It. Was. Soap. Poisoning...

Do you ever talk to yourself?  Do you ever answer?  My answer is yes to both questions!

Last week, I attempted a crafting project...yeah, I know ~shaking head. Since you have not seen a post OR photos on Instagram of that project, you can pretty much guess what happened.  It found it's way to the trash...another stenciling catastrophe.  The sad part is that it passed my KDS (kindergarten difficulty scale).  Guess I am going to have to re-evaluate that scale.

Still reeling from the sting of another project gone wrong, I sucked it up and decided to try a new project. For some reason I feel the old cliche "if at first you don't succeed..." will some day work in my favor.  And it did...

I finally bit the bullet and decided to give soap-making a try.



I did my research and found a couple of recipes I thought I could work with...Coffee and Honey-Almond Oatmeal.

The recipes are actually pretty simple and while this project was NOT measured on my KDS, I did it anyway.  Just goes to show, right?!


The main thing to remember when using the melt and pour soap base is that you are working on borrowed time...work quickly.  Secondly, have a set of kitchen items to use that you can keep separate from your regular kitchen items used for cooking.  Lye is caustic.  You don't want to eat out of something you use to melt/mix soap in.

Honey-Almond Oatmeal Soap
1 pound Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base
10-12 drops of Honey-Almond Soap Scent (I didn't have essential oils on hand)
3 tablespoons rolled oats (you can add more or use less)
1 glass 4 cup measuring cup
1 wooden spoon (for stirring)
large knife for cubing the soap base
Silicone molds - cooking, chocolate, etc. (I used large and small molds)
Spray bottle with alcohol

After opening the container of soap base, I chopped up one pound.  It is scored, so cutting is easy.  I had previously placed a cutting mat on my counter to work on.

I placed the chopped pieces of soap base into my large measuring cup and melted in the microwave in 30 second increments.  After most of the chunks had melted, I used 15 second increments...you don't want it to boil.  It will be hot, so be careful!


After the soap base was melted, I added the soap scent, stirred it in well, then added the oatmeal...stirred well and placed it into my molds.  After the soap was in the mold, I spritzed it with alcohol so get rid of the air bubbles.

The soap sets in about 30 minutes, but I let mine stay in the molds longer.  After about an hour, I popped them out and placed them on wax paper to cure for 24 hours.  Since these little soaps were gifts, I placed them into decorative packaging once they were set.

The coffee recipe is similar...I used 1 pound of soap base, 3 tablespoons of ground coffee and eliminated the Honey-Almond soap scent.

I mentioned earlier in the post how I talk to myself all the time...well, part of that conversation went like this while I was chopping soap and melting soap base...

Me:  Man, what a mess, how am I going to get all this wax off the knife.
Also me:  Oh yeah, it's soap, it should wash off easily.
Me:  This is never going to come off my fingers.
Also me:  It's soap.
Me:  UGH, this will never come off this wooden spoon...how am I ever going to get it out of the measuring cup?!
Also me:  It's soap.
Me: But...
Also me:  Still soap.
Me: What...
Also me:  Soap...still just soap.

This soap-making process didn't take a lot of time at all.  In the past, whenever someone had mentioned soap making, I envisioned donning something similar to a hazmat suit with goggles and a breathing apparatus so that I could handle the lye and it taking days on end with me out in the back yard stirring the contents in a cauldron over an illegal fire pit! Not so...and I enjoyed it.  Instant results!


The Honey-Almond Oatmeal soap is so creamy and smells so fresh.  The Coffee soap smells a-m-a-z-i-n-g!  I wanted to bite into it!  The Goat Milk Soap Base is so smooth and soft on your skin.  The coffee is a great exfoliant!


I will definitely be purchasing some essential oils so that the scents will last longer and I'm definitely looking forward to my next batch of homemade soap -- Orange Clove and Peppermint!  ~me, skipping off into the sunset..."if at first you don't succeed..."




