Recipes & Crafts

*How To Make Simple Aroma Therapy Candles

• 16 oz. beeswax

• 1 teaspoon essential oil(s)

• candle wick or #4 knitting cotton

• small metal buttons

• pencil

• *clean empty containers

Melt wax in a double boiler until the wax is completely liquid. Remove from heat and stir in the essential oil (s). (You can use more than one essential oil or fragrance oil.) Using a small amount of wax, cement the end of the candle wick to a metal button. Now again using a small amount of wax, cement the button on to the bottom of your container. Tie the other end of the candle wick to around the pencil and lay the pencil accross the middle of the container. Carefully pour the melted wax into the prepared container. Be sure to straighten the wick before the wax hardens. Let cool 3 - 5 hours. Remove the pencil and then trim back the wick to 1/4 inch. Remove the mold... except, of course, if you used a glass jar.

If you feel that the scent of your candle is not strong enough, remelt the wax, add more essential oil or fragrance oil and then repour into your container.

*Containers can be empty and clean milk container, baby food jars, yogurt containers, margarine tubs, etc.

Do not know what oils to use to create a certain mood or atmosphere? Let us help you. The following lists are just some of the essential oils that may be used, but certainly not all are listed.

STIMULATING: coriander, peppermint, mandarin orange, grapefruit
ROMANTIC: jasmine, rose, patchouli, neroli, sandalwood
AIR PURIFYING: tea tree, eucalyptus, oregano, cinnamon leaf, lavender, sandalwood
RELAXING: geranium, rose, sandalwood, frankincense, lavender

Simple Soap

First and foremost, arm yourself with safety glasses and thin rubber gloves. Next you'll need:

• A 4-quart stainless-steel pot to heat the oils. Do not use aluminum, as it reacts with the lye.
• A heatproof 32-ounce measuring cup to mix the lye and water.
• Two rubber spatulas, one for the lye and the other for the lye/fat mixture.
• Plastic measuring cups and spoons.
• A soap mold, such as a greased plastic food-storage container (place freezer paper over two sides like wings for easy soap removal) or a small cardboard box lined with freezer paper.
• An old blanket to insulate the soap.

Fats and oils. You won't find coconut and palm oils, the mainstays of most soap recipes, at the grocery store. So we'll use olive oil (the less expensive, the better) and vegetable shortening.

Distilled water. Tap or well water can cause problems.

Red Devil lye. It's at the grocery, next to the Drano. Do not use Drano, which is not pure sodium hydroxide. Shake Red Devil cans until you find one that sounds "smooth," not crunchy. Read the precautions on the label.

Scent. Use essential oils (the distillation of herbs and flowers used in aromatherapy and found at natural food stores) or synthetic fragrance oils (but only ones that have been tested for soap making). You'll need about half an ounce (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) to scent a pound of soap. Or make unscented soap. Just don't dump vanilla extract or your bottle of Chanel No. 5 into the soap pot: Alcohol and soap don't mix.

Color. Soaps can be colored with herbs, clay, spices and powdered pigments, to name a few. In a perfect world, blueberries would make blue soap. Alas, they do not. Food coloring also won't work. Some people use crayons, theorizing that if their kids can eat them with no ill effects, they're probably pretty safe in soap.

Extras. Oatmeal and poppy seeds make excellent exfoliants. Herbs such as comfrey and calendula heal and soothe. Small amounts of expensive oils such as avocado, jojoba and hemp seed will make your soap even better.

*Very simple soap

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Crisco
• 1 1/3 cups olive oil
• 1/4 cup Red Devil lye
• 6 fluid ounces cool distilled water

Arrange for two hours without interruptions. Wear long sleeves. Put on safety glasses and gloves. Keep vinegar at hand for lye splashes.

Measure the cool water in the heatproof cup. Place it in the sink, where it can't be knocked over. Working in a well-ventilated area, measure the lye. Hold your breath (not because of the danger, but because there will be fumes) and pour the lye slowly into the water, stirring until dissolved. The lye solution will top 175 degrees.

Place the Crisco in the stainless-steel pot over low heat until it melts (about 20 minutes). Add the olive oil. After another 15 minutes, take the soap pot off the heat.

Within five minutes, both the pot and the heatproof cup should feel toasty (about 115 degrees if you have a glass candy thermometer) but not hot. Slowly pour the lye solution into the fats, stirring steadily. The mixture will lighten and start to thicken.

Looking for trace. Stir diligently for 15 minutes, or until the soap traces. Trace occurs when a bit of raw soap, dribbled from the spatula across the surface, leaves "traces" for a few seconds before sinking back in. If you don't get trace after 15 minutes, take a 10-minute break. Stir another 15 minutes. Repeat. Your soap should eventually trace. (If it doesn't, recheck your measurements. You may have to start over.)

At trace, stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons scent and pour the soap immediately into the mold. Insulate. Scrape the leftover soap in the pot onto a paper towel and toss it.

Wash the utensils in hot water.

The cure. Leave the soap undisturbed for 24 hours. It will heat up as it goes through its chemical reaction, then cool. When the soap is firm, cut into four to six bars and put them in a dry, well-ventilated place, away from kids and pets.

Vegetable-based soap needs at least two weeks to tie up loose ends, while soaps made with animal fat seem to take twice that long to lose their "bite." Be patient.

Otherwise, you'll arouse unnecessary suspicion if you offer your creation with the words: "Here is your mild and moisturizing bar of homemade soap, but don't use it for two weeks, OK?"

*Basic Lotion

• 1 Ounce Solidifier or Solid fat Such as : 1 ounce lanolin or Cocoa Butter

• 3 Ounces Skin Oil : 3 Ounces Almond or Vegetable Oil

• 2 Ounces Herb Water

• 5 Drops Essential Oil, Optional

Melt the solidifier and or solid fat together in the top of a double boiler. Alternately, add oil and herb water, stirring continuously. Remove pot from heat. Add the essential oil and stir. Pour into a small 6-8 ounce opaque glass or plastic bottle. Shake the bottle continuously until cool.

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