Hi Suzan - soapmaking is not hard at all. It just takes practice. Read everything you can, get your materials together (especially the rubber gloves, safety goggles, and mask), and then go for it. Please feel free to email me if there are any questions I can answer for you. I also belong to several Yahoo soap groups and have learned a lot from those. My favorite, with the nicest people, is Southern Soapers.
I just went back and clicked on some of the links that Alee posted. The first one I read was a thread where I posted that I was making my first batch of soap - July 12, 2005! I can't believe I've been doing this for 3 years now! It's an addiction and so much fun.