Making handmade bath & body products is naturally, very hands on. Whether I’m working on a new recipe, or whipping up a batch of an old favorite, I always keep my collection of tools handy. This is an overview of my most used tools and equipment, basically my desert island list for DIY bath and body. Is there something in your cupboards that you just couldn’t live without? Perhaps some fantastic tool that makes certain projects a breeze? Let us know in the comments below.
Mixing Bowls
My mixing bowls have seen a lot of action. I keep one set of melamine in small medium and large, as well as a matching set of stainless steel bowls on hand at all times. In addition to the mixing bowls, I keep a set of Pyrex ramekins handy as well. The tiny bowls are perfect for mixing micas, EO or FO blends, or mini batches of recipes that I am still formulating.
Utensils
I adore my stainless steel whisk, but life would be far from complete without my collection of spoons and spatulas. (I keep a pile of mini spatulas around which are not only cute, but surprisingly useful.) Knives are also a great thing to have nearby. I reserve a good sized cleaver, a paring knife, and a butter knife reserved for crafting use only. My stash of wooden Popsicle sticks and chopsticks are more than necessary. Their presence is practically luxurious.
Measuring
Handmade bath and body products are all about precision. I keep a tiny, but super accurate scale in my work space, which can measure in fractions of a gram, perfect for making everything from creams to small batches of soap. Its big brother, a larger sized Kitchen Scale comes in handy when I’m making large batches of soap. These two are the flagships for an entire fleet of measuring equipment including Measuring Spoons, Measuring Cups, plastic beakers in every shape and size imaginable, graduated cylinders, and my personal favorites, 2 different sized Pyrex Beakers. .15 cc Scoops are not to be forgotten. These tiny little treasures are perfect for portioning out Mica, Powdered Extracts, or other itty bitty ingredients.
Cooking
My Universal Doubler Boiler has a twin sister, my second Universal Double Boiler. I can’t imagine surviving with less than two. I reserve two sauce pans to accompany them as well. The two pans selected for crafting purposes are low grade, bargain basement types, which is just fine since they will never know the joy of heating up actual food. Like my entire DIY skin care collection, these pots are only used for crafting. I also keep a cookie sheet, a brownie pan, a mini cupcake pan, and a legion of multi-shaped ice cube trays in my collection.
Other odds and ends I can’t live without: my Thermometer, hordes of Pipette Droppers, and a supply of Cheese Cloth. My favorite luxury items would have to be my Drum Grater, and my Mortar & Pestle. So what do you keep in your DIY Bath & Body stash? We’d love to hear about your favorite tools, equipment, or gadgets. Tell us all about them in the comments below.
I have a thing for scissors. My husband says I have more scissors than any person alive, but he doesn’t get that they each have a specific function. (and shouldn’t be used for cross-purposes!) I have two pair(large and small) for paper projects, a pair of pinking shears for cutting fabric, regular shears for fabric, and delicate scissors for embroidery. There’s a pair of kitchen scissors for cutting meat, chicken, etc., another pair for snipping herbs and other non-meat food stuff, and a third pair for misc. functions like opening packages and cutting twine. Hmmmm…maybe my husband is right.
I love my mortar and pestle. I also love the cute little ribbon I use to tie and hang my herbs with. I find them at antique stores or vintage outlets. Sometimes I’ll even buy a shirt from the thrift store and rip the fabric up and use it for tying the stems together or hanging.
It’s the little things that make me most happy ;o)
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love + luck + bliss,
missysue
Dont worry, Amy, you are not alone! I am an obsessive scissor person as well. Though I must admit, I am envious of your collection. It seems to be all I can do to keep my fabric shears, hair cutting shears, kitchen scissors, and pinking shears under lock and key. All other miscellaneous scissors are in constant danger of cross contamination. Its sad, but I dream of the day when every purpose has its own, unique scissor, stored in its own pre-meditated hiding spot. Ahhh. A girl can dream. Meanwhile, Ill live vicariously through your fantastic scissor collection.
Oh my gosh, I can almost see your cheery little herbs hanging in a row. Thanks for sharing that with us.