What am I saying?!
Soapmaking is ALWAYS epic!
It's that time of the year when a girl's thoughts turn to ... good clean fun! (Yeah, I made "that" joke. You should know better by now ... silly readers!)
So, I gathered some gals (and guys!) for another annual soapmaking event at the
Community Crafts Studio. Well, almost annual. Last year it was just Suzanne and I in my kitchen at home. But still fun! This year we had a group of ten or so.
Check out our workspace, all prepped and ready for class ...
I like to focus on pantry soaps, using herbs, honey, oats, essential oils -- many of which are found in your pantry!
AND I like to encourage the use of "repurposed" soap molds. Any flexible plastic containers that end up in your recycling bin are great! They can usually be used a few times before cracking and then can still end up in the recycling bin! But sometimes I have to supplement with containers found at the Dollar Store. Hey, they're still recyclable and can be used even longer than the others.
Using a glycerin, melt-and-pour soap base is super easy! Especially with microwaves and glass measuring cups!
Please ignore my unhealthy (but oh so tasty) iced soft drink there in the background. What can I say? Vice! Thy name is Dr. Pepper!
The above pic is kind of odd looking, I know. But its what a partial 25 lb. block of soap looks like. (Oh, I order in 25 lb. blocks, baby! I like a LOT of good clean fun!)
I'm not going to run through all specifics and "how to"s here*. You can find that all over the web and in crafty books. But I can say this, I recommend high-quality soap bases and natural ingredients. No synthetic fragrances here! Essential oils and dried herbs, baby! Better for you!
So here are some extra-nummy-goodness pictures of some of our finished soaps! Lavender ... Lemon-Sage ... Honey & Oats ... Brown Sugar & Honey ... Cedarwood & Honey ... Green Tea ... mmm!
Lavender, still in a mold.
(What I believe to be) Lemon-Sage still in molds.
Lavendar (foreground), Peppermint (left, dark bar), various others in background.
A couple of us do have a few commercial molds (foreground.)
Don't they all look so pretty?! Such variety of shapes, colors, smells!
Love, love, love!!! the fun shapes that come from single-serve fruit cups or applesauce! Yogurt, too!
Mmm .... so pretty!
I love to do this.
I love to share the knowledge.
I love when it's over because it's 4 hours on my feet!
LOL
... and many Christmas gifts, DONE!
* I do have a handout available, but it isn't "everything" you need to know. I mostly teach by doing. Hands on learning is the best way. BUT if you want a copy of the handout of handy tips and resources, leave a comment on this post or private message me at AECDesigns@gmail.com and I can email you a copy of the PDF. Use at your own risk because I'm sure I left out some details!
