Update: This giveaway is over. The winner is Tina Harris. Congratulations, Tina, you have won an autographed copy of The Dawn of Christmas and a bar of home made soap!
I have a special treat for you that I’ve been waiting for a long time to be able to share: a recipe for Oatmeal and Honey Soap. The recipe and images are from Kristin Lail, a reader friend I met online. This recipe is included in the three-in-one collection, Christmas in Apple Ridge, but Kristin took the time to create it fresh, make images, and share them here! Kristin is a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom to five girls, and she loves to read and review books.
On October 15, (next week!) the third book in that collection will be released separately as a hard cover, titled The Dawn of Christmas. Although some of you may have read it when it was released in the three-in-one omnibus, many asked for a standalone hard cover for your collection or to give as a Christmas gift. After I share the soap recipe, you will have a chance to enter to win a hardback, autographed copy of The Dawn of Christmas, plus a bar of the homemade oatmeal and honey soap!
Please read through the entire process before beginning to make your own soap as there are important messages throughout and at the end.
I hope you enjoy this project!
~Cindy
Oatmeal and Honey Soap (Hot Process Method) from Kristin Lail
9 ounces Olive Oil
4 ounces Coconut Oil
3 ounces Palm Oil
1 ounce Castor Oil
1/4 cup colloidal oatmeal
1 oz. Honey
2.52 ounces lye
8 fluid ounces water
*optional-Extra whole oats and honey
Directions: You can use this recipe for cold or hot process soap. My preferred method is the hot process which I’ll show below.
1. Prepare lye water-Set aside to cool. (Measure lye out into a glass measuring cup and water in a separate cup. Poor the lye into the water and stir well. Use a candy thermometer to keep an eye on temperature)
2. Melt solid oils together -set aside to cool (You can do this in a crockpot you’ve purchased solely for soap making!)
3. Mix the Olive Oil and Oatmeal
4. When solid oils are approximately 120 degrees Fahrenheit and lye water has cooled to approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit, gently pour lye water into oils (never pour oils into lye)
5. Stir until trace using a stick blender. You will know when trace has been reached when the mixture is the consistency of pudding (Just a little smoother than the attached picture)
6. Add the oatmeal mixture, and stir until well mixed. You want to cook on the low heat setting until a vaseline like consistency has been reached. You can also use PH strips to test that the Lye has been neutralized. A note on this recipe: Your soap will turn out a different color based on the color of the honey used in the soap, it may range from brown to a nearly black color. This soap will appear lumpy at this stage and that’s perfectly fine!
7. Pour into prepared molds and cover with plastic wrap (Optional, sprinkle whole oats and drizzle honey lightly over top of the curing soap) If you’ve followed this method you can skip the plastic wrap. I like a silicone loaf pan and you don’t have to do anything special to prepare the mold!
8. Allow to stand covered for 48 hours *Hot process can be cut just as soon as it has cooled and hardened. If you’re doing another method you’ll want to let it sit for awhile!
9. Remove from molds and cut as desired
10. Allow to age in open air for 2-3 weeks before using *Hot process soap can be used as soon as it has hardened. Leaving it to sit out for 2-3 weeks will allow the bar to harden, therefore it will last longer!
Important notes: Always wear safety goggles and thick rubber gloves! Keep vinegar on hand to neutralize burns should you happen to be burned by the lye. I suggest pouring lye water in a well ventilated area or out of doors. PH Strips can be purchased from any soap making site or ebay! (One such site can be found here).
If you would like to purchase home made soap from Kristin’s shop, you can visit this link: http://shop.asimplyenchantedlife.com/
Book Giveaway:
If you would like to enter for a chance to win a bar of soap and an autographed copy of The Dawn of Christmas, simply leave a comment at the bottom of this post on my website.
Only comments left on my website will be entered into the giveaway.
The deadline for this contest is Tuesday October 15, at noon Eastern Time. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be contacted privately, as well as announced on next week’s post.
As always, please remember that all of my giveaways are limited to US residents only. Please visit my giveaway rules and FAQ page for a complete explanation of the terms and conditions of this giveaway.
Helpful info for first time commenters:
- For your protection against web crawlers gathering your e-mail address for purposes of spamming, please do not put your e-mail address into the body of your comment. Only write it in the field provided. That way only I can see it. Your e-mail address will ONLY be used to contact you if you win.
- When you leave a comment, you may see a note that says your comment has gone to “moderation.” That means it is in a holding place until either my daughter-in-law or I can approve it. That keeps spammers from being able to post a comment. If you comment while we’re away from our computers, we may not get to it until the next day.
- The commenter form asks for your name, feel free to only give your first name.
- Please be sure to type in the correct e-mail address so we can contact you if you win.
- The third field states: Got a website? This is simply a question. You may leave that field blank. If I could, I’d remove that field, but this is a WordPress comment form, and I can’t hone it to my liking.
- If you’ve been notified that you’ve won and you’re unsure about giving your postal address by replying to an e-mail, I welcome you to send the name of the item you won and your postal address through the Contact Cindy page of this website: https://www.cindywoodsmall.com/
about-cindy/contact/ We keep good records, so we’ll be able to verify your information and get the item in the mail as soon as possible. - Please be aware that I aim to get the items sent as quickly as possible, but at really busy times it can take up to six weeks. (I don’t have a staff. But I do have two daughters-in-law who help when they can. But they each have a life and professions not connected to my writing and giveaways. What?! <big grin>
The winner of the blog post titled “Finding Rhythm, Autumn, and a Giveaway” is Therese. Congratulations, Therese, you’ve won a copy of Plain Wisdom and The Esh Family Cookbook!
- Email
- Facebook
