Did you grab some?
What soapy thing have you done today?
- Thread starter FlybyStardancer
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SSC Oregon
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Great news on my side 
The disability services in my county want to talk to me about the co op. They will pay for the booths and help me get funding so I'm not doing everything out of pocket. My daughters caseworker brought up everything I have been working on, my idea. Equipment, how I've organized the families in our area with the idea, etc in a meeting. And they tentatively budgeted me in for 2024.
I don't care who organizes or gets credit for the co op, I'm just so thankful that they are seeing the same thing I'm seeing as a need in the area.
I've been working on learning and teaching sublimation to my daughters the last week...
But my heart yearns to be making soap lol
One more shift at my job, and then the school year starts. Looking forward to settling back in!
Be blessed And have a good week, friends!
The disability services in my county want to talk to me about the co op. They will pay for the booths and help me get funding so I'm not doing everything out of pocket. My daughters caseworker brought up everything I have been working on, my idea. Equipment, how I've organized the families in our area with the idea, etc in a meeting. And they tentatively budgeted me in for 2024.
I don't care who organizes or gets credit for the co op, I'm just so thankful that they are seeing the same thing I'm seeing as a need in the area.
I've been working on learning and teaching sublimation to my daughters the last week...
But my heart yearns to be making soap lol
One more shift at my job, and then the school year starts. Looking forward to settling back in!
Be blessed And have a good week, friends!
No, because I gave up on Big Lots and bought a giant bucket!
Happy to help with inspiration! Your slurry recipe is what started this experiment. So it’s come full circle. I had some chai tea that had too much of *something*, maybe ginger, for me to drink but it smelled so good. It was tea in the teabag and is called Bengal Spice. I cut the tea bags open and added them to a slurry with orange eo, kaolin clay and castor oil. The cavity molds are unmolded and I will unmold the loaf mold later this afternoon or tomorrow as it’s still slightly soft. Hoping the spices aren’t scratchy.Thank you for the inspiration I needed for my next batch of pull-throughs & smaller loafs! I have been hemming & hawing about this for over a week now
I sincerely hope to be in Hawaii next winter for a conference, so am very much looking forward to checking out all of the local plants, traditional plant medicine, spices & so on. Super exciting!
My pudding ended up staying home with me because once made, I didn't think that most Western people would like or appreciate it very much. The coconut sugar turns the coconut milk brown & caramelized looking, which tastes beautiful, but for the 'uninitiated' who are used to everything like that being white, they wouldn't have gotten it...at all
Oh well, more Indonesian spiced tapioca pudding for me
So far, it smells really good. I added orange mica to half and left the other half natural, did a wall pour with a chopstick swirl. Not crazy about the color as the natural became yellow-ish, from olive oil and the spices.
Happy to help with inspiration! Your slurry recipe is what started this experiment. So it’s come full circle. I had some chai tea that had too much of *something*, maybe ginger, for me to drink but it smelled so good. It was tea in the teabag and is called Bengal Spice. I cut the tea bags open and added them to a slurry with orange eo, kaolin clay and castor oil. The cavity molds are unmolded and I will unmold the loaf mold later this afternoon or tomorrow as it’s still slightly soft. Hoping the spices aren’t scratchy.
I would suggest taking anything in a tea bag & whizzing it in a coffee grinder, sieving that through a very fine sieve, and then adding that to your slurry & allowing to sit at least overnight. Otherwise yeah....sharp stuff that doesn't feel good on the skin. Doing this also helps to avoid drag marks when cutting your soap. I do the same for all of my botanicals. Some become smaller in particulate size than others, but even the 'larger' bits end up very much softened by the castor oil, preventing those marks. They're also much softer when you go to wash with the soap.
Since you're not happy with the color of your soap, maybe try picking a natural colorant based on the scent next time....in this case, citrus spice....smoked paprika / annatto seed added to your overnight-slurry, or heat-infused in the olive oil portion of your soap batch. It takes some experimentation, but you can end up having a very beautiful color
I really need to add some botanicals to my collection but become overwhelmed in finding a supplier. Any recommendations are appreciated. The orange spice slurry sat for 3-4 days and I didn’t get any drag marks when cutting with a knife so that’s encouraging.I would suggest taking anything in a tea bag & whizzing it in a coffee grinder, sieving that through a very fine sieve, and then adding that to your slurry & allowing to sit at least overnight. Otherwise yeah....sharp stuff that doesn't feel good on the skin. Doing this also helps to avoid drag marks when cutting your soap. I do the same for all of my botanicals. Some become smaller in particulate size than others, but even the 'larger' bits end up very much softened by the castor oil, preventing those marks. They're also much softer when you go to wash with the soap.
