Angel91805

Oooohhh....I was wondering how that scent would soap! Girl....Congrats to you for trying something new! The only things I did differently on my first CPHP batch was that I melted the hot oils in the crockkpot on high....and then dumped in my hot lye water....but then I sat on a stool 2 feet away from the CP the whole time. :tiptoe: I know I mentioned being anal retentive. BUAHAHA. Oh yeah....and I got my colorant mixed in good.....I just forgot the FO. Purdiest unscented soap you ever saw. OK...it's HP...it looked a bit like hamburger. ROFL. Well, I like your fugly soap....LOL...I'm sure you still have my address...just pop one in the mail for me! Donna

I caved and bought the 6/12 slab mold with dividers today. Don't shoot me MA! I saw on his etsy site where he said starting tomorrow (1/2) he was raising his prices 5-7% due to wood costs increasing. I admit it. I'm weak. I panicked and hit "BUY". Donna

:drool: :drool: Come ON, March! I can't wait to get my hands on those lovelies..... hehehe. I can't wait to smell it either! HAHAHAHA. Donna

I have the KD-7000 too (though mine is black, not silver, and I got it from Old Will Knots)....and I LOVE it. A few of the ones I just saw on Amazon.com run on battery only. Trust me, get one with an A/C power cord. Donna

Julie ~ Botanical Orchid and Nectar totally rocks. I've soaped it (time to play), made tarts, lotions & shower gel and it is the shiznit! Donna

Let's see... Blind Swirl - Now, I am not 100% sure on this, but this is what I've deduced it is.....if you have an FO that discolors...say anything with vanilla....you pull off some soap to swirl, add FO to the rest of the soap and then blind swirl in your unscented soap. Since the FO hasn't discolored yet, they are the same color and you are "swirling blind". Only when the FO scented soap discolors do you see the swirls. Clear as mud? In my opinion, more than 10% of butters is a waste of $$, but I've seen where people go up to 20% and love it. To each his own, I guess. I haven't tried a higher percentage, but I might one day. Hope your Xmas was great too! Donna

Hehehe! I'm so proud of me! After seeing Sharon's decadent looking lotion, I finally caved and ordered the Fantasy Creme Maker at OT. OMG. HOW easy was this?!?!?! This sinful looking concoction is a blend of mango and shea butters and SAO and monoi de tahiti oil. Soaks right in and is not one bit greasy! WOOT! This batch is about to be split off 5 ways, scented differently and packaged up for the family gift baskets. WOO! I'd better hurry! LOL. Donna

Personally, it would depend on why the batches are "flubbed". If they are fugly batches....woo, I've got some of those!....or just didn't come out how you wanted them...you can definately rebatch them or shred them up to add to other soaps, etc. BUT....if the batch is lye heavy because of a miscalculation, and unless I was 175% sure I knew my error to fix (like if I forgot an oil and therefore know what I need to add to make it right)....I'd not take the risk and toss it. I also hate to waste it and toss it out.....a few one pound batches are no biggie for me....I had to toss a few 5 pound batches because of FO issues... now THAT hurt! Just my opinion... Donna

:awww: Awww....I just hate it when nothing seems to go right. <hugs> What I do when mixing lye into cold liquids (icy, at times)......I'll just pour in a little lye....then stir stir stir...until that seems to have disolved, then pour in a little bit more....stir stir stir....repeat ad nauseum. Takes more time, but it helps and I've only had one instance w/ chunks that didn't dissolve completely. Maybe tomorrow will be better now that the soap fairies have been fed.... Donna

Yup! They sure are! They may turn funky colors during saponification (my green turned BRIGHT orange), but when they cool down, they are true to form. If your FO darkens, it will darken the color a bit. I'm looking on my computer now...I have an orange soap....but I can't find the picture... Donna

Michi, I think the pics are fabulous and am glad you did pretty well. I think you should as your cousin to set up an "open house" at her house for you. If her town has better draw....you can unload there! Just a thought. Donna

Just my 2 cents...for what that's worth.... I totally agree with Sockmonkey.....I really don't think you should have shipped them before they were cured and ready to use. Period. Also....just my business practice, of course....but you said that you got her check in the mail and shipped the candles the same day. I, personally, have a policy that no shipments will be made until your personal check clears MY bank. I know you were thrilled for the sale (who wouldn't be?).... but you really need to deposit that check and make sure it's good to start with. I like to think there are still good and decent people in the world, but unfortunately, there are so many jerks out there that write bad checks and the like. Soapbox is free if anyone else wants to use it...I'm jumping off and heading back to my corner. :tiptoe: Donna

