Soap petals/leaves - need creative ideas

[Karens62]

I did a search but didn’t find anything in the archives. Has anyone made one time use soap petals or leaves? I’m trying to figure out if I could just shave CP, spread a paper thin layer on silicone or if there’s another method I haven’t thought of? I travel a lot and love carrying a small “book”of them with me as I’d rather use soap than a sanitary gel on my hands.

 

[earlene]

I actually have purchased those in the past before I started making soap and thought, how cool.

Then one time while planing the ends of some of my soaps, I remembered those and put a few of them into a small snack size zip lock baggie and carried that in my purse to use as needed. So yes, I have made them. They work great for one time use, but I think the plastic baggie leaves something to be desired. A firmer sided container would better serve.

Maybe a small plastic travel size band-aid box or some other such container that is rather flat and doesn't take up a lot of space. The ones I bought came in a fold-over type of envelope thing made of card stock, so that might be something easy to make.

 

[jcandleattic]

I've only done it or seen it done with dipping silk petals in clear M&P soap.

 

[earlene]

I thought of another method we used in one of the SMF Challenges that could work also. The Fluid Acrylic Cell Pour challenge, included a very thin pour onto a surface (freezer paper works, too), left to dry, then those spot, dots, or whatever shape they become could be used for single use soaps like you mention.

Here's the video for that challenge:

He starts the cell pours onto freezer paper at about 1:36

And here, Vicki Frost does this on plastic wrap:

 

[artemis]

I did a search but didn’t find anything in the archives. Has anyone made one time use soap petals or leaves? I’m trying to figure out if I could just shave CP, spread a paper thin layer on silicone or if there’s another method I haven’t thought of? I travel a lot and love carrying a small “book”of them with me as I’d rather use soap than a sanitary gel on my hands.

I just shave a bar with a veggie peeler. I have also cut shapes out of end pieces with a mini cookie cutter. Those are cuter, but I think in practice the shavings are better. I keep them in an altoids tin. I don't know how you'd put them in a "book," though.

 

[Karens62]

These are definitely food for thought,thanks.

 

[DeeAnna]

Maybe I just don't have the right technique, but when I've tried to use soap petals, the flake of soap sticks to my wet hands making it hard to actually use it ... and then I can never quite figure out what to do with the leftover bit of soap when I want to rinse. I think the idea is cute and useful, just not quite as neat in real life as I would hope it would be.

Susie came up with her "soap to go" idea of filling a lip balm tube or even a mini deodorant tube with the KOH soap paste she makes -- this is the firm gel soap stuff that usually gets diluted into liquid soap -- and tucking that in her purse. Twist up a dab, smear the paste in your palm, and wash. It actually works quite well. Maybe not quite so romantic and luxurious as soap petals, but it gets the job done.

 

[BattleGnome]

I’ve made Susie’s soap2go and can vouch for how convenient it is.

SoapQueen does have a tutorial for making soap petals s using water soluble paper and m&p. I’ve also seen camping websites use a similar method using the water soluble paper and painting body wash or shampoo on it

 

[SaltedFig]

A soap trimmer or an adjustable mandolin makes it easy to cut thin slices of soaps.

Artemis, I don't know how you manage to get straight pieces with a peeler - mine ended up looking all sorts of funny shapes! I like your idea of cutting out shapes (there's a lady on youtube who makes full roses to sit on the sink with cutters, but I'm still not happy with the amount that would be wasted, but they look really good...
soap flower

This person took the idea of soap petals literally ...
rose petal soaps

Some of the little flip-top lids used for lollies and mints are coated, and hold nice sized soap petals for traveling.

This person made soap paper, but it looks like it's got the same problem DeeAnna described ... what do you do with the little left over bits?
Paper soap

I like Susie's soap in a tube too

(Sorry for the edit - I'm trying to give the links without having them all load straight away ... learning)

 

[artemis]

Artemis, I don't know how you manage to get straight pieces with a peeler - mine ended up looking all sorts of funny shapes! I like your idea of cutting out shapes (there's a lady on youtube who makes full roses to sit on the sink with cutters, but I'm still not happy with the amount that would be wasted, but they look really good...

I didn't get all straight pieces. And they were slightly curled. I liked how they looked, though-- they were pretty that way. I was also more concerned about getting a thin slice than the shape of the slice.

(I thought I maybe shared a picture this summer, but I'm having a hard time finding that post)

As for waste, yes, there is a tiny tiny bit left in my hand after using one, but it's not really enough to worry about. In a public restroom, you're never far from a trash can, so I just drop the bit in the can before rinsing off. The soap was so thin, I never really had anything left worth saving.

