Last week I came across this recipe of a 10-minute Pumpkin Spice Soap on Pinterest by Heidi of Happiness is Homemade and was hooked instantly. I do agree everything homemade translates into happiness. And since I have this fear the world may come to an end during my lifetime, I might as well catch up on all the tricks and trade of making/growing/creating everything on my own while I can! And sooo speaks my love for zombies and The Walking Dead…

Besides learning how to grow vegetables, I want to be able to create my own au naturel facial remedies, bathing goods and cleaning supplies. This is the first step to my magnifique plan – it’s simple, quick and doable.

Follow the step-by-step instructions on Heidi’s blog and if it helps, refer to my “rookie” tips below to guide you through this tutorial.

Here’s what I used for this project:

• Shea butter soap base
• Soap Mold (I used ArtMinds Embossing Soap Molds pack of 3 from Michael’s)
• Red and Yellow Soap Colorant
• Pumpkin Pie Spice (I picked up Spice Islands brand at Kroger)
• Soap Making Straight Cutter
• Microwave Safe Measuring Cup or Bowl (preferably with a spout for ease of pour)

and here are my final soaps!!!

I’m smelling them as we speak and I love the scent! Reminds me of Autumn!

Can’t wait to give these away as Holiday gifts. And if you have kids, these make awesome gifts for teachers. I already wrapped a sneak peek for my sister!

Tips:

DIYers! Always, and I mean ALWAYS, keep your supplies close and your patience level closer to you when it comes to DIYing!!! And remember, doesn’t matter if it’s a 10-minute, 30-minute or 1-hour project, expect it to last longer if you are attempting at it for the first time. These projects are being performed by seasoned crafters who have been doing this for a long time. You will catch yourself in the 2nd hour of a 1-hour project at some point, trust me on that!

• Soap base overheat saga – I followed the original directions to melt soap cubes in the microwave in 30-second increments, however, after the 2nd 30-second increment, I noticed cubes remained intact so I made the hasty decision to heat them for 1 minute. I ended up with an almost boiling soap mix which is not good as boiling made the soap mix settle quickly, clump up and stick to the bowl. The idea here is to slowly melt the soap cubes so please, be not impatient like me, and start your melting process in 30- to not more than 45-second increments – better to increase your frequency of increments not the allotted time of each. I believe my blooper is the reason why I had to let my soap molds cool down for at least an hour.
• Missing measuring spoon saga – Of course, I did not keep my supplies close to me so when it was time to add 2 tbsps of Pumpkin Pie Spice, I desperately searched my kitchen drawers for the measuring spoon only to finally remember I had broken the sucker during my last cooking disaster. So I had to resort to a normal tablespoon which is why I’m guessing I ended up using more spice, hence more coloring. See? Keep your supplies ready to go before your project!
• OCD saga – I’m a sad sad sad perfectionist, so much that…

Know that nothing in life is perfect not even these cute little pumpkin’ed out soaps, take a deep breath, tread forward in life and pray the receivers of these soaps are not as OCD’ed out like you!