This Chopped Embed Soap is inspired by Tania of Soapish. She created three batches of soap with fragrance oils from the Farmers Market Collection that had an embed design – Raspberry Jam, Cucumber Garden, and Blueberry Thyme. We decided to try something similar using bars from various projects, including the 10 Easy Ways to Texture Cold Process Soap video.

The exact colors will depend on what soap you have on hand. The embeds in this batch are made with Aqua Pearl Mica and Blue Mica. You can experiment with the size, shape, and number of embeds. They make up about 30% of the total weight of this recipe.

We used Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil to complement the blue color palette. It’s a favorite around the Bramble Berry office, with notes of raspberry, rose water, thyme, and musk. It behaves well in soap and doesn’t discolor. This recipe has a 10% water discount to prevent glycerin rivers.

What You Need:
5 lb. Wood Mold with Sliding Bottom
Silicone Liner for 5 lb. Mold
38 oz. Lots of Lather Quick Mix
5.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
11.3 oz. Distilled Water (10% water discount)
2.5 oz. Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
About 20-25 oz. Premade Cold Process Soap (cut into chunks)

Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

PREP EMBEDS: Using a sharp knife, chop premade cold process soap into small chunks. The exact size and shape is up to you – our cold process pieces were roughly 0.5 inches. Don’t worry about the pieces being completely uniform – variety in size and shape adds interest.

We used cold process soap that was about 3-4 weeks cured for the embeds. Feel free to use newer or older soap.

If you’ve never made cold process soap before, stop here. We highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on cold process soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including Pure Soapmaking. You can also check out the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2.5 ounces of Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

COLORANT PREP: Disperse 3 teaspoons of titanium dioxide into 2 tablespoons of a lightweight liquid oil such as sunflower or sweet almond oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of clumps.
Optional: To ensure the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Use a coffee grinder to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. 

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add 5.5 ounces of lye to 11.3 ounces of distilled water. Gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set it aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 2.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.

TWO: Fully melt the entire bag of Lots of Lather until it’s completely clear. Shake the bag to mix up all the oils. Measure 38 ounces into a heat-safe bowl. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin trace.

THREE: Add the 2.5 ounces of Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil and use the stick blender to mix in.

FOUR: Add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide. If the soap is still thin, use the stick blender to mix until you reach a medium trace. If the soap is already at medium trace, use a whisk to mix in the colorant.

FIVE: Add the cold process embeds into the soap and use a large spatula to thoroughly combine. As you are adding the embeds, separate any pieces that are sticking together.

SIX: Pour the soap into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of any bubbles. Use a large spoon or spatula to smooth the top, and press down any embeds that are sticking out.

SEVEN: Spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. We didn’t insulate the soap. The lower temperatures and water discount will help prevent glycerin rivers. If you live in an extremely hot climate, you may want to place the mold in to the fridge for several hours to prevent gel phase. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-3 days. Once the soap is firm enough, unmold and cut into bars. Allow to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy.

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Chopped Embed Cold Process Tutorial

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 5 pounds of soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 5 lb. Wood Mold with Sliding Bottom
• Silicone Liner for 5 lb. Mold
• 38 oz. Lots of Lather Quick Mix
• 5.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 11.3 oz. Distilled Water 10% water discount
• 2.5 oz. Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide
• About 20-25 oz. Premade Cold Process Soap cut into chunks

Instructions

PREP EMBEDS: Using a sharp knife, chop premade cold process soap into small chunks. The exact size and shape is up to you – our cold process pieces were roughly 0.5 inches. Don’t worry about the pieces being completely uniform – variety in size and shape adds interest. We used cold process soap that was about 3-4 weeks cured for the embeds. Feel free to use newer or older soap.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2.5 ounces of Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

COLORANT PREP: Disperse 3 teaspoons of titanium dioxide into 2 tablespoons of a lightweight liquid oil such as sunflower or sweet almond oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of clumps. Optional: To ensure the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Use a coffee grinder to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

• Slowly and carefully add 5.5 ounces of lye to 11.3 ounces of distilled water. Gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set it aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 2.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.
• Fully melt the entire bag of Lots of Lather until it’s completely clear. Shake the bag to mix up all the oils. Measure 38 ounces into a heat-safe bowl. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin trace.
• Add the 2.5 ounces of Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil and use the stick blender to mix in.
• Add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide. If the soap is still thin, use the stick blender to mix until you reach a medium trace. If the soap is already at medium trace, use a whisk to mix in the colorant.
• Add the cold process embeds into the soap and use a large spatula to thoroughly combine. As you are adding the embeds, separate any pieces that are sticking together.
• Pour the soap into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of any bubbles. Use a large spoon or spatula to smooth the top, and press down any embeds that are sticking out.
• Spritz the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. We didn’t insulate the soap. The lower temperatures and water discount will help prevent glycerin rivers. If you live in an extremely hot climate, you may want to place the mold in to the fridge for several hours to prevent gel phase. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-3 days. Once the soap is firm enough, unmold and cut into bars. Allow to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy.

The post Chopped Embed Cold Process Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

There are so many design options for cold process soap. This Tomato Garden Soap has a few that create a truly unique bar. There are melt and pour embeds, a charcoal pencil line, and a sprinkle of poppy seeds on top.

The recipe is made with ingredients from the new Farmers Market Collection. Tomato powder and red palm oil are used for the orange-red color and carrot seed oil gives the bars a silky feeling. It’s scented with Cucumber Garden Fragrance Oil, which has notes of grapefruit, green vines, white flowers, and wood.

What You Need:
Embeds:
Two Mini Square Silicone Column Molds
8 oz. LCP Melt & Pour Soap Base
Chrome Green Color Block

Soap Base:
10” Silicone Loaf Mold
1.8 oz. Avocado Oil (5%)
1.8 Carrot Seed Oil (5%)
0.7 oz. Castor Oil (2%)
1.8 oz. Deodorized Cocoa Butter (5%)
10.1 oz. Coconut Oil (28%)
10.8 oz. Olive Oil (30%)
7.2 oz. Palm Oil (20%)
1.8 oz. Red Palm Oil (5%)
5.1 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
10.2 oz. Water (15% water discount)
2.2 oz. Cucumber Garden Fragrance Oil
1 Tbsp. Tomato Powder 
½ tsp. Brick Red Oxide
Activated Charcoal
Poppy Seeds

Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

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Tomato Garden Soap Tutorial

There are so many design options for cold process soap. This Tomato Garden Soap has a few that create a truly unique bar.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 5 hours hours

Total Time 5 hours hours

Servings 3 pounds of soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

Embeds:

• Two Mini Square Silicone Column Molds
• 8 oz. LCP Melt & Pour Soap Base
• Chrome Green Color Block

Soap Base:

• 10 ” Silicone Loaf Mold
• 1.8 oz. Avocado Oil 5%
• 1.8 Carrot Seed Oil 5%
• 0.7 oz. Castor Oil 2%
• 1.8 oz. Deodorized Cocoa Butter 5%
• 10.1 oz. Coconut Oil 28%
• 10.8 oz. Olive Oil 30%
• 7.2 oz. Palm Oil 20%
• 1.8 oz. Red Palm Oil 5%
• 5.1 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 10.2 oz. Water 15% water discount
• 2.2 oz. Cucumber Garden Fragrance Oil
• 1 Tbsp. Tomato Powder
• ½ tsp. Brick Red Oxide
• Activated Charcoal
• Poppy Seeds

Instructions

Make the Embeds

• Chop 8 ounces of LCP White Melt and Pour Soap Base into small uniform pieces. Place the soap into a heat-safe container and melt in the microwave using 10-20 second bursts. Split the soap in half (it’s okay to eyeball it). To one container, add a chunk of Chrome Green Color Block and stir to mix in.
• Pour the white soap into one of the Mini Square Silicone Column molds and the green soap into the other. Place the molds in a sturdy and tall container so the soap doesn’t spill. Allow the soap to fully cool and harden.
• Once the soap is cool and hard, remove from the silicone molds. Trim the sides if necessary – we like using a Clean Up Tool. Using a sharp, non-serrated knife, cut the embeds lengthwise to fit into the 10″ Silicone Mold. Then, cut the embeds into four equal pieces. Set aside to prep the cold process soap ingredients.

Make the Base

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2.2 ounces of Cucumber Garden Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

COLORANT PREP: Disperse 1/2 teaspoon of the Brick Red Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon of of avocado, sunflower, or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps. Have 1 tablespoon of tomato powder and a few tablespoons of activated charcoal nearby.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

• Slowly and carefully add 5.1 ounces of lye to 10.2 ounces of water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, add 2 teaspoons sodium lactate.
• In a large glass bowl, combine and melt 1.8 ounces of avocado oil, 1.8 ounces of carrot seed oil, 0.7 ounces of castor oil, 1.8 ounces of deodorized cocoa butter, 10.1 ounces of coconut oil, 10.8 ounces of olive oil, 7.2 ounces of palm oil, and 1.8 ounces of red palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning).
• Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 110-130 degrees F (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add 1 tablespoon tomato powder directly into the oils and use the stick blender to fully mix in. Then, add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin trace.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon dispersed Brick Red Oxide and use a whisk to mix in.
• Add the Cucumber Garden Fragrance Oil and use the stick blender to mix in the fragrance oil.
• The soap needs to be thick enough to suspend the embeds. If it’s still thin, continue to stick blend the soap to thicken. Once it’s a pudding-like texture, spoon in a layer of soap into the mold – a little bit less than 1/3 of the soap batter. Tap on the counter to get rid of bubbles, and use a spoon to create troughs and texture down the length of the mold.
• Add a few teaspoons of activated charcoal to a powder duster or mesh strainer and lightly tap over the soap to apply a thin layer. Be careful to not dust on too much charcoal or the layers may separate.
• Use a spoon to cover the charcoal layer with more soap. Don’t add too much soap – the layer just needs to cover the charcoal. Place three melt and pour soap embeds down the length of the mold. We positioned them so half of the mold had green soap in the center and white on the outside, and the other half had the opposite.
• Cover the embeds with another layer of soap. Use a spoon to create troughs and texture into the soap.
• Use the powder duster to apply another thin layer of charcoal. Spoon the remaining soap on top. Tap the mold on the counter to get rid of bubbles. Use a spoon to create texture on top. There is no right or wrong way to do this, so just have fun with it.
• Sprinkle the top of the soap with poppy seeds. Spritz with alcohol to prevent soda ash. If you’d like the colors to be darker, promote gel phase by placing the soap into a small area like a drawer or microwave. If you want to prevent gel phase, place the soap into the freezer for at least 5 hours. Remove from the freezer and allow it to harden in the mold for 2-3 days.
• Unmold the soap, and cut into bars. If you find the charcoal lines drag, use a towel and rubbing alcohol to clean them up. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy.

The post Tomato Garden Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

The Bramble Berry studio has several sushi addicts. While brainstorming new project ideas, we kept going back to recreating a classic sushi roll with cold process soap. We tackled the project with melt and pour back in 2009, but it was definitely time for a redo. We’re thrilled with how this soap turned out.

