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MullersLaneFarm
True Blue Farmgirl

596 Posts


Rock Falls IL
596 Posts

Posted - Jan 31 2006 :  05:25:55 AM  Show Profile
quote:
Originally posted by JO AND AL

hi girls i saw in norma's book the natural coulours u can get,


Jo,
I have a page on my website listing ingredients to use for natural colors. http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/soapcolors.html I also use ultra marines and oxides (check http://www.the sage.com)

I won't make a soap without using lard. I don't experience any bologna or bacon smell in my finished soaps. The 'tip' is to keep your temps low when melting animal oils (AO).

This page has directions and pictures for making soaps as well as links to calculators, suppliers and forums:
http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/soapmaking.html

Cyndi
Joshua 24:15

Ol 'MacDonald has nothing on us!
http://www.mullerslanefarm.com
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Jan 31 2006 :  3:25:03 PM  Show Profile
thankyou cyndi, i will look that up, i tried strawberry just the juice today, then i added benzoin in case it needed it i wasn't sure if it would have a stench or not as it calls for the benzoin in some of the fruit bars, anyways i got it coloured, but it wasn't pink like i had wanted, it turned sort of purply, brownish, but pretty though! i am in the making of soap alot these days. i usually put them in the resturant my sister has every maple sugar season, so i got to get some ready for that, they only have it opened 6 weeks out of the year. they sell pancakes ham saucages ect. it is a really lovely place to go. it brings alot of people from all over, i sell some of my soaps up there. more of a hobby thing for me though, it is fun! the maple syrup bars seem to sell the most,jo

love is all you need
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WednesdaysChild
Farmgirl in Training

33 Posts

Mandy
Suncheon
Korea
33 Posts

Posted - Feb 05 2006 :  10:16:24 AM  Show Profile
Maple syrup soap sounds absolutely wonderful...
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hammondfarm
True Blue Farmgirl

77 Posts

Julie
New Caney Texas
77 Posts

Posted - Apr 10 2006 :  12:27:39 PM  Show Profile
For those of you in Texas, I will be teaching soap making at the Prarie View A&M Goat Field Day
May 20th, 2006

Best Regards,
Julie

Hammond Farm
www.hammondfarm.com
People Tested Goat Approved, tm
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hammondfarm
True Blue Farmgirl

77 Posts

Julie
New Caney Texas
77 Posts

Posted - Apr 10 2006 :  12:30:28 PM  Show Profile
The Soap Makers Companion is a great teaching soap book

Best Regards,
Julie

Hammond Farm
www.hammondfarm.com
People Tested Goat Approved, tm
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Sep 29 2006 :  3:05:38 PM  Show Profile
well girls, i made a batch of shampoo bars tonight, and well, i put 1 and 1|2 oz. more water then i shoud have and didn't realize it., till too late??? wonder what will happen anyone know? i will check it tomorrow, but i was soooo dissapointed but couldn't do much about it after i put the lye in it! i am so hoping it will work, as the supplies aren't all that cheap. and my neighbor is desperate for some shampoo bars, she loves it. my sister says it makes her old grey hair soft lolo! sooooo here's hoping i will let u all know what happens for sure, love from jo!

love is all you need
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Sep 29 2006 :  3:10:03 PM  Show Profile
julia that is an idea i read throught he soap forums i should try to teach making soap, i could start small? any tips.? actually i have been making it for a while, but also i am still learning! maybe u could give me some tips? cost wise ect. supp;ies are soooo expensive here in canada? what do u charge a lesson? xox jo!

love is all you need
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zilzirk
Farmgirl in Training

30 Posts

Liz
Fort Mill South Carolina
USA
30 Posts

Posted - Sep 29 2006 :  7:57:14 PM  Show Profile
Wow - this is fabulous! I was just thinking about trying soap making! So I got some great tips and book suggestions from ya'll. Can't wait to try - I wan to do a 'hand-made' christmas this year ;)

a city girl with farm roots
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Oct 09 2006 :  1:44:48 PM  Show Profile
hi girls, i made shampoo bars last week, and they turned out really nice, cost alot though for the ingredients. but it is worth it to me! everyone loves that stuff, and it seems to really clean your hair, squeeky clean. plus my sister says it makes her old grey hair soft lol! does anyone else make it? i would like to know and see if we can compare recipes? have a good day jo.

