Soap

Today I made two batches of soap and used the 2 new wooden soap molds that we made.  The liquid for the first batch was made from cantaloupe that I cut away from the skin, added some water, simmered it and then ran it through the blender.  The soap will be a light orange color and have added vitamin C in it.  The second batch I used the tops of the strawberries that I cut up the other day,  I added some water, simmered them and then ran them through the blender.  The color will be a light brown (not red as I had hoped for) and this too will have some added vitamin C.  Tomorrow night or Tuesday night I will take them out of the molds and will use my free miter box (got it at the garage sales we went to yesterday) to make the cuts nice and even.
Using fruit and vegetable scraps to color the soap is a real money saver.  I am making use of things that I would have gave to the chickens or thrown away.  When I get some cucumbers this summer I will try and make some soap with them.  I read that cucumber soap is very good.  Two weeks ago I used some of the true buttermilk that I had froze when I made some butter.  I don't bake a lot and use the buttermilk and had just been giving it to the chickens or putting it down the drain; now I will freeze it and use it to make soap.  Both batches I used tallow, used vegetable oil, sunflower oil and coconut oil. 

Buttermilk soap