It started a couple years ago in a very unusual way. Being Catholic and Lent just around the corner I wanted to do, not the usual. Gave up caffeine one year. That did not go well, and I ended up giving up just coffee and NOT caffeine. Like Father Keith says, “if it’s going to make the rest of the household miserable and walk on egg shells, it’s probably not what God wants us to do.” Fact. I decided to give up reading useless, but sometimes therapeutic, romance novels. If I was going to read it was going to be real and educational….ya know what I mean! Lol I did plan it out. I finished the book I was reading (like the night before Lent started.) Why tempt myself more with an unfinished book?? It was bad enough it ended on a cliff hanger and the next one was available for check out digitally on my phone!!

Then came the new issue. What was I going to do in the evenings when James was watching Harry Potter? (Oh! I’m going to tell him to give up Harry Potter for Lent this year!!LOL) Scrolling through Pinterest one evening, I came a cross the Nerdy Farm Wife’s post on “12 Things to do with Dandelions.” I was intrigued. I like dandelions. She had oil infusions, salves, vinegars, syrup, soap, lotion bars, tea, magnesium lotion, tincture, infused honey, bath bombs and even cupcakes! (I really love her blog.) I can do that! And I did most of it that spring. My husband thought I was losing it. My kids thought I was going crazy. I didn’t over pick our dandelions because they are usually a bees first plant with pollen. I picked and dried the dandelions. I made oil infusions, simple lotions, lip balm, bath bombs, and lotion bars.

A whole new world opened up for me. But not the soap. Nope. Not doing it. I had to use lye to make it a real soap. LYE! It seemed scary and intimidating. All that summer I read NFW posts and others posts on different soap recipes and………did nothing with making homemade soap.  However, by fall the interest was still there along with a major case of self-doubt. What if I mess it up? There were lots of “professional” soapers that talked about all their failed batches of soap that they had to throw away due to one issue or another. Ugh! I’m such a cheapskate. I didn’t want to buy all the supplies just to throw it away!  It all seemed so technical. Everything had to be weighed on a scale. Precise measurements. Safety was a huge issue soapers blogged about. Hot process or cold? Insulate it or not. Scented or unscented? And which oils to use? What did each oil do in the soap? What was a lye calculator? What’s a saponification number?

Honestly, it was very overwhelming and intimidating to me. It became a daily thought process: YES! I could do this! No! I could not do this! Finally, closer to winter, I decided I was going to do it. I borrowed a recipe off NFW’s blog. (She has tons of them, and now she sells books about it, and many for first time soapers……no I don’t own any…yet.) I made sure I had all the ingredients and ordered what I needed. While I waited for my last few items (mainly the lye) I researched soaping tips, how to clean up (this is a majorly important one,) safety (again) and every possible issue I could have and what I was going to do about it.

Finally, the day came and I was ready. Every ingredient and tool sat on my counter. Breathe in, breathe out. Nobody was home. No distractions. I had my recipe and my list of notes, tips, and instructions on what to do first, second, etc. I carefully weighed and melted my oils. Opened my kitchen window to let in fresh air and help with ventilation while carefully mixing the lye into the water. Slowly blended the lye water and oils together. Used the immersion blender to get to thick trace. (soaping lingo) and looked at my first batch of almost completed soap! I did it!! I poured it into my freezer paper lined box (el cheapo again…not buying a mold if I suck at soaping, right?) Tapped it down like I was supposed to. Covered it with a bit of wax paper and wrapped the whole thing in a towel. And put it on the side counter to wait…..I just looked at it…..I was supposed to wait 24 to 36 hours before cutting. Patience is a virtue and soap making will teach that for sure. Ugh. It took forever! I peeked at it every hour to make sure it wasn’t overheating…(it didn’t change so I thought that was a good sign).

The next day barely 24 hours later I was ready to cut. After unmolding, it took a good five minutes just for me to decide how I was going to cut the soap. (I was procrastinating) I finally chopped it up into nice little blocks of soap. Wow! I did it. Then realized I had to put them away….for 4 to 6 WEEKS! (pounding my head on the counter) How do people do this??? I checked them every day. Every day. Finally! They were done! And they actually bubbled! (yes, I was worried!), and simply nice feeling on my hands. I got a thumbs up from the kids. I was hooked on soaping!

Liquid soap, shave soap, clay soap, shampoo and body bars, botanical, scrub and glycerin soap. I tried it all. Dalton actually took some of my glycerin soap to mix with his rosin for his bull riding rope. Bonus!  (Glycerin is actually called transparent soap because all homemade soap contains glycerin…no big wig company to remove it and interchange it with synthetic chemicals and such.) And, as I knock on some real wood, I have not had to throw a batch of soap yet. There have some near misses, and some scrambled changes in plans, but I guess I am just that blessed that I haven’t had to toss any!

And so, it’s continued…soaps, lotions, and still tinctures and all sorts of items. My favorite part of lotions and body butters? I don’t have to fight anybody for the beaters or the bowl. I can slather them on til they are wiped (not licked, lol) clean. My biggest problem with soap making? Do I have room in my shower for one more bar (haha, probably 5-10 at any given time) and which one do I try next . Decisions. Decisions.  : J