Intermediate Archives - Page 16 of 16

Embedding Toys in Soap on Soap Queen TV

April 7, 2011 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

On this episode of SoapQueen.TV, I show how to use our totally adorable Japanese erasers. This project uses the layering and embedding techniques to make an entire loaf of soap, making 8 -10 bars just in time for Easter! This project is easy to customize with different colors or fragrances.

Looking for more kid-friendly projects? The Butterfly Sparkle Surprise Tutorial shows you how to embed little toys into bath bombs. Once the bath bomb is placed in the water, the toy is released! This Kid-Friendly Project Roundup also has some fun ideas.

Embedding Toys in Soap from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

Get everything you need to make this project with the click of a button!

What You’ll Need:

32 oz. White Melt & Pour Base

16 oz. Clear Melt & Pour Base

Non-Bleeding Red Colorant
NOTE: The Non-Bleeding Red Colorant used in this project has been discontinued. The kit now contains the Perfect Red Color Block.

Liquid Green Oxide Colorant

Liquid Ultramarine Blue Colorant

Liquid Yellow Oxide Colorant

1/4 oz. Watermelon Fragrance

1/4 oz. Summer Fling Fragrance

1/4 oz. Pearberry Fragrance

1/4 oz. Sun Ripened Raspberry Fragrance

Loaf Mold

8 Piggy Erasers

Going Vertical

March 18, 2011 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Enthusiastic feedback flew in after posting this tutorial in the Bramble Berry Newsletter we just knew we had to share it with the Soap Queen Readers too! We are loving the possibilities with this new vertical mold! PS – Do you get our newsletter? It comes out monthly and has specials for newsletter subscribers only along with a recipe or technique that newsletter readers see before anyone else! Sign up on the Bramble Berry Home page.

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Luck of the Green Beer (CP tutorial)

February 17, 2011 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

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Chai Latte Love (CP Soap Tutorial)

February 3, 2011 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Guest post from Amanda at Lovin’ Soap. Thanks, Amanda!

My name is Amanda Griffin and I am a soap maker living in Grand Prairie, TX. My passion is sharing, talking and teaching the craft of soap making in the classroom, on my blog (www.lovinsoap.com) and in my eZine, Lovin’ Soap.

One of the best things about soap making is being a part of the soaping community. Whether it’s on a forum, at a meet-up, at a conference or at a local supply shop; soap makers are some of the most passionate, creative and caring people I have ever met. I’m truly grateful to be a part of this amazing community of crafters.

Chai Latte Soap!

I’ve been on a chai kick lately. I managed to wean myself off of Starbucks Peppermint Mochas only to discover the greatness of their Chai Lattes. Those things are addicting. So look-y what I ordered to soap!

I ordered Bramble Berry’s Chai Tea Cybilla. It smells wonderful! I was going to blend it with some coffee but I looked through my FO stash and couldn’t find any. O’well.

I found these little 3 fl. oz. white cups at the grocery store awhile ago and knew that I wanted them for my Chai soap.

This was going to be a test batch so I came up with a small recipe. When you’re doing a recipe this size be sure to measure in grams and be as exact as you can.

The recipe:

Palm oil – 90 g

Coconut oil – 90 g

Olive oil – 90 g

Cocoa butter – 30 g

Castor oil – 30 g

Lye – 46 g

Water – 100 g

*A note on this recipe + BB’s Chai Tea. I knew the fragrance oil would probably accelerate a bit because it does contain spice. I didn’t even use a stick blender; I just mixed with a spoon and it thickened quickly and also got very hot. Also note that my recipe is a pretty quick tracing recipe because of the palm and the cocoa butter. So if you want to slow things down when using fragrance oils like this…use a recipe that contains higher amounts of olive. If you’re okay with lard, lard is slower to trace than palm so works great also. Keep your temps down as soaping cooler tends to slow trace. Adding the fragrance oil to your melted oils helps also if you have a fast moving FO.*

For this soap, I’m going to make this recipe twice. Once for the bottoms and again for the tops. So make your soap as usual and bring to trace. Pour it into the individual cups.

That was easy enough! Now we’re going to make the tops. Since these are hot drinks I wanted a layer of cream on top that molded to the top instead of a whipped top like they put on the cold drinks. I’m going to make our same recipe and do sort of a partial whipped. I used a cold lye solution but melted the oils like I usually do and let them cool a bit. Since I used cocoa butter I couldn’t let them cool too much or it would start to re-solidify. I wanted the topping to be more white so I added some Titanium Dioxide dissolved in water.

