What soapy thing have you done today?

[Zing]

I can't exactly claim this as a soapy thing, but I just made my first lip balm using this recipe that @IrishLass posted a while back. Either I overestimated on the recipe size, or I underestimated the number of tubes to order, or both! I have plenty of tubes to give away, plus more chapstick that I didn't have tubes for It seems nice though.

Yes of course lip balm is a soapy thing, silly! I recently made @IrishLass 's lip balm as holiday gifts. I love that recipe because it is similar to the original Burt's Bees. Everyone loves it. And it's super effective. I'm used to applying lip balm several times a day, and now just 1 or 2 times.
Also, I like your new look.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I'm used to applying lip balm several times a day, and now just 1 or 2 times.

So true! Making your own lippies is a good thing!

 

[Misschief]

Black Raspberry Vanilla, Lemon, Lime & Coconut, White & Dark Chocolate....... and only one of them is edible.

 

[lalam]

I made soap today! :-D One batch of ZNSC with Nurture Soap's Champagne FO and one batch of my ever-evolving lard-heavy recipe with NS's Honeysuckle FO, jade green mica, and aztec gold mica in a one pot swirl.

I've been using a 5% SF for my lardy soap experiments. I'm going to do some research around tweaking that for the next batch and I can't wait!

 

[Misschief]

Yesterday, I had two successes and one "we shall see". The Lemon Lime soap that I made last week was used to make this yesterday, Lime in the Coconut. The fragrance I used in the base is Caribbean Coconut (from Candora) and smells amazing; I don't usually like coconut fragrances.



The other success is the White & Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta I made for a dinner party we're going to this evening.



The jury is still out on the BRV Yin & Yang soap. It's still way too soft to unmold. It smells good, though. I have a feeling it will be a while before I unmold it. Even the couple little ones in cavity molds are still way too soft to do anything with.

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

I love Panna Cotta, and I think I have all of the ingredients....

 

[maryloucb]

I’m pretty happy with how these look after trimming and buffing. After some trial and error, I think I’ve got the process down.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

I found a leftover fragment of some pure coconut soap from November 2020 … easily my whitest soap of all times, but now this (left):

For comparison, the right bar is a PKO soap (just three months younger). It had started out not quite as bright white as the CO soap, a bit more cream-coloured and translucent, but stayed so ever since.
Both were kept at the same dark, dry place at constant temperature without metal contact.

It's not typical DOS. Not yellow-orange but more beige, with a hint of pink. And the entire bar, no spots. I can't smell anything off with it either. Also: coconut???

 

[Zany_in_CO]

It's not typical DOS. Not yellow-orange but more beige, with a hint of pink. And the entire bar, no spots. I can't smell anything off with it either.

That's odd. It certainly is a head-scratcher! Old coconut oil maybe?

 

[AliOop]

I found a leftover fragment of some pure coconut soap from November 2020 … easily my whitest soap of all times, but now this (left):
View attachment 64570
For comparison, the right bar is a PKO soap (just three months younger). It had started out not quite as bright white as the CO soap, a bit more cream-coloured and translucent, but stayed so ever since.
Both were kept at the same dark, dry place at constant temperature without metal contact.

It's not typical DOS. Not yellow-orange but more beige, with a hint of pink. And the entire bar, no spots. I can't smell anything off with it either. Also: coconut???

I had some older 100% CO bars that had turned either pinkish or yellowish. They definitely weren't rancid - no bad smell at all, worked just fine. I figured it was similar to how natural colorants change over time. But I'm sure that's not a satisfying answer to your scientific mind.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

@Zany_in_CO Dunno, it was virgin organic coconut oil, from a supermarket, freshly opened jar. But ye never know exactly what's in there…

@AliOop That's fine (for now). That splinter of CO soap won't go anywhere. It has done its duty, as a demonstration that 1. not even CO is safe from weird decay, 2. that it's a GOOD IDEA to WAIT and KEEP things until one is certain about things like storage shelf life, and 3. that the most scientific curiosity is worthless if it can't rely on the experience of handcrafting (the own just as well as the wisdom of others like you).

