Thursday, December 1, 2011

Soap making, it's easy.

Thursday is my easy craft day and this seriously was, extremely easy.

It's also a great gift idea.



Soap, homemade soap.

We use a lot of soap in our house and I don't always like the soap pumps because I have one little son who thinks he needs about 10 pumps each time he washes his hands so we run out really fast.

Soap bars last longer.


Supplies

Glycerin soap base - you can buy it at any craft store.
I used two kinds, plain and goats milk. I used about 1/4 of each box for this project.
You can also use dove soap bars, just cut them in to a few chunks.

Fragrance - (optional) also available at the craft store.

Add-ins: Use a few tablespoons of each.
I used oatmeal that I ground in a blender and lavender.
But you can use pretty much whatever you want,
honey, coffee, cinnamon etc.

How to make - this will take you 10 minutes or less to prepare.
1. Gather supplies
2. Cut up your soap base into chunks and put in in a microwave safe bowl.
    Microwave it for about 2 minutes and then check it every 30 seconds or so until it is all melted.
3. Mix in your add-ins
4. Pour into a dish, loaf pan etc. and let cool for a few hours. You can buy a soap mold if you want to get fancy.
5. Run it under hot water to release it from the mold.

**UPDATE** People have been having trouble releasing it from a glass pan, metal pans work better for releasing, or you can put foil or plastic wrap under it and it will release more easily that way. My friend set her pan on top of a hot stove-top for a few seconds (count to 5), and the soap released that way.  

6. Cut it into bars, you can smooth out the edges at this time, but I like it looking rough and homemade.


7. Wrap up cute and give away to friends


They smell great and I love washing my face with this
because the oatmeal makes it really great at exfoliating.

Thanks!

9 comments:

Jessica said...

Love it! What did you use for your wrapping?

Rachael said...

@Jessica aTo wrap it I used pages torn into strips from an old book and a brown lunch bag I cut up, tied with ribbon.

Shirley said...

I love this tutorial, I plan on making my own! Thank you. Found you through Sew Dang Cute. :)

RRWhicker said...

Ok I love this idea and totally stole it. But I can't get it out of my glass pan. Help!! I've been running it under hot water and banging on it for about 5 minutes.

Rachel

Unknown said...

What are the exact details of the ingredients? I am a little confused. I would like to know more info on the amounts of each ingredients and how many bars does the recipe make?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Rachael said...

Someone else had the same problem, using a metal pan worked better to get it out then a glass pan. Also she said that she heated it on her stove top for just a few seconds to release it.

Rachael said...

Sorry it too so long to get back to you, your comment got lost in moderation somehow.
The soap is just in a pre packed kit that I got at Michael's crafts, but I'm sure Hobby Lobby has these things too. Just ask them where the soap making stuff is.
You could also use dove soap bars they will melt nicely in the microwave. Many other kinds of pre-formed soap will not melt nicely in the microwave. The directions are just like I said, it really is easy. Microwave, mix, pour, harden, cut. How many bars you get depends on the size of pan you use. in my 9x9 pan we got about 9 bars. If you melt your soap and pout it in and it does not look thick enough melt some more and pour it on top, that can give it a cool layered look. Sometimes I melt one color and pour it on the bottom and then pour another color on the top. I can't give you exactness measurements because I never use exact measurements when I make these. But one thing I can tell you, people have an easier time getting the soap to release from a metal pan better then a glass pan.
- Rachael

Anonymous said...

I tried the soap bases from the craft stores and found they did not lather well. Have you ever used Ivory? I got that and thought maybe since there wasn't alot of additives in that, it might be a good soap base. Also, I have sprayed my soap molds with Pam, wiped them out and the soap pops out like a dream. Might work for those who want to use pans as well.

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