Soap Making Molds - What Are Your Options?

By Steve Paul

Using the right soap making molds to shape your finished product should never be overlooked. Although the quality of the soap and its skin care benefits are the priority, creating a unique look and feel can help you stand out from the crowd.

There are a variety of options for shaping your soap. Which one you choose will mostly depend on your personality, preferences and soap making goals.

The first, and definitely most popular soap molding method is using individually pre-shaped soap making molds. Individual molds can be purchased in all shapes and size and gives you the added convenience of not having to slice your soap into bars once your mixture has hardened.

Unfortunately, using pre-shaped soap molds does have a few drawbacks. First of all, pouring your temporarily liquefied early stage soap into small 4 ounce soap bar molds is rather difficult to say the least.

Once you finally have your molds filled, you must then figure out how to thoroughly insulate each one using blankets and towels for proper curing. Trust me, it's an arduous process to saran wrap and insulate each mold individually, especially if you created a large batch.

Furthermore, you have to be careful that you do not use melt and pour soap making molds when creating soap from scratch using the cold process method. Cold process soap is extremely caustic during its initial stages because of the incorporation of sodium hydroxide. Many molds made for melt and pour soap making are not formed out of the proper materials needed to withstand this chemical.

The second method of shaping your soap is to create a large soap loaf and then cut it into traditional bars. This is my personal favorite soap molding method as it makes the creation of larger batches much easier.

You can buy a loaf soap mold from various online dealers or even your local craft shop. They usually reveal their size by displaying how many pounds of soap they can hold. I personally own a 4 pound mold and absolutely love it, but I've seen them as large as 12 pounds.

The final method is to get creative and make your own. Wonderful soap molds can be created out of every day household items. In fact, I've seen people shape their soaps using everything from PVC pipe to large sea shells. If you're on a budget, and really don't want to fork over the money for a professional soap making mold, then this is definitely the way to go!

Do you want to learn everything there is to know about soap making molds and other important soap making information? Visit Steve's site http://www.soap-making-resource.com. Here you will find one of the largest known resources for this fun and exciting craft!
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Soap Safety Guidelines - Just Don't Get Burnt!

By Steve Paul

Soap making is a wonderful craft that can be enjoyed safely if you adhere to these vital soap safety instructions. In order to make soap, a chemical known as sodium hydroxide (lye) must be combined with various oils to create a reaction called saponification. Lye is an extremely caustic and dangerous substance that should be treated with the utmost of respect.

Although working with lye is definitely the most intimidating aspect of the soap making process there are other potential hazards that you must be aware of.

Please do not be scared away from this fun and addicting craft! There are potential risks involved in everything you do, including getting out of bed in the morning! As long as you follow some of these simple soap safety instructions, you will be absolutely fine:

Rule 1: Get to know your ingredients. At this point, you already realize the hazards of lye, but don't underestimate some of the other components like essential oils, soap making dyes and even all natural skin care nutrients. Are they allergens? Can they burn the skin? Are they poisonous? Make sure you know all about every ingredient you incorporate into your soap.

Rule 2: Keep a bottle of vinegar close by your side. When poured over lye, vinegar will neutralize the chemical and render it harmless. This is a must have in order to control potential lye spills.

Rule 3: Be sure to wear protective gear. This should include rubber gloves, goggles that completely enclose the eye and thick outerwear. If you want to practice soap safety to a tee, you can even wear a rubber rain coat for further protection.

Rule 4: Make sure to label all your soap making tools. Much of the equipment used during the soap making procedure is found in the common kitchen. If you use a particular utensil for soap making, never use it again for cooking. In order to avoid confusion label all equipment "for soap making use only". Even if you feel that it's not contaminated, it's just not worth the risk of touching your food with a utensil that's been in contact with harmful chemicals.

Rule 5: Get rid of your distractions. Pets, kids, spouses, TV, music etc. can all become distractions. When making soap, you need to give the craft your sole attention.

Rule 6: Find a safe place to store your soap making supplies. Make sure that you store all chemicals up high where children or pets can't get to them.

Rule 7: Educate your family about soap making and its potentially hazardous elements. Knowledge is power!

As long as you keep these simple rules in mind, you will have a wonderful experience making soap! You'll find that the initial stress is well worth the reward - beautiful all natural skin care products that your friends and family will love! After your first few batches, the fear will diminish revealing a true passion for this craft that will demand to be fed.

To learn more about soap safety and other vital soap making information, please visit Steve's site http://www.soap-making-resource.com/. Here you will learn everything you ever wanted to know about this exhilarating craft.
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Doll Collecting - How To Determine A Vintage Doll's Value

By Katharine Swan

Katharine SwanLevel: Basic As a child, Katharine Swan always knew she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. After a rough start, she earned her ...

Do you have vintage dolls packed away in a closet somewhere, saved from your mother’s childhood or perhaps your own? If so, it’s time to break them out -- they might be worth something. However, one of the worst things you can do is to buy a doll values book, look up your dolls, and take to heart whatever the book says. It is important to realize that many things go into determining the value of a doll, and yours may be worth considerably less than the doll values book indicates.

In general, three major factors go into determining a doll’s value. In order to estimate what your vintage doll is worth, you will need to decide how each of these factors apply to your doll.

Demand
Regardless of what the book claims, if there is no demand for your doll you would be unlikely to get that price. High demand means that the doll would sell quite high at auction, or that a doll shop would feel comfortable putting a high price on it. Low demand means that sellers need to drop their prices in order to score a sale.

