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Description of Book
Soap--gentle, all natural, and handmade--makes a wonderful gift...for yourself or a friend! Create healthier, more beautiful, more fragrant soaps than anything you can find in a store, for a fraction of the cost, using simple equipment you probably already own. Just start with a basic bar of white soap or produce yours from scratch. Add therapeutic and aromatic accents. Once you've tried the 20 recipes for hand-milled soaps, go on to bath salts, bath oils, bubble baths, massage oils, facial scrubs, and bath tea bags. Full-color photos show you how beautiful your soaps can be, and captioned illustrations explain each step. Complete recipes cover a variety of enticing creations: Peppermint Refreshment Soap, Mango Mint Shampoo Bar, Milk and Honey Soap, and Lavender Citrus Soap. Translucent Soap Jewels turn glycerin soap into giant emeralds, amethysts, garnets, and quartz. Bath salts with eucalyptus oil clear head colds. Grate colored transparent soap into an opaque white soap base to get Confetti Soap. Decorate the soaps with paints or decoupage, and wrap them in elegant paper. There's truly something for everybody!
Editorial Reviews
Better Homes and Garden, Bedroom and Bath Issue
If you love the heady fragrances of decorative soaps but can’t find the exact scent or color that appeals to you, this book will teach you how to make your own. Replicate tried and true recipes, such as chamomile oatmeal and lavender citrus, then venture out to conjure something new. Some of Browning’s more unusual recipes include Mango Mint Shampoo Bar and Amber soap, which features a surprise plastic bug inside. Ingredient lists and step-by-step instructions take you through the process. Helpful tips, such as using a short length of PVC pipe as a mold, will help the soapmaking beginner. Once you’ve mastered soaps, try your hand at making your own bath tea bags, facial scrubs, bath oils, even bubble bath. Half the fun of this book is seeing how the bath luxuries are packaged. A final chapter suggests pretty gift packaging for all the sweet-smelling goodies you make.
Amazon.com
Making your own fragrant, softly tinted soaps--as well as bath salts, massage oils, and facial scrubs--is not only much less costly than buying them ready-made, it's also remarkably easy with the recipes in this book. The secret behind these simple but satisfying hand-milled soaps is to begin with purchased bars of plain white soap, rather than cooking up your own soap base from scratch. (This is not cheating, the author points out, but more like how you can consider soup homemade even if you didn't make the stock yourself.) The basic process is extremely straightforward; adding various oils, fragrances, colorants, and botanicals yields dozens of interesting variations. Also appealing are the extensive ideas for labeling and packaging your products and combining them in theme gift presentations. But you may have a hard time giving some of these away, since you'll be tempted to draw a relaxing bath and enjoy them yourself. --Amy Handy
Booklist
Soap is...one of the better crafts to consider as gifts...supplies directions for more than 20 different kinds of hand-milled soap, an easier process than starting from lye...instructions extend to bath oils and salts and to packaging, labeling, and creating a munificence of fragrance. Step-by-step descriptions are boldly illustrated with color photographs. Who could resist all-natural chamomile oatmeal soap or effervescent all-natural champagne bubble bath?”
Craftlink Magazine
For good clean fun and great gift giving ideas you will want to add this practical, no-nonsense guide to soapmaking. Marie supplies directions for more than 20 different kinds of hand-milled soap, an easier process than starting from scratch with lye. Instructions also include bath oils, bath salts, facial scrubs, massage oils and bath tea bags. In addition to the wonderful recipes, Marie has also included interesting and innovative packaging tips. If you make soap to sell, you will find Marie shares many tips and techniques to make your soap making more profitable. Run to pick up your copy and soon you will be making your very own fizzy bath salts for your bath blitz!
The Daily Observer, Ottawa, Canada
Headline: Marie Browning: Canada’s Martha Stewart
Crafty Victorian entrepreneur lathers up soapy Christmas ideas
Joann Etc. Magazine
Say you “made it yourself” using this clean, concise guide to
soapmaking. Start with a store-bought soap base and create an appealing bar or bath set that’s all your own! With recipes for over 20 different hand-milled soaps, bath oils, bubble bath, bath salts, scrubs and massage oils, as well as creative packaging and fragrance ideas, this book needs to be put to use right away! Formatted like a cookbook and requiring tools that you probably already have in the kitchen, the recipes, color pictures and explanations are enticing and easy to follow. There’s even something to refresh the family dog!
Reviews
Great for beginners! October 25, 2002
5 Stars
Reviewer from Soddy Daisy, TN
I absolutely loved this book. I've looked at many soapmaking books and this was the easiest to understand. I made soaps for my friends for Christmas last year. I didn't have to have a degree in chemistry to make my own soap!
Great Book for the Experienced Soap
Maker, October 2, 2002
5 Stars
Reviewer from El Cajon, CA USA
This book is great for people that already make their own soap. She has wonderful recipes for hand-milled soap, bath salts, bath oils and massage oils. There are also some very descriptive and beautiful packaging ideas. If you do make your own soap, make a batch of unscented cold processed soap and grate it - then this book will really be helpful to you.
Excellent Book - Must
Have, December 1, 2001
5 Stars
Reviewer from Boynton Beach, FL United States
I am a professional soap maker and found this book to be most informative on making other bath products, such as bath oils, facial scrubs, massage oils, massage bars, etc. Marie Browning is extremely creative in her packaging. Her ideas are great for both personal and professional use. You won't be disappointed
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