Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
If your projects need a little spring color, take a look at the new Spring Fever Colorant set from our friend Debbie Chialtas. It’s part of her Soapy Love line, which is known for its sugary sweet fragrances and eye-popping colorants. Read the rest of this guest post about the hot color of the moment (it may surprise you!), and then learn how to use a fun new colorant set in a cute bicycle melt and pour project — A.M.
Let’s face it: life is better on a bike (and it definitely is if you’re on the Bramble Bike). This mold captures all the fun of a sunny summer bike ride, and the intricate detailing allows you to practice and perfect your melt and pour skills. Highlight the detail on the bike with a mica painting technique and you’ve got yourself the quintessential summer soaping project.
What You’ll Need:
18 oz. Clear Melt & Pour Soap Base
6 oz. White Melt & Pour Soap Base
Super Pearly White Color Block
Hydrated Chrome Green Color Block
Electric Bubble Gum Color Block
6 mL Spiced Amber Fragrance Oil
6 mL Cucumber Melon Fragrance Oil
3 droppers
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! Note that I did three different color combinations for three different bikes. You can just choose one if you want to make a bunch in one color – if you do that, remember, the ‘Add to Cart’ button above allows you to edit your shopping cart before purchasing.
ONE: Begin by melting 1 oz. of Clear Melt and Pour Base in the microwave on 5 second bursts. Because you’re working with such a small amount of soap, there is a higher probability that the soap will boil and become much harder to work with, so take care to only microwave it for a few seconds at a time. After the soap has been fully melted, shave off chunks of the Perfect Red Color Block. Color blocks are what-you-see-is-what-you-get, so the amount of color is up to you. Stir the colorant into the soap until it has been fully incorporated.
TWO: Use an injector tool to carefully fill in the bicycle with soap. Don’t worry if the soap runs over the mold or if things start to get messy. You can always wait for the soap to harden and clean it up later. Once the soap has hardened, use a Clean Up Tool to scrape away any soap that overflowed the mold. If you don’t have a clean up tool, a butter knife will work in a pinch.
THREE: Melt 1 oz. of Clear Melt and Pour Base in the microwave on 5 second bursts. After the soap has been fully melted, shave off chunks of the Shimmer Yellow Color Block. Color blocks are what-you-see-is-what-you-get, so the amount of color is up to you. Stir the colorant into the soap until it has been fully incorporated.
FOUR: Use an injector tool to carefully fill in the bicycle with soap. Don’t worry if the soap runs over the mold or if things start to get messy. You can always wait for the soap to harden and clean it up later. Once the soap has hardened, use a Clean Up Tool to scrape away any soap that overflowed the mold.
FIVE: Melt 1 oz. of Clear Melt and Pour Base in the microwave on 5 second bursts. After the soap has been fully melted, shave off chunks of the Electric Bubble Gum Color Block. Color blocks are what-you-see-is-what-you-get, so the amount of color is up to you. Stir the colorant into the soap until it has been fully incorporated. Obviously, I chose three different colors for the bikes. You can choose whatever colors you want; this technique works for them all! The more contrast you have with your background, the better.
SEVEN: For the background of the yellow bike, melt 6 oz. of Cleat Melt and Pour Base on 15 second microwave bursts and split it into two containers with about 3 oz. each. In one container, shave off chunks of the Sparkle Gold Color Block. In the other, shave off chunks of the Shimmer Black Color Block. In each each container, add 3 mL of Spiced Amber Ale Fragrance Oil. Once the colorants and fragrance has been added, mix well.
EIGHT: With the gold soap in one hand and the black soap in the other, pour from opposites sides of the mold. To get the best swirl, don’t just pour all the color into the same area! Feel free to move the containers around to get a nice mixed swirl. Be sure to keep track of your temperatures when doing the double pour. Pouring too hot will cause the soap to mix and melt the soap bicycle beneath it, while pouring too cool won’t let the soap swirl much at all. Pouring at about 135 degrees is ideal. To keep the bicycles on the soap and not stuck in the mold, do this pouring layer process right away (within 10-20 minutes of pouring the first layer). Spraying a little rubbing alcohol on the bicycles before pouring the second layer also helps with adhesion.
NINE: To add extra swirl, use a chopstick or dowel to swirl the soap around in the mold. Run the tool through the soap only once as you do not want to over mix the colors. Spray with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol to disperse bubbles.
TEN: For the background of the pink bike, cut 6 oz of White Melt & Pour Base and split into two container with about 3 oz. of soap each. In one container, shave off chunks of the Hydrated Chrome Green Color Block. Leave the second container uncolored. Melt the soap in 10 second bursts. Then, in each container, add 3 mL of Cucumber Melon Fragrance Oil. Once the colorants and fragrance has been added, mix well.
ELEVEN: With the green soap in one hand and the white soap in the other, pour from opposites sides of the mold. To get the best swirl, don’t just pour all the color into the same area! Feel free to move the containers around to get a nice mixed swirl. Be sure to keep track of your temperatures when doing the double pour. Pouring too hot will cause the soap to mix, while pouring too cool won’t let the soap swirl much at all. Pouring at about 135 degrees is ideal.
Use a chopstick or dowel to swirl the soap around in the mold and then spray with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol to disperse bubbles.
TWELVE: For the background of the red bike, cut 9 oz. of Clear Melt and Pour Base and divide equally into three containers. In once container, shave off chunks of the Hydrated Chrome Green Color Block and the Super Pearly White Color Block. In in the second container, shave off chunks of the Ultramarine Blue Color Block. In the last container, shave off chunks of the Super Pearly White Color Block. Remember, color blocks are WYSIWYG so how much or how little color you add is up to you!
Microwave each container on 10 second microwave bursts. Once all the containers have been fully melted, add 3 mL Tart Apple Fragrance Oil to each.
THIRTEEN: With the green soap in one hand and the blue soap in the other, pour from opposites sides of the mold. To get the best swirl, don’t just pour all the color into the same area! Feel free to move the containers around to get a nice mixed swirl. Be sure to keep track of your temperatures when doing the double pour. Pouring too hot will cause the soap to mix, while pouring too cool won’t let the soap swirl much at all. Pouring at about 135 degrees is ideal.
FOURTEEN: Leave about a 1/4 inch of room in the mold and then pour the white soap throughout the cavity.
FIFTEEN: Wait 1 – 2 hours for the soaps to harden before unmolding them. After unmolding them, use a small paint brush to carefully paint on the mica. We used Heavy Metal Gold Mica on the yellow bike, and Super Pearly White Mica on the pink bike and the red bike.
SIXTEEN: Mica painting can be messy, and you can use a q-tip or rolled paper towel to carefully clean the mica away from small crevices.
