3 comments about Making Scented Soap: 60 fragrant soaps and bath bombes to make at home.

1. The concern of using SDS and EDTA on my daughter's skin made me look into making my own soaps. I browsed about a dozen of books and this is the only one I bought. It is a great book. It is concise and informative. It is practical, yet it's not "dry". It was written by someone who wants to TEACH you how to make soaps. It overviews base oils and their properties, botanicals and essential oils. It shows how to make cold-processed soap bars, liquid soap, clear soap, massage melts and bath bombs. Many recipes are listed, but most important it delivers a ground knowledge that you can use to design your own recipes, if you so chose. The chapter about resources shall direct you well, whether you want to buy in Europe, the U.S. or Australia. Lye calculator and all recipes are given in both metric and imperial. The pictures are magnificent. I recommend this book.



2. This is a great book!! It has very clear instructions, explains the chemistry in a straightforward way and has beautiful photographs of the finished products. I got this to make bath bombs (it's very easy with her instructions!!) and am inspired to try more-- massage melts, soaps, etc. Diverse, creative recipes. Definitely worth every penny and more!!!



3. Before I started making soap, I researched several books on the subject. Many books in the market are helpful. Depending on what type of soap you are seeking to prepare, what is your budget for equipment/supplies and finally how much time you would like to spend in the kitchen, these are all very important things to know before you start the craft of soapmaking. There are many different methods that can help you achieve soapmaking, this is why I recommend that beginners do some type of research before starting this craft. I am a beginner and read most books. I read from the oldest method of soapmaking to the newest. Now, since I love cooking and art, I decided to make cold processing soap (involves using lye, etc.) because I love the art form of making such a beautiful product plus it also allows me to control what I use as my soap base.
   
   This book has far been the best book on making good-quality soap. Why? Because the recipes include base oils, herbs and essential oils that make these soaps outstanding. Now, with this said... it may be costly, again depending on your budget and if you do your homework. I purchased most of my ingredients online and saved money. This is craft that can be taken both ways.. if you want something easy to make, faster to use and economical, then melt & pour may be your niche since MP soap can be used immediately versus CP which requires time to cure (upto 4-6 wks.)
   
   I have made soap using these recipes on this book and they were perfect. The scents are wonderful and are curing as I type. The instructions are easy to understand in this book. My only suggestion would be 1) I find out that the temperature of both the base oils and lye should be 100 rather than the suggested temperature in the book before blending together and 2) I experienced a great challenge when I tried to take the soap out of the mold. I didn't use any type of mold release and had difficulty releasing my soap. So, the next batch I placed a plastic trash bag inside my mold and this worked great but had lots of wrinkles on my dry soap. What I did to avoid these problems is that I purchased a mold that requires no freezer paper, bag or mold release. This mold is sold on ebay for an excellent price. So far, I've made 3 batches and can't wait to use my scented soap.
   
   I hope this review helps soapmakers and that they enjoy the craft just as much as I am.

1 comments about Good Gifts from the Home: Candles, Bubble Baths, and Other Romantic Gifts--Make Beautiful Gifts to Give (or Keep).

1. I have been trying to order this book for a while but each time something went wrong. I am happy to say I finally received the book and in record time from one of the best sellers at Market Place. I was surprised how small the book was with little or no photos showing the project or even the step by step guides. Granted the receipes are simple and easy to follow written guidelines I just feel cheated if there is no pictures. Overall I am going to rate the book a 4 because of the simplistic nature of the receipes I am excited to start trying them. I sell soaps on the side (when I am not book selling) and I find some of the best receipes are 3-5 ingrediants and takes 5 minutes to prepare. The hardcover is nice and tight the book itself is small but text size is normal.I did not realize that a big portion of the book (half) would be on candlemaking. While interesting it is not what I needed. There is approx. 33 soap/bath beauty receipes of which I will use about 75-80% of so I do like the book. I would of given 5 stars but they lost one star because of the lack of Pictures. (Dj has a nice one. I recommend you cannot go wrong-Too simple for the professional soaper, I am just thrilled it doesn't call for all the complicated ones I have to do. As a Gift I would Highly Recommend.

2 comments about The Ultimate Gel Candle Book.

1. I gave this book a five stars because of the idea/pics included. It starts out talking about safety,tools needed, and working with gel. It address containers,bubbles,coloring/ fragrances,adding glitter,nesting the candle in a water/flower arrangement,using embeds( wax,clay,glass,agates,beads,wire,sea glass,pins), selecting wicks,making cameos for embeds(very original),using gold leaf inside candles,silhouette candles,color swirling,and gel floating candles.

