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
  
  

 

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.

Printable Templates for Use with GPE Soap Paper

We've made it easier than ever to print on our GPE Soap Paper. We've uploaded a printable template for use with many of the Mold Market basic mold shapes. Print your artwork onto a sheet of GPE Soap Paper. Cut out the template shapes and trace shapes to fit the face of the mold.

Template is for use with the following Mold Market molds:

#001 Basic Rectangle mold, #003 Beveled Border Rectangle mold, #005 Basic Oval mold, #006 Beveled Oval mold, #007 Beveled Border Oval, #009 Basic Circle, #011 Beveled Border Circle, #013 Basic Square, #015 Beveled Border Square

Melt and Pour Summer Soaps: Flower Flip Flops

Thanks to my friend, Irene, for sending this photo of the Mold Market flip flop (which, by the way, is a nice 4 ounce size bar). Word has it, that Mold Market will be producing a matching (Right) flip flop late August.

Here are suggested top selling GoPlanetEarth fragrances that make perfect summer scents:

French Tarragon Oswego (great uni-sex scent!)

Alyssum

Watermelon Taffy

Ocean Breeze

Kinetic Breeze

Hawaiian Tropics

Watermelon Taffy

Pina Colada

Coconut

Island Retreat

Plumeria

Papaya

Pineapple

GoPlanetEarth Observes Memorial Day

GoPlanetEarth will be closed Friday, May 22 - Monday, May 25 in observance of the Memorial Weekend. May you reflect upon the many freedoms enjoyed as an American citizen and take time to honor and pay tribute to all those who have shed blood and sacrificed life for our liberties.

We are accepting online orders during this closure, but they will not be processed until our return. Expect a 1-2 day delay in normal processing time due to this closure.

Melt & Pour: Peanut Butter & Jelly Soap Sandwich

We've added another new instructional... crust-free PB & J soaps. This is such an easy project and perfect for beginning MP soapers wanting to learn how to pour soap in layers. GoPlanet's video (see below) tutorial guides you through the steps. An ideal "do-with-the-kids" craft.

Supplies Needed:

• Clear and white melt & pour soap base
  
  
• Oriental mustard & neon bright purple colorants



• Peanut butter fragrance



• Grape slush fragrance



• 8 x 8 flexible jelly roll pan



• Microwave for melting soap



• Sharp knife for trimming the finished soap



• Microwaveable dishes or measuring cups

Sizzling Designs...Melt & Pour Designer Soaps

Ooh-la-la! Now these are soaps that scream "Hey, look at me!!" These have been on my instructional "to-do" list for quite some time. I was like a kid in the candy store when I was finally able to make a few and was delighted with my first-time results.

The soaps are made with melt and pour soap base and our new GPE Printable Soap Paper. We currently sell the GPE Soap Paper for color laser printers only, but ink-jet GPE Soap Paper is arriving next week.

This soap project is easy, easy, easy, and my tutorial video (shown below) walks you through the process. Simply find your artwork and print it onto the GPE Soap Paper. The Laser GPE Paper runs $1.49 a sheet, but you can fit a good number of designs on each printable sheet. For this project I printed 8 different designs on one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet and made 8 soaps. There is a price break when purchasing 10 sheets. The printable ink-jet GPE paper is slightly higher than the laser.

The artwork stays on the soap after repeated use when using a color laser printer. If using an ink-jet printer, you will need to follow the instructions provided with the ink-jet GPE Soap Paper to ensure the artwork stays intact.

All of the supplies for this project can be purchased at GoPlanetEarth.com. Here's what you'll need:

• GPE Printable Soap Paper
• Melt & Pour Soap Base
• Soap Colors (I used our liquid gel colors)
• Soap Fragrance (I used Floral Bamboo Musk, Island Retreat... (very yummy!!), and French Tarragon Oswego (great uni-sex scent)
• Mold Market Soap Molds (basic shapes work best)

Other items you will need (that we don't sell) are a microwave, paper towels, microwaveable dishes, rubbing alcohol and a color printer. Look for templates to fit many of the basic Mold Market mold designs for use with the GPE Soap Paper. We should have those online within the next couple of weeks.

 

A Special Mother's Day Tree

For the past few years, the grandkids have given me a tree to plant on Mother's Day to commemorate their birth year. This year, I was gifted a tree from my youngest grandson, Fischer (who turns one in June). His big brother, Carson, was sooo excited to show me the special tree.


Carson made me close my eyes and led me by hand through the front door, down a number of deck steps, to behold this glorious flowering tree. As I stood in front of the tree, my grandson said, "OK, NeeNee, open your eyes... SURPRISE! Isn't it so beautiful?" My heart melted.

