o This tutorial does not include a recipe so please provide your own recipe.
o This tutorial includes instructions for handmilled soap stones.
o Soap used for this tutorial was colored with Select Shades and scented with fragrance oil from TradewindsFragrance.com.
o This tutorial assumes that the crafter has basic handmilling and OHP soapmaking skills.



Tools:
Shredder/Grater
Plastic or Rubbermaid Containers
Stainless steel pot
Stainless steel ladle
Measuring Cup
Measuring Spoon
Distilled Water
Oven Mitts
Small glass containers for FO's/EO's and color additives
Protective eyewear
Powderfree Vinyl Examination Gloves - optional
Cookie sheet or cardboard pallet lined with Freezer Paper shiny side up
O-cel-o Sponge (or any sponge with soft scrub surface)

Getting Started:

Pre heat oven to 180ºF

Using a shredder or grater, shred/grate soap. I highly recommend a rotor shredder as it makes shredding much faster. For this tutorial, I shredded 3.5 lbs of soaps that had been air-drying for 5 weeks. (Fig 1.1)

Apply Direct Heat:

Put soap shreds into a stainless steel pot and add water (Fig 2.1). I added 1 cup of water per 4lbs of soap shreds. Cover pot and put in oven for 30 minutes. Pre-soaking soap shreds is not required.


After 30 minutes, stir soap mixture and add more water if necessary (Fig 2.2). I added 1/8 cup water. Cover and return to oven for another 20-30 minutes.


After 20-30 minutes your soap shreds should now be melted down and look translucent with a 'mashed potato' appearance (Fig 2.3). Remove from heat. If you are using soap shreds that are lye heavy, at this point do a tongue test for harshness. If you are using soap shreds that are lye heavy, mixture may require more heating time.



Additives:
Cool slightly. Add any colorants at this time. Stir well.

Add any fragrance oil that might have been burned off while in the oven. Stir well.


Air Drying Soap Mixture:

Since the soap stones will be shaped by hand, the soap mixture should be the consistency of stiff Play-Doh......pliable, but not sticky (Fig 3.1). Let the soap mixture air-dry in the pot for several hours, stirring mixture every hour. The longer the soap mixture sits, the dryer it will get. As the soap mixture dries, it will become 'chunky' in appearance and less sticky. For this particular mixture, I waited about 3 hours before hand shaping.



Shaping Stones:

Hand shape stones into desired shape and size, gloves optional (Fig 3.2). I weighed the soap chunks for a desired weight before shaping.

Let soap stones air dry for about 12 hours before polishing.



Polish:

Polish the soap stones so that they have a smooth, pebble-like luster. To polish stones, wet soap stone and use a wet, soft sponge (Fig 3.3). Use the scrub surface to smooth out any rough edges and surfaces. Then use the soft surface to finish/polish. Rinse and gently shake off excess water. Let sit to air dry on the shiny side of freezer paper. Total air-drying time is dependant on how large/small the soap stones are and how much water used.