Purple Lilac

Cinn can be an irritant to some but not everyone. There are many suppliers that have skin safe cinn. HTH

Don't let the math discourage you - find a recipe you like and run it through the lye calculator http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php and have at it ( with the neccesary precautions of course ) and have fun. There are some out there that have to know the complete chemistry behind soap ( and I am not putting them down at all) but then there are others (like myself) who can not comprehend that all but just want to make soap. A warning - after you do one batch you may get hooked!!

Floral fo have been noted to do that especially if they are added in excess - which I have done in the past, adding more at the last moment, thinking it needed it but it DIDN'T. I have also taken longer than expected to get the "right" swirl. When I want to "play" with the different colors I I only mix to a light trace that way it gives me a little more time.

For those on the east coast check out http://www.atlanticspice.com/ for the different fixatives and on the west coast http://www.sfherb.com/ Oak moss is another fixative but looks just like dried moss where as the orris root and calamus root are comparable to looks of the crushed corn cob. I am sure there are other sites that carry this items but these are the ones that I work with.

Cellulose fiber is another name for ground corn cobs.

Orris root is a good fixative as is calamus - when adding to potpourri you only use half the amount compared to crushed corn cob ( which is also used as a fixative) HTH

Raspberries can be red to pinkish purple. Then you have black raspberries. For my raspberry color I mix a little red and pink ( more pink than red though) HTH

One other thing - have the wax side of the freezer wrap towards soap.

Seen your pic - they look good Carrie mentioned that she has some leakage when using freezer paper so it may just be normal. I would try another batch this time use a different source for stirring (seeings you don't like hand stirring) - a hand held mixer, works great.

How much FO did you add? Soap will be on the soft side when you first unmold it but as it is exposed to air it will start to firm up.

Here is a supplier list by state maybe you can find one close by http://www.candleandsoapstuff.com/Suppliers_by_State.html

For my bath salts - I mix the base ingredients all together and keep that in an air tight plastic container. Then when I need a certain scent just scoop out what I need and scent that.

Ball makes white plastic lids ( wide and small mouth) - they are called storage caps - They work great.

Try running your recipe through the lye calculator at MMS http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php There are others out there but I like to use this one. What did you use to line your mold with?

Welcome aboard :smiley2: One nice thing about hand stirring your first batch you get to see the different stages of saponification going on in your soap pot and if you choose to move up to using a mixer you know what to look for. And you can truely say "hand made". When I first started making soap the extra time stirring gave me the opportunity to think my next steps through and gave me extra time to read my instructions over just to re-assure myself. As for the grease and seeping - are you sure it was a mold issue? Sounds like some of the oil did not get saponified. Did you run your recipe through a SAP chart to make sure you had the right amount of lye for the types of oils you chose? Happy Soaping!

Sorry it appears I forgot to put the link (or maybe I just didn't do it right) :embarasse http://www.candleandsoapstuff.com/Suppliers_by_State.html

I soaped Jamaican Me Crazy for the first time last week and guess what - I used the same colors - I had no idea of what to color it but we must of done it right if both of us did it the same color. BTW, yours looks great!!

Here is a link for suppliers by state - maybe you can find one close to you. Mike at Columbus Foods is great to work with and very prompt shipping - I placed an order in the am and got my products the next day ( I am not that far away but with gas prices the way they are it was worth the shipping). HTH

I don't use a stickblender because it blends too vigorously causing air bubbles. A cheapy $6.00 hand held mixer works great. I am not putting down anyone who uses them ( stick blender) but I have found that the mixer works best for me. I have read that when you use a stickblender you should alternate stirring with a spoon to get the air bubbles out. When I first started making soap I was glad for the extra time I had with mixing that way I could think my next step through. Being a “newbie” it may be good to take it a little slow at first – just so you can get to see the different stages and see what is going on in your soap pot and get to know what to look for. Don’t get discouraged just chalk this up as a learning experience and go onto your next batch. In the years that I have been making soap each batch still is a learning experience for me. Happy Soaping

I also use ultramarine blue (mine is in powder form) and works great for me.

If I remember right - you can reserve a small amount of your first oils ( say olive if you use that in your recipe) and mix the fo with that then add that at trace. I will see if I can find the ratio of olive oil to fo or else maybe someone else knows. HTH

I like the idea of the cotton ball with some scent on it. I will have to try that. Thanks.

I have soaped both of these at 1/2 oz ppo with great results. I figure if I can get away with 1/2 oz with good results - I can get two batches of soap compared to one batch the ones that use 1 oz ppo.

When I made my body/bath oil I just looked at the properties of each oil and decided which ones would be good for my skin needs. Seeings you want this in a roll on bottle you may need to add some of a heavier oil so it won't be runny. HTH

You have been busy and they ALL look wonderful