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Fun Thread: Favorite Christmas Craft or Project?
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 704771" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>Soap can be easy or hard to make. If you want to do the start from lye and fat, that can be difficult. If you just want a pretty but easy gift, you can get melt and pour soap at any craft store like Hobby Lobby and that is easy. With the Melt and Pour type soap you add the scent you want, and the color you want, and you pour it into a mold and there you are. You can get some that are clear (glycerin based) or you can get some that are opaque that are a more creamy base. Any essential oil can be added for scent, or you can add other scents that are sold for soaps. If you use the opaque type you can add a small amount of oils/fat to superfat the soap to make it more moisturizing. This means adding up to about 5% of shea butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, etc... whatever you want to make it more moisturizing. You add these with the scents and color, after you melt the base and take it off of the heat, just before you pour it into a mold.</p><p></p><p>If you want to make a fun soap for a child, take a small toy (not a choking hazard) and put it into the mold and pour the soap around it so that it is uncovered as the soap is used. I used to do this so that it would encourage my boys to actually use soap. Otherwise they were not inclined to use it at all.</p><p></p><p>THe hand cream I use is easy to make also. I purchase my supplies online, but many can be purchased in local organic food stores. You can use refined shea butter, cocoa butter (regular gives a chocolate scent, deodorized doesn't), coconut oil (if you like it, I do not), and oils of your choice to make the cream. I also use butters I can't find locally like illipe, but you couldn't get them close to Christmas while you can get the others at Sprouts or Whole Foods if you wanted. Heck, even Hobby Lobby has Shea Butter. Don't use unrefined shea because the odor will be overwhelming. I use avocado or walnut or macadamia or sunflower or olive or whatever olive oil I have on hand or find in the grocery. Rice bran oil is actually fantastic, esp if you like a lighter oil. But any of these is available in most groceries and is wonderful in a hand cream/butter. To combine, put equal amounts of the butters in a container in the microwave. Nuke for about 30 seconds at a time on medication power until barely melted, stirring after each interval. Once melted, add the oil. I use about 1 part oil to 2 parts butters (coconut oil is considered a butter to me). I mix the oil in well and then add whatever essential oils in a couple of drops at a time. </p><p></p><p>I use disposable containers and utensils to make the hand cream/butter. It is just a pain to try to wash them clean. If you want a truly luxurious product, put the cream container into a larger container with ice water in it (do not let the ice water get into the cream) and whip it with a fork or old whisk you can throw away. Do this until it is light and fluffy. THen pack into jars and label. It will feel lovely when used. If it gets hot, it may melt, but it will just lose the air whipped into it, it will still be a nice hand cream/body butter. </p><p></p><p>This really is a super easy, maybe 15-20 min project. It packages up to look lovely and it seems like you spent a lot of time on it. </p><p></p><p>Another easy companion gift is a sugar scrub or salt scrub. This is more of a five minute gift to make. It literally takes more time to label and wrap than to make. You mix olive oil (or any of other oils mentioned above other than coconut oil) with sugar. I usually put sugar into a container and add enough oil to make a paste. Then I add a few drops of essential oil to scent it for whatever season or mood, seal it, label it and wrap a ribbon around it. For a salt scrub use salt instead of sugar. If you want to be SUPER fancy, use a mixture of coarse and regular sugar or salt (whichever you are using). I always use sugar because I don't like the way salt feels in the little cuts i get from my psoriasis, but some poeple like salt scrubs).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 704771, member: 1233"] Soap can be easy or hard to make. If you want to do the start from lye and fat, that can be difficult. If you just want a pretty but easy gift, you can get melt and pour soap at any craft store like Hobby Lobby and that is easy. With the Melt and Pour type soap you add the scent you want, and the color you want, and you pour it into a mold and there you are. You can get some that are clear (glycerin based) or you can get some that are opaque that are a more creamy base. Any essential oil can be added for scent, or you can add other scents that are sold for soaps. If you use the opaque type you can add a small amount of oils/fat to superfat the soap to make it more moisturizing. This means adding up to about 5% of shea butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, etc... whatever you want to make it more moisturizing. You add these with the scents and color, after you melt the base and take it off of the heat, just before you pour it into a mold. If you want to make a fun soap for a child, take a small toy (not a choking hazard) and put it into the mold and pour the soap around it so that it is uncovered as the soap is used. I used to do this so that it would encourage my boys to actually use soap. Otherwise they were not inclined to use it at all. THe hand cream I use is easy to make also. I purchase my supplies online, but many can be purchased in local organic food stores. You can use refined shea butter, cocoa butter (regular gives a chocolate scent, deodorized doesn't), coconut oil (if you like it, I do not), and oils of your choice to make the cream. I also use butters I can't find locally like illipe, but you couldn't get them close to Christmas while you can get the others at Sprouts or Whole Foods if you wanted. Heck, even Hobby Lobby has Shea Butter. Don't use unrefined shea because the odor will be overwhelming. I use avocado or walnut or macadamia or sunflower or olive or whatever olive oil I have on hand or find in the grocery. Rice bran oil is actually fantastic, esp if you like a lighter oil. But any of these is available in most groceries and is wonderful in a hand cream/butter. To combine, put equal amounts of the butters in a container in the microwave. Nuke for about 30 seconds at a time on medication power until barely melted, stirring after each interval. Once melted, add the oil. I use about 1 part oil to 2 parts butters (coconut oil is considered a butter to me). I mix the oil in well and then add whatever essential oils in a couple of drops at a time. I use disposable containers and utensils to make the hand cream/butter. It is just a pain to try to wash them clean. If you want a truly luxurious product, put the cream container into a larger container with ice water in it (do not let the ice water get into the cream) and whip it with a fork or old whisk you can throw away. Do this until it is light and fluffy. THen pack into jars and label. It will feel lovely when used. If it gets hot, it may melt, but it will just lose the air whipped into it, it will still be a nice hand cream/body butter. This really is a super easy, maybe 15-20 min project. It packages up to look lovely and it seems like you spent a lot of time on it. Another easy companion gift is a sugar scrub or salt scrub. This is more of a five minute gift to make. It literally takes more time to label and wrap than to make. You mix olive oil (or any of other oils mentioned above other than coconut oil) with sugar. I usually put sugar into a container and add enough oil to make a paste. Then I add a few drops of essential oil to scent it for whatever season or mood, seal it, label it and wrap a ribbon around it. For a salt scrub use salt instead of sugar. If you want to be SUPER fancy, use a mixture of coarse and regular sugar or salt (whichever you are using). I always use sugar because I don't like the way salt feels in the little cuts i get from my psoriasis, but some poeple like salt scrubs). [/QUOTE]
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