Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

  Hello everyone, my name is Melissa, I am 32 and have two boys aged 5 and 4.  I bought myself loads of stuff for christmas to make bath bombs, soap  etc with, but I haven't tried yet, I am thinking of getting started today. 
  I am nervous though in case everything goes wrong, and I end up sulking.  So I will probably be asking you all later for some top tips!!  I have to say after looking at some of your products I am in awe, it all looks so fantastic.  So much better than the stuff packed with chemicals that you get in the shops.

Hello Melissa, welcome.

If you get stuck with anything just shout - someone is bound to be around to help out.

  Thanks a lot!! I just got all my stuff out of the cupboard to try and make my first bath bomb, and now I can't find my recipes!!!

Hi Melissa  :hi:

Enjoy it here.  Sulk away - it goes with the territory!  :mwaha:

   :bawl:

Hello Melissa & a big warm welcome from me!!!

You are so right about the lovely products - I am in awe everyday at the wonderful things people here create  :o

Don't be nervous about getting started though, I think at least half of us on here tries something new every week, then we come on here and sulk about it if it does go wrong (hoping someone can tell us how to put it right  :mwaha:)

Its a lovely bunch of people here and everyone has something wonderful to give that helps us enrich our skills and knowledge.  I hope you do decide to take the plunge and we all love to hear what others have been up to.

I hope you enjoy it hear, like I said, everyone is very lovely (although there are one or two who may lead you astray - not I of course  ::) - but forum 'mum', Elaine, sort's them out  ;))

A big welcome again and thank you for joining  :hi:

There's a recipe and tutorial on site

http://www.fresholi.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=320&Itemid=51 (http://www.fresholi.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=320&Itemid=51)

(but I'm not sure if it's accessible to everyone)

I made bath bombs for the first time just before Christmas and when looking round recipes I found the proportions of the main ingredients were quite variable.

Hi Melissa

I'm sure you'll enjoy it here! :hi:

I also make bath bombs - so have fun, (they can be little devils!) 

They do behave differently according to the weather/proportions of ingredients etc but are well worth the trouble once you're lazing in a hot bath!

 :hi: Melissa,
Welcome to the forum and to an addiction that will comsume your days, take over your dreams and fill your entire house!
Great fun though  :)

  Okay, I have just written a reply and now I can't find it!!!!  Anyway, thanks everyone for repling, you seem a really friendly bunch!!!  Sometimes on forums when you join you feel a bit like the new girl at school, but this one seems very welcoming!!
  I thought I would give you all an update on my first attempt at making bath bombs.
  First I have learnt to sieve my mixtuure as I ended up with lumps in it.  Secondly I have learnt not to leave them in their moulds while I picked the kids up from school as they have turned to concrete and I can't get them out!!
  Also I think I added too much water as when I put them in their moulds they foamed up over the sides, and there are loads of bubbles in them, can anyone advise me how much to add?  Also how much essential oil to add, as now the house stinks of lavender?
  Anyway my first attempt was a disaster but I am not discouraged, I will have another go tomorrow!!!

Hi Melissa

Welcome!

You will love it here, I joined this week and already I'm hooked!

Suzette x

You know, I've never really had it take over my dreams. However, last night I was actually dreaming about the soap I made yesterday. Not the HP one - just the CP one (if that makes it any better...).

Don't worry if stuff goes wrong - it's usually salvageable. Alas, bath bombs with too much water may not be.  :'( The trick is to follow Mai's tutorial, and not add too much water! Also, some people recommend witch hazel instead of water, as they think that it makes foaming less likely. Not sure about this myself, but I do it anyway. Don't forget to use a sprayer rather than pouring water in! I use an old perfume bottle; I'm really glad to find a use for it.

