Confetti Hearts Donkey Milk Melt & Pour Soap Recipe

This is a quick and easy, very effective Valentine's Day or Mother's Day Soap DIY, or just for when you are 'feeling pink' project!  You don't need loads of ingredients - just five and the equipment - they smell divine as we've scented our soaps with Heavenly Pure Essential Oil Blend and you just need one colour to achieve these gorgeous soaps!

Ingredients:

•   1kg Crystal Donkey Milk Melt & Pour Soap Base
•   1kg Crystal ST Melt & Pour Soap Base
•   25ml Heavenly Pure Essential Oil Blend
            or if preferred
•   25ml Cherry Blossom Fragrance
•   10g Candy Pink Mica *Has replaced Coral Crush Mica
•   100ml Isopropyl Alcohol & Spritzer Set
  
•   BW Flex Mould - 4 Deep Rectangle
•   Flex Embed Mould Tiny Hearts One (55 cavity)
•   Long Spout Jug - Optional
•   Pigment Scoops - Optional - *Use small pinch if unavailable

NB:  You will use all the Donkey Milk Soap to make 8 soaps, but will have about 500g of Crystal ST Clear left for another project.

Equipment:

Microwave safe jugs - to hold 500ml
Stirring stick, spoon or spatula
Knife and board to dice the soap
Blunt Knife - to remove the driploator from the 10ml Essenntial Oil as it's easier to measure for this soap

Method:

• Firstly make three trays of hearts!  Our graphic shows the three colours in one pour, this is for demonstration purposes.
  Each soap bar requires approximately 20 hearts to have them fairly closely packed - so you can work out how many you need if you are covering the whole soap with little hearts or leaving some gaps in between to fill with clean soap.
• Remove the driplolator from the 10ml bottle

• It is better to make all one colour, unmould and repeat for the other colours.
• I like to allow 200 - 230g per pour as a guide, depending on how full you want to make the hearts.  The ones in this project were poured to the rim of the mould and then quickly levelled off with a blunt knife.  You can remelt any left over soap scrapings.
• Colour 1 = Clear Soap and 3+ pigment scoops of Candy Pink Mica - just use enough mica to ensure you have a good depth of colour.
• Colour 2 = Donkey Milk Soap with 2+ Pigment Scoops Candy Pink Mica - colour until you have a colour tone you are happy with.
• Colour 3 = Donkey Milk Soap = NO colour at all.
• Unmould each colour and set aside in colours ready for the embed layer.

• Chop 350g Crystal Donkey Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base in 2 - 3 cm cubes.
• Place in the microwave safe jug, and melt in short bursts until liquid. 
• Stir to dissolve any small pieces that remain.
• Add a pinch of Candy Pink Mica (or more if you want a darker colour) and stir to combine.
• Add 3 - 5ml (¾ teaspoon) Essential Oil Blend or Fragrance Oil and stir well.
• Spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any surface bubbles and then pour into the mould cavities
  leaving ½ cm head room at the top.

Pour low down to the mould and then spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any surface bubbles and leave to set.

• Ensure that your heart embeds are sitting UPSIDE DOWN on your work surface
• Check the surface of the soap with your fingertip.  Press gently!  If it is firm it is time to prepare and pour the clear layer.
• Dice 150g Crystal ST Melt and Pour Soap Base and place in the small jug.
• Heat in short bursts until liquid.

• Spritz the set soap well with Isopropyl Alcohol and then spritz the hearts sitting on the bench - you are spritzing the BASES of the hearts, not the tops!
• Arrange approximately 12 hearts on the surface of your first soap - remember, you are placing the spritzed side of the soap down on top of the spritzed soap - this  makes them adhere well.  Leave a little space for the rest of the hearts after your initial pour. 
  THIS IS WHEN YOU DECIDE IF YOU  WANT TO SPACE THE HEARTS LIKE THE GRAPHIC ABOVE, OR MORE CLOSELY PLACED LIKE THE ONE BELOW.
• Pour the hot, clear soap over the top to just below the rim of the mould cavities.
• Spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol immediately.
• Pop in the remaining hearts to fill the gaps and then pour hot soap over the surface again.
• Spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol immediately.

• Allow the soap to fully set up.
• Remove from the mould and wrap in cello or shrink bags.
• Repeat for another batch of soap.

The trolley items contain the Pure Essential Oil Blend.