Soap Petals

Here is a quick handmade gift for those who, like me, work well under pressure. I usually come up with a gift idea at the last minute. This is something I saw on the internet a while back, and I thought it was cute, but didn't give it another thought until Saturday night. I was at Wal-Mart, along with a million other last minute Valentine's shoppers. I saw a box of loose silk rose petals for only $2.00. I already had a bag of melt and pour glycerin soap at my house, as soap making is a hobby I've been dabbling in. It cost $6.99 at Hobby Lobby, but I used the 40% off coupon they frequently have.  I also had some liquid dye and rose scent left from another project. You don't need the dye, but you could use it if you want different shades of petals.  

To make the soap petals, in a double-boiler, melt soap. I used a sauce pan, filled with water, and set a metal mixing bowl into the boiling water. I have read that once you use something to make soap, you should not use it for food prep. I'm not sure how dangerous this would actually be if you are using the melt and pour soap. Almost all hand soap contains lye, which is very dangerous all on its own, but the small amount that is in a finished bar of soap is hopefully not toxic in tiny traces. It seems all of us who wash our hands before eating might be dead by now if that were the case. ??? But, just to be safe, set aside some dishes just for making soap. After you have melted the soap, leave it on the stove on very low simmer while you dip the petals. Add some fragrance if desired. I used rose for rose petals, it only made sense. Stir the soap gently, as you don't want to make bubbles, they will show in your finished product. To dip the petals, pick up one at a time up with tweezers, then set it into the wax. Lift it back out, and set on wax paper to cool.  You just want a thin layer of soap. Gently turn petals over once or twice while they are cooling to avoid clumps of puddled soap. When they are cool, they are done. They look beautiful setting in a soap dish, and are great for company, as they are single use, disposable soap. Each guest can use their own soap petal. These would be great for weddings, pretty and practical. I gave them to my daughters' teachers for Valentine's Day. I figured they might have their share of candy already. The petals would be great at school, too! A little bit of luxury for the women who are so important in my childrens' lives.  These would also be romantic floating in a bath, adding beauty and fragrance. 

This is what I chose to package them in. Well, this is my second choice. I had little organdy bags, and I thought I could shoot them with a burst of steam from my iron, but it sucked the bag onto the iron and melted it instantly. I knew better! So I used sandwich bags. Cellophane bags would be much prettier, but as I said before, this was last minute. So I used what I had. I put red paper in my paper shredder to make a 'bed' for the petals. I put the paper shreds into the baggie, lay the petals on top, and tied it shut with a cute ribbon. I stamped a piece of the same red paper with 'Happy Valentine's', and wrote on the back of the tag explaining what the petals were for.