jessiec

I got my Logan Bear slab mold the other day, and soaped it up last night. I was so excited that my hands were actually sweating!!! I have to say that the craftsmanship is superb! I won't unmold them until tomorrow morning.... but so far, I am super duper happy!!

Yea, I know that I will get different results. But, being that I have loved Canola in the past, I would like to give the high oleic a try. I am looking to steer away from the high linoleic value of the regular canola, and I won't really know how I feel about this version without giving it a go first.

Does anyone know what is going on with Upland? I placed an order on June 1st. I am not getting a response through email or by phone. They won't return my calls. How long did it take for you to get your molds? Their customer service has been terrible IMO. Does anyone know what's up? Has anyone ordered recently?

................ just gorgeous!!

Thanks :-)

Has anyone soaped this? If so, can you tell me where to find it? I LOVE canola in my soaps, but would like to switch to high oleic if I find it somewhere reasonably priced. If I can't find it, I'm thinking of switching to high oleic safflower, since I buy soaperschoice anyway. TIA

Ditto on what Scented said.... I haven't tried any of the others.

I use a rubbermaid 1 gallon pitcher for my lye. It is dishwasher safe, so it can hold up to heat. That is important. I use the empty ice cream buckets to weigh my oils and butters.

Hmmm, the refined shea that I got from WSP was never grainy. That is a bummer. I'll just deal with the grainies I guess. Their prices are good and they ship nice and quick. I received my order in just a couple of days... :-) I don't plan on making body butters or balms, so it'll work great for me. Thanks for the response Flicker. It's time for me to get soapin!!

I normally soap with unrefined shea, but the past few times that I have purchased refined shea, it was nic and creamy. I just got my soapers choice today and it is grainy. Does the grainy shea effect your overall outcome in anyway? I am guessing not, because it will all be melted, but I am still curious.... I have been wrong before! lol TIA

Your Avi is gorgeous! That is an awesome black indeed. .......... Do you get gray bubbles with that?

What do you like better, for a nice black? I have the black oxide now, but I get light gray tinged bubbles and never get a nice dark black. I am using my normal amount about 1/4 tsp. to 1.5-2 cups of wet soap. I can't use anymore than that because, already, the bubbles start to look a touch gray. I have read on here about charcoal being used before, but do you think that it works better than the iron black oxides? TIA

I knew that you were coming from a good place Meridith.... I didn't think you were saying that I was slamming anyone. I understood you and thought you were being very supportive of me, Rita and Max. It was good of you. :-) Someday, I really hope (plan) to get myself a true Kelsie mold and not some cheap imitation. Maybe for my next birthday! lol

Meridith you are so right. Rita and Max are wonderful to work with. I immediately received emails from Rita and she was very quick to want to make everything right. But, the problem wasn't Rita's or Max's. What has transpired is absolutely horrifying, enraging, and humiliating. See the molds were bought back in 2006, so I thought Rita might want to see the receipt as proof that they were Kelsie molds. Back in 2006, I desperately wanted Kelsie molds for my birthday. I had done my research and told my husband that was the one to get. Well, for almost 3 years now I thought I was soaping with kelsie molds. My husband asked me what I was doing when he saw me filing through old receipts.......... I saw the color quickly drain from his face!!! He never bought me Kelsie molds!! He thought they were too pricey, so he looked on ebay and found a guy you have probably heard of.... Mr. Doright. These are not Kelsie molds and I am so sorry for the mistake. He is sorry too, as he will be living in the doghouse for the next 5 years. I do not want Kelsie molds to be tarnished in anyway by this whole mess. They are wonderful people, eager to please their customers and it is the mr.doright molds that you all need to stay away from!! ~I actually knew that already, but I didn't know that I was soaping with them for the last 3 flippin years.

Well, I just shot them an email, so we shall see.

Yea I am going to. I bought two of them, so it really stinks! So do you love your smooth plastic?

That is really weird. Am I the only one with totally textured kelsies? ... not the best luck I guess.

After reading that, I went to check just to make sure. Mine are textured on both sides. The only part that is smooth is the bottom. Maybe it is because they are a couple years old. Is that an older model? Anyone have textured plastic kelsie's????

I have been using my kelsie log molds for a couple of years now. I never had a problem with soap sticking in them when I made mp with them, but my cp always seems to end up sticking on the sides and they end up looking like garbage. So I then have to slice the yucky sides off and end up wasting some of the soap. I have tried spraying with mineral oil and coating the molds lightly with vaseline and it still happens. It isn't just the recipe either, because I have tried many different soaping oils and it never fails to stick somewhere or another. I usually let the soaps set or 24-30 hours before unmolding and they are cool and rather firm to the touch. Do you think that I should let them set longer? These aren't soft bars and I discount my water so I just don't get it. Anybody else have any problems with their soap sticking to the mold? If not, please tell me what you think I may be doing wrong. ..... I just ordered a logan bear slab mold, so I sure hope that it isn't the plastic that is the problem. I know that those are smooth plastic and my kelsie's are textured. Maybe that is what is grabbing the soap and tearing it up. How do you all feel about your plastic molds?

Thanks for the awesome tips, Ross! Hopefully, I'll get to put them to good use soon.

No, I have soaped cocoa butter straight from the freezer with great results.

Very nice swirls! I cannot wait for my slab mold to get here!! Good Job!

Wow! Those are stunning swirls!

That is really nice! Good Job!

Thank you both for the responses. I put the baby to bed and went right to work. I made two logs of Lovespell with it and it smells so good! I tried to swirl neon pink, blueberry pop, and grape. Swirling in a log mold is tricky for me, but I can't wait to uncover it tomorrow and see how it turned out!!