Today we’re sharing one of our very own Nashville bride’s DIY. She and her sweet hubby-to-be are set to be wed in May and in an effort to cut the budget they’ve decided on homemade soap favors. I love that Deidre is following my number one tip on favors, ‘Make it yummy or useful’ so that way the guests get the most out of the favor and you haven’t wasted any time or money on something that won’t be used or enjoyed!
Hi. My name is Deidre and I am getting married in May 2012. My wedding is going to have a very rustic feel to it. I am trying to cut my budget any way I can and for my wedding favors I wanted to do something unique but cheap. So after doing some research I found a great idea on Pinterest. I decided to make soap as my wedding favor. So I did some research to find the cheapest and easiest way to make the soap. I then went out and bought a kit on how to make it to see how easy it would be and if I could recreate my wedding colors. And amazingly enough, I could. So here is what I am doing and how I am doing it. I bought all my supplies that I needed to at Hobby Lobby. The great thing about shopping there is you can usually go online and get a 40% off coupon each week which will definitely help you save money. Some supplies you will probably already have at home.
Here is what you will need:
- pure glycerin soap
- spray bottle of rubbing alcohol
- spoon to stir it with
- scent
- colors
- a mold
Note: You can also add other things like aloe vera and stuff to your soap, to save money I left this out.
The soap products I am using are all from the brand Something Fabulous Soap Creations which is mainly sold at Hobby Lobby. When I am buying my soap, I get the clear bars of the pure glycerin soap. It also comes in white but to make the colors I wanted, I decided on the clear. It all depends on how you want your soap to look.
1. The first thing you will do after you have all your supplies is put a couple of bars of the soap in a glass bowl and microwave it for about 30 seconds until the soap melts. The more soap you have the longer you want to microwave it, however if you get the soap too hot when you pour it into your molds, it will mess the molds up.
2. After the soap is melted, take it out of the microwave and start stirring it. You will want to add your scent and color here. After some trial and error, I figured out how many drops of yellow and blue I would need to make the shade of Jade I wanted for my wedding. If you want black soap, they make a special black dye for it but it is very hard to make it a true dark black. For four bars of soap I usually add 15 drops of scent. Depending on how strong your scent is depends on how many drops you use.
3. Once everything is good and mixed into the soap, you will want to spray your mold with the alcohol. This will help keep the soap from sticking to the mold. Pour the soap into your molds and then spray a little bit of alcohol on the top of the soap. This will help pull any air bubbles out of the soap. I have about four different types of molds so that I have a variety of shapes and sizes. I am also making animal soaps for the kids who are at the wedding.
4. I usually let the soap sit over night so it gets good and hard. It should just pop right out of the molds. At this point you can decorate them any way you want. I bought clear bags to package them in and ribbon in my wedding colors to close up the bags with. I also created labels that match my invitations to put on the soap so guests will know what scent they are getting.
For me this was a very simple and cheap way to create favors that were also unique.
I am making 200 bars and it is broken down into 4 scents that can go for both men or
women. It does take time to make all of these bars which is why I started so early on
making them but it is also fun. My sister and I have had a blast making them.
So there you are! A perfect budget friendly favor that you guests will enjoy! Thanks Deidre for sharing and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!!