I've been wanting to do something non-bookish on the blog but couldn't think what. I'm not much for cooking, I can't garden worth a darn, and I don't sew, knit,or do anything creative. Then I remembered that I make soaps, bath salts, and sugar scrubs, and that's both creative AND crafty. Every other Saturday I'll share some photos and recipes and chat a bit. I'm by no means an expert, it's a casual hobby, though for a few years I did have an online store. I still sell if you ever want to place an order.
I use melt and pour soaps, AKA glycerin soap. It's easy to work with and there are no harsh chemicals involved. I was inspired years ago when one of the women's groups at my church made some for our annual harvest fair, a big fundraiser for our church budget every year. I picked one up and thought, "I can do this." So, being a book person and not yet captured by the internet, I went to Michael's Crafts, bought a book and a soap kit and began experimenting. I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning such as using food coloring to color the soap. Yeah, don't. Every time I used those soaps, the dye rubbed off onto my skin. These days I buy supplies from several different online sources and there are some lovely colorants, both powdered and liquid, available.
This is a coyote paw, inspired by Mercy Thompson from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. I bought this mold, and a few others, from Acorn Naturalists. While not intended as a soap mold, it works quite well.
I heated cubes of white M&P soap in the microwave until they were melted. Then I added scent, 4 drops per ounce of soap, and stirred. Once I was satisfied with the scent, I poured the melted soap into the coyote mold (make sure your mold is on a flat surface), sprayed it with rubbing alcohol to remove bubbles, then left it sitting out on the counter until it was completely cool. Since it was a smallish mold and made of flexible polymers, the soap set in under an hour. I poked it gently to verify that it was done, picked up the mold, flexed it, and popped out the paw. I let it sit for 24 hours before wrapping it in plastic wrap.
Here's another coyote paw, unscented, made from honey glycerine.
Next time, I'll show off some wolf paw soap that I've made.
What crafts or hobbies do you enjoy? Share in the comments.
oh wow this is so crafty...I like making my own bath salts..since I recently got into essential oils, but this sounds like fun...I just might try it out. Love learning new things.
ReplyDeleteGive it a try! It's fun. :)
DeleteI love those! I've toyed around with the idea of making my own soaps and bath salts but never have. I really want to try to make bath bombs but haven't worked up the courage. I love how you're making soaps inspired by books. I like to cook and garden but don't really have any creating hobbies though I'd like to start!
ReplyDeleteThe one time I tried bath bombs, I bombed. :D Trying again is on my to-do list.
DeleteI seriously need to do this. I heard you can make your own lotion by beating coconut oil and adding essentail oils for scent. I need to look into that. I haven't used perfume in over 20 years. I only use essential oils, usually french vanilla, so I like the idea of making my own soaps and lotions to suit my sense of smell.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried making my own lotion, just adding colorant scent to plain lotion. There's a lot you can do with personal care products and essential oils and pleasing your own sense of smell is easy to do plus fun.
DeleteOh, I love that you're doing this ! I tried making liquid soap once, but since I made liquid detergent at the same time and put them in the same kind of pots... I couldn't tell one from the other, lol ! So I used them to clean the sink :D Your mold is original and book related, that's great. Otherwise, I knit a little, hook a lot, cross stitch, draw, paint/decorate furniture, do a little calligraphy, love gardening and all that :)
ReplyDeleteLOL sounds like something I might do. :D I haven't tried my hand at liquid soap yet; for me bars of soap are so much more fun. :)
DeleteOh how funny about using food dye. lol That would be quite the surprise when you first tried it out. lol
ReplyDeleteHeh, I was bright blue for weeks. :D
DeleteHow cool!! Every time I watch a DIY show I want to do something then I get lazy or forget. Lol Amazing stuff, lady, you should strike up a deal with authors, make some for them to give away during book cons or signings
ReplyDeleteI've thought about that actually. Maybe I should re-consider it.
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