dogmom1

hi soycrazy, good to know it should work. i'll make a small batch and see how it goes. maybe i'll start out with the color on the darker side and do a swirl. thanks for answering! ei

hi, i have some and was going to grind a tablet (i have an old mortar and pestle from a pharmacy) and put some in a bit of oil (probably olive) to dissolve. good idea/bad idea?? tia, ei

barbara, rae, carrie, thank you all so much for your willingness to share, and of course care bear who i already thanked! i saw the co-op after it was closed, the price was amazing, but 10 pounds is a lot i guess. how often is there a co-op for the unrefined? i can see it takes a LONG time from start to arrival! i'm still really new to CP, and keep finding more things i want to try! i'm waiting right now for clays from the recent co-op so i can start coloring. i may get a little from texas natural supply (i think i got the name right) IF they have the unrefined, until the ship come in, literally! lol thanks again!

hi scented, yes, OBN is out. the herbarie doesn't list it and a search comes up empty. i searched the 'net and found it on nature's wild child site, but then the home page says they are redesigning their site and creating an organic line. texas natural supply lists it but it doesn't say refined or unrefined. i guess i'll call them monday to ask. hi carebear. i'd love a couple of pounds if you are willing. i'm guessing i might save a bit of money, even it texas supply has unrefined, which i'm doubtling anyway. thanks for offering to share!!

hi, i'm trying to find a good source for a small amount (a pound or two) of unrefined kokum butter. any suggestions?? tia, ei

hi wookie, when you buy olive oil in the grocery store, what kind do you buy? since i started soaping i've noticed there are LOTS of different kinds. the other thing i was wondering about is the amount of lye needed. do all the olive oils need a similar enough amount to be safe just using what comes up in soap calc? i superfat at 5% so i guess that would help some, but i wonder if anyone knows for sure? i can't be any help 'cause i'm new to CP, but i think a grocery store recipe is great and yours is very simple. i'd like to try it! if barbara says it looks good, i'd have to believe her. her soaps look totally awesome and i'd bet they are just a wonderful to use as they are to look at! her castor oil suggestion is a good idea, i put some in every soap i make, tho i've not done a lot of batches. and it's another easy to get ingredient. good luck, let us know how it comes out!l ei

TLC and fire, i wish i had read your replies before i cut the soap! i definitely get your point. and thanks to everyone for answering and giving me ideas and sources for small freebies. i know many do use smaller bars for testing. next batch that i cut, i think i'll cut mostly good size bars, and maybe cut a few in half to give to people that i'm not so sure will "report" well. i mean give me an honest review of the soap qualities, not just wash and say yeh, it's really nice. of course, once they've had one tester. the next time around, those people will either get a full size bar..... or NO bar at all! thanks all! ei

well i'm a big fan of cranberry marmalade from CS, but right now summertime has a hold on me and their honeysuckle jasmine is absolutely delicious in soy. definitely a fave. i love so many of their fragrances and just wish i knew more that work in CP, since all my scents right now were bought for candles and now i've gotten pulled into soap!

i know it may vary some depending on the the oil. i've searched. i even used the search explained in the board usage section using google and haven't found the answer. i've only used FOs so far, .7 to 1 ounce per pound, depending on the strength of the FO. i'd like to try some EOs. TIA

thanx everyone for answering! i think for now i'll cut the bars i've already made in half, except for family, they'll get the regular size. of course right now different batches already have made different size bars, since i've been using different shoe boxes along the way!

i finally have some soap that's ready to give out for testing. what size bars do you give to your testers? i don't want to look cheap, but at the same time..... i'm using shoe boxes for molds right now, so i can cut pretty much any size. the thickness is about an inch or a bit more, depending on which shoe box is available and which is already in use! LOL if there's a bigger or smaller piece, that's fine 'cause i'm using them myself and i don't care! tia for any suggestions!

thanx eugenia! i just saw your response. now i just have to pick some colors! also, if i do the herbs in oil to use for swirling, how does that work with the lye? do i calculate my regular recipe amount and use the amount of lye it gives me? then the oil i use for the color gets added and just increases the superfatting of the colored section a bit? ei

this thread caught my eye and i tried to look at the salt works website. is it www.saltworks.us? if it is, i can't seem to get to it. if it's not, can someone give me the correct URL? thanx!! ei

have to write again. caitlin, i'm so glad you explained how their shipping works. i absolutely LOVE the incredibly fast turnaround on orders. i look at other websites and the lead time on some is ATROCIOUS!!!! i can order at 2:55 monday and at 1:30 wednesday, UPS is at my door. even those last minute orders when they have their 99 cent sale!! what seems so simple for ONE order that day would turn into a disaster if they tried to add something for everyone who forgot "just one thing". i order on line and several times i've forgotten something. it was expalined to me that my order went directly to the warehouse and that i could cancel and reorder to add. they also state the policy very prominently on the website. i certainly understand that I am the one who forgot, not anyone else. i am sure diane hears all the time, "it's just one or two things, what's the big deal?". it must be difficult to keep explaining and trying to be nice all the time!!