This project is not for the faint of heart. It’s not particularly difficult, but it does take several batches of soap and a few days to complete. First, several column embeds are created to look like sushi fillings. We used LCP White and LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base to expedite the process, but the embeds can also be made with cold process soap. “LCP” stands for “like cold process.” It contains less glycerin than standard melt and pour base, which makes it ideal for embeds in cold process soap.

Once the embeds are cool and hard, they are cut into random shapes. The exact shape doesn’t really matter, but they look more natural than a perfect square. For our first attempt at this project, we used a mixture of fresh cold process batter and finely chopped white cold process soap to create a “rice” texture. You can see this bar on the left in the photo below. It turned out nice, but it was a lot of work for not a huge payoff. The “rice” texture is fairly hard to see, so we skipped it for our second attempt and this tutorial.

The embeds are inserted into the Silicone Column Mold, and white soap scented with Wasabi Fragrance Oil is poured around them. The fragrance is  reminiscent of wasabi without smelling exactly like it – it’s fresh, slightly spicy, and green. After about 1-2 days, the soap can be removed from the Silicone Column Mold.

The final step is “painting” cold process soap on the outside of the soap. We used a Shaving Brush for this step, but any large fluffy paint brush will do the trick. We experimented with painting the entire batch first then cutting, as well as painting the individual bars. We found painting the individual bars a little bit easier – the outer layer tended to crack when we cut the soap after.

It’s a fairly complicated project but we think it’s worth it. We think they’ll be a hit at markets – they’re a great conversation piece. They would also be the perfect gift for any sushi enthusiast in your life.

What You Need:
Sushi Embeds
Four Mini Square Silicone Column Molds
5 oz. LCP White Melt and Pour Soap Base
11 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base
Chrome Green Color Block
Fizzy Lemonade Color Block
Perfect Orange Color Block
Fired Up Fuchsia Color Block
Shimmer Merlot Sparkle Color Block

Sushi Base
Silicone Column Mold
6 oz. Coconut Oil (30%)
6 oz. Palm Oil (30%)
4 oz. Rice Bran Oil (20%)
1 oz. Shea Butter (5%)
3 oz. Sweet Almond Oil (15%)
6 oz. Distilled Water (10% water discount)
2.8 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
1 oz. Wasabi Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide

Sushi Outer Layer
 2.1 oz. Coconut Oil (30%)
2.1 oz. Palm Oil (30%)
1.4 oz. Rice Bran Oil (20%)
0.4 oz. Shea Butter (5%)
1.1 oz. Sweet Almond Oil (15%)
1 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
2.1 oz. Distilled Water (10% water discount)
Black Oxide Pigment
Green Chrome Oxide Pigment
Optional: Shaving Brush

Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Make the Embeds

ONE: Chop 11 ounces of LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base into small uniform pieces. Then, chop 5 ounces of LCP White Melt and Pour Soap Base into small uniform pieces. Add the following amounts of soap base and color blocks to separate, heat-safe containers. Melt the soap and color blocks in the microwave separately using 10-20 second bursts.
NOTE: If you have fewer than four Mini Square Silicone Column Molds, you’ll need to make the embeds in batches. 

• Salmon Embed: 3.5 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base + 0.5 oz. LCP White Soap Base + equal amounts of Perfect Orange Color Block, Fired Up Fuchsia Color Block, and Fizzy Lemonade Color Block + a very small shaving of Shimmer Merlot Sparkle Color Block
• Orange Embed: 4 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base + Perfect Orange Color Block shavings
• Green Embed: 3.5 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base + 0.5 oz. LCP White Soap Base + equal amounts of Fizzy Lemonade Color Block and Chrome Green Color Block shavings
• Light Green Embed: 4 oz. LCP White Melt and Pour Soap Base + equal amounts of Fizzy Lemonade Color Block and Chrome Green Color Block shavings

TWO: After melting one container of soap, immediately pour it into one of the Mini Square Silicone Column Molds. Place the mold into a sturdy and tall container to make sure the mold stays upright and the soap doesn’t pour out. Repeat until you’ve created all four embeds (green, light green, salmon, and orange). Allow the embeds to fully harden and cool for several hours.

THREE: Remove the embeds from the molds. Trim the sides if necessary – we like using a Clean Up Tool. Use a sharp, non-serrated knife to cut the corners off the embeds as you see fit. We cut one corner off both green embeds and the salmon embed. Then we cut the orange embed into four equal pieces to look like carrots. Don’t worry too much about how you cut the embeds – the key is not keeping them a perfect square. Set aside to prep the base.

Make the Sushi Base

If you’ve never made cold process soap before, stop here. We highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on cold process soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including Pure Soapmaking. You can also check out the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 1 ounce of Wasabi Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

COLORANT PREP:  Disperse 3 teaspoons of the titanium dioxide into 3 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.
Optional: To ensure the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Use a coffee grinder to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. 

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add 2.8 ounces of lye to 6 ounces of water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.

TWO: In a large glass bowl, combine and melt 6 ounces of coconut oil, 4 ounces of rice bran oil, 1 ounce of shea butter, 3 ounces of sweet almond oil, and 6 ounces of palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin trace.

THREE: Add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide, and use the stick blender to mix in thoroughly.

FOUR: Add the 1 ounce of Wasabi Fragrance Oil – it will turn bright yellow when it touches the soap batter, but that will fade. If the soap is still quite thin, use the stick blender to mix in the fragrance. If it’s becoming thick, use a whisk to mix it in.

FIVE: Pour a small amount of the soap into the Silicone Column Mold, and place the embeds in the center in whatever pattern you like.

SIX: Pour (or spoon) the soap into the mold in different areas to help the soap surround the embeds easily.
NOTE: As you can see, our soap got a little thick – we should have used the stick blender less. Aim for a thinner trace than this because it will be easier to pour the soap into the mold rather than spoon it in like we did.

SEVEN: Very carefully tap the mold on the counter to get rid of bubbles. Be careful to not tap the mold too hard, or the airlock can break and the mold can pop open. To prevent this, you can clamp the sides of the mold together.

EIGHT: Place the mold in the fridge for at least 4 hours. If the soap becomes too hot, it could warp the embeds or the white soap could develop glycerin rivers. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-2 days.

NINE: Unmold the soap. If the sides of the mold do not peel away easily, give it another day in the mold. Once unmolded, cut the soap into bars. Set them aside while you prepare the nori soap layer.

Make the Outer Layer

COLORANT PREP: Disperse 1 teaspoon of the Black Oxide into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then disperse 1 teaspoon of Green Chrome Oxide Pigment with 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

TOOL PREP: We found the Shaving Brush worked wonderfully for applying the black soap to the outside of each bar. If you don’t have one, a large paint brush can work as well. Have a cutting board or sheet of parchment/wax paper to lay each bar on once the soap is applied. You will have plenty of soap leftover, so have a small cavity mold to transfer the leftovers.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add 1 ounce of lye to 2.1 ounces of distilled water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.

TWO: In a large glass bowl, combine and melt the 2.1 ounces of coconut oil, 1.4 ounces of rice bran oil, 0.4 ounces of shea butter, 1.1 ounces of sweet almond oil, and 2.1 ounces of palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin trace.

THREE: Add 1.5 teaspoons dispersed Black Oxide and 1 teaspoon dispersed Green Chrome Oxide Pigment. Use the stick blender to fully mix in the colorants.

FOUR: Continue stick blending until you reach a medium trace that holds a peak.

FIVE: Using a brush, apply the black soap to the sides of each bar of soap. Use a combination of dabbing motions and brush strokes to create a textured appearance without a lot of the white soap showing through. Place each soap on a cutting board or sheet of parchment/wax paper to harden and dry.

SIX: Continue painting each soap until the outside of each is covered. Work somewhat quickly – the soap will continue to harden as it sits. Transfer the leftover soap batter to an individual cavity mold.

SEVEN: Allow the outside to harden for about 1-2 days before handling. Allow the soaps to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy.

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How to Make Sushi Soap

This project is inspired by our love of sushi.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 4 days days

Total Time 4 days days

Servings 2 pounds of soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

Sushi Embeds

• Four Mini Square Silicone Column Molds
• 5 oz. LCP White Melt and Pour Soap Base
• 11 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base
• Chrome Green Color Block
• Fizzy Lemonade Color Block
• Perfect Orange Color Block
• Fired Up Fuchsia Color Block
• Shimmer Merlot Sparkle Color Block

Sushi Base

• Silicone Column Mold
• 6 oz. Coconut Oil 30%
• 6 oz. Palm Oil 30%
• 4 oz. Rice Bran Oil 20%
• 1 oz. Shea Butter 5%
• 3 oz. Sweet Almond Oil 15%
• 6 oz. Distilled Water 10% water discount
• 2.8 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 1 oz. Wasabi Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide

Sushi Outer Layer

• 2.1 oz. Coconut Oil 30%
• 2.1 oz. Palm Oil 30%
• 1.4 oz. Rice Bran Oil 20%
• 0.4 oz. Shea Butter 5%
• 1.1 oz. Sweet Almond Oil 15%
• 1 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 2.1 oz. Distilled Water 10% water discount
• Black Oxide Pigment
• Green Chrome Oxide Pigment
• Optional: Shaving Brush

Instructions

Make the Embeds

• Chop 11 ounces of LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base into small uniform pieces. Then, chop 5 ounces of LCP White Melt and Pour Soap Base into small uniform pieces. Add the following amounts of soap base and color blocks to separate, heat-safe containers. Melt the soap and color blocks in the microwave separately using 10-20 second bursts.
• NOTE: If you have fewer than four Mini Square Silicone Column Molds, you’ll need to make the embeds in batches.

  Salmon Embed: 3.5 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base + 0.5 oz. LCP White Soap Base + equal amounts of Perfect Orange Color Block, Fired Up Fuchsia Color Block, and Fizzy Lemonade Color Block + a very small shaving of Shimmer Merlot Sparkle Color Block

  Orange Embed: 4 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base + Perfect Orange Color Block shavings

  Green Embed: 3.5 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base + 0.5 oz. LCP White Soap Base + equal amounts of Fizzy Lemonade Color Block and Chrome Green Color Block shavings

  Light Green Embed: 4 oz. LCP White Melt and Pour Soap Base + equal amounts of Fizzy Lemonade Color Block and Chrome Green Color Block shavings
• After melting one container of soap, immediately pour it into one of the Mini Square Silicone Column Molds. Place the mold into a sturdy and tall container to make sure the mold stays upright and the soap doesn’t pour out. Repeat until you’ve created all four embeds (green, light green, salmon, and orange). Allow the embeds to fully harden and cool for several hours.
• Remove the embeds from the molds. Trim the sides if necessary – we like using a Clean Up Tool. Use a sharp, non-serrated knife to cut the corners off the embeds as you see fit. We cut one corner off both green embeds and the salmon embed. Then we cut the orange embed into four equal pieces to look like carrots. Don’t worry too much about how you cut the embeds – the key is not keeping them a perfect square. Set aside to prep the base.

