How to Make Realistic 3-D Wounds

Last night I assisted my grandson with a school project that involved decorating a skeleton. Of course, he wanted a scary look and with a little help from latex rubber, we did just that. Since the concept behind the project was to learn the bones of the human skeletal frame, we thought a few vital organs would be appropriate: heart, brain and tendon.

My zombie face post from last week prompted a number of how-to requests. There are a couple of different ways to make ugly scars or wounds. The method in my pictorial video uses PVA water soluble glue rather than liquid latex. I purchased both online.

The PVA glue is ideal if you want to build up the wounds directly onto to the skin. It's the method I used in the zombie face pictorial.

The second method is building up the wounds/scars with liquid latex and then using the PVA glue to adhere them to your skin.

The method below shows the liquid latex method.

Step One:
Using a disposable paint brush apply liquid latex to form the outline of the wound. A dabbing effect seems to work best. In this picture, I applied the latex to wax paper so that it would easily peel off once dried. Apply a second layer of latex to build up the base.

Step Two:
Roll up single ply strips of toilet paper to create the edges of the wound. Place the strips just inside the perimeter of the wound you created with latex.

Step Three:
Rip small sections of toilet paper and place inside the wound. Apply a thin layer of latex onto the wound an place the toilet paper into the wound. I used the end of a paint brush to saturate the toilet paper and squish it into place. Continue building up the wound with sections of toilet paper until you are satisfied with the look.

It doesn't look too realistic at this point, but trust me, in the end you will have a nice piece of fleshy skin.

Step Four:
After you have obtained the right look for your wound, apply one last layer of liquid latex. Allow to dry for at least two hours. It really needs to be thoroughly dry before you start apply the make-up.

Now... time to make it look realistic by applying make-up. It's likely you have most of this make-up in your cosmetic bag. If not, the Dollar Store is a great place to pick up colors or items needed.

Step Five:
Applying the color is the best part (at least in my opinion). I know this doesn't look like a heart, but it did to my 9 year old grandson. Of course, he had to add a few staples for effect.

We used 3 different shades red of lipstick. Using a make-up brush, we started with a darker shade of red along the perimeter and continued working the lighter red colors inward. A little brush here and there of black eye shadow also adds realism.

Liquid blood was brushed inside the wound and painted along the outside. I purchased my blood tube at a Spirit Halloween store. I'm sure you can also find it online. It's not necessary, but does lend itself to a more realistic look.




After Painting



Before Painting



We left a little more of the latex showing when making the tendon. The same red colors were used but with less intensity.

The picture to the left shows what the finished latex looked like prior to applying the make-up.

The design options are only limited by your imagination. Create bullet holes, peeling or aging skin, wounds, scars or cuts.

I'll be taking this to the next level with soaps. Can't wait to share. Stay in touch.

My New Zombie Look

Well there's something to be said for a NeeNee (grandma) that is willing to showcase this zombie face online. My grandson, Carson, is so excited that NeeNee has committed to wearing this face at his upcoming Halloween Fright Night camp out. The only thing missing is a wig which I will purchase this week. I think a long hair black/grey wig is the perfect look for a zombie.

Here's a short video on how I got the zombie look. I'm now thinking about doing a zombie soap. Yes, I know, I'm a nut case and somehow soap stuff is always a background noise for me. I can't help myself!

Mad Scientist: Costume #2 with Slime

Last week, I posted pictures of my grandson's Mad Scientist costume for his upcoming backyard camp out. At age nine, he's all about the Halloween gore. However, for school it's not acceptable so we needed a back-up costume. This is it.

I purchased a second lab coat and dusted it with neon green powdered colorant (Yep, the same color used in soap making). I again used the salt tubes sold at GoPlanet and filled them with various ghoulish looking items. I also made some slime (see recipe below) that I will pin to the lab coat in various places. I won't do that until the day of his class party because the homemade slime needs to stay in the fridge until used.

I didn't have a pocket protector so I used a soft eyeglass case and stuffed it with some ink pens. Every scientist needs pens to formulate their calculations, right? I found some electrical wire and a couple of electrical wing nuts in the garage. Let's see... latex gloves, test tube vials, plastic syringe, creepy plastic spiders, a bat and of course, what's a lab cost without some kind of skeleton part?

