Monday, November 23, 2009

Soapmaking For Dummies

I've been wanting to make soap for the longest time, and today I received all the items I needed, thanks to Ebay. I decided to document my journey and share it with you!  I found a listing on Ebay for 2 pounds of glycerin soap, and ordered one pound of clear and one pound of white. This is the *melt and pour* soap, not the cold press.  I also saw melt and pour goats milk soap along with all sorts of other kinds, but I stuck to the basics for my first try.

I put about 1/4 pound (I didn't measure, I just eyeballed) into a Pyrex measuring cup and microwaved it for about 20 seconds on high. I watched the process carefully because I didn't want to overcook the soap. Actually I don't even know if it's possible to overcook soap-I just didn't want to take a chance!)




I used a bamboo skewer to stir the soap to make sure all the chunks were dissolved.  Then I added about 5 drops of carrot cake scented fragrance oil and a drop of orange Wilton gel oil color base to the melted soap and stirred really well. A note on the color - In doing research, I found out that using just plain old food coloring can stain your skin, bath tub and towels, so I opted for the Wilton food grade oil colors. Use only the tiniest drop too! They are super concentrated.  Also don't put too much of the fragrance oil. They don't seem that strong when you sniff the bottle, but trust me, they are! I then poured the warm soap into silicone cupcake cups - no paper liners required!





I repeated the melting process with white glycerin soap and added buttercream scented fragrance oil, and poured this layer on top of the carrot cake layer while said carrot cake layer was still warm.  Had I have seen little bubbles floating on the tops of either layer of soap, I could have poured some rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and spritzed the tops of the layers lightly to get rid of them... Maybe next time :)  I DID however sprinkle some green colored cake and cookie decorating sugar on top of them for a little pizazz!





I carefully set the finished carrot cake soaps aside for a few hours to dry and harden (read: I put them in the fridge for 15 minutes, then attacked them, as I would have had they been real carrot cupcakes).  I peeled the silicone cupcake cups and VIOLA! cute little cupcake soaps! Aren't they cute? And let me tell you, clean up was a breeze - everything was soapy already... Just add warm water!





In conclusion, if you've always wanted to try making soaps, just go for it! This was so incredibly easy, and I plan on making more tomorrow with my daughter. I also saw tons of cute soap molds on Ebay, in every size and shape imaginable. Stuff your family's holiday stockings with hand made soaps! You'll have fun doing it!





Friday, November 20, 2009

Let's file this under "Do Want"...

So I'm going through my "Do Want" folder on my computer (to find things to add to my wish list).  I come across this FAB photo of a bicycle I want that's made by the Electra Bicycle Company called Pyjama Party. AND THEY ARE OFFERING A REBATE!!! *Squeeee!* Here's a photo of the bike I want. Buy it for me?


My first post!

Hello! My name is Monica Shepherd, and I like all things pretty! I'm new with blogging, but would like to share my passions with the world. I love sewing, especially making pillows. The girlier the better, I always say! Here are some photos of pillows I've made this month. They are from my "Woodland Creatures" collection and are available for sale at monicashepherd.etsy.com. Thanks for reading my first blog! I look forward to sharing my art with you!







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