Hi, soralight!
When I first started M&P soaping, I also bought a kit from the craft store, just to see if I liked it. The quality of the base was not great, in my opinion - I found that it did not lather well. Bramble Berry's bases are of much higher quality and I think you will notice a huge difference when you use a good base.
M&P base is a bit slick to the touch, and in high humidity it can "sweat." As far as the mess in the measuring glass, I wonder if you didn't heat it enough? If the bottom felt cool to the touch, it could be that the soap was starting to set up in the glass before you got a chance to pour. I melt in the microwave in 30-second bursts and pause to stir to help it along and also to feel for any unmelted clumps. (Don't overheat the soap - boiling can make the soap cloudy.) It seems like the craft store base sets up faster, too. If you do have leftover soap in the glass, you can save it. With a little practice, you can even pull it all away in one piece after it has hardened a bit, like wildchild says!
If memory serves, the colorants were FD&C dyes and they do eventually bleed. It seems like the colorants were basically food coloring.
Hope that helps! Have fun soaping!