Win a Soapmaking Book! (Closed) | Chickens in the Road

Feb
17

Photo by Cindy at Chippewa Creek. Check out her soaps!

I’m having so much fun with more room to blog! Yesterday, I posted my usual early morning post on the Country Living blog then posted again in the afternoon on my Cooking blog. You can always see the latest from the main page, and I hope the new text links help everyone who didn’t like clicking through from the slide show. The new tabs by each post remind you which blog you’re on so you always know where you are. (Look to the top of this post, to the tab that says “Crafts” to the left of the post title. That means you’re on the Crafts blog.) I also posted earlier today on the Garden blog, and as always, I post every day on the Daily Farm Photo blog. Don’t miss a thing–watch the main page. (And remember that you can also use the menu buttons on the header now to navigate to all the blogs.)

Now I can blog all day! Well….. I guess I have to feed the animals sometime….

Okay–back to the giveaway! I’m able to do more giveaways now with more blogs to work with, and I’m also able to post giveaways in their own posts without pushing off the regular post or tacking it onto the bottom. This should make it easier for you to find giveaways–just remember that they won’t always be posted first thing in the morning, so check back. (Ball Blue Book giveaways will be on the Cooking blog.)

I’ve been wanting to learn to make homemade soap for awhile. I’ve been reading about it, talking to people, asking questions, tracking down where I can get ingredients, doing just about everything other than actually making soap. I’m working up to it!!! Over a year ago, I ordered a soapmaking book and when it came, there were two copies. I’m not sure if I accidentally ordered two or if they accidentally shipped two, but I’ve been meaning to give it away for awhile. Back when Morgan broke her foot, I took one of the copies with me to the orthopedist’s office and read a good bit of it while I was in the waiting room. I loved it. It was the most comforting, practical soapmaking book I’ve yet to read. The author breaks down and dispels scary myths about soapmaking, and holds your hand in a reassuring way as she explains how to make soap safely but without fear.

Yep, that’s me, fearful.

She teaches making soap in this book using the stick blender method, which is what I want to do. (I’m hoping that when I get started soaping, I’ll be able to do a couple of stick blender giveaways, so watch for that!) The book is called Smart Soapmaking, by Anne L. Watson. It was published in 2007, so it’s a fairly recent publication and has all the up-to-date information you need. When I start making soap, I’ll be using this book, along with other resources. If you’d like to put your hand up for a chance to win my extra copy, just drop a comment on this post! And tell me where you are in your soapmaking journey.

Me, I’m still behind the starting line, but I’m inching up there…..

Return to this post–the winner will be drawn by random comment number. Eligible entry ends at noon Eastern time tomorrow (February 18th), after which time this post will be updated with the winner’s name.

Update 02/18/10: The winning comment number is 65, claudia w. Email me at CITRgiveaways(at)aol.com with your full name and address for shipping!

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED TO ENTRY.

P.S. If you didn’t win, you can still get the book! (I got it from Amazon.) I’m gearing up to make soap–come with me! I’m moving from reading and talking about it to gathering all the supplies and then onward and upward. I’ll be posting it all step by step right here, with more giveaways of soapmaking supplies along the way to help and encourage you as much as possible. This is the year we’re finally going to get over ourselves and make soap! (Let’s do it together!)

More posts you might enjoy:

237 Responses
RSS feed for comments on this post | TrackBack this post

2-17
11:56
am

Ooh, ooh, pick me?
(jumps around, waving arms in the air)

Thanks for the giveaway!

Kristen

Flag this comment
2-17
11:57
am

I would LOVE to win a soapmaking book. Add me!

Sarah

Flag this comment
2-17
12:00
pm

Oh! I need this book! I’ve made three batches of soap so far, two are great, one is not so great. Not so great at all. Really, it’s quite terrible. I’ve gleaned all my information from the internet as my local library doesn’t have any useful books on soapmaking. I would love to hold the information in my hands…
You can see exactly where I’m at in my soapmaking progress on my blog, as well as the knowledge that if I can do it, anyone can do it!
Suzanne, just do it!!!!!!

Kat

Flag this comment
2-17
12:01
pm

This sounds like great fun and a great thing to be able to gift. Please add me to the drawing.

Jan Alexander

Flag this comment
2-17
12:02
pm

I have never been courageous enough to attempt soap making but I want to. I have teenage boys that need a soap that they can use after sports that wont dry them out or cause breakouts. I know there are wonderful recipes that help with these areas and I would love to try!

Michelle Lopez

Flag this comment
2-17
12:02
pm

I am not very far in my soap making journey. I am in the learning and collecting all the stuff phase. I really need to have someone hold my hand through this, and this book sounds like the solution. Right now I am staring at the bag full of soapmaking stuff sitting in the corner of my craft room and it seems to be staring back at me…glaring

Thanks for posting this awesome giveaway!

Kristina Danner

Flag this comment
2-17
12:03
pm

I’d love to win the soapmaking book! I’ve wanted to make soap for quite some time – two Christmases ago I said I was going to make soap and chickened out. Last Christmas I said I was going to make soap and I gathered up all my interwebs info and… chickened out! Maybe I just need a book??

Yay!

Aedrielle

Flag this comment
2-17
12:03
pm

Um… I made soap once. Sort of. Mostly I watched other people make it and wandered by to congratulate them on their good work. Homemade soap seems like an awesome present to give (maybe not so great to receive, but hey, not my problem) and it looks like a lot of fun. I’d like to try it.

Peaches

Flag this comment
2-17
12:04
pm

I’ve attempted to make soap one time — without the greatest results. I’d love to have the book to come up with better soap the next time!

Lisa

Flag this comment
2-17
12:07
pm

I’ve never made soap, but I would love to try. I grow lavender and other herbs I would love to put in homemade soap, and maybe dried flower petals too.

Geraldine Lewis

Flag this comment
2-17
12:09
pm

Am assembling stuff to use in soap making, and can attest to Cindy’s soap being OUTSTANDING! We got some before Christmas, gave some away with gift baskets, kept enough to get us through until we can make our own.

We NEED this book!!!

Pete

Flag this comment
2-17
12:09
pm

My journey is: have thought about it, but that’s where it ends for now. Soap making is up there with candle making for me. I really wanna try making them, but it just seems like I might as well buy everyone else’s hand mades than bother with everything I’d need to get to make my own. Though it would be nice to have the satisfaction of being able to make my own…

Jessica

Flag this comment
2-17
12:11
pm

I’d love this book! Thanks for the contest!

Cathy O'Connell

Flag this comment
2-17
12:11
pm

I am no where near the starting line, but I sure would like to try it! It sounds like a lot of fun!

MNStacey

Flag this comment
2-17
12:11
pm

I haven’t made soap for years! I used the old fashioned wooden spoon method. I’d love to get back into it. The stick blender is genius!

Diane Gordon

Flag this comment
2-17
12:11
pm

I would love this book. I have never tried soap making, but would love to. In fact my husband was asking me just a few days ago how to make soap, and didn’t you make your own since you make so many other things. This post is very timely for me since I am trying to find more economical and environmentally friendly ways to provide for my family.

Suzanne

Flag this comment
2-17
12:13
pm

I would love to try making soap with this book by my side, looking over my shoulder, guiding me and occasionally making those little wincey noises as I mess up… I have yet to embark like yourself Suzanne, and am somewhat scared and trepidatious too. Please help!
Good luck to yourself – be sure to show us the results.

