Back at Christmas I got into Bath-Bomb making, and since then I've delved into the world of Cold Process Soap Making. (Yes, the kind where you start out with lye.) (Yes, Mom, I'm being very careful with lye.) I've made a few batches so far with varied results, but I do believe I'm getting better! It takes 4-6 weeks for each bar to cure (the water evaporates to make the bar harder and last longer) so I sill have a couple more weeks before I find out for sure if I did my first few batches correctly. I think I did pretty good, though!
I started with a Handmade Soap Kit from Brambleberry, and then tried again with a Basic Quick Mix of oils. I read a lot online and watched a ton of Youtube tutorials. I also purchased the book Pure Soapmaking by Anne-Marie Faiola. Then I started mixing my own using recipes I found online (mostly soapqueen.com) I've made 5 batches so far. It's pretty fun! The best part might be that it makes the whole house smell good, too. My goal is to create natural, as-organic-as-possible soap. (Soap can't actually be organic, but I want something made up of natural, good-for-you ingredients that aren't harmful to the earth.)
Also, on my last order from Brambleberry I got a free sample of Blueberry fragrance oil. Today I used it to make a batch of bath bombs. The last set I made about a month ago didn't go well at all, so I was pleasantly surprised when these (mostly) turned out well. A few crumbled while drying but since more than 1 actually stayed in a spherical shape this time I'm not complaining! And they smell WONDERFUL! I added some blue gel dye to keep the blueberry theme going.