thanx for the encouragement meridith! i've spent a lot of money this last year and i'm so afraid of ruining something. the "failure" doesn't hurt my psyche, the wasted money does! so far i've been a terrible chicken with the soaps and FOs. of course a color disaster won't hurt the soap, so that's a good thing. they can look ugly and still be amazing to use. SOS is what really worries me! i need a smaller shoebox so i can make a one pound batch. all my soap so far (not a lot since many other things pull me away) is very plain, but the test pieces are all very silky and lathery (is that a word?) and bubbly.... and mild. with a DH with very sensitive skin (almost everything makes him itch and/or break out), that's really important to me. i'm going to try one batch with parsley coloring for the swirl attempt, which eugenia explains in her room temp tutorial. i think that will be ok for him. thanx again!

hi meridith. i do like the TKB pop colors. the fact that it's mica is a bit intimidating, but the colors are delicious. april, the select shades are intriguing, i started reading about mixing shades and it sure looks like i can get some beautiful colors with them. scented, i'm sure you're right, i'll be searching for a while, and i know i won't get everything i want from one place. i just want to get started with something fairly "friendly". decisions, decisions...... thanx to all!

i get everything i use for candles from candle science. i started out with them in march 2008, and have never had a reason to change. i'm just a small fish compared to some of you on the forum, but i have called them a LOT with many, many questions. i hold my breath hoping for diane to answer, she has been nothing short of wonderful EVERY TIME i've called. she had infinite patience with my newbie questions last (2008) spring and has continued to give me nothing but the best service. in fact, a couple times when i spoke to a man (not sure who) i felt that i was possibly annoying him a bit. i can't imagine what could have caused what happened to you, but i had to write and tell about my experiences with diane. she has always gone above and beyond for me. i hope she is not in some kind of crisis situation in her life, because this is so totally not what i am used to with her.

i need help! opinions please on what you like for swirling and who carries it. i just can't decide so i still have NO colors for my soap. all various shades of white, light tan so far. i only have candle color chips and i know they're no good for CP. since i want to swirl (i guess everyone tries) i'd like to get colors that work well for swirling as well as for regular coloring. i've read and read and can't decide. and i'm not doing much better with fragrances, but i do have a few of those picked out at least!! TIA!

my 12 hour work days keep me away from everything, but i'm off today, so catching up on posts. thanks, i'll be sure we go to one of the bigger stores. did you get your lye? i have to order online, no one sells lye around here anymore. i have enough to keep me busy for quite a while! so you're doing crock pot soaping. i haven't checked all the new threads, maybe you already posted about it. have you started yet? i love the idea of having the soap ready to use faster, but something about the CP has caught me, it's amazing to watch it happen. my last batch traced in about 7 minutes using a whisk. good thing i didn't try the stick blender! so if you haven't posted,

thank you so much heidijo! i'm more on the north side of central jersey, but when i saw the locations down south, i realized they might have stores in philly, where my daughter lives. they have several in the philly area, which is great since i'm down there every few weeks! i wonder if anyone else that lives around me would be interested. i know a few people who are fairly close, i'm pm them and at least offer.

thanx sue, it was really nice of you to share that tip! heidijo, i don't think we have ross stores here, but it's good to know that the strainers are available in stores, not just on line. thanx! ei

sue, the q-tip actually worked, thanx! jeana (hope that's right) i will be buying a strainer, that's a great idea....... and making sure it's not aluminum as scented pointed out! the batch is all wrapped up on the table. smelled awesome, CS violet lime. thanx to all for your help!

first i'll try stirring it to see if it comes up near the top and i can catch it with a q-tip. i'm not usually that lucky tho! that's a great idea sue. it's a small batch, so it's not a lot to filter. i was thinking of pouring it thru a plastic coffee filter with filter paper liner. i'll lose some tho, as you said scented, plus have replace the plastic for coffee. whatever the speck is, it's on the bottom of the beaker, maybe first if i pour into another container, it will stay behind on the bottom. or maybe i'll just chuck it and make more. i'm new to this, so mixing the lye water is still a bit intimidating, tho better each time. with 2 dogs and 3 cats, we always have to do "animal patrol" before i start. thanks for answering!

strange question for sure. i mixed it this morning and put the container in a bigger one that has a cover. there was a tiny speck of something on the inside of the cover and of course it landed in the lye water. i can just pour it down the drain and make more, but i was wondering if there is any way to filter it. tia

did you ever put your tongue on a 9 volt battery to see if it had any charge left? that's the tongue test with new soap. if it zaps you, you have a problem. i couldn't stand not knowing, so i finally took the chance and touched the soap with my tongue... no zap. that's a good thing!