Project designed & written by Debbie from SoapyLove. Check out her blog here, her soaplab site here & her soapy ezine here.

To make this realistic toy car, first I bought a die cast metal toy car at Rite Aid. It had open windows so I had to make new plastic windows (cut from some packaging) and taped them in. I pushed a whole bunch of play-doh and packing peanuts inside the car to make sure the windows wouldn’t just push in when I made my mold.

I got some silicone molding clay to make the mold, pressing into the wheel wells and a little under the car. You can use something from a craft store or get the Flexy Fast Molding Putty from Bramble Berry (if you got a copy of any of my eZines, there’s a coupon in the back for BB! ).

Then I poured white soap to fill the roof. I unmolded it and cut it into stripes for the final roof.

I mixed my minty body color by combining 3/4 clear soap and 1/4 white, then green shimmery mica and BrambleBerry’s iridescent glitter, scented with 1/4 teaspoon of Apple fragrance. I poured a bit into the roof then placed in my white stripes. I let it harden.

Then I made clear soap mixed with BrambleBerry’s silver mica for the windows. I poured this in until the windows were filled up (spraying my roof layer with alcohol of course!).

After that was hard, I topped off my mold with minty soap and let harden.

I unmolded the whole car, then used a sharp knife to cut out the wheels. I put the car back in the mold and made some dark grey soap, and filled the wheel areas with that. Let cool, unmold, yadda yadda.

I used an exacto knife to trim up my soap car since it had some lumps and bumps.

Now it was time for painting the details. I mixed the silver mica with a touch of black oxide to make metallic silver. I stirred in a few drops of liquid glycerin to make a paint consistency. I painted on my details with a little brush. I used white colorant for the license plate. All painted areas dried in my window for 2 hours. I used a pen to etch in my license plate (SOPYLUV).

Oh – I misted my soap with rubbing alcohol right before taking the picture to get that shiny wet look.

Voila! It took me 3 cars to figure out what worked and what didn’t.

What didn’t work:

• Plain clear for the windows. Wasn’t clear enough and just looked like the body color. Not cute enough.
• Solid white roof. Looked too pasted on.
• Solid black wheels. Straight black oxide looked very harsh. I used silver mica plus black oxide for a dark grey instead.

This time of year brings all kinds of creatures to mind, and they don’t have to be your classic Halloween characters. If you like spooky, you will love this eerie soap. Its glowing eyes light up in the dark and its opalescent sheen is certainly otherworldly. Treat your guests to a little surprise when they wash up before dinner!

Materials
1/2 lb.clear melt and pour soap base
Opalescent green mica
Glow powder (see note below for suggested source)
Wasabi fragrance oil
6 Bar Oval Silicone Mold (The 3D Alien Head Mold has been discontinued and replaced with our 6 Bar Oval Silicone Mold)
Melt and Pour Tool Kit

1) First, melt 1/2 ounce of clear soap base and stir in about 1/8 teaspoon of glow powder. Stir until incorporated. Holding the face portion of the mold in your hand, use applicator tool to fill eye spaces with glow soap. Don’t worry if they look sloppy. Simply wait until soap has hardened, then use scraper tool from the M&P Tool Kit to cut away excess.

2) Close mold and clamp with rubber bands. Stand upright on table. Melt 7 ounces of clear soap base. In a small cup, dissolve 1/8 teaspoon of opalescent mica in 1/4 teaspoon of fragrance. Stir mixture into your melted soap. When soap cools to 120 degrees, pour into the mold. I suggest filling 1/4″ up into the funnel since my soap settled and had an air pocket when it was finished. It’s better to trim away excess than have a bubble like mine!

3) Let cool overnight or put in the freezer for 15 minutes. Unmold. Use a sharp knife to trim off any excess at seams.

For maximum glow, expose to sun for at least 15 seconds then bring into the dark. The longer, the better!

Note about glow powder: There are several colors and brands available online, but we recommend ordering the Night Glow Powder from TKB Trading. Theirs is approved for use in soap specifically. Other companies say theirs is safe but isn’t actually certified.

Have fun!!

Debbie, Soapylove

Did you miss directions on how to make this?

Click here for Part One Instructions
Click here for Part Two Instructions
Click here for Part Three Instructions

These are SoapyLove’s creations from the soap weekend – be sure to check back with me in a few weeks to learn all about making lotion!

So, what do you think? Will you try this at home? If not, why not? And did I miss any major steps or questions that you have about this project? Post a comment and let me know.

Missed the previous instructions?
Click here for Part One Instructions
Click here for Part Two Instructions

Thank you to commenter Teresa for reminding me that Cookie Cutters are entirely appropriate to use instead of the Exacto Knife. I used cookie cutters for the soap display at Otion (above or click here to view full size photo) rather than the Exacto knife idea.

Step Six:

Melt clear soap (approximately 1 ounce per bar of soap). Cool this to 120 – 130 (it varies by base – Bramble Berry’s house bases are ideal for embedding soap at around 120 to 125 degrees). The key is that the soap must be cool enough to not melt your hand-cut insert. Pour this clear, cooled soap, into the mold approximately 1/8″ thick.

Step Seven: Carefully and quickly place your black insert soap into the clear soap. Spray liberally with alcohol to ensure a smooth clear surface. Allow to harden for approximately 10 minutes or until thick skin has formed. Be careful to not move the soap during the hardening process or you may end up with wrinkles.

Step Eight: Melt white soap, approximately 2 ounces per bar. Allow to cool to 120-130 degrees. Add fragrance. Spritz the clear soap layer with rubbing alcohol to help the two layers adhere. Pour white soap to fill the soap mold.

Allow soap to fully harden, invert and pop your creations out! Viola! You’re done. I’ll have final reveal photos tomorrow.

