Soapmaking: Easy Melt & Pour Creations

Craft expert Sharyn Pak (whose Scrapbooking: Memories Made Simple was reviewed in VL-1/09) is back in this instructional program on making soap. Citing the fun and economical benefits in home soapmaking, Pak provides a brief history of soap from its origins in ancient Babylon and explains the various methods used, including hot and cold press (with lye or fat), hand-milled (which combines either hot- or cold-press soap with other ingredients), and the approach demonstrated here: the safer and even kid-friendly melt and pour technique. Emphasizing the basics, Pak prefaces her presentation for each style of soap with a pictorial illustrating necessary add-ins, materials, and tools (such as soap base, measuring cups, oatmeal, fragrances, Shea butter, molds, and dyes). Viewers learn how to make soaps that look like fruit slices, hearts, and confetti; a “Peace, Love, and Lather” soap; soaps melded with decorative loofahs; and even a “Hardworking Hands” soap with cornmeal for exfoliating and vitamin E for healing. Concluding with ideas on gift wrapping, packaging for ultimate freshness, and making decorative, fitted boxes out of cardstock, Easy Melt & Pour Creations—which includes text materials lists and PDF-accessible resources—is definitely recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)