I’ve been itching to try these One-Time-Use soap leaves for the longest time. I just whipped them up this morning. Really. Just made them. Super easy. Although, no one has to know exactly how easy they really are. You don’t have to soap and tell!
Ingredients
Buy everything you need for this project in one click!
ONE: Download this PDF file of leaves. Print them on any type of color printer onto Water Soluble Paper. Then cut the images out with scissors. Leave a little piece of the white to use as a handle when we’re dipping the leaves.
Hint: Remember that leaves are not perfect and often misshaped so don’t spend too much time cutting around every nook and cranny.
TWO: Tear off a strip of wax paper or butcher paper and tape it to a hard surface, shiny side up. This is going to be our drying rack.
THREE: Melt 2-3 ounces of clear soap base and mix in your fragrance oil of choice (I chose Orange Spice for Fall- refreshing, spicy and delicious).
Other Fall Favorites: Red Apple, Pumpkin Spice, Turkish Mocha, Chai Tea, Ginger Pear, Sandalwood Vanilla.
FOUR: Hold a paper leaf by the “handle” and dip the entire leaf into the melted soap base. Then place the soaked leaf on your wax paper to let dry.
FIVE: Once the leaves are cool, peel them off by the handle. Use your scissors to snip off the handle and trim up the edges with a craft knife or your fingers. Some leaves might have a little extra soap on the edges while others will look perfect!
SIX: Put the leaves in a little bowl by the bathroom sink. Each guest will have their own individual soap to use!
Hand Washing Advice from the Soap Queen: Experts say that you should keep a good lather for about 30 seconds or as long as it takes you to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. These leafy soaps will last for the perfect (and recommended) amount of hand washing time.
I have a question. How much fragrance do I need if I follow this recipe? I am using the orange spice fo. Sorry if this is a stupid question. I just never know how a scent will come out unless I have measurements.
Hi Langela!
I’d use anywhere (depending on how strong you want the scent to be) from .03 to .09 ounces of the Orange Spice Fragrance Oil. I usually like sticking around the middle usage rate, so I personally would use .06 ounces of the Orange Spice. I hope this helps! 🙂
Orange Spice Cybilla Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Orange-Spice-Cybilla-Fragrance-Oil-P3392.aspx
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Thank you!
I want to embed these in clear soap to make them last longer! Gorgeous!
Fab idea! Let us know how it goes! -Kristen with Bramble Berry
We are doing a variation of this with my Girl Scout troop to offer at a Craft Show. To speed along the process – we picked designs that could be punched out with large paper punches – photos of flowers used with a scallap edge circle, local team logos with a larger circle, color shaded areas that were a bit larger than a leaf punch, etc. Made it go SO much quicker, especially with 7th graders that don’t always have the patience for details cutting over and over and over again….
Packaged in a clear plastic box with a metallic bow – perfect!
Such a great idea because yeah, those leaves are sort of a pain to cut out (I’ll 100% admit to some bad language during that project). I am SO glad that you were able to make it work for you and your group. YAY! =)
Ten of the small leaves = .1 oz. So you should be able to make at least 160 small leaves with 16 ounces of soap base. Wow!
A bit late to the game here 🙂 but one question How many leaves will one lbs of MP make?
The dissolving paper is similar to toilet paper in that it dissolves into smaller bits and continues to break down over time. If you keep washing, the little pieces probably will knit back together. That does make sense to me (though I didn’t notice it when I was testing) if it’s balling back up rather than being washed down the drain =)
This is a great idea – and so easy to do! I purchased your water soluble paper and tried this myself. One question I have: I found that the majority of the paper dissolved quite nicely but I was left with a little wad of paper when I finished washing my hands. All the soap was gone … there was just this wad of paper I didn’t particularly want to send down the drain.
Any suggestions?
It actually has a nice color bleed all the way through when the paper gets wet with the soap. 🙂
Happy Soaping!
Anne-Marie
http://www.brambleberry.com
Blog: http://www.soapqueen.com
I love this, very nice and easy project!!! only one question, would the other side of the sheet of soluble paper stays white?
I’m imagining excited awe and a sincere desire to try the soap =))
Yes, please definitely link to it. Thanks for the link love – we appreciate it. And adore Craft Gossip. They are such a neat blog.
Thank you. We are an extremely lucky and blessed team and are so thankful that we have readers like you to share our love of soap, cooking, cupcakes and family with! =)
It’s a water soluble paper that is colored so the ‘paper’ actually dissolves with washing, just like it wasn’t there to start with. It’s a cool variation on single use soap. =)
Thank you – super simple and easy for sure. =)
I’ve never loved the soggy petal thing either; this option definitely seems to work better in my opinion.
Would love to hear how it went if you tried it Teira =)
I love this! It is so interesting Can you imagine your guests reactions?
this is so interesting. I love it!
Wow -those are gorgeous! And I bet the smell amazing! I just clicked over from Craft Gossip and I’m so glad I did. Your blog is fantastic! I would love to link to this if you didn’t mind.
So thankful for your joyful love to share great things that are sweetly simple to share, will keeping the joy going. God Bless You and Your family
I think I’m missing something here….After peeling the the paper off by the handle, are the leaves just plain clear soap???? It’s just the paper that you dip that is colored?????
I LOVE this!
I like your method rather than the ones that dipping silk petal into soap… and you have to throw away the petal (wasteful).
Those are great. I am going to have to try that this weekend.
(smiling) Thank you! =)
Completely perfect for a gift basket – or to sell to a boutique hotel chain?
Thank you; the project can be done with lots of other designs and colors too.
Thank you – fun and so so so very easy.
Thank you! Judging from the comments on yesterday’s sneak peak, I think a lot of people thought that too! =)
I thought that you used micas and poured a thin swirled layer of lots of different colors and cut them out but this is a quick and smart way of doing this!
These are so pretty! Such a fun project.
Those are so neat!
crafty chica! i love this!
i think this project would be great to include in a gift basket.
the possibilities are endless!
Fantastic as always! Adorable leaves!