300 Handcrafted Soaps: Great Melt & Pour Projects Hardcover – October 1, 2002

I am a sucker for gorgeously photographed books. This may have something to do with my five star rating here, but give me a chance to make my case!That being said, there are a few things you should know before buying this book: 1., It is almost strictly a melt and pour soap book, with a brief explanation on how to rebatch but no recipes for such and 2., It is about the fun, creative side of soapmaking, with emphasis on the visual and olfactory effects you can create rather than making "skin care" products per se. Of course these soaps are all perfectly functional, gentle and satisfying as soap, but you may find they make even better gifts and conversation pieces.I have made a few so far that caught my eye; indeed, with 300 to choose from, I could not possibly do justice to them all, and I apologize that I can only comment on a small fraction from personal experience. They are all lovely.First I did the Rubber Ducky embedded on a clear, blue oval base as a finishing flourish on top of a baby shower gift (scented, of course, with fragrance of Baby Powder). Next, I couldn't resist the Honey soaps, which have bee themes of course and include honey and other skin-beneficial additives like bee pollen or oatmeal. A few of these are colored and molded to look like bees made out of honey. There is a Rainbow Loaf, which uses cubes of jewel-colored scraps arranged mosaically in a standard rectangular mold -- a perfect way to finish up on those leftovers. Finally, I tried the Gem soaps, which do a remarkable job of imitating several precious and semi-precious gem stones (my favorite is Amber, with a small plastic ant embedded in it. Clever!). I should remark here that many of the special effects achieved are possible only by using glycerine and other transparent melt-and-pour soap bases, a fact which "soap snobs" should consider.Mainly because they are beautiful and clever, these soaps have qualities which recommmend them for gift giving. There is not a person on your holiday list which could not use a bar of soap (I hope), and somewhere in here is a soap for every man, woman and child, with fragrances and additives that could be custom-tailored. As I've stated before, this is not about skin care products per se, but the author does include recipes that help there (about a third of the total, or 100) and a reference list of soap bases that have specific beneficial properties and can sub in many of the more decorative recipes.Most melt and pour books on the shelves have a hastily-done, almost cheesy look and seem to belong with those 10-page booklets you find on the racks at craft stores. Not so for this one. If melt-and-pour soapmaking's strength is it's creativeness and beauty, then the craft deserves a quality publication like 300 Handcrafted Soaps to represent it.My one, tiny little criticism, for which I may have deducted half a star if Amazon would let me, would be the lack of a source list or references to obtain some of the fabulous molds Browning used, or the fascinating fragrances she recommmends for her recipes which don't seem to be easily obtainable in local retail stores. But, there's always the Internet.

I am SO HAPPY that I ordered this book! Since it looks like it's no longer published, I got a GREAT USED PRICE DEAL from the seller for a LIKE BRAND NEW book! The book is in flawless condition, has a million in 1 new ideas/techniques to try, and I LOVE how every idea has a beautiful colored photo to go with it. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND any soap maker who works with M&P soap to try and get a copy of this book to add to their collection. You will not be sorry! :)

Book has great ideas & content! Just a little disappointed by the condition of the book as it had been written in with ink on every page & notes which was not listed in the description. Other than that the book content is excellent! Great ideas!

This book has some excellent melt & pour recipes that you must try. It can get very creative with all the different designs that you can do to make custom soap. The book arrived in excellent condition and has great photographs of soaps. I would do business again with this company.

Beautiful book with loads of pictures! Great ideas to copy or tweak to be more like yours. You will not be disappointed. If you love Melt and Pour then this will really open your eyes to the possibilities of how much you can create with this medium. I do Melt and Pour, Cold Processed and Rebatch and this book is really great for showing what can be done with soaps.

This particulate book starts out by offering quite a bit of valuable info. & tips. I continue to use it as a reference books. Then, the illustrations are gorgeous!!!. Look at the cover. Next,the recipes are given so that you able to make smaller quantities or easily cut them in half which is especially helpful. However, I would not consider this a book for a beginner.A couple of suggestions for someone else who might consider purchasing this book. 1st, the recipes are very heavy on using essential oils to create the soaps, which make them expensive to make. I have found other books that provide a wider range of ingredients with the oils minimum. Next, this book is limited in that it does not provide many explanations for the reader, explaining the true benefits of the each different soap. There are some listed, but, not what I prefer. I have found that only a few books that really do provide this type of info, which is unfortunate. I like to know what the soap can do for someone, not just that it's pretty. This will require you to have to do outside research to see what the benefits can be.

I am just beginning soap making and this book has such fabulous ideas I can't wait to try them. It's very informative and easy to understand and follow. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for interesting ideas for soap

Great book for a beginner. I am starting to do melt and pour soap and I found a lot of information I needed