Make decorative soap with your kids

How many times have you heard your kids tell you that they are bored? Shake them out of that whiny boredom on a rainy day by getting them into the kitchen and making some cool colored decorative soaps. They will enjoy this easy project, unless they really want to be out in that lousy storm. Here is a great idea for making glycerin soap.

First, gather all the materials you will need:

• 1 bar of glycerin soap (melt and pour)
• 1 box of food coloring
• Aerosol cooking spray
• Plastic mixing cup with spout and handle
• Utility kitchen knife
• Wooden cutting board
• Microwave
• Plastic candy or soap molds
• Wooden mixing spoon

All your materials can be found at an all purpose store or at your local craft store. Next, how you actually make the soaps:

1. Spray the soap molds with cooking spray. Do not overload with spray because you want the hot melted soap to stay in the mold and not slip out and burn your kids.
2. Cut the glycerin soap into five cubes and place into the microwave safe plastic mixing cup.
3. Microwave until soap is melted, about 30 to 50 seconds. If your soap is not completely melted, microwave for 10 second increments until all soap is melted. Do not leave the soap unattended while it is melting, unless you want a giant mess on your hands if it happens to overflow.
4. Add food coloring and stir. Now you can be very creative with your kids and add any colors together to make special colors. Let them experiment and make any colors they wish. After all, it is still raining outside, and the longer you keep this project going, the less you hear how bored they are.
5. Pour your colored soap into the candy molds or soap molds and cool for about 1 hour, until the soap is set.
6. Pop out of the molds when soap is completely set.

This project takes adult supervision, so please advise your kids to be extremely careful when using the hot soap and the very sharp knife, and watch their every move.

If they are still bored, make another batch, and another and another....or you could try this bird feeder project or make kid's masks.

(These instructions make decorative soaps only. Food coloring can stain if not handled properly. - Ed.)