How to Line a Wooden Soap Mold

There are many sources on the internet on how to line a wooden soap mold.  Well, in case if you the ones you found did not help you then you may want to check out the post from I'd Lather Be Soaping called How to Line a Wooden Soap Mold. Wooden molds are great. They're sturdy, they insulate the soap so it goes through gel phase, and they allow you to make uniform, perfectly shaped bars in volume.  But you have line them.  Some of you cold process soapmakers are probably really great at measuring and lining your molds perfectly. Some of us are not so great at it so we may result in purchasing a silicone liner.  Whatever works best for you.....

Lanolin Body Butter

If you are not a vegan and would like to add a new recipe for a body butter you may want to try this Lanolin Body Butter Recipe from Soap & Restless.  Last year, the author created a version of anhydrous body butter that was 99% pure skin beneficial butter and oils. Yes that is correct - 99% because the author decided to add 1% preservative to protect everyone from bacteria or mold if God forbid some one carelessly dip their wet fingers in the jars. This year she is trying out a new formula using 20% glycerin.  Glycerin is a well known humectant.  But if you only use glycerin in a relatively dry area, very low humidity environment, it might actually do the opposite for your skin, it might draw even more moisture out of your skin to reach inside outside equilibrium.  However, if it is used in conjunction with a moisture retainer, it can be sealed into your skin without "leaking" the humectant back out.

Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe

In recent post on The Mountain Rose Blog recently reviewed The Lavender's Handbook by Sarah Berringer Bader.  If you love lavender you may enjoy reading this book.  In addition to the book, the posting had some really lovely recipes.  One of my favorites was the Lavender Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe.  It is a very simple recipe which included white vinegar, borax powder, organic liquid castille soap and organic lemon essential oil.  So if you are interested in an eco-friendly cleaner you may want to try this recipe.

Exfoliating Glycerin Soaps Recipe and Video

If you are a fan of Soapylove, then you are going to love this new Exfoliating Glycerin Soap Recipe and Video on Soapylove Daily Ditties blog.  This is the first of eight videos that Debbie did with the Kin Community and hopefully she will do more.  All supplies can be purchased through Brambleberry so if you want to purchase your supplies to follow along.

If you enjoy this project, please check out more exfoliant soap tutorials in the Spring 2010 issue of Let's Get Soapy - Debbie's eZine just for melt and pour soap crafting, or in her book which has 24 full glycerin soap projects.

New Craft Store Opens in Morgan Hill

Everyone has heard of Michaels or Joann.  Or if you live in the state of California you may have a Beverly's Crafts near you. But I just got finished browsing the Sunday San Jose Mercury News and found a full page ad announcing that Hobby Lobby has opened up in Morgan Hill at the Cochrane Plaza Shopping Center (US 101 and Cochrane Road).

I have heard of Hobby Lobby but this is the first time I have heard that they have opened a location in the San Francisco Bay Area.  When I glanced the ad, I saw that they had a sale on soap supplies I had to check out Hobby Lobby's website to see what brand they are selling.  Most of the soap base is Life of the Party, but they are also selling soap supplies (colorant, scent and soap base) from Something Fabulous  and scents from Crafty Bubbles.  These soap making supplies are not the best of quality you find Juniper Tree in Berkeley, but it is an option. 

Of course, they sell other supplies for different crafts such as scrapbooking, candle making and more.I would like to visit their store to see what the vibe is.  But if I like what I see I may order from their website because the store is 35 miles away from where I live.  I will let you know what I think of the store in a later post.

Three DIY Laundry Soap Recipes

Have you been nervous about making your own laundry soap? Bramble Berry’s has introduced their latest product, Washing Soda. It was perfect timing for this project! Otherwise known as Sodium Carbonate or Soda Ash, Washing Soda is a common base ingredient in many laundry soaps. In addition to acting as a water softener, Washing Soda is a stain remover and can even work as a fixative for some natural dyeing techniques.

In a recent post Three DIY Laundry Soap Recipes, The Soap Queen has kindly give her readers three great recipes.  They are What to do with lye-heavy soap, For light duty loads and For heavy duty loads.  So if you were interested in trying to make your own laundry soap, this may be the perfect place to start.

