooden mold for the first time. Mildly terrified but also excited. It's still a 1 lb batch mold, so I'm not getting too big for my breeches yet. I love these small batches a lot since I can really mess around a lot with oil percentages, colors, and fragrances.
My batter was gloriously thin today and I'm so proud of myself for how far my emulsion spotting skills have progressed lol. Though... I might've poured a little too thin today... It'll be gorgeous either way I'm sure, as long as I can get it out of the mold that is

 

[Zing]

Trying out a paper lined wooden mold for the first time. Mildly terrified but also excited. It's still a 1 lb batch mold, so I'm not getting too big for my breeches yet. I love these small batches a lot since I can really mess around a lot with oil percentages, colors, and fragrances.
My batter was gloriously thin today and I'm so proud of myself for how far my emulsion spotting skills have progressed lol. Though... I might've poured a little too thin today... It'll be gorgeous either way I'm sure, as long as I can get it out of the mold that is

You got this! And the only way we'll believe you is with photographic evidence! It took me months to master emulsion and I'm still proud when I succeed! My stick blender is mostly a stirring spoon with occasional 3-second bursts. Good for you!

My soapy day was clean up after an 10 batch marathon. All the towels used in gelling are washed as well as the table cloth that covers my soap workstation. I have over 100 bars on curing racks which should be plenty for our holiday gift giving plus enough if friends want a special order. I still need to make a few more batches but the cure-by date is Christmas Day so still have a few weeks.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I still need to make a few more batches

More christmas trees please... with just christmasy green... and stearic spots for stars! LOL

 

[basti]

You got this! And the only way we'll believe you is with photographic evidence! It took me months to master emulsion and I'm still proud when I succeed! My stick blender is mostly a stirring spoon with occasional 3-second bursts. Good for you!

Haha, thank you for the good energy! It did end up being too thin and got all muddied. Luckily "muddy" was a lovely pink-toned burgundy. Happy accidents

My soapy thing of the day was dishes. LOL. But maybe if I have the energy, I'll work on some MP.

 

[Kaolin washer]

tried 2% caster oil in a batch of soap and yes i could tell the difference, I think I am hooked now

 

[Zany_in_CO]

tried 2% caster oil in a batch of soap and yes i could tell the difference, I think I am hooked now

I rarely need the castor oil boost of lather in most of my bar soaps, but it does come in handy when I do need it. It's a good thing.

 

[msunnerstood]

Just emerged from my basement soap shop. I masterbatched oils and lye solution -- this time WITHOUT a certain problematic brand of palm oil.

I also made my annual attempt at a reverse feather swirl evergreen tree soap. 5 colors and lots o' dishes and I'm pooped! I'm trying to be zen about the cut. If it's not gift- or sell-worthy, at least I'll get great smelling soap for personal use.

I think Mrs. Zing has gotten bit by the soap bug because she is seeing things through the lens of soap, poor li'l lamb. Every other weekend we visit my elderly dad, a 4 hour trip on rural Midwestern roads. Friday she was loving the fields of dried corn under a cloudy gray sky and thought those would be great colors for soap. Then the sun was setting and could I do an ombre with pink and blue? And then today on the return trip, she said to make sure I include that distant tree line....

Ohh I just bought palm oil. What was the problematic brand?

 

[Zing]

Ohh I just bought palm oil. What was the problematic brand?

Bramble Berry. I gave them feedback.

I made soap today so evidently my marathon was not yet complete. Mrs. Zing asked me to make another batch that was more pleasing to the ladies. So, twist my arm, I guess I'll have to make more soap!

I did an alternating wall pour. For the first time I did it in my tall & skinny mold which was tricky. Mrs. Zing watched the scale for each layer and did the mica lines. (I pulled her out of her own canning shop where she's making cranberry champagne jelly!) Also I did an ombre and for the first time did the technique of adding more colorant to the batter on each pour. Love it -- so many less dishes compared to multiple colors. Scented with 50 50 patchouli and lavender.

 

[msunnerstood]

I pulled her out of her own canning shop where she's making cranberry champagne jelly!

ummm.... YUMMM!!

 

[Zing]

ummm.... YUMMM!!

And her session timed just right with mixing my post-soaping-cocktail. You can't exactly put leftover champagne back in the fridge, doncha know!

 

[Misschief]

And her session timed just right with mixing my post-soaping-cocktail. You can't exactly put leftover champagne back in the fridge, doncha know!

Absolutely not! That would be alcohol abuse!

 

[basti]

Having a very disjointed soaping day where I've prepped my FO, colorants, and lye solution but nothing else. And now I'm going to go eat a pizza. I guess it just means the lye water can cool down . It's a little cold today (Florida cold, so it's like 65F, sorry ), so I figured I'd prep my oils after I'm eating. Controlled chaos, I say.

But, I'm going to do some layers today because I was inspired by a beer soap shop I found through google where they do soap designs inspired by the label of the beer they used in the soap. I've yet to do layers, so this should be a nice experience. Plus, if the beer accelerates my batter, no big deal~

Edit: I just remembered something ridiculous, as well.
I was scrolling through a board here and saw someone's soapcalc screenshot where they used Lard and my brain read Lard, Pig Tallow Manteca as Guinea Pig Tallow and I was very, very confused. Talk about a luxury oil

 

[AliOop]

Plus, if the beer accelerates my batter, no big deal~

Do be sure to boil off the alcohol first, or it won't just accelerate, it will seize. Can't wait to see what you make!

 

[VikingChick]

And her session timed just right with mixing my post-soaping-cocktail. You can't exactly put leftover champagne back in the fridge, doncha know!

“Doncha know”:::::you’re making me miss living in MinneSNOWta!

 

[Zing]

“Doncha know”:::::you’re making me miss living in MinneSNOWta!

Yah, sure now! I didn't know you were a MinneSNOWtan! I grew up in South Dakota, went to college in Minnesohta, lived a lifetime in Chicago (there's an accent, over by here), now back in Minneapolis. I knew I was home when I heard the NPR guy says "Stay toooned for the noooz at tooo" every single day!

 

[dibbles]

“Doncha know”:::::you’re making me miss living in MinneSNOWta!

And I am also in MN. When I read the post by @Zing I didn’t even notice the ’doncha’ Zing, since its also alcohol abuse to let champagne go flat, I hope you and Mrs. Zing didn’t let that happen.

 

[basti]

Do be sure to boil off the alcohol first, or it won't just accelerate, it will seize. Can't wait to see what you make!

Went with the "go flat on the counter for a few days" method after I made... ahem... beer caramel. When I learned the don't walk away from boiling beer lesson was true

But the deed is done, the soap has been soaped and there was no seizing here!