How to Make Two Tone Lip Balm

Love making lip balm?  Want to take it up another notch?  Here is a recipe from Rustic Escentuals Crafting Library on How to Make Two Tone Lip Balm.  I am imagining this recipe as a vanilla mint flavoring.  What do you think?   If you following the recipe you you will be able to make three lip balms.  What a neat idea as a party favor for an upcoming party.

Rosewater Lemonade CP Soap Loaf

I really love raspberry lemonade.  And would you believe that I found a recipe for Rosewater Lemonade CP Soap Loaf on the Wholesale Supplies Plus website.  I know raspberry and rosewater are not the same but I love them both.  But the mixture of rosewater and lemonade gives this soap a tantalizing fragrance that will delight everyone. It also has a cool layered design that will wow everyone.  This recipe makes (8) 1" bars.

Making Your Own Beeswax Products Book

Recently, I was at the library and I found this book called Beeswax Alchemy...How to make your own, candles, soap, balms, salves, and home decor from the hive by Petra Ahnert.  If you are really interested in making your own products from beeswax this book has a variety of different project you can make. There are recipes for candles, soap, balms and even recipes for furniture polish, wood polishes, cutting board conditioners and more.  It is a really neat book and I would purchase this book for my own library.

Anti-Pinch Nail Polish

You do not have anything green to wear for St. Patrick's Day?  How about doing something different like wearing green nail polish? Instead of heading out to the store and buying some, why not make your own?  I found this tutorial on The Soap Queen's site called Anti-Pinch Nail Polish.  This is a very easy recipe to do and it only takes 10-15 minutes to complete 5 bottles of nail polish --- enough to share with your friends.

Essential Oil Blends for Soap

Have you run out of various blends to scent your cold process batches and are looking for something new to try?  You might just find one from a recent post from Lovin' Soap called Essential Oil Blends for Soap.  Take a look to see if there is something that will inspire you.

The CrockPot Soap Save – Hot Process Saves the Day

Have your ever had a situation with your cold process soap i.e. your batch seize up on you when you added a certain fragrance oil or additive?  Or your soap separated when in the mold doe to not enough stirring?   Most of you probably have at one time or another.  Well, good news it has happened to all of us and there is something that could possibly save your batch of soap.  Amanda Gail of Lovin' Soap shared in a recent post called The CrockPot Soap Save - Hot Process Save the Day tells her story about what happened to a particular batch and how she saved her batch of soap.  If you want to learn what happened and how you can potentially save a batch of soap.

Lemon Rose MP Soap

I never thought of combining lemon and rose fragrances before but I found this Lemon Rose Melt and Pour Soap really intriguing. The soft colors and the combination of lemon and rose fragrances a really beautiful and elegant soap.  This easy project takes one hour and you will get (8)  5 oz bars of soap.

How to Use Alcoholic Beverages in Cold Process Soap

Photo by Lara Ferroni

For most of the batches of cold process soap I have used distilled water.  I know that you can use other types of liquids from goats milk to carrot juice but I have never tried it before.  According to The Soap Queen, one of the most popular types of alternatives liquids for cold process soap is alcoholic beverages.  This category includes beer,wine and champagne.  Since these liquids contain sugar, they would give your soap a stable and fluffy later. They can also give the soap color. Some of these types of beverages contain beneficial properties like anti-oxidents but it is debatable whether these properties make it through the saponification process.  Want to learn more?  Then read the post titled How to Use Alcoholic Beverages in Cold Process Soap which appears on The Soap Queen's site.

Grapefruit Lilac CP Soap Loaf

It is the middle of February and I cannot believe in just a few weeks it will be spring.  I love the smell of fresh flowers.  One of my favorite flowers are lilacs.  So I was happy to see a cold process soap recipe from Wholesale Supplies Plus called Grapefruit Lilac CP Soap Loaf. This cold process soap recipe will make a double layer bar with the bottom layer being a purple lilac layer and the top layer a sweet and tart grapefruit scent.  The combination of the two scents complement each other beautifully.  It should take an hour to make and once you slice up your bars of soap....you should get (8) 5 oz. bars.