Ruthddigs

Flag this comment
2-17
12:13
pm

I would love this book! We’ve made lots of soap using the easy glycerine method, but I’d love to learn to make REAL soap.

Cindy

Flag this comment
2-17
12:16
pm

Oh I would love to win this book! I’ve been wanting to try soap-making for awhile now!

KentuckyFarmGirl

Flag this comment
2-17
12:16
pm

I’ve been making my own laundry detergent and dishwashing powder for a few years now. Now that I’m a single mom of 3 I’m still looking of ways to cut corners to save money, making my own soap would be another great step. I hope that random number generator picks me!!!!!

Love your blog.

~Jess

Jessica G

Flag this comment
2-17
12:16
pm

This sounds like fun. I have a hard time finding soap I really like. I’d love to give it a try.

Shirley

Flag this comment
2-17
12:19
pm

Oh pick me(hand really high) I am still on the starting line with soap but have made laundry soap

mommy2jj

Flag this comment
2-17
12:20
pm

I’d be a newbie making soap-have always wanted to try but never made it very far other than to walk up and down the aisles at craft stored looking.

stacy

Flag this comment
2-17
12:20
pm

I would love this book. I’ve been wanting to try soapmaking, mainly because I can’t find soap gentle enough for my face!

Laurie Powers

Flag this comment
2-17
12:22
pm

I’m right there with you behind the starting line, Suzanne, but I’ve always had this fascination with soap and soap making. Ever since I was a little girl, actually, I’ve LOVED beautiful soaps. They really mezmerize me – I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true! Please put me in your drawing!

Heather from KY

Flag this comment
2-17
12:23
pm

I recently tried a new facial cleaner and it burned me! I am so sensitive to chemicals that I am thinking about scrapping everything and making my own. I love your brown sugar scrub and am feeling inspired to try making more!

Sue

Flag this comment
2-17
12:24
pm

I love homemade soap and never have tried to make it myself. I would welcome the book so I could try a new craft Patchouli is my favorite scent!

Natalie C.

Flag this comment
2-17
12:29
pm

What a great giveaway. I would love to win this book. I’m always purchasing handmade soaps, since I prefer those to any of the mass produced ones that I find in the grocery store. It sure would be fun to try making some myself though.

SharonBinWA

Flag this comment
2-17
12:31
pm

I’m in the frozen fear stage……
Really really wanting to try, but scared. Like many things it’s on my list of ‘Things to Do’ when I grow my backbone.

Please add me in the drawing!

Kelly Lynn in Texas

Flag this comment
2-17
12:36
pm

I too make my own laundry detergent. I have dabbled with the melt and pour soap. It’s easy and almost always turns out great, but it’s not really making soap. I too have shied away from it because I am afraid …very afraid that I might blow up the house or something! Would love the book “to hold my hand” while I give it a go!

WatkinsGal

Flag this comment
2-17
12:36
pm

I haven’t begun my soap making journey…….yet! I’d love to though. I enjoy using hand made soaps.

Liz V.

Flag this comment
2-17
12:37
pm

I love living through your trial and errors – lol! Maybe I will finally get up the nerve to make soap. And try canning. Then there is beekeeping. The list is long…. Thanks for such a fun blog!

LGC

Flag this comment
2-17
12:38
pm

putting my hand up….
other than grating left over slivers “melting” them a little with water and mushing into a ball?… beginner….

QuietStorm

Flag this comment
2-17
12:41
pm

I would love to win this book – to try my hand at soap making. This weekend I am making the brown sugar scrub. I love your new blogs and the the multiple posts/blogs.

Keep up the great work – you are making changes for the better!!!

ticka1

Flag this comment
2-17
12:42
pm

I’ve grown to love reading your blog daily–so keep it up. As far as soap making goes–hum, maybe, just maybe that’s a project that my daughter and I can tackle and hum, maybe it’s a 4-H project in the making!

Cindy

Flag this comment
2-17
12:43
pm

Me too ! I’ve always wanted to and was always afraid.
I’ve made pseudo- soap- from the craft store glycerine blocks and added my own fragrance and lavender.
But I want to make it with fat and lye and ashes.
Perfect thought to consider on Ash Wednesday!

heidiannie

Flag this comment
2-17
12:43
pm

OOOH-OOOOH soap making. My soap making journey: has been collecting info off the web, reading and researching. Preparing and wondering if it may be to hard for me. So perhaps behind the start line for me too. Would love to have a guide for less expensive, better for you, soaps. Thank you for the giveaway.

jan-n-tn

Flag this comment
2-17
12:45
pm

I’m still behind the starting line too. Making soap is on my life list…someday….

Miss Becky

Flag this comment
2-17
12:48
pm

Thanks for thinking of us, your loyal readers. Please put me in for the book. It’s always fun to learn something new.

Renita

Flag this comment
2-17
12:48
pm

I’ve made soap once…and ruined my baking pan for square muffins. (thought is was a good mold lol)
Haven’t done any soap making since, but want to, when I have my lard from the pig…or left over goats milk.

So yes put my name in the hat too for a copy please.

Flatlander

Flag this comment
2-17
12:49
pm

I’ve made three batches of soap but working with lye makes me nervous. This book sounds like it would take the fear out of soapmaking!

Kathy G

Flag this comment
2-17
12:50
pm

I would love this book, too! My grandmothers made soap and have told me about it, but they’re both gone now when I’m ready to start. I love all of your tutorials, and I would love getting back to basics. Thanks for your great articles! I’ll be waiting at the starting line…..

Cheryl Shaver

Flag this comment
2-17
12:51
pm

I have been making my own soap for about a year now. I make liquid soap, and I make my own liquid fabric softener (although I use sponges for “dryer sheets”). I love my homemade soap. It saves me a fortune and really gives me a sense of accomplishment! I’d LOVE a soap making book! Have a great day!

Robbin

Flag this comment
2-17
12:51
pm

Does making laundry soap and dishwasher soap count?? Because that’s all I do at the moment, and people may thing I’m crazy but I actually look forward to the bottom of the laundry detergent bucket. I love making it, so I think I would really enjoy making other soaps too!:-)

Amy

Flag this comment
2-17
12:51
pm

Oooo…pick me!!! My friend (that told me about your blog actually) makes awesome soap that she gives me as gifts. I beg for it…cuz it’s great! She said she’d give me lessons sometime…but a book couldn’t hurt too ya know! Hehehe!

Bobbi

Flag this comment
2-17
12:53
pm

You will love to make your own soap! We started this year and would never go back to store bought!
Corisa

Corisa

Flag this comment
2-17
12:54
pm

Where am I in my soapmaking journey? I keep wandering to the proper section of the bookstore, picking up the same 5 books on soapmaking that they always have, and walking out without one because I can’t decide which one to get. Indecisive a bit? I keep telling myself that *next* paycheck I’m doing “eenie, meenie, minie, moe”!

Stacey

Flag this comment
2-17
12:58
pm

Looks like a great book, and soapmaking is something I’ve been wanting to learn.

Kim

Flag this comment
2-17
12:58
pm

I would love to learn to make soap with the extra fat from meat, etc. I feed it to the birds now but soon they can go without. Please enter me in the contest. Thank you.

