CP with MP embeds

[mommycarlson]

My SIL gave me 5 bars of MP soap. I took them out to throw them away and thought....maybe these could be cool see through ish embeds in a CP soap. So I melted them down into little ice cube trays, they look like gumdrops. So I started to read and I'm glad I did because everything I read says not to let my soap go through gel phase when using MP embeds. Anyone have any experience putting MP embeds in CP soap? Please advise if I can do it or if I should just chuck the little gumdrops in the trash? Thank you!

 

[shunt2011]

Are you looking to put them inside or on top? I've put MP embeds on top with no issues. Mostly on cupcake soaps.

 

[mommycarlson]

I was planning to put them inside. Make a batch of basic lard, color it with a mica and then stir in the "gumdrops". Then when I cut it I envision these little "clear" windows in the soap.

 

[shunt2011]

I was planning to put them inside. Make a batch of basic lard, color it with a mica and then stir in the "gumdrops". Then when I cut it I envision these little "clear" windows in the soap.

You can give it a try. I did that once with cubes but did have some issues with a few of them popping out when I cut them. I didn't gel. But figured if I tried it again I might just let it gel to see what happened. Could be a disaster though.

 

[mommycarlson]

haha, well, that doesn't exactly fill me with confidence It might be better to just throw them away. It's not like I'm in love with the little nuggets, just didn't like the idea of wasting them. I wondering if I could slice them and lay them in layers and then gel my soap and see how that turns out. Maybe it's just too much effort Thank you for your input

 

[Seawolfe]

Sure you can, I've had good results - as you can see in this potato quality pic

Now, that cylinder doesnt gel like my loaf molds do, but it wasnt something I worried about. I just soaped kinda cool and used a high lard / low coconut recipe that doesn't heat up a lot. Thread here: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=53421
I think your idea sounds cute - try it! Just dont soap too hot.

 

[mommycarlson]

Thank you Seawolfe! So I should not allow my soap to gel? I've been reading where people put theirs in the freezer. I have had not so good results with soap that doesn't go through gel, or even a partial gel so now I purposely use a heating pad to encourage gel. I really want to try this but I am so hesitant. I do love the look of yours! That is really what I'm going for, that little clear ish window in there.

 

[lenarenee]

I've never stirred MP embeds into batter before pouring - but as long as your batter isn't too thin, the embeds shouldn't sink too much. (I always add mine after pour, then use skewer to push them down.

Embeds in cp soap aren't as translucent as you'd expect. For more translucency, the embeds need to fit end to end in each slice of soap. I still like the effect though, and found that the embeds look darker in soap.

 

[Seawolfe]

Thank you Seawolfe! So I should not allow my soap to gel? I've been reading where people put theirs in the freezer. I have had not so good results with soap that doesn't go through gel, or even a partial gel so now I purposely use a heating pad to encourage gel. I really want to try this but I am so hesitant. I do love the look of yours! That is really what I'm going for, that little clear ish window in there.

Ya try not to gel. To avoid gel I just soap cool, use a low CO recipe and don't cover or put on a hot pad - the house is cool enough now as it is. If you're using a loaf mold maybe raise it with something to let air circulate. I have never, and will never, have room in my freezer for this :???: If you don't want to gel, then individual molds or a column mold like that help. Just let it take the days it needs to firm up.

Now, if you want windows - you'll want a long piece of MP like I used. Chunks look nice too, but they don't make good windows. In either case it will look nice I think.

 

[mommycarlson]

ok! Thank you! So I could put it in the freezer if I want to? I have rather thick wooden supports for my silicone molds, they tend to hold heat. I can sneak it in the deep freeze if need be. I really appreciate your help. I'm only using half of the MP that I melted into little gumdrops so if I like how this turns out I may do something different with those.

 

[shunt2011]

You'll have to be sure to share pictures when you are done. I see another experiment in my near future. I have a bunch of MP.

 

[mommycarlson]

I did it! Not exactly what I had in mind, I ended up using all the embeds, I must have miscalculated my recipe a bit. Oh well. Seawolfe, I read the thread you linked for me and made a soap with 65 lard, 20 almond, 15 coconut. Sprayed the MP embeds with rubbing alcohol, poured part of the CP, tossed in some embeds, poured more soap, tossed in more embeds, realized I needed the other half, raced around looking for them only to realize they were sitting right. there. In front of me. Sheesh! Poured the rest of the soap and tossed some embeds on top for fun. And of course it looked rather FUN so I put some glitter on there, everything's better with glitter. I'm enjoying branching out a bit, I am the rustic soap maker, so these swirls and embeds are out of the box for me! I'll post pictures after I cut it. Thanks again!

 

[Seawolfe]

Oh that is a FUN looking soap! Ill be interested to hear what you think of that recipe - it's odd in that it has no Castor Oil, but for me it lathers like crazy. Plus its a very nice slow tracer - Carolyn has found that castor can speed trace, and I believe her.

 

[LilyJo]

This kind of taps into what I was thinking about M&P and CP.

Given M&P tends to sweat how does it react when in or on top of CP? Have seen so many recipes using M&P decorations but always wondered what happened when the soap cured. Doesnt the M&P sweat being left uncovered?

 

[mommycarlson]

I'm pretty sure this soap was all "sweated" out. My SIL gave it to me several months ago, it never sweated while I had it. I re-melted it yesterday, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it not sweating. It's been in the freezer for 3 1/2 hours. It seems sufficiently frozen. Anyone know if I can remove it now? or do I have to leave it? Any danger of it gelling now that it's been frozen?

 

[Seawolfe]

I'm guessing you could take it out now - that recipe doesn't have much to heat it up, and you soaped coolish. But like I said, I've never bothered with the freezer.

 

[mommycarlson]

Thanks SeaWolfe, I'm going to free it from the freezer now.

 

[mommycarlson]

Oh that is a FUN looking soap! Ill be interested to hear what you think of that recipe - it's odd in that it has no Castor Oil, but for me it lathers like crazy. Plus its a very nice slow tracer - Carolyn has found that castor can speed trace, and I believe her.

It's the first time I've used that combination with no castor oil. I did add 1 T of sugar to the lye water, I'll report after the cut!

 

[BeesKnees]

Annnnnttttiiiiccciiippaaatttttiiooonnnnn...........

 

[redhead1226]

I put some MP embeds in a soap with that same idea (little windows) and it was fine until I went to cut it. They are difficult to cut without them popping out. On top would be the only way I would use them in the future.