How to Resize Cold Process Soap Recipes

Since I have a four pound slab mold, I have always made a four pound batch of cold process soap plus that is what I learned when I took a class from The Nova Studio.  I always wondering about resizing a batch since I do have a three pound log mold that I purchased from Michaels long ago for that I was planning to use for melt and pour soap.  Now I want to use it for CP soap making.  I have mainly been using SoapQuick from Mission Peak Soap in Fremont and was wondering how I can resize it and still use imperial measurements.  I did find this posting from The Soap Queen called How to Resize Cold Process Soap Recipe discusses this by using a Lemon Poppyseed recipe.

How to Make Rebatch Soap Balls

Do you have a stash of botched cold process bars of soap?  I have some.  I was wondering if there was a simple way to rebatch them new instead of throwing them away.  I saw in a newsletter from The Nova Studio that Debbie of SoapyLove fame has done a video called How to Make Rebatch Soap Balls. I watched the video and it was simple enough that I am planning to start rebatching the soap as soon as I have time.

Honey Beeswax Ornaments

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it is now time to focus on Christmas.  I saw this really neat ornament idea from Wholesale Supplies Plus called Honey Beeswax Ornaments.  These ornaments are sweet smelling and will will look beautiful hanging on any holiday tree.  Wholesale Supplies Plus says you can hang them from a window latch or add as a finishing touch on a special package or gift bag.  When it is time to take them down, store them in a cool and these ornaments should last for years.  This is an easy project that should take one hour to make (9) snowflakes and (13) bee ornaments.

Holiday Candy Rebatch Tutorial

To be honest I do not see many melt and pour soap rebatch tutorials, but I found this one from The Soap Queen which is truly appropriate for the holiday season.  It is called Holiday Candy Rebatch which is perfect for a beginner.  And I have previously ordered and used the Holiday Ribbon Fragrance and I totally love it.

RECIPE: Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcake Soap

I have taken a lot of classes through The Nova Studio.  One of the classes was a cold process soap class on how to make Cupcake Soaps.  I have not tried to make them yet since I only tried to make cold process soap earlier this year.  I saw this project from Wholesale Supplies Plus called Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcake Soap.  This is an advanced project (indicating...danger chemicals) that uses pumpkin seed butte and pumpkin flakes.  I normally use Sodium Hydroxide Beads but this recipe uses flakes.  So I do not know if subbing one for the other would work.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Vertical Swirl

Since Thursday is Thanksgiving, I saw this posting from I'd Lather Be Soaping called Pumpkin Gingerbread Vertical Swirl  really put me in the festive mood.  I am not particularly fond of pumpkin pie but I love the aroma of all of the spice in it.  I really like this technique of a vertical swirl and would love to try it sometime.  It was too cool not to share.

Making & Cutting Lavender CP Soap

I really like the look of check board designed cakes.  I found this video on You Tube called Making & Cutting Lavender CP Soap. This video does not give you a recipe, it only shows how do the technique. The look is awesome and would be a great bar of soap to sell.  I would like to try to do this technique sometime, but to be honest I am somewhat afraid to try.  I think I am apprehensive because I might wait too long and the soap batter would set too soon. I would consider this an advanced CP project.

Make Your Own Scented Pine Cones

I always love this time of year when Michaels starts putting out the Christmas inventory because one of my favorite items is the scented pine cones.  Each year I say to myself that I am going to buy some and somehow I never do.  So I could not believe that I saw this recipe from The Soap Queen called Make Your Own Scented Pine Cones.  Looking over the instructions, it looks very easy.  The only difficult part is finding the pine cones.

Make a Peppermint Mocha Candle

Everyone loves a great smelling candle.  And now that the holidays are just right around the corner, I happened to find this candle project called Make a Peppermint Mocha by Aran Sweater Direct from a blog that I follow called Totally Tutorials that originally found the project.  It is a pretty simple project all though the author as vanilla essential oil as one of the ingredients.  Since vanilla EO is pretty expensive I will probably go for my favorite great quality fragrance oil instead.

Homemade Chocolate Orange Body Butter Recipe

When I saw this Chocolate Orange Body Butter Recipe from Rebecca's Soap Deli I immediately thought of the Milk Chocolate Orange Ball candy.  You know what I am talking about...it comes in a fancy blue box. So if you love the combination of chocolate and orange then this body butter recipe is for you.  It would make great holiday gifts.

