Making Quick Moulds for soap
Sometimes, you may have a soap idea, but can’t find a commercial mould that fits your need, or you just want to create something silly or personal. For those times, making your own mould is your best option. Mind you, this method does not create professional grade silicon moulds that will hold up to hundreds and hundreds of pours, but they are pretty amazingly durable and all of the materials are easily available almost anywhere.
For this lesson, we decided to try and make crystal soap and rock soap. As it turns out, I made too much silicon, so we also made a shell soap.
For this, we’re using Amazing Mold Putty from the Alumilite Corporation of Kalamazoo. (I just love typing Kalamazoo.) The product is by and far the easiest mold product to use for the novice, plus it’s food grade silicon and made in the US. Because it’s food grade, you can use it to mould ice cubes and chocolate and other nummies. The company sells it in bulk quantities, but you can get small containers of it at the craft store for a fairly low price point. (Sub $15.00)
Here is a tablespoon of each of the mixes, and the objects we’re going to mold: (Please note that all pictures can be clicked on to see a larger size, or you may go to flickr and see the entire set.)
You mix equal parts of each component together until they are a uniform yellow color with no streaks. It’s a bit like playing with slightly oily play dough. But it’s so easy, even a child can do it. See, here’s a child doing it.
Once the mix is ready, you have about 15 minutes to get it around the object you’re going to use. The best method is to roll a ball of it up, so you don’t have any seams, then press the object into the ball. Remember to leave enough room on one side to get your object out. I also recommend that you have enough of the mix at the bottom of your object that you can press the moulding ball against a flat surface to create a flat bottom. A flat bottom makes pouring things into the mould once you’re finished considerably easier.
Here are three things we have molded; the two rocks are opening side down, so as to expose as much of the mould to the air as possible, and the shell is open side up, to create as steady a flat bottom as possible.
Let the moulds dry for at least 30 minutes, then peel them (carefully) off the object. Rinse them out, and they’re ready to use. Here’s what we made with ours:
love your amethyst soap
do you make the moulds ( amethyst) to sell?
thank -you for sharing your soap craft, do you know if you can use other materials for making moulds can be used
I have not made them to sell, but if you don’t have a geode from which to make the mold, I can make one for you.
I would be very interested (meaning want) in getting the molds for the jewel soaps – amethyst, etc.
Marilyn,
Drop me a line at deanne at soapyhollow.com and we can chat a little about what you’d like to have made.
I really enjoyed your post on making easy molds for soap. I may have to just try it out.
Many Blessings,
Dawn
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I woke up this morning in a bad mood but after finding this page my mood improved.
Hi – I am interested in making the geode molds. How did this mold handle hot temperatures of the soap? Also, what did you color the amethyst with and especially, how did you create the layered looks? Do you recommend glycerin soap? I have someone who wants a massage geode soap made to look like amethyst. I have never colored soap or made a mold…I’ve just been using glycerin and heart shaped tins. I also find it sweats a lot.
Thanks!
Oops, massive, no massage geode.
I have done saponified soap (traditional, old fashioned lye soap) in molds made with this material, so it will work…but for a good geode, you’ll want to use glycerin to get the colors right. Each one of those soaps can take an hour or more to make…it’s not an easy process if you want it to actually look like a geode. If you’re not quite as picky about realism, however, it’s a pretty fast pour.
I make my own glycerin soap, so I can’t speak to the quality of what you might be using. There’s a huge variation in the market as to quality. Most of them that aren’t made by organic manufacturers are just detergent that you can melt and pour. It’s pretty awful stuff, both for the skin and for the handmade market. There are some good vendors out there, and were I you, I’d avoid the stuff at craft stores, and go with a vendor that sells to the trade. Brambleberry has a fantastic product, and sells in small amounts. (I sell glycerin, but only in massive blocks.) Keep in mind that glycerin is a humectant. A humectant is a hygroscopic substance. It is a molecule with several hydrophilic groups which absorb water from the air. On humid days, glycerin will sweat, it’s just what it does.
As to color, for a small batch, I wouldn’t invest in expensive professional colorants. Food coloring will work fine in glycerin. You just want a couple of drops per bar. Don’t use too much, or you’ll turn your clients a different color. It seems to upset some people when they turn green or purple. Some people…what can you do?
Good luck! Ping me if you run into trouble!
I was wondering about that…seemed like it would be a spiky massage…but ya know, who am I to judge.
I had a question. Does the putty stuff ruin your orignal in any way? Thanks
Hi Celeste,
I have never had it ruin anything. However, that said; it is a product with an “oily” feel when you’re mixing it together; and I wouldn’t try to use it to mold anything cloth or paper, without expecting the original to absorb oil. But as far as stones, and shells, and plastic gewgaws, I’ve never had a problem.
Hope that helps! -DeAnne