Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Betty works for Creative Soap Week and was kind enough to give us a little shout out on her site! Thanks Betty! We’re honored to be recognized with other fantastic soaper’s like Soapylove and Sunbasilgarden Soaps and A Breath of French Air!
When I decided to try my hand at a simple soap frosting recipe, I had no idea what it would become! Frosting was just the tip of the iceberg. Here are several things you can do with the same basic formula which is 4 oz of melted soap base + 2 Tablespoons of liquid soap, whipped with a hand mixer (click here for a great Soap Queen video). Add colorant and fragrance as desired.
Soap Meringues (shown above): Whip frosting recipe until shiny peaks form. I used red colorant and Strawberry Fragrance Oil. Quickly put mixture into a piping bag (I used my bag and star tip). Squeeze out 1″ meringues onto tin foil, waxed paper, or parchment. Allow to dry. Peel paper away from backs of meringues and toss lightly in cornstarch.
Soap Marshmallows: Follow instructions for Soap Meringues, but this time pour into a brownie pan lined with plastic wrap. Allow to dry and harden, then remove plastic wrap and cut into blocks with a sharp knife. Toss lightly in cornstarch. This style is great with jojoba beads.
Fluffy Fillings: The original way to use this recipe was to spoon it on. Depending on how long you whip it you can get a creamy icing or a firmer marshmallow fluff, like for these S’Mores featured in the Summer ’10 issue of Let’s Get Soapy, or the Hot Chocolate Loaf Soaps in the Winter ’09 issue.
Over at the Soapylove Fan Page, Tammy of Milk and Cookeez generously shared photos of her projects plus we had a great discussion about how to use this sometimes-tricky recipe. Here are a few more pictures from her album!
So I encourage you to try this recipe and play around. It can take some practice to control it well, but I guarantee you’ll have fun!
-Debbie Chialtas, Soapylove
Have you seen the new Soapylove molds? I’m so excited about them! There’s an adorable Rainbow and this one is the I Heart Soap.
Here’s a neat way to show off the mold’s raised details without much fussiness. In fact, the print makes the heart seem extra 3-D which is neat! It’s really simple. Here’s how it’s done…
Supplies (makes 2 bars of the flowery print design):
2 ounces Naturally Clear soap base
6 ounces Bright White soap base
Candy Jar fragrance oil set
I Heart Soap mold
Water Soluble Paper
Non-Bleeding Red liquid colorant
Instructions:
Have a cute design printed on the water soluble paper using a laser printer. I bought some pretty printable scrapbooking paper designs from Tracy Ann Digital Art on Etsy. Make a template by tracing the heart from the mold onto a scrap paper then cut out. Trace this onto your printed paper and cut.
Melt the clear soap base then fill just the heart area. Place your design face down into the clear soap and allow to harden.
Meanwhile, add a few drops of red colorant to the remaining soap base. Make sure the soap is nice and hot (130ish), spray the heart area with alcohol, and pour a thin layer into the mold so all the details are filled and you have a very thin layer otherwise. Allow to harden.
Melt the white soap base, add fragrance of your choice (1/2 – 1 teaspoon), and let cool to 120 degrees. Spray the red soap with alcohol and fill mold with white soap, making the stream of soap hit the back of the heart (this will hide any thin areas that might happen if you poured on a different spot). Allow to harden and unmold!
To make the pearly version, I just used pearly mica instead of red colorant and colored the white soap with a bit of the red colorant to make a pretty pink.
Have fun!
Hi everybody! You may have recently seen Anne-Marie’s post about my Bicycle Soap which I made just for the Soaper’s Showcase at the HSMG Conference in Denver earlier this month. I wanted to use as many techniques as I could to wow the crowd, and I’m thrilled to say it did win for Best M&P Appearance (thank you, Conference attendees for your votes!!), and now I will show you how I did it.
First I printed out a bicycle graphic on soap embed paper using a laser printer. I neatly cut it out, leaving about 1/16″ of white space all around. It doesn’t have to be perfect since the white paper becomes translucent in the soap.
I poured 1/8″ layer of clear soap base into a basic square mold. With a small, flat paintbrush, I mixed green chrome oxide with a drop of liquid glycerin. I painted wispy grass on the hardened layer of clear soap. I let it dry completely.
Next I poured about 1/8″ layer of clear soap onto the painted layer and placed my bicycle into the hot soap. I allowed that to harden then painted more grass. To embed my marbled clouds (I used pearly white mica and clear soap to make a marbled soap sheet then cut out clouds using some fondant cutters), I poured another thin layer of clear soap and put my clouds in. For more dimension I let that set, then set another layer of clouds in yet another layer of clear. (How many layers are we up to now? I lost count!)
At last, we’re ready to make the sky. I mixed blue non-bleeding colorant with pearl mica and stirred it into clear soap base. I poured 1/8″ layer into the mold, then propped one side onto a notepad to make the sky only cover 1/2 of the mold. Finally I topped it off with white scented soap on a level surface. Voila!
This is certainly an “art piece” and not one that I would make to sell. I made another to give to a celebrity designer that I might meet this week which will probably be my last one. But I’m thinking about some variations – this diorama idea has so many possibilities! Can you tell I’m addicted to glycerin soap? I love it!!
Debbie Chialtas is also a guest blogger for the Soap Queen Blog. Check out some of her creative projects she’s designed exclusively for the Soap Queen Blog and don’t miss out on the Soapylove Product Line at Bramble Berry!
Supplies:
1 lb Bright White soap base
Sweet Treats Colorant Set
Poppy seeds
Delectable Desserts Fragrance Set
Ice Cream Soap Mold
Cutting board, knife, bottle of rubbing alcohol, Pyrex cup
1) Use non-bleeding micas, just a pinch at a time to get a light tinted shimmer that still has clarity. In the Woodgrain Soap above, I used just a hint of cappuccino mica. The engraved design still shows up beautifully and the mica doesn’t bleed (you can find the full tutorial here). In the Daisy Bars on the right, I used a touch of opalescent mica as the background color. It’s still pearly without looking too heavy.
2) Use oxides and pigments with a very light hand. It’s best to start with liquid colorants since it’s easier to add the color one drop at a time, but you can also dilute your powders and add by drops, too. You can see in these Ice Bars that I was able to get a clear blue center that won’t bleed into the white frame. Ultramarines (the blue, purple, and some pink pigments) are very fine powders that keep their clarity very well if used lightly. But remember – one drop at a time!
For a quick reference of which micas and pigments Bramble Berry carries that are non-bleeding, check out Anne-Marie’s recent post here. And for some more great projects using sheer colors, pick up your Soapylove book here! Happy coloring!
Debbie, Soapylove
-Debbie, Soapylove
Supplies:
1 lb Naturally Clear Soap Base
Sweet Treats Colorant Set
Delectable Desserts Fragrance Set
Soap Injector Tool
Checkered Heart Mold
Pyrex cup, 4 small mugs or cups
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol, knife, cutting board
Directions:
1. Fill one cup half full with hot water.
2. Now melt 1 oz of soap base in a cup (15 seconds in the microwave). Stir in a few drops of Pink Frosting colorant, then a drop or 2 of White Icing colorant. Draw up some soap in your injector tool and very gently fill the checker indentations.
TIP: If you spray the mold with alcohol before you start filling the squares, the soap will flow into the corners much easier.
3. When done, squeeze excess soap back into mug, then draw up hot water to clean.
4. Repeat for other colors, using Buttercream Yellow and White Icing colors. Any pattern looks great – you can’t mess up!
5. Allow to harden. If you dripped onto any squares accidentally, use a toothpick or skewer to pick soap off. If the edges seem harsh, use your finger to smooth the soap lines back down.
6. Now melt 12 oz of clear soap base. Color with several drops of Buttercream Yellow. You don’t want to start with Bakery Beige because sugar cookies are a soft color. Add one drop of Bakery Beige to get a more tan tone. It’s better to be light in this case. Now add 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Frosting fragrance oil and stir well.
7. Let the soap cool to 120 degrees. Then spray your checkered soap with alcohol and pour in beige soap. Only fill half way so they’re more like real cookies. Allow soaps to harden overnight and pop out.
Put these in pretty treat bags and tie with ribbon. Your friends will LOVE this no-calorie surprise!
-Debbie, Soapylove
When I was working on the latest Soap Queen tutorial for the Lucky Star Soaps, I made a batch and ran into a problem. There was a strange bubble trapped over my pretty embedded hearts. See that silvery film over them in the picture above? Well, I’m going to tell you how to avoid that and save you hours of anguish! (okay… make that “a few minutes of puzzlement.”)
The way you make the Lucky Star Soap is to pour a layer of the main color, let it set, then place an embed on the hardened layer and top off the mold. This way, the embed is floating inside the star.
The first time I made the soaps I put the embed directly on the hardened layer, then poured soap on top of it. Unfortunately, the heated soap didn’t get all the way underneath the embed, creating an air pocket. That is why there is that silvery air bubble, which is really distracting.
It’s easy to avoid this. Anytime you are placing an embed into your design, pour some heated soap in first, then place your embed into the soap, and continue to fill your mold. This way, the embed is completely encased in soap with no chance for air pockets. Another way to guarantee a seamless look is to spray your embed with alcohol before placing into the melted soap.
I have included photos of other embedded projects which use this technique. They can all be found in the “Soapylove – Squeaky Clean Projects” book. Have fun!
-Debbie, Soapylove
If you love bright colors and plastic jewelry (or did when you were a kid, like me!), then this soap project is for you!A sweet little heart is floating inside the new Soapylove stacked star.It’s simple and fun, and I bet Martha Quinn* would love them!
Makes 4 stars, instructions are for the yellow style.
Supplies:
1 lb Naturally Clearsoap base
Non-bleeding liquid red colorant
Sunshine Yellow from the Jewelry Box Colorant Set
Cherry Pop fragrance oil from the Candy Jar Fragrance Set
Small heart polymer or fondant cutter
Small plastic storage container or lid, approximately 6″x6″ or smaller
Knife, cutting board, bottle of rubbing alcohol, Pyrex measuring cup
Instructions:
Melt 3 oz of clear soap, color darkly with liquid red colorant. Pour into plastic storage container (or into the lid, like I did), to 1/8″-1/4″ thickness. Allow to harden and unmold.
Cut red soap sheet with heart cutter.
TIP: to prevent your cutter from splitting at the seam, wrap the seam in tape before using.
Melt 12 oz of clear soap and stir in a few drops of Sunshine Yellow colorant and Cherry Pop fragrance oil. Fill mold to second star, spray with alcohol to pop any bubbles, and allow to harden.
Remelt remaining soap if a skin has formed but make sure it’s not above 120 degrees (or too hot to touch with your bare fingertip). Spray hardened yellow soap with alcohol, then pour a thin layer of soap into the mold.
Quickly spray a red heart with alcohol and put into the hot soap. Spray again with alcohol and top off mold. Repeat for remaining cavities.
Allow to harden overnight at room temperature. Pull away sides of mold to create an air pocket, then invert and push on back until soap pops out.
For pink and purple variation, I used Sparkle Dust from the Jewelry Box Colorant Setand non-bleeding purple colorant for the hearts and stars, then Fiery Fuchsia colorant with Pink Strawberry Fragrance Oil for the soap bar. You can create another layer of soap plus an embed to add more dimension to your design, too!
*Do you remember Martha Quinn? She was a “VJ” on MTV. The good ol’ days! 😉
Have fun!
-Debbie, Soapylove
I am totally loving the versatility of this swell Checkered Heart mold – the latest addition to the SoapyLove line. We’ve done this mold in all kinds of color combinations and love how each and every color combo looks. Kudos to Debbie for coming up with such a user-friendly design.