Candle & Soap Making: Most Popular Articles

Lye Sources
Without lye, there is no soap. But the most common supplier for home-based soap makers, Red Devil, has been discontinued. Here are some places you can get it.

Olive Oil Soaps
Easy Recipes for making Castile Olive Oil Soap

Make Cold Process Soap
Step by step instructions to make cold process soap

Soap Making Basics
Want to make your own hand made soaps - but just a beginner Start here for a quick primer in soap making - Fun projects and how-to projects as well as explanations of all the materials tools and ingredients involved

Goat's Milk Soap
Instructions for making goat's milk soap with either liquid or powdered goat's milk soap

Easy & Exotic Soap Recipe
Recipe for green tea & lemongrass soap

Basic Bath Salts
Basic instructions to make bath salts

Candle Basics
Bring some warmth and light into your home by making your own hand made candles - Fun creative and easy to learn

Create a Soap Recipe
Want to learn how to make soap? Create your own soap recipe from scratch - balance your oils and get exactly the results you want.

Melt and Pour
Step By Step Instructions to Make Melt and Pour Soap From Cutting and Weighing the Base to Adding Fragrance and Color

Liquid Soap
Instructions to make liquid soap from scratch

Soap with Milk
You're not limited to just using distilled water in your soap making. Many soapers make soap with goat's milk, coconut milk, or even buttermilk. Making the lye solution for your soap is a bit more tricky though. Follow these steps to get the best results.

Soap Making Recipes
Directory of soap making recipes from basic soap making recipes to soaps with botanical additives to specialty soaps

Fizzy Bath Bombs
Instructions to make basic fizzy bath bombs.

Candle Projects Directory
Directory of Candle Projects at Candle and Soap Making at About.com

Grocery Store Soap
You don't have to have a lot of fancy ingredients to make great soap. This recipe uses only oils that I found at my local market.

Scent Blending
Create custom fragrance blends of fragrance or essential oils for your soaps and candles with this simple blending guide

Citronella Candles
Directions for making mosquito repelling outdoor citronella bucket candles

Cocoa Butter Massage Bars
Instructions, ingredients and recipe for cocoa butter massage bar

Make a Lye Solution
Step by step instructions to safely make a lye-water solution for use in making cold process soap

Alternative Lye Solutions
You're not limited to just using distilled water in your soap making. Many soapers make soap with goat's milk, coconut milk, coffee, tea or even beer. Making the lye solution for your soap is a bit more tricky though.

CP Shaving Soap
Recipe for shaving soap - olive oil shaving soap

Best Lye Calculators
Lye Calculators for Cold Process Soap

Propylene Glycol
Discussion of Propylene Glycol in Soap, Cosmetics and Household Items

Mosquito Essential Oil Blends
Mosquito repelling essential oil blends for making citronella candles with more than just citronella oil

Fun Soap Variation
Step by step instructions to make whipped soap - room temperature cold process soap

Organize Your Craft Room
Great articles and resources to help you organize your craft room

Ice Candle
How to make an ice candle - beautiful and easy

Making Lye from Wood Ashes
Links to sources of how to make lye the old fashioned way - from wood ashes and water

Container Candles
Step-by-step instructions for making basic container candles.

MP Shaving Soap
Instructions to make Melt and Pour Shaving Soap

Hurricane Candle
Step-by-step instructions to make a hurricane candle shell - advanced candle making project - how to make hurricane candle shells

Citronella Torches
Step by step instructions to make citronella torch candles

Saponification
definition of saponification in soap making

Dripless Candles
Candle Making - How to make a candle dripless.

RenderingTallow
Step by step instructions on how to render tallow or beef fat for use in soap and candles

Easy Soap Science
Simple experiment demonstrates how soap cleans.

Great Kids Project
Step by step instructions to make a stained glass votive holder

Mitre Box Soap Mold
Step by step instructions to make a great soap mold out of a mitre box and some wood strips.

Honey in Soap
Information about using honey in hand made soaps - recipes included

Lavender-Mint Soap
Recipe and Instructions to Make Lavender Mint Multi-Layered Soap

Photo Candles
How to add a photo to your candles using either waterslide candle decals or embedding photos into a hurricane shell

Marbled Container Candles
Instructions to make a marbled container candle - Basic Setup

Rolled Beeswax Candle
Instructions for making a simple rolled beeswax candle. Great for kids.

Baby Food Jar Candles
Instructions for making candles with baby food jars

Trace
When making cold process soap you must wait until the mixture reaches trace - once you have seen it you will know but trace makes soap making beginners nervous

Measurements vs Percentages
Scale your recipe to any size as well as understand the proportions of each oil in the recipe.

Hard White Soap
recipes for old fashioned hard white soap

Natural Colorants
Natural colorants in soap making don't have to be boring and muted. Many plant materials, spices and herbs give lovely colors to your soap.

Floating Candles
Simple floating candles can make a simple bowl of water into a centerpiece. And they're EASY to make!

Not just for kids!
Step by step instructions for making sand candles

Candle and Soap Labels
Top Picks for Resources for Labelling Candles and Soaps - Candle and Soap Label Resources

Recycling Wax Scraps
Any candle maker - or even candle user - will have lots of odds and ends and scraps of candles left over. Here are some ways to reuse them.

Coconut Milk Soap
Step by step instructions for making soap with coconut milk

Floating Flowers
Step-by-step instructions to make molded floating flower candles

Simple Votive
Easy candle making project-make a simple votive candle-step by step instructions

Melt and Pour Fun
Melt and Pour Soap Scrubbie - Easy Soap Making Project - Great for kids - fun soap making project

Add a Little Extra
Superfatting cold process soap recipes is common - it adds extra moisturizing qualities and gives you a fudge factor.

