Sunday, March 9, 2008

First Soap Batch Ever!

pot o' oil


~~~~~Missing pic. I poured the lye water into the melted oil and voila~~~~~


Not the color I expected. I was thinking it would be an off white, not a brown orange.


This is my way of trying to hold it together by NOT getting too creative....

You may not believe this, but I made my very first batch of cold process soap tonight (at 11:30 pm mind you). I have been scared to death and I finally got the nerve up. I kept thinking I should wait for a mentor to physically stand by me, but that just would take too long. I have spent hours and hours researching so I wouldn't burn my face off and have gotten invaluable advice from the nicest soap makers I have made friends with along this journey on the Soap Bar.

So here is a video of me before the actual soapmaking, and a few pictures while I was making the cp soap. We'll see how it turns out. I have hopes but I am certainly scared when I unwrap in tomorrow it will be seized, curdled, separated, disgusting, whatever! I will hope. All I can say is that I had so much fun. I hope this batch goes well so that I can go beyond the basic bar and get really creative. I really had to stop myself.... and as you can see, I needed to just do a little color on part of the batch. It took everything to not mix in calendula or orange powder or rose petals, or color and go crazy with swirls, but clearly I do NOT know what I am doing, so I started calmly and with as much knowledge I could find under my hat.
Thank you to everyone who was so supportive. I wish I had a huge mansion that I could invite every one of you to stay at and have a soap weekend, for fun, to share and to all meet each other face to face.

Words Of Wisdom: put your face gear on and do a karate dance before you begin.

I am doing the dance of excitement!

It is 1 am and I need to go to bed....

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now see? It wasn't that bad! I'm SO very proud of you! Be warned, though — it's so addictive. I could make soap EVERY day!

Shelley Ann Jones said...

Looks like you had a lot of fun! I like the idea of a soaping get together in Florida... the sun, the beach, and soaping. What more could someone want? I can't wait to see the reveal!!

Michelle said...

Hello! I can't wait to see how this turns out! I'm sure it will be wonderful. By the way, is Nina your daughter? She looks like a mermaid in that picture on your sidebar. Very pretty! Love her curls :)

Carrie Garvin said...

Well look at that! Your swirls look perfect! Can't wait to hear the outcome...

dcyrill said...

Girl soapmaking is addictive. But a good addiction. You do not need a twelve step program if you go to far. (smile) You just start a business. LOL.

Brava to you for taking the leap without a teacher. Can't wait to see the end results.

Sherrie said...

Oh, Joanna, it looks terrific! Good for you! :) I can't wait to see the finished bars. :)

Burnt Mill Candles and Soap said...

welcome to the cp soap addicts club! :)

I beat you already have more batches planned out in your head right?

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! Once you do it for the first time, you realize it's really not that hard or scary.

I actually made a batch myself yesterday. :)

Joanna Schmidt said...

nea: you are right. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Not too scary anyway ;)

nahiacreations: I DID have a lot of fun. YEs, we should all plan a big get together for next Winter. Definitely!

Loveichie: Nina IS my daughter, and just turned 11 on the 1st of March. My hair is pretty straight and we don't really know where her gorgeous locks came from.... it is also like a copper penny in the sun! Thanks for your support on the soap!!

Carrie~Gigi: The swirls looked good last night, but look "disconnected" today (I peeked). I'll have a post soon with the looks. Maybe y'all can help me decide if the batch went bad.

dcyrill: I am already addicted and I kind of already knew I would be.....

sherrieg: Yes, you and me both! :0D

burnt mill: omg, I AM already thinking of the next batch. You've got my number! Now what? Is it all over for me now?

christina: I am still waiting for photos of your beauty bars! I think you should include them on your own blog: bonbonsinthebath.....

Carrie Garvin said...

Back to see the "video"---oh so darn cute!!!

tim said...

AWESOME Joanna!!!! I'm glad you took the plunge = ) I can't wait to see how it turned out!

Michelle said...

Congratulations Joanna! You did it! I can't wait to read how it all turned out. You are going to be sooooooo addicted now. :)

Heidi said...

oops, didn't realize I was signed in as my husband (tim) hehe...just in case you were wondering who the heck that was.

Kim said...

Hurray! Hurray! So glad you did it!

Your pics look really god - I'm sure that you will be lathering up with your first bar of homemade goodness in a couple of weeks time.

Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

oh jo, you are such a funny girl. laughed so hard even on the third viewing. you are my kid. ddl

A Woman with Scents said...

Congratulations! How exciting for you! I hope you'll post pics after it's unmolded and cut. =)

Anne-Marie said...

Awesome! I can't wait to see photos when you're done. Congrats for taking the plunge.

Anonymous said...

ooops, did I just delete my post? Ugh.

Anyway, just wanted to say: 1) you are such a riot! 2) Way to go for doing cp soaps!! I, too, can't wait to see how it turns out.

Shelley Ann Jones said...

Loved the video! If you are serious about a soaping meet-up next winter... let me know and I can help plan it. Love the idea... would love to use some of those airline miles on a sunny trip to Florida, especially during our dull winters!

Donna said...

Congrats! It took me awhile to get the nerve, I'm having fun now. I can't wait to hear how things turn out.
Was that one of those silicone pans that you let it set in?

Joanna Schmidt said...

You all are so supportive. Photos tomorrow!!

gracefruit said...

Hooray! Welcome to the addiction. :)

Joanna Schmidt said...

I AM addicted already, gracefuit. I wasn't what you all were talking about until now. Now, forget it! How am I going to ever give anything away other than soap. My garage will fill up pretty soon, I think.... ;)