Mentholated Eucalyptus Shower Melts

You love the idea of bath fizzies but you take a shower instead of a bath?  Did you know that there are items similar called shower tablets or shower melts?  Shower tablets are very similar to bath fizzes but they might have an extra ingredient in them to make them dissolve slower in the shower than a regular bath fizzy.  Here is a recipe from The Natural Beauty Workshop called Mentholated Eucalyptus Shower Melts that are perfect if you have a feeling a cold coming on.  This recipe is very easy to make and you should get six 2 ounce tablets.

Focus Aromatherapy Mist

Do you need to recharge yourself during the day?  Would you like to try something new?  Aromatherapy is a wonderful practice that can be used to gently alter your current state.  This recipe from The Mountain Rose Blog called Focus Aromatherapy Mist is a blend of a hydrosol and essential oils that can keep you levelheaded and inspired when you really need it most.  It is really easy to make and it would be a wonderful gift to make for your friends and family.

Sugared Strawberry Lip Scrub

Are your lips chapped?  I found a yummy lip scrub from Wholesale Supplies Plus that gently exfoliates lips and them soft and moisturized.  It is called Sugared Strawberry Lip Scrub.  Would you believe that this lip scrub is great to use all year round?  Yes.  It will help keep the sensitive skin on your lips from getting chapped and peel.  It is a very easy recipe that takes only 1/2 hour to do. And at the end you you get (10) 1/3 jars which are 1/2 oz by weight when you are done.

Lemon Sugar Scrub

Love the aroma of lemons?  Here is a scrub from The Wholesale Supplies Plus called Lemon Sugar Scrub that is luxurious to polish and exfoliate your skin.  Use this scrub anywhere your skin needs alittle TLC.  After one use, you will see how soft your skin feels. This is any easy project to do. You will only need one half hour to make it.  This recipe makes (10) 4.75 oz jars.

Cardamom Sugar MP Soap Bars

Do you love to use scrubs while you shower?  Here is a really cool idea from Wholesale Supplies Plus that combines melt and pour soap and scrub.  It is called Cardamon Sugar MP Soap Bars.  These soap bars as like a scrubby bar that leaves your skin feeling soap and moisturized.   This is an easy project that takes one one and you should get approximately (14) 4 oz sugar bars.

How to Add Purees to Cold Process Soap

If you been making your own soap by the cold process method and want to take your soap to the next level, but you do not know what you should do next.  How about adding purees to your soap batches.  Sounds pretty scary?  In a recent post, The Soap Queen discusses this topic in a post called How to Add Purees to Cold Process Soap.  This posting discusses it all and hopefully you will take the challenge when you make your next batch of CP soap.

Melt & Pour Soap Truffles Tutorial

Even though Valentine's Day tomorrow and it would be too late to try and get supplies to make these realistic soap truffles, I thought I would share this tutorial called Melt & Pour Soap Truffles from The Soap Queen anyway because you can make them for another time.  This intermediate project takes about two to three hours and you get about one pound of soaps.  These soaps look good enough to each so if you make them to give out as gifts, you may want to alert the person you are giving them to.

Six ingredient lotions: Rice bran & mango butter body butter

Love using a body butter?  Here is a recipe from Point of Interest called Six Ingredient Lotions:  Rice Bran and Mango Butter Body Butter that is made from a lotion recipe.  Now a traditional body butter does not have water in it so this recipe will need a preservative because of the water.

Avocado + Spearmint Cold Process Soap Tutorial

I have heard of using milk, juice or beer instead of using distilled water in a cold process soap recipe. But I found this recipe from the Soap Queen that still uses distilled water but has avocado puree in it.  I have never heard of adding fresh fruit or vegetable purees to cold process soap before but according to the Soap Queen it has long been a staple in the soapmaking community.  She said purees can add color and skin-loving properties to the bar and it can give the soap a luxurious feelings.  Unlike some additives, avocado does not contain a large amount of sugar.  If you add sugar, which can be found in fruit, can cause excessive heat to a cold process soap batter and make it difficult to work with.  Are you interested in learning how to use avocado in a cold process soap?  Check out this intermediate project called Avocado + Spearmint Cold Process Soap Tutorial.  This project makes about three pounds of soap and takes 1-2 hour to make.

