As a crafter who crafts A LOT, I need a lot of supplies and craft materials so I am always on the lookout for ways to save money on my craft basics. My new go to place to save money on craft supplies has become Consumer Crafts! I could not believe the difference in their prices from the big craft supply stores! For example, the paper mache Valentine letters that I did last week were $4.49 when I bought them at the craft store but they are $2.27 when ordered from Consumer Crafts! Unbelievable savings! They are having a Back to Basics sale which made for huge craft supply bang for the buck!
With Valentine’s Day coming up I wanted to make some handmade gifts to give friends and I also wanted to try my hand at making soap so I thought it would be great to combine the two! I was browsing around the Basics section of Consumer Crafts and found everything I needed to make pretty homemade soap gifts.
I was able to get 4 pounds of soap (2 each of goat’s milk and shea butter), the cute flower molds, vanilla and cucumber and melon fragrance oils, and dye all for under $30. If you bought 4 pounds of soap from any leading bath shop it would be over $60 at $7.50 per bar! The prices were amazing and the site was really easy to navigate with self-explanatory broad categories such as Craft Basics which is where I shopped and then narrowed down by type of craft. I found everything I needed in the Soap & Fragrance category shown above and Consumer Crafts made it easy to select my item and keep shopping with the small icon that popped up at the side of the screen and then finally to check out. What is really awesome is my order of supplies shown in the last photo arrived just when they said it would and I was ready to get started making my homemade soap!
I had never made soap before in my life and honestly was a little nervous about the prospect and pictured women stirring a steaming cast iron pot but making the soap was almost as easy as ordering the supplies from Consumer Crafts! If you can microwave, pour, and stir, you can make homemade soap. It was so easy I created the step by step pictorial above to walk you through the process once you order your own supplies from Consumer Crafts. Remember they are having a Back To Basics Sale in February! 1) After cutting (with a heavy knife as the soap is thick) the soap block into pieces, put in microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. 2) Add the fragrance oil using the recommended amount on the bottle according to the amount of soap you are making. I used vanilla and cucumber melon. 3) Add dye until soap is desired shade. I added a few drops of red to one batch to make pink for Valentine’s Day. I left one batch white. 4) Pour soap into molds. Let cool for one hour and pop out of plastic molds. 5&6) Finished soap bars and rosettes.
The whole process of this project was easy and fun from start to finish: ordering the supplies from Consumer Crafts’ user friendly website (with huge savings I might add) to making the soap in just a few easy steps. The little rosettes and bars came out so cute and really smelled nice! My favorite was the vanilla as it had a milder fragrance than the cucumber melon. I used one to try it out and the goat’s milk soap lathered well and made my hands soft. I packaged the rest in a leftover treat bag from my daughter’s birthday party and decorated it with a Valentine’s bow, and vinyl flowers and tag using my Silhouette. When I was done I had an adorable gift bag of great smelling, pretty soaps to give a friend as a Valentine gift and best of all I got the gift at an affordable price, made it myself, AND have enough to make more for my own home! I learned not only are Consumer Crafts cheaper on craft basics, but so is making your own soap!
I wrote this post as part of a campaign with Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.
Twitter: pinkwhen
says:
I absolutely LOVE this! I can’t wait to try the soaps, and I LOVE the new craft place to check out! Thanks so much!
Thank you! They were a fun little craft to make and I’m giving them to my son’s teachers.
Thanks! I’m going to have to check them out – once I have some “play” money!!
Yes I know what you mean! My play money goes a lot further there which is nice. Thanks for stopping by!
Twitter: laceysgarden
says:
Awesome. I love soapmaking
This was the first time I made it but I will definitely be doing it again! Thanks for stopping by! I can’t wait to stop by Lacey’s garden!
Twitter: s
says:
I love this craft they are so cute and looks easy to do and inexpensive to make as gifts or favors.
It was so easy, Sandy! Just cut it up, microwave, add the oil and pour. So so much easier than I thought it would be!
i have been wanting to try making my own soap.. I have made a lot of bath bombs.. they are pretty fun too!
Debbie, I am going going to Google what a bath bomb is!
Thanks for stopping by!
Twitter: dutchgirlsfaves
says:
I have never made soap before or thought about even thought about it but I’m going to try after reading this.
The soap was so fun to make and way easier than I thought! Thank you!
Twitter: Elizrdbth Speaks
says:
looks like a fun project. a must try. thanks for sharing with us. have a great weekend. take care. ( :
Thanks for stopping by! It was fun to make.
Love the home-made soap idea – and what a price difference. AND you know what is in it!
I decided to check the price just for this post and was blown away how much cheaper it is to make your own…but I guess it’s that way with most things. Thanks for reading!
This looks like a fun project! And customizing scents would make for a wonderful personalized gift.
Thanks! Was so easy and fun! As I was browsing through all of the fragrance choices on Consumer Crafts I kept making up new fragrance combos in my head.
I have never made soap in my life, but after reading your review, you make it sound easy to do — so much so that I think I will give it a try. Nor have I ordered from Consumer Crafts before either. I’ve printed out your article so that I don’t forget where I found the information and where I can get the needed supplies at a reasonable price. Thanks.
Thanks! Good luck with the soap. It was pretty user friendly with microwaving.
Twitter: contestlvr
says:
I love this idea and they are very pretty too! Thanks for the instructions.
Twitter: dearcreatives
says:
I love the idea of making soap & often see ones that make me want to try, but like you a little nervous about doing it, purchasing everything you need….but, I might have to check them out & give it a try. I love how yours turned out. I just found you for the first time & am now following on FB & G+ I am with SF too. Glad I found your blog. Stop by sometime!
Love it. It almost sounds like making homemade candles.I like the personal touch of giving a gift that I’ve made.
Thanks for stopping by! I’d love to try candle making in the future. My friend makes some gorgeous ones!
handmade soap is far superior to store bought soap – thanks for the tutorial.
Thanks for reading! I will definitely be making more in the future.
Twitter: igotthismartha
says:
I think these soaps are so cute! I would love to try to make them!
Thank you! They were really easy to make and they work pretty well too! Let me know how yours turns out!
I haven’t made soap in years (since I worked at a craft store!) but this has given me the motivation to try it again. Thanks for the tips and ideas.
Thank you! I was so nervous because it sounds so daunting but it wound up being one of the easiest crafts I’ve done. Of course I didn’t make the base from scratch.
Twitter: KentuckyGal
says:
I’ve always wanted to try making soap…but I have to pare down my “works-in-progress” before I start something new! :O)
I completely understand! I have a whole shelving rack that is WIP! The soap only took about 10 minutes to cut, microwave, and pour.
Twitter: laurienykaza
says:
I love this idea to do with the kids for gifts for the family and friends for valentines day. I like to know what i’m putting in a product I’m using so this is something I would do. I love the pink leaf and this would allow the kids to be creative with color scent, and shape as well.
Thanks! It’s a great one for older kids to do. I think I’ve even seen soap making kits geared at tweens. They have so many pretty molds to choose from and the flower one was only $1.99!