Recommendation for soap molds to make a frame around another loaf of soap

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I'm trying to replicate this look of a framed soap but can't figure out what molds to use. Any ideas? I didn't want to do a slab mold because I'm still a beginner and want to keep my batch size small. :)
 

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OK, you asked.......loaf mold?
1. Make your base white portion. Trim to give desired clearances.
2. Pour lower black portion. Make this a separate batch. Let set up.
3. Place white portion. With spacers.
4. Make second batch black. Pour side and top. You can pour just after emulsion. So it will be really fluid.
Cut and clean them up. Then paint on tops like in photo. Lots of math.
 
I've seen videos where the soap maker makes the white center, per Ford's step 1.

Then they pour a thin slab of black soap like Ford's step 2 only the slab needs to be sized large enough to make all 4 sides of the frame (plus the bottom if you're covering the bottom too).

Then cut the black slabs into strips. Bond these black pieces to the white center to form the frame.

Circular soap can be framed in a similar way by gently curving the thin "frame" slab around a center cylinder of soap. It has to be done when the "frame" soap is soft enough to be manipulated without breaking.
 
Teri Endsley has a youtube video making that very soap. Look for Tree Marie. Framed landscapes was a recent Soap Challenge Club challenge, so there should be quite a few videos available, and there are several ways to go about it. Since making the frame element was up to the individual, there were different ways people went about it.

I made a loaf of soap in a small loaf mold, cut it into bars and then used a biscuit cutter to cut the circle. I then laid the circles in the bottom of a slab mold and poured the white. I cut those into bars and laid those bars in the slab mold and poured the frame. Finally trimmed them all to size. I have a lot of scraps from that 🤪 My batch sizes weren't that big as I was only making soap about an inch in depth. @Vicki C also took part in that challenge (and was one of the winners!). Maybe she'll post a photo of her beautiful framed soap!
3.2024 Mountain Landscape.jpg3.2024 Landscape.jpg
 
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I don’t know why I thought an order to make the frame you kind of dropped a smaller loaf of soap into a larger container and then filled with a different colored soap. SMH! Thanks everyone for answering my question and not laughing at me!
 
I don’t know why I thought an order to make the frame you kind of dropped a smaller loaf of soap into a larger container and then filled with a different colored soap. SMH! Thanks everyone for answering my question and not laughing at me!
That would work. You would just have to pour a layer in the larger mold and let it set up enough to hold your loaf, then fill in around the loaf for the other three sides of the frame. The way I did it, there was an extra step in pouring the 'mat'. You could easily skip that and have a beautiful result with a framed rectangular soap.

I also forgot to mention that if you don't have a slab mold, you can repurpose a box or container of the size you want, or make something out of Coroplast.
 
Another idea -- rather than find a larger mold for the second pour to create the frame -- you could make your existing mold smaller for the first "center" pour.

One way to do this -- Cut pieces of cardboard to fit around the inside walls of your mold. Wrap plastic food wrap around the cardboard pieces. Insert the wrapped cardboard into the mold. Pour the center portion of the soap. When ready to pour the frame, remove the cardboard from the mold to leave a gap between the center portion and the mold walls. Pour soap batter into that gap to create the frame.
 
Another idea -- rather than find a larger mold for the second pour to create the frame -- you could make your existing mold smaller for the first "center" pour.

One way to do this -- Cut pieces of cardboard to fit around the inside walls of your mold. Wrap plastic food wrap around the cardboard pieces. Insert the wrapped cardboard into the mold. Pour the center portion of the soap. When ready to pour the frame, remove the cardboard from the mold to leave a gap between the center portion and the mold walls. Pour soap batter into that gap to create the frame.
Oooo!! I like that idea!! This whole thing started from this tutorial on I Dream in Soap -
But I think your idea is easier for me to achieve at this point! 🥰
 
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