Awesome! That sounds like it would be pretty.
What soapy thing have you done today?
- Thread starter FlybyStardancer
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Today I'm giving it my second try for the Soapmaking Challenge.
I was pretty happy with the first one but I'm going to make some improvements to my design.
Love the theme of this month.
SoapStephanie, how come you're not on the challenge list? Come on, join in (espec. 'cause you're doing it anyway!)
NA, looks like she doesn't have enough posts!
Shoot, thanks K, and sorry Steph. Steph, you are not far off, though, could you post a few extra so that you can join soon? You have until the 27th, I think.
I think that would be doable steph! You should try it. As long as you get signed up by the 25th it should be all good!
handavaka
Well-Known Member
Tried using nopal and Avocado fruit in my recipe and although it looked great, once cut, lye pockets and oozing gelled nopal. Fricken-A!!! Grrrrr! I didn't include as my total water. What a beautiful disaster. So...I made good with my emotions, and made salt bars instead.
Well, your soap bars are perfect, so it was a good outcome!
I used half water to dissolve the lye then waited for it to cool. The remaining water amount I replaced with mead syrup because I haven't been brave enough to do 100% mead. Turned out really nice and it's not even fully cured. Might try some peach cider pucks next to test out another new FO.
I got everything prepped for my first batch ever! Washed all my utensils, triple checked my recipe (doing without palm oil), ran to the grocery store because I didn't have a thermometer set aside for soaping, and got so far as to start weighing my oils out (before I mixed the lye water, thankfully) when I ran into a wall! My kitchen scale does pounds/kilograms and not ounces/grams. It probably would have been fine if I wasn't doing a small batch and needing to weigh down to 1 ounce. :-(
*sigh*
*sigh*
Mead syrup? Never heard of it.
snappyllama
Supporting Member
Bummer! When you look for a scale, try to get one that weighs into grams. It's much more accurate than ounces. Good luck on that first batch once you get everything together for it!
I just lightly boil the mead and reduce it by half attempting to cook off the alcohol. Same thing I do when making beer soap. Because mead is lighter colored than most beers and also seems to contain more sugar, the color change when combined with lye seems more drastic. Maybe I've just soaped with more dark beers so the color change isn't as obvious?
Sonya-m
Well-Known Member
I used the shaving soap (made for hubby, oops) on my legs, such a difference to regular soap!!
A local gal who raises her own hogs gave me 10 lb of pork fat so I could try my hand at rendering with the idea that I'd start to use lard from her hogs vs. using lard from Wally World. We bartered -- her pork fat for my soap made with the lard. It was a good bargain.
The rendering went well, although a bit messy. I used my big crock pot and dry rendered the fat (no water). Rendering is like extracting honey from the comb -- bits of fat (or honey) get everywhere no matter how careful I am.
I told a girlfriend what I was planning, and she said she had several bags of suet (beef fat) in the freezer from slaughtering the family beef, and would I want some or all of that to render? I gladly took a bag of that and will try my hand at making tallow too.
Networking is fun!
The rendering went well, although a bit messy. I used my big crock pot and dry rendered the fat (no water). Rendering is like extracting honey from the comb -- bits of fat (or honey) get everywhere no matter how careful I am.
I told a girlfriend what I was planning, and she said she had several bags of suet (beef fat) in the freezer from slaughtering the family beef, and would I want some or all of that to render? I gladly took a bag of that and will try my hand at making tallow too.
Networking is fun!
Going to take another stab at the SMF challenge soap today. Hopefully I will not end up stabbing myself in a fit of clumsiness or pique, both possible at this point Also making another batch of salt soap. Three in three days, after accepting that they need a minimum three month cure. I want to be able to check out the different version/salt amts at the same time when they are finally ready!
Also making another batch of salt soap. Three in three days, after accepting that they need a minimum three month cure. I want to be able to check out the different version/salt amts at the same time when they are finally ready!
Today, I'm going to make a trip to the Amish store for CO, OO and lye. I have this feeling that as soon as I am able to use both hands, it's going to be soaping madness for a while...lol. Plus, I get to buy nice, fresh veggies that I don't grow, and yummy baked goods ( I don't bake in summer--too dang hot!).
handavaka
Well-Known Member
@not_ally
I could only WISH this was for me...but assuming as I might, I thank you thank you thank you!
This pic was SUPPOSED TO BE my nopal/avocado soap...and well, it met its fate shortly after...
handavaka
Well-Known Member
@not _ally
Please post pics!
Please post pics!
Of course it was meant for you, your salt soaps are amazing. Truly, you guys, I actually bought some, before I had even "met" her! What happened to the nopal/avocado, it looks really cool?
handavaka
Well-Known Member
not-ally~You are too kind! THANK YOU again...truly. I didn't include the nopal and avocado in to my water (LOTS of liquid/gel in nopal), and although it looked great...gelled beautifully....once cut, large pockets of gel and fluid oozed out. I was disappointed, but knew exactly what happened the moment I cut it, and could have kicked myself.
I had a dream last night, about soap...(really?? of all things??) and came up with a new design for my salt soaps....I can't wait to try it, and will post pics once done. Same formula, slightly different visual. (vision?)
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