i thought love was all you needed? courage is needed too!
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl

22941 Posts

Alee
Worland Wy
USA
22941 Posts

Posted - Oct 09 2006 :  2:21:45 PM  Show Profile  Send Alee a Yahoo! Message
Hi ladies-

As some already mentioned you can find some great lye calculators on the internet. One that I use lets you pick all the different oils/fats you are going to put in to calculate the SAP right. Also the oils all have a hotlink that tells your the properties of each oil. So you can go "shopping" on the site to see what recipe you want to create.

Note- print out your finished recipe so you can re create it if you like it! I love the site and it has never ever failed me.

http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Oct 10 2006 :  04:03:19 AM  Show Profile
so sodium hydroxide is another name for lye??? i looked at the sight, and i saved it thankyou sooo much i have it saved in favourites, jo

i thought love was all you needed? courage is needed too!
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl

22941 Posts

Alee
Worland Wy
USA
22941 Posts

Posted - Oct 12 2006 :  08:43:31 AM  Show Profile  Send Alee a Yahoo! Message
I am glad the link helped. It was an amazing tool for me in my first year of making soap. I learned so much about different oils and fats! It's great to make use of other people's research. I am so grateful to that site as I am going to be teaching soap making to some friends soon.
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JudyBlueEyes
True Blue Farmgirl

657 Posts

Judith
Spokane Washington
USA
657 Posts

Posted - Oct 12 2006 :  3:23:04 PM  Show Profile
Hi, FarmGirls! I just noticed this discussion - I've been making soap about 8 years and two things can help add bubbles to your soap - (1) add 1 ounce of castor oil per pound of soap to your recipe (so if I make a 4# batch, I add 4 ounces castor) and of course, include it in your lye calculation; (2) add 1 teaspoon of sugar per pound of soap to the water and mix it in thoroughly before you add the sodium hydroxide (again, for a 4# batch, 4 teaspoons of sugar). Both of these help with bubbles. The other thing you can do to make a hard bar if you are not using tallow or lots of coconut (which I don't because of its drying properties-I keep my coconut under 15% of the total recipe) is add 1 teaspoon salt per pound of oils to your water and mix thoroughly before adding your sodium hydroxide. Just some little tricks I've learned over the years.
Also, for someone who asked, sodium hydroxide is the name of the chemical compound we use and when it is mixed with water, it is called lye. But most people (even the Red Devil Lye people!) call it lye cause it's easier to say.
And my soapmaking bible is Susan Miller Cavitch "The Soapmaker's Companion" - lots of good information, technical stuff, properties of oils, etc. Hope this helps! Judy
P.S. - Jo - for the shampoo bars that you put extra water in, I should think that they would be fine - they would probably just take longer to harden up as they have more water to evaporate out - but I haven't had this problem, so it's just a guess, not from experience.

The Rooster crows, but the Hen lays the egg. ~ Texas Proverb

Edited by - JudyBlueEyes on Oct 12 2006 3:24:45 PM
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Norskema
True Blue Farmgirl

98 Posts

Candace
Central Indiana Area
USA
98 Posts

Posted - Oct 12 2006 :  7:51:25 PM  Show Profile  Send Norskema an AOL message
Boy, I have wanted to try making soap forever and am very intrigued by shampoo bars. For those who have been doing this a while, can you recommend a good starting book or website? I saved the link for the lye calculator. I went to the webpage and partly due to the time of night and not knowing where to start, it was a little overwhelming so I'm saving that exploration for tomorrow. I thought I'd make some soap as Christmas gifts for the gals I work with but I don't want to waste my resources by jumping in too deep as a novice. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks

Every way of a man seems right to himself but the Lord is the tester of hearts. Proverbs 21:2
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Oct 14 2006 :  3:35:56 PM  Show Profile
norskema i got the norma coney called the complete soap maker i saw it once on e bay! the other girls may know of lots more too, but i swear by this book, as i found the directions to be clear and simple, the shampoo bars turned out beautifull. they are more harder to see the trailingswhen u stir it, but i am pleased how they turned out, i have a sale for all of them already and there not even ready yikes! i have been dragging here with hubby and i breaking up! oh well i'll survive??, oh! and her's a real funny~ i have to tell ya's, i was at a thankyou (invited) supper tonight as we went to one they held as a fund raiser& we donated , but they ran out of food , so long story short, i finished eating tonight, and i said well i must get home and take my soap out of the freezer, as i had hand milled itmoulded it and set it in there., and the guy sitting next to me looked at me weird, as he knows nothing of homemade soap right? and he said "what" so i repeated it, he laughed, and said what r u going to do have a cold shower? lol! i said noooo~~ i make my own, anyways it was too funny. thought i'd share that with u all by by jo! oh! and u know, i put maple syrup in the melted soap beeeautifull, i can hardly waite to use a new bar. i have been putting that in it for a while now, it is soooo good on the skin. oh! and thanks for the tips on the salt, and sugar, i heard one time though salt extracts the natural glycerin in it???? any truth to that? will have to try that. can u add it to the milled after it is melted? jo~

i thought love was all you needed? courage is needed too!
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator

3579 Posts

Anne E.
Elsinore Utah
USA
3579 Posts

Posted - Oct 14 2006 :  11:55:31 PM  Show Profile
Jo - the part about the cold shower made me laugh! You must've really had him wondering!!!

XOXO, Libbie

"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe
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newheart
True Blue Farmgirl

471 Posts

Margie
Owings Mills Maryland
USA
471 Posts

Posted - Oct 15 2006 :  05:12:02 AM  Show Profile
This sounds so interesting,but doubt I could do it,

newheart

Edited by - newheart on Oct 15 2006 05:34:13 AM
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JudyBlueEyes
True Blue Farmgirl

657 Posts

Judith
Spokane Washington
USA
657 Posts

Posted - Oct 15 2006 :  4:07:57 PM  Show Profile
Jo, regarding the salt and sugar, you have to put it in the water before you add the sodium hydroxide and before you mix it with the oils. I have never heard of anyone adding salt or sugar after they have milled the soap. I have never heard of the salt having an effect on the glycerin and neither I nor my soaper friends who use salt have had a problem with it drying or anything. Hope this helps. Judy

The Rooster crows, but the Hen lays the egg. ~ Texas Proverb
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Oct 16 2006 :  09:20:39 AM  Show Profile
thanks judy i will try it the next time i do a fresh batch. newheart, it is easy once u get into it, really it is just like banging up a cake to me now lol! well a bit more dangerous! especially on the eyes. and u darsent breath in the lye fumes at all, u have to wear protective glasses and ruber gloves u'd love it as i believe all us soap makers do? or i spose we wouldn't be doing it. lol! they make wonderfull gifts, also good on the skin i just love my own soap, yeh i had that guy stumped it was sooo funny i couldn't stop laughing as it struck me soooo funny at the time. it was the way he looked~ soooo serious! jo~

i thought love was all you needed? courage is needed too!
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Tina Kay
True Blue Farmgirl

107 Posts

Tina Kay
Deary ID
USA
107 Posts

Posted - Apr 11 2007 :  11:50:41 AM  Show Profile
Hi JO and Al,
I was wondering what soap book you have. I would really like a single recipe. I have been wanting to make soap with my bacon drippings and just didn't know how to take the smell out....thanks! This may help: I also bake my bacon on a cookie rack in a baking sheet with sides on 400 degrees in the oven. It helps the drippings come out clean. And there is no splatter. It saves you from your grease cleaning duties afterward!

