Archive for the ‘Soap Crafting’ Category

Color Bleeding in Melt and Pour Soap Crafting

Friday, July 7th, 2006

One of the things to know about Melt and Pour Soap colorants is that the color bleeds (unless you buy a colorant that specifically says it does not). I had an idea for a gift of handmade soap that had alternating layers of color (see picture above). I knew that the color might bleed, but I wasn’t sure if a light color like pink would bleed…and if so, how long would it take for the color to bleed. Well, I have the answer!

The answer is yes, it will bleed…and it will do it fast! I was really surprised to see that the soap I made above was completely pink in a week or two (I don’t remember exactly how long it took). In fact, the layers of pink and white were equal when I poured it into the mold…so it must have already started to bleed by the time I took this picture! I must say that the red soap colorant was the color voted by its classmates as “most likely to bleed,” so if any color was going to do this, it was going to be red – but I was still surprised that it happened so fast.

I know that you can find non-bleeding Melt and Pour Soap colorants online, but the one time I went searching, I was unable to find a non-bleeding red. Lots of other non-bleeding colors were available, but no red. I’m sure it’s out there. I just didn’t find it that day.

There are benefits to bleeding soap colorants. For example, you can make a rainbow soap and let the colors blend naturally together. Even when you are using regular soap colorants, most of the time it really an issue. I use regular soap colorants for the soap pieces I embed in soap and they seem to bleed MUCH less quickly than the method I used for the layer soap pictured above…to the point that it isn’t an issue at all. I don’t make soap for a museum; I make it to be used and appreciated as long as it lasts, so a little bleeding eventually isn’t a big deal to me.
I just thought I’d report on my experience, in case any of you had the same question about soap colorant and layered soap.

Happy Crafting,
Artfully AJ

PS – The SOAP MOLD I used for the soap pictured above is called Natural Handmade Mold by Life of the Party.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Soap Crafting | No Comments »

Rubber Stamps – For More Than Just Paper Crafts

Thursday, May 25th, 2006

I love rubber stamps! One of the things I love most about them is that you can use them in so many different types of crafts. So, in addition to all the cool things you can do with them on paper – embossing, layering images, powder pigments, resist ink techniques, and so on – you can incorporate them into other crafts as well.Maybe you never thought rubber stamps were for you…and maybe you spoke to soon. :-)

Here’s a list of some of the other types of crafts you can use rubber stamps with:

 

 

  • Soap Making – Place an unmounted rubber stamp face up in your soap mold to create an indented image of the rubber stamp on the soap. Once the soap has cooled, you simply peel off the stamp. It’s so easy! (FYI – you can easily unmount any wood-mounted rubber stamp. Contact me for details.)
  • Candle Making / Decorating – Heat the side of a pre-made candle with a heat gun and while the wax is soft, press the rubber stamp into the candle. Once the wax has cooled, you can highlight the image by rubbing ink or paint across the surface of the candle to highlight the image. The ink makes the raised part stand out from the depressed areas created by the rubber stamp.

  • Woodburning – Rubber stamp the wood and then go over the image with a wood burning tool. It is like having a free woodburing pattern!
  • Wood – You don’t even need to woodburn the rubber stamped image if you don’t want to…just stamp it with ink and you’re done!
  • Glass – Use permenant inks to rubber stamp directly onto glass. I customized a wall mirror this way.
  • Etched Glass - Did you know you can emboss a rubber stamp image on etched glass with embossing powders? It is really cool!

  • Clay – Whether you are using Polymer Clay, Paper Clay or Air Dry Clay (like DELIGHT Air Dry Clay), you can use your rubber stamps to create some amazing effects and cool projects.

    •  

  • Gourds - You can rubber stamp directly onto a gourd. I’ve even seen embossed rubber stamp images with embossing powder done on gourds. (FYI – it did need to be sealed so the embossing powder didn’t chip off.)
  • Fabric / Leather – I’ve see some really cool things done with rubber stamps on fabrics and leather. It’s also a fun kids craft. I’ve rubber stamped on t-shirts with kids and it was a big hit!
  • Metal (like Copper Metal Quilting Sheet) – If you don’t know what a Copper Metal Quilting Sheet is, just think of a sheet of copper rolled out thin like a sheet of heavy cardstock. Super thin, super flexible – you can easily cut through it with scissors. Permenant inks and rubber stamps work great on metal!
  • Friendly Plastic – Simply heat up your Friendly Plastic and press an inked stamp into it for a cool effect.
  • Shrink Plastic – You can make so many things with shrink plastic and to be able to rubber stamp on it makes it even better.
  • Cookies – It’s not a typo! Yes, you can even rubber stamp in food coloring on a nice, flat sugar cookie. (Contact me for details because you want to make sure everything is sanitary.)

