Soap making diaries

We're still at it.  I say "we" because Big D decided this is going to be a joint venture.  (Although the first time I announced to him that I was going to learn to make soap, his response was, "Isn't soap cheap?")  Remember, it's not about the money, it's about learning to produce something.  Anyway, last time we used a ceramic cake pan as a mold and had enough left over for one little rose.  The soap in the cake pan came alive in front of our eyes.  It was remniscent of the movie Alien.  Seriously.  We freaked out a little bit.  At first, I thought this must be what "gel phase" looks like.  Then after the alien came out of the pan 3 inches and began spreading, I scooped it all back into the crockpot to cook some more.  It was somewhat salvaged, but didn't turn out like we hoped.  (Rapid temperature change?) 

Meanwhile, the single rose is perfect.  One perfect rose.  That's what we have to show for all our soap making efforts. 

Measle immediately claimed our one successful soap and ran back to her bathroom with it delightedly shouting, "It's just like store-bought!"  A triumph, indeed.