Soap Mold Remodel

Differences - New & Old

Unfortunately, I have been super busy this last week. My daughter is in American Heritage Girls.  The girls     are starting their spring fundraiser on Monday.  Since they are using my soap for their fundraiser I have been frantically scrambling to get everything ready for that.  Among other things I had a couple of soaps to get       made so that I can include them.  As a result of all of this extra soap making I decided to go ahead and finish my mold changes.                                                                                                                                        

Side by Side

I decided I wanted to make them wider so that I could get 2 bars out of each width of the mold.  The new    measurements for the small mold are 5" wide by 5" deep by 10" long.  It will hold a 5 lb batch allowing for about 8 ounces for cupcakes or samples.  I also changed my closure from gate hooks to strapping with         velcro on the ends and the hooks piece on the ends.  After making a couple of batches of soap I changed to using a bungee cord hooked to eye hooks.                                                                                                   

Eye hook for attaching the bungee cord

The bungee cord definitely works better.  Even with using industrial strength velcro I found that it was not enough to hold in the weight of a batch of soap.  As an added plus the bungee cord allows me to take one end off and check to see if  the soap is starting to gel from the side.  If I am trying for a complete gel this allows me to adjust the amount of heat or insulation I am using appropriately.  Since I usually try to gel my soap (yes I am impatient) this is a big advantage.

Of course, as you will know if you read my post on Lady Grey soap, velcro melts as does a bungee cord.  So I have been dealing with scratchy melted velcro on the ends of one of the molds and I am tired of it.

New and Improved

After cutting several batches of soap I realized that I needed to make some changes.  Since I am also frustrated with trying to cut the loaf into two halves so that I can cut bars, I decided that it was time for a change.  My new mold design is 2 3/4" wide by 17" long.  This holds about the same amount of soap, but it means that I don't have as much frustration in cutting the bars.  After having cut one batch of soap, I have found that it does make a difference.

I am linking with the following blogs:

http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com                                http://www.bystephanielynn.com
http://blackfoxhomestead.com/                                          http://www.iamannekehn.blogspot.com
http://www.hopeineveryseason.com                                  http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com
http://littlehomesteadonthehill.blogspot.com/                      http://www.sewcando.com/
http://www.campwander.com/                                          http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://coloradolady.blogspot.com                                      www.aboverubies.net
http://abidingwoman.com/                                               http://www.besimplybetter.com/
http://www.deeprootsathome.com/                                   http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/
http://raisinghomemakers.com                                          http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/
http://www.52mantels.com/                                             http://www.the36thavenue.com/
http://www.create-with-joy.com                                       http://teachingwhatisgood.com/
http://www.the36thavenue.com/                                       http://seevanessacraft.com/
http://katherinescorner.com/                                           http://cupcake-n-bake.blogspot.com
http://alifeinbalance.net                                                   http://www.hopestudios.blogspot.com
http://thediydreamer.com                                                 http://www.the-chicken-chick.com
http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com                       http://www.flusterbuster.com
http://www.time-warp-wife.blogspot.com                        http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
http://www.growinghomeblog.com                                 http://nourishingjoy.com
http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/              http://trayerwilderness.com/
http://timeforseason.blogspot.com                                     http://mylampisfull.blogspot.com/