Susan W.

Flag this comment
2-17
1:01
pm

Oh boy this is something that I have wanted to try again . Would love to win the book. When I was a girl my mom would make lye soap but would never let it cure long enough and man oh man that stuff would burn the eyes and skin!

sara sammon

Flag this comment
2-17
1:03
pm

I too would love to win the book!

Patty

Flag this comment
2-17
1:12
pm

I hope my number is drawn….I want to do soap, but keep scaring myself out of it…this might help. I promise if I win to make soap and not get scardy cat!

Cyndi

Flag this comment
2-17
1:13
pm

I love making soap!!!!! I feel a huge sense of accomplishment when each batch is done, no matter how many I’ve done….. Just like learning to can and make my own bread!!

And this is the first step to really making your own laundry soap!!! You can really control what goes into it!!

CindyP

Flag this comment
2-17
1:15
pm

Would love to learn this method of soap making.
We used to make soap once a month…. sure would like to get back into that habit.
Have a wonderful day!

Kerin

Flag this comment
2-17
1:16
pm

LYE SOAP – NO CAMPER SHOULD LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT.
POISON IVY
DAMPEN THE AREA – RUB WITH A CAKE OF LYE SOAP AND LEAVE OVERNIGHT.

MMHONEY

Flag this comment
2-17
1:17
pm

Count me in on the soapmaking book contest! That sounds like soooo much fun – does the author talk anything about using goat milk in the mix? (hint-hint, Clover!)

Donna

Flag this comment
2-17
1:20
pm

I would love to have the soapmaking book!

Becky

Flag this comment
2-17
1:20
pm

I’m getting ready to make my own laundry soap for the first time. I made decorative soaps from a kit once that I bought from Michael’s. Nothing special, melt it and pour into a mold. I’d love to try it from scratch and make REAL soap!!

prairiemother

Flag this comment
2-17
1:22
pm

I’ve just started making soap in the past few weeks. My second batch was goat milk soap, which I can hardly wait to use. Please enter me into the soap book give away. I’ve got a lot to learn.

Cate

Flag this comment
2-17
1:26
pm

I LOVE LOVE LOVE making soap! I have been making soap for 2 years and sell quite a bit to the ladies at church and to my clients…I groom dogs in my home. I Love Anne Watson! I have read her website from cover to cover. She has lost of practical tips without all the fluff. I don’t have her book but you can pick someone who is just starting out. In fact I just got my own Apline goats so I can make goat milk soap and some of your yummy cheese you are always talking about. For soap all you really need is a stick blender, big Stainless steel pot, scale that has a tare and can measure in grams, big glass bowl you can put in the microwave and a microwave and a mold ( wood or PVC). So easy! I order my scents from http://www.brambleberry.com . They have a sampler kit of scents good for a beginner.
Blessings!

Elaine

Flag this comment
2-17
1:31
pm

I would LOVE to have the book! Hopefully, as with most people, it would relax my fear about the use of Lye…
~~HUGS~~

Blessings

Flag this comment
2-17
1:33
pm

Hi Suzanne,
Making soap has been on my to do list since 1973 when my late husband moved our family to Glenville. We got goats and I wanted to learn to make soap. Since there wasn’t a library in Glenville then, I had no idea how. Now this many years later, I still like the thoughts of making my own soap and it is still on my to do list. So I would like to have a soap making book.

Margie

Flag this comment
2-17
1:33
pm

I have been making soap for about a year now and LOVE it! I love the process of making the soap as much as using it! I would love to expand on the basic soaps that I make–this book sounds like just the tool I need. Thanks!

Amber

Flag this comment
2-17
1:50
pm

My sister in law and I are planning on making soap this spring together and have been planning. It sounds like this book would be a great addition to our preparations.

Becky from MN

Flag this comment
2-17
1:52
pm

That would be a cool book to have! I also have been building up to my soap making phase, gathering information abou how to do it, where to get the ingredients. I think I just need to gather my confidence now…oh! and the book, that would help!
Thanks for the opportunity to maybe win that!

claudia w

Flag this comment
2-17
1:53
pm

Oh… I would love to win this. Thank you for offering this drawing!

Molly Fraser

Flag this comment
2-17
1:55
pm

I would love this book. As for where I am on the journey, well, I’m lifting my head and looking around….Soap? regular people can make soap? Are you sure that isn’t a soup making book? Well Ok, home made hand made soap. Sounds very interesting.

Julia

Flag this comment
2-17
2:01
pm

I haven’t made soap yet! But I’ve watched quite a few shows and videos on how to. I would really like to make my own soap without all the chemical that are in store bought soap. Put me in for the draw thanks.

Sharon Gosney

Flag this comment
2-17
2:02
pm

I am into buying essential oils and have many bottles of the pure scents. I purchased them for their therapeutic qualities but have wanted to make soap and lotiions for some time. If I win your give-away I will be one step closer!

Thanks, Suzanne.

Amy Cook in WI

Flag this comment
2-17
2:07
pm

Hi Suzanne: Like you, I’m fearful of making soap, but have wanted to do it for sometime. I have a box of lye in my pantry that hasn’t been opened — it’s been there for a couple of years!! I’d love to be the winner of the box and get started making soap. I can use some of the beeswax and the honey from our beehives!!!!

boydsandthebees

Flag this comment
2-17
2:12
pm

I’d love to win the book! I’ve never made soap, but whenever I’ve received a bar, I’ve thought that it’s SO cool, and it might be fun to try. By the way, a friend gave me a round bar, with a pretty design on top—made of goat milk! Maybe Clover would part with enough milk for you, to make a little soap!!

Paulette

Flag this comment
2-17
2:15
pm

Where am I in my soap making journey?
I am still in the dreaming phase. I want to learn to make dairy free soaps so my littlest daughter can also enjoy them. I dream of some day owning a little farm with fresh herbs and a barn for soap making.

Kathy

Flag this comment
2-17
2:16
pm

I have always wanted to try to make soap but I’m just too chicken!!!!I have made the glycerin kits with my kids when they were young but that was forever ago. We need to get a group of members together and have a craft party. It is always more fun to do things as a group. I find myself more motivated if someone is coming over. It is just to easy to say I’ll do it tomorrow if it is just me.

roosterrun

Flag this comment
2-17
2:16
pm

I’d love to have this book! I melted down a bar of castille soap in hot water the other day and perfume oil to it. I put it in a pump bottle and use it for body wash but it didn’t turn out like I had hoped. I need some help… I’d also like to make bar soaps. Great giveaway. Thanks, Suzanne, and I love the new site format!

Mariah

Flag this comment
2-17
2:17
pm

Add me to the possibility. I went to a craft sale in Nov and a lady there had tons of soaps – it all looked great and yes comforting too. Soap at the store really leaves you dry.

jane

Flag this comment
2-17
2:19
pm

Wow a how to book. Sounds terrific. Our fiber guild is planning a project that is felted wool wrapped around a bar of soap. We will take wool fiber and felt it on the bar of soap. It would be so much better yet if we were to make the soap that will be inside the felted scrubber. We love to do new projects and this one sounds great. Thank you for providing us with this opportunity and all this information.

Linda

Flag this comment
2-17
2:21
pm

OK, I’ll bite.

