Wax and Bubbles

Making Peppermint Soap:

40 oz Olive oil
20 oz Palm Kernel oil
20 oz Pam oil
20 oz Coconut oil
5 oz Jojoba oil (added at trace)
4 oz Lavender EO (added at trace)
2 oz Peppermint EO (added at trace)
6 oz Alcanet diffused in 8 oz olive oil (added at trace)
34 oz filtered water
14.5 oz lanolin
Combined oils and lanolin at 100 degrees F. Mixed with stick blender. Poured into loaf mold and covered with plastic wrap. Wrapped in blankets for 24 hrs and then cut into thick strips of soap and wrap in cloth or plastic wrap. Store in a cool, dry location.

Making Peppermint Lip Balm:

1½ oz beeswax pellets
1 oz cocoa butter
1½ oz shea butter
2 ozs. sweet almond oil
1-2 teaspoons peppermint essential oil
1 teaspoon vitamin E liquid

In a very small pan, add the beeswax and melt over the lowest setting.
Once melted add the cocoa butter chunks and shea butter, let melt, and
then add the sweet almond oil. Heat through. Add the Vitamin E oil.
Remove from stove and pour into a glass measuring cup for easy pouring
into lip balm containers.

Add the peppermint oil. Stir peppermint oil in
and pour into lip balm containers. If the mixture starts to harden, place in
the microwave for a few seconds to re-melt and then pour. Makes 6 oz.

Making Peppermint Lotion:

3 tbsp paraffin
1/2 cup shea butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp glycerin
10-15 drops peppermint essential oil

Slowly heat paraffin with the oils in a double boiler. Stir until blended. Add in the glycerin and remove from heat. Let cool before using.

Making Peppermint Scented Candles:

1/2 teaspoon peppermint essential oil
Wicks
Wick holder
1/2 pound beeswax
1/2 pound soy wax
Small paintbrush

1. In a double boiler, heat beeswax and soy wax until melted, about 180 degrees. Check temperature with a candy thermometer. Turn off the heat and add peppermint oil.

2. Cut 3 inches of wick; tie a knot at one end. Thread the loose end through a wick holder, and pull so the knot is secure under the holder.

3. Dip the wick and holder with wax until coated; this will stiffen and straighten the wick. Press the wick holder into the bottom of your candle holder to affix. Let the wick dry.

4. Pour the wax into the candle, and fill to the edge. Let the candle dry for about 4 hours.

• Homemade Grass Soap

What you’ll need:
Scissors
Wheatgrass
Blotter paper
Flower press
Glycerin soap
Sharp knife
Glass measuring cup
Grass fragrance
4-inch mini loaf pan
Spray bottle filled with
Rubbing alcohol
Waxed paper
Twine

Cut a 5-inch-square section from a flat of wheatgrass. Pull out individual blades with roots attached, and lay in a single layer on a sheet of blotter paper. Top with another piece of blotter paper. Sandwich between pages of a flower press. Let dry, two to three days. Cut glycerin soap (we used clear and white) into small pieces with a sharp knife. Fill measuring cup. Microwave on medium heat until melted. If desired, add a few drops of grass fragrance.

For a bar with long blades: Trim the dried grass to desired length, removing roots. Pour a thin layer of glycerin into a loaf pan. Lay five to seven blades on top, and let dry for 30 seconds. Spray with alcohol to eliminate bubbles, cover with more glycerin, and spray again with alcohol.

For a bar with chopped grass: Mix cut dried grass into glycerin, and pour into pan; spray with alcohol. Let harden, 2 hours. Freeze 20 minutes; release from pan. For gifts, wrap stacked bars in waxed paper, and secure with twine.

• Striped Soaps

What you’ll need:
Glycerin soap
Peppermint oil
Plactic spoon
red food coloring or natural colors
Loaf pan
Fork
Knife
Cellophane
Tape
Twine

1. Melt the glycerin according to the package instructions, using 1/4 cup at a time.

2. Stir in a drop of peppermint oil (available at most health-food stores) with a plastic spoon; for the clear glycerin, add drops of red food coloring, stirring until you get the desired hue.

3. Pour the 1/4 cup of melted soap into the loaf pan. Let cool for 20 minutes.

4. Score the top with a fork. Repeat, alternating colors, until the pan is full.

5. Let set for 4 hours. Pop soap out of pan, and slice into bars.

6. Wrap each bar in cellophane; tape it shut, and tie with bakery string.

• Savon de Marseille

What you’ll need:
Tools and Materials
Double boiler
Olive oil-based soap
Essential oils
French green clay
Milk carton or mold
Knife
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1 cup warm water

1. In a double boiler, completely melt a block of olive oil-based soap, but don’t let it boil. Meanwhile, add about a teaspoon of French green clay per pound of soap.

2. Once the soap is melted, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon essential oil per pound of soap base.

3. Pour the melted soap mixture into a mold, filling it to about 1 1/2 inches from the top. Allow the soap to sit until it is cool and hard, at least 2 hours.

4. Once it’s hard, use a knife to slice the soap into 1 1/2-inch bars.

5. Combine about 1 tablespoon fine sea salt and 1 cup warm water. Wash the soap bars in this salt-water solution. Let soap dry completely, then rinse it in plain warm water. (Source: Martha Stewart Crafts)

Almost as appealing as the beautiful soaps themselves is how easily they can be made.

To get started, you’ll need:

• Clear glycerin soap
• Natural food coloring
• Coffee stirrers
• A clean milk or juice carton (to use as a mold)
• Cooking Spray
• Ice-cube trays as your molds
(If you want a certain scent added to the soap, just add your favorite essential oils to the melted soap base. 7-10 drops should do the trip per this batch.)

Glycerin is usually sold in large blocks at crafts stores; to melt it, cut it into small cubes that will fit in a microwavable bowl or measuring cup. Heat glycerin in a microwave on high, stirring at 15-second intervals, until it’s completely melted. Mix liquid food coloring into bowl with a coffee stirrer. (Food coloring is very strong, so use it sparingly.) Coat the inside of the milk carton with the cooking spray. Pour in melted glycerin. Let cool completely (about 2 hours).Tear away carton, and, using a bench scraper, slice block into individual bars. Or place the melted ice-cube trays and after the glycerin is completely dry and hardened pop them out just like you would regular ice.

If you are giving these soaps as a gift you can buy simple material and by using a scrapbooking (jagged) scissors, cut the material into small squares. Wrap the finished glycerin soaps in the material and tuck the ends under and tie off with cordinating small ribbon. It is a nice added touch to take a small piece of cardstock and punch a hole in the cardstock with a hole punch and feed the ribbon through the hole before you tie it around the soaps.

I like to give these in a gift basket, with about three material wrapped soaps stacked up and the ribbon and cardstock label around all the soaps. It’s anice added touch for someone that is in the hospital or has the flu (add eucalyptus essential oil to the soap blend) along with chicken soup.

Here’s some basic recipes on how to make soaps. Most of the soap on the market contains chemicals and colors that aren’t good for your skin or your body. Making them at home is a great way to bypass all of those harmful ingredients.

• Cirtus Beeswax Soap:

4 ounces (114 grams) glycerin soap base (available at any healthfood store)
10 drops grapefruit essential oil
1 teaspoon beeswax

How to:

Melt glycerin over low heat in a double boiler or microwave. Add beeswax and remove from heat. Stir until wax is melted. Add essential oil. Stir and pour into mold.
The trick to glycerin when using melt and pour soaps is to keep the heat as low as possible. Too much heat will cause a mushy or beaded appearance after a very short storage time. Keep glycerin soaps sealed in plastic to keep the glycerin from attracting moisture from the air.

• Lavender Soap:

2 cups glycerin soap
1/2 cup dried lavender blooms (ground up in a food processor)
7 drops lavender essential oil

How to:

Melt glycerin in double boiler or slowly in microwave. Add lavender bloomks, stir until slightly cooled. Add essential oil. Pour into molds. Cool.

