What soapy thing have you done today?

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I went to the local Amish store today, and stocked up on CO, OO, cocoa butter and lye. And surprise... they had a bottle of avocado oil that someone ordered and never picked up...one gal for $7.99...SCORE!!!
 
I couldn't make soap today, waiting on a shipment. And there will be a day or two when I'm going to have grandchildren to dote on, so I ticked off a couple of other items on my to do list. Which made me think of all the times as a newbie when I couldn't wait to start a batch, and then when I did, I was unprepared, and disorganized and stressed because my soaping stuff was in a mess, and I couldn't lay my hands on what I needed when I needed it, and things didn't go perfect and smooth like in the videos.
So I made a list for all the newbs out there who maybe can't actually soap today, maybe the dog can't be put outside today, or you're waiting on a new fragrance to arrive, or whatever. And it's killing you to have to wait. So here's some "soapy" stuff to keep you happy and get you more ready when the time comes.

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Figuring out my mini soaps so I can make bigger more decorative versions.

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I finally made a batch of soap after being worried that I had come down with a case of "soap gremlins". But everything turned out lovely.
 
Loving everyone's soap pictures! I know such talented folks!

Today I hacked the tops off of two batches and made soap balls. I swear I should never try to texture - I always muddy up the colors something awful and have to destroy the evidence. Love the scent of one batch though... NG Hummingbird. I think it was Shunt that recommended it... Thanks! I'm so happy to have my kitchen smelling like spring even as it snowed for the third time this week. Grrr
 
made a batch of beeswax soap (with milk) 2 days ago, the batter got so thick so fast (just seconds of stick blending!) and i forgot to add my honey, FO and EO...its ricing up so i gotta plop it into mold (to think i even remember to add my TD and cocoa powder to color it before i plop it!) and pop into freezer - worry it'll "volcano" on me as the soap is so hot in the mold (checked it every now and then - it didnt burst anyway lol!). cut it the next morning and whats in it? some air bubble holes, big and small lumps everywhere suspected being beeswax and a gelled ring in the middle. looked ok though...

today, as i mentioned in another post about "cold" triple milled process - i finally started on the little experiment!

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Oh well apples, even without fragrance I'm sure it will be lovely to wash with! :)

I made my first 6 colour layered "rainbow" soap, a partly swirled pink grapefruit scented soap, and I hand milled a basic batch adding some tea tree and peppermint for my husband (his favourite blend) as the tea tree tends to do something horrid during the saponification process and has a weird smell. I think the handmilling has been far kinder to the blend, smells lovely at this stage anyway.
 
Thanks LisaAnne, layers aren't straight, you can see where it's gelled in the middle, stearic acid spots everywhere, but I love it! :p

I used BB's Pink Grapefruit - I swear this FO not only doesn't accelerate but THINS trace - smells gorgeous too.

And my hand milled Tea tree & Peppermint ... hand milled to be gentler on the tea tree oil ... smells lovely:

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And my hand milled Tea tree & Peppermint ... hand milled to be gentler on the tea tree oil ... smells lovely:

Suzie, that tree stamp is downright classy. Just perfect.

Tonight I measured out a batch of oils and lye water so tomorrow morning I can wake up, put the coffee on, and immediately commence soaping!
 
I got my second batch of CP done last night. It was also my first experience with gel phase. I definitely got a full gel as when I checked it a couple of hours after wrapping, it was hot and quite translucent. It probably overheated as I researched after because there is a small crack going down the center of the loaf. I did uncover it after I saw how hot it was getting. I can't wait to cut into it and see how the middle looks.
 
I prefer the wavy lines! Great colour. What did you use to get such great colour? My bright colours run in the shower. [emoji33]

Liquid Pigment Dispersion (Carmine), Liquid Brites NG - liquid blend of pigments and dyes - (orange, canary yellow, green, magenta), also ultramarine blue powder.
 
I had my three "nieces" over to teach them how to make soap. One actually already soaps with her mom, but she wanted to come and hang out with her two older cousins. We had a fun time and I got to test two fragrance oils I purchased WSP's Bamboo and Soapalooza's Vanilla Tropics. They both smell great. The girls were a bit disappointed that they couldn't unmold their soaps and take them home with them. Since I had enough extra batter from each batch to make smaller bars, I dumped it into some Pringle's singles molds I had. I'll mail them to the girls next week after they've had enough time to sit in the mold long enough to fully saponify and to harden enough that they shouldn't have any trouble getting them out. Two molds to Ohio and two to Nashville. They can toss the molds in the trash after they get their soaps out. It was a fun day.

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