You may find that you enjoy something slightly more instant a bit more. I really enjoy creating things with cocoa butter, as they are ready to use within a couple of hours. I made a lip scrub the other day, and that was ready almost instantly! In case you want to try it, melt a butter or select a small amount of a moisturising oil (about 1/2 a lip balm tub full), then add some spearmint essential oil (or something else to make it smell/taste nice), followed by enough caster sugar to make it feel right. Really scientific! I used almond butter, but was debating almond oil or hemp oil. Or rice bran oil. Or perhaps avocado oil. The possibilities are endless, and there's plenty of room for experimentation!

Oh - to use it, I think that you rub it into your lips for a lit, then wipe it off. It would not be very grown up to lick it off. So don't do that.  ;)

Welcome, and enjoy!

 :hi: enjoy!

Welcome welcome welcome!!  ;D

Welcome!

My 'thing' is making creams and lotions but my New Year's resolution is to make soap, so stayed tuned for my disasters! We all have something to share here and are a great bunch.

Mind you, like I'm saying to all the newbies, we are slightly crazy here!

  I might try and make some bath melts later, they sound quite easy, but I am sure I will manage to bodge that up too!!  I bought some melt and pour soap but I haven't got around to buying the moulds yet.

Don't worry about having no moulds Melissa.....  I think most of us use old packaging (boxes, pringles tubes, food containers, baking tins etc....).  As for bodging things up, have you seen our 'Croap Gallery'? :mwaha:

  Never heard of that, I will try to find it now!!  I  am thinling of trying to make the bath cookies, they sound fab!

It's not got a place yet because its a fairly new feature but here's the link...


Croap Gallery.... (http://www.fresholi.co.uk/galleries/croap.html)

Enjoy  ;D

  Thanks for that, I was just looking for it!  I think its a really good idea, its good to know that others make mistakes too!
  Thanks for the thread on how to change your username, I just managed to change mine - I hate my surname - it makes me sound like a right pillock.

Few people like their surnames  :mwaha:  You are most welcome anyway  ;)

Oh...  and do go and have a read of Jojo's Funny Soap Tale (such a giggle).  You can access that from the home page.  That is also very comforting (although your ribs may ache a little from giggling)

  Well, she can't make soap, but she writes a bloody good poem - very funny!!!

She certainly is a giggle...  But actually, her so called 'croaps' are not so croapy as she thinks  ;)

  I am sure I will have plenty of croaps myself soon!  How do you manage to look so glamorous, is it all the natural body products you use!  I'm afraid at the age of 32 and after two kids I am a bit of a croap myself!!!!

Hey... that piccie is only there after a good deal of arm twisting.  I have two kiddies (4 & 8) and at 36, feel like an old croap most days  :mwaha:  Thanks for the compliment though  :)

I second being a croap after 2 kids and being closer to 40 than I'd like!
Helen, please take that photo off, you're adorable and it's just not fair!!

  I agree, only hideous photos allowed on here please!

However when you get to 60 you're not so bothered (unless you're Joan Collins).

In case you didn't know Melissa, 'mum' is Joan Collins but shhhh.....  That's a bit of a secret  8)


That is far toooooo kind of you (no really, it is).  I could put up one of mi baby pictures, you wouldn't see me for puppy fat though - I was 10lb born  :o

Glad you liked the poem Melissa!  Watch out, I could be a croapin' on Monday if I've got the house to meself.  :mwaha:

Reminds me, must take a pic of my croap floap - spectacularly bad.  ;D

  Helen, you've made me feel even worse, I thought maybe you looked so good because a) you were in your twenties, and b) you hadn't gone through the horrors of childbirth - now I have found out that you have!!
  And JoJo - I thought your poem was brilliant, I am not brave enough to attempt anything other than melt and pour soap, which I shall try when I get some bigger moulds. But after my bath bomb fiasco - I can't get the buggers out of the mould, (I will have to wait until I get a bath and then put them in moulds and all), I don't hold out much hope for any other creations.
 

Aw ta Melissa!  It was born out of sheer frustration.