Make the Sushi Base

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 1 ounce of Wasabi Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

COLORANT PREP: Disperse 3 teaspoons of the titanium dioxide into 3 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps. Optional: To ensure the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Use a coffee grinder to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

• Slowly and carefully add 2.8 ounces of lye to 6 ounces of water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.
• In a large glass bowl, combine and melt 6 ounces of coconut oil, 4 ounces of rice bran oil, 1 ounce of shea butter, 3 ounces of sweet almond oil, and 6 ounces of palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin trace.
• Add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide, and use the stick blender to mix in thoroughly.
• Add the 1 ounce of Wasabi Fragrance Oil – it will turn bright yellow when it touches the soap batter, but that will fade. If the soap is still quite thin, use the stick blender to mix in the fragrance. If it’s becoming thick, use a whisk to mix it in.
• Pour a small amount of the soap into the Silicone Column Mold, and place the embeds in the center in whatever pattern you like.
• Pour (or spoon) the soap into the mold in different areas to help the soap surround the embeds easily. NOTE: As you can see, our soap got a little thick – we should have used the stick blender less. Aim for a thinner trace than this because it will be easier to pour the soap into the mold rather than spoon it in like we did.
• Very carefully tap the mold on the counter to get rid of bubbles. Be careful to not tap the mold too hard, or the airlock can break and the mold can pop open. To prevent this, you can clamp the sides of the mold together.
• Place the mold in the fridge for at least 4 hours. If the soap becomes too hot, it could warp the embeds or the white soap could develop glycerin rivers. Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-2 days.
• Unmold the soap. If the sides of the mold do not peel away easily, give it another day in the mold. Once unmolded, cut the soap into bars. Set them aside while you prepare the nori soap layer.

Make the Outer Layer

COLORANT PREP: Disperse 1 teaspoon of the Black Oxide into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then disperse 1 teaspoon of Green Chrome Oxide Pigment with 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

TOOL PREP: We found the Shaving Brush worked wonderfully for applying the black soap to the outside of each bar. If you don’t have one, a large paint brush can work as well. Have a cutting board or sheet of parchment/wax paper to lay each bar on once the soap is applied. You will have plenty of soap leftover, so have a small cavity mold to transfer the leftovers.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

• Slowly and carefully add 1 ounce of lye to 2.1 ounces of distilled water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
• In a large glass bowl, combine and melt the 2.1 ounces of coconut oil, 1.4 ounces of rice bran oil, 0.4 ounces of shea butter, 1.1 ounces of sweet almond oil, and 2.1 ounces of palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees F or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend the mixture to a thin trace.
• Add 1.5 teaspoons dispersed Black Oxide and 1 teaspoon dispersed Green Chrome Oxide Pigment. Use the stick blender to fully mix in the colorants.
• Continue stick blending until you reach a medium trace that holds a peak.
• Using a brush, apply the black soap to the sides of each bar of soap. Use a combination of dabbing motions and brush strokes to create a textured appearance without a lot of the white soap showing through. Place each soap on a cutting board or sheet of parchment/wax paper to harden and dry.
• Continue painting each soap until the outside of each is covered. Work somewhat quickly – the soap will continue to harden as it sits. Transfer the leftover soap batter to an individual cavity mold.
• Allow the outside to harden for about 1-2 days before handling. Allow the soaps to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy.

The post How to Make Sushi Soap appeared first on Soap Queen.

When the temperature starts to drop, nothing beats a glass of eggnog. Well, nothing except a glass of eggnog with a little splash of rum. If you’re a fan of that combination, you’ll love our new Spiked Eggnog Fragrance Oil. It has notes of vanilla, nutmeg, caramel, and rum. 

Those warm and comforting notes inspired this Eggnog Cold Process Soap. The base is made with fresh eggs, which add a creamy feeling to the bars. Then, shredded soap is added for texture – you can use any leftover scraps you have on hand. Finally, the base is topped with fluffy white soap and cute embeds colored with cocoa powder. The final bars make perfect holiday gifts for your loved ones.

This project requires a good understanding of temperature. This soap is created at slightly lower temperatures (around 90 ° F) to prevent the egg yolks from “cooking” in the soap batter. To further prevent this, a portion of the soaping oils are slowly introduced to the egg yolks prior to adding them to the soap at trace. This helps slowly raise the temperature of the eggs. It’s a similar process to creating hollandaise sauce.

The cooler temperatures also prevent the soap frosting from losing its shape and prevents extreme glycerin rivers. We did experience some minimal glycerin rivers in the soap frosting due to the amount of titanium dioxide. Learn more about glycerin rivers here. If you live in a very hot climate, you may want to place this soap in the fridge or freezer once it’s in the mold for 5-24 hours.

Embeds:
2 Small 9 Ball Silicone Molds
1 oz. Cocoa Butter
2.5 oz. Coconut Oil
4 oz. Olive Oil
2.5 oz. Palm Oil
1.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye (2% superfat so they harden more quickly)
3.3 oz. Distilled Water
1 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder

Base:
5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
Silicone Liner for 5 Pound Wood Mold
4 Egg Yolks
5.4 oz. Cocoa Butter
13.5 oz. Coconut Oil
21.6 oz. Olive Oil
13.5 oz. Palm Oil
7.6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye (5% superfat)
17.8 oz. Distilled Water
3.5 oz. Spiked Eggnog Fragrance Oil
Disposable Frosting Bag
4B Frosting Bag

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Make the Embeds

If you’ve never made cold process soap before, stop here. We highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on cold process soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including Pure Soapmaking. You can also check out the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add .5 teaspoons sodium lactate.

TWO: In a container large enough to fit all your ingredients, combine and melt the coconut oil, cocoa butter, olive oil, and palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Add the cocoa powder directly to the oils, and stir to get rid of chunks. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until a very thin trace. Because this recipe contains plenty of cocoa butter, this will take about 30-60 seconds of blending and stirring with the stick blender.

THREE: Once the oils and lye solution are completely mixed, carefully pour the soap batter into each cavity of both Small 9 Ball Silicone Molds. Once each cavity is full, pour the remainder into a separate mold. The exact shape of the mold is not extremely important because this soap will be shredded once it’s firm. We poured our leftover batter into the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold.

FOUR: Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-2 days. If you did not use sodium lactate, it may take an extra day to remove the soap. Remove the soap from each mold. Set the small spheres aside. Then, use a cheese grater to grate the soap poured into the “extra” mold. These shreds will be used in the base of the soap and the spheres will go on top. Set all the soap aside while you prep the ingredients for the base.

Create the Base

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize the colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Disperse 6 teaspoons of the titanium dioxide into 4 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps. The color dispersion is a little more concentrated than usual to avoid adding too much extra oil. In a separate container, mix 1/2 teaspoon of Yellow Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 3.5 ounces of Spiked Eggnog Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

FROSTING BAG PREP: Cut off the tip of the disposable frosting bag and insert the frosting tip. Set aside.

EGG PREP: Separate four egg yolks from the whites. Place the egg yolks into a small container and whisk them together until smooth.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.

TWO: Melt and combine the coconut oil, cocoa butter, olive oil, and palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning) into a large container. Allow the oils to cool to about 90 ° F. Then, add a small amount of the oils (about 1 ounce) to the egg yolks and quickly whisk. You want to slowly raise the temperature of the egg yolks. If the oil is added to the egg yolks while it’s too hot, you’ll have chunks of cooked eggs. Keep adding small amounts of oil and whisking until the egg yolks reach a temperature of about 80 ° F and have a smooth, liquid texture. Set the eggs aside.

THREE: Check the temperature of the lye solution. It should be fairly cool – about 90 ° F or below. Slowly pour the lye solution into the large container of oils and begin pulsing with the stick blender. Use the blender to stir the oils in addition to pulsing the blender. Continue blending for about 30-60 seconds, or until the mixture looks like thin pudding.

FOUR: Slowly begin pouring the egg mixture into the soap batter, while using your other hand to pulse the stick blender to quickly incorporate the eggs. Continue this process until all the egg yolks have been added.

FIVE: Once all the egg yolks have been added, pour about 800 mL of the batter into a separate container. Add 1 tablespoon of dispersed titanium dioxide into this container. Use a whisk to fully mix in the titanium dioxide and set the soap aside. This will be the frosting for the top.

SIX: Add the remaining dispersed titanium dioxide to the other large container of soap. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorant. Then, add 1/4 teaspoon of dispersed Yellow Oxide and mix in fully with a whisk.

SEVEN: Pour all the measured Spiked Eggnog Fragrance Oil into the large container of soap and mix in. Do not add any fragrance to the 800 mL of soap. The smaller container of soap will be the frosting and should be white. Adding fragrance oil to this soap will cause it to discolor.

If the large container of soap is still a very thin texture, pulse the soap with the stick blender a few times to thicken it.

EIGHT: Add all of the shredded brown soap to the large container, and use a whisk or spatula to fully mix in.

NINE: Pour all of the soap in the large container into the mold. Use a spoon or spatula to spread the soap evenly throughout the mold. Tap the mold on the counter to help get rid of bubbles.

TEN: Check the texture of the white soap. This soap needs to be thick enough to hold shape but smooth enough to pipe. Test the consistency by adding a small amount of the soap to the prepped bag and piping a dollop into the mold. If it holds its shape, you’re ready to pipe. If the soap falls flat and loses the details of the frosting tip, allow the soap to sit in the container for a few more minutes.

Once the soap is thick enough to pipe, transfer a portion of the soap into the frosting bag.

ELEVEN: Begin by piping small dollops of soap down the middle of the mold. Then, pipe dollops on either side to create rows of three dollops.

TWELVE: Finally, pipe a larger dollop of soap on top of the center dollop to create height. There is no right or wrong way to pipe soap frosting – just have fun with it. If you need some piping inspiration, Katie of Royalty Soaps creates amazing frosting on her bars. Ours pale in comparison!

THIRTEEN: Once you’re done piping, place a soap sphere embed into the center of each dollop. Then, sprinkle the top with a light dusting of cinnamon powder. Save the leftover embeds for your next batch.
Note: Cinnamon can cause irritation, so if you have sensitive skin you can use a sprinkling of mica instead. Cappuccino Mica is a good option.