Once you have your lye solution cold (put it covered and labeled in the fridge) pour your lye into the melted oils. I wanted to whip some air into this mixture so I used a beater instead of my stick blender. I didn’t add any fragrance oil because I wanted it to stay nice and white.

You can see after I’ve whipped it for a bit it gets more white in color.

I beat it for about 10 minutes. Longer than I thought it would take! You want to look for it to become whiter and a bit frothy/slightly whipped. My goal is to pour it over the tops of the drink bottoms and have it spread on its own. So you don’t want something that you have to spread with a knife. We’re ready to pour the tops on.

I scraped off the tops of the cups to make them more even. I would actually recommend leaving a bit more head room in your drinks than I did so you have room for the cream topping (so spoon out a bit). I’ll add more cream topping for the next batch – lesson learned.

Gently spoon the topping on. If you do it slow enough and a bit at a time it will form a nice dome without running over the sides.

Depending on what drink you’re making, you can sprinkle of some topping. I added a bit of cinnamon to these. If I were doing a peppermint mocha I would shave a bit of brown soap to look like chocolate shavings on top.

These cups are super easy to unmold. Let them sit like this for about 24 hours, pop in the freezer for 10 minutes or so and gently push from the bottom while squeezing the sides gently. They pop right out.

On Bramble Berry’s website they do state that this fragrance oil discolors to brown. This is exactly what I want so I didn’t add any colorant. If I wanted a darker brown I could have added some brown mica or even some cocoa powder.

Here are the chai soaps labeled. You could leave them naked, put a label around the naked soap or my favorite (see below)…put them back in cups and put the label on the cups. They ended up being about 3.5 ounces (so if you download my label template, make sure to check the size of your batch).

Download the label template here.

-Amanda

Want more from Amanda at Lovin’ Soap? Check out her Lovin’ Soap E-Zine.

Victorian Swirl 3D Melt & Pour Soap Tutorial

January 20, 2011 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Ingredients

4 oz. Clear Melt & Pour soap base

3 oz. White Melt & Pour soap base

Heavy Metal Gold Mica

Liquid Black colorant

Apricot Freesia Fragrance Oil

Victorian Blossom 3D mold

(NOTE: The Victorian Blossom 3D mold has been discontinued. It has been substituted with the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold.)

Recipe Yields 1 Soap

Get everything you need to make 4 bars of stunning 3D soap with the click of a button!

ONE: Melt one ounce of the clear soap base and add four to five drops liquid black colorant. Pour the black soap into the design of the front side of the mold. Allow to set-up completely and clean-up any drips using a clean up tool. Spritz the soap with rubbing alcohol then assemble the 3D soap mold.

(NOTE: The Victorian Blossom 3D mold has been discontinued. It has been substituted with the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold. To achieve a Celtic design, simply paint on the design using gold mica.)

Tip: Make sure that the holes on each side of the mold are matched up (it’s easy to put one hole on the top and one on the bottom – whoops) and secure the top and the bottom of the mold with the thick rubber band.

TWO: Melt the rest of the clear soap and mix in Heavy Metal Gold mica and fragrance oil (.1 oz per bar or .5 – .7 oz. for the full two pounds). In a separate container, melt the white soap base and mix in the fragrance oil.

THREE: Alternate pouring the two colors and poking the soap skin with a skewer to swirl the soap. For a full tutorial on how to swirl melt and pour, see the video on SoapQueen.TV.

FOUR: Once the soap is completely set up (4-6 hours), remove from the mold and trim the edges using a clean up tool or a non-serrated knife.

FIVE: Highlight the design by dry brushing the Heavy Metal Gold mica over the raised areas of the design. See this tutorial on the Soap Queen Blog for how to dry brush your soap.