I can't make bath bombs for the life of me - tried for Christmas prezzies and gave them away as bath sherbert  ;D

I made a fair bit of M&P before I had a go at anything else, and even though I'm pretty rubbish, I manage to make myself laugh at the regular disasters so it does have its benefits.  Keep trying whatever you do - you'll get so much help on here.  Without them all encouraging me and offering advice, I would have given up a long time ago - I think I whinged and wittered for ages on here before I plucked up courage to have a go at cold process.  I've still got a massive amount to learn but it's fun as well as annoying!  In fact, I've got a pretty silly question brewing about Soap Calc, but I'll save that for another day.

As for creams & lotions - I've not plucked up courage to try again after a major disaster.  I'll stick to croapin' for now.  :mwaha:

Another day, another shcream  :mwaha:  Or maybe a batch of bath bums?

  That's a good idea - bath sherbert!  I have also tried my hand at making wax melts - most of them were disasters too, could I call them croaps or does it just apply to soap?
  What are the benefits to using the other methods for soapmaking as opposed to the melt and pour?

  What's a bath bum or is that a silly question?

Hook, line and sinker! Here comes another cold processor! The plot is working ladies  ;D

Wakshmelts?  Croap is basically cr*p soap (its a jj word that has kinda...  err... stuck)


The two are very different.  Have a look through some of the soapmaking boards Melissa, there are lots of different discussions on the various methods.  Elainej is perhaps the one to ask regarding M&P, she is our resident expert (as she is about almost everything else - she is one lady with a LOT of knowledge  ;)).


A bath bum is the sort of name JJ would give to a rubbish bath bomb  :D

  As was shwirl 'cos I can't do swirls.

Bath bum  :mwaha:  Very good H, and definitely what I make rather than bombs.

Another one is definitely cracking Corrie.  Reel 'em in, reel 'em in.  :mwaha:

The only thing I do make right are my wax melts.  I live in hope that other things will work too.

And for when adult life bites....Zoe and JJ are often more than happy to play  :hap3:

Zelda 8)

Who's JJ?  :mwaha:
 8)

  I did enjoy making my wax melts JoJo, half the time I don't think I cleaned my mould properly as there would be a white  residue on them, some of the bakery ones you can buy are fantastic though.  I tried to make jammie dodger ones but they all snapped!

Were you using soy wax and rubber moulds?  The soy pillar wax particularly shouldn't be used in rubber moulds apparently.  I find a mixture of 60/40 container & pillar works fine but I tend to avoid the rubber moulds if I can.

If they snapped, did you keep them somewhere cold?  Soy wax hates the cold and cracks very easily.

  I only ever tried it with soy wax, since you can melt that in the microwave, and I used mainly plastic trays as they were the cheapest, but the jammie dodger mould was really thin and they broke when I tried to layer them.
  That's why I thought I would try to make soap as I have loads of fragrance oils and dyes left over.

Hi Melissa welcome aboard, you will find us all a friendly bunch and always willing to help

Do check that the dyes and fragrances are suitable for soap.

  Yeah, I'm sure that they are, they were labelled for soap or candle making.  I've just got loads of esential oils as well so I am stuck for choice!!

You should be OK for fragrance and colour then. If you have dried herbs and flowers take a look at this page (http://www.fresholi.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=230&Itemid=51) in Members Articles - it shows the effects, some discolour badly.

You can put up to 10% of oils in and still have a good lather, butters need to be a bit less.

  Thanks for the help, I'll go and have a look now.  I bought a few botanicals recently, so I'm glad you mentioned that because I would have just chucked them in, (and then stupidly wondered why everything had gone wrong!)

  i just tried to have a look then and it wouldn't let me view it!!!!

Hi Melissa,

That article was published to 'special' which means only authors can see it.  There are two levels of registration (on the main site).  You can lift your status in a number of ways though.  The following will offer some guidance....

Acquiring Author Status.... (http://www.fresholi.co.uk/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=32&topic=660.0)

 ;)

  Ta Helen, that clears it up!!

Send me a PM saying what botanicals you have - or put a list on one of the boards and we'll tell you waht to expect (unless you're feeling adventurous).