Edible Massage Oil Recipe

Do you like making your own massage oils? I have made my own massage oils in the past and I have seen these edible massage oils in the retail world. If you like the edible massage oils then you may want to try this Edible Massage Oil Recipe from DIY Skincare.

I found something really interesting in this article. It was about the edible massage oils that one can purchase on the internet. According to DIY Skincare that many edible massage oils on the internet include the use of vegetable glycerin as a sweetener and warming agent. Studies have shown that those prone to vaginal yeast infections should avoid products containing glycerin as yeast feed on the sugars in glycerin and may exacerbate this issue. This was something that I did not know. It is not like I put this type of product in such a sensitive area but it makes more more aware of this potential problem.

Something else caught my eye in this recipe is the use of the term "Flavor Fragrance". I really think that the term flavor oil would be a better term to use. Somehow the use of the word fragrance with flavor leaves a bad taste in my mouth. What is your input on this? 

Gentle Toner Recipe

Loving using toner? How would you like to make your own? Here is a Gentle Toner recipe by Alison from Bath Body Supply has a blog called Do It Yourself Skincare and she has posted Gentle Toner recipe that is simple to make.  Give this recipe a try and see if it beats out the stuff you can get out on the retail market.

If you have a favorite recipe that you have been making for a long time that you would like to share, please do.  Love to hear about your discoverues.

How to Make Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products and Disinfectant Sprays

As Kermit used to sing, it isn't easy being green or in this case going green. Eco-friendly cleaning products can be expensive and if you are watching your pennies, then you may choose

In the article How to Make Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products and Disinfectant Sprays by Ehow Contributor, Katrina Derrico shows you how to make a disinfectant spray.

Do you have any favorite recipes you like to share?  Or do you have any suggestions on articles on this subject that would be helpful?

Seascape Gel Candles Tutorial

Love the look of the ocean? Have you ever done scuba diving in the Caribbean and loved it? Then why not create your own underwater scene in a gel candle!

Make your own candle by Seascape Gel Candles Tutorial from Erica at The Bonnie Bath Company.

Melt & Pour Soap: Cupcake Soap Monsters

I have watched the show Bake, Decorate and Celebrate on PBS and I have seen a similiar project demonstrated.  If you are not a cake decorator but want to do something unique for your child's birthday party, you may want to create these cute Cupcake Soap Monsters from Go Planet Earth's Blog - Denise's Yadda Yadda. 

Bronzer Recipe

Do you want that natural bronze look but hate paying the high price?  Why not create your own?  It is really simple and requires a few ingredients.  Are you interested?  Then check out this Bronzer Recipe  which appears on The Soap Queen's blog - Soap and the Finer Things.

Once you start making your own bronzer, then you will want to make more of your own mineral make-up products such as foundation and eye shadow.

Circle Swirled Soap in Column Mold

Brambleberry is  launching their latest mold (drum roll), the Heavy Duty Column mold! To celebrate it’s debut, The Soap Queens has a fun and fabulous tutorial that is a twist on the Faux Funnel Pour technique called Circle Swirled Soap.  Anne-Marie says this is a great recipe for an alternative to Olive Oil, for those late night soaping adventures where you realize you’re just short of an ingredient and it’s too late to hit up the store. Using contrasting colors in unexpected hues and a bright and fresh fragrance oil blend, Anne-Marie is hoping you like this recipe as much as she does. Just to let you know that this is a project for an intermediate cold process soap maker which should take 45 minutes to make and result in giving you about 12 bars of soap.

Pom Balm Recipe

Copyright (c) Smell No Evil, Ltd.

Do you love pomengrantes?  Well, you maybe tempted to lick your lips with this delicious Pom Balm on your lips. This recipe for Pom Balm appears on the blog DIY Skincare is an easy recipe which has a premade lip balm and you are adding coloring and flavoring.  But if you already have a favorite lip balm recipe that you like to make then maybe you should trying adding the pomengrant flavoring. 

LOVE Soap Mold Debut Tutorial

You can show the person you love any day of year besides Valentine's Day is truly easy.  If you have never made melt and pour soap before, this project is for you! This LOVE Soap Mold Debut Tutorial takes only 30 minutes to make four soaps. So check  out the fool proof layering tips below and follow the step by step instructions for beautiful results. 

