Janis

Personally, I think it's the soap gremlins, lol! I had a similar problem with ash. Was soaping the same recipe forever, everything was fine, then all of a sudden I got ash every dang time I soaped. It went on for several batches and drove me CRAZY!!! Then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Go figure! Seriously, I use palm and don't have a problem with quick trace. I do let my lye water cool down to room temp and my oils are pretty cool, too (I don't measure temp, either, lol). But, hey, if walking away from the palm:tiptoe: works for ya, then do it. It's the soap gremlins (they are related to leprechauns:laugh2: )!

I think it's scorched gm. If you are doing a partial water/gm batch again, try mixing the lye water hours ahead of time so that it is room temp when you add the frozen gm. I think you did a great job for your first gm!

Very nice!

First soaps usually are not blended well, or taken out of the mold too soon, or the color isn't blended well, or etc, etc. Yours look like a fifith or sixth batch. Everything looks great! I'd be proud if I were you!

Okay, I'm going to take a stab at this. It doesn't look like it overheated, in fact, just the opposite. Maybe you were trying to soap at a thin trace and you just got it emulsified, but it didn't really trace, so it seperated (guess number one). Or, maybe you used too much fo (although that looks like way too much oil --usually if you use too much fo, you get more of an oil "sweat")--guess number two. I'd say you wait for a couple of days to see if the oil incorporates and if not, it's a rebatch. Honestly, I don't think it's going to incorporate.:undecided But, hey, you did a beautiful swirl:D

Absolutely gorgeous:drool: and drool worthy!!!!

LOL, Bunny!

Gawd, I never thought about using buttons! What a great idea!

I love The Scent Works, but I gotta tell ya, I hated Zen Tea! Now I know there are lots of folks who love it....just not my thing. Anything else you soap, I wanna know about. I especially like the sound of Mandarin Coriander! Yummmmm!

I just dip the stamp into the mica. You have to dip and then have a paper towel ready to "beat" the stamp on to remove the extra mica. Play with it a bit. It works great!

Okay Carrie, so Robin has a little asterix beside "Hyacinth" that means "take precaution", lol! Hmmmm! Full water, .5 oz. per pound, no swirls, move fast! Yeah, I think I can do that!!! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks so much to everyone! Lindsay, I used a sage green oxide for the swirl. Not very much, just a titch. I'm not sure I have a "swirling technique", lol. I go with a very light trace (which means, the minute the mixture emulsifies or changes color). Then I take out about 3/4 to 1 cup of soap and put it in a small container. I add the color to that and mix well (actually, I usually mix the color with some of the soaping oil first). Then I add the fo/eo at the last minute to the main batch and pour it in the mold. Then I take the colored part and pour it high all around. Then I pour it low all around. Then I take a chop stick and swirl. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, lol!

If you want a true lemon verbena, order from The Scent Works. Theirs is wonderful and soaps beautifully. No A, maybe a slight D to creamy yellow, which is fine. If you want to know what lemon verbena should smell like, go to a L'Occitane store and smell theirs. That's the gold standard, IMHO!

This is a goat's milk castile soap that I made using frozen goat's milk. I even let this one gel and it turned out pretty light.

Ha! I was hoping for a little more help than that. I love pioneering scents, but I hate wasting my oils, lol. I love the smell of this fo, in small amounts. I'm picturing a faint scent.......hmmmm! Maybe I will go for it, lmao!

Has anyone soaped this? I have two one ounce samples that I would like to try. It says bb safe on the label. I'm thinking full water and about .5 oz per pound. What say you?

Very pretty color:D

Very pretty!

Mmmmm! Wish I was in that swap.

Getting a nice smooth solid down is a good idea before getting involved in swirling. Once you get the solid down, the swirling is easier. Now I just wish I could figure out how to get those dang swirls throughout the soap.

Welcome to the board. This site will help you immensely. It reviews fragrance oils for soaping: http://scentreviewboard.obisoap.ca/index.php. Where are you in Sweden? My dh just got a call from a long lost 2nd cousin from Sweden that we didn't know existed. If was great fun! I want to go to Sweden, Norway, or Denmark to teach someday (through an international school). Anyway, have fun here!

Beautiful soap! I love SW's lemon verbena, but I think I'm gonna have to try the LLC. Oh why, oh why do they keep coming out with new scents, lol. I just can't stop the madness:tongue2:

Haven't swirled in awhile. I still can't get the swirls to go through the soap, sigh. Oh well, I'm pretty happy with this fo (it's Scent Works). Was very easy to soap, no A. Slight D to creamy yellow, which was fine. I don't know how this pic is going to come out because I edited it differently that normal:undecided

Very pretty soaps! Dontcha just love that Bamboo Sugar Cane? Yum!

Those are stunning! Is the wheat, milk, and honey an fo? Inquiring minds want to know, lol. The swirl is beautimous!