November 16, 1998

Unmolded my soap that I made in the PVC today... It wasn't hard to get out at all. I just took the endcap off the bottom end, then used the thin piece of PVC to PUUUUUUUUSH. It's harder at first, and I ended up propping the thinner PVC on the floor and pushing down with the large PVC to get it started, because that way I could get both arms into it. The first log of soap came out nice and very smooth. The second one (where the soap was starting to set up some) was bumpy and had lots of air bubbles. I think I need to use the stick blender only for like 30 seconds when I first mix the soap up, to avoid the hour of stirring time til trace. If I blenderize it for longer than that, I get bloppy soap. I also need to find a wide-mouth canning funnel or something to pour the soap into the PVC easier; using the measuring cup doesn't work too well, plus I get drips all over.

Anyways, I got the soap logs de-PVCized :) and ready to cut them. At first I was using my butterknife to cut circles, but it wasn't very pretty. So I got a piece of thin copper wire and figured I'd cut like that -- which resulted in some very weird looking soaps! They're in a circular shape, but both ends are wavy. I mean big waves -- I couldn't pull the copper straight enough. So I only cut like 9 3/4" thick bars that way and had to find a new way. What I ended up doing was using the butterknife to cut long (4 1/2" long) lengths of rounds -- and then slicing them through the middle with the copper wire to make half-circle bars. They look kind of snazzy, actually. I really liked that technique and I think I'll make more that way. The only thing is, I hate the scent! I was trying to come up with a kind of warm floral scent, but it smells like baby powder gone wrong. Yick. I wonder if we'll ever have a stinky soaps swap. :)

Oh, and I brought in a bar of the Citrus Awakening (I finally decided on that name, since I want to use "Tango" in another name) for Tim at work, and he liked the scent and the new label (which is pretty darn boring, but what the heck). Also, Mick saw me giving Tim the soap, and it turns out his wife Mary is interested in making her own soaps. So I emailed him that I've got SMC's Soapmaker's Companion that she's welcome to borrow, and she's welcome to visit my house and make soap in a toddler-free environment (frankly, I don't know how some people make soap with kids around -- I'd be scared to death. I'm scared enough with my cats, and they don't have opposable thumbs!). :)

Oh, and -- got my monoi oil today. FINNNNNALLY, no thanks to the USPS. :( This is the gardenia scented stuff that Rita carries, and ohhhhhh the scent is to *die* for. I keep opening it up and sniffing it. I can't decide how I want to make soap with it -- all the recipes I've seen want palm oil. I suppose I could use olive with stearic acid or all coconut, but I can't decide, and I don't want to waste it on an "unknown" recipe in case I screw it up. I might just have to go find some palm oil... I think Columbus Foods carries it, although I don't necessarily want a whole 55 lbs or it or however much a pail is. So I missed the co-op but that's ok; I'm sure there will be another one sooner or later :)