Slime Recipe:

• 1/4 cup glue (I used Elmer's, but any off brand will do)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon borax powder (you'll find this in the laundry isle of your grocery store)
• 1/4 additional water (put this is a separate cup)
• Ziploc bag
• Food coloring (I used green)

 Add borax to one cup water. Stir until dissolved. Mix the glue and 1/4 cup water together (50/50 solution).

Add equal parts of the glue solution and borax solution in the Ziploc bag. One half cup of each solution will yield one cup of slime. Add food coloring and seal the bag. Knead mixture until it becomes putty-like. Store in the fridge inside a sealed bag when not in use.

Here's the squishy, gooey slime that will be part of the costume. Best part, kids can play with it even after Halloween is over.

Every Mad Scientist must keep records. I recovered the front and back of an old book (it was one of those hard cardboard baby books) with printed artwork. I didn't want to recreate pages, so I placed a rubber band around the outside of the book...seemed like something a mad scientist might do.

The back cover is a printout of chemistry equations and clearly indicates that this scientific book is the property of Dr. N. Telligent.

The little wiry gizmo by the book is going to be glued to the top of the mad scientist wig I purchased. It's just a bunch of gadgets glued to the top of a plastic storage container.

If your finances are strapped, head on over to a thrift store and purchase a white dress shirt for the lab coat. Cut of the shirt tails and use them to create extra pockets for the lab coat. Press the bottom of the shirt and stitch the hem for a nice finished look.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Halloween Silhouettes

A molded soap shape, hair spray, powdered colorant and a silhouette cut-out.... it's that simple. Each of the soaps shown were created with a paper silhouette that was positioned on the face of the soap with hair spray. The hair spray keeps the cut-out in place while dusting the silhouette edges with color.

A rat, graveyard scene, ghost, beheaded lady, pumpkin, owl and cats. So many options for creating these easy and fun Halloween soaps. Just be sure to blow off any excess powdered color before removing the cut-out silhouette (do this outdoors or over a garbage container).

Before you ask, YES, the powdered colorant will come off when using the soap. And no, it won't stain your body when used in the shower. This soap is for fun, and the silhouettes are only meant to capture the season.

The silhouettes were printed  and then cut out with a craft x-acto knife. If you print your stencils on card stock paper, they can be used several times. A thin coat of hairspray on the top of each finished soap (allow the hair spray to thoroughly dry) will keep the powdered color from smearing when wrapping the soaps.

GPE's Mad Scientist Halloween Costume

It's that time of year for scare and fright. My 9-year old grandson is all about gore this year. It was decided (with parental guidance) that a Mad Scientist costume would be appropriate. Since face masks or face paint is not allowed at their school Halloween party, we opted to make the lab coat the primary focal point of his costume.

I ordered a basic child's lab coat online. Cost was under $20 and also included a white mad scientist wig. The use of GoPlanetEarth products completed the look.

1) Latex gloves dipped or soaked in red colorant. I used both DWP red and liquid gel tomato red or red oxide. LET THE COLOR DRY COMPLETELY before attaching gloves to the lab coat.

2) Every mad scientist needs tubes filled with disgusting, yucky stuff. I filled a couple of GPE's 1 x 8" plastic salt tubes with 4 x 4 gauze sponges soaked in red colorant, uncooked oatmeal, water, corn syrup... whatever you can find around the house to make the tube look gory. Place a label on the tube to identify its contents. I decided on Monster Goo, Werewolf Blood and Rat Brains.

Seal the tube caps with super-glue to ensure none of the gory contents spill onto the classroom floor.

3) GPE's natural plastic tubes are a great addition to the mad sceientist's lab coat pockets.

4) It never hurts to add a few plastic spiders to the test tubes. The soap injector makes a great accessory for this lab coat costume.

5) Now for the blood and gore. Take the lab coat, colorants and paint brush outdoors for a creative painting session. I started by dipping a large craft paint brush into DWP red colorant (with water added). Dip the paint brush and throw the mixture onto the lab coat. Paint streaks onto the coat as well.

The last coloring step was taking tomato red or red oxide liquid gel color (add a small amount of water) and splattering onto the lab coat (with a paint brush).  The darker red color is a nice contrast to the DWP red.

6) Attach a few vinyl bats to the lab coat with super glue. I dipped an old cotton rag into the red paint and pinned to the shoulder area of the lab coat. The latex gloves were pinned to the lab coat pockets.