I made my own laundry soap and have been using it for about the last month. So far I can’t tell the dif between that and boxed detergent except the price.

Ilene Jones

Flag this comment
2-17
2:23
pm

I made soap for Christmas presents last year, but I made it with the microwave method. I would like to learn along with you. Thank you for this chance.

KENSJEWL

Flag this comment
2-17
2:23
pm

Hi there – I’m really excited about soapmaking, and am just in the initial stages. After switching to all-natural soaps a few months ago (and paying exorbitant prices for them,) I realized “heck, I can do this myself, and really know what’s in them for sure.”

Thanks for the giveaway!

Erin D.

Flag this comment
2-17
2:24
pm

Where am I on my soapmaking journey? I use soap. I make washcloths. I whimper over home made soap @ the Farmer’s market. I sniff soap. I read about making soap. I dream about gifting my home made soap and facecloths for Christmas. Repeat.
This week I’m adding the steps – grump about snow and enter a giveaway – who knows – maybe the extra steps are what I need?! Tammy

Tammy

Flag this comment
2-17
2:24
pm

Submitting for the give away Cannot wait to make goats milk soap this year.

Shell

Flag this comment
2-17
2:26
pm

Count me in. I’d love this one!

Moi

Flag this comment
2-17
2:27
pm

I would like to throw my hat into the ring for the soapmaking book. I made soap once many years ago but the method was rather intimidating…I am older, wiser and braver now, so I will give it another go!

Townie Farm Girl

Flag this comment
2-17
2:27
pm

This brought back such good memories. I have helped make soap with my Sister in law and we had a good time — I just did what she told me to. I must say she had the best smelling house. My SIL is in heaven now and maybe it’s time for me to try on my own to make some soap. Where can I get this book?
Thanks for all you do I love your receipes — make Grandmas Bread a lot.

Jane in NC

Jane Deacon

Flag this comment
2-17
2:27
pm

I would LOVE the soapmaking book. I have made it twice and I am hooked!

Thanks

carol bellamy

Flag this comment
2-17
2:30
pm

Rubba Dub Dub.. just me and a tub!! heheeee I used to make soap with my church girl’s group.. what fun!! We did it with ez molds tho.. I want to make REAL soap!! Crossin my “bars”.. hmmmm fingers!!!

Mary Tullila

Flag this comment
2-17
2:32
pm

I have helped my sisters make goat milk soap and it was fun. I would love a book of my own.
Thanks,
Lois

Lois

Flag this comment
2-17
2:33
pm

We haven’t made soap yet, but it’s definitely on our to-do list. We actually have accumulated the supplies, the pots and stick blender, a double burner since we’re going to cook it in my husband’s shop. We have the lye and other ingredients–just need to set aside the time! Would love to have this book. We’ve got the Story Country Living Bulletin about making milk soap that we’ve read and re-read. It’s a pretty hand reference as well.
Thanks for the giveaway!
~Jenny~

Jenny

Flag this comment
2-17
2:33
pm

I would love to make soap the old fashioned way. The way my Grandmother did. I have her recipe but haven’t been brave enough to try it. I have read about soap making and would love to win the soap making book in your giveaway. Your site is getting better all the time.
Glenie

Glenie

Flag this comment
2-17
2:38
pm

So far I’ve only made soap the “quickie” way with the stuff from the craft store. It did turn out nice but I may be ready to move forward a bit!!!!! Please enter me in your drawing.

Vera

Flag this comment
2-17
2:44
pm

I would love to win this book, and together we can do this. I have only made the melt and pour soap. They are fun, but I know I can do better. Have a great and wonderful day. Rose C.

Rose

Flag this comment
2-17
2:57
pm

Would make my day to win it. But if it went to someone who really needs something wonderful to happen today, give it to them.

Glory

Flag this comment
2-17
3:02
pm

Sounds fabulous! I’m in…

Dessa

Flag this comment
2-17
3:03
pm

Last time I saw soap being made was in the forties…I was a little girl…standing outside in front of a big iron kettle watching the fat being rendered….My grandfather had a contraption that ran water thru the wood ashes to gather the lye….for soap makin’
I remember my grandmother had a big sectioned square wooden box
that she poured the soap into for it to set….Wish I knew what happened to that…
It wasn’t the prettiest soap nor did it smell sweet…but it sure would clean the clothes (she would grate it, for washing clothes)and skin, actually if you weren’t careful it would take the hide off……..LOL
Would like to try to make some modern soap….!

B. Ruth

Flag this comment
2-17
3:06
pm

I am enjoying the new blog. What a nice surprise to see you posted in the middle of the day!! Saw that on facebook. lol.

Put me in for the soap making book please.

Diane

Flag this comment
2-17
3:07
pm

I used to help my mom make soap growing up, but I haven’t made it for years. I love homemade soap. It is really gentle on the skin.

April

Flag this comment
2-17
3:07
pm

Please, please can I have a book? I love making soap too!

Angela P

Flag this comment
2-17
3:10
pm

I have made soap a couple of times and enjoy it. I like to compare different recipes and techniques. I am always up for the latest and perhaps easiest route to a nice soap. Right now I use Carla Emery’s and I can’t recall the name of the other book but the two combined do well. I also found a crock pot recipe which I am eager to try!

Amy

Flag this comment
2-17
3:13
pm

I would love to make my own soap. My daughter has eczema and very sensitive skin so I want to make something that is helpful for her.

Linda G

Flag this comment
2-17
3:15
pm

OK, I soooo want this book. I’ve been dreaming about soap making for a while, but so far been a little too intimidated to get started. It would be awesome if I was lucky enough to win!

Anke

Flag this comment
2-17
3:20
pm

Ooooh, I would LOVE to win this book! PLEASE, PLEASE, OH PLEASE, PICK ME!

Laura

Flag this comment
2-17
3:27
pm

Oh, I’ve wanted to venture into soap making for some time, too! Along with dyeing wool…hint hint…shearing time is approaching!

Tobey

Flag this comment
2-17
3:33
pm

I’ve made soap several times now, and just used the internet for guidance. I love the looks of my soap, and especially love how it feels and smells! So, yes! Sign me up for the giveaway!

FarmgirlCyn (Cindy)

Flag this comment
2-17
3:34
pm

I’m in the scared to start phase of my soap-making journey so I would LOVE to have the guidance of a soap making book!

Amber

Flag this comment
2-17
3:35
pm

I would LOVE to win the soapmaking book. I have been making melt and pour soap for a few years and I love it but have always wanted to actually make it from scratch.

Megan

Flag this comment
2-17
3:50
pm

I’ve been thinking about soapmaking myself, so this is wonderful timing. I love all of the different info you give here……

Sherri

Flag this comment
2-17
3:53
pm

I would love to win this soapmaking book!

Lori M.

Flag this comment
2-17
3:54
pm

I keep thinking to get into soap-making too–sounds like it would be an interesting hobby! btw, lilke the setup of your new blog!

Terri Draeger

Flag this comment
2-17
4:03
pm

I would love to win this book. I have never made soap.
I watched an elderly neighbor do it years ago.

Estella

Flag this comment
2-17
4:06
pm

Never made soap but would love to learn! Count me in.

Deborah in Michigan

Flag this comment
2-17
4:08
pm

I would love to have this book. It sounds great!

