This week’s Musing Mondays question is “Do you have any hobbies outside of reading? Or do you collect anything?”
As a matter of fact, I have a really fun, somewhat new hobby that I have mentioned a couple of times on this blog. I make cold process soap. Cold process is another name for making soap from scratch, which means I mix lye and water with oils and fats to produce soap. Melt and pour is a process by which you take soap that has already been made, such as a glycerin base or a bar of commercial or handmade soap, and melt it down, then forming it into shapes or bars. I have not tried that particular process, which is considered a little easier, but also gives you a little more room for creativity with shapes and colors (that’s just my observation).
I blog about my soap-making adventures at Suds Life. I have also recently opened a store on Etsy and a Facebook fan page (feel free to “like” it!). I have actually sold one bar of soap and would love to sell some more, so check it out! I am adding new soap all the time.
I love making soap. It is a very zen sort of activity. I have complete control over all the ingredients that go into my soap. It is not unlike cooking that way. I can also try new things and experiment. Interestingly, I find I like to experiment even more with soap recipes than I do with food recipes! My favorite soap so far is a pumpkin pie soap I made not too long ago. I love the way it turned out. Although I have to say that the most recent soap batch I made, Cinnamon Apple Cider, turned out extraordinarily well. Here is a photo:
It looks and smells just like applesauce. I think it might be a major contender for a new favorite.
I enjoy everything about this hobby, and I look forward to many happy years of soaping.
Aside from making soap, I also write and love to participate in NaNoWriMo every year. I also like cross stitching, though I don’t do it often. I don’t watch a ton of TV, but I like Downton Abbey, Sherlock Holmes (BBC with Benedict Cumberbatch), Doctor Who, and The Big Bang Theory.
It strikes me that readers tend to be hobbyists fairly often; specifically, readers tend to be “crafty” types. I know a lot of readers who knit, make books, paint, crochet, sew, or cook. I wonder why that is. Any thoughts?
Soap, how cool!
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I always wanted to learn to make soap! But I am staying with my mom while I finish school and find a job, and she doesn't tolerate messes of any sort. Although I guess making soap would be more like a clean mess! LOL! I'll have to check out your soap making blog.
There is a lot of clean up involved! You can start small with a melt and pour kit. They have those in craft stores, and they come with everything you need (I think—I haven't actually bought one). Melt and pour kits are relatively easy to clean up, too.
That's really cool! It sounds like a great hobby, and you end up with an excellent useful thing at the end of it! I admit that my first response to hearing about this hobby was to think about Fight Club and how Brad Pitt made soap in Fight Club. But I am sure you do it in a much less nihilistic way.