Neat Things I Found at Lotion Crafter!

I just finished placing an order with LotionCrafter and for once I took the time to browse the site rather than just quickly ordering what I needed and moving on to the next thing. I am SO glad that I did. I found several neat things there. I found a spatula with a notch conveniently built in that allows you to set your spatula down across the top of your bowl without fear of having it fall into the bowl, and with no fear of contaminating it if you lay it down. I didn't know I needed this until I saw it, but luckily Jenny at Lotioncrafter did. They also offer a drip clip that allows you to clip a spoon to a bowl, and a wide assortment of tiny measuring spoons and cups. I also found a melting pot that can make lip balms a breeze. If you haven't taken the time to browse her site lately, be sure that you do, You'll be amazed at the tools she offers that can make formulating a lot easier and a lot less messy.

I'm so excited! I got my soap stamp today

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a custom soap stamp on Etsy. It arrived today. And of course I couldn't wait to try it. The soap that I stamped with it was about 4 weeks old, and I am amazed at how well it worked. I dipped a small paint brush in mica to really make it stand out and got a little heavy handed with it. I might get better results if I brush a little mica on the stamp itself before pressing into the soap. And the picture could certainly be better but my husband is the photographer in the family and he won't take any pictures until I make dinner. Can you imagine that, LOL? The nerve!

Top 10 tools for Making Soap, Lotion & other Bath & Body Products

The neat little gadget I found yesterday (see it here) made me wonder....how many other neat little gadgets are there out there that I'm missing out on. So let's hear from all you soapers and bath and body crafters out there. What are some of your favorite tools?

Here are some of mine, in no particular order.

1) My stick blender. I can't live without it. In fact I have 3. One is for soap, one is for lotion, and one is a spare in case one of the other 2 should die in the middle of a batch.,

2) A crock pot. Again, I have multiples. I really like instant gratification so of course I like to do hot process, and frequently have more than one batch going at a time.

3) An accurate, dependable scale. This is a must have. Accurate measuring of ingredients is critical. I prefer to measure in grams as it is more precise than measuring in ounces, so that feature is a must, as is a tare feature that allows you to place the bowl on the scale then reset the scale to zero.

4) An assortment of stainless steel bowls and pots in various sizes from small condiment containers with lids to large stock pots.

5) An assortment of stainless steel spoons in various sizes from measuring spoons to large ladles.

6) Several heavy duty heat resistant glass measuring cups in sizes from 2 cups all the way up to batter bowl size for things that need to be microwaved.

7) Spatulas. My favorite remains the one that SoapEquipment.com gave to all of the attendees of one of our past Alabama Soap and Candle Association Annual Meetings. It's big, sturdy, and very heat resistant since it's made of silicone.

8) My infrared thermometer, the point and shoot type, that I can use for testing the temp of an emulsion to see if it's cooled enough to add preservative and/or fragrance. I can also use this if making soap using the method in Anne L. Watson's book, Smart Soapmaking, where you recognize trace by temperature changes.

9) Soapmaker Software - I use this for everything from keeping up with inventory/ ingredients to calculating correct lye amounts, and predicting the hardness, lathering ability, and conditioning of a particular recipe.

10) I can't say for sure on this one yet, but I'm thinking that digital measuring spoon that can also measure volume is going to have to be on my top 10 list.

So what's on your top 10 list? Do you know of any other cool gadgets that I need to check out? Maybe it needs to be a top 15 or top 20 list. I'm thinking now about my favorite soap mold, my cutter, goodness, the list could be endless, couldn't it?

I just bought the neatest gadget from ThinkGeek!

It's a spoon that measures by weight or by volume. It is supposed to be accurate from .1 to 300 grams (.005 to 10.5 oz.) and allows you to switch between ounces and grams. You can also measure volume using the markings on the spoon. How neat is that? It will be so handy when measuring out tiny anounts of ewax, or stearic, or preservative when I am making lotions. Find out more about it here. In case you're wondering, no, I don't get a commission, LOL! I just think it's going to be a VERY useful tool. I can't wait for it to get here!