The problem I had was remembering to get the soap out of the tin before getting my hands wet.

 

[Misschief]

I just shave a bar with a veggie peeler. I have also cut shapes out of end pieces with a mini cookie cutter. Those are cuter, but I think in practice the shavings are better. I keep them in an altoids tin. I don't know how you'd put them in a "book," though.

Auntie Clara sells travel soaps in a tin: https://auntieclaras.com/product/travel-soap-handcrafted-soap-pastilles/
At 25 grams and a minimum of 30 per tin, they're coming in at less than a gram a piece. They're pretty small and that's not a lot of wastage. It's a great idea for using up leftover batter.

 

[artemis]

Auntie Clara sells travel soaps in a tin: https://auntieclaras.com/product/travel-soap-handcrafted-soap-pastilles/
At 25 grams and a minimum of 30 per tin, they're coming in at less than a gram a piece. They're pretty small and that's not a lot of wastage. It's a great idea for using up leftover batter.

I've done that with my end pieces. I have tiny cutters that are meant for clay. It works best to cut them out the same day I cut the loaf.

I wonder if you could roll soap dough very very thin on parchment paper. Cut it and leave it to harden? I think I'll find out!

 

[Misschief]

I've done that with my end pieces. I have tiny cutters that are meant for clay. It works best to cut them out the same day I cut the loaf.

I wonder if you could roll soap dough very very thin on parchment paper. Cut it and leave it to harden? I think I'll find out!

I don't see why not! I think I'll be on the lookout for some cute cookie cutters.

 

[earlene]

This person took the idea of soap petals literally ...
rose petal soaps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF_SqGoUBQY

I saw some gorgeous soap flowers just like that for sale in a shop in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They were packaged in corsage boxes and not in the least affordable, but absolutely beautiful.

I wonder if you could roll soap dough very very thin on parchment paper. Cut it and leave it to harden? I think I'll find out!

Yes, it's called soap dough!

 

[artemis]

Yes, it's called soap dough!

Yes. Soap dough is called soap dough. I have some on hand for the challenge. So far, I've rolled it super thin and I pressed my timy cutters into it. I'll leave it to dry out before trying to peel them off the parchment paper.

 

[earlene]

I know silly of me huh! It just made me laugh. I know you are in the challenge, so I was just being silly. I watched on video where this young woman cut out what looked like dozens or even hundreds of those tiny little flowers with soap dough and I thought, what tedious work. I'd probably want to move on to something different after 5 of them!

 

[jcandleattic]

Maybe I just don't have the right technique, but when I've tried to use soap petals, the flake of soap sticks to my wet hands making it hard to actually use it ... and then I can never quite figure out what to do with the leftover bit of soap when I want to rinse. I think the idea is cute and useful, just not quite as neat in real life as I would hope it would be.

Susie came up with her "soap to go" idea of filling a lip balm tube or even a mini deodorant tube with the KOH soap paste she makes -- this is the firm gel soap stuff that usually gets diluted into liquid soap -- and tucking that in her purse. Twist up a dab, smear the paste in your palm, and wash. It actually works quite well. Maybe not quite so romantic and luxurious as soap petals, but it gets the job done.

I would have never thought of that, but what a brilliant idea.

With the soap petals, most just throw the petal away after the use. But you are right, it's not an ideal situation. I actually haven't made them in a few years, as they were never huge sellers, and I have plenty of soap for the house.

 

[catbinch]

Personally I wouldnt put actual petals/leaves IN the soap, but i think it would be nice as a sort of garnish. Ive had bad experiences with leaves in soap and they become really dry and annoying to wash off. I think soap flowers would work just fine though, or really tiny flowers in a gelatin soap would be super pretty!

 

[artemis]

Success! I rolled the soap dough between a couple sheets of parchment. I rolled it as thin as I possibly could, peeled the top layer of paper off, and gently pressed my cutters into the dough. I didn't try to lift out the cut stars, but left the dough rest on the paper until it had a chance to really set up.

Once it did, it was very easy to peel them gently off.

When I washed with one, very little was left. What was left, rinsed away.

This is the Sorcery Soap dough recipe, which is maybe not my favorite for handwashing, but if your recipe works for soap dough, this might be a good option.

 

[earlene]

Artemis, that looks great.

I have a couple of really small SS spatulas that I use to lift the soap dough off the mat. In many of those polymer clay videos, I noticed they use a kind of a knife/scooper thing called a 'scraper blade' for that purpose and thought I'd look and see if I had anything I could use. It's easier than trying not to damage the rolled out dough by lifting with my fingers.

edit: name correction. I don't know what's going on with my mind yesterday & today! Maybe the medical procedure affected me in ways I did not even realize!