What soapy thing have you done today?

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Here are the mini soaps for my daughter’s students. You can see the whole bars in the background. I really love them! They’re scented with Awaken by NS.
F28B55C3-A344-45A7-8BD9-168BB247D2F2.jpeg
 
Here are the mini soaps for my daughter’s students. You can see the whole bars in the background. I really love them! They’re scented with Awaken by NS. View attachment 69678
They are so cute!

My soapy thing for today and yesterday was a deep dive cleaning and reorganization of my soaping, sewing, all things crafty room in our garage apartment. I even found the missing vegetable peelers and the charger for my portable speaker 😂. My sis and BIL are coming on Wednesday to stay for a few days and I could not subject them to the chaos. I’m happy even if my back is not.
 
I am chanelling my inner “little house on the prairie” vibe today (with a nod to all my soapy American friends - happy Thanksgiving wishes from 🇨🇦!). My husband is a hunter and this year, as I have started to make soap, he has brought me goose fat and deer fat from his hunts! We have rendered a bunch of pork fat but this is my first time rendering fat from wild game. The deer fat has quite a strong smell - kind of like I have a roast in the oven. Hoping once it’s rendered the scent will be less obvious, or I will be making a lot of “venison stew” soaps😳. Next up - goose fat to be rendered.
My other soaping project was label making. Because almost every soap I make is from a different recipe (I’m still experimenting), label making is an onerous and loooong process. But hey! If I wasn’t doing this I’d be doing something else. And now my labels are DONE!! Jane for the win! 💃💃
 
@Mobjack Bay We’re having company too, and my husband and I were just saying that this is a good forcing function to get some things done around the house.
It’s actually very nice to have a very clean house. I even organized my pantry! Most importantly, all of the work surfaces in my soaping area are cleared of clutter and ready to go for non-soap B&B making after the company leaves.
 
I am chanelling my inner “little house on the prairie” vibe today (with a nod to all my soapy American friends - happy Thanksgiving wishes from 🇨🇦!). My husband is a hunter and this year, as I have started to make soap, he has brought me goose fat and deer fat from his hunts! We have rendered a bunch of pork fat but this is my first time rendering fat from wild game. The deer fat has quite a strong smell - kind of like I have a roast in the oven. Hoping once it’s rendered the scent will be less obvious, or I will be making a lot of “venison stew” soaps😳. Next up - goose fat to be rendered.
My other soaping project was label making. Because almost every soap I make is from a different recipe (I’m still experimenting), label making is an onerous and loooong process. But hey! If I wasn’t doing this I’d be doing something else. And now my labels are DONE!! Jane for the win! 💃💃
Did Laura Ingalls Wilder cook up a bit of wild game on the prairie?
 
Did Laura Ingalls Wilder cook up a bit of wild game on the prairie?
Weeeelll - it’s been a while since I sat down with Laura to read her books but I remember reading about Pa shooting a bear! And there were descriptions of dispatching the pig and using every little bit. I’m sure they rendered the fat - and made soap 😁😁
 
I didn’t have to cook today, so I had some time to do some soapy things 🫧😊🫧
Packaged up a few batches of soap - used my new paper cutter and woo hoo, it was so much faster! Yay!
Organized my soapy stuff and now I have space for my large bottle oils - win!
Steamed my last batch that has soda ash… knock on wood, my last few haven’t had it since I upper my lye concentration by only 2%, and lastly…. unmolded batch 2 of “soapcakes” aka cupcakes 🌸
 
Finally got around to doing a soapy thing. Just been busy with life.

Anyway, this morning I made solid dish soap. After a few trial runs, I actually tried to talk the girl out of it LOL. Its not bad. I just cannot imagine washing dishes this way. But it is what she wants, so its done. I am going to attempt to unmold them and make them again so she has refills.

I really hate anything lemon. I don't know why...well I do. Just reminds me of Pledge. She wanted lemon and "use my imagination" for the second batch. I should have done the first batch refills with my preference, then the final cups filled with the lemon, but if I can't get the soaps out of the containers in the end, then she would end up with non-lemon soaps, if that makes sense lol. So I started with lemon eo and lemongrass for the first batch. I wouldn't mind doing the second batch as lemon as well, but I am running late on this project and I don't have time to wait for an order of more fragrance. Since they are xmas gifts, then I think my second batch will be cranberry.

Hopefully they come out of the little containers. I sprayed the insides with a little Pam. Also used sodium lactate, so with a little luck, that helps them come out.

I was a little torn on whether or not to gel/cpop the containers. They are glazed clay pots, so I think they will gel just fine in the oven, so at the last minute I set them all up on a tray and turned the heat on.

I was waiting for my leftover soap in the pot to harden up a bit so I could scoop it out into the trash (I know I know...thou shalt not waste soap), but I had nowhere to put it and I will never use it. But a neat thing happened: it started gelling in the plastic container right on the counter (it is 68 degrees in here), so I took a picture. I guess this takes the guess work out of whether or not they will gel in the oven.

Fingers crossed that they will pop out and I can make her refills.

gelling solid dish soap.jpg
 
@Servant4Christ -- those look delicious!
I did lots of little soapy things today, trying to distract myself from the let-down after our 2 adult children left. Before they left, I loaded them down with end pieces.

I worked more on labels. Boxed up several soaps that finished curing. And since our children left, I could bring out their soaps they're getting for Christmas from their hiding place and put back on the curing rack.

I also tested my first honey/beeswax/oat soap that I made 3 weeks ago. You'll remember from my drama awhile back that there may be lye crystals in it so it's definitely staying in-house. I'm not a fan of the lather (lots of small bubbles) but will give it a few more weeks. If it doesn't improve then you'll likely see me again in the recipe feedback aisle.
 
Well, I didn't mention that my batch started to rice a little before I finished pouring (it was so little, and it only happened as I poured the last container). All of my cups have oil separation. I am so disappointed. They do not look sellable imo.

Could it be because of the koh? I am using dual lye. Back to the drawing board. I won't have more coconut oil until Monday.
 
... All of my cups have oil separation. I am so disappointed. They do not look sellable imo.

Could it be because of the koh? I am using dual lye. Back to the drawing board. I won't have more coconut oil until Monday.
I mostly use dual lye these last months and have never had either separation or ricing. There must be some other reason IMO.
 

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