Melt and Pour Part Two: Cut-out Retro Flower Soaps

This post is the part two of our tutorial on how to use circle/flower cut-out shapes to make retro flower embeds. We used the same basic Mold Market rectangle mold as in our last tutorial, but mixed up the shapes and colors.

In this tutorial, we cut a pipette in half and used it to punch-out the small circles around the pink flower center shown above. GoPlanetEarth sells all of the supplies you will need to complete this soap project.


Here's what you will need to complete this soap project:

• Clear and white melt & pour soap base
• Green, yellow, pink, lime soap colors
• Mold Market's Basic Rectangle mold (Item #001)
• Fragrance oil (optional)
• Circle (1 1/2" and 1/2" sizes) / flower cutters (1/2" flower)
• Pipette (cut in half)
• Glass measuring cup
• Microwave
• Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle
  

Watch instructional tutorial:

Melt & Pour Part One: Cut-out Retro Flower Soaps

Learn how to make melt & pour retro flower soaps by using punched circle shapes. In this two-part tutorial we used circle shapes to create some funky retro flowers that are embedded in clear soap. Supplies for this tutorial project can be purchased at http://www.goplanetearth.com/.

This is a great melt and pour project for beginners just learning to embed shapes into soap. Part two of this tutorial offers another design option and should be posted online within the next couple of days.

The cut-out color options are endless. Let this tutorial be a launching pad for your own design ideas.

Here's what you need for this project:

• Clear soap base
  
  
• Mold Market's basic rectangle mold
  
  
• 2-inch tube mold (use as a cutter)
  
  
• Orange, green, lime, turquoise, yellow soap colors
  
  
• Flexible jelly roll pan
  
  
• Microwave/glass measuring cup
  
  
• Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle
  
  

View Tutorial:

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Milk & Cookies Soap

Remember dipping your cookies in milk as a kid? I do, and my kids still do it as well. Here's a soap that is a take-off from those Kindergarten days when dipping cookies in milk seemed like a novel idea. We won't tell anyone that "big" people still do it! A great project for classrooms, moms and kids, and "big" people, too.


Here's what you'll need to make this soap:

• Mold Market's Cookie Sandwich mold
• Chocolate brown and black oxide soap colors
• 8 ounce disposable cup
• White and clear soap base
• Fragrance oil for soap
• Microwave
• Glass measuring cup

The soap colors, soap base, and fragrance oil can be purchased from GoPlanetEarth.com. Our tutorital (shown below) will get you started. This is a very easy soap for those just starting out in soap making.

Watch our tutorial and learn how easy it is to make this soap.

Some Green Packaging Ideas for Soap

One of GoPlanet's tutorials was recently featured on CraftGossip.com (how to line a wooden soap mold). I couldn't help but take a peek at the many great crafting ideas offered. This site covers a wide gambit of crafts from glass art to recycled crafts. During my visit a couple of clever green packaging ideas caught my attention and best yet, they can be done on a shoestring budget.

The above soap is wrapped with a strip of newspaper and finished off with natural raffia. How cool is this? I remember back in my college days doing a "how-to" demonstration on how-to wrap a gift from re-cycled products; newpaper was the wrap of choice. I used the help-wanted section to wrap a college graduation gift. Jobs pertaining to the graduate's career path were circled in red marker. Corrie of Lomond Soaps shows another creative use for newpaper.

GoPlanet did a tutorial a while back on how-to make soap logs or soap rolls. Here is a creative take on dressing up those finished soap rolls as shared on CraftGossip.com using handmade paper and natural dyed raffia. Presto, bingo... you've got yourself a very handsome looking soap log.

This green packaging option is from GoPlanet. A recycled corrugated shipping box was cut into pieces to fit each soap. The corrugated side faces up. The soap is set atop excelsior (natural aspen wood fibers). A couple of bay leafs were placed behind the soap, then shrink wrap was applied. The final touch included threading several strands of natural raffia through punched holes.

Do you have a green packaging idea to share? I'd love to hear from you. As part of GoPlanet's green commitment, we are always looking for ways to recycle and are continually brainstorming on ways to create more green packaging options from recyled materials.

Finished Soaps Using Mold Market Molds

You may or may not know that GoPlanetEarth carries the entire line of Mold Market brand molds. I get excited whenever I run across photos of soaps made with these molds. Here is a collection of photos that our staff found while surfing the Net. Whether the molds were purchased from GoPlanetEarth or from another supplier, across the board, Mold Market molds are superior in quality and design.

Enjoy the pics! I hope they lend inspiration in manufacturing soap using Mold Market designs. You will find credits for all the wonderful soaps showcased at the end of the slide show.

OOPS! Almost forgot to mention....

Place an online order TODAY of 4 or more regular priced Mold Market molds (sale molds excluded) from the GoPlanet web site and we'll inlcude a FREE Mold Market apron. YOU MUST enter the discount code BLOG (during online checkout) to be eligible for this offer.

Four Leaf Clover Soaps

Mold Market just released this four-leaf clover soap. It's perfect for duo-color pours. Here is a brief tutorial on how to make them. Supplies for this project can be purchased at GoPlanetEarth.com.


You will need:

• Mold Market clover mold
• White and clear soap base
• Kelly green liquid gel soap color
• Soap fragrance (we used French Tarragon Oswego)
• Microwave/ glass measuring cup
• Pipette for dispensing fragrance
• Rubbing alcohol

View Instructional:

Melt and Pour Embedded Flower Soaps

If you are new to embedding soap within soap, then this beginner melt and pour project is for you. The full instructional will be on the GoPlanetEarth web site within the next few days. The soap shapes were cut out from sheets of colored soap that was poured into our Jelly Roll pan. We used ultramarine blue color in both clear and white soap base and kelly green in clear base for the leaf/stem.



A thin layer of clear soap is poured into each molded cavity. Once the soap is firm, the shapes are arranged inside the mold. Mold Market's basic rectangle mold was a perfect for our flower.

Watch a Tutorial Video:

How to Make Honey Colored Soap Base

A recent customer inquiry prompted us to run a few color tests with our liquid gel colors. Here is the customer question and our suggestion:

I am making melt and pour soap to go along with my honey and candle endeavors ( I am a beekeeper). I would like to make a rich honey colored soap, both opaque low sweat bars and clear guest soaps. I have used orange oxide colorant and it is not the right color and makes the clear soap opaque. I am looking for a beautiful rich honey to amber color to compliment my honey colored natural beeswax candles and golden to amber colored honey. Do I need a liquid gel to keep the clear soap clear or what? And what colors or combinations of colors should I use? I would certainly appreciate your suggestions.

Here is what we suggest to achieve the desired color.

Use just a smidgen of Oriental Mustard liquid gel color in clear soap base to get the nice, soft honey color. You will get a clear, amber type soap if you keep the color to a minimum. If you add too much color, the clear soap will become opaque. In the photos shown, we used more than a smidgen of Oriental Mustard in 8 ounces of soap base. As you can see, the additional color immediately caused the soap base to turn opaque.

Add a MINIMUM amount of color additive if you want a clear honey color.