Soap Queen

Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more

Tutorials by difficulty level:

18 Bars of Pure Cuteness!

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

EmbeddedToysSoap1

Have you seen Bramble Berry’s new Baltic Birch Molds? If not, check them out HERE. I love them SO much. They are stunningly gorgeous, so versatile and selling fast (we’re seriously having trouble keeping them on the shelves). And you can use them for more than just cold process. Here’s a colorful and fun melt and pour project!

Here’s What I used
Freezer Paper (and tape)
90-100 ounces of Clear Soap
(100 ounces of soap is about 6.25 pounds)
Embedding Toys (optional)
Soap Scraps (optional)
Colorants
Picture 700

Before you start: Line your mold with freezer paper making sure that you have a flat bottom with the shiny side up. Remember that the bottom will eventually become the top of your soap. Once your mold is lined, add the side and end border pieces and put your inserts together so they’re ready to go to.

Picture 709

ONE: In a large microwave safe container, melt about 32 ounces of clear soap base. Once the soap is completely melted, add 1 drop of liquid blue colorant to give the soap a “clear” effect (just one drop will do the trick). Do not add any fragrance at this point.


Note: You will only need a couple of ounces for the initial pour so if you don’t have a microwave safe container that big, it’s a-okay. Just melt 1-2 ounces. To save time, I like to melt my soap in larger quantities.

Picture 714



TWO: Pour a thin thin layer into the mold (about 1/8″ thick) and spritz the soap with alcohol while your pouring. This will help the soap spread out into the mold.

My creation

THREE: Before the soap cools, quickly place the inserts into the mold, squeezing the ends with your fingers to hold them together. Press the inserts firmly into the soap and let cool for 15-20 minutes, until the clear layer is totally hardened and the dividers are ‘sealed’ in the soap.

Picture 738
FOUR: It’s time to embed your soap scraps and/or toys! This is the fun part. Just treat each section an individual soap mold. Take the time to make each one different or quickly bust out 18 of the same soap! This is the creative part and it’s totally up to you!

Embedding Tips: Spritz the first layer of clear soap with rubbing alcohol and pour another thin layer of clear soap (you might have to remelt your original clear soap). Liberally spritz the embedding object (whether it be soap scraps or toys) with rubbing alcohol and place it into the freshly poured clear soap.

My creation

FIVE: Once the embedded layer has cooled, add the final layer of soap with color* and fragrance. I used a combination of Energy Fragrance Oil, Grapefruit Essential Oil and Yuzu Fragrance Oil. I always recommend .25 -.5 ounces of fragrance per 16 ounces of soap base. When pouring your layers, remember to spritz the embedded layer before pouring your colored layer. Also make sure your colored soap is no hotter than 120 degrees; we don’t want to melt any of your other soap layers.

 

*My Fun Color Combinations: Bright Orange- Red Mica and Non-bleeding Red, Light Turquoise-
Picture 760



All of my soaps turned out different ranging from 3.2-5.6 ounces (using 89 ounces total) so have fun and make any size that you want!

My creation

Unmolding: Place a large cutting board over the top of your mold and gently flip the soap mold over onto a hard surface. Lift the mold off of the soap and slowly remove the freezer paper from the soap. I used the scraper tool from the Tool Kit (a non serrated knife or small spatula would work) to scrape the soap off the edges of the border pieces. Then slowly pull the sides of the mold away from the soap (Note: If you ever use this mold to make Cold Process soap, you cannot pull the sides from the soap as CP soap is softer and tends to tear). Pop out your soaps and marvel at your creativity.

Picture 826

 

If you have never made melt and pour soap before, check out some Soap Queen TV videos to get you started. I recommend the episodes on Fragrances, Colorants and Embedding. There are also some helpful blog posts on embedding here, here and here.
The best soap supplies on the internet are found at Bramble Berry. Click here to browse Bramble Berry.

 

Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!
Like it? Share it!

You may also like these

Watch Love Letter Soap Tutorial HereMake Perfect Lines + Learn to Embed: Love Letter SoapONE-5How to Color Handmade SoapHow to Make Carrot Hair ConditionerCarrot Hair Conditioner TutorialFrench Green Clay Milk Soap DIYFrench Green Clay & Milk Soap TutorialAvocado Spearmint Cold Process Soap TutorialEssential Oil Inspiration

Become an email subscriber

Enter your email address below and you will receive all our new posts directly in your email inbox.

Previous Post:
Next Post:

48 Comments

  1. Love your website & company!
    I did notice the misspelling of Baltic in the beginning of the recipe on the above posting:

    Here’s What I used
    18 Bar Balic Birch Mold

    I’m sure you want to correct it.

    ~Rose

  4. Hello, I had seen soaps like this on the Etsy website but they were completely green see through (http://www.etsy.com/listing/55… instead of a clear top layer. I tried to duplicate this using the liquid Orange from bramble berry but it didn’t come out translucent enough to see all of the skull i had embedded. any suggestions?

  6. :-)))
    If you wouldn’t tell me, I’d think it was an idea to make such soap at the first place. Looks cute though in the middle. But I’m just wondering about two “swirls” batches at the same time. I guess I’ll have to try.

  7. Yes and no. Without the first clear “glue” layer, the soap seeps under the dividers. I did a split batch last week and you can see what happened: http://www.twitpic.com/1xblhn The middle bars were a ‘mix’ but the outer layers are perfect so I’d say that you could easily do 2 batches even better than I did if you were a bit more careful than me.

  8. Hi Anne-Marie!
    I have a question about this mold. I’d like to get this mold for 18 bars and try it for CP soap. Can I make two or three different soaps at the same time in one mold? Is it easy to do with all inside liners?
    Thanks!
    Elena Z.

  10. I just bought the 18-bar birch mold and want to use M&P soap and swirl. Will there be a tutorial for this?

  11. Looks like I have to add one of those with my next order…I love making different soaps all at once just for fun!!

  13. Thanks. I’m glad you like the soap. Stamps are really easy to do. You can buy stamps here: https://www.brambleberry.com/So… and they are very easy to use. You just place the stamp on top of your soap and use a rubber mallet (basically a thick rubber hammer) to tap the stamp into the soap until you get a nice impression. It’s very easy and efficient.

  15. Wow…awesome idea Anne-Marie! Reading this tutorial actually makes me want to start playing more with M&P. Right now I just use it to add a little pizazz to my CP soaps. Love this idea.

  16. Tapez votre commentaire ici.
    bonjour!
    quelles merveilles tous vos savons sont magnifiques Moi je débute…j’ai quelques moules, je fais fondre la glycerine je mets mes huilles et voilà. Sur votre site j’ai vu les timbres mais pouvez vous m’expliquer le principe? Faut il une presse? merci de votre réponse et bravo encore c’est magnifique
    jennifer rpyant

  17. Whoever wants to affiliate with my blog or for us to follow each other’s blogs on Blogger, let me know! I’m willing to return the favor, I mean we could all use some more traffic & readers on our blogs.
    http://deedee1whoa.blogspot.co…

  18. Cool thanks A-M, the kids are all 5+, but will put a note in the package.. Ill post the pictures on my blog when im done. Missing you all too. Been a grey London day and the walk sounds AWESOME. Glad last weekend at the Soap guild conf went well, so inspiring reading how people started.

  21. It’s always a team effort around here – my entire Bramble Berry group is just bubbling over with exciting ideas. I’m so lucky to work with such a great group of people.

  23. That’s a bummer! I’m sure it still looks cute though =) In theory, if the eraser is dyed with food coloring, it could definitely bleed. We’ve tested all of our toy erasers and have never had that problem though so maybe it was just specific to that brand of eraser.

  24. In theory, you could embed magnets but you might put a ‘not intended for children under the age of 3’ on there just because I worry about the magnets falling off and getting in places they shouldn’t. =) We miss you in Bellingham. It’s an amazing day (sunny, beautiful) with a fun Children’s Art Walk going on tonight that you would LOVE.

  25. i also really like that you can make many projects at once using the clear at the bottom of the mold technique! way to go Anne-Marie!~

    p.s. get ready for an onslaught of orders……=)

  26. i made the cutest soap using an eraser embed. It wasn’t one I bought from Bramble Berry, but it was a popular brand. Well, after a few days, the color started bleeding into the white soap. I now have an orange glow from the red eraser. Is this to be expected from erasers?
    Thanks!

  30. Ok, that is awesome. The mold is going on my must have list. Love all the soaps you designed.

  31. Anne Marie, I stand in awe of your creative genius. They are absolutely ravissante (stunning)…I am so glad I got a birch mould hot of the press..guess what I will be doing for my niece’s scooby doo themed party. Sheer genius and you make it seem so effortless. The colours are just out of this world!!!! Do you think I could use magnets as embeds? Selina xxx

  34. Ooooh! Let me know how it goes. Make sure to do that first thin clear layer. That’s a big deal …

  35. They seriously are the cutest little soaps ever. I just love the production value too – 18 bars of individual soap done quickly.

  36. I poured each soap individually and since they are sealed on the bottom with that first clear coat, they don’t ‘leak’ into the other cavities. So, if I had poured them all to the same level they would have weighed the same. But, I didn’t =) I just poured to where I felt like pouring or when I felt the design was ‘done.’

  37. You are going to fall deeply in love … =) I can’t wait for you to catch the bug!

  38. After seeing this and all the soaps at the HSMG conf, I may have to take up M&P!

  39. I’m so impressed! Very very nice. I am a little puzzled as to the weight differences – I wouldn’t have thought they would vary that much?

  40. Beautiful, colorful and full of life!!!
    Congrats Anne and thanks for the tutorial with the new BB mold!

  42. Super cute and clever! I love the pink bar with the soap scraps in the first photo, and the sweet little froggy soaps, too 🙂

  43. Dang, and here I’ve just sold my old BB mold~ I had it for years, didn’t think I needed it anylonger with the larger batches of CP I now make~ How creative you are~ you just never cease to amaze me~ M&P here I come~

Trackbacks