Since you're not happy with the color of your soap, maybe try picking a natural colorant based on the scent next time....in this case, citrus spice....smoked paprika / annatto seed added to your overnight-slurry, or heat-infused in the olive oil portion of your soap batch. It takes some experimentation, but you can end up having a very beautiful color
Here are pictures of my last two batches. The grey in the grey, green and white bars was supposed to be purple but I didn’t use enough color. It was also my first hanger swirl and I didn’t swirl enough. Bonus, two lessons in one batch.
The second batch is the orange spice. The tea was in tiny bits. I will take your recommendation next time and pulverize it to powder. If it’s scratchy it will be hand soap only. It is possible to see the swirls but more contrast would be better. Another lesson, if I make this again I will color one portion with charcoal to create an orange and black pattern.
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Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
https://www.herbco.com/
As a purveyor of herbs and spices they cater mostly to herbalists and the culinary crowd. They are tops for quality, variety, customer service and shipping. I order at least four different 4oz. sizes at a time to get the best pricing.
Since they are not geared to the soaping community, you will need to educate yourself on coloring soap with botanicals. Jo Haslauer is the best! You can also use the Search feature in the upper right corner of this page to find more tips and tricks about using "natural colorants".
That being said, I also stock up on their yummy teas, bay leaves, parsley, cinnamon, etc. in bulk for my spice cabinet for cooking and personal use other than coloring soap.
I have used some of their tea blends and Herbs de Provence Spice Blend infused in oil to make soap. I do NOT add the spent tea/herbs to the soap. Even powdered paprika and tumeric (lovely in soap) can be too scratchy for my sensitive skin. I strain them out through a re-purposed, clean, piece of pantyhose placed in a strainer before using the oil in soap.
NOTE: Calendula blossoms infused in oil are one of the most popular natural colorants. Trust me on this, you DON'T want to invest in a pound. It's a HUGE amount that will take a life time to use up. Don't ask how I know.
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Thank you. I have some calendula petals. Will have to get them infused and plan a soap around them. I appreciate the recommendations.https://www.herbco.com/
As a purveyor of herbs and spices they cater mostly to herbalists and the culinary crowd. They are tops for quality, variety, customer service and shipping. I order at least four different 4oz. sizes at a time to get the best pricing.
Since they are not geared to the soaping community, you will need to educate yourself on coloring soap with botanicals. Jo Haslauer is the best! You can also use the Search feature in the upper right corner of this page to find more tips and tricks about using "natural colorants".
That being said, I also stock up on their yummy teas, bay leaves, parsley, cinnamon, etc. in bulk for my spice cabinet for cooking and personal use other than coloring soap.
I have used some of their tea blends and Herbs de Provence Spice Blend infused in oil to make soap. I do NOT add the spent tea/herbs to the soap. Even powdered paprika and tumeric (lovely in soap) can be too scratchy for my sensitive skin. I strain them out through a re-purposed, clean, piece of pantyhose placed in a strainer before using the oil in soap.
NOTE: Calendula blossoms infused in oil are one of the most popular natural colorants. Trust me on this, you DON'T want to invest in a pound. It's a HUGE amount that will take a life time to use up. Don't ask how I know.
I MADE SOAP TODAY! Wicky wicky what?! Yeah, you heard me, I made soap today! In recent months my work/life balance has been seriously out of whack and I've made some recent decisions to get back on track for the sake of my health and relationships. I made a double-batch of Spring Clean using a spoon swirl -- hey, I didn't miss the deadline for the Spoon Swirl Challenge, did I? Everything is tucked in and cozy for the night.
My inventory is down to just a few bars and I've got a coupla special orders that I need to tend to. It felt good to be in my soap shop!! I just got off the phone with an acquaintance who also has bought a bunch of my soap. We spent an hour talking about professional stuff. She ends the call saying "Zing, this may be too intimate for you but I literally think of you every day. In the shower. And my husband won't shut up about using your soap to shave -- "it's so creamy" -- and all the soap in our house is exclusively yours." I share this, not to brag, but because it was so affirming to hear that there is sooo much more to life than employment and workplace politics! It was good to get that verbal boost on the day I made lifestyle changes. Soaping is coping!
