Snowman Soap

My gift idea for my toddlers this year was snowman soap. I saw it in a few different places online.  

Ivory soap has an interesting chemical make up (air bubbles apparently) that allow it to be blown up in the microwave and reconstituted with water and molded into any shape you want. Colors can be added too. 

I bought a 10 pack of Ivory soap for $5.99 at Walgreens. 

I started unwrapping the soap to find IT STINKS.  Luckily it was a 30 degree day so I could open windows...and doors.

Using a large tub, I placed the soap inside

I put it in the microwave for one minute.  It takes about 2 minutes to get all the soap "fluffed".   There can be a little blob if hot lava soap inside the fluff mountain, so I shook the container to set it free and microwave again at 30 second intervals until it was all fluffy.

Once it cools a little, I broke it into pieces and put it in the Cuisinart.  My food processor might smell like soap forever.  

After pulsing the processor, the soap becomes powder. (~do not inhale!~)

To reconstitute the soap, add water (approx 2-3 tablespoons) one tablespoon at a time, until it looks like this.  If you add to much water, you'll need to add more soap. It is similar to powdered sugar.

I poured it out onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and using a circle cookie cutter I was able to make three snowmen from one bar of soap. 

I needed 24 soaps for my kids.  The process took all afternoon.  I had two extra bars, one of which I followed all the above instructions but added orange food coloring to the water that I added, making orange soap for the carrot noses.  

I used a tiny bit of water to adhere the noses to the snowmen.  The instructions I was following here:      http://kixcereal.com/kix-cereal-snowman-soap-experiment/

say to use a small amount of purple and red food coloring to create black, poke a hole and add food coloring to make the eyes.  With my experience with food coloring, I figured if a kid used the soap and got it wet, the food coloring would bleed out ~ everywhere~!!!  I decided to just use a craft paint that will wash away after a couple uses and not make a mess.  (I added the mouth, I thought it would be cuter)

I wrote a little poem and bagged them up.  

Not sure this is a project I would do again for this many kids. Super putzy and super smelly!  Making a few with your kids or grandkids would be a fun afternoon activity!  The expanding soap is fun to watch, crumbling it up is a mess, but a cool sensory experience and you could make any cookie cutter shape or color you wanted.  they would make neat gifts for friends, or just to have in the tub!