   There are ideas about: sand/treasure candle,neat spider web candle,using flower pot holders,amethyst stone look,using vases in another vase,HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN GUMBALL MACHINE CANDLE(very original at very low cost),vertical striped or diagonal candles, desert candles,pizza candle,tuxedo candle,glass painted/clear candle, bamboo candle,and bonsai(handmade)in a candle. Even shows candle ideas for men!

   Each idea comes with pics,instructions,materials list. Great pics and ideas for the beginner and the pro.




2. my wife loves the book, she cant wait to get started making candles...so i would definitely not htink twice about this book, awesome ideas and pics...

2 comments about Creative Candles: Over 40 Inspiring Projects for Making and Decorating Candles for Every Occasion.

1. Sue Spears the owner of The Candle Shop in convent Garden London is the collater of this book, she has put together a lovely visual book , but with no really new ideas . And some of the material suggestions as a bit silly , a nice coffee table book on candles, not really informative for the candlemaker.



2. This is a terrific book for the beginning candlemaker. The author gives a great introduction to candlemaking with nice explanations on materials needed, basic techniques, types of candles, etc. Also, the information is easy to understand. Great for someone getting started. The ideas in the book are new and refreshing. Each project has easy to follow directions and wonderful full-color pictures to help you along. My husband has been making candles since the late 60's and he loved the book. We checked it out of our local library and now we are definitely going to purchase this book!

No comments about The Candle Maker: How to Make Candles in Your Own Kitchen.

No comments about The Unique Candlewicking Collection.

1 comments about The Complete Guide to Gel Candlemaking: Learn How to Create Beautiful, Scented Gel Candle Designs in Just a Few Easy Steps, for Fun and Profit!.

1. if your into mixed drinks, desserts and scented candles, this is a book for you, my wife loves that the candles look just like the real deal... may have a bit of typo errors but as far as pricing and ideas shared, i don't regret getting it...

2 comments about A Guide to Preserving Food for a 12 Months Harvest: Canning, Freezing, Smoking, and Drying; Making Cheese, Cider, Soap and Grinding Grain; Getting the Most from Your Garden (Ortho book series).

1. This book is a concise collection of ideas for gardening and preserving food for year-round food self-sufficiency. It includes chapters on garden planning, canning, freezing, drying and smoking, juicing, cheese making, grinding grains, gathering wild fruits, camp foods, decorative drying, and kitchen planning. There are quite a number of interesting and useful recipes, from rose petal syrup to candied cactus to acorn bread. In addition to recipes, the authors provide instructions for canning and for building special equipment like a food dehydrator, or a fruit press. The book is illustrated throughout with color photographs. End material includes a glossary and index.
   
   Although the book includes some tips from a grower in Michigan, much of the material comes from families in California, so there is quite a bit of advice for mild climate Western gardeners, and not much information for gardeners who face extremely cold conditions. The gardening advice seems mostly sound, although it doesn't stick to strictly organic methods, and includes a few recommendations for chemical applications. The food preservation techniques focus on canning, freezing, and drying, and barely mention root cellaring. Nevertheless, if you only have room on your shelf for one slim volume about food preservation, this is a good choice because it includes information on such a wide variety of topics.



2. This book has been a mere insperation for me. Eversince i bought it, I have been making my own Whole Wheat Bread, and have managed to live more suffiencent with the harvest that i bring in from my own Garden. Granted this is more of a what to do afterwards book rather than a gardening book, but it is really helpfull.
   Mrs Dewey has a great writing style that is easy and simple to understand. I would absolutley recommend this book to anyone that wants to do more with their garden than just bring in Strawberries in June and Tomatoes in August.

2 comments about Making Soaps (Handicraft Manuals).

1. This is one of the wosrt books I have seen for soap making! It did not explain what she was doing, and it didn't give any info on where to get many of the required materials (such as molds). I've been a soaper for many years and I didn't always understand what she was trying to say. If there was a lower rating than 1 star I would give it to this book.



2. A good book with basic information about handmilling soaps and making pretty melt and pour projects for people who love soap making but can't or shouldn't deal with scary chemicals like lye. She explains a lot of projects in this book that I have been baffled about for a while even with my other soap books. This is a nice addition to anyone's soap library. The projects are user friendly.

1 comments about How to Make Your Own Organic Cosmetics: Soap and Scent: Recipes for Natural Beauty (How to Make Your Own Organic Cosmetics).

1. This is the first book I bought to learn to make cold processed soap. The pictures are lovely and the content is good to a certain extent. I did make my first soaps from receipes in this book. I think this is a good starter book; however, if the art of soapmaking truly interests you, you will want to buy a more indepth book.