Share |

Easy Soap Making Recipes for Children

Hi Keira,

What a great idea to give them as birthday party favors! Besides being light on your pocket, homemade novelty soaps is also a fun way to teach kids good hygiene habits and get them excited about washing their hands.

Many people get intimidated at the thought of making soaps at home but it is not as hard as it sounds. The melt and pour soap making method which is great for beginners, is pretty straight forward. First choose your melt and pour soap base, and melt in a microwave. If you want to make clear soaps (transparent), you will need organic or clear soap base. For an opaque finish (white), use goats milk or white soap base.

When the soap is cool enough, add fragrance oils and color of your choice. For example, sweet orange oil and orange coloring, or lavender essential oil and violet coloring, or lemon essential oil and yellow coloring. Then, pour into lightly greased molds and leave to sit until hardened. Finally, wrap your homemade soaps in plastic (glad/saran wrap) to keep the glycerin from attracting moisture from the air.

Here are 2 awesome soap making recipes for beginners and kids. The first recipe (homemade soap crayons) not only makes a super fun summer craft for kids of all ages, but also incredibly easy that even your 6 year old girl can make them on her own or with only a little help from grown-ups!

The second recipe (clear soap base) is perfect for toy embeds. However, make sure you supervise your children as melted soap is very hot. Also, make sure that the embedded objects are not scratchy to the skin and are age appropriate.

You can purchase most of the materials – soap flakes, plastic soap molds, small plastic toys, etc – at your local craft store or even some toy stores . If you can't find soap flakes at your supermarket, don't worry. You can make your own soap flakes by using any pure vegetable soap such as a bar of ivory soap (cheapest), or unscented baby soap and shredding it with a cheese grater.

If you want to save a few extra dollars, I would suggest you look around the house and use things such as plastic cups, yogurt pots, milk carton, cardboard juice container, or ice cube tray as soap molds.

Easy Soap Crayon Recipe for Kids

You will need 3 cups soap flakes, liquid food coloring and water.

How to make soap crayons for kids

1. Spray plastic molds with a small amount of cooking spray or light coat with petroleum jelly. Make sure to cover all areas and wipe off any excess.

2. Place soap flakes in a a bowl, and slowly pour in 1- 1½ cups water with a few drops of food coloring added to it.

3. Combine with your hands until you get the consistency of play dough.

4. Press soap into lightly greased molds or put a few drops of olive oil on your palms and rub your hands together, if you prefer to shape it – roll into balls – with your hands. Or, shape using cookie cutters.

5. Leave overnight to set. To finish, cut homemade soap into desired size bars. If your kids are impatient like mine, freeze for about 1-2 hours. Remove and allow to sit for a few hours before using.

Homemade Embedded Toy Clear Soaps Recipe

You will need pure glycerin soap (usually sold in blocks or cubes), and liquid soap dye. How much soap you need depends on the size of your mold. You should start by melting smaller amounts of soap, and add more later if required.

How to embed objects (toys) into homemade soaps

1. Place soap in a microwave safe measuring cup with a handle and sprout for easy pouring. Microwave on high for 30 seconds until soap is melted. Alternatively, melt it on your stove in a double boiler. Remove.

2. Add 1-2 drops liquid soap dye (the colors are very strong; too much dye will make your soaps dark) and stir thoroughly with a popsicle stick or a plastic coffee stirrer to evenly disperse the dye.

3. Slowly pour hot melted soap into molds, ⅓ of the way up and let it set for 20 minutes or so. Then position plastic toy on top of the hardened soap.

4. Repeat steps 1 and 2, and pour another layer of soap into the mold, covering the toy. This method holds the toy item up in the middle of your homemade soap. Leave to cool and harden for at least 2 hours.

5. To release, turn mold upside down and pop the soap out.

By Holly Campbell

Make Your Own Kids Paint

You can make safe, non-toxic homemade kids paint for pennies. Easy to follow instructions for face paint, finger paint recipes and paint for craft projects.

Make New Crayons from Old Broken Stubs

Learn how to make new crayons out of old crayons easily and save money on kids' art supplies.

Homemade Kids Toys Ideas

Make kids toys with common household materials that are both fun to create and play with!

3 Easy-to-Make Toys for Children

These kids toys are not only fun but also an excellent way to recycle and reuse things around your home.

4 Exceedingly Easy Homemade Musical Instruments for Kids

Watch your children wiggle and giggle with homemade toy musical instruments! Simple yet super fun!

8 Fun Rainy Day Activities for Kids

Rainy day ideas, easy indoor games, and activities that kids and the whole family will love!

5 Fun and Easy Summer Crafts for Kids

Keep kids busy this summer with easy-to-make, fun and inexpenisve craft ideas.

Paper Craft Ideas

A fun and easy craft idea for kids to capture a keepsake from a special place that your children love.

Japanese Koi Fish Craft Project

Easy-to-make yet super fun paper craft ideas for children. A great way to reuse unwanted old magazines or cereal boxes. Stunning effects!

How to Make Baby Handprint Footprint Plaque

Get inspired by our creative clay craft ideas to make your own hand print or footprint impressions for pennies and create a beautiful keepsake gift for that special someone.