What soapy thing have you done today?

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So how the heck do you keep the bowl batter thin and the mold batter firm??!!

It really depends on your recipe, your additives, how much stick blending you do or don't do, and even your additives.

With a slow-moving recipe brought only to emulsion prior to separating the batter, it's really very easy. In that case, you don't even have to separte the lye solution into portions as Jersey Girl mentions (although I have done that, too with some soaps - it just takes so much more work).

With a slow-moving recipe combined with additives that cause acceleration, I depend on the additives to help with the process. Some examples of additives that cause acceleration or a quicker set-up time: Some fragrances, some colorants.

Say I want to create a design with 4 colors and I know the colorants I have chosen thicken the soap (TD, some greens, some clays) AND my chosen fragrance accelerates. After dividing the batter into 4 equal parts, I divide the fragrance into 4 equal parts, to be added one portion at a time, just prior to pouring that one layer. Same with the colorants, I don't add them until I am ready to pour that particular portion. I'd do the color BEFORE the fragrance, IF I am using an accelerating fragrance.

So first I prep the first layer: mix in the colorant (be it mica or natural), stir by hand or mini-mixer, then the fragrance, stir by hand or mini-mixer. Bring it to light-medium or medium trace & pour. I COVER the mold with cardboard to hold the heat. I wait for it to set-up. (I have even put the covered mold into a pre-heated oven when set-up was too slow.)

Second, I prep the second layer, same as the first. Repeat the process.

This works very well, even for a chevron tilted layer design.
 
It really depends on your recipe, your additives, how much stick blending you do or don't do, and even your additives.

With a slow-moving recipe brought only to emulsion prior to separating the batter, it's really very easy. In that case, you don't even have to separte the lye solution into portions as Jersey Girl mentions (although I have done that, too with some soaps - it just takes so much more work).

With a slow-moving recipe combined with additives that cause acceleration, I depend on the additives to help with the process. Some examples of additives that cause acceleration or a quicker set-up time: Some fragrances, some colorants.

Say I want to create a design with 4 colors and I know the colorants I have chosen thicken the soap (TD, some greens, some clays) AND my chosen fragrance accelerates. After dividing the batter into 4 equal parts, I divide the fragrance into 4 equal parts, to be added one portion at a time, just prior to pouring that one layer. Same with the colorants, I don't add them until I am ready to pour that particular portion. I'd do the color BEFORE the fragrance, IF I am using an accelerating fragrance.

So first I prep the first layer: mix in the colorant (be it mica or natural), stir by hand or mini-mixer, then the fragrance, stir by hand or mini-mixer. Bring it to light-medium or medium trace & pour. I COVER the mold with cardboard to hold the heat. I wait for it to set-up. (I have even put the covered mold into a pre-heated oven when set-up was too slow.)

Second, I prep the second layer, same as the first. Repeat the process.

This works very well, even for a chevron tilted layer design.
This is really helpful and I appreciate all the detail!
 
Cut my salt soap this morning. Get this, a SALT soap was still too soft to cut after 10 hours, I had to cpop it overnight and it still did not crumble! The colors turned out about as I expected (posted is the best cut) but the FO is amazing. (Awaken by Nurture). I also washed the crumbles off the edges before photo. I love how my basement smells right now!!

IMG_0544.JPG
 
@AliOop what I'll say is... Wooooow, where did you get the patience to study that long lol.

My sister is a doctor, so my dad thought I should be a lawyer (it's an Asian thing I hear haha). Emmm nope. Lol I struggled through just 4yrs and that was more than enough for me.

Hats off to everyone who studied ages, anyone with a masters and/or a PhD, anyone with double degrees... You guys are awesome.

Sneak peek:
View attachment 50325
Very pretty color! Looks good enough to eat!
 
I tried pencil lines! And..... it fell apart. HP soap, turmeric for the lines. Any thoughts on saving this batch?View attachment 50351
Awww I'm sorry this happened to you.. Your options are shred em up to use as confetti, shred em up and melt em, or shred em up real small and incorporate into a fresh batch. There's also cutting em up in mini soaps, and only rebatching what you can't use.
 
Excited for these two PTs. One is a snowflake in blues from NS that I’m in love with! Proud Peacock and Cornflower!!! Wow! The other one I’m going for a ghost look. Attempted to have just enough color to have design definition, but hopefully very light green, grey, purple, and white.
Beautiful!

Just poured my glow in the dark soap. im so excited
 
Does this count?

Look what my neighbor dropped off.. A whole kg of mangosteens! Unfortunately we already ate most before I decided to skin one and see what color it'll give my soap.

I noticed store bought powder of dried mangosteen is brown, not the red pretty color. I figured I'll puree these and add it fresh instead of powder. I have a feeling they dry those first (doh Dawn lol). I knifed off the hard, dark purple outer covering.
IMG_20201009_141856.jpg

I included my fingers to show that the stain is brown as well, not red. It does stain clothes and walls red though (don't ask lol). I hope around 4 of these is enough, coz that's all that's left haha. Let's see...
 
I tried pencil lines! And..... it fell apart. HP soap, turmeric for the lines. Any thoughts on saving this batch?
Some of those pencil lines look pretty thick, which does cause the bars to break apart. Like @Dawni said, you can rebatch. It does go a lot more quickly when the soap is still fresh with higher water content. But I hope you try it again, because the contrast of the turmeric against the white soap is really striking!
 
Cut my salt soap this morning. Get this, a SALT soap was still too soft to cut after 10 hours, I had to cpop it overnight and it still did not crumble! The colors turned out about as I expected (posted is the best cut) but the FO is amazing. (Awaken by Nurture). I also washed the crumbles off the edges before photo. I love how my basement smells right now!!

View attachment 50337
Love that Gussy - what kinda pour gets you that pattern?
 
Love that Gussy - what kinda pour gets you that pattern?

That was a ribbon pour but I didn’t have a slab mold ready for it (because I had planned an ITP, but the batter was way more fluid than expected) so it was poured in a regular mold and cut normally instead of to show the ribbons!
 
I piped my oogie boogie soap. I made a small batch first so I can test out the glow in the dark effect in HP. Im going to have to do some clean up of the eyes and mouths because it was really hard to place those little embeds with gloves on without getting some smearing on them.

I cant wait to cut them, charge them up and shut off the lights.

oogietops.jpg


omg
glowboog.jpg
 
I cut this today...

I poured like the tall and skinny shimmy, but with thin lines of color. And my ts isnt in yet. So its a square and chubby lol. I watched a video yesterday, picture attached...like 10 times. I had the pour down, but my batter started to thicken up and a wall pour wasnt possible at the end. I think i just went too slow. It was still nice batter consistency, it just wasnt fluid like i needed. I almost hanger swirled it at the end, but i was too curious about the pour, so i left it to see. I think this might be easier with the colors with a squeeze bottle.

anyway, the blue and white was from the you tube, the purple is mine. Im not terribly disappointed. I kinda like it, just not exactly what i wanted.
 

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@msunnerstood O. M. G! I love that stuff! Those look SO great!!!
Today was as much soaping without actually making soap, as possible. Cleaned, measured, planned...
I’m using my soap dough for the first time and I’m super happy w how it is working so far. I’ll get an extruded eventually. But for this batch I’ve hand rolled and pinched what I hope will be raindrops. Putting some magick in the mix! Praying for rain.
Had to put labels on my prep ingredients because adhd, tired, and hormones. I kept forgetting what was what.
 

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