{"id":7213,"date":"2011-11-17T14:42:18","date_gmt":"2011-11-17T20:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatcakessoapworks.com\/handmade-soap-blog\/?p=7213"},"modified":"2015-05-25T10:14:58","modified_gmt":"2015-05-25T16:14:58","slug":"soapmaking-book-review-and-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatcakessoapworks.com\/handmade-soap-blog\/index.php\/soapmaking-book-review-and-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Soapmaking Book – Review and Giveaway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check out this cute little soapmaking how-to book by Joy James, called Make Your Own Soap<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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A full-colour, step by step, photographic guide to making soap.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was sent a copy of the book directly from the owner of How2Crafts.com, an innovative website with lots of great crafting ideas. They publish books on crafts that their readers vote for, and they’ve got a really neat system going where you can upload pictures of your creations and they’ll include the best ones in subsequent editions of their books. How cool is that?<\/p>\n

The book itself really is a fabulous little starter for someone who wants to make their first batch of soap. It includes plenty of history, helpful hints, and most importantly: PHOTOS! Out of all four soapmaking books I currently own, this is the first one that has step-by-step photos of the entire process. It even has an actual picture of what trace looks like. This could have saved me from re-batching the very first batch I ever made back in November 2002! When I unmolded that very first soap, it completely crumbled. Figured out it was because I hadn’t actually stirred it long enough (I didn’t have a stick blender at that point). I ended up throwing it all back in my soap pot, left it in a warm oven for a few hours, and was able to mash it back into the mold. It turned out perfectly after that!<\/p>\n

There are three different beginner soap recipes – including a palm-free one with reasons why some soapmakers choose not to use palm oil. She gives ideas of where to buy ingredients as well – although she lives in the UK, and most of the resources included are from there with a few others from various other countries. There is a glossary of soapmaking terms and a short section on troubleshooting. All very well put-together and easy to read. Only 44 pages!<\/p>\n

If you would like to pick up a copy, these just became available for purchase in the U.S. at Amazon. (Click the photo of the book to purchase.) Or, if you would like a chance to win my copy, please leave a comment below with your reasons for wanting it. Perhaps you would like to make your first batch of soap and need more information, or perhaps you are a soapmaker who has a “friend” begging you to teach her and you would prefer to give her this book instead. Whatever it might be, I look forward to hearing about it! Comments will close Sunday night at 10pm CST, and I will select a random winner!<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am NOT an affiliate of Amazon. I received the book from How2Crafts for review purposes. All opinions are my own. <\/em><\/font> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Check out this cute little soapmaking how-to book by Joy James, called Make Your Own Soap: I was sent a copy of the book directly from the owner of How2Crafts.com, an innovative website with lots of great crafting ideas. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[699,701,702,700],"class_list":["post-7213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-giveaways","tag-handmade-soap-book-review","tag-joy-james","tag-make-your-own-soap","tag-soapmaking-book-giveaway"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t