SO!
Finally got around to getting some of my “basic” supplies. Picture time!
1. A scale. Of course! It measures up to about 10 pounds, I think, and it does it in 1/8 of a pound increments. Kind of weird, if you ask me, but it was convenient and cheap ($30 at Bed, Bath and Beyond) and best of all? I didn’t pay shipping on it! It zeros out, yay, so I can just stick a Pyrex glass on the thing and voila, insta-oil-or-lye measurer. The 1/8 of an ounce thing is going to be a little strange; it means I have to round to .125, .250, .375, etc. Not too bad. Not quite 1/10, but close enough, better (MUCH better) than rounding to the nearest ounce.
2. A stick blender! Yaay! Cheap-o $10 one from WalMart. I didn’t expect it to be so HUGE! I have tiny hands, so I think in order to control this sucker I will need to use both of them. The handle is really thick. Woo. So this means I can reach fairly fast trace! Yay.
3. Essential oils! Very essential. They were $6 at Hobby Lobby which is fairly expensive because they’re only 1/2 a fluid ounce. I don’t know how this compares to real 1-weight-ounce bottles, or 2 ounce bottles, but I know I can order them offline for cheaper because that’s how the internet works. The stuff next to them is rice, not salt, but I did get some sea salt for about $7 for 6 (7?) pounds at Hobby Lobby. Good price. It wasn’t the highest quality, but it was good enough!
4. Oils! I have extra virgin olive oil in the pantry, so no worries there (I know extra virgin isn’t the best to use, pomace is better because it’s cheaper, but this is my first batch so I’m not too worried about buying in bulk/overall cost/etc). Pictured here is lard & Luana Coconut Oil. The coconut oil is fairly substantial. It’s about 3 pounds, I think (31 fluid ounces, and coconut oil weighs a lot). It feels way heavier than the lard, at least, which is definitely 16 ounces. It was about $4. Good price. About $1.50 per pound or so, better than shipping it even at bulk prices. I will be using this. I hope it’s good enough quality.
So I have most of what I need (not pictured here–I got a spatula, cheapo, for hand stirring and scraping, and I also have a meat thermometer sitting somewhere in the utensil drawers). I just have to convince my dear woodworking father to help me make a break apart mold and a cutter with piano wire. He’s already agreed to do it, it’s just a matter of timing. (He’s in and out of town the next couple of weeks!)
And I am well on my way to becoming a soaper!
Cheers!