Tiffany

Flag this comment
2-17
4:40
pm

I would love to learn how to make soap!

Susan Smith

Flag this comment
2-17
4:40
pm

First of all, thanks for the opportunity to enter! LOVE THIS!

My make hand-milled glycerin soaps & have for a few years. 2 reasons I make glycerin soaps: 1) My family tends to be on the oily skin side & glycerin is nice for that; 2) I’m a big, fat chicken when it comes to using lye!! I’d LOVE to expand my soap-making & learn how to be confident using lye.

Blessings from Ohio…Kim<

Kim W

Flag this comment
2-17
4:41
pm

I’ve actually taken a class on soap making but haven’t made it since. I’d love to have a book on the process so I could get back into it.

Diane

Flag this comment
2-17
4:42
pm

This book sounds awesome! Even if I don’t win, I look forward to reading your adventures in soaping.

Hlhohnholz

Flag this comment
2-17
4:45
pm

Oh, ME, ME!!! I’ve made some soap before. About once every 10 years I make a batch of soap, but I have all the stuff here now to do it, just need a good recipe. The last one I had wasn’t a very good one.

Darlene in North Georgia

Flag this comment
2-17
4:46
pm

Have been keeping bees for about 2 years now and really want to learn to make soap using products from the hive.

Thanks for the opp!

Jessica

Flag this comment
2-17
4:59
pm

I would love a copy of the soap book.

Kelley

Flag this comment
2-17
5:01
pm

I would love the soap book. Maybe this time I can win a book, woo hoooooo… Blessings.

Abiga/Karen

Flag this comment
2-17
5:02
pm

YES, YES, YES! Soap making is on my list of “things to learn this year”…so I’m behind the starting line, as well. SO…I’m entering for the give away.

Dianna McBride

Flag this comment
2-17
5:10
pm

Hmmm I made soap once a long time ago with a kit. I’d love to try it again.

Casie

Flag this comment
2-17
5:12
pm

My goats will have their first kids this year. I want to make soap!!!

Lynne

Flag this comment
2-17
5:17
pm

OOOOOOMEEMEE. Ha. I gave up on liquid soap and order my soap from France. Yes in France they make it in an ancient way and it is sooo nice. I WANT TO MAKE MY OWN NOW. Please enter me into your soapmaking book random drawing. I am now using the brown sugar/olive oil/honey scrub and am looking into recipes for skin moisturizers. I use a balm and a bar that someone cooks up in her kitchen. I’m looking to make my own too. It is time to take responsibility for our own beautiful skin.

Katharina

Flag this comment
2-17
5:19
pm

What a great giveaway! I’m entering because soap making is on my to-learn list this year.

Paulette

Flag this comment
2-17
5:23
pm

we love making homemade stuff over here in KY…my son is a wanna-be homesteader

Theron

Flag this comment
2-17
5:24
pm

I would love to have a book on soap making…..it is something I’ve been wanting to try for awhile now. Thanks!

Sandra in SC

Flag this comment
2-17
5:26
pm

Cool. Curious as all get out about method and learning how to make soap.

Thanks.

Kristen

Flag this comment
2-17
5:27
pm

Ooh! How fun; I’d like this very much!

Denise :)

Flag this comment
2-17
5:30
pm

35 years ago I helped my Grandma make homemade lye soap and have always wanted to make it as an adult, but have never gathered the ingredients to do so. I’d love to recreate my childhood memories and graduate to more advance soap making.

Diane J.

Flag this comment
2-17
5:32
pm

Soapmaking is something I’ve been wanting to try but, but, but, I’ve been too scared – perhaps if she held my hand…..

Laura

Flag this comment
2-17
5:33
pm

I want to enter too! So far I’ve made melt and pour soap, but not lye soap. I’m collecting books, information and supplies and plan to make some this spring when it’s warm enough to make it outside.

Deb

Flag this comment
2-17
5:39
pm

Count me in please on this giveaway. I would love to win this and try my hand at making my own soap.

Treasia

Flag this comment
2-17
5:43
pm

I’m making laundry soap as soon as I can lay my hands on washing soda. The stores around here put big(ish) boxes of baking soda in the laundry aisle just to confuse everyone, but I know it’s not the same thing!
I’d love to make hand soap too. Thanks for the giveaway.

Nikki

Flag this comment
2-17
5:58
pm

I’ve made honey/lemon facial wash and the vanilla brown sugar scrub so far. Would love to learn how to make other soaps!

Leah

Flag this comment
2-17
5:58
pm

Howdy! I have always wanted to learn to make soap but have been scared to try. I would love to win that book.

Mandie

Flag this comment
2-17
6:12
pm

I tried your sugar scrub and love it! Making soap is on my list of things to learn to do in 2010.

So count me in I would love the SOAP MAKING BOOK!

Mary from Baton Rouge

Flag this comment
2-17
6:16
pm

I wanna learn how to make soap too! The book would be great.

Mim

Flag this comment
2-17
6:22
pm

This looks like fun. Please add me too.

Sara

Flag this comment
2-17
6:31
pm

Interested in soap making book. Always wanted to do that!

Michele

Flag this comment
2-17
6:38
pm

I would love to win this one. My son has very sensitive skin and I’ve often thought that home made might be the way to go,
Rys

Rys

Flag this comment
2-17
6:47
pm

I’d love to try soap making. I’d also love to win this book :-) Can’t wait for your soap making posts :-)

Debbie in Memphis

Flag this comment
2-17
6:53
pm

Keeping my fingers crossed….I think it would be fun to try my hand at soapmaking. I buy one at the farmers market that is positively addicting…olive oil and it leaves you so smooth.

susan a.

Flag this comment
2-17
7:04
pm

I’ve become quite the “do it yourselfer” since I’ve been unemployed. Soap making is something else I would like to try, so I would love to win this book.

Marianne G

Flag this comment
2-17
7:05
pm

Hello Suzanne

I am really enjoying your blog and have gleaned so many wonderful ideas from it. Thank you! I would love to be entered in the giveaway I have only tried making soap once but hope to make more in the future.

Have a great day!
Sharon

Sharon D.

Flag this comment
2-17
7:17
pm

I’ve only made the melt and pour soap, so winning this book would be a way of learning something new.

mommafox

Flag this comment
2-17
7:17
pm

Oh Wow! Put my name in the hat for the giveaway. Making soap sounds like another neat thing to try.

Judy@daily yarns

Flag this comment
2-17
7:20
pm

Soap? I wanna make soap! I wanna win the soap book.

Kathi N

Flag this comment
2-17
7:23
pm

Hi Suzanne,

I would love to win this book for my mother. She’s 62 years old and has wanted to make soap for years! She talks about it all the time and how she would love to make and sell it.

Like you, she’s done all of the research of how to do it, where to get the supplies (has even gotten some of them), but that’s where it ends. I think she’s a little intimidated.

I’m hoping this book with be the guiding hand that helps her to actually jump in and do something that she’s wanted to for years!

Traci

Flag this comment
2-17
7:30
pm

I’m on the first step of my soap-making journey. With your soap book as my guide, I can continue to advance in the art of soap making. Please enter me in your contest for the soap making book.

