Stella1952 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 OK. Finally replaced my camera battery so I have no excuse for not posting some photos of my first batches of CP Soap. There's plenty of room for improvement, but I'm pretty well-pleased thus far. My friends and co-workers (guinea pigs) are very enthused and are giving me valuable feedback ("When ya gonna make more?"). I have only a couple of pieces of the first 3 batches left that I'm holding on to to see how they age. They're already whining for the new stuff that I made last Tuesday! This is the first batch. I was convinced it was too moist, so I saved one piece and rebatched the rest. As it turned out, it was fine and didn't need to be rebatched... :rolleyes2Grasshopper learning patience...Batch #2This one was an attempt at some swirling, but the FO accelerated the trace, so the mixing was poor at best... Batch #3I had set aside some herbs months ago to include in soap - I think it was tarragon... The FO accelerated this one, too, so the colors weren't "swirlable," but I liked how it came out despite the crappy cutting job.Batch #4This is the "Pride Cometh Before A Fall" Soap. It seemed so promising while I was making it - the consistency was swirlable, it looked like hot fudge & milk chocolate swirled together and I *THOUGHT* I had something good going on in there, but it came out looking more like burnt cookies and meadow muffins. :rolleyes2 Smells great despite how it looks...Batch #5This is the batch I was sure had seized and was going to totally suck. It smells great and came out looking surprisingly well despite wrestling it into the mold and doing my usual crappy cutting job. One gal at work wanted to buy the entire batch as soon as I cut it!Each batch taught me loads of valuable stuff... like to get a different cutting method soon! :laugh2:Thanks for lookin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnj Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Nice job Stella! I especially like the first one and the Mango Cilantro. The yellow citrus one has a very pretty pearlesent(sp?) look to it I love your description of burnt cookies! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soy327 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 WOW Stella, WTG Stunning I love them all. Isn't it funny how we newbs at CP soap seem to always find the FO that accelerates 1st. OK not so funny:laugh2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyme1911 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I think they look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessex Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 They look pretty dang good for first batches. I kinda like the burnt cookie and meadow muffin soap. Maybe take them to a hockey game :smiley2:. I dread the day I make the foray into CP. Like I need another addiction.Cheers,Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemylabs Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Wow Stella...those are nice. Love the Saguaro Cactus and Mango Cilantro...beautiful! Your rebatch looks great too! Nice job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billie Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 Stella, those are great first batches. They put my first batches to shame. I'm glad you shared them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenancy Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 (edited) Nice! Thanks for sharing! Edited April 2, 2011 by nursenancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 you are off to a great start.. Nice soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Wow! Thanks, folks. I appreciate all the kind words and encouragement. I am humbled by the amazing work I see so many of y'all do - dunno if I'll ever get there, but at least some of mine don't look completely horrific.Maybe take them to a hockey game:laugh2::laugh2:GOTTA LOVE IT!! Chocolate hockey pucks!! :laugh2::laugh2:You've given my twisted mind a marketing idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Stella those look great! I love the color of the bluestone and the mango soaps. I think your 'rough' cuts actually look nice. Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniejr Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Looks like you are off to a great start Stella!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 What a wonderful job you did Stella. And my favorite ones are the "burnt" ones....lol....I love how they turned out. They look great and would fit right into a prim look, especially with some of my candles I made for a rustic look! Do some more and put up pictures. I love looking at pictures. You go girl!Trapp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorelei Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 My absolute favorite is Saguaro Cactus. I bet it smells wonderful. What FO did you use in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherry Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Nice job Stella :highfive: Edited July 19, 2011 by sherry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Awww, y'all are so nice! Lori, the Saguaro Cactus is scented... ummmm... saguaro cactus by (now defunct) JBN. WONDERFUL sweet herbally fragrance (can you tell I'm not good at describing scents LOL)! Sorry I haven't been back to comment... I see I'm behind on photos, so I'll try to catch up real quickly...Even when something looks like THIS after gelling...It CAN come out okay... Both the soaps above got a little overheated when I wrapped them all up snugly, and had minor volcanic oozage. I really like what happened with the brown & tan coffee soap... made it look like faux bois! Some of the bars looked like they had annular rings! That one was scented Amaretto nog (CS) which smelled neither like amaretto or nog, but had a pleasant fruity smell anyway.The green & cream swirlie one was made with STRONG green tea (in place of water), green tea leaves (the boogers in the bars) and scented Basil & Herb (CS), They smelled great! I colored 1/3 of the soap with TD, another third with a drop or two of forest green and left the rest the natural color.I was gonna try a column swirl with batch 11, but I fiddled around too long and let the batter get thick. When I tried it, I put a glop on top of the column and it just sagged and died right there :rolleyes2 so after a few hissed cuss words, I went in a different direction. Here's what the loaf looked like: (that's a vintage mini eclair box mold, BTW - I had to eat those eclairs but it was all for art, KWIM?)Not terrible... Scent is nag champa, frankincense & myrrh & sandalwood - back to the 60s again!The cut pics started out pretty...But it became much darker over time and now looks like blue dog sh*t. Still smells great though, and my friends love it.Batch 12 was Black Canyon - a black & white swirl. The white darkened and looked UGH, so I rebatched it and it looks mo' betta.I didn't take any pics of Batch 13 because it was a 100% CO, 0% superfat formula I made to grate up for laundry soap. It works very well, so no more buying detergent for me! Stuff was hard as a brick!!Batch 14 gave me hell. It seized and separated, so I threw it in the crock pot and forced it to behave. I added some cinnamon for visual interest and scented it neroli. I love this one!! All the bars look like a desert sunset...Batch 15 was a column swirl I'd rather not talk about. I'll show y'all the photos someday when it doesn't p*ss me off so bad to look at them...Batch 16 gave me a lotta trouble. Seized, separated and became soap on a stick. Into the crock pot it went, and out came a very pretty soap! I am proud of this one, especially since I hadda wrestle with it for so long... I love how it looks like marble! This one is my pet - I hold a bar and snuffle it and gaze at the marbled design, and pet it and snuffle some more... this soaping thing is a sickness, ya hear me?!!It's scented Rosemary & Spearmint EO, made with crushed rosemary (boogers) and rosemary infusion. It smells heavenly and I can hardly wait for it to cure enough to try it in the tub!The last one is Batch 17 - Honey Pecan Oatmeal. It's a 70% OO bastile with ground oatmeal and ground pecan meal in it, scented Peak's Wild Mountain Honey (MAN! Does it smell GOOD!!).It soaped like a dream, but the loafs didn't wanna get dry - very hot & humid here. Here's what the loaf (crystal light container) looked like up close and all weepy:And a group shot of the last two soaps...So that's where I am right now... I feel another column swirl attempt coming on, but the question is...Do I feel lucky today, punk? :laugh2::laugh2:Thanks for lookin'! Edited July 19, 2011 by Stella1952 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trappeur Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I think you've got the addiction Stella.......lol ....They are all just lovely and you sure sound like your having a ball...My favorite are the desert ones and marble ones.....but they are all just beautiful....And "do I feel lucky today, Punk?, lol, lol, lolTrapp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeahRB Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Wow! You've been busy. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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