A new hotel with a wonderful luxury spa has opened.Their spa philosophy is "Ancient people have lived in balance with the rhythms of nature and have understood that each person is a unique combination of elements with individual needs at different times." Sounds cool, huh? And very much in line with our increasing attention, as soap and candle makers, to surrounding ourselves with pure and natural things, and treating our senses, bodies and minds with care. But this spa isn't in Santa Fe or San Francisco, it's in Mongolia. Located 50 kilometers north of the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, the Terelj Hotel bills itself as the "Last Great Place on Earth." I wish I had more frequent flier miles, because it sounds really neat. "There is a place on earth, as yet significantly unspoiled by Western Civilization. A protected place, where travelers have only been freely granted access since 1992. Today, deep inside a national park, on the banks of a historic river and under the watchful eye of some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, you can experience this place. In utmost comfort and style."
So if you happen to be in China, Russia or Mongolia, drop on by...it sounds like a lovely place. For those of us on the other side of the world, we'll have to work on creating "utmost comfort and style" with some of our own hand crafted soap, custom candles, bath salts, massage bars and such.
Photo credit: ibeeby at stock.xchng

I've passed on a lot of links to articles about candle makers who have overcome illnesses, poverty and other obstacles by and through making candles and soap. This is one of those. Perhaps it's just because I'm the parent of a toddler, and can relate to the experimenting with candles in between diaper changes...but this one really touched me. It's the story of Lisa Chavez of Willow Wicks Candle and Spa Products. The article tells how Lisa got started making and selling candles, and how her greatest inspiration, her daughter Breann, fought Niemann-Pick disease. Though Breann has passed on, Lisa looks "to her candle making as a release and a way to honor her daughter's memory. She was the spark of Willow Wicks, and it is in her spirit the flame burns today," she says.
Photo credit: mmgallan at Stock.XCHNG

Inspired by a post on Kathy Miller's Soap site (one of the oldest and best soap sites on the internet) - What Type of Soaper Are You?
The Naturalist?
The Expense Artist
The Latherist?
The Country Wrapper?
The Sofa Soaper?
These and dozens more are on the site. You'll chuckle...and more than likely find a soaper that you fit.
Be sure to scroll down about half way for the "You might be a soap addict if..." section...hilarious!

Then...click on the "Comment" link here and tell us what sort of soaper YOU are!

At first read, I loved this article about Bob McElwee and his soap. I can imagine him in his impeccably neat soap kitchen, with perfectly measured batches and bars that look exactly the same. I'm sure glad Bob isn't watching over my shoulder while I make my own soap though. I'd be afraid to make an error! As it relates in the article about Bob and the Loveland Soap Company, he takes careful measuring and consistency from batch to batch very seriously! (The article says his scale measures to a thousandth of an ounce. Yikes!) "A lot of people who try to make soap are merely cooks," he says. "They think it's a pinch of this and a pinch of that. It's not like that at all." Well...I'm not so sure about that. I bet a lot of readers here would disagree. Yes, careful measuring, especially with lye, which is far more dangerous than flour, sugar and eggs, is vitally important, but I don't think he gives cooks enough credit. I doubt Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, the Guide to Home Cooking at About.com would say she just throws in a pinch of this and that without any attention to accuracy. And neither do I.
Hmmpf.
As I think about it some more, I don't love this article so much anymore. The problem with this article is that it makes soap making sound difficult and dangerous...something that you can only do if your kitchen "looks like a computer lab" or you own "laboratory glassware" or you pay "$30 an ounce" for essential oils. It makes it sound like something that can't be done by any of us "mere cooks" (male or female!) Yes...you have to be careful and measure correctly. No...you can't just whistle your way through a batch of soap not paying attention to what goes into it. But with a little bit of information, a little bit of patience, a little bit of creativity, and a few cheap pieces of cookware from the dollar store, anyone CAN make soap. I have soap makers from all over the world write me and relate how much they love making soap. Male and female, old and young. Educated, not educated, disabled, poor, rich. Talking to these soap makers, I often feel like Chef Gusteau in the movie Ratatouille when he says, "You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. What I say is true - anyone can cook... but only the fearless can be great." So what do you say? Yes, put your darn goggles and gloves on when you're mixing your lye. And after that, whether your soap kitchen looks like a science lab or a artist's studio...let's be fearless and make some great soap! (Or candles - I don't mean to leave you candle folks out - but Bob doesn't make candles!)
Illustration: Paul Gilligan / Getty Images

