Yesterday, we made some suggestions for gifts you could give to your favourite crafter. I can't believe I forgot all about mixers! Click here for another post on ideas for presents! 

When it comes to hand mixers, I like to have one that has loads of attachments. When I'm teaching at Voyageur Soap & Candle, we use Black & Decker hand mixers that have whisk or beater attachments. These things are so fast, we only use one beater at a time!

I've also been using this inexpensive Hamilton Beach mixer that came with four beaters and a whisk. It's a very powerful one.

I have a Kitchenaid Architect 9 speed mixer that has a blending rod, which is awesome as a propeller mixer, as well as whisks and beaters. (See it here at Best Buy in Canada.) I love this one so much. It's much slower to start than the Black & Decker, but it's powerful as heck. It's ideal for things like making an oily gel with Sucragel AOF, which requires a propeller mixer, ane one of the gels I've been using lately...can't remember which one!
Oh, and we also have a Kitchenaid stand mixer, which is great for larger batches and things like emulsified scrubs or whipped butters that need to be mixed for a while.

It's helpful to have both a hand mixer type thingie and an immersion blender. Stick blenders are high shear mixers, and some emulsifiers like Olivem 1000, Simulgreen 18-2, and Varisoft EQ 65 require high shear to come together. You'll also want high shear for ge...