Soap & Surface Tension
Demonstration of how soap breaks surface tension

Balloon Candles
Using a simple balloon, you can make interesting candle shells that can be used in a number of fun projects

Mining for Gem Soap
Easy Melt and Pour Soap project - Gemstones with colored mica

Springtime Fragrances
My top list of springtime candle and soap making fragrances.

Cucumber Soap
Recipe for cucumber soap

Soap Making Kits
List of kits to get started making soap

Cyclomethicone
Definition of Cyclomethicone

Candle Making Gift Kits
List of Gifts and Product Recommendations for Candle Makers

Carrot Juice Soap
Recipe for carrot juice soap

Clay Soap Sampler
Recipe for making soap with clays

Loofah Soap
Step by step instructions to make melt and pour loofah soap

Lavender Essential Oil
Profile of lavender essential oils for making soaps and making candles

Best Essential Oil Books
My picks for the best books on essential oils in candle and soap making

Dry Perfume Roll-on
Dry Perfume Roll-on or Body Oil Spray with Cyclomethicone

Herbal Oil Infusion
Directions on How To Make an Herbal Oil Infusion for Soap Making

Using Liquid Lye
How to use a liquid lye solution in soap making

Soap Making Safety
Making soap can be a completely safe and enjoyable craft if you follow a few procedures

Essential Oil Safety
How to use essential oils safely in your soaps and candles.

Candle Making Safety
Candle making safety - tips, rules and instructions for making candles safely

Soap Felting
How to felt soap - A combination washcloth and bar of soap - this project uses simple wool and simple soap to make a wonderfully unique soap presentation - soap felting

Lye Excess in Liquid Soap
An explanation of Catherine Failor's Liquid Soap recipe formulations - and the excess of lye

Rustic Pillars
Step-by-step instructions to make Rustic Pillar Candles

Morning Mint
Step-by-step instructions for Morning Mint melt and pour soap - easy soap making project

Top Note
Top note the fleeting bright volatile scent When blending fragrance and essential oils for soap candles or aromatherapy attention must be paid to the characteristics of each oil Each oil has a top note middle note and base note

Soap Exfoliants
List of exfoliants you can use in your soaps

Candle Safety Basics
Tips and guidelines for safe candle making and safe candle burning.

Make Chunks for Candles
Instructions to make wax chunks for chunk candles.

Pumpkin Pie Soap
Ready for fall flavors and scents? This pumpkin scented soap uses real pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice! Almost good enough to eat...and fabulous in the bath!

Quick Wick Testing
Wick Testing is the most important part of your candle making - here's a great easy way to do it!

Beeswax Votive Holders
Instructions to make votive candle holders out of sheets of natural beeswax

Easy Molded Candle Project
Basic candle making instructions for a molded pillar candle.

Coffee Soap
Great soap making recipe for cooks and coffee lovers alike - removes garlic and fish odors from hands

Coloring Fizzy Bath Bombs
Step by step instructions for coloring your fizzy bath bombs

Dog Soap Recipes
Recipes for flea repelling dog soap

Add a Bit of Salt
Adding a bit of salt to your soap can help increase hardness - an inexpensive and easy soap making tip

Testing Natural Colorants
Natural colorants are wonderful for soap making, but before you throw some carrots or seaweed into your soap, do a few simple tests.

Add Some Sugar
Adding sugar to your soap helps increase lather and bubbles

Fragrance & Essential Oils
A discussion of the difference between fragrance oils and essential oils in candle making and soap making.

Cocoa Butter
Profile of Cocoa Butter in Soap Making

Christmas Containers
Fill your home with holiday scents with these great Christmas Container Candles - step by step instructions how to make Christmas container candles

Basic Soap Equipment
A list of the basic soap making tools and equipment you need to get started making soap

Fisherman's Soap
Recipe for Fishermans Soap - Allegedly Attracts Fish

Beer Candle
Step-by-step instructions on making a beer candle

Magic 180
Most waxes melt at between 120 and 140 degrees. But adding the fragrance oil at a lower temperature will not give you the best results. What temperature is best to add the fragrance oil to your candles?

Liquid Soap Dilution
Dilution help for making liquid soap

Molded Roses
Step-by-step instructions to make molded rose candles.

Beeswax Tea Lites
Unique and easy candle making project using beeswax and cookie cutters - perfect for holiday candle table settings or center pieces

Pregnancy Essential Oils
List of essential oils to avoid during pregnancy.

Peppermint Ice
A wintery wake up for your shower that's cool to look at and cool to wash with.

Middle Note
Middle note the heart of the fragrance long lasting When blending fragrance and essential oils for soap candles or aromatherapy attention must be paid to the characteristics of each oil Each oil has a top note middle note and base note

Layered Containers
How to make layered container candles

Base Note
Base note the rich heavy scent that emerges slowly and lingers When blending fragrance and essential oils for soap candles or aromatherapy attention must be paid to the characteristics of each oil Each oil has a top note middle note and base note

Coconut Oil
Profile of Coconut Oil in Soap Making

Household Soap Combo
A great combination of soap for any household -Gardener's Soap great for cleaning dirty hands - Mechanic's Soap for the grimiest jobs - and Kitchen Coffee Soap to battle cooking odors

Gel Candle Making
Gel Candle Making FAQ - Gel Wax - What is it?

Not Quite as Scrubby
Instructions for two variations on super scrubby loofah soaps