FOURTEEN: Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent soda ash. This soap needs to be kept cool, so don’t insulate it. It can be left at room temperature of about 70 ° F or cooler. If you live in a hot climate you may want to place the soap in the fridge or freezer for 5-24 hours. Then, remove from the fridge or freezer and allow it to stay in the mold for about 2 days. Unmold and cut into bars. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

Print

Eggnog Cold Process Soap DIY

This recipe is scented with new Spiked Eggnog Fragrance Oil, which has notes of vanilla, nutmeg, caramel, and rum.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 5 pounds of soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

Embeds

• 2 Small 9 Ball Silicone Molds
• 1 oz. Cocoa Butter
• 2.5 oz. Coconut Oil
• 4 oz. Olive Oil
• 2.5 oz. Palm Oil
• 1.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye 2% superfat so they harden more quickly
• 3.3 oz. Distilled Water
• 1 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder

Base

• 5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
• Silicone Liner for 5 Pound Wood Mold
• 4 Egg Yolks
• 5.4 oz. Cocoa Butter
• 13.5 oz. Coconut Oil
• 21.6 oz. Olive Oil
• 13.5 oz. Palm Oil
• 7.6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye 5% superfat
• 17.8 oz. Distilled Water
• 3.5 oz. Spiked Eggnog Fragrance Oil
• Disposable Frosting Bag
• 4 B Frosting Bag

Instructions

Make the Embeds

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

• Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add .5 teaspoons sodium lactate.
• In a container large enough to fit all your ingredients, combine and melt the coconut oil, cocoa butter, olive oil, and palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Add the cocoa powder directly to the oils, and stir to get rid of chunks. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until a very thin trace. Because this recipe contains plenty of cocoa butter, this will take about 30-60 seconds of blending and stirring with the stick blender.
• Once the oils and lye solution are completely mixed, carefully pour the soap batter into each cavity of both Small 9 Ball Silicone Molds. Once each cavity is full, pour the remainder into a separate mold. The exact shape of the mold is not extremely important because this soap will be shredded once it’s firm. We poured our leftover batter into the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold.
• Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-2 days. If you did not use sodium lactate, it may take an extra day to remove the soap. Remove the soap from each mold. Set the small spheres aside. Then, use a cheese grater to grate the soap poured into the “extra” mold. These shreds will be used in the base of the soap and the spheres will go on top. Set all the soap aside while you prep the ingredients for the base.

Create the Base

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize the colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Disperse 6 teaspoons of the titanium dioxide into 4 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps. The color dispersion is a little more concentrated than usual to avoid adding too much extra oil. In a separate container, mix 1/2 teaspoon of Yellow Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 3.5 ounces of Spiked Eggnog Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

FROSTING BAG PREP: Cut off the tip of the disposable frosting bag and insert the frosting tip. Set aside.

EGG PREP: Separate four egg yolks from the whites. Place the egg yolks into a small container and whisk them together until smooth.

• Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.
• Melt and combine the coconut oil, cocoa butter, olive oil, and palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning) into a large container. Allow the oils to cool to about 90 ° F. Then, add a small amount of the oils (about 1 ounce) to the egg yolks and quickly whisk. You want to slowly raise the temperature of the egg yolks. If the oil is added to the egg yolks while it’s too hot, you’ll have chunks of cooked eggs. Keep adding small amounts of oil and whisking until the egg yolks reach a temperature of about 80 ° F and have a smooth, liquid texture. Set the eggs aside.
• Check the temperature of the lye solution. It should be fairly cool – about 90 ° F or below. Slowly pour the lye solution into the large container of oils and begin pulsing with the stick blender. Use the blender to stir the oils in addition to pulsing the blender. Continue blending for about 30-60 seconds, or until the mixture looks like thin pudding.
• Slowly begin pouring the egg mixture into the soap batter, while using your other hand to pulse the stick blender to quickly incorporate the eggs. Continue this process until all the egg yolks have been added.
• Once all the egg yolks have been added, pour about 800 mL of the batter into a separate container. Add 1 tablespoon of dispersed titanium dioxide into this container. Use a whisk to fully mix in the titanium dioxide and set the soap aside. This will be the frosting for the top.
• Add the remaining dispersed titanium dioxide to the other large container of soap. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorant. Then, add 1/4 teaspoon of dispersed Yellow Oxide and mix in fully with a whisk.
• Pour all the measured Spiked Eggnog Fragrance Oil into the large container of soap and mix in. Do not add any fragrance to the 800 mL of soap. The smaller container of soap will be the frosting and should be white. Adding fragrance oil to this soap will cause it to discolor. If the large container of soap is still a very thin texture, pulse the soap with the stick blender a few times to thicken it.
• Add all of the shredded brown soap to the large container, and use a whisk or spatula to fully mix in.
• Pour all of the soap in the large container into the mold. Use a spoon or spatula to spread the soap evenly throughout the mold. Tap the mold on the counter to help get rid of bubbles.
• Check the texture of the white soap. This soap needs to be thick enough to hold shape but smooth enough to pipe. Test the consistency by adding a small amount of the soap to the prepped bag and piping a dollop into the mold. If it holds its shape, you’re ready to pipe. If the soap falls flat and loses the details of the frosting tip, allow the soap to sit in the container for a few more minutes. Once the soap is thick enough to pipe, transfer a portion of the soap into the frosting bag.
• Begin by piping small dollops of soap down the middle of the mold. Then, pipe dollops on either side to create rows of three dollops.
• Finally, pipe a larger dollop of soap on top of the center dollop to create height. There is no right or wrong way to pipe soap frosting – just have fun with it. If you need some piping inspiration, Katie of Royalty Soaps creates amazing frosting on her bars. Ours pale in comparison!
• Once you’re done piping, place a soap sphere embed into the center of each dollop. Then, sprinkle the top with a light dusting of cinnamon powder. Save the leftover embeds for your next batch. Note: Cinnamon can cause irritation, so if you have sensitive skin you can use a sprinkling of mica instead. Cappuccino Mica is a good option.
• Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent soda ash. This soap needs to be kept cool, so don’t insulate it. It can be left at room temperature of about 70 ° F or cooler. If you live in a hot climate you may want to place the soap in the fridge or freezer for 5-24 hours. Then, remove from the fridge or freezer and allow it to stay in the mold for about 2 days. Unmold and cut into bars. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

The post Eggnog Cold Process Soap DIY appeared first on Soap Queen.

This Spin Swirl Soap is inspired by the beautiful layers and textures of agate stones. The design is created with a technique known as the “Spin Swirl.” It’s an advanced technique that involves layering colors of soap in the mold. Once the mold is full, it’s spun on a Lazy Susan or directly on the counter. The spinning motion causes the soap to swirl together. See the spin swirl in action here.

Once the soap is swirled, pieces of LCP Melt and Pour Soap Base are sprinkled into the corner of each bar. LCP soap base has less glycerin than regular melt and pour soap, which helps prevent sweating. But, because cold process soap needs to cure unwrapped, you may still experience some glycerin dew. Our bars got a little bit, but the glycerin dew actually added some extra “sparkle” to the embeds!

The key to the spin swirl is formulating a recipe that gives you plenty of time to pour all the layers. Once the layers are poured, the soap needs to be liquid enough to move during the spinning process. This recipe contains plenty of slow-moving oils like olive and apricot kernel. It also features the new Amethyst Fragrance Oil, which doesn’t accelerate in cold process soap.

If the soap needs to be fluid for a long period of time, you may be wondering why there is a water discount. The first time we made this soap, we experienced heavy soda ash on the bars. Soda ash is more likely to occur if the soap is poured thin and temperatures are kept cool, like this batch. A water discount is the best way to prevent soda ash. Luckily, even with the water discount, we were still able to create a spin swirl. Just remember to use your stick blender sparingly and work quickly.

What You’ll Need:
Embeds:
 10 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap
Lavender Mica
Snowflake Sparkle Mica

Base
18 Bar Birchwood Mold
Silicone Liner for 18 Bar Mold
8.1 oz. Apricot Kernel Oil (15%)
13.5 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
21.6 oz. Olive Oil (40%)
10.8 oz. Palm Oil (20%)
7.6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
15.1 oz. Distilled Water (15% water discount)
3.5 oz. Amethyst Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
Black Oxide
Queen’s Purple Mica
Lavender Mica
Radiant Plum Colorant

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Make the Embeds

ONE: Chop and melt 10 ounces of LCP Clear Soap Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Once melted, add 1/4 tsp. of Lavender Mica. Stir to thoroughly mix in the colorant. Pour the soap into a mold. The exact shape doesn’t matter because the soap will be cut into pieces. We poured the soap into the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold. Spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to get rid of bubbles and allow to fully cool and harden.

TWO: Once the soap is completely cool and firm, remove from the mold and cut into small pieces. Don’t worry about making them perfect. In fact, they look better when they are random shapes and sizes. Dust the embeds with Lavender Mica and Snowflake Sparkle Mica. Mix to completely cover the embeds. Set aside.

Make the Base

If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my book, Pure Soapmaking. You can also check out the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Disperse 1 teaspoon of the colorant into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil).

Then in separate containers, disperse 1 teaspoon of the Lavender Mica, Queen’s Purple Mica, and Radiant Plum Colorant into 1 tablespoon of lightweight liquid oil. Finally, disperse 1/2 teaspoon of Black Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 3.5 ounces of Amethyst Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.

TWO: Melt and combine the coconut oil, apricot kernel oil, olive oil, and palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until a very thin trace.

THREE: Be careful to not over emulsify the batter. The soap batter should be very thin. You can always stick blend more later. Split the batch into five containers. Three of the containers should contain 400 mL, one should contain 600 mL, and the last should contain 300 mL.

FOUR: Add the dispersed colorants to the five containers in the following amounts. To work as quickly as possible, we added the colorants directly into the containers first. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorants.

• Container A (400 mL): All dispersed Radiant Plum Colorant
• Container B (400 mL): 2 tsp. dispersed Lavender Mica
• Container C (400 mL): 2 1/2 tsp. dispersed Queen’s Purple Mica
• Container D (600 mL): 2 tsp. dispersed titanium dioxide + 1/2 tsp. dispersed Lavender Mica
• Container E (300 mL): 1 tsp. dispersed Queen’s Purple Mica + 1/8 tsp. dispersed Black Oxide

FIVE: Add the fragrance oil blend proportionally between the containers (it’s okay to eyeball it). Use a whisk to thoroughly mix in the fragrance oil. The batter should still be very thin.

SIX: Now it’s time to pour. We like to place the mold on a Lazy Susan to help spin the soap. The order in which you pour the colors into the mold is up to you. For this soap, we did not stick to the same color order throughout. We just poured the colors into the mold depending on what looked good. With each pour, keep in mind there is less dark purple soap and more white than the other colors. Pouring the white more frequently between the purple shades gives nice contrast.

Pour a shade of purple soap into one corner of the mold. Count to three during the pour to help pour an even amount. Pour a different color in the opposite corner of the mold, counting to three to help pour evenly. Start pouring various colors into both corners of the mold. As you layer the colors, the soap is pushed toward the center of the mold. Work as quickly as possible during this process, as the soap will continue to thicken up with time. Every now and then, give the colors a whisk to help keep them fluid.

SEVEN: Once the colors meet in the center, begin pouring soap into the empty corners of the mold. Every now and then, give the mold a little shake to disperse the soap. Working quickly, continue to pour the soap in the mold until it’s gone.

EIGHT: Give the mold a few firm taps on the counter to help eliminate air bubbles and to help the layers of soap settle. Begin to spin the Lazy Susan, stopping it quickly to help give the soap movement. You want the centrifugal force created by the spin and stop movement to move the soap in various directions within the mold. Be careful not to spin too hard, or the soap may spill out of the mold.

NINE: Continue swirling until you’re happy with the pattern. Be careful to not over-swirl the soap, or the colors will muddle together.

TEN: Once you’re happy with the swirl, place the divider set into the mold until it reaches the bottom. Begin placing the melt and pour pieces into the corner of each bar. Use your fingers to gently press the embeds into the soap to help them stick.