Victorian Swirl 3D Melt & Pour Soap Tutorial

Author: Soap Queen

Recipe type: melt and pour

Serves: one soap

Ingredients

4 oz. Clear Melt & Pour soap base
3 oz. White Melt & Pour soap base
Heavy Metal Gold Mica
Liquid Black colorant
Apricot Freesia Fragrance Oil
12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold

Instructions

Melt one ounce of the clear soap base and add four to five drops liquid black colorant. Pour the black soap into the design of the front side of the mold. Allow to set-up completely and clean-up any drips using a clean up tool. Spritz the soap with rubbing alcohol then assemble the 3D soap mold. Make sure that the holes on each side of the mold are matched up (it’s easy to put one hole on the top and one on the bottom – whoops) and secure the top and the bottom of the mold with the thick rubber band. (NOTE: The Victorian Blossom 3D Mold is discontinued. It has been substituted with the 12 Cavity Rectangle Silicone Mold. To achieve a Celtic design, simply paint on the design using gold mica.)
Melt the rest of the clear soap and mix in Heavy Metal Gold mica and fragrance oil (.1 oz per bar or .5 – .7 oz. for the full two pounds). In a separate container, melt the white soap base and mix in the fragrance oil.
Alternate pouring the two colors and poking the soap skin with a skewer to swirl the soap. For a full tutorial on how to swirl melt and pour, see the video on SoapQueen.TV.
Once the soap is completely set up (4-6 hours), remove from the mold and trim the edges using a clean up tool or a non-serrated knife.
Highlight the design by dry brushing the Heavy Metal Gold mica over the raised areas of the design. See this tutorial on the Soap Queen Blog for how to dry brush your soap.

Strawberry Pie Soap Tutorial

August 26, 2010 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

For those of you who missed Soap Weekend Intensive 2010, here’s an exclusive peek at one of the creative projects that was taught by Erin Pikor, of Naiad Soap Arts – Summer Strawberry Pie!

Love pie? Now you can bathe with it! Learn how to make adorable Strawberry Pie Soap.

Ingredients

White Melt & Pour Soap Base

Clear Melt & Pour Soap Base

Perfect Red Color Block

Strawberry Fragrance oil

Almond Biscotti Fragrance oil

Tools

Silicone Brownie Pan

Crinkle Cutter
Daisy Cookie Cutter

OR get everything you need in the click of a button below!

ONE: To create the “strawberries” for our pie, make a deep pink color with 8 oz white m&p soap base and the Perfect Red Color Block. Mix well and pour the soap into the silicone tray mold. Once the soap is set-up, remove from the mold and cut the soap into small, irregular chunks with the crinkle cutter. Set the pink soap chunks aside for use later.

TWO: Now it’s time to make our “pie crust”. For a warm toasty crust color, melt 8 oz. white m&p soap base and mix in 6 to 8 drops liquid yellow oxide, and 2 to 3 drops liquid brown oxide. Mix well and pour the soap into the silicone tray mold. Let cool and remove the soap from the tray mold. Use your crinkle cutter to cut the soap into diagonal strips and set aside.

THREE: Before we start embedding, lay out your strips (on a clean cutting surface) in a criss cross lattice pattern. This is is how we’re going to embed them in the soap.

FOUR: Melt 16 ounces clear m&p soap and cool to 120 degrees. Pour a shallow layer into the brownie pan and work quickly to layer in your first layer of toasty strips, being sure to spray frequently with rubbing alcohol. Pour another thin layer of clear soap and add the rest of your strips in the opposite direction, making a criss-cross pattern. You only end up using about 4 ounces of the soap.

FIVE: With your remaining 12 ounces of clear soap add Merlot Mica and Strawberry Seeds. Mix well then scent with a blend of Strawberry and Almond Biscotti fragrance (we used 4 parts Strawberry and 1 part Almond Biscotti but get creative and use any ratio that you want).

SIX: Spray the lattice with rubbing alcohol and pour half of your Strawberry soap. Then generously sprinkle your pink soap chunks in (spraying everything furiously with rubbing alcohol). Then pour the remaining strawberry soap over the top. It’s o.k. if a few pieces are sticking out.

SEVEN: Once your soap is completely set-up, pop out of the mold and cut into little pieces with the daisy cutter. Or use your crinkle cutter to cut into rectangles like the picture at the top. Hurrah! Cute soap!

A big thank you to Erin for teaching this fabulous class and allowing us to blog her fabulously delicious project!

Strawberry Pie Soap Tutorial

Love pie? Now you can bathe with it! Learn how to make adorable Strawberry Pie Soap.