For instance, doll value books consistently value Madame Alexander International dolls at approximately $75 each. In reality, though, there is very little demand for these dolls, therefore forcing sellers to sell them for a third or less of their "value."

Availability
One of the top ways to determine if your doll is valuable is to check how rare it is. Generally, rarity triggers higher demand, because collectors always want what they can’t have. A rare collectible that is in high demand will have buyers clamoring to get it first, enabling sellers to demand higher prices, and causing auction values to soar.

Again using the first example, during the late 1960s and 1970s, the Madame Alexander Doll Company produced a great many International dolls. As a result, they are abundantly available now (and not selling).

Condition
The factor that many doll owners fail to consider when estimating the value of their doll is the condition the doll is in. Even if a mint Madame Alexander Sweet Violet (a very rare doll from the 1950s) will sell for well over $1,000, a well played-with doll will frequently only get a third or less of that amount.

Doll value books almost always list the prices for a "mint" doll. For a vintage doll to be mint, it literally needs to look just like it would have the day it rolled off the assembly line. For instance, a mint doll needs to:

Be spotlessly clean and unplayed with
Have every single piece of clothing or accessories that she came with
Retain the like-new crispiness in her clothing, known as “sizing”
Have bright face paint, especially the blush on her cheeks
Retain the original, tightly-curled set of her hair
Have her original box and/or hang tag whenever possible
Depending on how many of these qualities your doll has, she may be worth considerably less than the value given by your source. But don’t lose heart -- even "near-mint" and those in "good" condition can be valuable. They just aren’t worth the eye-popping prices that mint dolls typically command.

One of the best ways to determine what your vintage doll is worth is to research the doll on eBay. Search both current and completed listings for dolls similar to yours. To get a true estimate of what your doll is worth, you should look for dolls wearing the same outfit as yours and in approximately the same condition.

Before selling or purchasing a doll, you should always research the current market value using both print and online resources. But remember, even if that family heirloom isn’t worth as much as you thought it was, to you it’s priceless.

Katharine Swan is a longtime doll collector and enthusiast. Also a freelance writer, she has written many articles on collecting and repairing vintage dolls. Her ebook, How to Restring a Strung Doll, can be purchased for only $2.99 at http://dollstringing.katharineswan.com
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Card Making Ideas - Why Card Making

By Dan Lennart

It seems that all my friends and relatives have their birthdays in a row with November as a busiest month. Nevermind the Christmas! With Easter rapidly advancing and my money running low, this is when card making ideas started to come to my mind. I thought that self made greeting card is a great way to express your creativity and thoughts for family and friends.
Handmade cards are so special. After all, what makes a more beautiful keepsake than a beautifully personalised handmade greeting card?

You can literally make a bespoke greeting card for every occasion! It's easy to personalize your handmade cards with a name, a nickname or a personal bit of information about the recipient. You can incorporate their favorite hobby or interests in your handmade card design.
In today's world of mass-marketing, you can certainly expect your handmade cards to stand out from the rest. For the person that receives your cards, it means something more. They know you've put that extra thought and time into it.

Many people have been known to even frame the hand made cards they receive because of the thought and time that has gone into creating it!

In fact, don't be surprised if your handmade cards become a talking point... making handmade cards

As I started to create greeting cards, I discovered that card making can be very fun, satisfying and even addictive! Once you start to make them, you will tend to create more and more. You'll naturally start to look for card making ideas and techniques.

I'm a technical person, so I always wondered where people take all these creative ideas from. And as a technical person I had to organize all information, advises, ideas and guides I had.
And then I thought, why not share this with other people who may be also interested in making greeting cards for friends, relatives, or maybe even for profit.

Keep an eye on further updates and you are more than welcome to share your own card making ideas or showcase an example of your work to inspire others.
http://cardmakingideas.wordpress.com/
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Sewing Machine Repair Manual - Why Should You Get One?

By Rachel Newman

In order to repair a sewing machine by yourself at your home, you need to have a deep understanding of how they work and what each part in them does. A sewing machine is made up of a large number of parts which include the following part:
Motor
Stitch cam
Stitch Selector
Drive belt
Hand wheel
Presser
Needle bar
Feed dogs
Bobbin
Race
Case
And it doesn't stop there, for a sewing machine has more small parts, all of which must work in perfect unison in order for it to function properly. Taking such a contraption apart and reassembling it can be quite complicated, which is exactly why it's important to use a sewing machine repair manual when trying to fix it. Of course, you can take it to a repair service, but that will cost you a lot of money especially when considering that sewing machines tend to breakdown often, or at least need a good cleaning or reseting. Some people need to make adjustments on a monthly basis.

Using a manual will save you all that money and make sure that you can keep it operating smoothly. I wouldn't try to fix things yourself, since even a little mistake can cause even more damage ad end up costing your more money. It's just like taking a car to a certified mechanic. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to fix your car yourself and save all that repair money? Of course, fixing a car is very complicated so you don't dare to do it yourself. And since you're not going to sign up for a sewing machine repair course, using a manual is the best thing you can do in order to save money.

Get a sewing machine repair manual and save a lot of money and time in the process.
To read more about sewing machine repair, click here: Sewing Machine Repair Manual.
Rachel Newman writes about sewing and sewing machines. To read her review of Sewing Machine Repair, click here: Sewing Machine Repair - Do It Yourself.
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