Monday 1 May 2017

Soap review

Remember a while back when I first used my new heart shaped moulds when making one of my favourite soaps Castile Bubbles. There was too much soap mixture for the six moulds so I used one of my older heart shaped silicone moulds as well and had the bright idea of embedding a little red heart shaped soap into the middle of three of them as an experiment. The lovely Suzie from The Curing Room had included the little red hearts in a parcel of Fragrance Oils she had sent me. 


Well, as you can tell from the photo below it didn't quite work out as I had hoped as, of course, some of the soap mixture flowed underneath the heart I had placed on the bottom of the mould BUT once the soap had been used a few times it revealed the heart as you can see above.

What a good idea this would be if making soap for children as you could make up some animal shaped soap or whatever would be appealing to a young person in your life, and then insert it into the individual moulds to be 'found' later on when they are having a bath. Of course, you would have to remember to make the embeds a day or so beforehand. I have seen other embeds made by The Soap Queen but they would be a lot more tricky to make.




Another thing about this soap is that during the humid week or so we had when Cyclone Debbie was working her way down the coast the soap was 'sweating' a lot.



I have had some soap get a little wet before during rain periods but nothing this bad so I was wondering if it was because of the castor oil in it although the last time I made it there was no problem but perhaps it was drier then and the weather does affect soap. The soap also became a little discoloured in places even though there was no Fragrance Oil in it and, at first, I thought the coating had come off the racks I place the soap on and it was caused by rust but the spots of discolouration were also on the sides so if anyone knows what would cause that could you let me know. The soap has now dried out and is still discoloured but it is fine to use and feels lovely on the skin. Just as well I didn't give any away.



My next soapmaking experiment will be the challenge on The Home Maker's Forum where we will be doing the 'hanger swirl'. I plan on using a few of the different coloured clays for that batch.


I did basketweave stitch for the first time for this dishcloth and it looked a bit wonky on the edges so I did a kind of crochet edge around which was a bit hit and miss but it doesn't really matter as it is only going to be used for washing dishes. I am trying to use up the 4ply cotton I have bought over the years from the $2 shops. It is very fine so I used two strands at a time. I think I need a bit more practice. LOL!

Have a great week everyone!



23 comments:

  1. I think the idea of a "surprise" inside the soaps is lovely. I like the way you experiment with your soap making and try new ideas. Meg:)

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    1. Meg, most of the time I don't know what I am doing but the soap still cleans us...hopefully :-)

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  2. Nanna Chel,
    I remember when you once used to say how nervous soap making made you and look at you now! I've seen a lot of pretty embed soap tutorials on youtube but they were mostly for the melt and pour soaps. Yours are as pretty and a lot less chemicals in them. I like your crochet dishcloth too.
    -Shiralee.

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    1. Shiralee, did I say that? Well, that should encourage beginners to give soapmaking a go. I know I put it off for ages after reading the warnings in Rhonda's first book as they freaked me out. LOL!

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  3. Whoa Nanna Chel, you're doing embeds now?!? You're a star! They look really nice.

    I like the dishcloth too. Did you use a pattern for the crochet edging or did you just make it up? I've been wanting to do that but have forgotten my crochet.

    I am excited about the soap challenge. When will you make yours and what will you use for the hanger?

    -mrsmeagre

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    1. Ha ha, I just put some of Suzie's hearts on the bottom of a heart mould to see what would happen :-) I watched a YouTube tutorial for the crochet edge. It was by Very Pink Knits and the title was Crochet for Knitters - Scalloped Edge.

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  4. I love how the heart appears as you use the soap.

    Your basketweave stitch cloth looks effective. I think I would have it all over the place especially using two strands. Sometimes the 'wonky' cloths last longer than the others. That happened with one of mine. It was my first dishcloth which was very lopsided and had a few little holes however it lasted longer than my next straighter one.

    Kylie

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    1. Kylie, when I am given a 'nice' dishcloth I can't bear to use it on the dishes so usually keep it to use in my blog photos if I want to use something pretty.

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  5. Love the soaps & I think your dishcloth looks great, I need to get busy knitting as my dishclothes are getting a bit thin & ratty looking. I'm not a great knitter but I can easily manage a dishcloth before I start losing interest.

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    1. Karen all I knit are dishcloths or easy to knit scarves :-)

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  6. Children would love a soap that has a surprise hidden in the middle. I think the embedded heart in the soap looks lovely.

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    1. Thanks Sherri. I would make some with embeds for children if my grandchildren lived nearby.

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  7. Well done Chel, isn't it funny how a mistake or odd outcome can send the brain off on a tangent to create something amazing ,when you spend your days making things there are plenty of 'what ifs ' so we just keep on being adventurous.
    Your dishcloth looks very hard wearing, I am sure with the double yarn it will perform well.Chris from G.G uses the finer yarn because it dries quicker and does the same job.
    I grated up my eternally sweating soap batch and made washing powder, works fine.
    Catch up soon .

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    1. Margaret it seems to dry quickly enough as it us usually sunny during the day. Yes a catchup is due.

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  8. I love your attitude Chel where you keep persevering until you get it right. They look fine to me from some one who hasn't made soap yet. I think it would be a Winter project up here.

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    1. Pauline, you could make it year round. My other soaps were fine during the humidity so I think it was because of the castor oil in the soap. I don't normally add that so you should give soapmaking a try. It is addictive.

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  9. Your soaping has really evolved, I still stick to the basics. Try using 3 strands of that cotton, makes a wonderful thick wash cloth.

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    1. I had never thought of using three strands, Deb. I get into enough of a tangle using two. LOL!

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  10. You're always trying something new, which is great to see. I love watching all your soap experiments. :)

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    1. I am yet to make tallow soap, Chris. I have some rendering to do first.

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  11. Oh your soaps are so pretty. And your dishcloth is also lovely. Soap making and knitting are two skills I'd like to learn one day.

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  12. Lovely soaps! I haven't tried embedding yet but I am investigating floating soaps. Your dishcloth looks great and if it does the job it doesn't matter if it has an individual shape :).

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  13. Such beautiful work, Nanna Chel! Your pink flowers are gorgeous, and the dishcloth looks perfect. It's great that you know how to make so many different kinds of soaps.

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