I had one heck of a wonderful Mother's Day. I celebrated with my Mom, daughter/son-in-law/grandkids, sister, and niece. My terrific honey-man prepared an incredible food feast and we all hung out and chatted fireside after stuffing our faces. Yes! It was chilly enough for a fire. It was a day to rejoice as I shared time with my family!

Make Realistic Melt & Pour Snail Soaps

This advanced melt and pour soap project produces realistic snail soaps using Mold Market's snail mold. The finished soaps are well worth the invested time. All of the materials needed to complete this soap project are available from GoPlanetEarth.com.

You will want to have our PJ Professional Soap Tool Kit on hand for this soaping project. It's an absolute necessity if you want to recreate the soaps shown.

Watch the tutorial below, or visit GoPlanetEarth.com for step-by-step printed instructions.

We're in the Soap Biz... but, Let's Talk Chocolate

I recently returned from a business trip in Washington state. While there, I stayed at the Green Gables bed & breakfast in Walla Walla. It was an incredible stay and I was delighted to see that they support local artisians and wineries. Businesses supporting their local community will always get my vote.

I was so impressed with the gourmet chocolates (from Petits Noir) left in my room each morning that I had to visit this local boutique and meet the owner. So glad I did! Lan Wong, the owner was nothing but gracious and helpful. Her specialty is crafting chocolate creations that are not only inspired by the fresh produce grown in the valley, but also derived from the various complex notes found in the beautiful wines produced in the area. With flavors such as oak chestnut, lavender, rosemary, clove, and violet. These chocolates are a natural accompaniment to wines found throughout the Walla Walla Valley region.

I snatched up a number of Lan's beautifully packaged chocolates as homecoming gifts. Lan apprenticed with one of New York’s finest chocolatiers, and along with her husband, an artisan baker, they have worked with some of New York’s superb artisan bakeries.

If you're looking for great chocolate gifts, this is the place to visit online. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Showcasing the Spring Fling Butterfly Soap

It's always a delight to find online companies using the many instructionals offered by GoPlanetEarth. I stumble upon this photo of the Spring Fling butterfly . I listed this tutorial in our Resource section a number of years ago. The above photo is an example of this soap and was made by Magic Senses (and beautifully done I might add). The butterfly mold is from the Mold Market line and available for purchase at GoPlanetEarth.

Our site gives you detailed instructions on how to make the soap curl embeds that you see inside the butterfly. What a perfect Mother's Day soap and you can't go wrong when adding one of these lovely, aromatic spa-quality scents.

Olive Asian Tapenade Spa Quality Fragrance. A luxury Mediterranean spa fragrance that is pure harmony. A blend of Asian fruit, sweet olives, and Japenses florals with hints of Eastern spices.

Paradisus A floral spa quality scent that is soft, subtle, sexy! Transport your mind and body to a tropical paradise.

Japanese Cherry Blossom A blend of pink Japanese cherry blossoms and fragrant mimosa flower petals, with warm base notes of vanilla, tonka bean, and oriental woods. Well rounded and very romantic.

Melt & Pour Soap: What is Color Bleeding or Color Migration?

If you are new to soap making, you undoubtedly have many soaping questions. One question or concern that jumps to my mind (because I receive calls or emails weekly) is about "color bleeding". First, let's clarify that color bleeding doesn't mean the soap color stains your body while bathing. Color bleeding, AKA "color migration", occurs when the color is not appropriate for the material/application being used (Melt and Pour soaps, in this case) .


The colorant type used in melt and pour soap base determines whether a color bleeds. You need to select color types that are labeled as non-bleeding. I've pictured two examples of noticable color bleeding. See how the colored embeds have bled (migrated) into the surrounding white or clear soap base? Over time, the color penetrates and bleeds (migrates) into all of the edges of the embedded material. It's not a pretty site, but is easily fixed by using the right pigments. I'm guessing food dye was used to color the embeds pictured. These are NOT a good choice for soap but often used by beginner soapers.

To avoid the problems presented in these photos, purchase non-bleeding pigments. GoPlanetEarth offers a large selection of non-bleeding pigments/dyes that are colorfast and give outstanding color intensity. When you see the term "non-bleeding" next to a color on our web site, you can be assured the color is non-migrating and you won't experince the problems shown in these pics.

Classic & Timeless: Melt & Pour Cameo Soap from Bunny Bubbles

What a classic look and timeless design. This finished melt and pour soap was beautifully done by Terry at Bunny Bubbles and is part of the Mold Market Mold collection available from GoPlanetEarth. What a great display, Terry... good job. Learn how to create this duo-pour soap using PJ's Professional Mini Tool Kit.

Business Shout-Out to Fizzy Bubbles

This top selling mold is available at GoPlantEarth.com. Glad to see our FREE custom template label is being used. The clear crayon box is also sold by GoPlanet. These finished soaps are from Fizzy Bubbles, an Estsy shop, and are a nice example of the finished product.