Decorative Soap Making Ideas

Over the years I've come across quite a few fun decorative soap making ideas that I would like to share with you.

Most of the ideas listed are very easy to do and don't require any specialty ingredients or difficult to find tools.

With a little imagination and some extra planning, you can come up with some amazing designs to put into your specialty soaps.

Ropes of Soaps

  1. Confetti Soap - add colorful bits of grated soap.

  2. Cobblestone Soap - add small chopped up pieces of colorful soap bits.

  3. Soap Curls - thin strips of soap are rolled into curls and embedded into the base.

  4. Soap Balls - grated soap is formed into soap balls.

  5. Ropes of Soaps - string a colorful selection of soaps for gift giving.

  6. Marbled Soap - marble two or more colors of soap.

  7. Checkerboard Soap - add a semi-checkerboard pattern.

  8. Embed Soap Ribbons - thin strips of soap are added to the soap base.

  9. Loofah/Round Soaps - make loofah and/or round soaps with this tutorial by Birch Bark Soap.

  10. Spoon Swirl Soap - swirled effect produced by spooning soap into the soap mold.

The remainder of this page is filled with all sorts of decorative soaps made by myself and various other artists. Take a look....you'll find plenty of soap making ideas you can use to create fantastic looking soaps of your own.

Column Swirl Soap Spoon Swirl Soap
The column swirl effect is achieved by pouring layers of coloured soap batter over a wooden column in the soap mold. The spoon swirl effect is achieved by layering coloured soap batter into the soap mold using a spoon to drizzle the batter.
Layered Soap Layered with soap chunks
This Amaretto Soap was created by layering. The top layer was applied at a very thick trace and by gently flicking the wrist while pouring the batter. Here is another layering look....one with small chunks put between the two layers. The chunks were rolled in cocoa powder to give them an outline.
Layered Soap Mica on the tops of the soap
This Chai Tea soap by Nizzy uses two decorative soap making ideas...layering and marbling. Here is Nizzy's same Chai Tea soap but with mica brushed on top for an even more upscale look.
Embedding small soap balls A combination of layering and embedding
Use up leftover bits by creating small soap balls and using them as embeds. Herbs and small soap chunks decorate the bottom layer of this bar, while calendula petals adorn the top.
Brownie Soaps by Rachel's Bath & Body A Soap Cake by SudsMuffin
This Chocolate Brownie soap made by Rachel's Bath and Body was made by drizzling soap over the bar.
"Make your soap as you normally would and cut the bars. Make a smaller batch of soap and once you have reached a decent trace (not thick) pour it in a zip lock baggie and cut a small piece of the corner off. Then gently squeeze the soap "icing" out onto the bars in a zig zag pattern. Easy peasy!"
SudsMuffin describes how they make their lovely creations.
"We use our standard cold process soap recipe, which we then pour into a silicone cake mould. Sometimes we add a drizzled soap "icing". Other times, we leave it plain, allowing the colourful layers or swirls to speak for themselves. Additional toppings can include dried botanicals and dried fruit slices (lemon works very well)."
Embedded soap curls Soap curls and balls together
Here's an easy look to create...pour a strip of contrasting coloured soap over the main batch of soap. Using a whisk, plung the whisk straight into the contrasting coloured soap and out again. Do this along the full length of the mold. Mix things up a bit by using more than one soap making idea. This bar uses both soap curls and soap balls as a decorative feature.
Stamped soaps by Ragtree People Feto Soap's Blackberry Sage Soap
This beautiful yet simple look by Ragtree People can be achieved by using a soap stamp and mallet to hammer in the design or a mold with a base design. Feto Soap's wonderful marbled soaps are created as follows.
"I made this soap using the cold process method. To get the green swirl on top I used a baggie and clipped the end off of it to use it as a piping bag. After I piped the soap pattern I used a chopstick to swirl the soap. "
Layering and embedding Layering and embedding
Ruby Grapefruit has multiple effects....layering, embedded balls, embedded curls, a textured top and mica brushed top. Very Berry has long sticks of soap embedded into it between the multiple layers.
Geisha's Kimono Soap by Zaja Natural
This stunning charcoal soap by Zaja Natural blends both layering and marbling.
"I start by dividing my recipe into 2/3 for the bottom layer and 1/3 for the top layer. I make my bottom layer first and pour it into my mold (colored with charcoal). I then take 5 containers and mix my colors that I am planning on using for the top layer. Once my top layer has traced, I then mix a small bit into each container and blend well. The remaining soap, I pour onto the bottom layer that should be pretty solid by now. I then pour my colors one by one lightly onto the top of the white top layer. Using a bamboo skewer, I lightly swirl my colors. The soap is then left to go into full gel so the layers will stick, and I cut it after 2 days. It is a tricky method, but the time and effort is worth it!"
Orange Loofah Soap by Birch Barks Soap
Birch Bark Soap created this creamy orange loofah soap using a pipe mold.
"Simply take a tubular mold (PVC pipe from the hardware store cut into manageable lengths and lined with a silicone baking sheet - works perfectly!) and insert a length of loofah. Bring soap to a thin trace and pour over the loofah. Jiggle the soap-filled mold quite a bit, to make sure that the soap permeates the loofah. Ensure that the loofah is centered as much as possible before it sets. A knife is needed to cut into bars. Enjoy!"
Cocoa Butter soap with Cocoa powder cubes A mixed variety of soaps by Hint of Eden
Kanoh from Japan created this lovely cobblestone look by incorporating cubes of soap colored with cocoa powder into a base of creamy cocoa butter soap.
"My soap includes cocoa butter 10%, chocolate fragrance oil and benzoin essential oil for both white part and brown part (colored with cocoa powder, cut in dice)."
 Hint of Eden shows how adding botanicals to soap can change a humble look to something so much more.
"We craft our soaps in small batches with all vegetable based oils. We use locally grown fruits, flowers and herbs to top the bars to add nature's decorative touch."
Coffee Dish Soap Sweet Citrus Honey Soap
Maggie from Between Friends made this creative looking soap using small soap balls.
"It's a great way to use up all the extra soap balls you get from trimming the not-so-pretty edges. Take your favorite recipe and bring the soap mixture to a light trace. Pour out a quarter of the mixture into a separate bowl and mix with coffee grinds -- this will become the center layer. The mixture left in the pot will be used as the bottom and the top layers. Pour the bottom layer into the mold, layer on with the coffee grind mixture, put in the soap balls of your choice, and top it with the final layer to finish the look."
 The fun honeycomb look of Sweet Citrus Honey Soap is created by using bubblewrap.
"Prepare the soap mold by placing a cut out of bubblewrap on the bottom of the mold with the bubbles facing up. Cut another piece to place on top of the poured soap. Adding beeswax, honey, calendula petals and oakmoss essential oil give the soap it's 'honeycomb' color."

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