• Green Tea Chammomile Soap:

2 cups glycerin soap base
1 tablespoon powdered chamomile
1 tablespoon glycerin or aloe vera
3 tea bags of green tea

How to:

Melt glycerin base in double boiler on low heat. Blend the green tea, tear open the bag and combine with glycerin or aloe. Stir this mixture into melted glycerin. Pour into small tupperware style containers and leave uncovered until cool.

**Marlee Matlin To Guest-Star on Nip/Tuck and Robyn Charles over at Watching Showtime has the details. Read about it here.**
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WAX AND BUBBLES PRODUCT SHOWCASE:

General Wax & Candle Company has been providing quality candles since 1949. Their origins are in institutional sales such as restaurants and churches. These institutions burn millions of candles per year and always insist on the best quality. Many insist on using only General Wax candles. They pride themselves in creating the best burning candles in the industry.

This is a fun project for kids and even some adults.

Materials for the Swiss Cheese Candles:
• Beeswax strips or pellets (Can be found at any craft store or healthfood store)
• Candle Wicks or Tappered Candle
• 2 Pint Milk Carton
• Crushed Ice

Instructions:

Cut off the top of the milk carton so that you have a “box” with one end open. Next, Melt wax over medium heat. Place one of the wicks into the milk carton and fill the carton with the ice. Be sure that the wick is centered and is as long as the carton. Next, pour the melted wax into the carton filling to the top. Let sit until hardened and the ice has melted, then carefully cut and peel away the carton from the candle. You will now have a candle. The ice in the carton caused the wax to quickly harden around the crushed ice. The result is a “swiss cheese” looking candle. Each one looks a little different! These must be handled carefully after because the swiss cheese nature of the candle makes it fragile.

You can use colored candles or colored crayons or wax to give it a different effect each time. These are particularly fun to make and use only about 2-or-3 crushed cubes and once they are done, put a ribbon through one of the Swiss Cheese holes and tie to a package along side the gifting bow. But have fun with it and be creative.

**The Board of Trustees chairman of Appalachian State University’s Jim Deal, says the university should “build more green.” Over at Appalachian State Blog the whole story behind his quote is posted. Read it all by clicking here.**

FUTURE POST LOOK-ON:

• Spicy Mouthwash

• Make Your Own Soy Candles

• Making Bath Salts

• More On Room Scents

The bottom line in candle making is patience. Next would come the equipment. If you have been wanting to make you own candles but just haven’t really know where to start, there is candle making kits avaliable almost everywhere, even Wal-Mart. The best candle making kit that I have run across is at Great Candle. They pretty much include in their kit everything you will need in order to get started right away. Their kits include:

• Votive Kit $28.00 - Perfect Kit to start with, Kit contains: 4 lbs of Soy/Blend votive wax, 8 votive molds, 32 wicks 4 - 1oz. bottles of fragrance, Honeydew Melon, Apples and Berries, Kiwi Strawberry, Cherry, approx 1/2 red color block, approx. 1/2 green color block, and complete instructions . Kit makes approx. 32 candles.

• Basic Soy Container Kit $28.00 - Perfect for the beginner. Kit contains: 5.25 lbs Southern Scentsations GW Soy, 12 Jelly jars, 12 Htp wicks, 3.95 oz’s of Southern Apple Pie, 3.95 oz’s of Love Spell fragrances, a Red Dye Block. Kit contains instructions, and Candle Making tips.

• Deluxe Soy Container Kit $75.99 - Kit includes all of the Basic Soy Kit: 5.25 lbs Southern Scentsations GW Soy, 12 Jelly jars, 12 Htp wicks, 3.95 oz’s of Southern Apple Pie, 3.95 oz’s of Love Spell fragrances, a Red Dye Block. Kit contains instructions, and Candle Making tips. Plus you get a Presto Pot for melting wax, A Pouring Pot, Thermometer, and a Ladle.

You can take any of these candle making recipes and supplies and add an essential oil to them and make them original and your own. You can even get a register from your own state and patent these candles for profit. Simple as that. The more you make the better you will get and the more you experiment with oils and floral scents the more you will learn about what scents last longer and what scents don’t.

More supplies you may need are as follows.