I've never seen it at Home Depot. I have used the Roebic brand from Lowe's though. Do you have a Lowe's? If so, it will be in the plumbing aisle, not the cleaner-type-stuff aisle. Donna

The Candlemaker Store has some. They have a Smoke Eliminator one and I believe a Cherry one too. Donna

Ah....that was it exactly! SNOT-ish. I'm so icked out by it....BUT....let me tell you, the patch-y/scaly psoriasis that I had at my hairline is MUCH improved today. So...while I don't particularly like it.....I guess I'll use it. :lipsrseal I swear with that slime factor, my bar shrunk a LOT just in one shower. HAHAHA Must make more now.

UCK. Never having actually tried a bar of castille/bastille, I grabbed a bar and headed for the shower tonight. 5 months ago, 7/4 to be exact, I made a batch of 90% OO, 5% castor, 5% babassu, 5% superfat, 33% lye solution, no FO, no colorant, nada. I grabbed the end piece tonight and used it. Got what I expected....creamy lather with little bubbles. I like bigger bubbles, but no biggie. I put the bar on the top rack of the wire rack thingy well out of the water spray/mist. At the end of my shower, instead of using my face wash, I thought I'd give the ol' mild bastille a try on my psoriasis. (My skin feels AMAZING BTW!) When I went for the bar, however, there was now a 1/16" of SLIME coating the entire thing. EW. Is this the castille slime you all have been talking about? I mean, I could scrape it off w/ my finger (and did and used that on my face)! EW. Major EW. 5 months of cure time. Water discount. Should I wait longer or does it always do this? Donna

I do exactly what Chickie and Janis said. Put all your repeating info on the Master tab and then your scents on additional tabs. I have some that I have up to 30 different tabs for each scent (because my sheets have 30 labels). Hope this helps you! Donna

Ooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I've been eyeing this at KB and OT. That looks purely decadent! If it's that easy, I may have to get some soon. (Cuz, like, I need another addiction! ) Good job! How's it feel??? Donna

Feed stores.....check. I'll remember to check next time we go in for birdseed for TDB (That Damned Bird). Tell me more about this emu/oo soap!! I was just reading over at The Soap Dish and found a thread where someone mentions using castille. If castille is great, a bit of emu has to make it better, right? What's a good % of emu to try? I think I have a few ounces in the fridge...... I've never soaped emu before. There is a lot of threads at The Dish for the syndet shampoo bars...but I'd sure like to NOT have SLS(a) for a bit and see if that helps. Wooo....looks like I'm making castille soap tomorrow! (Cuz I have to have some scented!) Thanks, Sue! Donna

Great questions! My psoriasis is giving me fits lately. I've just finished up a bottle of Nizoral and hate to drop $16 on another little bottle of it. It does work for me, but I hate to use it. Luckily, my psoriasis isn't nearly as bad as a lot of people. No real itchies...unless my scalp gets sweaty. BUT, I do get it around my nose, between my eyebrows, all along my hairline (and about 1 inch onto my cheeks), behind AND inside my ears. GROSS. Thanks for the link, Sue. That was an interesting read....not sure why I never thought about SLS in the shampoo causing/worsening my psoriasis! SO....where does one buy pine tar? Or better yet, anyone sell bars already made? I think read somewhere (Soapdish maybe?) that pine tar needed to be 20% of the soap recipe....true? I think I must go look for a shampoo bar recipe and see what I can whip up myself! Excuse my random babbles...they happen from time to time. Donna

I don't think I've ever even seen a live persimmon...HAHAHA... Anyway.....I got a sample of PersimmonBerry with my last Oregon Trails order...and it is YUMMY! Not very helpful, I know. Donna

WOOT! I got mine today!!! I LURVE Goddess. Absolutely LOVE it. Woo hoo! Love Vervaine Olive Leaf too....but still on the fence w/ Sandalwood Rose. WEEEEEE....more oils I didn't need!

Michelle, email Jenny. She posted a page or so back that everyone should have heard from her and if not to email her. Donna

Ditto that!

Yes, Julie....I did add the FO.....you better be ducking! It does have a scent...but it is so faint it's like it isn't even there. I've read several places that Palm and un-deodorized butters will suppress scents. Like Carol....not sure if I believe it or not.....but there it is. I guess I'll take a sliver into the shower with me today and see if anything comes back. LOL. Dammit...it was a purdy soap too. <sigh> Donna