What soapy thing have you done today?

[Carly B]

Packaged up soap and candles for Hubby's office Christmas (2 bars and 1 candle x 9) and made soap baskets for the neighbors (3 bars x 6).

What this means is I have room to make and store more soap! Huzzah!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Used cinnamon powder to colour half the mix.

Very pretty soap, Grere, but cinnamon is very sensitizing so I'm anxious to see how this amount of the powder works in soap once you lather up to use it.

SHORT STORY: I was in a swap once where one of the participants made "Extreme Cream" scented with cinnamon. I opened it as soon as it arrived and applied it to the crease above my eyelid because it was itchy. YEOW! Instant pain. I ran to the sink to deluge it with cold water. No sooner had I done that, when the phone rang. A fellow soaper called to report the same thing happened to her, only she had rosacea and spread the cream on her face! She was in tears. Both of us suffered burns that took some time to heal.

Just a head's up -- cinnamon should always be used with a light touch. Whether that also applies to the powder, we shall soon find out.

 

[Quilter99755]

Very pretty soap, Grere, but cinnamon is very sensitizing so I'm anxious to see how this amount of the powder works in soap once you lather up to use it.

One time I started drinking my coffee with cinnamon in it. Loved it but after two days my gums were bright red and bleeding. It took over a week to get them back to normal. I am now very careful when I do use cinnamon in my soaps even though it gets washed off. I didn't swirl the coffee in my mouth before I swallowed but it sure did a job on my gums, so I figure it has to be the same for soaps. I hope you don't have a reaction.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Just a quick FYI @Quilter99755 Write your response below the QUOTE.

 

[Dawni]

Getting ready for another double batch of extra rice soap...

I always get nervous with more than one loaf, hopefully I'll get used to it soon.

Done! No issues at all thankfully.
Eh. I need to remember to clean my molds before taking pics lol

 

[Lindywine]

Cut my black rose spice soap today, it is very popular and I can't seem to make enough of them. I couldn't find my hanger tool, so I used a speaker cable to make the swirls. View attachment 42882

Would like to know more about this soap!

 

[earlene]

I have attempted to catch up on my reading here at SMF. I think I am finally caught up!

Also browsed some soap photos, looking for an idea of something to make for my granddaughter's HS graduation. Nothing seems to be jumping out at me as perfect for her on this long anticipated occassion. I'll have to keep looking. Maybe I'll find something to peak my interest.

 

[zanzalawi]

SHORT STORY: I was in a swap once where one of the participants made "Extreme Cream" scented with cinnamon. I opened it as soon as it arrived and applied it to the crease above my eyelid because it was itchy. YEOW! Instant pain. I ran to the sink to deluge it with cold water. No sooner had I done that, when the phone rang. A fellow soaper called to report the same thing happened to her, only she had rosacea and spread the cream on her face! She was in tears. Both of us suffered burns that took some time to heal.

misnomer- should have been "scream cream"

 

[Lindywine]

What interests your granddaughter?

 

[fancyschmancy]

I tried to pipe roses lmao it was not working, def need more practice and a bigger flat tip and my hand was playing up so next time a lot less in the bag I think so I ended up just piping it on to rose petal jam cupcake bases Id made before and sprinkled it with gold. I have to finish a gingerbread house loaf am working on and 6 half bars to decorate with xmas trees made with soap clay, gonna paint them a bit them add my trees and fill them up with clear melt and pour. It seems like a lot but its only little bits, wish I could do more but am a bit limited with my health problems but I am getting more used to it so its getting easier now.

 

[Lindywine]

I understand having to deal with health problems...getting old is such a crippler on getting things done. Pick some soft soaps so that you can easily cut. Then let them cure over time. I'm not wild over melt and pour, but the work for holidays and special occasions. I first learned soapmaking watching my grandmother over 50 years ago. She did it entirely the old fashioned way of saving fats from meat over the year and using wood ashes to make the lye. I have to say it is not beautiful, but has lasted all this time. In fact, I've seen soap at our history center that has lasted over 100 years. My suggestion is to make some soap leaves that she can use as a one time use. Just get some skeleton leaves from Amazon and use melt and pour over them with color and fragrance. You might also wish to make some CP soap to use in a dorm or apt. If you make the soap leaves, get a container to put them in. this is my first real post in many years, so I hope it helps.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Very pretty soap, Grere, but cinnamon is very sensitizing so I'm anxious to see how this amount of the powder works in soap once you lather up to use it.

