donna4909

Wow, that looks amazing! I've done whipped soaps before, but my hubby ended up doing most of the piping work. I just don't have the skills to make them beautiful like that. *lol*

Looks almost good enough to eat! Can't wait to see cut pics!

Beautiful layers! I love the colors too.

Gorgeous! My fave is the star.

My neighbor and friend has a few teenage daughters that are interested in "real" soap making. The kids are very smart and I'm sure their mother would be okay with it, but does it just seem like a bad idea? I normally do CPOP, but maybe HP would be better?

Naturally, I would keep them away from the raw lye and soap mix, but they could weigh oils, help coat the molds with mineral oil, and watch from a safe distance when the lye comes out. That seems like it would be safe enough, but what do you ladies think?

Ooh, I love those! Very unique idea!

Thanks for the ideas, ladies! I'm off to get some samples.

I still have a little palm left from CS, but once it's gone, I'll probably try Aztec. They're within driving distance for me... I'm just disappointed that they don't have the crystallizing container wax too.

I think she's referring to "Dreaded Orange Spots". Had that happen once when I used to much soybean oil in a recipe...

Probably not much help, but my only idea would be a humidity difference in the rooms.

Very nice! Palm wax is just gorgeous!

I've never been able to find any that small with a traditional shower hook on them. Container & Packaging Supply has these in white & natural:

http://www.containerandpackaging.com/item.asp?item=M294W

http://www.containerandpackaging.com/item.asp?item=M294

I need to pick your brains, ladies and gents. *lol* I need opinions and ideas on ICS scents for specific dipped animals.

My ideas at this point are:

• Bear Claws - not original, but the only thing i could think of for a bear
  
• Doggone Delightful - no idea which FO to use for this one
  
• Berry Berry Bunny or Cotton Tail - berry blast, triple berry, or downey dupe
  
• Chocolate Chip-munk - I read that the ST creme brulee would probably work well for this
  
• Monkey Magic or Monkey Madness - monkey farts
  

So, any comments or suggestions?

Those are excellent! I plan on making a much simpler version for the kids Christmas gifts this year.

Do you think there would be any way to safely scent these? I want it to be somewhat long lasting, but I don't want it to ruin the color. I was thinking of making a little sachet of crushed corn cob to put inside the dolls...

The blue is gorgeous! I really need to try tilted layers, but I'm a weenie. *lol*

I've had the same issue with a few FO's. Now I just try to always make sure I have plenty of ventilation. Some fragrances are mild or average OOB, but then surprise you by being almost overwhelming in a pour pot.

I had a coffee fragrance like that. I ended up throwing it away after just a few votives.

Candleman: I gotta admit, I love that frost! The blue looks absolutely gorgeous for winter! Which wax are you using?

Gorgeous soap! I love the beveled edges. It's very professional looking!

I'm trying to find a supplier that carries 8-10 different tropical scents that are body safe.

Like others have said, they both have their pros and cons. I use both methods, depending on what FO & colors I want to use.

CP produces a much smoother prettier bar of soap, but requires a 4-6 week cure time. It can also cause some of the fragrances and colors to morph, due to the active lye in the curing soap. And you have to be careful about using metal pans for CP soap molds (like a muffin or loaf pan), because lye + aluminum is a very bad idea.

HP does tend to have a rougher surface texture, but it's great for tricky FO's, since all the lye is cooked out of the soap. Another cool thing about HP is that it's safe to use right away, even though the lather continues to improve with a week or two of cure time. It is more difficult to swirl with this method though, because you're working with a vaseline like consistancy once the soap is cooked. I noticed that my colors look more unique with HP, because the finished bar of soap looks kinda marbled and at times slightly translucent, whereas CP is more creamy.

When I first started soaping, I tried HP in mini loaf pans twice, then swore it off due to the "ugly" texture... But a few years later, I gave it another shot, and now I actually like it. I use a log mold and just trim off the rough texture on top, and it looks almost as smooth as CP.

I really liked this tutorial:

http://www.geocities.com/dyavas/crockpot

The stages I see in my crockpot HP are identical to the pics in this tutorial.

We also have TCS. They're located in Jonesborough.

I use CandleScience in NC a lot too. Great shipping rates.

FBD's looks nice, but the $4.75 is just for 2 oz. I have a hard time bringing myself to pay more the $1.25 an ounce. *sigh* It's so hard to find good prices on FO's these days...

I would thaw them at home first. The quick change in temp would probably cause condensation and might make them grainy.

I don't refridgerate or freeze my butters. They are stored in a cool, dark cabinet. Last week, I was cleaning out the cabinet, and in the back I discovered a couple pounds of unrefined shea and cocoa from a little over 2 years ago. They both still look and smell normal.

Anyone know of a supplier for decently priced manly fragrances? I'm looking for 4 oz. bottles, max cost of $5 per bottle. All I found so far is Boss & Eternity from Mystify Your Senses.

Are there any manly scents at ICS?

Oh no. So sorry about your soap!

I bought some a couple weeks ago, but never got around to using it. Just looked and it is the Foamies brand. :/ Mine is white though... Perhaps it will be okay.

Really? The Rain Water didn't rice for you? In my batch, as soon as I added the FO, it made a bunch of little tiny clumps in my soap. Almost like a runny cottage cheese. Maybe it was my recipe? Or perhaps it's because it was a whipped soap? I used Crisco, coconut, babbasu, cocoa butter, shea butter, castor, and a little olive