Yet Another Decision To Make
Rush to Fantasyland first or straight onto the big ticket ride, Thankfully, once you have made your decisions of when to go, how to go, and where to stay, there is one decision you don’t have to worry about: how to get to your hotel. A recent survey of airport transportation options in Los Angeles takes the guess work out the decision-making process and provides clear and concise information for each of the options available to you.
Renting a car is the path that most visitors choose to get to the Disneyland resort; however, our research found that it may not be the wisest. While there are good deals to be had with the rental companies, many travelers fail to figure in the additional costs of gas and parking, not to mention the hazards of driving in an unfamiliar area.
If allowed to clump on the bottom, it could heat up all at once and cause an explosion. Even though lye is caustic and dangerous to work with, after it reacts with the oils in your soap (through a process called saponification), no lye will remain in your finished soap.
For more information, read our article: Can You Make Soap Without Lye, When making soap, use equipment that will not be used for cooking. While you could clean everything really well, it’s best not to take a chance. Stainless steel, tempered glass and enamel are all good choices for mixing bowls.
Don’t use copper or aluminum, they will react with the lye. Some plastics may melt, so don’t use plastic bowls. For spoons, use styrene plastic or silicone. For molds, you can get soap molds at your local craft store or online here, or use silicone baking pans (like this). These are great because you can peel the mold right off. There are as many variations of soap as there are colors in the rainbow.
You can literally do almost anything. All herbal material must be dried. Lavender is popular, as well as chamomile. I love lemongrass and oakmoss, though not together. Use about ¼ cup of dried plant material per batch of this size. Essential oils are from plants. They come from the roots, stems, flowers or seeds. Fragrance oils can be blends of essential oils or they can be artificially produced. Be sure you know what you have. Most oils can be used at the rate of 15-20 drops or around a teaspoon per batch of this size.
Natural colors are easy. Use cinnamon or cocoa powder for a brown soap, powdered chlorophyll for green, turmeric for yellow and beet root for orange. However, sometimes things change colors, like magenta beet powder turning yellowish orange. I would avoid food colors since they don’t hold up well in soap. Check out our article, 44 Ways to Color Homemade Soap Naturally, for even more ideas. This would include aloe vera gel, oatmeal, dry milk powder, clays, cornmeal, ground coffee, salt and anything else you may want to use. 1. Cover your work area with newspaper.
Put your gloves and other protective wear on. Measure your water into the quart canning jar. Have a spoon ready. Measure your lye, making sure you have exactly ¼ cup. Slowly pour the lye into the water, stirring as you go. Stand back while you stir to avoid the fumes. When the water starts to clear, you can allow it to sit while you move to the next step. 2. In the pint jar, add your three oils together. They should just make a pint.
Heat in a microwave for about a minute, or place the jar of oils in a pan of water to heat. Check the temperature of your oils - it should be about 120° or so. Your lye should have come down by then to about 120°. Wait for both to cool somewhere between 95° and 105°. This is critical for soap making.