TWELVE: Continue adding the melt and pour pieces to each cavity. Once you’re done, spray the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent soda ash. The melt and pour embeds can melt if they become too hot, so store this soap in a cool place. Allow them to sit in the dividers for at least 3 days. Because this is a soft recipe and the soap was poured at a thin trace, it may take a little longer to unmold. But, the water discount helps speed up the process.

After 3 days, check to see if the silicone mold pulls away easily from the soap. If it does, remove the soap from the silicone mold. If it doesn’t, give the soap another day or two to harden. Gently remove the soap from the dividers. To prevent tearing, do not pull the dividers. Push the soap down, or slide the dividers up or down to remove the soap without tearing. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks, and enjoy!

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Agate Spin Swirl Soap Tutorial

This Spin Swirl Soap is inspired by the colors and textures of agates.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6 pounds

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

Embeds:

• 10 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap
• Lavender Mica
• Snowflake Sparkle Mica

Base

• 18 Bar Birchwood Mold
• Silicone Liner for 18 Bar Mold
• 8.1 oz. Apricot Kernel Oil 15%
• 13.5 oz. Coconut Oil 25%
• 21.6 oz. Olive Oil 40%
• 10.8 oz. Palm Oil 20%
• 7.6 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 15.1 oz. Distilled Water 15% water discount
• 3.5 oz. Amethyst Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide
• Black Oxide
• Queen’s Purple Mica
• Lavender Mica
• Radiant Plum Colorant

Instructions

Make the Embeds

• Chop and melt 10 ounces of LCP Clear Soap Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Once melted, add 1/4 tsp. of Lavender Mica. Stir to thoroughly mix in the colorant. Pour the soap into a mold. The exact shape doesn’t matter because the soap will be cut into pieces. We poured the soap into the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold. Spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to get rid of bubbles and allow to fully cool and harden.
• Once the soap is completely cool and firm, remove from the mold and cut into small pieces. Don’t worry about making them perfect. In fact, they look better when they are random shapes and sizes. Dust the embeds with Lavender Mica and Snowflake Sparkle Mica. Mix to completely cover the embeds. Set aside.

Make the Base

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Disperse 1 teaspoon of the colorant into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers, disperse 1 teaspoon of the Lavender Mica, Queen’s Purple Mica, and Radiant Plum Colorant into 1 tablespoon of lightweight liquid oil. Finally, disperse 1/2 teaspoon of Black Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 3.5 ounces of Amethyst Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.

• Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 3.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.
• Melt and combine the coconut oil, apricot kernel oil, olive oil, and palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until a very thin trace.
• Be careful to not over emulsify the batter. The soap batter should be very thin. You can always stick blend more later. Split the batch into five containers. Three of the containers should contain 400 mL, one should contain 600 mL, and the last should contain 300 mL.
• Add the dispersed colorants to the five containers in the following amounts. To work as quickly as possible, we added the colorants directly into the containers first. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorants.

  Container A (400 mL): All dispersed Radiant Plum Colorant

  Container B (400 mL): 2 tsp. dispersed Lavender Mica

  Container C (400 mL): 2 1/2 tsp. dispersed Queen’s Purple Mica

  Container D (600 mL): 2 tsp. dispersed titanium dioxide + 1/2 tsp. dispersed Lavender Mica

  Container E (300 mL): 1 tsp. dispersed Queen’s Purple Mica + 1/8 tsp. dispersed Black Oxide
• Add the fragrance oil blend proportionally between the containers (it’s okay to eyeball it). Use a whisk to thoroughly mix in the fragrance oil. The batter should still be very thin.
• Now it’s time to pour. We like to place the mold on a Lazy Susan to help spin the soap. The order in which you pour the colors into the mold is up to you. For this soap, we did not stick to the same color order throughout. We just poured the colors into the mold depending on what looked good. With each pour, keep in mind there is less dark purple soap and more white than the other colors. Pouring the white more frequently between the purple shades gives nice contrast. Pour a shade of purple soap into one corner of the mold. Count to three during the pour to help pour an even amount. Pour a different color in the opposite corner of the mold, counting to three to help pour evenly. Start pouring various colors into both corners of the mold. As you layer the colors, the soap is pushed toward the center of the mold. Work as quickly as possible during this process, as the soap will continue to thicken up with time. Every now and then, give the colors a whisk to help keep them fluid.
• Once the colors meet in the center, begin pouring soap into the empty corners of the mold. Every now and then, give the mold a little shake to disperse the soap. Working quickly, continue to pour the soap in the mold until it’s gone.
• Give the mold a few firm taps on the counter to help eliminate air bubbles and to help the layers of soap settle. Begin to spin the Lazy Susan, stopping it quickly to help give the soap movement. You want the centrifugal force created by the spin and stop movement to move the soap in various directions within the mold. Be careful not to spin too hard, or the soap may spill out of the mold.
• Continue swirling until you’re happy with the pattern. Be careful to not over-swirl the soap, or the colors will muddle together.
• Once you’re happy with the swirl, place the divider set into the mold until it reaches the bottom. Begin placing the melt and pour pieces into the corner of each bar. Use your fingers to gently press the embeds into the soap to help them stick.
• Continue adding the melt and pour pieces to each cavity. Once you’re done, spray the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent soda ash. The melt and pour embeds can melt if they become too hot, so store this soap in a cool place. Allow them to sit in the dividers for at least 3 days. Because this is a soft recipe and the soap was poured at a thin trace, it may take a little longer to unmold. But, the water discount helps speed up the process. After 3 days, check to see if the silicone mold pulls away easily from the soap. If it does, remove the soap from the silicone mold. If it doesn’t, give the soap another day or two to harden. Gently remove the soap from the dividers. To prevent tearing, do not pull the dividers. Push the soap down, or slide the dividers up or down to remove the soap without tearing. Allow the soap to cure for 4-6 weeks, and enjoy!

The post Agate Spin Swirl Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

Nature is full of inspiration. This Cactus Flower Soap was inspired by the colors and textures of a blooming cactus, along with our new Cactus Flower Fragrance Oil. It’s fresh and green take on a floral scent, with notes of violet petals, lemon, and white musk. It behaves wonderfully in soap and gives these bars the perfect floral scent.

This beautiful photograph led us in designing the colors, layers, and textures of this soap. The first layer is created using Bright Blue Jean Colorant, with poppy seeds to mimic the texture of a cactus. An activated charcoal line separates the white and blue layers. Finally, green melt and pour embeds and soap “flowers” add color and interest.

The melt and pour embeds do need to be created several hours in advance to allow them to cool and harden. We recommend using LCP White Melt and Pour Soap Base when embedding into cold process soap. LCP stands for “like cold process” and refers to melt and pour soap that contains less glycerin. It melts at a slightly higher temperature, which helps prevent some morphing or melting if the soap goes through a hot gel phase. LCP bases are also less likely to develop glycerin dew.

This recipe should be kept cool to prevent the embeds from melting. A slightly lower soaping temperature will also prevent glycerin rivers from forming in the white layer. This recipe does use a 10% water discount to further prevent glycerin rivers. Lower soaping temperatures also help achieve a thicker texture and prevent the soap flowers from melting. If you live in a very hot climate, you’ll probably want to place this soap in the fridge for several hours.

What You’ll Need:
Embeds
7 oz. LCP White Melt and Pour Base
Chrome Green Color Block

Base
5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
65 oz. Lots of Lather Quick Mix
9.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
19.3 oz. Distilled Water (10% water discount)
4 oz. Cactus Flower Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
Bright Blue Jean Colorant
Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant
Fizzy Lemonade Colorant
Green Chrome Oxide
2 tsp. Activated Charcoal
2 tsp. Poppy Seeds
1M Frosting Tip
Disposable Frosting Bag
Powder Duster

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Make the Embeds:

ONE: Chop and melt 7 ounces LCP White Melt and Pour Soap in the microwave using 15-second bursts. Add shavings of the Chrome Green Color Block to achieve a soft green color. Pour the soap into a mold of your choice. The exact shape is not super important because the soap will be chopped into small pieces. We used the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold and filled up two cavities. Wait for the bars to cool and harden.

TWO: Once the melt and pour has fully cooled and hardened, remove from the mold. Use a sharp, non-serrated knife to chop the soap into long, rectangle pieces. The exact size of each embed is up to you. Set pieces of soap aside until you’re ready to use.

Make the Base

If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Pure Soapmaking. You can also check out the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 4 teaspoons of the colorant into 4 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Fizzy Lemonade Colorant, Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant and Chrome Green Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. The disperse 1 teaspoon Bright Blue Jean Colorant into 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to help get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 4 ounces of Cactus Flower into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Insert the silicone liner into the wood mold.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.

TWO: Fully melt the entire bag of Lots of Lather Quick Mix until completely clear with no cloudiness. Shake the bag to mix up all the oils. Measure 65 oz. into your soaping bowl. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 4 tsp. sodium lactate.

THREE: Once you’ve reached a thin trace, add all the Cactus Flower Fragrance Oil to the batter. Use your stick blender to stir in the fragrance and then use short bursts to further incorporate.

FOUR: Pour 200 mL of soap into two separate containers. To one container, add 1/2 teaspoon dispersed Fizzy Lemonade Colorant. To the other, add 1/2 teaspoon dispersed Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant. Use a whisk or spoon to fully incorporate the colors. Set the soap aside.

FIVE: Pour 30 ounces of uncolored soap into a separate container. To this container, add 1 tablespoon of the dispersed Bright Blue Jean Colorant and 1/8 teaspoon dispersed Chrome Green Oxide. Use the stick blender to mix in the colorants. If the soap is still at thin trace, stick blend until you reach medium trace.

SIX: Whisk 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds into the blue soap.

SEVEN: Pour all of the blue soap into the mold. Tap the mold on the counter firmly to release air bubbles. If the soap is thick enough to hold its shape, slide a spoon down the length of the mold several times to create a wavy texture in the soap.
NOTE: If the soap is not holding its shape, allow it to thicken in the mold and proceed to step nine. After mixing the white soap, return to this step to create texture and create the mica line. 

EIGHT: Put a few teaspoons of activated charcoal into the powder duster. Lightly dust the charcoal onto the blue soap. Apply only a light layer to the soap, or the layers may separate once cut. Set the mold aside.

NINE: To the remaining soap, add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide. Adding the extra oil will cause the trace to thin. The soap needs to be a thick texture to support the embeds. Use the stick blender to thicken the soap, and then pour it into the mold. Save a small amount of white soap for the next step. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help disperse any bubbles. Use the back of a small spoon to spread the soap evenly into the mold.

TEN: Begin placing the melt and pour embeds into the soap. We placed ours randomly, but you can concentrate the pieces on the side of the soap flowers if you’d like. Continue inserting pieces until the entire soap is filled. Use the small amount of your leftover white soap to cover the green pieces. Use a spoon to smooth the top.

ELEVEN: Transfer the yellow soap into the pink soap, and use a spoon to very gently stir them together. Don’t mix the colors together completely.

TWELVE: Cut off the tip of the disposable frosting bag and insert the frosting tip. Test the consistency of the pink and yellow soap. It should be a thick trace, and able to hold its shape. If it’s not thick enough, let the soap sit in the container for 5-10 minutes and check the consistency again. We waited about 15 minutes for the soap to thicken before piping the flowers.

