This week’s blog postings will be a daily series on using Heavy Duty 3-D Molds ($6.50 – 8.00 each) and soap ropes along with the normal random musings about business and soapy self-employment.Using the Heavy Duty molds is convenient because they withstand very hot 165 °F sustained oven temps and 180 °F degrees poured-soap temperatures (sorry, you in-the-oven-hot-process soapers – not that hot!). They are made out of a food grade 60 ml plastic. You can make really large chocolate or marzipan goodies in them as well!
The 3-D molds come with two sides. Snap both sides together, making sure to match up the pouring spout on the top. If you accidentally put one side of the pouring spout on the bottom, your mold will not seal and soap will come rushing out the bottom, all over your table. Once the molds are snapped into place, simply slip the large rubber bands (included with the mold) around the mold to ensure a tight fit.
Because of their large open pour spout, 3-D molds are perfect for using soap ropes! Soap Ropes are a fun throwback to the past and handy for hanging soap up in the shower (no goop on your soap dish!). Using a hanging soap ensures that your soap will dry out faster and thus, last longer. Bramble Berry’s soap ropes are made from a braided nylon rope, measure 9 inches tall and sell for $1.15 each. The ropes are sealed with a plastic tab at the bottom, making them easy to insert into the open pour spout.
I used extra nourishing Goat Milk Melt and Pour for this project. Notice the soap has a slightly ivory or off white look. This coloring happens because of the goat milk. It’s easy to color over the yellow tint, as long as you remember that you are starting with a slightly yellow palette and not a pure white. Colors like purple are difficult to achieve when starting with a yellow base.
Here is the entire set up: Soap Ropes, Fragrance, Labcolors (water soluble and easy to mix in), the assembled soap mold, a sharp knife, a cutting block and my chopped up goat milk soap. Check back tomorrow for tips on melting, pouring, and fill line tricks as well as a contest (with prizes!).
