An Adventure in Soap Making

The store A.C.Moore has recently started a rewards program.  This is a big problem for a person like me who will use any excuse to go into a craft store and buy things, spending money that really isn't there.  I try really hard to hold back and only go to craft stores when I have a coupon or there is some sort of sale going on.  Unfortunately I am on the coupon mailing lists (both online and regular mail) for Michael's, A.C.Moore, and JoAnn's and I have coupons all the time.  Anyway, I didn't have a coupon today but when I heard I could join a rewards program I got really excited and went out only to join.  I brought my sister along hoping that she would restrain me.  Erin is not a craft addict.  She messes around with clay on occasion but nothing else and she's supposed to reign me in if I get out of hand.  She didn't.  I bought a soap making kit.

I'm not quite sure what made me buy the soap making kit.  I'm not a fan of fancy soaps.  In fact, I use body wash, not soap, so it was an odd decision.  I bought that (and a few jewelry making supplies that were on sale) and went on my merry way.  Intrigued, I began my soap making adventure as soon as I got home.  To clarify, I know absolutely nothing about making soap.  This was a beginner's kit with very few instructions and so I'm unsure how the technique I used differs from the technique people who make soap all the time use.  I had to microwave it, add the scent and any coloring I wanted, stir it all up and pour it into the mold to cool.  Sounds pretty simple.

Well, it got all wrinkly as it cooled and the bottom was not very pretty to look at.  Melted soap is an absolute mess!  It got everywhere, burned my hands, and even though it was only soap, cleaning it up was surprisingly annoying.  It is also very difficult to get out of those molds.  So difficult in fact that they're still in the molds!  Now, they're only cheap molds that came with a kit and the kit came with very few instructions, so soap making may be very fun and enjoyable if you're doing it as a hobby and you actually know what to do, but for me, this was a craft flop.  I very rarely have those, so I felt a mixture of sadness and joy.  I was sad that I couldn't add a new craft to my list (the list can never be too long), but oh so happy that I wouldn't be spending even more of my non-existent money on this new craft.

Look for some picture updates in the near future!