THIRTEEN: Once the soap is thick enough to pipe, transfer it into the frosting bag. Pipe little flowers down the length of the mold, concentrating them on one side. If you’d like, you can space them out, placing a flower in the center of each bar. Once you’re done piping flowers, pipe the leftover soap onto a silicone mold or onto any nonstick surface.

FOURTEEN: Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Because you don’t want the flowers or melt and pour embeds to melt, keep this soap in a cool area. Don’t cover and insulate. If you live in a hot climate, you can place the mold into the fridge for about 3-4 hours. Then remove the soap to sit and harden overnight. After about 2-3 days, unmold the soap and cut into bars. Allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

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Cactus Flower Soap Tutorial

This fun and funky soap is inspired by cactus flowers.

Course Cold process soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 7 oz. LCP White Melt and Pour Base
• Chrome Green Color Block
• 5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom
• Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold
• 65 oz. Lots of Lather Quick Mix
• 9.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 19.3 oz. Distilled Water 10% water discount
• 4 oz. Cactus Flower Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide
• Bright Blue Jean Colorant
• Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant
• Fizzy Lemonade Colorant
• Green Chrome Oxide
• 2 tsp. Activated Charcoal
• 2 tsp. Poppy Seeds
• 1 M Frosting Tip
• Disposable Frosting Bag
• Powder Duster

Instructions

Make the Embeds

• Chop and melt 7 ounces LCP White Melt and Pour Soap in the microwave using 15-second bursts. Add shavings of the Chrome Green Color Block to achieve a soft green color. Pour the soap into a mold of your choice. The exact shape is not super important because the soap will be chopped into small pieces. We used the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold and filled up two cavities. Wait for the bars to cool and harden.
• Once the melt and pour has fully cooled and hardened, remove from the mold. Use a sharp, non-serrated knife to chop the soap into long, rectangle pieces. The exact size of each embed is up to you. Set pieces of soap aside until you're ready to use.

Make the Base

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 4 teaspoons of the colorant into 4 tablespoons of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in separate containers, disperse 1/2 teaspoon Fizzy Lemonade Colorant, Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant and Chrome Green Oxide into 1/2 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. The disperse 1 teaspoon Bright Blue Jean Colorant into 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to help get rid of any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 4 ounces of Cactus Flower into a glass, fragrance oil safe container. Set aside.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Insert the silicone liner into the wood mold.

• Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
• Fully melt the entire bag of Lots of Lather Quick Mix until completely clear with no cloudiness. Shake the bag to mix up all the oils. Measure 65 oz. into your soaping bowl. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 4 tsp. sodium lactate.
• Once you've reached a thin trace, add all the Cactus Flower Fragrance Oil to the batter. Use your stick blender to stir in the fragrance and then use short bursts to further incorporate.
• Pour 200 mL of soap into two separate containers. To one container, add 1/2 teaspoon dispersed Fizzy Lemonade Colorant. To the other, add 1/2 teaspoon dispersed Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant. Use a whisk or spoon to fully incorporate the colors. Set the soap aside.
• Pour 30 ounces of uncolored soap into a separate container. To this container, add 1 tablespoon of the dispersed Bright Blue Jean Colorant and 1/8 teaspoon dispersed Chrome Green Oxide. Use the stick blender to mix in the colorants. If the soap is still at thin trace, stick blend until you reach medium trace.
• Whisk 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds into the blue soap.
• Pour all of the blue soap into the mold. Tap the mold on the counter firmly to release air bubbles. If the soap is thick enough to hold its shape, slide a spoon down the length of the mold several times to create a wavy texture in the soap. NOTE: If the soap is not holding its shape, allow it to thicken in the mold and proceed to step nine. After mixing the white soap, return to this step to create texture and create the mica line.
• Put a few teaspoons of activated charcoal into the powder duster. Lightly dust the charcoal onto the blue soap. Apply only a light layer to the soap, or the layers may separate once cut. Set the mold aside.
• To the remaining soap, add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide. Adding the extra oil will cause the trace to thin. The soap needs to be a thick texture to support the embeds. Use the stick blender to thicken the soap, and then pour it into the mold. Save a small amount of white soap for the next step. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help disperse any bubbles. Use the back of a small spoon to spread the soap evenly into the mold.
• Begin placing the melt and pour embeds into the soap. We placed ours randomly, but you can concentrate the pieces on the side of the soap flowers if you'd like. Continue inserting pieces until the entire soap is filled. Use the small amount of your leftover white soap to cover the green pieces. Use a spoon to smooth the top.
• Transfer the yellow soap into the pink soap, and use a spoon to very gently stir them together. Don't mix the colors together completely.
• Cut off the tip of the disposable frosting bag and insert the frosting tip. Test the consistency of the pink and yellow soap. It should be a thick trace, and able to hold its shape. If it's not thick enough, let the soap sit in the container for 5-10 minutes and check the consistency again. We waited about 15 minutes for the soap to thicken before piping the flowers.
• Once the soap is thick enough to pipe, transfer it into the frosting bag. Pipe little flowers down the length of the mold, concentrating them on one side. If you'd like, you can space them out, placing a flower in the center of each bar. Once you're done piping flowers, pipe the leftover soap onto a silicone mold or onto any nonstick surface.
• Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Because you don't want the flowers or melt and pour embeds to melt, keep this soap in a cool area. Don't cover and insulate. If you live in a hot climate, you can place the mold into the fridge for about 3-4 hours. Then remove the soap to sit and harden overnight. After about 2-3 days, unmold the soap and cut into bars. Allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

The post Cactus Flower Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

When I was writing Pure Soapmaking, I knew I wanted a really unique looking bar of soap. I also wanted a recipe that included several techniques, including embeds and infusions. That’s where this Annatto-Yarrow Soap with Embeds comes in! It’s a fun and funky bar made with natural colorants and essential oils.

This recipe does require some preparation, and the embeds will need to be made at least 2 days ahead of time. They’re colored with spirulina powder and scented with fresh bergamot essential oil. Those embeds are placed into the base, which is colored with an annatto seed infusion. It also has poppy seeds, which adds exfoliating properties to the bar. Calendula is placed on top for a finishing touch. The combination of bergamot essential oil and rosemary essential oil creates an earthy and refreshing blend.

What You’ll Need:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold

Embeds:
1 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
2.3 oz. Distilled Water
1.8 oz. Palm Oil (25%)
1.8 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
0.5 oz. Mango Butter (7%)
3 oz. Olive Oil Pomace (43%)
Spirulina Powder
Yarrow Powder
0.3 oz. Bergamot Essential Oil
Optional: Sodium Lactate

Base Soap:
4.7 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
11.2 oz. Distilled Water
6.8 oz. Palm Oil (20%)
8.5 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
10.2 oz. Olive Oil Pure (30%)
6.8 oz. Rice Bran Oil (20%)
1.7 oz. Chia Seed Oil (5%)
Poppy Seeds
Annatto Seeds
Calendula
0.8 oz. Bergamot Essential Oil
0.8 oz. Rosemary Essential Oil
Optional: Sodium Lactate

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

The post Annatto-Yarrow Soap with Embeds on Soap Queen TV appeared first on Soap Queen.

Crafty inspiration can come from anywhere. For the past few weeks, we have been sharing projects inspired by lots of shimmer and shine, including the Romantic Rose Gold Melt & Pour Bars and Sparkling Champagne Cold Process Cupcakes on Soap Queen TV. When brainstorming sparkly cold process designs, I began to think about how “sparkle” is made in nature. This led me to thinking about mining for gold…and voilà! The design for this project came together. See? Inspiration can really come from anywhere. =)

For this Gold Mine Cold Process soap, layers of mica and melt and pour embeds create the look of gold specks within a mine. The top is embellished with King’s Gold Mica painting and more embeds. If you’d like to learn more about how to mica paint, check out this blog post. Love the gold shimmer against the stormy gray base? The Black, White and Gold All Over Cold Process Soap features a slightly different take on the mica painting technique. Scented with a combination of Pure Honey and Sensuous Sandalwood Fragrance Oils, this soap smells warm, sweet and alluring.

What You’ll Need:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold
3.8 oz. Canola Oil
.8 oz. Castor Oil
1.9 oz. Cocoa Butter Pastilles
9.5 oz. Coconut Oil
1.9 oz. Mango Butter
8.7 oz. Olive Oil
11.4 oz. Palm Oil
5.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
11. 5 oz. Distilled Water
King’s Gold Mica
Activated Charcoal
1 oz. Pure Honey Fragrance Oil
1.5 oz. Sensuous Sandalwood Fragrance Oil
Optional: Powder Duster

Embeds:
10 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap
King’s Gold Mica
Gold Sparkle Mica 
Optional: 99% Isopropyl Alcohol

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

MAKE EMBEDS: Chop and melt the 10 oz. of LCP Clear Melt and Pour in the microwave using 20 second bursts. Once completely melted, add 1 tsp. of Gold Sparkle Mica and stir until the mica is completely mixed into the soap. Spray with rubbing alcohol to help break up any clumps of mica. Pour into a mold and allow to fully harden. We used the 12 Bar Square Silicone Mold, but just about any mold will work because the soap will be cut into pieces once hardened. Remove from the mold and cut into small triangle shaped pieces. Cover about 1/3 of the melt and pour pieces in a light coating of King’s Gold Mica and set aside.

If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Add 1 oz. Pure Honey Fragrance Oil and 1.5 oz. Sensuous Sandalwood Fragrance in a fragrance safe, glass container. Stir gently and set aside until ready to use.

COLOR PREP: Disperse 2 teaspoons of activated charcoal into 2 tablespoons of lightweight liquid oil like sweet almond or sunflower oil. Then in a separate container, disperse 1 teaspoon of King’s Gold Mica into 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to disperse any clumps.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.

TWO: Melt and combine the coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil, castor oil, cocoa butter, mango butter,  palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 sodium lactate.

THREE: Once the batter has reached a light trace, add 2.5 tablespoons of dispersed activated charcoal. Use a whisk to mix in the colorant.

FOUR: Add the entire fragrance blend and use the stick blender to achieve a medium/thick trace. 
FIVE: Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the mold and tap the mold on the counter to help get rid of any bubbles. Use a spoon to spread the batter evenly and create soft texture.

SIX: Add a small amount of the King’s Gold Mica to the powder duster, and lightly cover the soap with a layer of the mica. Close your eyes and blow gently on the color to help disperse it evenly on top of the layer. Watch out, this part can get a bit messy!
SEVEN: Split the remaining batter in half. Add the melt and pour embed chunks that are not covered in mica into the halved batter and mix. Then, spoon this soap into the mold, being careful not to break into the layer below. If some pieces break through that’s fine…but you just don’t want the entire layer dropping to the bottom! 
EIGHT: Use a spoon to gently spread this soap throughout the mold and create a soft textured top.

NINE: Place a small amount of King’s Gold Mica into the powder duster and sprinkle a thin layer of mica on top of the soap. Gently blow the excess mica off…be careful, this can get messy! Tap the mold on the counter to help get rid of any bubbles.