NorthCountryGirl

Flag this comment
2-17
7:33
pm

Suzanne, I gathered all the supplies last winter to make soap, read tons of books from the library, but chickened out by spring and never got any made! I would love to follow along as you learn to make soap! Putting my hand up now to try to win the soapmaking book!

katie frances

Flag this comment
2-17
7:34
pm

I have not even started yet, but I am just beginning to learn how to make soap. Just been doing a lot of reading.

I would love to win this!

Jennifer Sikora

Flag this comment
2-17
7:35
pm

Oh, it would be fabulous to win this book! We are planning a homemade Christmas this year, but I don’t know how to make anything, really. I’ve saved some of your previous posts, such as making taper candles. Yay! Thanks for the give-away!

Aimee

Flag this comment
2-17
7:48
pm

I would love a book!

Beth

Flag this comment
2-17
7:48
pm

I love homemade soap and have only made a very basic goat milk soap but it better than anything I had ever bought at the store. I loved your step by step cheesemaking and am excited about the soapmaking. Please put my name in for the book.

Angela

Flag this comment
2-17
7:54
pm

I remember my Grandmother making soap and I sure wish I would’ve asked her to teach me how before she passed away (she was way too young!) I have a very long list of crafts to learn and soapmaking is one of those at the top of the list along with learning how to spin wool for my knitting. One of these days when life doesn’t get in the way, i’ll have time for all my crafts!

Nancy B

Flag this comment
2-17
8:03
pm

Always looking for new methods…pick me pick me…
Love the new blog layout!!

Nicole

Flag this comment
2-17
8:04
pm

I would just love to have this book,have wanted to get started soap making for quite sometime but just didn’t have the courage. Now I do,thanks to you I have changed in a few areas of my life and I am not a scaredy cat anymore.I know that misspelled scaredy cat but I am learning the computer also.What can I say,I’m trying

Linda

Flag this comment
2-17
8:19
pm

Well Suzanne, I am lined up right behind you. I have always been interested in doing this though! I love lavendar, and would someday love to make lavendar soap.
Thank you for offering this giveaway, would love to win!

Jill Neely

Flag this comment
2-17
8:20
pm

I would love this book. I have been want in to start making soap.

Jeanna

Flag this comment
2-17
8:35
pm

Pick me, I want to win!!

Amber

Flag this comment
2-17
8:38
pm

I just want to say that I just love your sight. I came across it a couple of month ago and I have been reading your farm life,it brightens my day. And I really love an appreciate your pictures. I hope I am a winner of the soap making book. Linda from Candor New York.

Linda Goble

Flag this comment
2-17
8:38
pm

Please enter me for the soapmaking book giveaway. I would love to make my own soap.

brenda harmon

Flag this comment
2-17
8:41
pm

I would love to win your extra soap making book. I have tried the melted glycerin with adding in my own herbs and such, but I have not tried the lye soaps yet. I also for the last year now, have been making my own laundry soap which I just love.

Kathy Weisz

Flag this comment
2-17
8:54
pm

I have been making laundry soap for over a year…..would love to be inspired to move on to bigger and better soaps!

Tisha

Flag this comment
2-17
9:13
pm

What a nice blog this is! Can’t for the life of me remember how I started reading it, but it is now a part of my morning coffee routine.

Over the hill? There was a hill? I don’t remember seeing a hill…

Sailsagain

Flag this comment
2-17
9:15
pm

Entering! I’ve never made soap, but it does sound fun, and I’ve got a garden full of lavender that deserves to be put to use.

Robin G.

Flag this comment
2-17
9:16
pm

This sounds like fun!!! I’d love to win the soap making book.

Marymac

Flag this comment
2-17
9:24
pm

I am so wanting to learn how to do this. I have seen it done quickly at a country fair but could not really get into the details in a crowd. I am just like you looking for the ingredients, what kind of pans, how much… If I do not win the book, I will look forward to your adventures in soap making. Perhaps we could learn through you?

Cindy

Flag this comment
2-17
9:27
pm

Been following you for a bit and very much enjoy your posts. I have goats, chickens, a goose, ducks, guinea hens, dogs and cats. Only I’m in SD in the Black Hills. I would love a chance at winning your soap making book. I’m making a lot of your and others recipes. Thank you!

Teri

Flag this comment
2-17
9:33
pm

I would love to try my hand at soapmaking. I’ve been making laundry detergent using your recipe ever since I found it on your blog – no more rashes or itchy skin and it smells so good. I spice it up with a few chips of whatever goat milk soap I’ve been using along with the Ivory soap. I want so badly to make my own goat milk soap – its expensive!

Mittened Paw

Flag this comment
2-17
9:46
pm

I’m right there with you, reading about it, thinking about it, dreaming about it. I want to make soap. I made cheese, so I can make soap.

Judy D

Flag this comment
2-17
9:47
pm

I would love to win this book even though I feel guilty entering cause I won a book on facebook. Do you have a 90 day no win like the radio station? I am never fast enough to enter the radio contests but I always hear the rules.

Senta Sandberg

Flag this comment
2-17
10:00
pm

I have some old bars of soap that my mother made. They must be 50 years old! It would be fun to make homemade soap, but I might need a book to learn how to do it first…

Marla

Flag this comment
2-17
10:29
pm

I’d love to win a copy – I’m starting to learn to make many things from scratch – it’s better for my health, and saves money now that I was ‘downsized’ out of my job over a year ago. Maybe I could start my own Soap Company? Anything’s possible!

ClassyChassy

Flag this comment
2-17
10:49
pm

Another way of saving money and doing something good for us.
Thank you for the contest and all your homemade recipes!

SusanAZ

Flag this comment
2-17
10:50
pm

I am near the same phase of the journey that you described – “someday soon…” It was going to be “this” winter that I was going to get the hardwood ashes in the wooden bucket that would be filled with straw. (it hasn’t happened yet though..) I would like to start the soapmaking adventure with the old fashioned lye, black kettle over the open fire..ma here in her bonnet – then, progress to more modern means of soapmaking. I’d also like to tap the old sugar tree (just in case you had an extra copy sent on that.. sign me up! lol) Happy Winter! Tonya http://www.icelandicwool.blogspot.com

Tonya

Flag this comment
2-17
11:29
pm

Please count me in on the book drawing. I use your laundry soap recipe(love it) so maybe I’m ready to try this.

We’re having gorgeous weather here by the beach, hope you can get around in the snow better by now.

By the way, I made your wonderful cheesecake for Valentines Day, wow–what a beauty, everyone loved it(including me probably waaay too much)! Thanks for the recipes and the pictures!!

Susan M

Flag this comment
2-17
11:36
pm

I would love to try a stab at soap making.

Jen

Flag this comment
2-17
11:42
pm

I too have been fearful of soap making. Stick method, huh? I’d love a copy of the book as the word “comforted” has never been paired with my “soap making” experience.

Gen

Flag this comment
2-17
11:45
pm

I like using homemade soap……….that’s where I am on the soap making journey, luckily my sister makes soap sometimes and gives me a couple bars.
ahhhhhhhhhh so many crafts, so few hours
anni

anni

Flag this comment
2-17
11:47
pm

I’ve been making laundry soap for years but haven’t made soap before. It always looked too scary! Plus, my kids are little and the idea of making anything on the stove that could “scar them for life” if it were to spill(lye) makes me a little faint-hearted. So I would love this little book.
Thanks!
Elizabeth

mtnmedx

Flag this comment
2-18
12:31
am

I’d love to win the soap book. My daughter has been studying up on the process, too, and plans to teach other young ladies the craft. I can’t wait to add my knitted washcloths to a cake of homemade soap to give as a gift! Pick me, RNG!