My inventory is down to just a few bars and I've got a coupla special orders that I need to tend to. It felt good to be in my soap shop!! I just got off the phone with an acquaintance who also has bought a bunch of my soap. We spent an hour talking about professional stuff. She ends the call saying "Zing, this may be too intimate for you but I literally think of you every day. In the shower. And my husband won't shut up about using your soap to shave -- "it's so creamy" -- and all the soap in our house is exclusively yours." I share this, not to brag, but because it was so affirming to hear that there is sooo much more to life than employment and workplace politics! It was good to get that verbal boost on the day I made lifestyle changes. Soaping is coping!
Okay, I seriously don't know what your vision was, but those soaps look totally awesome! You rocked it! Great color choices on the left one. Keep us posted on the scratchiness of the orange one. I like how you are noting the lessons learned and not beating yourself up. Great attitude.I really need to add some botanicals to my collection but become overwhelmed in finding a supplier. Any recommendations are appreciated. The orange spice slurry sat for 3-4 days and I didn’t get any drag marks when cutting with a knife so that’s encouraging.
Here are pictures of my last two batches. The grey in the grey, green and white bars was supposed to be purple but I didn’t use enough color. It was also my first hanger swirl and I didn’t swirl enough. Bonus, two lessons in one batch.
The second batch is the orange spice. The tea was in tiny bits. I will take your recommendation next time and pulverize it to powder. If it’s scratchy it will be hand soap only. It is possible to see the swirls but more contrast would be better. Another lesson, if I make this again I will color one portion with charcoal to create an orange and black pattern.
Thank you for sharing this, Zing. It's what I needed to read.
I did so many soapy things over the Labor Day 3 day weekend!
50/50 MB lye - check
MB fats with my next 3 batches already into 1005g containers - double check
Wrapped, packaged up and delivered soaps to family - also check
Made a second batch of guest size lard “facial soaps” - check-a-roonie
Continued to duplicate soaps I’ve made before to finish off the FO bottle before more FO arrives - check times 2 (NS juicy pear and BB BRV)
Made a “Sweet & Simple” vegan (coconut milk instead of GM), palm, scent and colorant free soap - check-o-rama
Purchased a cute organizer for micas and colorants, and did some soap stuff organizing - check, check & check!
Original soaps:
New & duplicate attempts from this weekend - not fancy pics, but you get the ideas…
50/50 MB lye - check
MB fats with my next 3 batches already into 1005g containers - double check
Wrapped, packaged up and delivered soaps to family - also check
Made a second batch of guest size lard “facial soaps” - check-a-roonie
Continued to duplicate soaps I’ve made before to finish off the FO bottle before more FO arrives - check times 2 (NS juicy pear and BB BRV)
Made a “Sweet & Simple” vegan (coconut milk instead of GM), palm, scent and colorant free soap - check-o-rama
Purchased a cute organizer for micas and colorants, and did some soap stuff organizing - check, check & check!
Original soaps:
New & duplicate attempts from this weekend - not fancy pics, but you get the ideas…
Thanks! No matter what happens there’s always a lesson. Sometimes what not to do.
Thanks for the compliments too. I can get hung up on what I meant to do and sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the result.Yay!!!
Best complement ever!
I made soap too @Zing!
This time I used a Lush dupe fragrance called 'Rose Jam'. I've never smelled it at Lush, but it sure smells good in my house! Soaped well too. I split it into three colours - red, purple and green ( not sure what possessed me to use green). I had some pink/purple confetti shreds that I added to the green portion of the soap to mimic 'rose petals'.. Layer pour and then a swirl. We'll see.
This time I used a Lush dupe fragrance called 'Rose Jam'. I've never smelled it at Lush, but it sure smells good in my house! Soaped well too. I split it into three colours - red, purple and green ( not sure what possessed me to use green). I had some pink/purple confetti shreds that I added to the green portion of the soap to mimic 'rose petals'.. Layer pour and then a swirl. We'll see.
YouHerbIt on Etsy. They are in Greece, ship fast, and have a wide variety. That's one of the places I order.
Maiwa is another place I order botanical colorants. They are in Canada. They have some really nice ones, and quite a good variety as well. Their indigo is INTENSE. They also have a lot of other beautiful products like linens which are dyed with natural colorants, clothing & more.
