I don't know about where you are but up north here in New York, I'm so tired of the cold weather and snow! It's half melted, dirty snow; the sun just hasn't been warm enough to melt it away yet. I've looking at my friend's Facebook page where she's vacationing in Hawaii and I'm just going totally green with envy. Hawaii, warm sun, sand, beach, coconuts, sun tan lotion....it got me thinking about a soap project I had seen on one of my vendor's page.
I got the inspiration for these cutie pie soaps from
Nature's Garden. They had a full set going with a big coconut bowl made from using a balloon as a mold (ingenious!) and then mini soaps and lime wedges individually. I thought "Why not combine them?" So I did...and this was the result!
We just adore them and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive! They smell so amazing! We're offering them in two coconut blends - one with lime and one with straight coconut/vanilla blend. Both are totally fitting!
I thought I'd share with you how I made them. I'm not one to measure out stuff, sorry. But you can refer to the Nature's Garden tutorial if you like. Otherwise, do like me and eyeball it! :) Basically, I used the same process on both soaps, just altering the "tops" at the end.
First thing I did was make my lime slices. I couldn't decide if I liked the darker or lighter so I went with both! I made these by using a liquid neon yellow mixed with a drop or two of kelly green colorant for the lighter and then several more drops of kelly green for the darker lime.
Next for your coconut pulp "shreds", shred some white soap base on the smallest grate. I kinda went overboard and shredded WAY too much but it's okay. I also did
not scent this prior to shredded since it is such a tiny amount used but feel free to scent it if you wish. I'm using detergent free coconut soap base here.
Also, I didn't get a picture of this step for some reason but I used a medium sphere silicone mold from Brambleberry to make a few brown "coconuts" for the big bar's topper. I used clear soap, added some brown oxide coloring and some shredded loofah for more effect. You'll see these in the big bar picture.
Pour your layers next. Start with more of the brown soap with loofah in it. Pour a thin layer in the bottom of your mold(s). (I used the 24 count silicone Wilton brownie bite mold and a bigger plastic square bar mold). Once your brown layers are cool enough, spritz with alcohol then pour a layer of white soap scented with your chosen scent but don't fill to the top...leave a tiny bit to be poured later. (Like I said earlier, I did two scent variations but feel free to change to what you like.) Let these layers cool down.
While those layers are cooling down, slice a few limes on the diagonal with a soap cutter or knife so that they'll stand up, kinda leaning all casual like. From here on out, we'll be working on each soap one at a time. Spritz the soaps with alcohol again. Take a pipette and using the white soap, place a small layer of white soap then situate the lime slice in the center, holding in place for a second to it adheres. Quickly arrange some soap shreds around the lime slice, pressing gently into the thin white layer you JUST poured so that they adhere too. You can always use the pipette again and drop a drizzle across the shreds to make them stick too but be careful - if you're soap is too hot, it'll melt those shreds. This is why I like gently pushing them into the soap rather than drizzling.
For the big bars, I did the same process basically for the little ones but this time I
didn't slice the limes. I added two per bar and the little brown coconut ball before adding the soap shreds.
I think they turned out amazing! They smell delicious and just make me think of cabana boys bearing frosty tropical drinks and dreamy beaches with the ocean lapping the shore! I think I need a vacation....least this way, I can get a mini get away in my shower!
Of course, you don't have to make your own! You can always purchase them from
our online store or from
our Etsy shop!
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