° Wicks

° Dye

° Containers

° Molds

° Scents

**Is Sara Sidle (aka Jorja Fox) leaving CSI Las Vegas for good? Over at Watching CSI, KD Griffin talks about what will happen on tonights show and whether that question will be answered or not. Read the whole story here.**

FUTURE POST LOOK-ON:

• Sore Muscle Soak

• Cucumber Facial Mask

• Herbal Facial Steam

• Herbal Massage Oil

• Antiseptic Mouth Wash

This winter, thou shalt not chap.

If you hate chapped winter, dry lips then instead of piling on the store bought brand, make your own and make several to pass out to others that have chapped lips. You can add as many ingredients and take as many ingredients away as you want. It’s your recipe. Improvise this recipe and make it your own.

Peppermint Eucalyptus: Thou-Shalt not chap soothing lip balm®™BeeSpa Naturals

6 drops peppermint essential oil
4 drops eucalyptus essential oil
4 drops rosemary essential oil
1 tablespoon soy wax
1 tablespoon beeswax pearls
1 tablespoon pure shea butter
2 tablespoons sweet almond oil

Mix essential oils and almond oil together in a small glass bowl. Heat in microwave for about 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and add soy wax. Heat for another 30 seconds. Mix in beeswax pearls with a whisk. Heat for another 30 seconds. Whisk in shea butter. Mixture will become very hot, as well as the bowl. Use care when handling. Heat for 1 minute or until shea butter is melted. whisk ingredients together till mixture begins to cool. You have to continue to mix so the oils can become incorporated into the mixture completely. If you have to stick the bowl in the refrigerator till the bowl becomes cooled down enough to handles without a pot-holder or tea towel. After the mixture is whisked enough to be incorporated, but not fully set, pour into a very shallow container with a lid. Make sure the container is shallow enough to put your finger in or a lip brush. Use whenever your lips feel dry and chapped.

This recipe is great for skiiers or snowboarders. Because of the products in this lip balm, be sure and not use this chap-stick before tanning in a tanning bed or staying in the sun for too long.

Always label your products made. You don’t want to spend the time making something and throw it in your purse or bag and forget what it is later on.

**Dorrington Williams over at Motor Musings here at 451 Press has done many postings on Autos A-Z. Day was the posting on “B”, bearings. Read how important it is to keep up on your cars bearings maintenance by clicking here.**

FUTURE POST LOOK-ON:

• Sore Muscle Soak

• Candles Made From Soy

• Cucumber Facial Mask

• Making Room Scents For Your Home

• Herbal Massage Oil

Soy or beeswax candles can be purchased just about anywhere anymore. If you purchase just any-type of candle be it not beeswax or soy wax-based, always make sure it doesn’t contain a wire wick. Wire wicks give off chemicals that can be very harmful to your lungs and growing children’s lungs when inhaled.

For this craft you want to choose/make candles that are light in color. White, yellow and even a lighter shade of tan can be used.

Take a large-base pillar candle and run a smooth knife blade down the side of the candle, just to take off a small shaving of the candle on the outside and to loosen the wax just a little. This process also removes any dirt that might be on the candle from store handling. Save those shavings for later on in the project.

Now is the fun part. Head outside your home or to a park and pick up bright colored leaves. Be sure and not get leaves that are taller than your candle. Small Maple leaves are what I have used in the past and they are so colorful when the candle is lit.

Be sure and wash the leaves and dry them before applying them to the candle. Once the leaves are ready to be applied, take some white glue and and q-tip. With the q-tip apply a small amount of white glue all over the leaf and apply to the sides of the candle. Repeat this process till you get a nice leaf decoration on the outside of the candle. You can use just one leaf if you want or use 5-6 leaves for a bigger fall decorative design. While the glue is setting on the candle and leaf, The shavings that you took off earlier, pop them in the microwave in a microwave bowl that you don’t mind using for wax. About 30-50 seconds, depending on how much wax you took off. You may need to buy some additional beeswax or wax pellets if you use a lot of leaves for your design.

Once the wax is melted. Take the candle with the leaves, and over another bowl or paper plate, pour the wax slowly over the leaf designs and make sure you go slow enough in order not to waste the wax. Coat the entire leaf, even the stem with wax. Then repeat with a second coat when the first coat is dry.