That's awesome, glad to hear that you ended up with no drag marks! I was super stoked about that myself when I saw this because I use a lot of botanicals
Smoked paprika AND safflower work great for orange colors. Try a heat oil infusion, or just let the spices / flowers sit with half of your slurry for a couple of days. Cold infusions take a long time, but they do work. You've got to plan significantly ahead for that, however. I have about 10 canning jars full of oil & natural colorants which have been sitting since May, if I remember correctly. Other than the indigo, still not strong enough. You need to give these a good shake every now & then because the colorants can end up in quite a thick, solid layer on the bottom, which means it takes even longer for them to infuse. In the meantime, I have been using my botanical colorants left sitting in my slurries.
You can also add your botanical colorants / spices / whatever to some water & seal up in a bag to prevent evaporation over a couple of days. See which you like best.
Chlorella works great for a pretty intense green color which is beautiful & stays vibrant much longer than anything else I have experimented with. I use a fair amount. I never use spirulina because I'm not a fan of the smell & it fades far too quickly.
Himalayan rhubarb root can give you some INTENSE pink colors as well. I love that stuff
I believe Holly has a video on that, using different types of rhubarb & comparing, as well as an ombre soap using the root. Truly beautiful 
You can also mix your natural colorants to get different shades. Play, play play
Good luck with your experiments
Cut my Rose Jam soap:
I went down the stairs to my soap room today for the first time since June 13. Checked on soaps I made that day as part one of the soap I was making for the Soap Challenge Club and are still in the individual cavity molds. They seem fine and I left them in the molds until I can do something with them.
We are going to spend a few days with dear friends at their lake cabin so I wrapped a few soaps to take with me. Nothing very soapy but
all the same. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow when I will have a weight bearing X-ray. Hopefully it is all healed and I can leave recovery phase one behind and get closer to old normal. Wish me luck - I am a little nervous.
We are going to spend a few days with dear friends at their lake cabin so I wrapped a few soaps to take with me. Nothing very soapy but
all the same. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow when I will have a weight bearing X-ray. Hopefully it is all healed and I can leave recovery phase one behind and get closer to old normal. Wish me luck - I am a little nervous.
Hi, does the tea infused oil retain properties of the tea after the lye mix? The scent, or other characteristics? Thank youhttps://www.herbco.com/
As a purveyor of herbs and spices they cater mostly to herbalists and the culinary crowd. They are tops for quality, variety, customer service and shipping. I order at least four different 4oz. sizes at a time to get the best pricing.
Since they are not geared to the soaping community, you will need to educate yourself on coloring soap with botanicals. Jo Haslauer is the best! You can also use the Search feature in the upper right corner of this page to find more tips and tricks about using "natural colorants".
That being said, I also stock up on their yummy teas, bay leaves, parsley, cinnamon, etc. in bulk for my spice cabinet for cooking and personal use other than coloring soap.
I have used some of their tea blends and Herbs de Provence Spice Blend infused in oil to make soap. I do NOT add the spent tea/herbs to the soap. Even powdered paprika and tumeric (lovely in soap) can be too scratchy for my sensitive skin. I strain them out through a re-purposed, clean, piece of pantyhose placed in a strainer before using the oil in soap.
NOTE: Calendula blossoms infused in oil are one of the most popular natural colorants. Trust me on this, you DON'T want to invest in a pound. It's a HUGE amount that will take a life time to use up. Don't ask how I know.
My soapy thing today, threw away a bunch of soap. Just goes to prove that your storage conditions really affect the quality and/or whether or not you develop dos, imo.
Same batch recipe, just stored completely differently. One was on a IRON shelf, but covered in wax paper, the other in a more climate controlled bedroom on a wood shelf covered in paper towels (my usual storage). Being covered in wax paper absolutely did not prevent dos from the wrought iron shelving. Its like the iron was absorbed right through it because all of the bottoms of the soaps had it.
Live and learn I guess.
Same batch recipe, just stored completely differently. One was on a IRON shelf, but covered in wax paper, the other in a more climate controlled bedroom on a wood shelf covered in paper towels (my usual storage). Being covered in wax paper absolutely did not prevent dos from the wrought iron shelving. Its like the iron was absorbed right through it because all of the bottoms of the soaps had it.
Live and learn I guess.