The only thing missing is the wig and the surgical shoe covers. My friend is bringing me shoe covers from the hospital. I will spray them with red colorant and have my grandson put them over his shoes.

My grandson gives this costume an A++ rating!

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Dino-Myte Soaps for Kids

These vinyl dinosaurs were a hit with my grand kids (ages 4, 6 and 9). Mold Market's duck pond mold makes a perfect base for these little guys. Color soap and allow it to set up. Then shred the soap with a cheese grater. Secure the grated soap to the (duck pond) base with clear melted soap. Dip bottom of  dinosaur into the melted soap and seat on top.

These soaps fit our new cupcake cello bags BUT, you will want to first shrink wrap or stretch wrap the dino soaps before placing them in the bag. The soap tends to scuff the inside of the bag if the bag is moved around. The bottom of the duck pond fits nicely into the cupcake insert. Our cupcake boxes or flower top apple boxes might work as well though I haven't experimented with them.

Soap Packaging: Cupcake Soap Bags

This is one of the best values around for packaging cupcake soaps. It fits Mold Market's cupcake molds #276 and #211 (pictured above). A gusseted bag that measures 4 x 4 x 9" in height. Includes a cupcake insert.

Fold top of bag and punch two evenly spaced holes. Thread ribbon through the holes and tie a bow. Apply a label, and you have an inexpensive soapy holiday gift. I've included FREE PDF labels. Print, cut and apply to cupcake bag with double-sided tape.

Soap Packaging for Apple Soaps

This is one of GoPlanet's newest boxes. It's a perfect fit for Mold Market's apple soap. I suggest placing the soap into a 4 x 2 x 9 cello bag before boxing. This ensures the box interior stays nice and clean without any noticeable soap marks.

The drop in (folding) insert is a perfect fit for the apple. Gather the flower top portion of the box, add a ribbon and your soap is shelf ready for a retail gift shop.

We dipped the soap in a caramel colored soap base and sprinkled with spa quality sea salts colored to look like chopped nuts.

This picture presents a good feel for the actual size of the apple soap. What teacher wouldn't love to have a fresh smelling apple soap placed on their desk this Fall season?

Print an 1-inch wide x 8 1/2-inch label band (cut to size as needed) to fit around the outside of the box. Get creative with the label. I would love to see what you create and share.

It's a Good Day When....

 ... gifted with a big cup of caramel flavored coffee from Biggby's. Thank you Gabby and Nichelle, a perfect drink to enjoy on this beautiful Fall morning. And yes, the 275 calories on the cup holder did not go unnoticed.

Halloween Packaging Ideas: Coffin Box Invitation

My nine-year old grandson wants to have a Halloween camp-out at my house. We care going to park a camper in the yard surrounded by a scary graveyard scene. He's very excited about the event. Food, games, and a campfire are all part of the spooky night.

These are the invitations I created for my grandson's special party. The coffin boxes are being filled with gummy body parts. The party invite is secured inside the top of the coffin. Decorate as you like, as there are so many options. I am using gauze strips to wrap the coffin. Consider dipping gauze strips in red colorant for a bloody effect or wrap natural twine around each box.

Here are the events planned for the Halloween camp-out:

1) On arrival, each guest receives a survival flashlight. The bathroom is past the eerie cemetery.

2) Xplodez Guns. They shoot non-staining red pellets.

3) Bob for apples in a bucket of slime
4) Make a friend into a toilet paper mummy.

5) Air guns that shoot 1-inch glow in the dark plastic balls, along with brain splat balls.

6) Make bloody brain hats.

I'm still working on the food stuff. For sure, we will be drinking posion water and spider cider. Vampire bat wings are also on the menu.

Melt & Pour Soap: Ghoulie Ghost Popsicles

It's that time of year! Upcoming Halloween signals ghoulish, scary and bewitching soaping ideas. Here is another sampling of the fun things you can do with GoPlanet's Pop Mold. Start by pouring a 3/3" layer of white soap into a flexible jelly roll pan. Let the soap set up, then remove from mold and cut-out ghostly shapes. Our recessed smoothing molding tool is perfect for trimming the ghost shapes.

We used suspension soap base and added cosmetic grade glitter. Our color palette was a light purple, light orange and light green. You want the colors to have enough transparency to showcase the ghost cut-out. We used GoPlanet's liquid gel colors.

