Lavender Soap for Holiday Gifts

 This past July we traveled to Hokkaido with some of our relatives.  The tour bus stopped at a well-known lavender farm.  Since I love the scent of lavender, I purchased some lavender oil, dried buds, and sprigs of  real lavender.  Way back in July, I was already planning to make soap to give to relatives at our annual holiday meal.  I was so pleased to discover that HM Ben Franklin Crafts now carries a complete line of soap making supplies including the large loaf mold.  I had to put approximately 40-50 drops of lavender oil and 30-40 drops of colorant in a batch (one tray) of microwavable goat soap base.  Before the soap hardened in the mold, I sprinkled on some lavender buds. First, I cut the cooled soap and then wrapped the soap bars in parchment paper. Next, I wrapped, glued and tied on burlap, Heiko ribbon and the lavender sprigs. (HM BFC has artificial lavender sprigs if you don't want to travel to Hokkaido to get real ones and there are lavender fields on Maui, too!  This project turned out just as I imagined it would...a rarity in my world...AND I have weeks to spare before passing them out. Now that's a first for me!  Hope your crafting is going merrily along!