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Two years ago we moved my pregnant daughter into our home from an unstable situation. Her stuff filled my garage workspace and the new grand baby has filled our time (and hearts) since. Well, Mama and baby girl are moving to their own apartment at the end of May. The withdrawal won't be too bad...

I'm watching a youtube series about 18th century cooking from the excellent Townsends channel from here in Indiana. He's been talking about the difference between suet and tallow in cooking, which of course got me thinking about soap. Suet is organ fat from around the kidneys and is much...

I make a bar with tea tree and peppermint, plus lots of charcoal. I use it only for my face so a one kilogram batch lasts a very long time - probably two months plus for each of the eight bars. I grabbed the last bar of the last batch yesterday which is, at a guess without checking my notes...

Facebook video only, sorry. Looks like somebody has been leaving BBC America on during the day...

Anybody tried this dupe of Hoppes #9? A pound is quite a lot to try an unknown. I'm not even sure if it's CP safe.

I have been testing a bar of one year old 100% olive oil castille (95/5 Na/K) in the shower for the last couple weeks. I don't honestly love it for washing the body - not enough lather for my taste - so its been languishing beside a high-lard cousin in the soap dish. This morning on a whim, I...

We're used to making the distinction between palm oil and palm kernel oil. (The former from the fruit, the latter from the seed.) I've been thinking about the fact that both coconut oil AND babassu oils also come from species of palm trees. Moreover, they are also both come from their...

I tossed together what was supposed to be a straightforward batch of confetti soap with tea tree for my mother last night. This should have been a cakewalk: no swirls just TiO2 in the oils, pussycat tea tree EO in the oils, fewer oils than I typically use. Should have been... I got the oils...

Let's say I make a recipe set to 33% lye concentration and 0% superfat. Normally I use a 50% lye pre-mix and "switch" the water and lye recommendations from the calculator, using 2/3 of the total as lye solution and 1/3 as additional distilled water. If I use 5% white vinegar for that 1/3...

I noticed that a package of microwave popcorn I bought last week had ROE in the ingredients, so I assume it is safely edible. Does anyone have links to information on how much is safe? Can the amounts typically used for soaping-oil stability be eaten without issue? Can you taste it at that...

Anybody know where to find CP beginner's kits still in stock? BB is out.

I just heard a story from a friend whose family has been exchanging the same decorative box among themselves for 60 years. Now entering its fourth generation, The Box is a very, very important Christmas tradition in their family. He says it has crossed the Atlantic twice and he first got it...

This idea was a random shower-thought, so bear with me. It's early stages. ;) What about a hot process charcoal and salt bar with 20% castor oil as the superfat? Could it be done? Should it be done? I'm thinking of something like 70% coconut, 10% safflower HO, and 20% castor (reserved)...

It's that time again for me to start stocking away food for the winter. Last weekend I bought another 50# bag of white rice from GFS for $20, replaced all my water (Walmart has 35 half-liter bottles for $2.88), bought and mylar bagged 20 lbs of pintos and 5 lbs of split peas. Still need a...

Does anyone know a place that has a sampler of non-mica colorants? Something like small amounts of a basic eight colors? All I want to do is color a little liquid soap, but these things are so concentrated and expensive that even a limited pallet would cost $75 and last me a lifetime. Is...

Bit of a fail last night. I am trying to get a specific surface treatment on the next batch of soap I'm making. I intended to paint the design onto the bottom of the silicone mold with glycerin and pigment, then pour soap over top. So last night I dug around the kid's drawers and the junk...

The childhood thread made me think of sharing this find with you. It's a telephone that mounts on the wall, just like the old ones - just like you remember. Heavy, steel bell ringer, the works. We keep a "house phone" for the same reasons many of you mentioned (though ours is now VoIP...

My oldest daughter has asked with help making some honeysuckle perfume for her own use. Is an FO going to be more realistic than an extract? Can somebody recommend a source for a good one? Also, to make perfume should I just dilute the FO with perfumer's alcohol or Everclear? Include a...

Help me think this idea through, Folks. It is often recommended NOT to make batches smaller than 500 grams unless you have a scale more accurate than the typical 1g kitchen versions. But what if I've masterbatched my lye and have a good graduated cylinder? If I assume that the goal is to get...

I'm using a scent that discolors and I'm planning to split the batch into a unscented portion to color. If I'd normally use 28g of FO in 1000g of soap (not oil), is there anything wrong with using that same 28g in 500g of soap? Assuming it's swirled with the unscented portion, that is.