household items to add to melt & pour?

[bri276]

first time soap newbie, trying to make Xmas gifts! I bought some melt & pour and I read up in here on how to do it in the double boiler.

I had bought some of the store additives, a jasmine scent and some dried rose petals- from reading up, it seems like the petals will just turn brown, so I'll nix those- as far as the scent, would it be okay to add vanilla extract? and it's ok to add some crushed oatmeal right?

any other items around the house that can work?

[um_hanna]

Originally Posted by bri276

first time soap newbie, trying to make Xmas gifts! I bought some melt & pour and I read up in here on how to do it in the double boiler.

I had bought some of the store additives, a jasmine scent and some dried rose petals- from reading up, it seems like the petals will just turn brown, so I'll nix those- as far as the scent, would it be okay to add vanilla extract? and it's ok to add some crushed oatmeal right?

any other items around the house that can work?

chopped up loofah?

[triciarn]

I have seen them with the mini bath poofs in them. I have seen them at the dollar tree.

Tricia

[eepster]

You can put bath toys inside.

[JessicaS]

Calendula actually looks very pretty in M&P.

Some people use silk flowers in M&P.

Ground cinnamin?

[Lisoula]

I added dried lavendar petals for one and ground apicot pits for a "scrub" bar.

[deuxceleste]

oatmeal is very nice if you add it while the soap is still warm, and before you pour it into the trays. whisking in buttermilk is nice as well, same way. that way it doesn't settle to the bottom but stays suspended.

[bri276]

buttermilk, really? it doesn't go bad? interesting! I can see why this is addictive...

[mama2toomany]

I made soap and added sea shells to the clear melt and pour.. So all the bars have a nifty real sea shell in them.. they are for my MILs bathroom... she has a beach theme going on there.

Anyway you can chop up a sea sponge and pour m&p all over it

I have added tiny micro machines to soaps too lol

you can get this cool opaque colour stuff for like 3$ that will turn the soap lovely colors... I have made those and tye dye soap

and if you have dye or food coloring... add a few drops to M&P and then put the m&p in ice cube dishes and you have bath crayons in about an hour lol

[elizabethrose]

How abt honey and some powdered milk added to white melt and pour? i just made some cool melt and pour soaps in animal molds I got off wholesale supplies plus. I tinted the monkey brown, the kitty cat pink, etc. I also added in some sparkles.
Martha stewart has a whole section on her website abt household items added to m&p soap I think.

[triciarn]

This was on Carol Duvall today.

Tricia

[EricaLeigh]

I have opened up tea bags to add chamomile or green tea. I have used oatmeal & honey sucsessfully. You can use poppy seeds for an exfoliant.

[Think of Winter]

I used to make grass soap w/ grass scent and chopped up grass. Looked very pretty, but this is a tough time of year to find pretty bright green grass. Live near a golf course? He he.

I was thinking about trying orange or lemon zest, too.

[blazfglori]

What an interesting thread!

I might have to try my hand at m&p soaps next holiday season.

This year I'm giving all my coworkers felted soaps (just got done whipping up a few more of those) and my boys are giving their classmates soap crayons...and I got both those ideas from this forum as well!

Thanks guys!

[Mamma Christi]

Oatmeal would work. What about some ground vanilla beans? Do you have access to goats milk?

[Salihah]

If you're going to make some for kids, it's fun to put in those little hard plastic animal toys. Like insects, reptiles, spiders, etc. They love it 'cause once the soap is gone, they get to keep the toy.

[art4babies]

subscribing - fun!

[beachsea]

I have added the folloing (& i am always lookign for more unique additions!)

-poppy seeds (orange or lemon scented, make clear. When they dry make a opaque soap scented and drizzle over, looks like iced lemon popyseed muffin)
-oatmeal
-dried flowers
-lavendar
-vanilla/maple extracts (non alcoholic)
-cocoa butter or shea butter
-ground cocoa
-red, green or black teas
-dried peels
-silk flowers
-plastic holiday toys from dollar store
-superfine glitter
-course sea salt & sea weed bits
-loofah bits or large one in mold and poured around
-cube solid colored bars and add to a mold, pour clear soap around them for stained glass look
-make tea scented soap with chunks of clear soap for ice and slice of lemon soap for ice tea
-using a PVC pipe, make pale green or yellow opaque soap scented with lime or lemon, cut into rings and then cut the rings into sections. Add sections to a circle soap mold sluightly larger and add clear green or yellow soap around them. They end up looking like slices or lime, lemon, oranges.
-dried herbs make a good kitchen soap
-I add glyercin and rose water to every soap I make, i think it adds a nice clean feeling when washing.

Have fun!

[kennedy444]

Subbing in.
Just looking into soap making and there are great ideas here. Thanks!

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by kennedy444

Subbing in.
Just looking into soap making and there are great ideas here. Thanks!

You can also find soapmaking stuff in Natural Home and Body care forum, it isn't really obvious which forum it belongs and and they kind of end up in either.