Here is a really easy project that looks so much more complicated than it is. As a plus, it’s very economical. The hugs and kisses mold is only $2.50 and you can use any plain mold for embedding (we used our rectangle tray mold). The materials to make these soaps work out to be just $1.28 per bar (not including the molds) and you can even make them for less if you make more than 8 bars of soap and soap in bulk.
Here are the ingredients we used:
Clear M&P Base and White M&P Base
Violet Fragrance Oil
Luster Black Mica & Merlot Mica
Rectangle Tray Mold (but any plain mold will do)
Hugs & Kisses Mold
You can use scraps from our last Valentine soap project, or you can make them from scratch using:
Non-bleeding liquid colorant
Tools:
microwave safe containers (we like to use a pyrex measuring cup)
Dropper
spray bottle of rubbing alcohol
1. Start with your Hugs and Kisses mold and make the embeds. We used white melt and pour for the X and O’s and Clear for the lips. You can use which ever you chose, but remember white melt and pour will make black go gray and reds go pink. Bright vibrant colors need clear soap.
2. Next create the soap confetti for the background. If you have left over scrap melt and pour, preferably in non-bleeding pinks or red this is a perfect chance to use them. If not then mix up a batch or two (depending on how many colors you want) using white melt and pour and a non-bleedig color. Pour these into anything that is flexible that you can release. We will be cutting them up into little chunks, so the mold you use and how pretty the soap is does not matter at all. Let these set and harden. You want the soap fresh and pliable so do not put in fridge/freezer. Cut this soap up into little pieces.
3. Now all the pieces are made and we can start assembling the soaps. Think of how you want the embeds to be laid out. You do not want the X’s and O’s to be cut once the soap is finished. If you’re using the Rectangle Tray Mold, stay inside the score marks of the mold. Once we start putting the embedded soaps in there will not be much time to change or move them around, so pre-planning is essential!
4. Melt 1 pound of clear melt & Pour base and fragrance with 1/4 ounce of fragrance. Pour about half of the scented clear melt & pour soap into the rectangle tray mold. We poured until the soap just reached the top of the indented rectangle marks. Spray with alcohol.
5. Working quickly, spray your embeds generously with the alcohol and place them where you want in the mold. Remember, we want the pretty sides to go face down especially with the lips – the detailed front of the lips need to face down.
6. Let these set a minute or two until the clear has hardened or has a thick skin. Then spray with alcohol and pour the rest of the clear – it should come just high enough to cover the embeds.
7. Once that layer has set you can get the little scraps of soap that we cut up in the first step. Spray these with alcohol and sprinkle them evenly over the soap. Ignore the score marks this time… spread evenly everywhere.
8. Finally melt 1/2 pound white soap base and add 1/8 oz. fragrance. Spray the soap layer in the mold with alcohol again and then immediately pour carefully over the scraps, filling the mold to the top. You need to pour slowly, evenly and close to the soap or the force of the pour will move around your scraps. The ideal temperature to pour with the Bramble Berry house melt and pour bases is around 125 to 130 degrees. If your soap is steaming or is so warm that you can’t put your finger in it, the soap is too hot and will melt the pink little chips. It’s a cute look but won’t get you the soap pictured in the top picture.
9. Wait 4 to 6 hours for the soap to fully harden before carefully popping out and cutting your perfectly lovely Valentine’s inspired bars.
Voila! adorable soaps perfect for Valentine giving.
Wow what a great idea! Making Valentine soap sounds good. I do not have any X O molds but I guess I could come up with something creative using the same concept.Thank you.
Thank you! I think it’s such a fun project. You can buy the mold at brambleberry.com or freehand X’s and O’s out of soap using a small knife or an exacto craft knife and a steady hand?
Those are really way to cute. I think I may start messing around with melt and pour. Maybe mix it with my Cp. Expand my creativity.
Ah thanks so much Anne-Marie! I look forward to hearing from you! I follow you on twitter——-and I know where your day went, wow you can pack in a lot of stuff!
I’m glad that you are liking the posts here – and that bath fizzies are getting good interest. They are super fun to make so your interest makes sense. =)
Cindy, I think I see an email from you in my InBox. I’ll get through my emails more aggressively tomorrow. =) I’m not quite sure where Monday got to but it definitely got away from me.
I love these! I’m with Teresa…I love the confetti =)
These are really too adorable! I like the confetti idea. 🙂
Thank you for another adorable recipe.I was looking for an idea to make some valentines day themed soap,this one is so cute!!!
XOXO,Dani
Ann Marie…These Valentine Creations are just too cute! You are just sooo clever! I love them!
thanks Anne Marie! I do think they may have stopped growing already, hard to tell. Not too much damage, I am learning! I have put them in a bin with some descants (from my vitamin bottles) to help w/ any extra moisture.
Actually, I am in Poulsbo, just a couple hours from you!!
I really appreciate your help!
(funny, isn’t it- I never have this much trouble w/ CP soap!! 🙂
Would you please e-mail me so I may ask you a question about a bath bomb post I would like to have on my blog SkiptomyLou this week.
Cindy
http://www.skiptomylou.org
Erin,
No worries about asking technical support questions here. I’m always happy to help wherever you find me =))
Your bath fizzies will eventually quit growing. And, once they quit growing, they’re fine to use in your bath tub. They won’t fizz quite as much as if they were perfect because some of the fizz has already happened.
They could be growing because of the extra moisture in the air. If you’re in a particularly humid area, the moisture from the air can make your fizzies softer and more prone to swelling.
I love the ‘confetti’ background! I haven’t done much for V-day soaps, but I did make a neat heart…it on my blog if you’d like to see 😀
Cute as always!
I have a bath fizzy question (I hope Im not being rude by asking you and your readers here- I am waiting approval to be part of the Teach Soap Forum, I was planning to ask there!)
I have made a number of small batches of bath fizzies this week, 2 of my batches I added just a tiny bit too much witch hazel and they have swollen up just a tad over the past couple days. Will they keep growing does anyone know? I don’t want to give them away (or sell) if they puff up any more in the future.
Its hardly noticeable, but next to the good batch I can tell. Thanks for anyones advice!!
those are really cute! Always looking for something new to try!