My new hobby while on mare stare... still going strong

[Danielle_E.]

Well since Crystal has STILL not foaled, I have gone from bath soap making to bath salts to bath bombs and now back to soaps. These are the last 3 batches I made since the weekend, :new_shocked:

VERY BERRY FRUIT EXPLOSION

Spearmint (oh I love the smell of this one, good enough to eat)

and the one I made last night in the wee hours of the morning....

Romantic Interlude (has dried rose buds on top)

(Like who has time for any kind of Romantic Interlude while on mare stare!!!

 

[Mona]

They ALL look good enough to eat!

 

[crponies]

I'm impressed! They are beautiful and I bet they smell wonderful too.

:

 

[Reble]

If Crystal keeps holding off, the smell in your house must be wonderful.

Great Job :aktion033:

 

[Sterling]

NICE!!!! Those rose ones look so pretty! I hope you'er considering putting some up on the LB Last Chance Auction!

 

[Danielle_E.]

Well I am thinking what I will do is donate some to CMHR and they can auction them off and put the money towards the rescue :bgrin . I am waiting for an order of fragrance oils and essential oils... because the soaps have to cure for approximately 6 weeks I could make some that are holiday related. I have some awesome scents coming for the holiday season and I could also make the body lotions that compliment the soap and also the bath salts and the bath bombs...

I am trying to figure out some recipes that are for horses and dogs and cats. I am lucky that my boss at work, her degree is in chemistry and since I work in Product Safety for Health Canada I am sure to have great resources for finding a formula that works great for the horses ..... My thought is finding something that truly works to keep the darn bugs off of them!!!

One thing I do want to make and that is a "licorice" smelling soap. Apparently it is great for those that want to mask their body scent, meaning fishermen, hunters, etc. I love the smell of black licorice!!! I also want to come up with a formula for a soap that has citronella and tea tree and perhaps green tea.... The one thing this hobby is doing is having me read all kinds of different herbal books....

 

[user 488]

Wow......your stuff looks great. I think this would be great fun. Where did you learn how to do this and where do you get your supplies?

 

[Danielle_E.]

Carol, I basically saw an article about soap making in a magazine I pick-up called "Hobby Farm" and the rest is history. I did some searching on the net and found a wonderful web community at www.candletech.com. There is everything you need at that site, instructions, recipes and their forum is wonderful, it is for those who want to try making candles, soaps, lotions, etc. etc. etc. You can find that section under "Community" of that site. I started out with the melt and pour soap and progressed, as everyone does, from making soap from scratch. My first attempt from scratch was using the crockpot method and even though it sounds simpler, it isn't. The CP (cold process) is much easier as far as I am concerned as it is much easier to be able to tell when your ingredients beginning to "trace" meaning it's starting to become soap. There is also a list of where you can get supplies and recommendations from other soapers which to use and which not to use. You can make a very simple soap from ingredients you get at the grocery store, such as olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, crisco (yes you heard me, crisco is "soya oil)... the only thing you might have problems finding is "lye" which you MUST have to make soap. I understand that walmart carry some but I found mine at the Home Hardware here in Canada. The soap supply places aren't allowe to ship it by air, only ground, because it is caustic. Anyway, take a peek at the website I mentioned and enjoy!

 

[user 488]

Thanks Danielle! I appreciate you taking the time to post that. This really looks like something I would enjoy doing.

 

[Sterling]

Thanks for posting that site link. Certainly is a lot of work, and the finished products look amazing!

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Hey did you ever get to try making the rosemary and mint one yet? The spearmint sounds YUMMY! I, obviously, am a mint lover =)

I sure wish free smells came with each of your pictures!!!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

So neat! :aktion033:

 

[Just Us N Texas]

I can remember when my grandma made lye soap. Boy, does that date me?!!! Anyway, that stuff will keep you from having bugs, infections of the skin, and skin! I think I would like yours a lot more! So pretty, and bet they smell soooooo good.