 

[TashaBird]

Bath bomb air brushing extravaganza today. Next few days: testing, making promos, packaging, and hopefully posting before I go to FL to visit my fam.
I used a pull through plate for one of them. I’m not good at airbrushing stencils. I always get drippy blobs. So I have a new philosophy: If you can’t do it nice, do it THRICE!

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

I was cleaning out my soap room because I need it clean to pack for a trip. I spied a mold my husband made me that just doesn't work well. When I try to line it the paper scrunches down because it's a tall skinny mold and messes up the soap. I had about decided to pitch it but then decided to make a permanent soap liner out of flexible cutting mats. I also tried to fix a mold with a floppy liner with binder clips. Then NATURALLY I had to make soap to test out my solutions. After all that there wasn't enough time to finish cleaning the soap room. But the soap looks pretty and smells good...

 

[Catscankim]

I cleaned my kitchen today ...I know that doesn't seem like a soapy thing, but it definitely was because I usually have to clear my kitchen, or at least a space of my soapy stuff to be able to actually cook in it these days. I mean it was clean...just soapy supplies everywhere. I have an insurance inspection coming up on Thursday, so I had to clean and make my kitchen look like a kitchen again. Its like "aaahhhh". I really need to get my other room finished so that I can at least store and organize my ever growing pile of supplies. Needless to say, I will not be making soap until at least Thursday night.

The better part of my last couple of hours was spent trying to find soap label templates for cigar bands. I found Petals Bath Boutique as suggested on an inquiry I made here last year. I like the labels, but formatting them to my needs is hard for me because I am using a mac computer...on a windows computer, which I am much more experienced, it would have been done by now LOL. And I don't know if it is a mac vs windows computer conversion problem, but the original formatting of the label is weird. Like when you print out her original version, the grid lines show up all over the place, and its hard to select them in order to hide them. I will figure it out. I managed to do the top label of the template, so I will probably just get that one done and make my own template out of that.

I know I would get a better response by posting a question as its own thread, but I figured I'd ask since I'm talking about it...What weight paper do you use to print cigar band labels for your soaps? I have card stock, but I think thats too heavy, and I think copy paper is too light.

@AliOop I printed out the template for online labels, they seem too big. But thanks anyway lol. I wish I could send this template to them ...."please make labels like this". I didn't find anything there like these ones.

Listening to Tool, wishing I was in Philly for the concert Sunday night (tonight). I was supposed to be there .

 

[Vicki C]

I cleaned my kitchen today ...I know that doesn't seem like a soapy thing, but it definitely was because I usually have to clear my kitchen, or at least a space of my soapy stuff to be able to actually cook in it these days. I mean it was clean...just soapy supplies everywhere. I have an insurance inspection coming up on Thursday, so I had to clean and make my kitchen look like a kitchen again. Its like "aaahhhh". I really need to get my other room finished so that I can at least store and organize my ever growing pile of supplies. Needless to say, I will not be making soap until at least Thursday night.

The better part of my last couple of hours was spent trying to find soap label templates for cigar bands. I found Petals Bath Boutique as suggested on an inquiry I made here last year. I like the labels, but formatting them to my needs is hard for me because I am using a mac computer...on a windows computer, which I am much more experienced, it would have been done by now LOL. And I don't know if it is a mac vs windows computer conversion problem, but the original formatting of the label is weird. Like when you print out her original version, the grid lines show up all over the place, and its hard to select them in order to hide them. I will figure it out. I managed to do the top label of the template, so I will probably just get that one done and make my own template out of that.

I know I would get a better response by posting a question as its own thread, but I figured I'd ask since I'm talking about it...What weight paper do you use to print cigar band labels for your soaps? I have card stock, but I think thats too heavy, and I think copy paper is too light.