How to Store Your Handmade Soap



Photo by The Nova Studio

Have you started making soap and you do not know how to properly store your large batch of soap?  In this blog article entitled, How to Store Your Handmade Soap by The Nova Studio gives you some really good ideas on how to do it.  The comments have already started from readers and they have given some really good imput on this topic. If you are an experienced soapmaker and have some really good tips, I recommend sharing them so others can learn from your experience.

 

"Apple Pie a la Mode" Bath Milk Recipe

Copyright (c) Smell No Evil, Ltd.

Alison Kontur of  Bath Body Supply has kindly shared this vegan milk bath recipe called "Apple Pie a la Mode" on her blog DIY Skincare.  If apple pie is your favorite dessert, then you definately need to make this.  And since fall is just around the corner and school will be starting soon, it would be a perfect teacher's gift.

3 Scrub Recipes on Soap Queen TV

Love scrubs?  Want to learn 3 more?  In this episode from the Soap Queen, she has Erin Pikar of Naiad Soaps demononstrating Sea Salt Glow Scrub, Gentle Facial Scrub, and a lip sugar scrub. Anne-Marie has also listed the ingredients for you to purchase so you can either purchase them prior to watching the video or if choose after watching. Are you excited? Then get started on watching this episode of 3 Scrub Recipes on Soap Queen TV!

Revitalizing Hair Conditioner Recipe

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Are interested in learning how to make your own hair care products?  Here is a hair conditioner recipe from DIY Skincare called Revitalizing Hair Conditioner has only 5 ingredients.  The first one is distilled water which means you will have to add a preservative.  The recommended preservative is Germaben II.

Rolling Soap - A Soap Queen Short

Soap Queen Shorts are a supplement to our regular Soap Queen TV episodes, so that we can share more techniques and ideas with you.  In this short,  Anne-Marie shows you  the basics of soap sculpting melt and pour glycerin soap.  If you would like to learn about rolling soap, check out the vimeo How to Roll Soap.  Anne Marie also lists the supplies you need to purchase to follow along. 

Strawberry Sugar Scrub Recipe

If strawberries are your favorite fruit then you may want to incorporated in your shower routine by making this lovely Strawberry Sugar Scrub Recipe by Erica of The Bonnie Bath Company. This recipe appears on Erica's blog Bath Alchemy which also includes a lot of other great recipes for bath and body products.

What I found really interesting about this recipe is the ingredient of strawberry seed oil.  I have heard of grapeseed oil but never strawberry seed oil.  I would definately would like to learn more about this ingredient so if anyone out there has heard of this type of oil, could you please lead me in the right direction where I can find out more.  I would really appreciate it.

Body Lotion for Dry Skin

Do you have dry skin and the lotion that you are using does not seem to work very well?  Then try making this body lotion recipe for dry skin from DeShawn Marie. I do not make lotions very often since I have oily skin.  But during the winter I find my skin needs moisture.  So I may try this recipe.

Palm Free Vertical Twist Tutorial

Cold process soap makers, are you looking for a palm free cold process soap recipe?  Here is a vertical twist recipe from the Soap Queen that you may want to try. This recipe is for the intermediate CP soap maker and should take about 45 minutes to complete this recipe.  And the result should yield you about 12 bars of soap.

DIY: Eco Chic Candles

Need gifts? How would you like to make these Eco Chic Candles? Then check out these instructions for DIY: Eco Chic Candles from The Soap Queen on her blog Soap and the Finer Things. All the supplies need to make these candles can be purchased through Brambleberry.

Slider Burgers & Fries Tutorial

Many of us once worked at a burger joint when we were teenagers. So when I saw this melt and pour soap Burger and Fries tutorial it brought me back to my youth working at Burger King.  These soaps are too cute not to make and give them out as a gift.  Once time I was watching an episode of Bake, Decorate and Celebrate and they make a cake that looked like a hamburger and fries that were made out of sugar cookies.  I think that was my favorite episode.

Gentle Rose Hair Conditioner Recipe



Image credit: smilingsunray / 123RF Stock Photo

 Do you like to use a conditioner in your hair?  How would you like to learn to make your own?  In this recipe for Gentle Rose Hair Condition from DIY Skincare Alison will show you how easy it is to make your own hair conditioner.

