Beautiful morning lets get soap making

7/3/13 Woke up today to a bright sunny morning. As usual my routine is to put the kettle on to make coffee, feed the cats (we seem to have acquired another one), feed the chickens and then the dogs then sit down for my coffee.
Today I have decided to make soap. I made a batch about a year ago and its beginning to run low. Making soap isn't difficult and you can add whatever fragrances you want. Last year I put lavender oil and flowers in mine. The dried lavender buds do resemble mice droppings which isnt that inviting, however it smells nice. This time round I'm going to use tea tree oil which not only smells lovely but is also very good for the skin.
As always I have bought my soap base and oil from http://www.wikaniko.com/shop/white-soap-base.html  For a kilo of soap base it only costs £4.75 and the tea tree is £3.14 You only use a little of the tea tree. That really is not a bad price when you compare it to the cost of a bar of soap and I will be making a kilo. The joy of making your own soap is that you know exactly what is used and therefore being put on your skin.
I already have moulds but you can use everyday containers such as milk cartons cut down.

To begin I need to find a bowl large enough to hold a kilo of chopped soap base. A pan to put water in and the bowl. Make sure that I have my essential oil ready and my moulds. All I need to do is chop my soap base into small piece and put them in the bowl. Boil the water in the pan and place the bowl over the boiling water. The bowl can be put in the microwave to melt the soap base but I prefer to use the pan. Keep a check on the melting soap base and make sure the pan does not boil dry. Once the soap base is thoroughly melted add the essential oil and stir. All that is then needed is to pour your soap into the mould and let to set, which takes about a day. Once set pop the soap out of the mould and hey presto you not only have your own supply but also a lovely gift for family and friends.
Soap making can be fun and there are numerous essential oils and other things that you can to add to your soap. Plus you can buy different moulds such as heart and novelty shapes.
For the more adventurous rather than using soap base you can make your own but I have tried this and it is time consuming, You can see the process for making soap from scratch at http://www.wikinut.com/how-to-make-soap-in-four-easy-steps/2t56l006/b8s2rsxc/
Well that's it for this morning and don't forget to like my Facebook page
take care
Pat x