@AliOop I printed out the template for online labels, they seem too big. But thanks anyway lol. I wish I could send this template to them ...."please make labels like this". I didn't find anything there like these ones.

Listening to Tool, wishing I was in Philly for the concert Sunday night (tonight). I was supposed to be there .

I have used vellum paper, like this https://www.staples.com/Staples-Ink...MIlY7T74-O9gIV_GxvBB0wEgrfEAQYBCABEgIKLPD_BwE
The vellum paper is stronger than copy paper, but thin and flexible, and you can see the soap through it. I think it looks classy. I have been shrinkwrapping lately, but I like these better in some ways. My cigar band labels were word documents, six to a sheet - fairly simple. I use a Mac and would be happy to send you one to use as a template I you like.

 

[Lyric]

Yes of course lip balm is a soapy thing, silly! I recently made @IrishLass 's lip balm as holiday gifts. I love that recipe because it is similar to the original Burt's Bees. Everyone loves it. And it's super effective. I'm used to applying lip balm several times a day, and now just 1 or 2 times.
Also, I like your new look.

Uww, I'd like to try some. Gotta find where to buy.

I am visiting this forum this morning (though I need to be getting ready for worship and a gathering of like-minded worshippers this afternoon). Having such a joy reading and remembering when I used to make soap and the frustrations of trying a small cottage business with it (never again me thinks).

We are prepping to move onto a small farm/homestead. Perhaps I will revisit soapmaking for our lil family (he and me). I do know I will want a simple, moisturizing, skin loving recipe. HP. Will be like starting from scratch. Do not even know where my myriad of making supplies landed. That's cool though for I am sure they are not in decent condition. A simple wood mold with silicone living for bar soap will do (is that still a thing)? LOL. Perhaps with lard, KISS will be my moto way I will go with it. We will probably be "Hip Hillbilly Farm" soaps. Fits our space well.

 

[Dave12444]

Just made soap was looking for spring look used moringa powder anatto powder and papaya powder with a nice black chamomile scent

 

[AliOop]

I was cleaning out my soap room because I need it clean to pack for a trip. I spied a mold my husband made me that just doesn't work well. When I try to line it the paper scrunches down because it's a tall skinny mold and messes up the soap. I had about decided to pitch it but then decided to make a permanent soap liner out of flexible cutting mats. I also tried to fix a mold with a floppy liner with binder clips. Then NATURALLY I had to make soap to test out my solutions. After all that there wasn't enough time to finish cleaning the soap room. But the soap looks pretty and smells good...

Good for you! I also love oven liner sheets for making custom mold liners. They are easier for me to cut to size than flexible cutting mats, but the mats are generally much less expensive. I have seen some YT folks "fix" a floppy liner by adding a dab of vaseline between the liner and the mold. However you do it, I'm so glad you didn't toss them out!

@AliOop I printed out the template for online labels, they seem too big. But thanks anyway lol. I wish I could send this template to them ...."please make labels like this". I didn't find anything there like these ones.

Oh rats! Did you check their other cigar band sizes? I believe they have more than one. If they don't have the size/shape you want, they do make custom labels. I've never checked prices on custom orders, however. Would be interesting to hear how they compare to the others. Etsy has some printable templates you can purchase, too. Hope you can find what you like!

 

[Dave12444]

Just made soap was looking for spring look used moringa powder anatto powder and papaya powder with a nice black chamomile scent

Thanks to all I not post much but learning lots from you all

 

[LynetteO]

Made a small batch (13oz oils) last night because I was dying to use the wire emboss tool I made & then use a soap stamp that I received from my anonymous “February Friend” @ work! I was too excited to wait to start “messing” with soap top & the embossing is barely visible. However, as usual I had so much fun. Soap is uncolored, scented with OMH & 2tsp. ea goat milk powder & finely ground oats.