Do you see why I LOVE rubber stamps so much?!?! There is so much versatility with stamps. Rubber stamping on paper is great, but I enjoy being able to branch out and try different things whenever inspiration comes. So, whether you didn’t know how versatile those rubber stamps of yours were, or whether you knew but had temporarily forgotten, I hope this inspires you to do something creative.

Happy crafting,

Artfully AJ

PS – I’d love to here what you’ve used rubber stamps on…just comment on this post!

Posted in Candles, Clay, Fabric Crafts, Friendly Plastic, Glass Etching, Gourds, Leather Crafts, Metal Crafts, Paper Crafts, Rubber Stamping, Shrink Plastic, Soap Crafting, Stenciling, Woodburning | No Comments »

Melt and Mold Soap Crafting Book – Book Review

Sunday, May 21st, 2006

“Melt and mold” soap making (now more commonly know as “melt and pour”) was one of the first crafts I fell in love with and I love it still.

Melt and Mold Soap Crafting, is written by C. Kaila Westerman and it is a great book for beginners, but also has things to offer for non-beginners. The recipes are rated by difficulty to guide you along.

Melt and pour soap crafting is basically the shorthand version of making soap from scratch because you “make” your soap by simply melting in your microwave (or stovetop) pre-made soap. It comes in a package at craft supply stores or you can purchase it on the Internet. So basically all you do to make your own customized soap bar is melt the pre-made soap, add scent and maybe some additives (like oatmeal for exfoliation), pour it into a mold, wait for the soap to harden and you’re done. Yep, it really is THAT simple!

There are some obvious advantages in getting your soap pre-made; the most obvious is it is easy and fast. So if you’ve always wanted to make your own soap, but didn’t want to deal with lye and the other challenges of making your own soap from scratch, this is perfect.
This was the first book I bought about melt and pour soap and it was a perfect book for beginners like me.

She goes into all the basics, not only of the basic process of making this kind of soap, but she also goes into the basics of color, additives and even has a troubleshooting guide that I found really helpful. The guide helped me understand even more what NOT to do, which was really helpful to know before trying my first project…which was an absolute success, by the way.J She even gives you ideas for how to make some money with your own soap creations!

There are so many wonderful recipes in the book that both instructed me and then inspired my own ideas for future projects. Because there are so many different techniques demonstrated in the book (like canes, jellyrolls, loaf soaps, layering, embedding) it gave me the basic knowledge so that I could start developing my own soap ideas and recipes.

Melt and pour soap making is so great because in addition to all the different techniques, scents, additives and colors available to customize your soap to your heart’s content, there are tons of FABULOUS soap molds out there to buy that are so fun to use, too. As you can see, the possibilities are really endless. That is why melt and pour soap is perfect for creating a customized gift. You really can make a bar of soap for anyone, any occasion…and just for fun.

So, to recap, I love melt and pour soap crafting because…
(1) it is super easy, fast and an affordable craft
(2) it makes great gifts and is easy to customize for your specific gift recipient or occasion
(3) even when you screw it up, it still works…it’s still soap!

If you have created a fabulous soap creation of your own…email me or post a comment, I’d love to hear about!

Happy crafting,

Artfully AJ

PS – To any of you QUILTERS out there, or friends of QUILTERS…there is a really cute soap recipe called “Quilter’s Bar” on page 38. The soap has a quilt design on it, which sounds like it might be difficult, but it isn’t. It would make a great craft gift!

PPS – This is also a great CRAFTS FOR KIDS…as long as there is parent supervision! Kids can put toys, pictures they have drawn, pictures of themselves, etc. into their own bars of soap. It’s a fun kids craft!

Posted in Book Reviews, Soap Crafting | No Comments »