DIY Ombre Heart Shaped Mini Soap Favors
If there's a favor I love to give for baby or bridal showers, it has to be shower and spa themed goodies! So when I was done making bath bombs and bath salts, the next favor in my lineup had to be another of my favorite spa themed favors to give with a fun mini sized twist, these Ombre Pink Heart Shaped mini soaps!
Along with my Floral Fizzy Bath Salts, these petite soaps made their debut at a spa themed birthday party for my friend’s now teenager, and were daintily packaged in cello bags to give to her guests. I mixed together a trio of different pink hued heart shaped soaps, molding each color into the Mini Heart Silicone Molds, then remelting the excess and darkening it to the next shade I wanted. I used the white and cream colored 16 oz blocks of different soaps I got from this sampler pack, which worked out perfectly for cubing up the same amount each time. Even though they are different bases, I used the end of the last set of soap hearts for starting the next batch, and the mix of bases didn’t hurt my soaps at all!
When all the soaps were molded, we mixed them all together, put a handful into each cello bag, secured them with a twist tie, and we were done! I found they divided up nicely into twelve favors, though these can be divided into bags or tins to create any amount you like! I did have extra soap at the end of these that could have been melted down again for even more hearts, we just ran out of time and inclination for a final melting of the extra soap. I started with the idea of each heart to be for a single handwashing, but it turns out it takes at least 2-3 washing for each of my little soaps to be used up!
So make a set in your own favorite shades and scents for your next shower, I can’t wait to make more for my next spa themed party guest gifts!
SUPPLIES
SUPPLIES LIST:
[for aprx. 12 favor bags]
SOAP MAKING SUPPLIES:
Mini Heart Silicone Molds x 3
Melt & Pour Soap Base x 3 lbs
Soap Fragrance Oil x 1
Soap Dye x 1
TOOLS & OTHER SUPPLIES:
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper
Metal Scraper
Knife & Cutting Board
Bowl & Spool
Pot, Water, & Burner (for double boiler)
DIRECTIONS
1. Cut your soap base into about 1” cubes, weighing out 8 oz for the first color of mini soaps. Add the soap cubes to a metal bowl, then, set over a small pot of simmering water, and, using it as a double boiler, melt down the soap until completely liquified. I prefer the more even heating method of a double boiler for this, but many bases can be simply microwaved, just be sure to use a microwave safe bowl and follow the package directions!
2. Add your scents and dyes to the melted soap. For my fragrance oil, I used 2-3% of the weight of my soap, so 0.4 oz per pound of soap, so a little over 2 tsp/ pound. Then add in your liquid dye, a couple drops at a time, until the base is a light pink; whisking gently so you don’t form bubbles in the soap. I added in 5 drops of deep pink dye for this first round, with more drops being added to deepen the color with each new soap melting.
3. Lay out your heart molds on top of a parchment lined baking sheet, then pour the colored and scented soap base over them, smoothing the soap over all the cavities using a pastry cutter or metal scraper. Smooth any excess over the sides of the mold, allowing it to harden on the parchment paper so that you can melt it again for the next round of hearts.
4. When the soaps have cooled, remove them from the molds, lightly brushing any excess soap off of the hearts and back into the melting bowl along with any of the overflow that hardened to the parchment paper. Set your first color of hearts aside.
5. Remelt the remaining soap base, adding another 16oz of soap to the bowl. Once melted, repeat the same process as above, adding more fragrance oil and dyes to the second melted soap base, using the same amount of fragrance oil but adding more dye each round to deepen the pink color. For my mini soaps:
1st Hearts: 3 drops dye
2nd Hearts: 7 drops dye
3rd Hearts: 13 drops dye
Pour and smooth the second soap base into the heart molds like the first, again saving the excess and overflow soap for the final round of hearts.
6. Repeat the melting, dying, and scenting process for the third round of hearts, and when all of the hearts have been solidified and unmolded, mix them together to form your ombre mini soaps! Package in tins or cellophane favor bags.
These soaps turned out so adorable and were so easy to make! My friend’s teen and I made these together and it was just the right amount of easy to learn while also being able to personalize them to the scent and colors we wanted for her party. These are so easy to customize they’ll be my new first choice for a quick and easy spa favor for any bridal shower, baby shower, or galentines I host!