5 Pounds of soap 
I thought that some of you out there just starting out would like to see some pictures of the soap making process. So, here you go! By the way, sorry about the poor quality pictures. Until I can get a better digital camera this one will have to do. To see my old pictures, go here.
Finished bar od soap.
5 Pounds of soap
Lard, can't do anything without this stuff, or atleast some sort of oil. Of course, you don't have to buy yours in 25 pound buckets like I do mine, but then again, I make a lot of soap.
Cheap kitchen scales..I want better ones, but I can't seem to find any close to home.
This recipe calls for 3 pounds of lard, but I measure mine out pound by pound and then dump it into the pot.
Olive oil. Not all recipes call for olive oil, but I use it often in mine. Just pour it into the pot and put on the stove along with the lard.
Melting lard on the stove. I melt mine slowly as fat tends to catch on fire quite easily. It's important to stir it frequently.
Melted lard, let it cool off to the temperature specified by whatever recipe you're using. In this particular one, 120 to 130 degrees farenheit. Clip your candy or meat theromometer to the side so you can check it easily.
After you mix your lye water and melted lard/olive oil, it should still look like oil, just with a cloudy bottom.
At this point, after stirring for a few seconds with a spoon, you'll want to get your stick blender out and start blending. Thank God for stick blenders!!
This is what your mixture will look like after you blended it for a bit, but this soap has not reached trace yet, so keep those stick blenders busy! It looks a little bit like eggs that are stirred for scrambling, because it still has streaks of oil and water in it. :-)
You'll want to alternate stirring with blending so you don't blow your blender up. It will overheat easily, and it liable to overheat your batch and perhaps seize it.
This is what trace looks like. No longer like eggs, but perhaps cake mix.
Adding the fragrance. This recipe is Mint Blast. It is peppermint with undertones of cinnamon. Never blend fragrance with a stick blender. It might seize your batch. Just stir well with a spoon. A wire wisk works better, as you can stir faster and its easier on you.
This is my soap in the mold. The blue spots are supposed to be in there, yes, for this particular recipe, but yours however, unless the recipe says, should NOT have spots or streaks. If it does, you are not done and the soap must be stirred longer. I reached a particularly thick trace this time, oopsie. It will still turn out fine, but its harder to pour in the mold when its thicker.