22 comments

  1. That's awesome, Benita! I bought Mrs. Meyer's orange clove holiday scent for the 2nd year in a row. I love that you found a project worth repeating! Lol, if you read my post on how I'd rather be doing spreadsheets, I'll just buy it from you. Hahahaha

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    1. Thank you so much! I have never purchased any Mrs. Meyer's and need to do so. I love orange clove scents for the holidays! I loved doing this project and bought supplies to make more batches. I just finished some peppermint and activated charcoal. :-) I love doing spreadsheets...LOL. Love and hugs!

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  2. Benita you crack me up. I can just see and hear you talking to yourself and getting through this. I do the same thing. This soap is amazing. What a great gift to give too. I love homemade gifts to give like this. You go girl the Orange Clove and Peppermint sound pretty amazing too. Hugs as we fly on down to the big day.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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    1. I talk to myself all the time when I'm doing projects and have found that I do it in the store when I'm looking for some projects to try. I know the people working there think I'm nuts...LOL Thank you so much! I made some peppermint and activated charcoal today. The peppermint smells awesome!! The charcoal is for detox and has no scent. I only added some Vitamin E oil to it. I can't believe it is almost Christmas! It got here way too quickly! Love and hugs!!

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  3. Yay! Success! You have just encouraged me to try my hand at it. I have the whole talking-to-myself bit down pat! X
    xoxo

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    1. Thank you so much, I’m excited that something worked out! 😊 Yes, you are definitely qualified for soap making…easy peasy and if you have conversations with yourself, then you are over qualified…LOL Love and hugs!

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  4. Well you have given me a great laugh . Girl i talk to myself and answer myself . Granny always said itt was okay to answer yourself because you get to hear what you want too .😂 your soap making turned out great girl ! Hugs and blessings , Cindy

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    1. Awww, thank you! I try to entertain when I can and my projects usually provide said entertainment! :-) I enjoy talking to myself...it's always interesting conversation!! LOL Love and hugs to you!

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  5. beautiful! happy egg and nog dear bean!
    it's more like Spring here. says one who loves the snow. but hey!
    I'll take it anyway! it's all just grand. XOXO

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    1. Thank you so much Miss T! We have had the spring weather also…so discouraging as I do enjoy the cold of winter and was hoping for snow for the holiday! Love and hugs to you sweet friend!!!

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  6. I can almost smell them through the computer screen!

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    1. Thank you Penny! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family! Hugs!

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  7. Oooooh orange clove and peppermint sounds right up my alley, my friend!!!

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    1. I tried the peppermint today….smells amazing…the orange clove doesn’t smell as strong as I had hoped…more essential oil in the next batch of the orange clove! 😊 Love and hugs!

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  8. I think I even may have a book on soap making. That and candle making has always been something I want to try.
    Brenda

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    1. I cannot attest to candle making, but soap making is easy! I've wanted to try candles, but I think I will stick to soap and let the professionals do candles. Love and hugs!

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  9. You go girl! Look at you making really cute soap! They sound "delicious"!

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    1. Thank you so much! I really enjoyed it. Had Christmas music playing and just tooled along...bought some more supplies and made more today! Love and hugs!

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  10. Oh my, it all sounds like it smells wonderful.
    I talk to myself too.
    ;-)

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    1. I’m so glad I’m not the only one! 😊 Love and hugs!

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  11. Well, that looks amazing...you are more talented than you think. And trust me stenciling is not an easy task. And btw, your professional skills definitely show. Your photos are just fabulous, they make me want to run out and buy your soap!!

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    1. Thank you so much, you are so sweet! I don't know why I have such issues with stenciling, but I do. I have yet to have a successful stenciling project. I'm thinking about doing Etsy and selling them since I can do this project and enjoy it so much! I made additional batches today...I need to find a way to better regulate the smelly good oils...some are stronger than others. And don't even get me started on the mess activated charcoal makes...sheesh! Love and hugs!

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