Brat

Thanks! I don't really care what it looks like, I'm still new at it so I love it LOL How sad huh?

I found it here: http://www.lonestarcandlesupply.com/scentse-g.html

that's beautiful!

Here it is! I tried adding 4 colors of food coloring (as an experiment) to try to get brown, but it turned green. Oh well, I'm sure it'll fade! Scented German Chocolate Cake!

Thank you!!!

I used Lone Star's German Chocolate Cake.

Ok, I have a recipe from a soapmaking book that I'd like to try. I have a little list lol. Anyway, I put it in soap calc to see what it came up with, and it was a bit strange compared to the summary of values listed on their site. Here's the info:

35% Palm Kernal Oil

35% Coconut Oil

30% Olive Oil

Hardness 57

Cleansing 45

Condition 35

Bubbly 45

Creamy 12

Iodine 35

INS 187

The ones in red are out of range with their summary of values:

Summary of Values:

Hardness: 36-50

Cleansing: 14-22

Condition: 45-80

Bubbly Lather: 14-33

Creamy Lather: 16-35

INS: 145-165

Can anyone tell me what these numbers mean in the sense that they're so far out of what soap calc tells me? Will it make a funky unusable soap? Is this just a ballpark figure to get your numbers to get close to? Or should it be adhered to every time? Please help!

Wow that looks pretty wild!

Thanks! I love horses too, in fact I'm trying to buy my neighbor's 2 year old paint. He's GORGEOUS! I might have to get my soap stuff going so I can keep him supplied!

Got some in the other day, just had to pour some M&P into them. They look good, wonder if I can get HP into them! Next batch, I'm sure gonna try! My new order of oils will be here in 2 days!

Thanks for the link Sharon, I just may get that! Stupid soap, why did I get started? I can tell hubby's not gonna like this.... lol

Thanks everyone!!

Posted a pic: http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54511

Well, looks either like a murder scene or someone started their period. Not sure which.... the color thing I tried using M&P didn't work so well with this one! LOL It's Crafty's recipe using 5% castor and Peak's strawberries & cream. I like the way it felt when I washed my hands with it, but haven't tried it in the shower yet. Not sure I'll be able to give it away lol

OOPS! I mean Crafty's recipe, not Darwin! Sorry!

I did it! I did Darwin's recipe on the recipe section. Went to wally world and got a crock pot, hand mixer, all the stuff, got Crystal Drain Cleaner at Lowe's, just went shopping. I was a little scared of the lye, but when I added it to the water, nothing happened. It just sank to the bottom and I stirred and the glass got warm, but that was it. I was fully expecting a violent reaction, visible toxic fumes, explosions out of the pyrex cup... nope. Was a little disappointed! Anyway, I'll post pics once I get them out of the molds, but I'm gonna say they're gonna be soooo NOT pretty! I wasn't expecting it to be so... lumpy and gooey and strange. I added a bit of red liquid dye and was just amazed when it turned yellow. Not sure what's gonna happen when I get them out, but we shall see. I think I may have done it right, cause when I filled the crock pot with water afterwards, it got bubbly. I used Peak Strawberries & Cream!

Oh how are these numbers? Got 'em from the soap calc:

Hardness 41

Cleansing 24

Condition 55

Bubbly lath 28

Creamy lath 22

Iodine 56

INS 170

I read somewhere to keep the INS under 165.... how bad is it? Thanks!!!

Thanks everyone! I have to admit my technique for the swirls... I'm sure you all will get a laugh! For the top ones, I dropped a few drops of cheap liquid color from the craft store in each mold, few drops of 3 colors. Then I poured the soap in, and swirled the stuff that came to the top with a skewer. The bottom ones that only have it on the bottom, I dripped a couple of drops and used the skewer. I think I really like the top ones, the more I look at them!

Thanks everyone! I got out of the shower a bit ago, used a strawberry bar. It's a little dry, but I smell yummy! I think my hubby will love it!

I wonder if I can get a sample from Catalina... will have to find out!

I read that milk has moisturizing properties... I have some milk powder here at the house, can a bit of that be added to a remelt?

I also ordered a mold and some blue color with my soap bases, so I should have something pretty to post here in a few days! Can't wait until my order gets here....

Prairieannie, how long does it take for that fo to brown up on ya?

Hi, decided to venture into the world of M&P. Got the urge and had to get some cheap craft store stuff, needed instant gratification lol. Might delve into HP eventually, but for now I have some good base on order from Peak. The bottom row is my first batch, brown sugar pecan. The top rows are my second attempt. Scented strawberries & cream. The second pic shows the other side of them all. I don't think the second batch is too terrible, but was just experimenting with the color. The first batch is kinda yucky! Gonna remelt them and add some stuff to get rid of the drying problem.

I kinda figured the craft store bases would be cheaply made but expensive. That's how it was with candle supplies too. I had the itch and just HAD to get some. I don't think they LOOK too terrible, but hey who knows! You all mlight find them extremely fugly! I'm probably going to remelt them and try adding something to it. Well... hmm... on second thought, since I just ordered a couple of pounds of base from Peak, I might just leave these here as is and give them to hubby. He doesn't like a real moisturizing soap... hmmmm.... I'll have to fix the second batch though. Will try the castor or glycerine/lotion thing. Got plenty of lotion lying around!

Oh, prairieannie, you said the SFIC is kinda rubbery for you, what would be your first choice? From what I gather, SFIC is what Peak has, correct? Which means that's what I just ordered? LOL

I'm going to post my fabulous first and second tries in the gallery... don't laugh too hard please!

Hey everyone. It's been a while since I've been here, but decided to do some research. I bought some craft store Shea butter m&p base and liquid colors. I added some skin safe FO I had lying around. I tried some of it, and it's a little bit drying. I was surprised. Is there something I can add to it to make it a little more moisturizing? I'm planning on buying some soap base from Peak. Right now I just need something that won't dry me out when I use it. Any suggestions? I'm interested in the goat's milk base and honey base. What about glycerine? Does that require a bunch of additives? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I keep getting lost in the search function!

Quick suggestion, if I may. I would buy a thermometer, you can get a candy thermometer at grocery stores or wal mart. It's important to know what temp your wax gets to, as if it gets too hot, the FO will burn off... too low and some FOs don't bind with the wax. The wax usually has a label on it that tells you what temp you should get it to.

The usual way to tell how long to burn a candle is one inch of diameter per hour. Hope this helps!

How about one of the party supply places? Since the Saints got into the playoffs this year, they should have some stuff with the fleur de lis on it.

Just my opinion, I don't sell by any means, but I think I would not let them leave the shop until the cure time you've chosen has passed. Maybe sell them and say you'll deliver or send or they could pick up the order on whatever date they'd be ready. Not sure how willing customers would be to do this, but if it's not ready, it's not ready!