Deb

Flag this comment
2-18
12:32
am

I am in the research phase. I actually recieved some books I ordered in the mail today. “Milk Based Soaps: by casey makela; “”The Natural Soap Book: by Susan miller cavitch. And “Relax to the Max” by Warda, Luchsinger, Browning and Cusick. I ordered the books with my order of candle making supplies. I plan to make container candles with soy. That’s were I’m at. I probably don’t need another book, just thought I’d let you know where I’m at with my soap and candle making, just like you asked.

Nursecookie

Flag this comment
2-18
12:42
am

So far I’m just at the window shopping phase. I think it’s just the fear of using lye that is stopping me.

jean

Flag this comment
2-18
12:52
am

For those with sensitive skin, I am adding a comment to the Brown Sugar Scrub post. Check it out…….

Cousin Sheryl

Flag this comment
2-18
1:21
am

my soap making journey has yet begun so I really need this book. A little inspiration!

Joanne

Flag this comment
2-18
1:22
am

I have always been fascinated with soap making, but have never had the nerve to try. I would love to win your book.
I will be following your soap making journey!

Grace

mrnglry

Flag this comment
2-18
2:30
am

Ooh! I’d like a stab at the book, please!

Kelleh

Flag this comment
2-18
2:36
am

As for where I’m at in the journey, I’ve made cold process soap before under the instruction of a teacher back in high school. Currently I’ve been tinkering with melt & pour soap, which is much easier than the cold process soaping (and much quicker for us impatient people), but I’m slowly but surely gathering what I need to go back to cold processing. I have my molds; I’ve got my gloves for the lye and all the extras, I’m just lacking the time and the extra immersion blender. (I have one I just don’t know that it’s non-aluminum. It needs to be steel or the lye will react.)

So there you have it… where I am at! :-)

Kelleh

Flag this comment
2-18
4:12
am

Sounds like fun and something I’ve never tried other than making my own laundry detergent and that doesn’t really count as soap making.

Sheila Z

Flag this comment
2-18
5:33
am

I haven’t yet started my soapmaking journey but I have been making my own cleaning products.

Maureen

Flag this comment
2-18
6:20
am

I would love to learn to make soap. Count Cricket in.

cricket

Flag this comment
2-18
6:22
am

count me in the great giveaway

connie

Flag this comment
2-18
6:23
am

Soap making is fun. Replace the water with your goat milk for a richer, more nourishing soap. Coconut oil is makes a REALLY nice soap also.

carsek

Flag this comment
2-18
6:25
am

I’m in the “buying other people’s homemade soap” phase! I love soap! Maybe I could learn to make my own.

Bet

Flag this comment
2-18
6:27
am

I started making my own laundry detergent last spring and love it! My husband even helps me out now when I make it, can you believe it? I would love to start making my own bath soap! Please pick me to win the soap book and please continue teaching us to save money and enrich our lives!

Laura B. in Greenwood, IN

Flag this comment
2-18
6:56
am

I want it!!!! Please and Thank You, count me in the drawing.

wkf

Flag this comment
2-18
7:03
am

made goat milk soap once – looked awful, took forever to cure, works great. :-)

egglady

Flag this comment
2-18
7:17
am

LOVE the new blog design! Enter me in the giveaway, please!
Thanks

Luann

Flag this comment
2-18
7:21
am

I’ve been longing to make soap myself and have not decided on a method yet. This book would be VERY helpful!

Suze

Flag this comment
2-18
7:23
am

Please enter me for the drawing, I’d love to learn to make soap!

KimL

Flag this comment
2-18
7:28
am

I’ve never made soap, but it is something that I would definitely love to try! I would love to be the recipient of this awesome gift, thank you for the givaway!!!

mirela

Flag this comment
2-18
7:45
am

please include me in the drawing…would love to make soap

Mim

Flag this comment
2-18
7:46
am

Plese add me to the soap book give away. I make soap but could use some more Ideas. Thank You!

Tammy Raines

Flag this comment
2-18
7:55
am

would love a soapmaking book!

Nancy

Flag this comment
2-18
7:58
am

I would love to have a copy of ths book. We did our first family homemade Christmas last year and will be doing it again this year and I drew my SIL’s name. I’ve been debating between making her candles or beauty products. This book would be a big help. Thanks so much for ofering it.

Lisa

Lisa J

Flag this comment
2-18
8:26
am

Hi – we make soap once or twice a year unless things get crazy busy. It’s enough to keep us from having to buy soap at all. The book looks like a wonderful resource and one I don’t have. (You’re going to love soap-making. It’s so easy and the creative possibilities are endless.)

Mary

Flag this comment
2-18
8:28
am

I haven’t tried soap making but would like to. Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks!

kerri

Flag this comment
2-18
8:30
am

I would love to win this book! I am still in the “I’m afraid of lye” stage of soap making!

Lisa Cummings

Flag this comment
2-18
8:42
am

I’ve never made soap before. Please enter me in the contest. Thanks!

Lisa in California

Flag this comment
2-18
8:51
am

Please enter me in the soapmaking book contest! Learning to make soap has been on my to due list for far too long!!

Jill

Jill

Flag this comment
2-18
8:59
am

Omigosh (lol… I don’t know *what* that is about)

I have been wanting to make soap for a long time, and because I have gotten away from chemical cleaners, my goal for this year is to do away with non-natural cosmetics and personal care items. My boyfriend still loves plain old soap, so I thought I’d learn to make my own and then we’d have it cheaper and I’d know exactly what went into it (plus, no animal testing! Unless you count him, of course). The next goal is to make my own laundry soap from my homemade soap. Winning the book is not going to be the only reason I do this, its a New Years Goal I made… lol… but I’d still love to have it to help me along the way.

Thanks for all your giveaways, at some point when I have the ability (and enough of a blog) I’d love to do the same. I like the changes you’re making, even though its a pain to re-adjust to things sometimes… I look forward to your blog everyday, so more of them is always a great thing! Have a great day, and say hi to all the animals for us!

ScarlettSeraph

Flag this comment
2-18
9:16
am

Please count me in!

Bonnie Schmdit

Flag this comment
2-18
9:16
am

Sounds Great! I recently met a local soapmaker and am almost up to the line and ready to cross it! Soap making is next on my list. Thanks for this great giveaway Suzanne!
~ Jill ~
Berry Good Life Farms

Jill

Flag this comment
2-18
9:16
am

I would LOVE to have this book! I’ve got two baby showers coming up and I think making soaps, the facial scrub and maybe some bath salts would make fun “for the Mommy” baskets to go along with the usual Butt Paste and adorable baby clothes…

Christina

Flag this comment
2-18
9:22
am

I too have been reading, gathering and dreaming of soapmaking. I even aspire to make my own lye with all the ashes from our woodstove. Have been waiting for spring (come on Spring!) to be able to work out in the little cabin so I don’t make any oops in the kitchen. I have made laundry soap with your help and love it, but still want to make my own real soap to use in it. Would love to win this book. Thanks Suzanne for all you do and share with us.

