molds Archives - Page 6 of 6

Using 3-D Molds – Unmolding

July 25, 2007 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Welcome to Day Three in using 3-D Molds. Monday covered set up. Tuesday dealt with pouring and fill linesand today is all about unmolding and trimming.We recommend waiting a full two to four hours when unmolding your 3-Dsoap. The longer wait period is necessary because the soap retains its heat (and therefore stays liquid) longer than a traditional, open-topped mold. You can put the soap in the fridge for a few minutes to help with the release process. If you leave the soap in the fridge too long (fifteen minutes plus), it is prone to forming condensation and sticky glycerin dew.Using both hands, gently pull both sides away from each other. Most of the time, soap will seep out of the edges of the mold. This makes the mold harder to pry apart. Be gentle and patient. While 3-D molds are very heavy duty, they can crack if you apply too much pressure.

Despite the overfill, there is still a hole in this bar. As the soap was cooling and contracted in volume, the soap shrunk up, leaving a hole as bubbles drifted to the top of the surface. In this case, the bubbles caught at the top of the mold and became more concave as the soap shrunk. To help prevent this, tap your mold several times on the counter right after you’ve poured the warm soap. This will force the majority of air bubbles to the top of the mold and out the spout.

Watch for a post later today about trimming and finishing your 3-D soaps.

Contest Update

July 25, 2007 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

As of this morning, not many people have posted in the comments section to be entered into a drawing for your choice of 5 3-D soap molds and a soapmaking DVD. At these rates, the chances are pretty good that your comment will win free soap molds!

Post a comment to any post this week and you’re automatically entered.

Using 3-D Molds – Pouring & Fill Line

July 24, 2007 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Making 3-D Soap-On-A-Rope is easy and produces a specialty bar that will retail for $7 – $10, depending on your local market and your unique differentiation.After you have your entire set up laid out, it’s easy to do melt and pour soap. Put your soap in a heat safe glass (I used a mug in the photo below) and microwave your soap on bursts of 30 seconds. You do not want your soap to boil. If it does, the soap is more prone to glycerin dew and takes on a more brittle texture.

Once your soap is melted, add your color (1 drop Labcolor per bar) and your fragrance (3 – 6 ml of fragrance per bar). Remember to only use utensils and glassware that you are happy to donate to the soaping craft. Fragrance generally sticks with your utensils and glasses long after the soap is made. Pour your soap slowly and evenly through the slot in the 3-D molds.

The molds have a natural fill level line. You’ll want to fill your soap just a little over the top of the soap and into the spigot. This is because soap naturally shrinks as it cools. If the soap is filled “perfectly” and not overfilled a little bit, the end result is a shrunken bar of soap that does not look entirely spherical. The bubbles at the top of the soap can be spritzed away with isopropyl“rubbing” alcohol.

Once your soap is poured, take the soap rope and slowly push it down into the mold, making sure to push down far enough that the soap rope is fully into the mold and not just in the spout. Using clear soap allows the soap rope to be seen inside the soap. While this is an okay look, using opaque soap produces a more professional bar.Check back tomorrow to learn about unmolding your soap rope creation. Posts to any of the entries for this week are automatically entered into the contest to win 5 3-D molds & a soapmaking DVD.

Using 3-D Molds – Set Up

July 23, 2007 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

This week’s blog postings will be a daily series on using Heavy Duty 3-D Molds ($6.50 – 8.00 each) and soap ropes along with the normal random musings about business and soapy self-employment.Using the Heavy Duty molds is convenient because they withstand very hot 165 °F sustained oven temps and 180 °F degrees poured-soap temperatures (sorry, you in-the-oven-hot-process soapers – not that hot!). They are made out of a food grade 60 ml plastic. You can make really large chocolate or marzipan goodies in them as well!

The 3-D molds come with two sides. Snap both sides together, making sure to match up the pouring spout on the top. If you accidentally put one side of the pouring spout on the bottom, your mold will not seal and soap will come rushing out the bottom, all over your table. Once the molds are snapped into place, simply slip the large rubber bands (included with the mold) around the mold to ensure a tight fit.

Because of their large open pour spout, 3-D molds are perfect for using soap ropes! Soap Ropes are a fun throwback to the past and handy for hanging soap up in the shower (no goop on your soap dish!). Using a hanging soap ensures that your soap will dry out faster and thus, last longer. Bramble Berry’s soap ropes are made from a braided nylon rope, measure 9 inches tall and sell for $1.15 each. The ropes are sealed with a plastic tab at the bottom, making them easy to insert into the open pour spout.

I used extra nourishing Goat Milk Melt and Pour for this project. Notice the soap has a slightly ivory or off white look. This coloring happens because of the goat milk. It’s easy to color over the yellow tint, as long as you remember that you are starting with a slightly yellow palette and not a pure white. Colors like purple are difficult to achieve when starting with a yellow base.

Here is the entire set up: Soap Ropes, Fragrance, Labcolors (water soluble and easy to mix in), the assembled soap mold, a sharp knife, a cutting block and my chopped up goat milk soap. Check back tomorrow for tips on melting, pouring, and fill line tricks as well as a contest (with prizes!).

Using 3 – D Molds

July 22, 2007 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

This upcoming week will focus on 3-D molds and how to use them to make delightfully different bars of soap. Because they are a speciality item, they command higher pricing and are a good addition to your soaping repitoire. Here’s a sneak peak of the process.

Perfect little girls mold

June 29, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

These adorable little pony molds are made out of a high quality silicone plastic that is durable and lasts for years. They’re $11 and each little pony is 2 oz. I think that they are perfect for princess parties or children’s birthday parties.

I’m back from Mexico!

May 10, 2007 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I am back from Mexico. Muchas gracias to Amber for posting while I was gone! I am so proud of my staff at Otion and Bramble Berry. They kept the proverbial fort completely running, doors open, orders shipping within 24 hours and at Otion, soap bars going and all the classes running smoothly.

I feel like the luckiest boss in the world right now. I got to vacation with the peace of mind that comes from trust that all was well at the companies AND I got to arrive back with nary more than the small wrinkle of 14 days worth of mail to go through!

Amber has been very busy adding new products to our line, including these adorable little black classy soap dishes. And, the ultra cool flavor fragrance for soap and lip balm, Passionfruit Rose which has turned into a favorite for the Otion staff, especially Jen.

As everyone knows, Penguins are the bird du jour right now, with the success of March of the Penguins and Happy Feet storming the box office. Well, now we have a soap mold so you too can capitalize on the love of the general public for this special little bird.

Amber also added a liquid pearlizer for liquid soap and some cool new Milky Way Molds for soap and stepping stones.

Instructions for making a wooden soap mold

April 19, 2007 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

This site has really interesting instructions for making a wooden soap mold. Or, if you don’t want to go through the hassle of making your own, you can buy them ready made too!

Amphibian & Reptile Molds

February 4, 2007 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Seriously now, aren’t these little Amphibian & Reptile molds the absolute cutest things you’ve ever seen? I can see an entire children’s line using White Melt & Pour soap, Labcolors (especially the Emerald) and fun kid fragrances like Pearberry and Grapefruit.