Easy 30 Minute Craft Even My 8 Year Old Can Do
Kid crafts… not always a fan. Am I allowed to say that? Sometimes I feel these projects turn out to be my projects and if I’m being honest, I really don’t need another project.
But my eight year old was given a soap making kit for her birthday and has consistently asked if we can get to it so it was time. A bit of mother’s guilt and a genuine interest in soap making and here we are.
I have to admit, this is one craft I enjoyed doing. Not all crafts are worth the time, money and effort. All the more reason to share when one works out and this one was simple to follow and produced a successful product in the end.
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DIY Soap Making Using Rebatch Soap
This article focuses on making rebatch soap. Rebatch soap is made using a soap base (such as soap bars or flakes), heating it to liquid form in order to add colours, fragrance or herbs and then pouring it into a mold to set. The soap base has already been made for you, which simplifies the process.
Soap making does not require a special kit. This tutorial will give you a good idea what supplies are needed and what supplies are optional when making soap. However, since my daughter had been given a kit, this is what we used for our DIY.
The Art Minds Soap Making Kit (Tie Dye Soap Kit) which is sold at Michaels Craft Store. It’s marketed as adult use only.
UPDATE: Michaels no longer offers this kit on their website, however here is a similar soap making kit from Kiss Naturals to check out.
I felt completely comfortable with my 8 year old doing this craft, although I did supervise and help every step of the way. Please use your own judgment. There is cutting and hot melted soap involved.
The kit comes with almost everything you need. I did use my own knife, cutting board and microwave safe dish.
We also used Art Minds Soap Fragrance in Eucalyptus Mint. This was gifted to my daughter with the soap kit but essential oils would be a nice substitute.
How To Make Rebatch Soap – Step By Step
Choose which soap block you want to use, white or clear. The picture on the box shows what the finished product would look like depending on the clear or white soap base you use. We used the clear base.
Cut soap block into even sized cubes. We initially only cut half of one block, which made us two bars. Any left over soap can be melted down again so don’t worry if you have left overs.
Put the cubes into a microwave safe bowl or cup. Heat for 30 seconds. Take out and stir with the stick provided. Heat again for 10 seconds, keep stirring to break down the soap. Repeat this process at 10 second intervals until soap is melted. We did this 5 times before the soap was completely melted.
Pour the melted soap into the mold you want to use. Add one or two drops of color and gently mix through. Be careful not to over mix. We used blue and green. Add fragrance at this point if you are using it (2-4 drops).
Wait for the soap to harden in molds. Once set, remove and you’re done!
This was so simple, we decided to make another batch while we had everything out. In the end, we made five bars and used the whole block of clear soap.
This was my first experience making soap bars. Although it won’t replace my regular hand soap, it was fun to do and my daughter was excited to see the fruits of her labour.
I also learned just how simple rebatch soap making is. Both the added colours and fragrance were optional. The only supplies we really needed was the soap base (which come in bars or soap flakes), a mold and heat source. Anything else only customizes the soap. Using essential oils and herbs would be fun to experiment with.
However, as far as crafting kits go, Art Minds Soap Making was simple, fun, and produces a product that looks like it does on the box. That’s always nice when that happens. It turned out to be a great gift for a little girl who loves all things arts and crafts and a nice way for me to spend some quality time with my daughter.
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