Easter treats MP soap

Difficulty: Beginners
Time: 30 mins

I was asked by my sister if we could bring something else than chocolate to our family Easter brunch, because her two young children, my one year old nephew and three year old niece, get so much during Easter, and they can’t (or shouldn’t) eat it all. And I get it. The kids are so little and everyone just wants to get them something, and at Easter, what else is there but chocolate easter bunnies and eggs? So I decided to come up with some alternative treats that kids will love, and here’s the first one: cute little Easter melt and pour soaps!

To make these you’ll need an Easter themed mold. You can get these from the local craft shop, homeware stores, or somewhere like The Warehouse or K-mart, and are sold either as chocolate molds or ice cube molds. I got mine from The Warehouse a few years back, thinking they might come in handy one day, and they sure did today!

The other material you need is a melt and pour base, soap dye or food colouring, and a fragrance or essential oil. I’m using the low-sweat melt and pour base, which doesn’t attract moisture to its surface like most melt and pour soap bases, particularly here in New Zealand, where it can get quite muggy and humid at times.

ONE: Cut the white melt and pour soap base into small cubes and add them to a heat proof Pyrex jug. Heat on high in the microwave in 10 second bursts until the soap has melted.

TWO: Add one or two drops of soap dye or food colouring and stir. You can add more colour, one drop at a time, until the soap has reached the desired shade of the colour. I’m using the soap dye from Pure Nature here, which comes in five different colours (yellow, orange, red, blue and green), which have been especially prepared for melt and pour soap. Because my mold has different shapes, I do one colour per shape at a time: yellow for the ducks, blue for the rabbits, and green and pink for the eggs.

Remember that when you colour white melt and pour soap, the colours will always be pastels, because of the white base. If you want full, bright coloured soap, you’ll have to use clear melt and pour.

THREE: After you’ve reached the desired colour, add your fragrance or essential oil and stir well. I’m using sparkling pomelo from Candlescience fragrances, which is a fresh, fruity citrus-like skin-safe fragrance, and I thought would appeal to the kids (and adults!). The rule of thumb is about 1/8 teaspoon (or roughly 10-15 drops) of fragrance per 1/2 cup of melt and pour soap.

Make sure the fragrance you are using is safe to use on skin, and if you are not sure, check with the supplier. This is particularly important if you are planning on using candle fragrances.

FOUR: Pour the soap into the cavities of the mold and spritz the surface with alcohol to get rid of any pesky little bubbles that might appear.

Another interesting advantage of the low-sweat melt and pour base I found is that it produces hardly any bubbles on the surface.

FIVE: Let the soap cool down and harden completely before unmolding. And if you are doing several colours like me, make sure you check the last colour you poured, unless you want to end up with the same mess I did. Oops!

If you have used the low-sweat melt and pour soap base, you have the advantage of being able to leave the soaps unwrapped. Otherwise, you’ll have to wrap the soaps in cling foil or put them into little cello bags to prevent ‘sweating’ – moisture condensing on the soap.

You can add these little treats to your Easter baskets, put them in little cello bags or use them as little decorations. I’ve added a few of the soaps into little plastic egg shells with a bit of coloured shredded paper. Do you think the kids will like it?