I'm working on the preparations for some more Candle and Soap Making Videos to go on the site and one of the topics I'm thinking about covering is making soap with goat's milk. I know you all think that the only thing I do in the Fall is make Pumpkin Soap...but it's not true. Though it's definitely on my list of soaps to make when the weather turns cooler, I also like to make soaps with liquids other than just water - tea, goat's milk, infusions, even beer. It's a bit more tricky - but really worth it!
Here are a couple of recipes to get you started:
Green Tea and Lemongrass Soap
Citrus Honey Bock Soap
Goat's Milk Soap
Photo credit: Steve Wisbauer / Getty Images

I never remember pumpkins being so available in so many shapes and colors. Big ones, small ones, green, orange, white, beige, red. They've really become more than just the base for a jack o'lantern. They're a decorating accessory. In my project to make a Squash Tea Light Lantern I said "Who said that carved out squash were just for Halloween?" Well that goes for carved out squash as much as carved out pumpkins. This easy project uses mini-pumpkins and tea lights - though you could use slightly larger pumpkins and votives as well. In just a few minutes, you'll have a creative and lovely Autumn centerpiece. Or surround your jack o'lantern with a few of these for an extra cool Halloween eve!

So...I was looking over some other soap maker's blogs and came across this one: Alkali Soaps
Scroll down about half way and look at some of the swirls. Amazing! I was trying to figure out how she did the three part swirl in the log mold. It reminded me of a discussion we had on the Candle and Soap Making Forum this week about how to do vertical layers in candles. You have to figure out what the parts of the candle (or soap) are...and then figure out how the soap/candle maker got them to be where they are.
BUT...as I was looking closely at some of the photos (click on the photo to bring it up super size) it looked almost like the swirl was just on the TOP of the bar - like a 1/4" layer on the top. Hmmm....very interesting. So what I think we're seeing in the photos is not a log mold...but rather a rectangular "slab" mold that she pours a base color into...and then can play artistically on the top layer. Perhaps with some sort of dam system that divides the two colors. Then lay in the dark color, take out the dams...and swirl away. Very cool! You can best see it in this picture. It's kind of like a Napoleon Pastry. I am definitely going to have to try this.

My friend Peggy and her husband Gene are very frugal folks. They work hard, but live simply and happily, with great respect for the earth and green-living. Peggy called me the other day to say that a friend of theirs had asked them if they knew anyone who would be interested in a couple dozen used candle containers. Their friend had been buying and using some great high-end (Voluspa mostly) candles - and not throwing the used containers away. She'd amassed about 2 dozen of them and wanted to pass them on. "Sure!" I said, and I soon had two boxes full of great glass and ceramic candle containers of all sizes and shapes. Not only am I going to be able to try out some new container candle sizes, but in recycling these containers, I feel like I'm doing my part to help lessen our impact on the earth. Plus, I'm going to get to give both Peggy and Gene, and their friend, some of my handmade candles, and prove to them that handmade/homemade candles can be every bit as good as those posh high-end types!

I got to try out a really great new piece of equipment this week, the WaxMelters PD7 Direct Heat Wax Melter. I had seen and used homemade soap/wax melters before, made of "presto pots" and some fittings from Home Depot, but had never used one of these professional pieces of equipment. It's really spectacular. It functions just like one of the homemade ones - but it's so much more solid, sleek, and...well...professional. WaxMelters also has some really great videos of their professional candle and soap making equipment.

Heather Tallman, the soap maker behind Twin Birch Bath & Body explains, "Living in Vermont, it's so easy to celebrate the seasons and the holidays. Every time I look around, I'm inspired by the foliage and woods. It's really easy to put that into the soap and make it fun and seasonal." Even down here where I am in Texas, the seasons are changing. Though not quite as dramatic as it is in New England, the evenings are cooler, and some of the leaves are changing color. This great story about Twin Birch Bath and Body was featured on Heather's local news channel, and has a great video of Heather and her soap lab. There are some great examples of layered melt and pour soaps and some lovely packaging too. Another great example of a soap maker who takes her passion for the craft and turns it into a wonderful business.