New to soap!

[country creek]

I wanted to try my hand at soap making and I thought the melt and pour kind would be an easy no frills start......I am going to try making the gold fish in a bag soap. What do you all think? Any ideas??

[Sister Kya]

I guess it all depends on why you're thinking about making soap in the first place.

Personally, I became interested in making my own soaps because I was tired of driving 30 miles to pick up a tiny, over-priced bar of Züm for my shower and I wanted to use the scents I loved, not just the ones some folks in R&D thought would sell. For me, melt and pour allowed me to stop buying Züm and have the chocolate mint and wildberry soaps I craved while I figured out how to cp.

Goldfish in a bag soap requires a little more patience than I have. It also means I can't use the yummy SFIC shea base so it doesn't appeal to me.

I guess if your main purpose is to make soaps your kids will enjoy, or to impress others with your neat looking soap project, that'd be a place to start. I've just found the clear soap bases to be less gentle on my skin, so I've never tried it.

If it's your thing, try this link for instructions:

http://www.soapcrafters.com/recipes_goldfishbag.htm

Good Luck!!

[GrandmaArial]

Melt and pour is fun! It can allow your artistic juices to flow wildly, and make great projects to do with the kids, and wonderful gifts! I’ve been playing with melt and pour for about a year and a half now. Got started by researching candle supply sites for my wonderful daughter in law and bought some all vegetable soap on impulse just to get real soap (as verse the chemical crap they sell as soap in the stores). Daughter in law talked me into “doing something” with it and I’ve been addicted ever since.

I’ve never done the gold fish in a bag but know that embeds are time consuming and a bit complicated for a first project. You have to stand there holding the embed in place til the soap sets up or they tend to shift and tilt over. Maybe start with something a little simpler, like layers to get the feel of it. You can walk away between layers. You can use anything for a mold; I prefer silicone muffin tins and tart pans. As soon as you finish your first batch of layered soaps you’ll be addicted and doubts and insecurities that might encourage you to walk off from holding your little fish in place will dissipate and you’ll be as compulsive soaping as the rest of us here.

Here’s a sample of what you can do using layering, embeds, and painting (using nothing more than food color), and a muffin tin. I hope it can inspire you to your own wonderful creations, and please share pictures with us!