TEN: Spoon the remaining soap batter into the mold and use a spoon to spread the soap throughout the mold evenly. Then use the spoon to create soft texture and waves. There is no right or wrong way to make a textured soap top! Just have fun with it. =)

ELEVEN: Using a dropper, add drops of the dispersed King’s Gold Mica onto the top of the soap. Don’t worry too much about where each drop lands, just make sure they are somewhat evenly dispersed throughout the loaf. 
TWELVE: Insert a chopstick or dowel into the drops of dispersed mica and swirl them in various directions to create swirls throughout the bar. Do not insert the chopstick too far, you just want it to swirl the very top of the soap.
THIRTEEN: Once you’re happy with the swirls, place the melt and pour embed chunks that are covered with King’s Gold Mica onto the center of the loaf. Press the embeds very gently into the soap to make sure they stick. Continue to place them into the soap until you’re happy with the look.

FOURTEEN: Lightly spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Don’t spray too much, as this can cause the mica painting to disperse. Because the melt and pour pieces may melt if the soap gets too hot, do not insulate the soap. Allow to harden in the mold for 3-5 days. Once hard, remove from the mold and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks.

The LCP melt and pour soap does prevent glycerin dew, but may still develop a small amount while the cold process soap cures. We found it easy to wipe away the dew if it did form. =) Interestingly, the melt and pour embed pieces got a little hot, causing a slight gel phase around the pieces. You can see that the soap is a little darker around the melt and pour embeds. If you’d like to avoid this, you could place the soap into the fridge or freezer for several hours after pouring into the mold. Doing so increases the chance of glycerin dew.

Where does your soapy inspiration come from? Last week, I actually came up with a soap design in a dream! =)

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Gold Mine Cold Process Soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 10 ″ Silicone Loaf Mold
• 3.8 oz. Canola Oil
• .8 oz. Castor Oil
• 1.9 oz. Cocoa Butter Pastilles
• 9.5 oz. Coconut Oil
• 1.9 oz. Mango Butter
• 8.7 oz. Olive Oil
• 11.4 oz. Palm Oil
• 5.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 11. 5 oz. Distilled Water
• King’s Gold Mica
• Activated Charcoal
• 1 oz. Pure Honey Fragrance Oil
• 1.5 oz. Sensuous Sandalwood Fragrance Oil

Embeds

• 10 oz. LCP Clear Melt and Pour Soap
• King’s Gold Mica
• Gold Sparkle Mica
• Optional: 99% Isopropyl Alcohol

Instructions

MAKE EMBEDS: Chop and melt the 10 oz. of LCP Clear Melt and Pour in the microwave using 20 second bursts. Once completely melted, add 1 tsp. of Gold Sparkle Mica and stir until the mica is completely mixed into the soap. Spray with rubbing alcohol to help break up any clumps of mica. Pour into a mold and allow to fully harden. We used the 12 Bar Square Silicone Mold, but just about any mold will work because the soap will be cut into pieces once hardened. Remove from the mold and cut into small triangle shaped pieces. Cover about 1/3 of the melt and pour pieces in a light coating of King’s Gold Mica and set aside.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: Disperse 2 teaspoons of activated charcoal into 2 tablespoons of lightweight liquid oil like sweet almond or sunflower oil. Then in a separate container, disperse 1 teaspoon of King’s Gold Mica into 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to disperse any clumps.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Add 1 oz. Pure Honey Fragrance Oil and 1.5 oz. Sensuous Sandalwood Fragrance in a fragrance safe, glass container. Stir gently and set aside until ready to use.

• Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
• Melt and combine the coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil, castor oil, cocoa butter, mango butter, palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 sodium lactate.
• Once the batter has reached a light trace, add 2.5 tablespoons of dispersed activated charcoal. Use a whisk to mix in the colorant.
• Add the entire fragrance blend and use the stick blender to achieve a medium/thick trace.
• Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the mold and tap the mold on the counter to help get rid of any bubbles. Use a spoon to spread the batter evenly and create soft texture.
• Add a small amount of the King’s Gold Mica to the powder duster, and lightly cover the soap with a layer of the mica. Close your eyes and blow gently on the color to help disperse it evenly on top of the layer. Watch out, this part can get a bit messy!
• Split the remaining batter in half. Add the melt and pour embed chunks that are not covered in mica into the halved batter and mix. Then, spoon this soap into the mold, being careful not to break into the layer below. If some pieces break through that’s fine…but you just don’t want the entire layer dropping to the bottom!
• Use a spoon to gently spread this soap throughout the mold and create a soft textured top.
• Place a small amount of King’s Gold Mica into the powder duster and sprinkle a thin layer on mica on top of the soap. Gently blow the excess mica off…be careful, this can get messy! Tap the mold on the counter to help get rid of any bubbles.
• Spoon the remaining soap batter into the mold and use a spoon to spread the soap throughout the mold evenly. Then use the spoon to create soft texture and waves. There is no right or wrong way to make a textured soap top! Just have fun with it. =)
• Using a dropper, add drops of the dispersed King’s Gold Mica onto the top of the soap. Don’t worry too much about where each drop lands, just make sure they are somewhat evenly dispersed throughout the loaf.
• Insert a chopstick or dowel into the drops of dispersed mica and swirl them in various directions to create swirls throughout the bar. Do not insert the chopstick too far, you just want it to swirl the very top of the soap.
• Once you’re happy with the swirls, place the melt and pour embed chunks that are covered with King’s Gold Mica onto the center of the loaf. Press the embeds very gently into the soap to make sure the embeds stick. Continue to place them into the soap until you’re happy with the look.
• Lightly spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Don’t spray too much, as this can cause the mica painting to disperse. Because the melt and pour pieces may melt if the soap gets too hot, do not insulate the soap. Allow to harden in the mold for 3-5 days. I found this soap took a little bit longer to harden. Once hard, remove from the mold and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. The LCP melt and pour soap does prevent glycerin dew, but may still develop a small amount while the cold process soap cures. We found it easy to wipe away the dew if it did form. =)

The post Gold Mine Cold Process Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

This project features a hanger swirl technique. Best suited for more advanced soapers, this technique involves layers and swirling with the use of a bent hanger or wire tool. Scented with the crisp and fresh White Rose Fragrance Oil, this soap smells as feminine as it looks. Like many florals, this fragrance does slightly accelerate trace, so be prepared to move quickly. Sparkly melt and pour spheres on top give the allusion of pearls for added charm and elegance. A big thanks to the.balm.boutique on Instagram for the “Once Upon a Dream,” name idea!

What You’ll Need:
Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
1.9 oz. Avocado Butter
5.9 oz. Avocado Oil
7.8 oz. Coconut Oil
9.8 oz. Olive Oil
5.9 oz. Palm Oil
7.8 oz. Rice Bran Oil
5.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
12.9 oz. Distilled Water
Titanium Dioxide
Bright Blue Jean Colorant
Electric Bubble Gum Colorant
Iridescent Glitter
2 oz. White Rose Fragrance Oil
Hanger tool

Embeds:
Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold
6 oz. Clear Melt and Pour
Super Pearly White Mica
Iridescent Glitter

 Make the Embeds:

COLOR PREP: Mix 1 tsp. Super Pearly White Mica in 1 Tbs. 99% isopropyl alcohol. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

ONE: Chop and melt 6 oz. of clear melt and pour in the microwave using 15 second bursts. Add all the Super Pearly White mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Add 1/8 tsp. Iridescent Glitter and stir to combine. 
TWO: Carefully pour the soap into the Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold cavities. After pouring each sphere, spray with rubbing alcohol to disperse any bubbles. Set aside, and allow to fully cool and harden. Note: if you live in a particularly humid climate, you may need to run a fan over the soapy topping spheres for four to eight hours to ensure no glycerin dew forms on the soap balls as they are fully exposed to air.

If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Disperse 2 teaspoons of the Bright Blue Jean Colorant into 2 tablespoons of a light liquid oil. Finally, disperse 1 teaspoon Electric Bubble Gum Colorant into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold with freezer paper with the shiny side up. For tips on how to line the mold, click here. Bend your hanger tool so it fits the mold perfectly by length.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.

TWO: Melt and combine the avocado butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.

THREE: Once the batter has reached a light trace, split the batch into three separate containers. Two of the containers should contain about 500 mL, and the third container should contain about 700 mL.

FOUR: To the first small container, add 1/2 tsp. dispersed Electric Bubble Gum Colorant. To the second small container, add 5 tsp. dispersed Bright Blue Jean colorant. To the larger container, add all of the dispersed Titanium Dioxide Pigment. Use a whisk to thoroughly mix in the colorants.

FIVE: Add the White Rose Fragrance Oil evenly between the three containers. It’s okay to eyeball it! Use a whisk to thoroughly combine. 

SIX: Pour half of the blue soap into the mold and tap the mold firmly on the counter to eliminate bubbles.

SEVEN: Slowly and carefully, pour 1/3 of the white soap on top of the blue layer. Pouring a small stream of soap very slowly will help prevent the white layer from breaking through the blue.

EIGHT: Continue to pour until the entire blue layer is covered. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to release air bubbles.

NINE: Slowly and carefully pour half of the pink soap on top of the white layer. Pour the soap carefully to prevent the soap from breaking through the bottom layers. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. 

TEN: Slowly pour another 1/3 of the white soap on top of the pink. Pour very slow to ensure it does not break through to the next layer. Tap the mold firmly on the counter.

ELEVEN: Pour the remaining blue soap over the white layer. Tap the mold firmly on the counter.

TWELVE: Pour the remaining white soap over the blue layer and tap down the mold on the counter. Now it’s time to make the hanger swirl! Insert the hanger into the soap against the long side of the mold furthest away from you. Drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold toward you; once you drag the hanger about 1/3 of the way, pull the hanger up and out of the mold (shown below). Once the hanger is out of the mold, continue to move it towards you, and insert the hanger back into the soap, next to where it was pulled out. Drag the hanger against the bottom, and pull out against the long side of the mold mold, closest to you.

THIRTEEN: Now, it’s time to repeat the process, going in the opposite direction. Insert the hanger tool along the side of the mold closest to you, and drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold. Drag the hanger up and out of the soap. We did this process once in each direction for a total of two times, but you can repeat the motion more if you’d like. 

FOURTEEN: Check the consistency of the remaining pink soap. If it is not a thick trace, pulse the pink soap a few times with the stick blender to thicken.

FIFTEEN: Use a spoon or spatula to place the pink soap on top.

SIXTEEN: Using a spoon, begin to mound the soap towards the center. Don’t worry about making it perfect, lots of texture looks great!

SEVENTEEN: Place the sphere embeds into the pink soap. Leave a very small space in between each sphere so you have room to cut later.

EIGHTEEN: Sprinkle the top with Iridescent Glitter, and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Allow the soap to harden for 3-4 days before unmolding. Allow it to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

What is your favorite fairy tale? Cinderella is such a classic!
 

