jbren

They look FABULOUS!

Julie makes beautiful stuff....has for years!

Grinding is the first phase, the extruders are what shapes the soap into the bars.

super looking soaps! I love my Kelseis too!

I've heard lots of good things about the Sunbeam! I remember my mom having one when I was a kid...and that thing was a workhorse! I'm wondering if she still has it put away somewhere...I may just go poking around...I bet it STILL works!!

LOVE the look of that!

Thanks for the nice words, everyone. I just got back to this so the questions...the scent...it reminds me of Mayan Gold or Angel perfume. It's really a beautiful scent. The shine...the star anise were put in as the soaps were cooling out of the gel phase, so the soap couldn't be planed or rubbed on my beveler. I wiped and smoothed the edges with a damp sponge, spritzed with rubbing alcohol and let them air dry. The soaps in the picture are completely dry.

they are both great, but that Lemon Sugar is calling my name! Is that a non-discoloring FO?

This is Tin Star from Wildfire Creations. The star anise is just for decoration. I'm hoping it discolors a bit to give it a 'prim' flag look.

I love my KA...especially since I can turn it on and walk away to do other things. Some of my butters are whipped for over an hour.

Doesn't look like DOS to me, looks like ash. Spritz it with some rubbing alcohol and rub it off.

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45453

The SAP for Deer Tallow is .1379 and it makes a FABULOUS bar of soap!

I've had one for a few years but don't use it too often. It did allow for even cuts when I did use it. Since I started using Kelseis and Uplands, I rarely use them any more. I have the small log and the large one with cutter.

Bar soaps do not require preservatives, no matter what process you use.

Love it...I can see why it went so quickly. Glad you did well at the party!

they look super...I especially like the round ones!

You're right. I've not tried 100% coconut. I use shea in mine, so I'm sure that's what keeps the lather down, but it IS very creamy. I tried a batch with cocoa butter also and got less lather than with the shea.

Salt bars are not really going to lather much or have big bubbles. They are really more like a lotion type bar. I use a nylon pouf with mine to help with the lather. You can use table salt, fine or medium sea salt, Kosher salt from the supermarket works great too. I make mine either in my Kelsei mold or my Tony's half-rounds.

It just may be new in your area! Things travel in different cycles in different areas. I was chatting with creativegems the other day, and it seems like we were making gel candles before they ever became popular in other areas. I was selling a ton of them in PA 7 and 8 years ago...then the dollar stores and Walmart started selling them and even though they were crap...they were cheaper than what I could sell them for.

I love them all, but the tulips are my favorite. Outstanding work!

I stopped making these a couple years ago, but still get requests once in a while. They were good sellers for a while, then the novelty wore off. I just used a large coffee can to melt my paraffin wax, added fragrance oil. Use tongs to dip the critter and push it down into the wax and another set of tongs to squeeze out the excess wax while holding over the melting container. Then I set them on a wire rack which I had on several layers of newspaper. You can buy the wax and fragrance from one of the many suppliers out there, or since you are just starting out...visit your local craft store. This way you can see if you like doing it before buying in large quantity.

I was just wondering if it was essentially the same smell as regular Patchouli or if it had something added to it.

very nice...all of them! What distinguishes White Patchouli from the others? Just curious.

they look like they are going to be winners~!