and painting on soap with a stamp….
I was inspired to make this soap while watching a movie at the theater, called The Death of Superman. It was a limited release movie, that only played (or may still be playing) in some theaters. Actually, it was a double feature, animated, followed by The Reign of Superman.
I had wanted to make a superman soap for while though, but I did not have a clear idea in my mind of the design, so watching this movie gave me the idea I needed: to do the Fortress of Solitude. My husband is a big Superman fan, as are my nephews, so they will be the ones who get to use it. That lead me to choose a manly fragrance for this, so I went with The Perfect Man from Nature’s Garden.
By the way, Superman is very much under copyright and trade mark protection at the moment, so unless you pay a licensing fee (which I honestly do not know if it is even an option for small scale makers); it is best not to make any superman themed items, with the purpose of selling them or to profit from them. If you want to read more about this copyright you can do that here.
Fortress of Solitude Soap
Tools Needed:
- Standard soap making tools and protective equipment
- 3 lb Loaf mold OR 10″ silicone mold
- 3 or 2 Dividers to place along the mold (I made mine by cutting a plastic hard sheet, into rectangles the length of my mold).
- Superman stamp, could be one like this one
- Firm sponge (the ones from the craftstore that come in a stick might work too)
- Small painting brushes and a painting palette (I used a tile for this)
Needed Ingredients
| Ingredient | Gram(s) | Ounce(s) | Pounds(s) | Oil % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lard | 307.59 | 10.85 | 0.68 | 31% |
| Cocoa Butter | 128.99 | 4.55 | 0.28 | 13% |
| Coconut Oil, 76 deg | 248.06 | 8.75 | 0.55 | 25% |
| Rice Bran Oil | 248.06 | 8.75 | 0.55 | 25% |
| Ricinus Oil (Castor Oil) | 59.53 | 2.10 | 0.13 | 6% |
| Ingredient | Gram(s) | Ounce(s) | Pounds(s) | Batch % |
| Lye – NaOH 100% Purity (5% Superfat) | 137.99 | 4.87 | 0.30 | 9.39% |
| Water (30% Lye + 70% Water Solution) | 321.98 | 11.36 | 0.71 | 21.92% |
| Total Oils | 992.23 | 35 | 2.19 | 67.54% |
| Soap Weight (Pre-Cook) | 1,469.15 | 51.82 | 3.24 | 100% |
Recommended Additive Amounts
For Advanced Soapmakers
| Sodium Lactate (60%) |
|
Colorants and Fragrance:
- 2 oz of The Perfect Man from Nature’s Garden or any other non discoloring fragrance, that does not accelerate either, or if it does, choose white as your only color and forgo the dividers.
- 1/8 teaspoon ultramarine blue pigment(dispersed in grapeseed oil or any light oil)
- 1/4 teaspoon of titanium dioxide dispersed in water (about 2 tablespoons)
For Decorations:
- clear MP soap
- rubbing alcohol
- black pigment, red, blue, and orange mica (for painting the bars)
EMBED PROCESS:
With the clear MP soap, what I did was that I cut it into long rectangles, about 2″ for the ones on the outside, and I cut each corner so it looked faceted. I also cut one end at an angle on each side to create the pointy tip. I made 2 long spikes and 2 short spikes for each soap bar. (I was running short, so I cut some of the spikes in half to double the amount of embeds)
MAKING THE SOAP
- In a well ventilated area (outside or by a window), add the lye gradually to the distilled water. Do not breathe the fumes. You can freeze your water ahead to avoid fumes, and weigh the ice cubes. You need to wear your safety gear. Lye burns! You can prepare this several hours ahead, keep it properly covered.
- While you wait for the lye water to cool down, you can weigh and melt your oils, and weigh your fragrance oil into a glass container (fragrance oils can dissolve thin plastics).
- If you plan on painting the soap later with the stamp, I would suggest you only use two dividers, so that the center of the soap is white. It is easier to paint on a white background.
- If you don’t plan on painting the soap, put as many dividers as you want.
- When your oils and lye solution are at or below 110°F (37.77°C) , add your lye solution to the oils slowly, to avoid splatters pour it on the blender shaft.
- Stir with the blender on Off position initially, then blend for 15 second periods, alternating with stirring, until it is almost emulsified. This takes about 40 seconds with this recipe.
- Add the fragrance and give it a quick blend
- Split your batter into 3/4 and 1/4 parts. Color 1/4 green with the blue pigment. The 3/4 portion with the blue and green colorants. Just do a quick blend to distribute the colorant evenly.
- If you plan on painting the soap bars later. Pour the blue portion on the outside edges and the white one in the center.
- If you don’t plan on painting the soap bars, alternate the blue and white colors into each division. Mix the white and the blue on some of them portions and swirl it.
- Once the top of the soap is firm, add the icicles embeds if using.
- Wait 24 hours and start checking for hardness. Try releasing from one side of the mold, and if nothing sticks back, it is ready to be removed from the mold and cut. If it still sticks, wait longer (8 hours or so)
- Once the bars are cut, let them sit for a day or more before painting them.
- You can watch the video here:
PAINTING THE SOAP BARS WITH A STAMP
Once the bars are cut and feel dry to the touch, you can paint them. I like to draw and paint, so I just made a quick sketch and painted that. However, there is an easy way to do this if drawing is not your thing. It would require the superman stamp though, alcohol (not for you to drink, lol), brushes and a sponge, besides the pigments and micas.
- Into a small container, put a few drops of alcohol and a tiny amount of the black pigment and mix
- Dip the sponge into this and tap it lightly on the stamp
- Repeat until the entire stamp is covered
- using light but confident pressure, press the stamp onto the soap. You are not trying to make an indentation here, you are just transferring the black pigment.
- Let it dry a minute,
- Pour a few drops of alcohol into a new container or wash the one you used.
- Wet the brush into the alcohol then dip it into the blue mica.
- On your painting palette, or tile, or plate, practice a few strokes to see how the paint comes out. It usually is too strong, so keep making brush strokes there until only a light amount of “paint” is in the brush, paint the superman body suit with this. It will be a somewhat transparent, soft effect.
- Repeat with the other colors.
- You can cover this with a layer of clear MP soap to make it last past the first use
Soaps by Glenda 
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