MMT

Flag this comment
2-18
9:25
am

I’d LOVE to win this book! I make soap. I’ve been at it for about a year. For those of you who are afraid to try, I say jump right in! Buy the lye and the other ingredients. Lye can be dangerous if you aren’t smart about it, but just be careful and take precautions. Wear closed shoes, pants, long sleeves, apron, gloves, and goggles. Have vinegar in a spray bottle and in a big bottle nearby, just in case. I mix my lye and make my soap outside on my front porch so the fumes aren’t in my house. It lasts just for a few minutes anyway. If I get a wind shift and get some lye fumes my direction, my body gets it out right away by coughing and watering my eyes. You CAN’T breathe in too much lye unless you’re trapped there somehow! I’ve had a drip or two of the fresh soap get on me while it’s being mixed. I spray myself with the vinegar and go on. The vinegar neutralizes any issues from the fresh soap mixture. I’ve had no problems while using lye. Just be careful and smart. The end result is so beautiful. You won’t want to go back to the store bought soaps ever again.

denny

Flag this comment
2-18
9:25
am

I have done alot of research on soapmaking too and homemade lye through wood ash. Currenlty I am gathering suplies and waiting to get my wood ash from a friend. To make lye from ashes takes a awhile but sounds neat. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

amber

Flag this comment
2-18
9:29
am

Well, I actually have a soapmaking kit! It contains a block of white soap, a block of clearish soap, a couple of dyes, a couple of scents and a gingerbread mold. Did I forget to mention it was a Christmas Soap Making Kit? And that I got it two Christmases ago?

So…I guess I’m just behind the starting line lol.

Deborah R

Flag this comment
2-18
9:33
am

Have I told you lately how much I love your site – I really, really do!!!!! I would love to win this book. For years I have made melt and pour soap and that is all we use but I would love to learn how to make “real” soap. Pick me please!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy Price

Flag this comment
2-18
9:36
am

I would love to win this book! I have never made soap, but I look at soap-making books all the time, and have never figured out which one to buy. I have, in the past year, begun with chickens, goats and donkeys. I garden and can veggies and fruit. I have ordered a beehive and bees to come in May. I love my life here in the country, and look forward to learning more and more every year!! Thanks for your encouraging blog!

Nana

Flag this comment
2-18
9:47
am

I want one!!!! I’m behind the starting line on a lot of things that I want to learn how to do. We just bought our first house in Oct. and we are still doing repairs! (It was def. a fixer upper. We had to clear cut the back yard to find out how big it was but now we have space for a veggie/fruit garden). So I am having to put off my list of things I want to learn this year until we finish the house :(

Tabatha

Flag this comment
2-18
10:06
am

I am right with you at being behind the starting line – I have a few webpages bookmarked and even researched some goatmilk recipies (though I am not lucky enough to have any goats )

I would LOVE to have a book though so I could have the enjoyable experience of making my hubby thinking I am going to blow up the kitchen with one of my hairbrained experiments though Those are so fun to spring on him.

If I am picked I will love you even more than I already do but if not I still will, because well, you are a fellow writer and you have goats and yes I know that is a sheep but it was just ba-utiful. and yes I know that was shamelessly corny this little things are incredibly addictive and fun and I just have to use one more, just because it is “jumping” out at me ah that was bad. lol

Crystal Stoddard

Flag this comment
2-18
10:09
am

I first helped to make sooap in fourth grade in Baxter, KY. Mrs. Kelly, our fourth grade teacher, set up a big kettle over a fire in the schoolyard and we made soap. When it had cured, she cut it into blocks and gave one to each of us. I have never forgotten that experience or Mrs. Kelly. Over the years, I have made soap a few times but would really like to get back into it. I would love to win a soapmaking book.

Jean

Flag this comment
2-18
10:13
am

That’s something I would like to try…soap making. )

CindyH.

Flag this comment
2-18
10:24
am

Please put me in the drawing. I’ve only tried melt and pour soap because I’m afraid of making soap with lye. Lye is a way more practical way of making soap, so I would like to learn. Still scared of lye, but it sounds like a reassuring book.

ScreamingSardine

Flag this comment
2-18
10:31
am

I have been making soap for 20 years and just started using an imersion blender. All of my soapmaking books are ancient, I would love an updated instruction manual!

Miss Kitty

Flag this comment
2-18
10:41
am

this is something that i would love to start doing… i gave my sisters all baskets with food that i had canned last summer for christmas and they loved them! i am wanting to do more of the same for this giving season! please enter me in the drawing.. i live close, i could come and pick it up myself! i am only in spencer!

Jill from Spencer WV

Flag this comment
2-18
10:49
am

Ah!!! Just tried to post my comment and says I entered wrong email addy!!! Now, to try to remember what I wrote…Well, I would really love this book! Seems like we are in the same boat as far as soapmaking goes and maybe, just maybe this book will be the very thing that will push me over the edge to just DO IT!!! Thnaks for all your wonderful posts, I enjoy them all! Barbara

Barbara Leone

Flag this comment
2-18
11:06
am

PS
Forgot to say in my comment that I would like my name in the drawing for the soap making book……Thanks

B. Ruth

Flag this comment
2-18
11:24
am

I would love the chance to learn to make soap.

Patricia Daugherty

Flag this comment
2-18
11:58
am

Ooooo Squeaking in just under the wire.. I would LOVE a soapmaking book! we have tried doing some with glycerine but making my own sounds AWESOME.

Rhonda

Flag this comment
2-18
1:10
pm

I have been making soap for a few years. Brambleberry.com is a great place to order supplies! Have fun!

Samantha

Flag this comment
2-18
6:18
pm

I have been making soap for about a couple of decades, since my grown and gone kids were very small, and there’s one thing you should be warned about before you start: It is so ADDICTIVE!!! Once you see how easy it is you won’t be able to stop until you have made every conceivable flavour possible!

Sheryl - Runningtrails

Flag this comment
2-18
10:19
pm

Please put my name in the hat for the drawing…I’m a soap-maker wanna be.

Paula

Flag this comment
2-19
8:11
am

DANG! You have a lot of comments! Still working out the best way to navigate your blog.

Hannah

Flag this comment
2-19
12:10
pm

I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but I feel duty bound to say this…I think one SHOULD be afraid, or at least very, very respectful of working with caustic lye. I’ve made soap to sell for about 6 years (never been burned). You MUST follow extreme safety measures when working with lye, and please, never do this in your kitchen. Never do this where children or pets have access at any time (before, during and after soapmaking), and please first do a web search on “lye burns” before investing in the equipment. Essential equipment includes a nearby phone.

The stick blender method is great, but exercise extreme caution, as they can kick up liquid raw soap, which is very caustic. The first time I used on I didn’t know how powerful it could be and had some splashing, fortunately, on the wall, not on me.

That said, it’s a wonderful creative hobby. You can also buy pre-made soap in flake form that is not dangerous to work with (not the same as melt-and-pour).

Ellen

Flag this comment

Registration is required to leave a comment on this site. You may register here. (You can use this same username on the forum as well.) Already registered? Login here.

Discussion is encouraged, and differing opinions are welcome. However, please don't say anything your grandmother would be ashamed to read. If you see an objectionable comment, you may flag it for moderation. If you write an objectionable comment, be aware that it may be flagged--and deleted. I'm glad you're here. Welcome to our community!