Making Soap
Last weekend I bought some soap-making materials, so I tried making them yesterday and today. They look great! I’m using clear glycerin soap, blue and yellow dyes, honey almond scent, and star and moon shaped small soap molds. Making them is incredibly easy, and I don’t think it should be too much trouble to make enough for all of our guests.
For one tray I used 5 soap cubes (there are 32 cubes in the 2 pound brick of soap that I bought). I melted them for 40 seconds in the microwave, stirred and then cooked for 10 seconds more. Then, while the soap cools a bit, I applied a thin coat of petroleum jelly to the molds. For the blue soaps, the best color mix seems to be 6 drops of blue and one drop of red (making it fairly close to navy-blue). For the yellow soaps, 9 drops of yellow and one drop of red (for a slightly goldish yellow color). I also used 3 drops of scent, and for some of the soaps, I used a small “shake” of glitter. I poured this in the molds, and let it sit for 30-45 minutes. To aid in removing the soaps from the molds, I put the molds in the freezer for 2-4 minutes, and the viola, the soaps came out easily with constant, even pressure by my thumbs on the back. They still need to cure for a while, but the bulk of the work is over!
Now I just need to see if I can get the supplies for less from an online vendor.