MoonShadow

Patchouli. I haven't tried Pink Sugar but thus thread is tempting me. Which one holds up best in CP?

Since I started adding avocado oil (16%) to my recipes, IMO, it's made all the difference in the world. I'm hooked. I SF at 8%.

Thanks. I ordered some SL after the first batch got stuck. Of course if I were a patient person I would have waited until it got here before making my second loaf. Both loaves were gelled. I tried burping it but it's still stuck..Think I'll try the freezer for a half hour and see what happens. Thanks again.

I have my trusty little wood loaf mold, but I thought I'd try this silicone mold from Crafters Choice. The first loaf stuck to the side and bottoms and by the time the loaf was released big chunks were missing from it. I unmolded it after 26 hours. Second batch; I decided to prep the mold with a little mineral oil and leave the soap in the mold a day longer, for 48 hours, but it's STILL stuck. What am I doing wrong?

Love, love, love Coffee Bean!

Last week I noticed Publix is now stocking fresh goat milk by Meyenburg in addition to the canned!

Maybe we should gauge interest in a Lebermuth Patch co-op for all the Patch Ho's. (Which I would offer to do if I only knew how. The co-op part I mean. I know how to be a Patch Ho, altho I'm still a rooky)

I'm thinking Moonworks Patch may be Lebermuth patch without the additonal $20.00 for orders less than $300.00, which may explain why she does pre-buys? The price per pound is the same.

Thanks, Scented. I was thinking about Lebermuth. If there's a $12 per pound difference between EO and FO, which one is more cost effective? Can you use less EO in bath and body products than FO and does the EO "stick" in soap as well as the FO? (I realize a lot of that depends on the quality of the oils...) There's a significant price difference between Lebermuth FO and Lonestar... And then...you can't really use an EO cost effectively in candles... decisions, decisions...:undecided

I have some high oleic safflower that is 11 grams mono of 14 total, if that helps...

The ugly blob technique! I've got that down!

I must have been absent that day. I've tried "in the pot" swirl, "mantra swirl," "funnel swirls," "linear swirls"...they all come out looking the same...like a hot mess of ugly mixed color blobs... I'm doomed to be a swirl-less soap maker.

I want to get some Patch FO. Even tho I've read raves about Moonworks, she is still sold out of her regular Patch. So who's Patch (VEGGIE WAX CANDLES AND BODY) would be your second choice?

Beautiful! I LOVE the Peace symbols!

Those look GREAT!

They really DO look like a flower garden! Beautiful soaps!

I just finished my pouring 3rd batch of GMOH. The first time was a disaster.(soap turned deep orange, then had some serious overheating in the mold...it wasn't pretty...) The 2nd time was better, and even tho I put it in the freezer overnight, I got a partial gel. So THIS time I used fresh, not canned GM, froze the GM in cubes, added the lye very very very slowly to the cubes, soaped way cool, chilled the mold, and have it under a fan, hoping to see if it will gel without cracking or volcanoing. With my luck I will STILL get a partial gel. :undecided

Very pretty colors!

Wowowowow! Beautiful job!

Beeeeeeuuuutiful soap!

Very cute!

Really, really fun and really, really addictive!

As a newbie myself, I can relate. It took me about three months of "mental preparation..." :embarasse I read and read and read the threads here, especially the Abbreviations and INCI information for Soaping/B&B. Then I read it again. I read some other boards as well, but, IMO, this one is the best. I scoured in internet, Google automatically searches for COLD PROCESS SOAP MAKING every time I open my browser. Then I bought The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch, and The Everything Soapmaking Book by Alicia Grosso. I watched a ton of Youtube videos. Bathmisstress has some GREAT ones to learn from. Then I started playing with Soap Calc found the View or Print Recipe button after you've plugged in the recipe to be particularly helpful for me as it gives you the properties of the soap. Then I just DID IT. Bought me some safety gear, choose a fragrance I knew not to accelerate trace, and just DID IT. And it wasn't NEARLY as scary as I expected. That's just how I began. I'm sure it's different for different people. But this place right here is a wonderful resource. :highfive:

Thanks all!

Ditto what she said!