Peachdream

I use Access at work a lot but we got office 2007 at home and it looks like I need to relearn access again from scratch,it looks totally different....so I would go for excel, it really has a lot of features and a lot of my accountant friends use it alongside their various other programs.

Thats awesome, thanks for the tip. I have just tried whipping the base a few days ago and it went all rubbery and yuck. I thought I was going to have to make some proper whipped soap, but then my DD couldnt help me.

They look gorgeous in the gallery pic!

I tried this today too. Mine feels kind of rubbery rather than crumbly and definitely couldnt be piped. Obviously the whipped soap base has an extra ingredient or two that stops it setting up so fast and keep its texture. I have been trying to do a search and find out what I could add to have the same effect, but no luck yet.

Wow those look awesome! Are the green stars just on the top of the salt bar or are they embedded?

I'm with you. This produces a strong mix that rocks. I've been told by a co-worker who loves a blend that I do (very similar to this) that it's so much stronger than perfume.

plus you can put it in a roller ball or those little perfume vials.

Does the FO stay mixed with the FCO? I have tried FCO & silicone and the FO seperated out. TIA.

That looks like the one I bought off ebay. It did well for a few batches but quickly warped from the weight of the soap pushing at the sides. It also became much harder to get the soap out to the point I put a flat silicon baking tray into it to help with release. It was good, and cheap, while soaping was still a hobby but now I am getting ready to sell I have upgraded to a silvermoon mold.

I have tried one batch of 100% coconut and one batch with 95% coconut and 5% Castor with the 20% superfat. I used goats milk for most of my liquid in the second one its a seriously nice bar. I used it within days of making it cause I am impatient and had no problem with my sensitive/oily skin. I plan on experimenting with this more in future, especially with the bad press palm oil is experiencing.

I started out with a 12bar nizzy mold. In the end I cut up a silicon baking mat and laid it in the bottom to make unmolding easier. I have just bought a silvermoon silicon mold and the difference is unbelievable. The soap just drops out. You get a perfect edge and save so much time. I will only buy silicon molds from now on.

Wanting the scent to last is how us soapers move into B&B

Soap is a wash off product so we have to use the same FO in a lotion or body spray to ensure it sticks around longer. After leaving your soap to cure unwrapped the scent may be much lighter, but often it blooms again when the soap hits the water. I think soaping is as much about the visual appearance as it is the fragrance.

I tried pomace for the first time yesterday and I know what you mean about speeding up the trace!! Literally by the time I had poured the first layer and turned to weigh out my water for the second the first was solid. Normally I wait about half an hour before starting the second layer so this sped things up considerably. I was actually going to do a swirl too on top but it was the same with the second layer and I had to abandon the top swirl. Very different from regular olive, thats forsure. And it was solid and easy to unmold within 12 hours. That was the good part about it!

I would personally lower the castor and crisco and add it to your RBO. I find castor is more suited to around 3-5%. It quickens trace and interfers with your bubbles IMO. But its always good to try these things out and see how you like them, not to mention its fun.

Those are so beautiful! I bet they take hours. Not allowed to quit, once you are in the club you are there for life!

Yes ultramarines/oxides and FD&C colors are what I use. I like strong colours so I dont use clays much unless I want a very natural look. There are some colors that will morph in CP and you should find some threads on that here on the board.

The ash is related to contact with the air, so covering it will help, although it doesnt always work and most soapers get it occasionally. I just plane the top off my soaps, but try and be extra careful not to let it overheat when I do a textured top. I still get those tiny little bubbles to a certain extent. Most people will not notice or worry about them. Its after all a hand made product, and like baking a cake it will never be perfect, which is part of the charm.

I love their Peppermint Ice, Voodoo Berry and Bubble Gum. I dont use a sweetener and have never felt the need to.

There are some simple recipes in the recipe section to get you started. When I first started I used AJs beginner recipe which was 25% Palm, 25% coconut and 50% Olive (thats 50/50 hard/soft). Start off simple (and cheap) until you have some experience. Nothing worse than having to chuck out a batch that contained loads of expensive butters and oils... I started with HP as I was a bit scared of the raw soap and impatiently wanting to try it earlier. Now I do only CP as I like to layer and texture my tops. Which ever you choose...good luck, hope you enjoy it.

You could try Armond at Chase Creative molds. I have heard very positive things about his customer service and custom molds(athough I have not ordered anything yet myself).

http://app.vendio.com/storefront?view=HOME&cid=938406&mode=1&galleryEbayId=

Those darned soap faeries have stolen it to power their time machine (to allow them to continue their invasion of the soap makers all over the planet)

Those textured tops are absolutely beautiful. The look so symetrical, with lovely tips on the 'waves'. Do you use a spoon to do that?

I love your labels. It all looks yummy!

Those look great. What a clever idea!! I just adore Love Spell in everything so I bet they smell great.

Not quite so fancy as gel tones, just regular liquid FD&C colors. I would like to try the gel tones too, as these ones only come in a bout 6 basic colors. I've just gotta work out how to label these babies as they are not going to fit in the cigar band I use for my regular soaps.. Thank you everyone for your kind feedback.

This is very similar to my normal recipe but I only use 25% coconut oil and only 3% castor. I gave it a go with 27% coconut and I just love it! That little bit of extra bubblage made me decide I love bubbles more than cream after all. Thanks Kat!

Thanks Brenda for the tips on layered soaps!!! These are my newbie attempts using her instructions. The first batch, the purple one, with Lavender EO was a bit thick when I poured so the layer is a bit uneven. The second batch went better. Its the orange one scented with Love Spell Type. I used a nice big spoon for the texturing. Still working on getting those big peaks...:rolleyes2 I couldnt get my dividers all the way in so I think I will forget about them and cut by hand. Used my new beveller from nizzy and just love it! Thanks again Brenda for your inspiration.

I mix mine in the kitchen sink now. I just turn my head or walk away for a couple of mins if its a bit fumey. I used to do it on the deck when I first started soaping and I figured I was more likely to have an accident coming back into the house than if I just left it in the sink, which is my work area.