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Once Upon a Dream Cold Process

Inspired by princesses, this cold process soap features a feminine color palette, lots of sparkle and the floral White Rose Fragrance Oil.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 2 -3 pounds of soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold
• 1.9 oz. Avocado Butter
• 5.9 oz. Avocado Oil
• 7.8 oz. Coconut Oil
• 9.8 oz. Olive Oil
• 5.9 oz. Palm Oil
• 7.8 oz. Rice Bran Oil
• 5.3 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 12.9 oz. Distilled Water
• Titanium Dioxide
• Bright Blue Jean Colorant
• Electric Bubble Gum Colorant
• Iridescent Glitter
• 2 oz. White Rose Fragrance Oil
• Hanger tool

Embeds

• Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold
• 6 oz. Clear Melt and Pour
• Super Pearly White Mica
• Iridescent Glitter

Instructions

Make the Embeds:

COLOR PREP: Mix 1 tsp. Super Pearly White Mica in 1 Tbs. 99% isopropyl alcohol. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.

• Chop and melt 6 oz. of clear melt and pour in the microwave using 15 second bursts. Add all the Super Pearly White mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Add 1/8 tsp. Iridescent Glitter and stir to combine.
• Carefully pour the soap into the Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold cavities. After pouring each sphere, spray with rubbing alcohol to disperse any bubbles. Set aside, and allow to fully cool and harden.

Make Cold Process

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Disperse 2 teaspoon Bright Blue Jean Colorant into 2 tablespoon of light liquid oil. Finally, disperse 1 teaspoon Electric Bubble Gum Colorant into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

MOLD & TOOL PREP: Line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold with freezer paper with the shiny side up. For tips on how to line the mold, click here. Bend your hanger tool so it fits the mold perfectly by length.

• Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
• Melt and combine the avocado butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.
• Once the batter has reached a light trace, split the batch into three separate containers. Two of the containers should contain about 500 mL, and the third container should contain about 700 mL.
• To the first small container, add 1/2 tsp. dispersed Electric Bubble Gum Colorant. To the second small container, add 5 tsp. dispersed Bright Blue Jean colorant. To the larger container, add all of the dispersed Titanium Dioxide Pigment. Use a whisk to thoroughly mix in the colorants.
• Add the White Rose Fragrance Oil evenly between the three containers. It’s okay to eyeball it! Use a whisk to thoroughly combine.
• Pour half of the blue soap into the mold and tap the mold firmly on the counter to eliminate bubbles.
• Slowly and carefully, pour 1/3 of the white soap on top of the blue layer. Pouring a small stream of soap very slowly will help avoid the white layer breaking through the blue.
• Continue to pour until the entire blue layer is covered. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to release air bubbles.
• Slowly and carefully pour half of the pink soap on top of the white layer. Pour the soap carefully to avoid the soap from breaking through the bottom layers. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles.
• Slowly pour the white soap on top of the pink. Pour very slow to ensure it does not break through to the next layer. Tap the mold firmly on the counter.
• Pour the remaining blue soap over the white layer. Tap the mold firmly on the counter.
• Pour the remaining white soap over the blue layer and tap down the mold on the counter. Now it’s time to make the hanger swirl! Insert the hanger into the soap, against the long side of the mold furthest away from you. Drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold toward you; once you drag the hanger about 1/3 of the way, pull the hanger up and out of the mold (shown below). Once the hanger is out of the mold, continue to move it towards you, and insert the hanger back into the soap, next to where it was pulled out, drag the hanger against the bottom, and pull out against the long side of the mold mold, closest to you.
• Now, it’s time to repeat the process, going in the opposite direction. Insert the hanger tool along the side of the mold closest to you, and drag the hanger against the bottom of the mold. Drag the hanger up and out of the soap. We did this process once in each direction for a total of two times, but you can repeat the motion more if you’d like.
• Check the consistency of the remaining pink soap. If it is not a thick trace, pulse the pink soap a few times with the stick blender to thicken.
• Use a spoon or spatula to place the pink soap on top.
• Using a spoon, begin to mound the soap towards the center. Don’t worry about making it perfect, lots of texture looks great!
• Place the sphere embeds into the pink soap. Leave a very small space in between each sphere so you have room to cut later.
• Sprinkle the top with Iridescent Glitter, and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Allow the soap to harden for 3-4 days before unmolding. Allow it to cure for 4 – 6 weeks and enjoy!

The post Once Upon a Dream Cold Process Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

Over time, the embedded melt and pour pieces may begin to shrink slightly due to the loss of moisture. Using LCP (Like Cold Process) melt and pour bases helps avoid this, because of the lower glycerin content. Embedding melt and pour soap is a great way to recycle leftover bits from previous projects.

What You’ll Need:
9.9 oz. Coconut Oil
3.3 oz. Mango Butter
9.9 oz. Olive Oil
9.9 oz. Palm Oil
4.7 oz. Sodium Hydroxide
10.9 oz. distilled water
Approximately 15 oz. melt & pour soap chunks (preferably LCP)
Lavender Forest Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
Ultramarine Violet
Ultramarine Blue
Hydrated Chrome Green
Iridescent Glitter
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 1 teaspoon of the colorant into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Finally, disperse 1 teaspoon of the other colorants into 1 tablespoon of light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

EMBED PREP: We used 15 oz. of leftover melt and pour chunks. We chose uncolored chunks made from our LCP Clear Melt and Pour, as well as chunks colored with Liquid Violet. Cut the scrap melt and pour into jagged shapes to give the appearance of jewels or crystals. If you need a melt & pour refresher, check out our Free Beginner’s Guide to Melt and Pour.

After you’ve cut up the melt & pour, coat roughly half (about 7.5 oz.) in a mixture of 1/2 tsp. Aqua Pearl Mica and 1/4 tsp. Luster Black mica. We recommend mixing the micas together first and then coating the chunks. When the chunks are fully coated in mica, set them aside.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.

TWO: Combine the coconut, olive, mango and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add Sodium Lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of Sodium Lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2 tsp. Sodium Lactate.

THREE: Equally split the batter into two more containers. Each container should hold about 2 cups of soap. Use one color per container at the following rates:

• 3 tsp. dispersed Titanium Dioxide
• 3 tsp. dispersed Ultramarine Violet + 1.5 tsp. Ultramarine Blue
• 3 tsp. Hydrated Chrome Green

FOUR: Split the Lavender Forest Fragrance Oil equally between the 3 containers. Stir in with a wire whisk.

FIVE: Now for a modified In-The-Pot Swirl. We call it ‘modified’ because instead of pouring the colored soap methodically at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00, pour wherever you’d like! Alternate between pouring the purple soap and green soap until you’ve emptied both containers.

SIX: When you’ve emptied both containers of colored soap into the white soap, use a chopstick or dowel to swirl the soap in the pot. We swirled in a figure 8 pattern. Be careful to swirl only once because you do not want to muddle the colors.

SEVEN: Pour roughly half the swirled soap into the mold. Keep the bowl in the same place as you pour, and allow the soap to flow into the mold. Tamp the mold on the table several times to disperse bubbles.

EIGHT: Press the mica-covered embeds into the soap. Pack them in tightly to add interest, and don’t be afraid to push a few far down into the soap. It will enhance your final product!

NINE: Once all the embeds have been placed, pour the remaining swirled soap.

TEN: At this point the soap my be quite thick. That’s okay! The top texture won’t matter so much because you’re going to cover it in more embeds anyway. Tamp the mold on the table to disperse any bubbles.

ELEVEN: Use the remaining melt and pour chunks to cover the top of the soap. Have fun with this part! Sticking them haphazardly into the soap results in an authentic gemstone look.

TWELVE: Finish the soap with sprinkles of Iridescent Glitter.

Unmold the soap after 3-4 days. When you’re ready to cut this soap, turn it on its side to avoid pulling glitter through the soap and accidentally creating tiny drag marks. Allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

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Shimmering Sea Glass Cold Process

A teal and purple In-The-Pot Swirl and layers of melt and pour embeds create a stunning soap inspired by the ocean.

Course Cold process soap

Ingredients

• 9.9 oz. Coconut Oil
• 3.3 oz. Mango Butter
• 9.9 oz. Olive Oil
• 9.9 oz. Palm Oil
• 4.7 oz. Sodium Hydroxide
• 10.9 oz. distilled water
• 15 oz. melt & pour soap chunks
• Lavender Forest Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide
• Ultramarine Violet
• Ultramarine Blue
• Hydrated Chrome Green
• Iridescent Glitter
• 10 ″ Silicone Loaf Mold

Instructions

• SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.
• COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 1 teaspoon of the colorant into 1 tablespoon of Sunflower or Sweet Almond Oil (or any other liquid oil). Finally, disperse 1 teaspoon of the other colorants into 1 tablespoon of light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.
• EMBED PREP: We used 15 oz. of leftover melt and pour chunks. We chose uncolored chunks made from our Clear Melt & Pour Base, as well as chunks colored with Liquid Violet. Cut the scrap melt and pour into jagged shapes to give the appearance of jewels or crystals. If you need a melt & pour refresher, check out our Free Beginner’s Guide to Melt and Pour.
• After you’ve cut up the melt & pour, coat roughly half (about 7.5 oz.) in a mixture of 1/2 tsp. Aqua Pearl Mica and 1/4 tsp. Luster Black mica. We recommend mixing the micas together first and then coating the chunks. When the chunks are fully coated in mica, set them aside.
• Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
• Combine the Coconut, Olive Oil, Mango and Palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of Palm Oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add Sodium Lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of Sodium Lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2 tsp. Sodium Lactate.
• Equally split the batter into two more containers. Each container should hold about 2 cups of soap. Use one color per container at the following rates: 3 tsp. dispersed Titanium Dioxide, 3 tsp. dispersed Ultramarine Violet + 1.5 tsp. Ultramarine Blue, 3 tsp. Hydrated Chrome Green.
• Split the Lavender Forest Fragrance Oil equally between the 3 containers. Stir in with a wire whisk.
• Now for a modified In-The-Pot Swirl. We call it ‘modified’ because instead of pouring the colored soap methodically at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00, pour wherever you’d like! Alternate between pouring the purple soap and green soap until you’ve emptied both containers.
• When you’ve emptied both containers of colored soap into the white soap, use a chopstick or dowel to swirl the soap in the pot. We swirled in a figure 8 pattern. Be careful to swirl only once Pour roughly half the swirled soap into the mold. Keep the bowl in the same place as you pour, and allow the soap to flow into the mold. Tamp the mold on the table several times to disperse bubbles.
• Press the mica-covered embeds into the soap. Pack them in tightly to add interest, and don’t be afraid to push a few far down into the soap. It will enhance your final product!
• Once all the embeds have been placed, pour the remaining swirled soap.
• At this point the soap my be quite thick. That’s okay! The top texture won’t matter so much because you’re going to cover it in more embeds anyway. Tamp the mold on the table to disperse any bubbles.
• Use the remaining melt and pour chunks to cover the top of the soap. Have fun with this part! Sticking them haphazardly into the soap results in an authentic gemstone look.
• Finish the soap with sprinkles of Iridescent Glitter.
• Unmold the soap after 3-4 days and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. When you’re ready to cut this soap, turn it on its side to avoid pulling glitter through the soap and accidentally creating tiny drag marks. Enjoy!

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