Author: Soap Queen

Recipe type: Melt and Pour

Ingredients

White Melt & Pour Soap Base
Clear Melt & Pour Soap Base
Perfect Red Color Block
Merlot Mica
Liquid Yellow Oxide
Liquid Brown Oxide
Strawberry Seeds
Strawberry Fragrance oil
Almond Biscotti Fragrance oil
Tools
Silicone Brownie Pan
Crinkle Cutter
Daisy Cookie Cutter

Instructions

To create the “strawberries” for our pie, make a deep pink color with 8 oz white m&p soap base and the Perfect Red Color Block. Mix well and pour the soap into the silicone tray mold. Once the soap is set-up, remove from the mold and cut the soap into small, irregular chunks with the crinkle cutter. Set the pink soap chunks aside for use later.
Now it’s time to make our “pie crust”. For a warm toasty crust color, melt 8 oz. white m&p soap base and mix in 6 to 8 drops liquid yellow oxide, and 2 to 3 drops liquid brown oxide. Mix well and pour the soap into the silicone tray mold. Let cool and remove the soap from the tray mold. Use your crinkle cutter to cut the soap into diagonal strips and set aside.
Before we start embedding, lay out your strips (on a clean cutting surface) in a criss cross lattice pattern. This is is how we’re going to embed them in the soap.
Melt 16 ounces clear m&p soap and cool to 120 degrees. Pour a shallow layer into the brownie pan and work quickly to layer in your first layer of toasty strips, being sure to spray frequently with rubbing alcohol. Pour another thin layer of clear soap and add the rest of your strips in the opposite direction, making a criss-cross pattern. You only end up using about 4 ounces of the soap.
With your remaining 12 ounces of clear soap add Merlot Mica and Strawberry Seeds. Mix well then scent with a blend of Strawberry and Almond Biscotti fragrance (we used 4 parts Strawberry and 1 part Almond Biscotti but get creative and use any ratio that you want).
Spray the lattice with rubbing alcohol and pour half of your Strawberry soap. Then generously sprinkle your pink soap chunks in (spraying everything furiously with rubbing alcohol). Then pour the remaining strawberry soap over the top. It’s o.k. if a few pieces are sticking out.
Once your soap is completely set-up, pop out of the mold and cut into little pieces with the daisy cutter. Or use your crinkle cutter to cut into rectangles like the picture at the top. Hurrah! Cute soap!

Easy 4th of July Star Soap

June 10, 2010 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

I love celebrating the 4th of July holiday with my friends and family. It’s tradition to do a big BBQ on Lake Samish filled with swimming, volleyball, food, drinks and SOAP! Send your guests home with something special! Learn how to make cute star soap below.

Ingredients

Stars Mold

12 Bar Square Silicone Mold

Liquid Blue

Perfect Red Color Block

Yields 4 soaps

Click Here to add all of these items to your Bramble Berry shopping cart.

ONE:Melt 4 ounces of white melt and pour soap base, stir in your favorite fragrance oil. Fill each star cavity. Let cool and unmold.

Variation:Add Liquid Red or Liquid Blue to 4 ounces clear soap base with a splash of glitter if you want to embed colored stars.

TWO: Melt 16 ounce of clear soap base in the microwave. Add a tiny bit of liquid blue colorant to get a clear effect (for more info on the “bluing” technique see this Soap Queen TV video). Do not add fragrance at this time.

THREE: Pour a 1/8” thick layer of the clear soap into each cavity of the Slim Square and spritz with rubbing alcohol.

FOUR: Spritz the thin clear layer of soap and soap stars with rubbing alcohol. Then pour another thin layer of clear soap into each cavity and place your stars into the melted soap. Make sure that your soap is around 125 degrees to avoid melting the soap stars.

FIVE: To the remaining melted clear soap base, add your favorite fragrance oil and either red or blue colorant (and glitter if you’re feeling sassy). Mix well.
Note: The Heavy Duty Slim Square Mold has been discontinued and substituted with out 12 Bar Square Silicone Mold

SIX:Spritz the cooled layer of soap with the stars and pour your final colored background layer. Spritz again with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any air bubbles. Let the soaps cool, pop them out of the mold and celebrate the 4th of July with your friends and family.

Ready to try making your own? Get everything you need added to your Bramble Berry shopping cart here. Don’t worry, you can always delete items or change quantities before you check out.

Don’t miss out on past summer projects a blog posts like Graduation Scrolls, Pinwheels, Parfait Soaps, Summer Lip Balm, Soothing After Sun Oil, Summer Flip Flops, Bug-Be Gone Candle, Summer Break Soap for Kids, Kumquat Blends, After Sun Lotion, After Sun Spritzer