Crafternoon activity suggestions

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Ok hive mind… my sister and niece (adult, >40) are coming to my house for an afternoon of bath product making. Would love to hear your ideas for what to make - I was thinking about sugar scrubs, whipped body butter, cp soap… the thing is I want them to be able to make something on their own rather than watching me. I have space for them to work, but only have one mixer. Your thoughts? I also would love for them to have some creative freedom with whatever they make.
 
Sounds like fun! Do you have room for one to be making soap while the other is making something different?

If you have the ingredients to make bubble scoops, those are pretty. I like the lotion bar/lip balm idea. They could definitely make scrubs or bath salts. Solid perfume is another option if you have any small tins/jars.
 
Sounds like fun! Do you have room for one to be making soap while the other is making something different?

If you have the ingredients to make bubble scoops, those are pretty. I like the lotion bar/lip balm idea. They could definitely make scrubs or bath salts. Solid perfume is another option if you have any small tins/jars.
I like those ideas - I’ve never made bubble scoops I bet my niece would love them. I do have lots of space. Especially if I clean up and clear my work tables. 😬

It's already crafternoon so FWIW, I'd go with lip balms and/or lotion bars because of the near-instant gratification. Keep us posted. And yeah, 2 more converted!
Haha yes it’s not until this weekend so I can plan a little. Knowing my niece she’d love creating little gift boxes for her friends. Lotion bars, bubble scoops, lip balms…
If they spend the night, we could pour some soap.
 
Sugar scrub is easy to learn about and do. I’ve been doing this with groups using the BB Golden Sugar Scrub recipe as a base, then adding in a vitamin E and preservative. Everyone loves making it and the end product. And you don’t need a mixer - bowls and spatulas are perfect! Most fun for them - picking their own scent and mica color, so they can have custom scrubs. Have fun!
 
I did an afternoon of melt & pour with my sisters in August, everyone had an amazing time.
It was easy and safe. There were 10 of us, I didn't make anything so that I could supervise, answer questions, etc. But everyone had their own different taste in colors, fragrance, mold selected. They each made 3-4 bars. A couple sisters had specific gift ideas in mind, others for themselves, etc. It was really fun.
I've done it with a couple friends, too.
 
I did an afternoon of melt & pour with my sisters in August, everyone had an amazing time.
It was easy and safe. There were 10 of us, I didn't make anything so that I could supervise, answer questions, etc. But everyone had their own different taste in colors, fragrance, mold selected. They each made 3-4 bars. A couple sisters had specific gift ideas in mind, others for themselves, etc. It was really fun.
I've done it with a couple friends, too.
You must have a big family! I have four sisters. No brothers. I was thinking a crafternoon with all of them could be fun. Maybe.
 
Sugar scrub is easy to learn about and do. I’ve been doing this with groups using the BB Golden Sugar Scrub recipe as a base, then adding in a vitamin E and preservative. Everyone loves making it and the end product. And you don’t need a mixer - bowls and spatulas are perfect! Most fun for them - picking their own scent and mica color, so they can have custom scrubs. Have fun!
That’s funny I have started making sugar scrubs on the recommendation of the same niece - she has been my tester. 😊 She is in the know about what is “in” - helpful since I’m old (and dorky 🤓).
And btw the threads on SMF about sugar scrubs have been very helpful!
 
@Vicki C - Some type of label for the end product could be good. I made these labels for my groups so they can mark their containers with who made it and what scent they used. 🌸
 

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You must have a big family!
@Vicki C - well , I do have a big family. Four sisters (so five girls) and three brothers.
But, I used "sisters" loosely. Although we call it a "sisters week", it's more of women's week. It included a sister-in-law, my nephew's wife, my son's partner, one of my nieces and a grand niece- and a remote appearance by a niece who didn't get to make anything. Technically, only 5 biological sisters.
 
Update - I had a wonderful time making soap with my sister and niece - they got to choose their colors and fragrances and were enthralled by the process. But I messed up. Apparently I did not tare the containers with their oils, so the soap is lye heavy and unusable. I have made lots of soap and I know how to tare. I was setting up workstations for them, and I must have just gotten excited and been thinking about the next thing, and wasn’t paying attention! I realized it the next day when it didn’t seem right when we cut the soap. Although I was confused the day before when there didn’t seem to be enough soap batter for the molds we were using. Lesson learned, Be Here Now. They were incredibly gracious and still loved making it.
We made the (unusable) soap on Saturday - on Sunday after I realized my mistake my niece made cream from some lotion concentrate I had on hand, scented with “bum bum” dupe from Crafters Choice, which she was delighted with. It was still a great weekend.
 
Update - I had a wonderful time making soap with my sister and niece -
@Vicki C , I'm so glad to hear that you made soap with your sister and niece. A little bit of a bummer that the soap ended up lye heavy. Maybe someone on this forum can let you know if it can be salvaged by rebatching by hot process or something?

Next month, I'm going to do an afternoon of cold process soaping with my girlfriend who got me addicted by first giving me a bar of M&P and then doing an afternoon of M&P with me. (she teaches all sorts of crafts and M&P is like one small speck in her repertoire .) She's never tried CP. But, I decided that I will pre-measure oils, lye, water, etc. in advance, with a ton of labels and notes (I generally use a checklist form and post it notes to make sure I don't skip over steps...) This way, they can see the whole process but less of a risk of a fire drill, etc. so that they can focus on the more creative aspect.
 
@Vicki C , I'm so glad to hear that you made soap with your sister and niece. A little bit of a bummer that the soap ended up lye heavy. Maybe someone on this forum can let you know if it can be salvaged by rebatching by hot process or something?

Next month, I'm going to do an afternoon of cold process soaping with my girlfriend who got me addicted by first giving me a bar of M&P and then doing an afternoon of M&P with me. (she teaches all sorts of crafts and M&P is like one small speck in her repertoire .) She's never tried CP. But, I decided that I will pre-measure oils, lye, water, etc. in advance, with a ton of labels and notes (I generally use a checklist form and post it notes to make sure I don't skip over steps...) This way, they can see the whole process but less of a risk of a fire drill, etc. so that they can focus on the more creative aspect.
Ironically that’s just what I did, premeasured everything, but got ahead of myself!
 
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