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Do You Take Notes?

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:09:01 +0000

I recently went through a box of old soap and candle making files. About half of it was filled with old recipes and project notes...many of them stained and marked up.

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Is Soy Wax Better?

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:19:17 +0000

All right...I must admit...I was pretty pro-soy wax this weekend. I had a soy wax container candle - (one of the nice high ball glass candles I made with the Bramble Berry Soy Waxes) - that had burned down to the bottom.

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Choosing Safe Containers for Your Candles

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:47:22 +0000

I recently got to help a friend clean out their garage and they had a bookcase FULL of small pots, jars, glasses and other unique containers that they were going to use "sometime" for "something." It was a pretty neat collection - and many of them could be used for candle containers...so I was interested.

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Rebatching - A Hot Process for Cold Process

Sat, 04 May 2013 11:43:49 +0000

We've been talking about hot process soap making in a crock pot lately - and some of you I'm sure remembered another batch of soap I made in that crock pot - a rebatched batch. Rebatching is a way to take finished cold process soap and RE-process it - to add fragrance or additives that wouldn't hold up to the lye or to fix a mistake like leaving out an oil or the fragrance. Like hot process soap making, it creates a lumpier, thicker, more rustic soap - but sometimes it's necessary.

Cooking Up Some Soap in Your Crock Pot

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:14:58 +0000

There are several ways to make soap - melt and pour, cold process, rebatching and hot process. Liquid soap is a hot process soap, but you can also make bar soaps with a hot process. Hot process soap making is pretty much like cold process...just with some added heat. You "cook" the soap through the saponification process. Pioneers used to do it over a big open-fire kettle. We're doing it a bit more civilized here - in a crock pot.

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Sugar Scrub Cubes - Easy and Portable

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:39:29 +0000

Sugar or salt scrubs give your skin natural exfoliation and a lot of moisturizing. They're easy to make (just mix oil, sugar and fragrance) but they're messy to use. Here is a variation that adds melt and pour soap to the mix - so it holds up as a single "cube" of sugar scrub. The soap helps with the clean up to. Your skin will love you for it!

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Dipped Taper Candle Variations - Twisted & Danish

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:01:41 +0000

Yes...dipped taper candles are a lot of work.

But they're really easy to make...and like rendering your own tallow for soap making, they are something that I think every candle maker should do at least once. Here are a couple of fun variations on the simple dipped tapers - a slim taper called a "Danish taper" which is grouped into a "Danish taper tree" - and a fun "twisted" variation. So spread out a whole lot of newspaper...and get dipping!

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Starting with Melt and Pour

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 12:31:38 +0000

While some soap makers jump in a try cold process soap from the start, many test the water (or test the soap, rather) with melt and pour soap. And yes, while there are some limitations to it, there are also wonderful things you can do with melt and pour that you just can't achieve with cold process soap. Whether you're just looking to get started making soap, or want to try something new, here are some resources for melt and pour soap making.

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Easy Beeswax Candle Projects

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:25:07 +0000

Steve Wisbauer / Getty Images

Even if they weren't so easy to make, beeswax candles would be worth it.

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So You Want to Make Some Soap?

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 18:45:00 +0000

Monica Rodriguez / Getty Images

I'm not sure what is aligning in the universe of late...but this past week, 4 different people have come up to me and said, "I want to learn to make soap - what do I need to get started?"

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