www.hometeadblooger.com/lilpatch

quote:
Originally posted by JO AND AL

hi jenny, i saw in my soap book it said to put potatoe peeling in when u render the bacon fat or melt lard , and it should take the stench out of it , i tell ya i have been doing the singel bar recipee! mix a bit of left over bacon fat, which we don't get that often anymore!!!! buuuuuut!! once in a blue moon tee hee! we splerge. anyways i mix it with suett, and it is really nice, i found the cocoanut oil to be a bit drying to make it sudsy, but it does work fer sure , as i find men don't like it because it doesn't seem to suds up enough, i always use those netted sponges! thingies? it looks like a net, u can buy almost anywhere! and it really suds's it up. i love my soap. i am sooo much a believer of it, as i haven't had a single skin prob. since i've been using it!it sure came in handy this yr. too for gift giving, i also reasd somewhere u can use corn husk's in it whelst it's drying to give it good scent, i can't see how! but i am going to try it this garden season coming up! i always hand mill it so i can always pull it out of the mouls after it sets long enough befor hand milling itor as i am milling it,? have to find that out at the time i guess lol!! i like the floating bars, in the tub don't have to search for it, ha ha!! later gals jo!

love is all you need



If you would be happy for a week ~ take a wife.
If you would be happy for a month ~ kill a pig.
But if you would be happy your whole life ~ plant a garden.
~mid 17th century~

Edited by - Tina Kay on Apr 12 2007 12:02:34 PM
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jendada
Farmgirl in Training

15 Posts

Jen
Ellendale MN
USA
15 Posts

Posted - Apr 11 2007 :  7:49:45 PM  Show Profile
quote:


This page has directions and pictures for making soaps as well as links to calculators, suppliers and forums:
http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/soapmaking.html

Cyndi
Joshua 24:15

Ol 'MacDonald has nothing on us!
http://www.mullerslanefarm.com



Hi Cyndi.....I've seen you on a couple of the soap making forums.

Cyndi's got lots of great info here girls. I have visited her site many times. I've made the Hog Wash recipe and the Pine Tar recipe and both are great!!

I've been making soap for about 5 years. Can not use a store bought detergent bar anymore....makes my skin all tight and itchy. A good homemade bar of real soap is like heaven!!!

Jen
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herbquilter
True Blue Farmgirl

891 Posts

Kristine
Bonney Lake Wa
USA
891 Posts

Posted - Apr 11 2007 :  11:15:52 PM  Show Profile
I've been making soap for years. This thread has already mentioned my favorite book: Soap Naturally. Here's my favorite soap website: www.millersoap.com
Kathy Miller is awesome & her site is VERY helpful.

Blessings,
Kristine ~ Mother of Many & Herbalist
www.herbalmomma.com
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Apr 22 2007 :  6:24:03 PM  Show Profile
hi tina, yeh the potatoe peelings take out the odour. also i have an old mountain back woods recipee they say u put corn hush in the soap and pull it out when i is dry supposed to give it a good scent i have yet to try that one. i hera they were going to stop making the lyedue to it being hard on the environment? anyone know anything about that what on earth will we do? is there anything else to use to make soap? i bought every can that was left here at the co op store so will be plenty for me, but not too sure everyone around here they are always after that soap. it does clean and is so easy on the skin. i'll simply die if i can't make my hair shampoo bar. i want to get into making some more here soon, starting to run shy of a few nice big bars. later jo! no soap like it i must say.

i thought love was all you needed? courage is needed too!
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - Apr 22 2007 :  6:32:16 PM  Show Profile
also i forgotthe book i use is norma cloney i fould it the most easy for directions for me anyways? it is nice and has lots of other recipes in it. ia m making my own perfume now and lip balms with bees wax plus homemade salve with herbs interesting concept. very enjoyable to do jo>> tulips are up how bout everyone elses? soooo happy spring is on the way.

i thought love was all you needed? courage is needed too!
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JO AND AL
True Blue Farmgirl

235 Posts

Jocelyn
parrsboro nova scotia
Canada
235 Posts

Posted - May 28 2007 :  1:15:39 PM  Show Profile
hi ya'll, haven't been on for a while here having some problems. u can't buy lye anymore in the stores. i guess u can order it on line? any feed back on this? thanks jo!

i thought love was all you needed? courage is needed too!
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