Summer just seems like the time to journey through old books - and if you're a soapmaker, you'll love these. I've always been fascinated by the history of making soap - not just the renaissance of soap making in the 1970s that Ann Bramson and Sandy Maine ushered in, but the history of soap from the late 19th and early 20th century. I'm fascinated by how far we've come in science...and at how the process is pretty much still the same. These scans of antique soap making books, courtesy of good old Google, will show you hundreds of years of soap making history. I bet you'll discover some things that you never knew about soap making. I'll also bet that you'll find the same soap making spirit in these authors that us modern soap makers share.
Photo Credit: George Marks / Getty Images

The Saponifier is a wonderful bimonthly magazine written to the manufacturers of handcrafted soap, toiletries, cosmetics, and candles. It has been published for 11 years now and has grown as much as the soap, candle and cosmetic industry has grown over the years. Whether you're a beginner or an old timer, you'll find the Saponifier relevant, interesting and inspiring. I love seeing it in my email inbox. You can view a preview of their current revamped and redesigned issue here...or subscribe here.

One of my favorite summertime centerpieces is a bowl of floating candles. On the table, inside or outside, they can make a stunning statement. It's something about the mix of fire and water...and the movement of both the flames, and the candles themselves in the water. They can be romantic or whimsical depending on the bowl and candles you choose. While there are lots of special molds for floating candles, you can use plain muffin tins like I did in Basic Floating Candles and you'll have a nifty bowl full of candles in no time.

I guess we've been washing our hands a lot lately; the bottle of liquid soap at the kitchen sink is empty. Luckily, I've got ready-to-dilute soap paste in the refrigerator. Dividing up the soap paste (even small recipes still make a LOT of soap) into portions and storing it in the refrigerator is a great way to not only use all of the soap, but have some variety in how you fragrance it.