Xraytech70

I've HEARD it makes a great bar of soap--have seen this recipe in many blogs and sites on the internet. I REALLY want to try it. I've heard the color is quite nice.

I love those cool swirls on the cucumber/melon!

This was really fun to do--and easy. I wish I would have made the color a little brighter, but it goes with the scent---"Celestial Waters" by BB.

Nursenancy...I am like you and have mixed feelings on the scent. I have an ex who used to wear it so the smell makes me want to barf (although I USED TO love it!). The soap is gorgeous, tho! Very marbly... great job!!

I must have a bad nose, because I can't smell the lard. I've taken to using Wal-Mart's GV shortening. Makes an awesome bar of soap.

I can find it at my Lowe's. It's not in the cleaning supplies, but in the plumbing supplies. It's a tube-shaped container, 32 oz., and it says right on the front, 100% Lye. It's about $12.50. I bought it as an emergency. Probably cheaper elsewhere on the internet.

Gorgeous colors! I love them!

Thanks to all of you who wrote in and looked at my soap. It's encouraging! At least it doesn't look like meat like my last rebatch...::sigh::

It's SOOOO gorgeous! How on earth did you get those swirls to come out so vividly?? I'm assuming it's CP. Throw me a bone here...how did you do it?

Here is my first swirl soap (that turned out) made with coconut milk. Turned out really nice! I swirled in the pot. Since I am swirl-challenged, I did the in-the-pot method. I should have waited another day before cutting as the soap was a little soft in the middle, but they are hardening up nicely now and should trim well.

They are gorgeous, by the way! I can't wait to make some!

Brambleberry has loofahs for $1.00 a piece

I haven't tried a silicone mold, but I just bought some "Mainstay" drawer organizers at Wal-Mart in the kitchen section--make great molds for CP--my soap came right out! And they have lots of different sizes!

Here are the pics...hope it worked!

You're probably right about the hard oils. I did cold process. Here is my recipe: 8 oz coconut oil 8 oz olive oil 5 oz WM GV shortening 5 oz lard 3 oz Castor oil 1 oz cocoa butter 10.8 oz H2O 2.26 oz lye I only got the cracked glass look on the bottom of the slices near the middle of the loaf, where the regurgitation was mostly taking place. I came up with this recipe because I wanted a hard bar and a middle of the road balance of conditioning, creaminess and bubbles. I think once it cures it will be a great bar of soap. I've heard of adding sugar to the lye to increase bubbles--does that work? Maybe the FO got it too hot. I'm taking notes so I can see what happens next time I make it. I did run it thru soapcalc at 36% H2O. Dumb question, but do you need to discount or increase water further when using FO? Going to try to figure out how to post pictures...

So, Kitn...any idea what caused the cracked glass appearance along the bottom of the soap?

My "sausage soap" was a rebatch of a pumpkin spice soap gone horribly wrong...I put it in a round mold for the rebatch and when I sliced it, it looked like something off of a meat and cheese tray! Totally hilarious, but still the ugliest soap I've ever laid eyes on.

So after the "sausage soap" fiasco, I decided to create a recipe (5 oils, 1 butter) that I fragranced with BB's Oatmeal, Milk and Honey FO. I lightened it all up with titanium dioxide and put in a little swirl of color in the middle (copper mica). After sitting for an hour, it was hardening up nicely, and I was so excited because it was going to be so pretty! Then, about 2 hours after that, I checked on it and it was like it regurgitated it's insides and was really liquid and thin pudding-like. Ruined the whole gorgeous top I created. So, disgusted, I left it until morning. All hardened up now, and cut into bars to finish doing it's thing. The bottom, has a "cracked glass" appearance to it. It looks kinda neat, but what on earth caused it?? My stepdaughter thinks it looks like cheesecake. I gave her a slice to smell and she was going to take a bite to taste it until she realized it was my soap!!

Due to space constraints at my humble abode, I dumped the sausage soap and only saved one piece...just to see what happens to it. My stepdaughter thinks it's the greatest piece of soap ever! She's 13, her mind is warped...I told her I'd sent it to her for her birthday.:rolleyes2

Yes, I checked the scent that I used. Not a biggie...the oils didn't cost a fortune and it was a good learning experience. I should post a pic of the "sausage" soap because it's hilarious. I've never seen anything that I want to bathe with LESS even if the smell is great...

I love it! I was all set up to try it as well, but my soap traced really fast so I lost the opportunity... Yours is gorgeous! Great job!

I have to laugh...I didn't subtract the pumpkin puree from the H2O. I think the whole thing was just too cool and that's why it got thick so quick and my FO just didn't mix in properly. So, I've rebatched half of it just to see what would happen. The funny thing is, when it was in bar form it was really pretty, like pumpkin pie with cheesecake on top. After rebatch and it all got smooshed up, I put it in a Pringles can and smashed it down. When I sliced it, it looks like slabs of sausage or liverwurst or something. It's BUTT UGLY!! But, it does smell nice and the oil is now incorporated. When I rebatch the other half, I think I'll lighten up some of it with a little titanium dioxide and try to layer it a bit again or maybe darken it with more mica and try to swirl a bit...we'll see lol

Ok...made a batch of CP soap. Ran the oils through soapcalc. Recipe called for 15 oz of H2O, soapcalc said 19 oz. The recipe also called for 3 oz of pumpkin puree. Would this account for the difference? Anyway, made the soap and while I was separating into two bowls (for swirling) at light trace, I added my mica to one bowl and by the time I was done mixing it in, it was thicker than pudding! I added the fragrance oil and beat it in until it looked all mixed up. Slopped the colored batch with FO on the bottom of mold and then the light color on the top and attempted to swirl as much as humanly possible under those conditions. I checked the mold after about an hour and it looked like the FO floated up to the top. Do I need to rebatch or will it all absorb or something? I don't know if I need to pitch the whole thing or what. The soaps are firm, but not really hard after cutting.

wow! it's gorgeous! I want to funnel my next project--scared to mess it up tho!

At least once the baby is born and a several months old you'll have access to all the empty baby food jars that you can handle!!