With the following ingredients you can make your own soap!  It was pretty inexpensive and I used them as gifts throughout the year.  It took a couple of hours and a place to let the soap sit undisturbed for a few weeks – so make it in advance.  This recipe makes a TON of soap – but it keeps for a long time.

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Ingredients Needed:

• Crisco – Big 3lb Can
• Olive oil – 2 liters
• Canola Oil – 16 oz bottle
• Pure Sodium Hydroxcide (lye) – 16-18oz – We found ours at Lowes in the drain cleaning area.
• Smelly Stuff – can be essential oils, cloves, etc.  Whatever you use it has to have a VERY strong smell – use lots of it.
• Exfoliating stuff – oatmeal, coarse sugar, dried flowers, coffee -whatever.

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Here are some really easy directions.

http://www.maplesprings.com/makesoap/index.html

The only hard part for us was knowing when we reached a “trace” .  I had to double the time mixing in order to gain the “trace” consistency.   Hope you have fun making soap.

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Oh, and this is NOT an activity to do with young children as the lye can burn you.