Soap is too Soft: Troubleshooting a Soft Batch of Cold Process Soap

Is your cold process turns out to be too soft like it is play dough when you take it out of the mold?  It has happened to me and it makes me alittle unhappy, how about you?   Are you wondered what happened?  Well in a recent post from Lovin' Soap Studio called Soap is too Soft:  Troubleshooting a Soft Batch of Cold Process Soap gives some scenarios what of could have happened and some tips.

Pine Air Fresheners

Now that the weather is getting a little chillier and we are closing our windows that the house seems needs something.  Here is a recipe from Wholesale Supplies Plus called Pine Air Fresheners that will make you feel like you are walking through a forest of pine trees.  You can place these anywhere from your car to your drawer or even a holiday floral arrangement.  Hey if you have a fake Christmas tree will make it seem like you have a real one in the house.  According to Wholesale Supplies Plus, the scent should lake about 30 days.

Golden Honey Lip Balm

It is starting to get nippy out there.  So it means that winter is just around the corner. Here is a glittery golden lip balm recipe from Wholesale Supplies Plus that will help your lips from the cold, winter weather.  It is called Golden Honey Lip Balm that has oils and butters that will moisturize while the beeswax creates a protective coating for your lips.  This is an easy project to do and it only takes a half hour to make (4) .05 size silver tins.

Lavender & Lemongrass Hot Process Soap

Hot process soap is another way to create homemade soap from scratch.  It is similar to cold process soap making but hot process involves "cooking" the soap, usually in a slow cooker, which speeds up the saponification process. What is really great about Hot process soap is that the extra heat down dramatically on the wait time.  Usually the soap is ready to unmold in 24 hours and does not require the 4-6 week cure time.  Cooking the soap cuts it down to about 2 weeks for the excess water to evaporate and create a harder bar.   I took a class on hot process soap making from The Nova Studio seven years ago but I have not tried it yet.  But I would like to try it. Now please do not confuse hot process soap making and melt and pour.  They are both two differently animals.  So if you want to try and make hot process soap, here is a recipe from The Soap Queen called Lavender and Lemongrass.  I would love to try it some day in the future.

Controlling Trace in Cold Process Soapmaking (Without Letting it Control You!)

Trace in cold process soap making can be a very scary thing.  It is the one part of the process of making soap that impacts a soapmaker and their confidence.  According to Modern Soapmaking, trace is often dubbed the "point of no return" and is usually taught as a necessary part of the cold process soap making. While trace in cold process is not reversible, it is not necessary for saponification to complete.  To learn more about this subject from Modern Soapmaking,m check out her post called Controlling Trace in Cold Process Soapmkaing (Without Letting it Control You!).  I am going to read this to see if I can learn more about trace.

The “Perfect Red” in Cold Process Soap

Sometimes coloring cold process soap can be fun or it can be a challenge. There are many different type of colorant options from pigments, LabColors and micas. You can use the colorant straight as it is or you can try to mix them.  Most of the time when I used a pigment it has been a challenge because the actual color you may come out different than what you put in.  One of the toughest colors to achieve in cold process soap is red.  Most colorants end up looking a little pink rather than a true, fire engine red.  One of the reasons why it is so hard to achieve a true red color in cold process soap is because the batter or cream color.  So it makes sense that the color would be lightened up to look more pastel. The Soap Queen tried to find the perfect red by doing a lot of mixing and blending until she found the perfect shade.  So if you want to learn more about what transpired, check out the post from The Soap Queen called The "Perfect Red" in Cold Process Soap.

How to Get Vibrant Colors in Soap

There are so many color options when it comes to soap making.  The colors range from a vibrate palette of pinks and oranges to a more subtle look with rustic natural blue and gray tones.  According to The Soap Queen, if you are going to go for a more vibrant palette, there are several tips and trick to make your colors really pop.  And bright colors can help your soap stand out and catch the eye of a potential customer.  Want to learn more? Then check out the recent post from The Soap Queen called How to Get Vibrant Colors in Soap.

How to Dye Hair with LabColors

Rainbow hair has become very popular the last few years. It is a really cool look and just by adding a color to your hair is a fun way to switch up your look.  Would you believe that there is a color and technique for every comfort level?  For me I probably would not go way out and do my whole head but maybe a streak or two or even just doing my ends.  If you are wondering if you could turn a trend into an easy and cost effective DIY project, you should check out The Soap Queen's post called How To Dye Hair with Lab Colors.