So, what do you think? Will you try this at home? If not, why not? And did I miss any major steps or questions that you have about this project? Post a comment and let me know.

Click here for Part One Instructions
Click here for Part Three Instructions

Step Three: Pop your Black Soap Out

Invert your mold and gently pry your flat soap out. Face it so that the underside of the soap is facing you (this is the more dull side).

Step Four: Prepare your Cameo Design

Using the size of your soap mold as a guide, draw your design or find a great silhouette on the internet and shrink it down. Print it on normal paper on your inkjet or laser printer.

Step Five: Cutting

Place your design on top of the soap. Use a small exacto knife to trace around the design, through the soap. Make sure your soap is on a cutting board or thick piece of cardboard. You don’t want to accidentally cut your counter.

If you’re not so good with the knife, you can also use a small cookie cutter to shorten this step up.

Part of the fun of this technique is the ability to customize logos, your name, your special symbol or even your own silhouette.

Use your fingers to smooth out any rough edges. My silhouettes were cut in such a herky-jerky, caffeine-fueled fashion that I had a lot of smoothing to do!

You can do some very intricate designs with enough patience and no caffeine. A steady hand is essential for this project.

Now that your silhouette is prepared, join me tomorrow as we work our way through placing this customized soap into your mold for maximum dramatic effect.

I’m still in NYC and after a full day of meetings and another evening show (Chicago – I bought tickets for less than half price from a scalper and felt very NYC-savvy), I’m getting ready for Better TV tomorrow and a few more magazine meetings before flying back home to Bellingham, Washington.

This project was designed by Debbie C. of the renowned SoapyLove. Debbie was the first to do Soap Popsicles on a grand scale with difficult designs and fetching colors (don’t miss her ghoulish Halloween designs). Here, she shares her very cool “Silhouette” technique with Soap Queen Readers. If you haven’t seen the Silhouette Soaps, click here to be taken to a post with a picture of a gaggle soaps using this technique.

Thanks, Debbie!

What you’ll need:

Buy the entire KIT or, mix’n’match with what you already have

·Clear soap base (2 ounces per bar you plan to make)

·White soap base (2 ounces per bar)

·Fragrance oil, skin safe (1/8 teaspoon per bar)

·Black oxide pigment

·Soap mold with simple shape and flat surface

·Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle

·Small cookie, clay, or fondant cutters; Exacto knife or similar craft knife

·Food thermometer

·2 cup Pyrex measuring cup

·Small cup to mix oxide pigment in

·Spoon or craft sticks to stir with

·Knife and cutting board

Step One: Make the Black Soap

To mix the dispersion colorant, black oxide (why black oxide? It doesn’t bleed. For a primer on bleeding, click here), mix a little rubbing alcohol with the black oxide.

How much is “a little bit?” I like to do 70% alcohol to 30% black oxide.

Stir this slurry up well. Notice there are still clumps in the bottom. Not to worry, these will stick to your bowl as you pour the black oxide mixture into your soap and you’ll be left with a wonderful dark black.

Step Two: Pour into Flat Mold

Once you have the black slurry, cut clear soap into small chunks, approximately 1 ounce per bar you’re making.Put into Pyrex cup and melt in microwave – about 15 seconds per ounce.Stir until all chunks are melted.

Add pigment to clear soap and stir thoroughly.Add more pigment mixture if needed to get a nice, dark black color.

Pour into soap mold, making 1/8” layer. Don’t forget to spray with rubbing alcohol to ensure there are no pesky bubbles marring your flat surface. Allow to set at room temperature; if in a hurry, put in refrigerator for 10 minutes until solid.Save any extra soap to re-melt for future projects.

You can also pour into your plain multi-cavity soap molds – that way you are sure your silhouette will fit in your soap mold.

Make your black flat soap and check back tomorrow on how to prepare your sillouette.

Click here for Part One Instructions
Click here for Part Two Instructions
Click here for Part Three Instructions

As you may have read in my previous posts (step 1 and step 2), I was asked by my cousin, Katie, to make the favors for her autumn themed wedding. Delighted to get this request, I quickly got to work on some ideas.

Materials (makes enough for about 60 shapes, each approximately 1 1/2″ long):
1 lb clear melt and pour soap base
Merlot mica and Copper mica for the red/orange look
or Gold mica and Cappuccino mica for the brown look
1 ounce Red Apple fragrance oil
Aluminum disposable cookie sheet (or your own baking sheet as long as it’s not warped)
Mini cookie cutters

1. Using 2 separate Pyrex measuring cups, melt 8 ounces in each. Color one cup of soap with a generous pinch of merlot mica, and the other with copper mica. Fragrance each cup of soap with 1/2 teaspoon fragrance oil. Allow each cup of soap to cool to around 120 degrees.

2. Holding one cup of soap in each hand, pour colors into pan, varying areas so they can marble. Use all of your soap. Take a popsicle stick and swirl the colors, creating a marbled effect. Stop when you like the design or a skin starts to form. Mist with alcohol to pop any surface bubbles.

3. Allow to cool completely. After about 20 minutes, you should be able to peel back the pan and lift up the edge of the soap sheet with your fingers (in a rigid pan, you can pry up an edge with a butter knife).

4. Place on a sheet of wax paper and cut out with cookie cutters (you should cover the seam on the cutter with tape before you begin, or else the soap may force the seam open).

I needed to make 175 favors, and put 2 soaps in each organza bag. To get 350 soaps, I made 2 sheets of gold/brown, 2 sheets of merlot/copper, and then marbled my scraps to make one more sheet of merlot/brown (not shown). Each guest will get 2 soaps in differing shapes and color schemes.