SMF Soapmaking Challenge November: Drop and Skewer

[dibbles]

I was all set to soap this week, and then I went and adopted a dog. He's stuck to my side like glue, so until I can get him crate trained, soaping is out. My cat and kids and husband leave me alone, but this dog won't let me leave his sight. :/ I hope to drop and swear before the deadline!

Congratulations on your new little buddy!

 

[DeeAnna]

Well, I haven't yet cut the soap, and I'm already thinkin' about swearin'. Not there yet, but close.

My soaps almost always gel, but my little batchlets were too small to gel on their own. They're staying unusually soft and a wee bit zappy. I KNOW it's only been 24 hours since I made them, but my usual soaps are normally hard enough to be unmolded and cut by now. And I so want to see the swirls! NOOOOWWW!

(Yeah, I know I'm whining.)

 

[doriettefarm]

I was all set to soap this week, and then I went and adopted a dog. He's stuck to my side like glue, so until I can get him crate trained, soaping is out. My cat and kids and husband leave me alone, but this dog won't let me leave his sight. :/ I hope to drop and swear before the deadline!

If you can't soap you should be posting pics of the new klingon dog

 

[traderbren]

If you can't soap you should be posting pics of the new klingon dog

Oh. Right. Sorry! This was this morning when I decided he needs to be a running companion, so he started his own "couch to 5K" program. Notice his excitement.

 

[jules92207]

Lol - he looks thrilled!

 

[doriettefarm]

Awww, he looks totally stoked about the couch to 5K thing and his eyes are melting me! I've got a klingon dog too but luckily he either hides on my bed or in the closet when I'm soaping . . . it's like he knows mom might blow up the kitchen.

Speaking of that, my 2nd attempt is looking a bit radioactive at the moment. I was going for bright & sunny and boy did I ever get it. And no I didn't use any neon colorants just a teensy bit too much mica but it's all good . . . my kitchen smells like margaritas now!

 

[jules92207]

Well, I haven't yet cut the soap, and I'm already thinkin' about swearin'. Not there yet, but close.

My soaps almost always gel, but my little batchlets were too small to gel on their own. They're staying unusually soft and a wee bit zappy. I KNOW it's only been 24 hours since I made them, but my usual soaps are normally hard enough to be unmolded and cut by now. And I so want to see the swirls! NOOOOWWW!

(Yeah, I know I'm whining.)

Oh my gosh Deanna you are cracking me up!

 

[BlackDog]

Welp. I'll post my batch #2, which I'm very happy with the swirls on. I'm not thrilled about the color - it was meant to be inspired by my alma mater - University of Northern Iowa. Colors are black, purple and gold. Which is what I had when I poured - see wet soap pic for evidence!

Unfortunately the ****ing thing didn't gel, which I don't understand - if I want to gel, normally I just CPOP it for about 30 mins and then wrap in a blankie for a few hours. Well I added sugar to this batch, so I dropped the CPOP time to 15 minutes so it wouldn't overheat, blankie wrapped, no dice. I've got to get this gelling thing figured out. Anyway, my black turned to more of a charcoal color due to no gel. Still pretty I guess but not what I had in mind.

Apologies for the poor lighting. Apparently now it just stays dark for 22 hours per day.

 

[newbie]

Freezer time for your soaplets, DeeAnna! Don't let a little softness stop you. It never stops me and surely you have never seen all the dings and thumb marks in any of MY soaps. Patience was never a virtue of mine.

I'm glad you were amused, Rowan. I wouldn't mind the soaps so much if they were just swirls (well, I would a little on some of them) but the drop part seems to be completely lacking. I can't believe most of those would be reasonable options. Trust me, someone is going to knock this one out of the park.

Sorry I jinxed you, Doriette!

Cute pup, Ben. One of mine follows me around everywhere and stares at me all the time. All the time. It makes me crazy.

SEE!!! now Blackdog's is more like it. Mine are crap in comparison. Told you so.

 

[BlackDog]

newbie, no!! I'm kind of in love with your ultrasound soap. At least your blacks turned out!

 

[snappyllama]

Traderben, he's adorable.

Blackdog, I think those came out really nicely!

My own first attempt is so unlike me. It looks like a pink nightmare. I must have been sniffing Barbie dreamhouse fumes or something.

 

[BlackDog]

My own first attempt is so unlike me. It looks like a pink nightmare. I must have been sniffing Barbie dreamhouse fumes or something.

First of all, ten internet points for the Christmas Story quote. I totes lol'ed.

Second, the 6 year old girl in me is IN LOVE with that soap.
http://www.soapmakingforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[doriettefarm]

Dang snappy, you nailed the Barbie colors for sure! Did you cut it already? I'm kinda dying to see what's under the covers.

I can relate to what newbie is saying about not enough drop action. Here's my attempt #1 that is lacking because it didn't stay fluid enough to sink into the base color plus I also got a little chopstick happy.

ETA: Actually I think the over-skewing saved this batch because otherwise the color would just sit on top looking all blobby!

 

[afbrat]

Mmmmm. That looks like a yummy hot fudge sunday!

 

[snappyllama]

Just cut... the pink nightmare continues inside where my lack of restraint with the colors is echoed in the pour and skewering.

 

[doriettefarm]

Wow, that pink is intense! What did you use for the hot pink shade? I actually like the dark purplish and lighter pink colors together. And you got way more drop action and movement in yours than I did. Dare I ask what FO you used?

 

[houseofwool]

Snappy, my 6 year old would be all over that soap!

 

[snappyllama]

The light pink is BB Electric Bubblegum with a little TD. The darker pink and purple are both Nurture Cosmetic Neon colors. All of their neons practically glow. That's ungelled soap - I cannot imagine how crazy bright they would be if I gelled. LOL.

The FO is NG Hippy Christmas. It reversed trace and refused to thicken. The scent is patch + peppermint so the colors really don't go with it. I have no idea what I was thinking other than I had just made the last of my soaps to get ready for Christmas presents... 5 batches is a lot for me. LOL.

 

[newbie]

Blackdog, you can always put your soap back in the mold and heat it in the oven. If you used full water (which I had to say to make DeeAnna crazy), it should gel even if it was made yesterday. Or do you have a heat gun? You have to be careful not to hold it too close or little bits of the soap will start to froth, but if you wave it over the soap for a while, the surface of it will gel and your colors will come out. You have to be careful though. I've overdone it and gotten the entire bar to gel and no, it doesn't hold its shape very well sitting on the counter in full gel.

I will say that inside my head, I shouted, "Holy balls!" when I saw the pink soap. That is violently pink, which I kind of like. Pinky lather? YOu can't tell me there aren't some girls out there who wouldn't go wild over that.

I like your soap Doriette but I'm glad to hear someone say they get what I mean about having enough drop action going on. You got more than I did! It's much more difficult to get what I wanted than I thought. My last soap is passable but it's not what I envisioned being able to do at all. I have to try again after taking a break and doing some other things, or I'll cry. So pathetic.

 

[BlackDog]

Blackdog, you can always put your soap back in the mold and heat it in the oven. If you used full water (which I had to say to make DeeAnna crazy), it should gel even if it was made yesterday. Or do you have a heat gun? You have to be careful not to hold it too close or little bits of the soap will start to froth, but if you wave it over the soap for a while, the surface of it will gel and your colors will come out. You have to be careful though. I've overdone it and gotten the entire bar to gel and no, it doesn't hold its shape very well sitting on the counter in full gel.

I have never heard that! Do you think it would mess with the swirls to be gelled and then re-cut?