Tutorial - How to Make Scented Carpet Powder

Do you have pets in your house and you have carpets through out your house?  Does your carpet need to be deordorized? A recipe for How to Make Scented Carpet Powder by Brittney Goldwyn appears on the blog  Totally Tutorials. Using a carpet powder on your carpets and rugs before you vacuum is one of easiest ways to refreshen up and giving them a pick me up.   The greatest thing about making your carpet powder is that you can customize the scent each time you make it.

Water Discounting Cold Process Soap: How & Why

According to The Soap Queen, water and lye are crucial components of making soap by the cold process method.  Water is used to dissolve the sodium hydroxide (lye) so it can interact with the soaping oils to begin the saponification process.  As the soap cures, some of the water evaporates and makes a hard, longer lasting bar of soap.  You are probably wondering how much water you need to use in your cold process soap recipe.  It depends on the calculator your.  You can also to choose to "water discount" the recipe and use less water than it calls for.  Not sure about water discounting?  In a recent post called Water Discounting Cold Process Soap: How & Why will help you understand this important subject.

RECIPE: Cranberry MP Soap Loaf

Thanksgiving will be hear in just over two weeks away.  Besides turkey, the second thing that comes to mind is cranberries. Wholesale Supplies Plus has a recipe in their library for a Cranberry MP Soap Loaf.  If you make this soap it will dress up any place in your home whether it is in your bath or kitchen with the sweet aroma of cranberries.  This moderate level project takes about one hour and will bring you (8) 1" slices.

Understanding INCI Names on Cosmetic Labels

So you are ready to start selling your bath and body products to the public? Before you go out there to sell to the public, you should have a better understanding of labeling your products. I bet some of you did not know that there is standard of labeling your products. Yes, there is and it is called INCI (pronounced "inky").  INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetics and it is used worldwide.  INCI names are based on scientific names from Latiin and English words.  The system makes it easy to identify ingredients, even if they are known as something else in a different part of the word.  To learn more about labeling read the recent post from The Soap Queen called Understanding INCI Names on Cosmetic Labels.

All About the Trace

When I first got started in making my own bath and body products, the first class I took was in  melt and pour soap.  It took me a long time before I took a cold process class and finally start making my soaps by this method.  The most important thing in cold process soap making is trace.  It is the most tricky for a newbie to learn and recognize what it is\ and it can be really confusing.  One batch I made I thought it traced and the it did not gel correctly so the soap was soft.  So what is trace?  It is the point in the cold process soap making process when oils and lye have emulsified.  Once your soap batch has reached a thin trance, it will continue to thicken over time.  So want to learn more?  A post from The Soap Queen called All About the Trace will explain the topic in full detal.

How to Make Egg Soap by Tricia Mascotti (Adding Fresh Eggs to Cold Process Soap)

I have heard of adding milk, beer, carrot juice and lard to a cold process soap recipe, but I have never heard of adding eggs until I saw this post from Lovin' Soap Studio.  How to Make Egg Soap by Tricia Mascotti (Adding Fresh Eggs to Cold Process Soap) is a post written by guest poster Tricia Mascotti who says this is an economical recipe that yields approximately eight 4 ounce bars and that you may notice a slight order and green color when your first cut this soap. But she said that is normal and the color will be gone in a few days. Some of you may not have an official soap mold, but Tricia used a Velvetta cheese box as her mold for this recipe.  I have to be honest, I most likely will not try making this soap since I am allergic to eggs.  But if you are up for the challenge...go ahead and give it a try.

Millefiori Soap Design (Multiple Funnel Pour Design)

I have seen the Millefiori technique done with polymer clay but I have not seen done in soap before until now.  I came across this cold process soap tutorial from Lovin' Soap Studio called Millefiori Soap Design (Multiple Funnel Pour Design).  It looks pretty cool. I have taken a class at The Nova Studio where the funnel technique was taught, but only one color was used.  I would like to try this technique but I better get comfortable with one color before I try it.

RECIPE: Frosted Cranberry Sugar Scrubs

Love Cranberries? How would you like to incorporate them into a sugar scrub to use during your bathing routine?  Here is a recipe from Wholesale Supplies Plus called Frosted Cranberry Sugar Scrubs. These adorable sugar scrubs fit in the palm of your hand and you only need to use one while bathing.  It will only take about two hours to complete this recipe and you should get 35 scrubs.

Natural Clay In-The-Pot Soap Swirl

One of my first tries with cold process soap was doing In The Pot Swirl.  I used a purple ultramarine from TKB Trading in Oakland, CA.  But I saw this tutorial from Lovin' Soap Studio called Natural Clay In-The-Pot Soap Swirl.  To be honest it looks easy enough to do,plus I have two colored clays that I could try in this.