Dipped Ombre Candles

                                                                                                                                        There are many tutorials on the internet on how to do different candlemaking techinques. In the past I have posted two versions on how to do the ombre technique (one dipped and the other poured).  But by far, I found the dipped ombre candle tutorial on the Soap Queen's website site to be the easiest.  You can purchase inexpensive candles at Michael's and really jazz them to match your decor or theme of your party.  This project states this is an intermediate level and should take you one hour to complete.  The results can be 6-12 candles depending on the size. 

Tea Tree Ice Soap Recipe

As I follow MakingBathProducts.com each day, I find more interesting recipes that I want to tell you about. Recently, I found this cold process soap recipe for Tea Tree Ice Soap. According to the site, the reason they call this tea tree ice is because of the half ounce of peppermint used in the recipe. It is just enough to make a nice, cooling and tingly feeling on the skin. The tea tree works as a natural antifungal and antibacterial, great for problems like athletes foot. But this doesn’t have to be just a medicinal recipe. The inclusion of the lavender essential oil makes this blend a pleasing, refreshing scent. If that does not want to make you want to jump in and try this recipe, I do not know what will.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Cookies Ala Mode Soap

Is Cookies and Cream your favorite ice cream?  What would you say that you could duplicate your favorite ice cream flavor into a bar of soap?  Well, believe it or not, you can!  Denise from Go Planet Earth shows you how in this melt and pour tutorial called Cookies Ala Mode Soap.

 

Face Painting Sticks

According to Alison Kontur of BathBodySupply.com each Halloween, we hear warnings to check face paint for ingredients that contain allergens, unapproved colorants and expiration dates. Since it may not always be possible to find the listing of ingredients or expiration (this info is often listed on a disposable outer wrapper), we like to make our own so we can not only control the ingredients, but we can verify the safety of the colorants used, especially around the eyes and lips. You can check the approved uses for each certified colorant at the FDA website.

If prefer to make your own then I would recommend trying Alison's recipe Face Painting Sticks which posted on her blog DIY Skincare.

INS Numbers for Soapmaking

I have been making soap since 2002 by the melt and pour and I have never heard of an INS Number.  Maybe many of the more experienced soap makers have. But if you are like me and have not, I recently found out more about this through an entry on The Soap Queen's site called INS Numbers for Soapmaker's.  According to Anne-Marie,  an INS number refers to a numerical value that explains or describes the properties an  oil will have when reacted with sodium hydroxide to make bar soap. It relates to the degree of unsaturation and the molecular weight of the oil. Full disclosure: I don’t use INS numbers. I don’t find that they relate well to a finished batch of soap and how it will be perceived by me (or anyone) in the shower.


In reading this article, I have learned that it more for the soap maker who makes their soap by the cold process method and that is maybe why I have never heard of it. But it is an interesting and informative article to learn about what INS Numbers are and what the benefits of using them. If you are primarily a melt and pour soap maker the information may be confusing to you, so you may want to pass on this information.  But for those who make their soap by the cold process method, I would recommend you read the article.

Funky Ginger and Lime (CP Soap Tutorial)

Normally you will see a cold process soap recipe that results in so many bars of soap.  In this Funky Ginger and Lime Soap Recipe from Riverlea Soap, the author made the ball of soap from a prior batch and then incorporated them into a multi-colored layered soap.  It comes out to be a really interesting bar of soap. If you would like a challenge, then give this recipe a try.

Iced Tea Melt & Pour Loaf Soap

In 2006, I entered a bath bomb display into the miscellaneous arts and crafts category at the San Mateo County Fair.  One of the other entries was a soap shaped like a tall glass of tea tea.  It looked great but it rather large for a bar of soap.  I thought it would look better as a candle.  As I was looking at Wholesale Supplies Plus's website to purchase some supplies for an upcoming class, I found this recipe/tutorial for MP Soap: Iced Tea Loaf. I really think this would fit the bill if you have someone who likes drinking tea during the summer or anytime of the year as a matter of fact.  If you make soap to sell this would be a bar of soap that would be unique to make and sell.  This is an advanced project that takes under six hours to complete and yields (8) 1" inch slices.