Making Soap...

My sister posted homemade soaps on her website. I thought it would be a fun project to do with the kids. They had a great time. We tried adding glitter, cookie sprinkles, oatmeal, brown sugar; I avoided the suggestion of chocolate chips. We are going to make these and bath fizzies as Christmas presents for the neighbors and the kids friends and teachers. I have included the receipe for the bath fizzies. I have not yet tried to make them, but my friend, whose receipe this is, made them for us last year. The soap we bought as a starter kit. I hope to expand and play with it more.

1 c. baking soda, 1/2 c. citric acid, 20 drops essential oils (I just bought a soap scent-- a little bottle of it, and the scent went a LONG way-- so you probably don't need to find essential oils...)

1. Mix the baking soda and the citric acid together in a bowl, making sure to get rid of any lumps. 2. If you add colors, clay, oil, cocoa butter, herbs or flowers, add these now and mix again thoroughly. 3. Add essential oils and mix again. 4. Press mixture into molds as firm as possible. 5. Leave overnight until hard. Remove from mold the next morning.

** This is the recipe I had on hand. We actually got a spray bottle of water (you can use witch hazel, too) and very lightly misted the mix a little while we were stirring. That way after you press them into the molds, they actually dry a lot faster-- I don't know why. I don't think we ever let them sit over night in the mold-- just out on the counter after we tapped them out. You don't want to get them too wet at first or they will fizz too soon:) I just looked up the web site for the supply co (http://www.pinemeadows.net/index.php) and the citric acid is pretty cheap.You get about 16 oz. for $3.25.