Step One: Melt the soap, divide into three containers and add the trio of colors (light orange, light green, and light purple). Fill each mold cavity 1/3 full, allow to set up until a thin skin forms. Insert the ghost shape. Here is what I recommend. Take a popsicle stick and the bottom portion into clear melted soap base. Place the ghost shape onto the stick (the melted soap will act as a glue adhesive). Once the ghost is secured to the stick, center the stick into the pop mold cavity. The use of our soap clips will help keep the stick centered.

Step Two: Once the wooden pop stick is securely centered with the clips, pour a second layer of colored soap. Allow the second layer to set up slightly and then pour the final layer. You want to soap to set up enough that the second and third layers do not puncture the previous soap layer.

I failed to mention to Gabby (my worker pouring these soaps) the importance of centering the pop sticks with clips. As you can see in the above picture, the sticks were not centered. It was one of those do and learn moments.

As you see, the finished product was success, even if the sticks weren't centered. My only advise on this project is to make sure you use "rubbing alcohol" between each pour (liberally spritz each layer before pouring the next soap layer). A couple of Gabby's pop soaps lost the top layers when they were released.

TIP: Once the soap are hardened in the mold, place the entire mold in medium hot water bath (you can do this in your kitchen sink). This will help with the release process. These little guys aren't the easiest to release, but once you figure out the process, it's a breeze.

Happy Haunting!

Melt & Pour Soaps: Halloween Soap Ideas

Halloween is approaching. Kristy and Chelsea were busy preparing holiday soaps while I was visiting Paris. A big shout of thanks to my former assistant, Kristy, who filled in while I was away. She knows the business well and her presence in the work place gave me peace of mind.

The above soaps were made with Mold Market's square loaf mold. A crinkle cutter was used to slice the finished soap and a few slices were cut into candy corn shapes.

Neon yellow (in white soap base), neon orange (in clear soap base) and white base were the colors used for layering. All of these soap colors can be found here.

These pumpkin soaps are easy to make with our economy pumpkin or silicone Jack-o-lantern molds. Use the soap injector tool to fill in the black areas and green stem. Colorants used: neon orange liquid gel, black oxide, and neon green (for stem area). Our favorite fragrances include apple autumn, harvest moon, green apple, spiced pumpkin egg nog, roll in the hay and turning leaves. These are all great fall scents.

The mummie cupcake soaps are an easy soaping project to do with kids. Use Mold Market's cupcake mold and layer thin strips of white soap over the cupcake top (you may want to slice off the cherry from the cupcake topper). Punch out eyes with a circular shape. Secure all the pieces with clear melted soap.

Thanks to Chelsea for this soaping idea! She did a great job. Her only tip is to be sure you use THIN strips of white soap. Her first attempt failed because the white strips were too thick.

Checkout these other soaping ideas for inspiration. We would love for you to share your favorite Halloween soaps.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Granola Fruit Cup

Gabby does it again! This is her original granola fruit cup design. Below is the hand-sketch she drafted. As one of GoPlanet's newest workers, she has fallen in love with soap making and is continually brainstorming new soaping ideas.

A gelato cup was filled with finely chopped brown soap (for the granola). Strawberry halves, orange / apple slices, and blackberries were the fruit components.

Everything was sealed together with a quick over-pour of scented clear soap.

Gabby reported chopping the granola portion of the soap was the most time consuming. I suggested a vegetable grater would be much easier than using a knife. Her response was, "OMG, never thought about that!"

Meet Gabby, the girl behind the soap:

Gabby attends a local community college while working for GoPlanet part-time. She has proven to be a great asset to our team.

Besides working on various soaping projects, Gabby packs, pulls, and checks outgoing orders. She is being trained in all aspects of order processing to better serve you.

It would be nice if you take a moment to give Gabby feed-back on the soaping projects she shares on my blog.

Here are the molds and supplies Gabby used for this granola fruit cup:

• Gelato Cups
• Soap Colors (email Gabby if you need help with color selection)
• Clear and white soap base
• Soap fragrance
• Novelty/Economy molds: Deep Raspberry (was used as a blackberry), strawberry mold, apple and orange wedge

What's great about this soap design?  You can place secure the gelato lid to the bottom half (the portion in which you pour the soap). Apply a label and you are good to go.