Handmade Soap

See what I've been doing in my "spare time" (hahahahahahaha!!)...  It's beautiful, fragrant, handmade soap.   The soap on the left is Rose Petal scented (with real rose petals).  The soap in the middle is Lavender (with real Lavender buds).  And the brown soap on the right is... well, I haven't quite figured out what to call it.  I made it with cocoa butter and added some dutch cocoa, vanilla coffee grounds, and almond scent.  It doesn't really smell like chocolate or coffee or almonds.  Maybe like hot chocolate but weaker.  It is my favorite though!!  And it looks a lot darker in the picture.  My little boys loved the frogs and turtles.

I've never made anything but "melt and pour" soap before.  I had been planning to make "real" soap and had collected my lye, molds, scents and some of the oils over the past few years.  But I just never got around to making any.  So I dug out some of my soap making books--and I really liked this one by Delores Boone...

She uses the "hot process" method and I used my crock-pot to cook the soap.  It was great and even though my soaps never did what the book said it would do, it still made soap.  I hardly ever follow directions for anything but since it was my first time and I know how dangerous lye can be, I made sure I tried to do everything as close as possible to her instructions as I could.  By the third batch I knew enough of what to expect and do that I "improvised" with my additives to make the "hot cocoa almondine" batch. 

So now I have a new mania!!  I'm obsessed!!