Earth Day Natural Lip Balm Recipe

Earth Day is celebrated is celebrated in April.  If you want to celebrate Earth Day, you may want to consider making this lip balm recipe from Grapefruit.com Earth Day Natural Lip Balm Recipe has a combination of butters and an oil that I have never used before -- Cherry Kernal Oil

Pastel Four Color Gradient Layers Soap (ISC)

I have to admit that pastel colors are my favorite shades of color.   So when I found this Pastel Four Color Gradient Layer Soap project from Modern Soap Making, I wanted to share it to those who love the pastel color palette.  All the colors that are used are micas from The Conservatorie.  I have not used any colorants from them so I am not sure how well they work.  But I love the look in this layered soap.  What about you?

All About Exfoliants

There are some many different exfoliants you can use in you bath and body products, it can be hard to choose.  According to The Soap Queen, the most important thing is to consider when selecting an exfoliant is where you are planning to use it.  Also, you may want to consider how you are going to apply it.  So choosing the ideal exfoliant can be a personal preference. So do you want to learn more? Then I would say read the posting called All About Exfoliants on the Soap Queen's site.  It gives you some great information to help you with your decision.

Funnel Swirl Soap Design – More Mad Oils Mica

Yesterday, I posted from Lovin' Soap on how to get your soap out of a PVC Mold.  Now that you know how to do that....let's put that skill into practice.  I found a cold process soap project called Funnel Swirl Soap Design - One Mad Oils Mica that uses pvc piping as a mold and various colors of micas to color your soap.  The funnel swirl really stands out once you cut the soap.  Each cut is different from the next.  Give this one a try.

How to Remove Soap from PVC Pipe

I have heard that one can use PVC Pipe as a mold for their batches of soap.  Honestly, I have not tried it before.  But I always wondered what was the best way to get your soap out.  I found this post from Lovin' Soap called How to Remove Soap from PVC Pipe that has some tips and a video on how to do this.  So if you have PVC pipe lying around and you are short of a mold for your soap batch, then you may want to give this a try.

Calculating mold/recipe size

Have you received a mold that you do not know what the size of the recipe you can put in the mold? Or did you find something that is not a normal mold that it is used for soap and you want to calculate how much of soap you can put it in? I have not had to figure that out yet, but I have purchased some 9x9 silicone cake molds that I thought I would use for cold process soap batches.  So I went out on the hunt for some information on how to calculate this information. I happen to come across this posting called Calculating Mold/Recipe Size by Janice from West Virginia that appears on the website Soapmaking Essentials.com.  This will give you some basic formulas on how to figure the correct amount you will need for your mold.  Good luck!

Cacao & Vanilla Body Polish

Here is a great idea to make as a gift for Valentine's Day....Cacao & Vanilla Body Polish.  This recipe from Mountain Rose Herb smells great and beautifully exfoliates the skin to make it feel soft and smooth. It will leave a faint scent of chocolate and vanilla that is sweet and earth.  Have a delightful time making and using it.

Lavender and Fir Wax Tarts + Carpet Freshener Tutorial

The Soap Queen has been posting some really great housecleaning product recipes on her site recently.  So, I when I saw this one for Lavender and Fir Wax Tarts and Carpet Freshner, I wanted to immediately share the next great product in her series.  I would say that one of the best things about a clean home is a fresh clean scent.  And this pair of recipes will help bring that freshness in with the combination of  lavender, lemon and fir. 

RECIPE: Frosted Cranberry Winter Wonderland CP Soap

Did you know that cranberries are very popular in bath and body products, baked goods and home décor during the holidays?  Well, I found this cold process soap recipe from Wholesale Supplies Plus called Frosted Cranberry Winter Wonderland that has a sweet sugary plum with a slight tartness of cranberry fragrance.  This recipe also has shea butter and blueberry seeds to make it a perfect bar that will moisturize and exfoliate your dry winter skin.  This is an advanced level project that will take an hour to make. Once your soap cures and is ready for slicing, you will get eight 1" slices.

Natural Soap Scum Cleaner Tutorial

The bathroom can get really dirty very quickly between the shower scum and sink stains, grim can really pile up.  If you want to have a product that is more chemical free than I would suggest making your own.  And luckily I found one from The Soap Queen called Natural Soap Scum Cleaner. Instead of using the products from the shelf of the grocery store you can use baking soda and pumice to fight dirt and make your bathroom shine.  This dry soap scum cleaner is made with ingredients from natural sources instead of harsh chemicals found in store bought cleaners.