coolsoap.jpgWell, I did end up going to Michael’s yesterday afternoon and buying the Cool Kids Soap Kit. At a about $10, I couldn’t resist. (Note that the kit is priced about $20 – but there are usually 40% off coupons on Michael’s ads, so you can get them for about $12, cheaper than online and no need to pay for shipping).
The kit comes with a block of transparent soap, a block of white soap, a small bottle of scent (Mika doesn’t really like it), three dies (blue, red & yellow), one plastic mold for 6 soaps (the ones pictured on the box), a loaf of daisy soaps and a loaf mold so you can surround those daisies with clear soap and then cut it into slices.
What the kit DOES NOT CONTAIN is any type of clear instructions. There is one badly photocopied page, that tells you how to melt the soap and how to make the daisy loaf. There are no real instructions on how to make the soap bars, however. Basically what it says is to melt the soap, add scent & color and pour into the mold – but that will not leave you with the two color soaps the box depicts. To do that, melt 2 squares of soap (either white or transparent), it takes about 10-15 seconds in the microwave. Add a couple of drops of scent and color, and then *very carefully* pour into the recess of the mold where the protruding figure is. If you spill some outside the figure, let it harden a little and then carefully cut the excess with the side of a teaspoon. Spray a little bit of rubbing alcohol over the figure (to prevent air pockets and to help it adhere to the rest of the soap). Once the figure has hardened, then melt 5 squares of soap, scent and color it, and pour it into the mold on top of the figure. Wait about 30′ for the soap to harden before taken it out. To do so, press on the mold evenly and carefully.
This is all based on the instructions for the Life of the Party Soap Designs Kit that I bought before – and that worked pretty well for the soap I made yesterday.
What I don’t know is how to make the transparent soap be dual color as the box shows some of the soap bars being. Perhaps you add the coloring to the soap solution, but don’t mix it in? I may try it in a future soap.
In any case, Mika and I had fun making two bars of soap this morning. We’ll unmold them and take pictures of them when she comes home from school. The only problem is that it doesn’t take long to make a bar of soap, so it’s not an activity we can do for a long period of time. Of course, if it was too long, she’d get bored as well. So I need to find some activities that last longer but not too long. Any suggestions?