Thursday, March 25, 2010

Soap for the Gardener

For some, Spring means more than just longer days. It means getting your hands dirty in the garden! This gave me the idea of putting seeds in a clear melt-and-pour soap base and pairing it with a fun garden inspired fragrance or essential oil, such as tomato leaf, lettuce, rosemary, or gardenia to name a few.

If you want to make a cute gift set out of it, use the seed package to create a unique and colorful card. Simply cut out the front side and glue it to the face of a sturdy blank card (cardboard works perfect for this). If you want to take it further, throw in a fragrance, some reeds and your beautiful custom soap in a large jute bag for an added "earthy" feel.

I really like using a clear soap base because it lets the light shine through, exposing the seeds. I also tried swirling in some opaque soap to achieve a creamy appearance. See below.

I'm definitely going to keep an eye on the soaps over the next week to see if the seeds cause unsightly brown spots that is so common with dried botanicals, such as lavender and rose buds. Even so, if you're giving this soap to a gardener, a little natural browning probably won't be too upsetting for them ;-)

3 comments:

  1. I love this idea! I often think about putting dried herbs into my MP soaps, but I usually shy away from it because I'm afraid they'll just turn all brown. I'd be curious to know how yours hold up. I like the last soap with the seeds and the opaque base swirled in :-)

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  2. So far so good-- there's very little noticeable browning. I'll keep you updated. Thanks Wonder Turtle Soaps!

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  3. How cute! I love original stuff like this!
    Rebecca of the R&W Gals

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