What soapy thing have you done today?

[jules92207]

Dana that's gorgeous! I can't wait to see how it turns out once it browns. I don't see why your soaps would suddenly commit suicide, they are way better looking than mine!

Btw - love the puppy pictures!!!

 

[Dana89]

Thanks so much Jules. I just have seen some super talented, artistic people on this thread. I have never been very artistic. You will see when the others throw their soaps in for the challenge. They will be amazing.

 

[IrishLass]

Thank you guys!

Irish Lass...did you make that double bevel with your plane? Jeez...you should do a tutorial on planing hon!
Soapon!!

Yes, I did! I love my plane! The type of plane I have is actually a Japanese handheld woodworking tool made by Kakuri called a radius plane or a round molding plane. I bought it about 8 years ago or so from LotionCrafters of all places, but alas, they no longer sell it. But good news- it looks like Lee's Valley Tools in Canada sells it:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=41232&cat=1,41182 and there's also a place in Australia that sells it: http://www.japanesetools.com.au/collections/planes/products/kakuri-round-molding-plane

It's an awesome, sturdy tool and is built to last seemingly forever. It's made out of solid white oak- the same wood Old Ironsides was/is made of, and the blade can be sharpened if need be. For what it's worth, I have never had the need yet to sharpen mine, and it's beveled lots and lots of batches for me over these many years.

...am I reading this right??? Was this a loaf soap and not a mold??? If so HOW did you get the sides and borders to look like that???

Yes- you read that right. lol I did indeed soap in a loaf mold. The fancy designs that you see on each of the sides were made by a Wilton 'Graceful Vines' silicone fondant mat that I cut into liners to fit each side of my mold. I love using the mats as liners so much that I saved up and bought enough mats to cut liner sets out of them for each of my collapsible wood molds. lol You can find the mats at Michael's craft store down aisle where they stock the cake pans.


IrishLass

 

[Consuela]

IL they look wonderful !!! My guess was perhaps you stamped the loaf; but that would be Eons of stamping ! Lol

Baby went to sleep (after ditching naps today) and I decided to make Beer Shampoo Bars (Sapporo) because it's what hubby brought home.

I know some aren't big on Shampoo bars but personally I'm a fan and it's what I felt like. Yay.

Tomorrow I tackle a carrot soap. Deciding if I want it to specialize in face/complexion or not we'll see.

Either way. Pretty sure it'll be unscented because all I have for EO is citronella, palmarosa, and cinnamon leaf, maybe 1 tsp of clove. And for fragrance I have half a bottle of pomegranate (not my fave) and 1Tbs of buttercream.

So. Unscented carrot soap. Maybe I'll add some coconut milk? We'll see!!

 

[rparrny]

Congrads on the puppy and thank you for taking on a rescue...too many animals in the shelters these days...
I love the top on your soap!! I have a question: Your "feathering" is so much broader then mine with that technique...how did you do that? Is it because it was so shallow or was it the instrument you used? I used a chopstick...
Lovely bar.

 

[rparrny]

Either way. Pretty sure it'll be unscented because all I have for EO is citronella, palmarosa, and cinnamon leaf, maybe 1 tsp of clove. And for fragrance I have half a bottle of pomegranate (not my fave) and 1Tbs of buttercream.

So. Unscented carrot soap. Maybe I'll add some coconut milk? We'll see!!

Hmmm...cinnamon and clove with carrots...memories of holiday dinners with glazed carrots...I'm hungry.

 

[rparrny]

Thank you guys!
Yes- you read that right. lol I did indeed soap in a loaf mold. The fancy designs that you see on each of the sides were made by a Wilton 'Graceful Vines' silicone fondant mat that I cut into liners to fit each side of my mold. I love using the mats as liners so much that I saved up and bought enough mats to cut liner sets out of them for each of my collapsible wood molds. lol You can find the mats at Michael's craft store down aisle where they stock the cake pans.
IrishLass

They look pricey but I think it may be next on my "what to get" list. The down side of your design is that it is SO perfect that no one would ever know it wasn't a mold and that you put all of the work and craftmanship into it.
Now the picture of the plane shows two curves, the pic showing the larger curve on the top. Did you reverse that and use both curves to get that cool border?
And those fondant mats will be a great use for my Michaels 40% off coupon!

 

[umeali]

I made tomato soap yesterday and I am happy with the result .But my soap is not red at all .Its yellow .:sad:

 

[not_ally]

Dana, the soap is lovely but the pup! She is heart-stoppingly cute. I want another puppy pic when you update w/the soap!

 

[nsmar4211]

Rebatched a honey/oatmeal that just wasn't cooperating. Not so sure it cooperated on the rebatch either...seemed watery. Well, I'll see tomorrow if it hardens enough to come out of the molds.

