My first (and second) soaps!

So yesterday I was feeling a little bit better later in the afternoon- just a bit of a fever left (still... someone make it go away!) So I decided to do a bit of soap. Then today, soap was definetly part of the plan.

I thought the Graduated Layers sounded like a good, easy, one to start with. I started with clear melt and pour base and mixed in purple liquid dye and some Yuzu fragrance oil, then poured half of it into the 2 molds. Then I added white goats milk soap, a bit more fragrance, stirred and poured. Then more goats milk soap, fragrance, stirred and poured. Then I topped it off with white goats milk soap and fragrance. I used the 0.4 oz fragrance to 1 lb soap, and weighed each step of the way to keep it in that ratio. I had been doing a good job of measuring the layers to keep them even, but then I got impatient and topped off with white too soon I think. Still, I think it's pretty impressive first soap. It's already wrapped in the picture. I forgot to spray one layer with alchohol, but it stayed together out of the mold, hopefully it will continue to stay together.
The finished soaps:
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Today I made soap with the Sleigh Ride fragrance. But after I added it to the clear I remembered that it discolors!! So I didn't add it to the white. I used the idea of Silhoutte Soap- making soapy imbeds.

Finished soaps:

I started by using a plastic egg carton to make a 1/4" thick layer of clear melt and pour base that I had colored red. It took a lot of red to make it even a little dark. Maybe I should have used half clear half white- but I didn't want pink... Then I used a cookie cutter to make hearts.

I poured fragranced clear melt and pour base, let it set for a few minutes then added my hearts. Then I topped off with unfragranced white goats milk. I thought it would be fun to imbed hearts in another layer too- that way as you use it you uncover a second, secret layer of hearts. So I did a different pattern on that layer (if the top had 2 the middle has 1, if the middle has 2, the top has 1). I'm not sure if soap will really work that way.

But then I poured my final white layer too hot. Oops. So I have really sloppy layers, and the imbeds melted into the back. Oh well- the front turned out pretty, and it's only my second soap making ever.
This is what pouring the last layer too hot did:
And it made the layers really sloppy! (The other layers may have been too early too...)

I can't wait to use the pineapple cilantro fragrance, but I'm going to wait until next weekend, or I'll need more soap base. This used about 1.5 lbs. It goes fast! (the soap weighs just about 1 lb, and I saved all the scraps- so I can make some mashup stuff too. I am keeping all the fragrance seperate, but not worrying about the bases, since they are all the same brand)