You can do several candles of different sizes to get a fall decorative design that can be used as a center piece within your Thanksgiving dinner table.

**Do you like taking a drive through neighborhoods at Christmas-time and looking at holiday lights? Over at Louisville, KY blog here at 451 Press, Heather Hedgepeth gives a rundown of the lighting schedule for Louisville. So if you live close, you can be in the know on the best light displays in the city. Read the schedule here.**

FUTURE POST LOOK ON:

• Coffee Scrub

• Sore Muscle Soak

• Candles Made From Soy

• Green Tea Astringent

• Lip Balm For The Winter

I love, love, love this soap. I make it all the time, and it gets used up, given away, or sold within a few days of the batch coming out of the molds. It looks gorgeous and works like a charm. This is Spa Soap (well, that’s what I’ve called it anyway - you’re free to come up with a more creative name of course), and it’s one of the best-selling soaps I’ve ever made.

To make Spa Soap, you have to first whip up a batch of bath salts. Go ahead, I’ll wait. All done? Great! Let’s move on.

I don’t have exact amounts to give you for this recipe, ’cause I usually just play around with the soap base I have on hand. If you need specific amounts though, let me know and I’ll measure next time I make them. Don’t be intimidated by the extra step here - it sounds a lot more complicated than it is.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• transparent melt and pour soap base
• deep, individual soap molds - I use mini loaf pans, the ones that make single servings
• bath salts
• a shallow plastic tray that can handle the heat of melted soap
• soap colourant, any colour
• essential or fragrance oil, any scent (ocean scents are really nice in this one)
• basic melt and pour supplies: sharp knife, double boiler, spoons, etc.

(more…)

Almost every crafter, no matter their medium, will end up with a bag or box full of scraps of material. This collection of odds and ends will prove to test your creativity, as you try to figure out the best way to use them. Materials are expensive, so you can’t just throw them away!

Soap scraps are really fun to play with and turn into a whole new bar. You can grate cold process soap that didn’t turn out and use it as laundry soap, but if you have odd-shaped bars that are otherwise fine to use, you can create something else entirely. The same goes for bits of melt and pour soap. This project was really simple and fun to do, and it led to many other ideas for new bars - some of which became best-sellers at craft fairs.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• empty Pringles can, cleaned and dried
• soap scraps, various colours, cut into rough chunks
• spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol
• melt and pour soap base, clear or opaque
• soap colourant, any colour
• soap fragrance oil or essential oil, any scent
• equipment for making melt and pour soap: double boiler, spoons, sharp knife, vegetable peeler

(more…)

This is a melt and pour recipe that is perfect for little girls. It sells very well at craft shows, and girls just seem to flock to it! I even use it myself sometimes, when I want to get in touch with my inner princess. The combination of the pink colour, the scent of roses, and suspended glitter is hard to resist.

You can find the glitter at just about any craft store, but make sure that it’s made for soap-making. Don’t use regular craft glitter, because it will bond together and create big, shiny, hard lumps in your soap. Soap glitter (also called cosmetic grade glitter) will separate and suspend itself in the bars.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 pound transparent melt & pour soap base
• red or vivid pink soap colourant (liquid or gel works best)
• rose fragrance oil
• cosmetic grade, loose glitter
• soap molds of your choice (I like to use old muffin tins)

Melt, colour, and scent your soap base according to these directions. You want the colour to be a bright pink, which you can achieve with the red dye by adding a few drops at a time and stirring well between each addition. If you have pink colourant, that’s even better.

Allow the liquid soap to cool just until a skin develops on top; stir in a couple of teaspoons of the glitter. You really don’t need too much! Stir the glitter in quickly and pour the soap into your molds. Spray the exposed soap in the molds lightly with rubbing alcohol to reduce air bubbles.

Let the soap harden at room temperature for a few hours. Pop the bars out, and they’re ready to enjoy! If you’re planning to give the soap as gifts or sell them, wrap each bar tightly with thin plastic wrap and tie with a ribbon. Any little girl would love them!