Painting and Stamping Soap

Sometimes you may want to personalize a bar for a special gift, and rather than designing a whole loaf of soap around a theme, you can do it by painting/stamping just the one or two bars that you want to give.  Here is how I did it for a Cinderella soap test.

I have done this with Cold process bars that are cured, and also with freshly cut cold process soap bars.  I have not tried this with a Melt and Pour Soap Bar though.   

It would require an acrylic or rubber stamp, alcohol (not for you to drink, lol), brushes and a sponge, besides the pigments and micas.  Alternatively, face paints also work pretty good.  I would recommend an inexpensive kit for “soap painting”

PAINTING  SOAP BARS WITH A STAMP and MICAS

Supplies:

• Acrylic or rubber stamp of your choice.  I used this Disney princess one, but this one could work too: Full figure disney princess stamps
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Synthetic fiber brushes (natural hair brush may work too, if soft and flexible)
• a sponge
• pigments and micas of your choice or Face paints like these.
• Black oxide powder or black mica for the outline
• Clear Melt and Pour (optional)

1. Into a small container, put a few drops of alcohol and a tiny amount of the black pigment and mix.    If you are using face paints, all you have to do is get the sponge lightly moist with the alcohol, then dab it into the black face paint until all the lines are covered.
2. Dip the sponge into this and tap it lightly on the stamp
3. Repeat until the entire stamp is covered
4. 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.
5. Let it dry a minute or so.
6. Pour a few drops of alcohol into a new container or wash the one you used.
7. Wet the brush into the alcohol then dip it into the blue mica.
8. 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.
9. Repeat with the other colors.
10. You can cover this with a layer of clear MP soap to make it last past the first use.
11. To apply clear melt and pour,  I dabbed the soap with alcohol all around the stamped image, I did not want to risk smearing the painting.  I then poured the melted clear MP on top and let it run over the edges.  I think a light mist spray of alcohol could have also worked, perhaps if sprayed from at least 8″/20 cm.
12. Once the MP has hardened, you can cut off the excess that run over the edges

You can watch the video here: