Melt and pour soap making is a wonderfully creative craft that allows you to customize your soaps with ease. One of the most fun ways to take your soap bars to the next level is by adding soap embeds—small objects or shapes that are suspended within the soap. These could be anything from miniature toys to dried flowers or even themed shapes like hearts or stars!
Making embed melt and pour soap is a fun and creative way to design personalized soap bars for gifts, special occasions, or even just for your own bathroom. In this guide, we’ll show you how to make beautiful and unique soap embeds using toys, flowers, and other objects. Plus, we’ll share tips and tricks to help you avoid common mistakes.
Let’s dive in!
1. What Are Soap Embeds?
Soap embeds are essentially small pieces of soap, objects, or decorative items that are suspended within a larger block of soap. These embedded pieces can be:
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Toys (think small plastic figurines or molds)
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Dried Flowers (like lavender, rose petals, or chamomile)
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Themed Shapes (such as stars, hearts, or animals)
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Fruits, Seeds, or Spices (like dried citrus slices, cinnamon sticks, etc.)
The great thing about embed melt and pour soap is that the process is easy to follow, and you can create a variety of designs to suit your taste. Embeds give soap bars a fun, creative touch and make them extra special!
2. Materials You’ll Need for Embed Melt and Pour Soap
Before you get started, gather the necessary materials. Here’s what you’ll need to make beautiful soap embeds:
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Melt and Pour Soap Base: Choose from clear, opaque, goat milk, shea butter, or any other base you prefer.
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Soap Molds: Silicone molds or any mold that’s flexible and easy to remove soap from.
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Colorants: Soap dyes, mica powders, or natural colorants.
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Essential Oils or Fragrance Oils: For adding scent to your soap.
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Additives (Optional): Like dried flowers, glitters, seeds, or toys.
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Rubbing Alcohol: To spritz on the soap for smoothing out bubbles.
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A Knife: For cutting your soap base.
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Microwave-safe bowl or double boiler: For melting the soap base.
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Small Objects (Toys, Flowers, etc.): These will be your embeds.
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Stirring Stick: To mix in colorants or fragrances.
3. Step-by-Step Guide to Making Embed Melt and Pour Soap
Step 1: Prepare Your Embeds
Before making the soap, you’ll need to prepare your embeds.
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Toys/Objects: If you’re using toys or small objects as embeds, ensure that they’re soap-safe. Most small plastic figurines, rubber animals, or other toys work well. Clean them thoroughly to remove any dirt or residues that could contaminate the soap.
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Flowers: If you’re using dried flowers or herbs, make sure they are completely dried to avoid mold or mildew in your soap. Gently press them between two paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
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Other Embeds: If you’re using things like spices, seeds, or fruits, make sure they are dry and won’t cause discoloration or moisture issues in the soap.
Step 2: Cut the Soap Base into Small Pieces
Cut your melt and pour soap base into small, uniform chunks. This helps the soap melt more evenly and reduces the chance of overheating.
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Pro Tip: Cutting the soap into smaller pieces will also help speed up the melting process, making it easier to work with.
Step 3: Melt the Soap Base
There are two main ways to melt your soap base:
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Microwave Method: Place the soap chunks in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each interval until fully melted.
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Double Boiler Method: If you prefer more control over the heat, use a double boiler to melt the soap base, stirring frequently.
Be sure not to overheat the soap, as this can cause it to lose its texture or burn.
Step 4: Add Color and Fragrance (Optional)
Once your soap base is melted, you can add colorants and fragrances to enhance your soap.
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Colorants: If you want your soap to have vibrant colors, add a few drops of soap dye or mica powder. Stir well until the color is fully incorporated.
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Fragrance Oils: Add a few drops of your favorite fragrance oil. Make sure it’s skin-safe and designed for soap making.
Step 5: Pour the Base into the Mold
Now it’s time to pour the soap into your mold.
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Pour the Soap Halfway: Fill the mold halfway with the melted soap. Let it set for a few minutes so it firms up slightly. This will act as a base for your embeds.
Step 6: Place the Embeds into the Soap
Carefully place your prepped embeds into the soap. You can arrange them randomly, or create a specific design depending on your vision.
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Toys and Objects: Drop them gently into the soap, making sure they are fully submerged but not touching the sides of the mold. This will ensure that they are well-encased in soap.
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Flowers and Other Natural Additives: If you’re adding flowers, place them gently on the layer of soap you’ve just poured, pressing them lightly to make sure they’re embedded.
If you’re making multiple layers, pour additional layers of soap on top of your embeds, letting each layer set before adding the next.
Step 7: Let the Soap Cool and Set
Once all your layers and embeds are in place, allow the soap to cool and harden. Depending on the size of your mold and the room temperature, this can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours.
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Spritz with Rubbing Alcohol: If you see bubbles on the surface of the soap, spritz the top layer with a bit of rubbing alcohol to smooth them out.
Step 8: Unmold the Soap
Once the soap is completely set, it’s time to unmold.
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Gently Flex the Mold: Silicone molds are flexible, so carefully bend or flex the mold to release the soap. If you’re using a harder plastic mold, gently tap the sides to loosen the soap.
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Check the Embeds: When the soap is fully removed, inspect the embeds to make sure they’re well-encased in soap.
4. Troubleshooting Common Issues
While embedding items in melt and pour soap is fairly straightforward, you might run into a few common issues. Here’s how to troubleshoot:
1. Embeds Floating to the Top
If your embeds rise to the surface of the soap, it’s likely because your soap wasn’t thick enough when you added the embeds.
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Solution: Wait for the first layer of soap to cool and firm up before adding your embeds. If you’re adding multiple layers, make sure the soap sets enough to hold the embeds in place.
2. Cloudy Soap
Cloudy soap can sometimes result from overheating or from using too much fragrance oil.
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Solution: Always melt your soap on low heat and stir gently to avoid overheating. Use fragrance oils at the recommended percentage to avoid cloudiness.
3. Uneven Embeds
If your embeds aren’t evenly distributed, it could be because the soap has cooled too quickly.
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Solution: Work quickly, but if your soap cools too fast, reheat it and pour the layers in smaller sections.
Conclusion
Making embed melt and pour soap is a fun and creative way to design personalized soap bars that are as beautiful as they are functional. Whether you’re adding toys, flowers, or other fun objects, the possibilities for creative designs are endless. With just a few simple steps, you can turn basic melt and pour soap into a work of art!
Experiment with different shapes, colors, and techniques to make unique soap creations that make perfect gifts or fun additions to your home. So go ahead—start embedding, and let your creativity flow!