SHORT STORY: I was in a swap once where one of the participants made "Extreme Cream" scented with cinnamon. I opened it as soon as it arrived and applied it to the crease above my eyelid because it was itchy. YEOW! Instant pain. I ran to the sink to deluge it with cold water. No sooner had I done that, when the phone rang. A fellow soaper called to report the same thing happened to her, only she had rosacea and spread the cream on her face! She was in tears. Both of us suffered burns that took some time to heal.

Just a head's up -- cinnamon should always be used with a light touch. Whether that also applies to the powder, we shall soon find out.

I've used the powder before and have not had issues, but saying that - I do not have sensitive skin at all. I'll have my 'chief tester' sing out with any feedback - she get psoriasis and eczema.

I'm sitting here ready to make a batch of soap...looking for inspiration. A little help please?

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I did my second ever re-batch--the first one was over a year ago and was a total disaster--this one actually worked YAHOO--it was CP and came out like my HP does

 

[Quilter99755]

Just a quick FYI @Quilter99755 Write your response below the QUOTE.

I did put it one or two spaces below the quote. I'll try to catch it next time and edit before I sign off.

 

[fancyschmancy]

I understand having to deal with health problems...getting old is such a crippler on getting things done. Pick some soft soaps so that you can easily cut. Then let them cure over time. I'm not wild over melt and pour, but the work for holidays and special occasions. I first learned soapmaking watching my grandmother over 50 years ago. She did it entirely the old fashioned way of saving fats from meat over the year and using wood ashes to make the lye. I have to say it is not beautiful, but has lasted all this time. In fact, I've seen soap at our history center that has lasted over 100 years. My suggestion is to make some soap leaves that she can use as a one time use. Just get some skeleton leaves from Amazon and use melt and pour over them with color and fragrance. You might also wish to make some CP soap to use in a dorm or apt. If you make the soap leaves, get a container to put them in. this is my first real post in many years, so I hope it helps.

Thanks. Ive been cutting ok my bars are pretty soft which is good, its more the squeezing the bag when piping my hands get really crampy, its usually ok but I definitely think I need a bigger tip. I only started about 3 months ago so I have a lot to learn and definitely need to work on the piping skills lol its my own fault for trying to do something so complicated, the video I watched she made it look so easy lol I never really knew much about soap before really it was mostly cooking and stuff but theres only so much stuff you can cook and eat and making soap is much more fun.

Thats amazing your grandmothers soap has lasted so long, so much older ways of making things are so much more robust compared to these days. I have a load of rose scented clay petals I made that I wasn't too happy with but I have some ideas what to do with them so they wont go to waste, have so many soap shavings and scraps am going to have to try and figure out something to do with them too lol

 

[zanzalawi]

@KiwiMoose something bright and wild! pink zebra? or a lime zebra. or bright and sunny smelling with like hot pink, orange, yellow. energizing and uplifting
haha these are ones that have been on my to-do list for quite a while and yeah, i'm not getting to them for a bit

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I did put it one or two spaces below the quote. I'll try to catch it next time and edit before I sign off.

Check that you’re past the last QUOTE bracket:

 

[Millie]

Wow miss a few days on the forum and so much to catch up on. (Marmite is gross by the way and there is no one gorgeous enough on the planet to change my tastebuds ).

Bartered with soap for an armload of gorgeous wooden items for Christmas presents! I didn't even suggest it. Did a swap with a neighboring crafter. The thought of my soaps making their way out into the world gives me great pleasure

 

[KiwiMoose]

Got sick of waiting for some inspirational ideas for soap, and went ahead and made a batch of coconut milk soap using a line pour technique that popped up recently on you tube from Tree Marie. Didn't do too badly - but the soap batter was thicker than I would have liked - the joys of soaping with soy wax I guess, we'll have to wait for the reveal tomorrow. I predict the lines will be finer down the bottom of the soap, and thicker near the top.
Here's some pics of it in the mold:

 

[John Harris]

I made a 12 bar batch of my usual soap and added a new scent: Bay Laurel. I didn't get soap on a stick, but I came close. Was trying to pour into a 12 cavity mold. It didn't go too well. The surfaces were squeegeed and look great, but I can imagine the bottoms are filled with crevices. I'll let you know.