What Soap Making Means to Me

She's musical and artistic

Cute little man drawn by Somerset (just turned 2)

Creamsicle

Black Raspberry Vamilla

Citrus Zing

Lavender and Grapefruit

Brown Sugar and Vanilla

I have always loved art...music, photography, design. I have gravitated towards these things, which is why I went to school for graphic design. I was always unfulfilled with graphic design though. The flat images on the computer screen lacked depth and meaning. After school, I figured out that I neded to apply my creative juices to something more tactile. I thought about cake decorating (before it blew up into what it is now), and floral design.

One day at work, I spotted an apothecary jar on sale at my part time job at Williams Sonoma. I thought it would look beautiful in my bathroom filled with homemade soap. Then something struck me. Perhaps, I could learn to make soap! I started reading every book about soap making I could find, took a class and watched countless hours of You Tube videos. I became obsessed. I was scared because lye was involved, but I was hooked. Soap making satisfied all my loves. I am able to be creative and expressive, it's tactile, my olfactory sense is engaged (I am in love with fragrances too) and I am able to make special handmade gifts that people love. It really was everything I had been searching for in a profession/hobby.

So now I am making soap. I have made many mistakes and am learning with every batch. I get frustrated and elated, but I am passionate. It seems silly to say that making soap has made me so satisfied, but it has.

Now, I am happy to see my daughter blooming into a little artist. She loves drawing and music and is so accomplished for her age.

My scientific 4 year old son Leo, is more of the engineer/mathematician. He can do addition and subtraction and is so smart for his age, so naturally, he loves to help me weigh my oils on the digital scale.

Perhaps someday, when the kids are older (quite a bit older due to the safety issues that come along with soap making), they can join Mommy in making their favorite soap....anything that smells like gummy bears!