Hello from a very cold and snow covered Ohio

[Hazel]

Hello,


I’m not really a soap maker. I had been playing around with M&P soap, bath salts and bath bombs for several years. I’d make them and give them out as gifts. For the past Christmas, I made body parfaits, sugar scrubs, and body creams as gifts. I’ve wanted to take soap making to the next level and was given the book “Smart Soapmaking” by Anne Watson as a Christmas present. I’m eager to try making my own soap from scratch but I haven’t gotten too it yet.

I know I have a lot to learn and I’m glad I stumbled across this site. I know I won’t be making soap any time soon. But I figure as long as I keep reading and learning, by the time I do, I hope I won’t find it as intimidating as it appears.

 

[heartsong]

x

hello and welcome!

sounds like you have a great start in bath and bodystuff!

M/P is DEFINITELY soaping! wait 'til you've seen some of the GORGEOUS m/p soaps made here in the forum! some are little works of art!

anyway, it's good to have you. have fun-this is a great bunch to hang with!

monet

 

[Chay]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Lindy]

Hello & welcome to the Forum. I also believe that M&P is soapmaking and an artform of it's own - so don't discount what you do and we would love to see pictures - we love pictures......

 

[Hazel]

Thanks for the welcome. That's kind of you to say M & P soap is also soap making. I just consider it a craft but it's fun and I can personalize the soap with different scents and colors for family and friends. They make special gifts which shows the recipient that I care. (Or that I'm really cheap.)

I think I might still have a couple of the M & P soap from Christmas. I had extra soap melted so I kept pouring until I used it up. Now if I can only find my camera... :roll:

I wish I had taken pics of the soaps before I gave them away. What I thought turned out the best was the unplanned "oh my gosh what am I going to do with this?" reaction. I hadn't thought about what to do with the small amount left in the cup after pouring. I didn't want to combine the extra into one bar because I thought the color would turn muddy and the scent might not be nice.

So, I grabbed a Christmas candy mold to pour the extra in because I didn't know what else to do. They turned out nice - little poinsettas, stars and trees. Because some didn't have enough soap to fill to the top, I spooned the clear base into them so I ended up with some of them with swirls and streaks of color.

I hadn't intended on giving them away but my mom saw them and said "Oh, you made guest soaps! These are really nice."

Yup, Mom, that's what I did. I made guest soaps. :wink:

I gave them to her since she really liked them.

But now I have an easy and quick gift idea for next Christmas.

 

[MikeInPdx]

Hello and welcome!

 

[topcat]

Welcome from sunny (and hot!) Australia, Hazel. I make both MP and CP soap and love both. I like what you did with your left over melt - very creative and guest soaps look so cute....of course you planned it that way :wink:

We do love pics here. If you read all the old topics here you will soon pick up enough information to feel comfortable making CP, HP or whatever you choose

Tanya

 

[Hazel]

Oh yeah, rub it in that you have sunshine and warmth. That's just evil. Thanks, Tanya.

Actually, today's nice. It's warmed up to 32 and the sun is out. It feels like spring.

I do want to try CP but for right now I have to concentrate on my studies. I'm attending a career college to get a diploma in Esthetics/Nail Technology and it's been many years (I won't say how many) since I've had to really study.

I've been looking at some of the pics and I'm amazed at the creativity and beauty of the soaps. I figure I'll keep reading the posts and listening to others. Hopefully, once I get the hard classes out of the way, I might have time to try a batch.

 

[topcat]

And it will be something to look forward to when the study makes you feel sort of grey in the mind!

Tanya

 

[Hazel]

I'm already looking forward to it.

 

[SoapMom]

Welcome Hazel! I won't tell you that I'm from Las Vegas *we invented hot weather* *lol* Looking forward to seeing some pics of your work!

 

[Chay]

Hazel, I'm right there with you. I also live in Ohio and have my esthetics license. It's a great field.

 

[Hazel]

Thanks for the welcome, SoapMom. I don't have anything fancy like some of the other people but maybe if I make the pic "sexy" enough, nobody will notice.

Hi Chay,

I'd love to talk to someone who's been doing esthetics for awhile and who knows what it's like in the "real" world. I'm a little concerned that I'll graduate, not be able to get a job and have to go back to factory work.

If you have any advice, I'd love to hear it.