Mixed up a new batch...this time 1 lb instead of 2. Washed half the soap dishes and then got them all dirty again...so tomorrow will be just wash the dishes day!

 

[Consuela]

...so tomorrow will be just wash the dishes day!

Uhhhhh......

#worstdayever
#everysoapmakerhatesit
#Idratherbesoaping

 

[not_ally]

In the process of doing my DFO soap for the challenge. I am just so convinced that it is going to be awful that I have been dragging my feet for days. Have mixed the lye, pre-mixed the colors, am about to weigh out the oils so that I can just get it over with. It has been a month since I have soaped, I am just thinking that the soapy muscle memory (and all the other kinds) are gone and it will be a mess.

 

[lsg]

I have not done soaping for a while; but just tried two new recipes, one for "intensive care-type" foot cream and the other for an emulsified salt scrub for feet. I made these for a friend of mine who requested something for her dry and cracking feet.

I got the recipe for the foot cream from the Swiftcrafty Monkey Blog.

 

[Consuela]

It has been a month since I have soaped, I am just thinking that the soapy muscle memory (and all the other kinds) are gone and it will be a mess.

It's like riding a bike or....well, you know. Can I say that word in here?

You never forget how to soap... maybe a little rusty/clumsy/teeter-y.... but you never forget.

 

[Dana89]

Congrads on the puppy and thank you for taking on a rescue...too many animals in the shelters these days...
I love the top on your soap!! I have a question: Your "feathering" is so much broader then mine with that technique...how did you do that? Is it because it was so shallow or was it the instrument you used? I used a chopstick...
Lovely bar.

I put the white layer down first and then 4 thick lines of the red all the down the mold, then just used my chopstick to go back and forth, then went down the mold 2 times. I am one of those people that is chopstick heavy,lol, I have to tell my self to put down the chopstick and walk away or I would have ended up with a pink top!
@Rparney and Not-Ally, My Evy is so sweet! She had 4 siblings at the shelter and it was all I could do not to take them all home! 3 have been rescued but there is one left, so if anyone wants one and is in the Dallas/Ft Worth area PM me and I will give the name of the shelter she is in.

 

[Belizeanswirl]

Goodness, rparrmy- your soap looks spectacular! If that were mine, I would consider that an awesome day of soaping (I love jagged pencil lines)!

I cut my fully-gelled, sample tallow soap that I made using Isg's recipe and RE's Tuscan Field's FO. I also used Nurture's Purple Vibrance mica for the very first time, and all I can say is, 'Wow'! The color came out looking just like the color of the little sample soap shown on Nurture's site. After I unmolded & cut, I beveled with my Kakuri radial plane and then stamped it with my MilkyWay Thistle stamp (if the pic doesn't show up, just hit the 'refresh' button):

IrishLass

Purple is my absolute favorite color, I love this!:-D

 

[Consuela]

@Rparney and Not-Ally, My Evy is so sweet!

How do you pronunce?

My daughter's name is Evey (like Eve for short).

 

[Dana89]

Yeah. Her name is EVA, but I have ended calling her Evee or Evy. She is dark like evening thats how I picked her name.
I think that is a lovely name for your daughter. I was not very unique when naming my kids- Christopher and Nicole.

 

[not_ally]

Dana, I would *love* to have another puppy, but my hands are pretty much full w/my own two little monsters. They are the loves of my life. But puppies, OMG, the big paws, the melting eyes, the milky breath, they are just designed to make you love them.

Consuela, apparently you can forget how to soap, ride a bike (and maybe do other things . The soap was pretty much a fail, but at least it is out the way and I am not afraid to try again!

 

[IrishLass]

They look pricey but I think it may be next on my "what to get" list. The down side of your design is that it is SO perfect that no one would ever know it wasn't a mold and that you put all of the work and craftmanship into it.

Oh, trust me, they know. I should mention that I don't sell- I make my soap just for me and my circle of family and friends , and sometimes friends and family of friends, and they are very much aware of how I do things....... pretty much because I just can't seem to stop myself from going on and on about soap-making every time the smallest crack of opportunity opens up in conversation.

Now the picture of the plane shows two curves, the pic showing the larger curve on the top. Did you reverse that and use both curves to get that cool border?

I had to go to the Wayback Machine to fetch this very useful pictorial page, since it's no longer on the LotionCrafter site, but this is how I use my plane: https://web.archive.org/web/20070216031450/http://lotioncrafter.com/pdf/soap_beveller.pdf

For what it's worth, I mostly use the 1/8"/5mm side of the plane, which is the same side I used for my purple soap.

And those fondant mats will be a great use for my Michaels 40% off coupon!

Most definitely! I was thankfully able to get one of the mats for free (at least free for me.....with a gift certificate), and got another at a discount with a coupon. The remaining 2 I ended up buying full-price.


IrishLass