How to Make Soap Carvings
Soap is an ideal medium for carving whether you're a novice or skilled carver. The consistency of soap bars makes them much easier to carve than other items, such as hardwoods. Since soap is generally soft, a simple paring knife is the main tool you'll need to get started. A paring knife is easier to control than many of the tools used in wood carving, such as chisels and wood gouges, so soap carving is a pleasant way to practice and hone your carving and shaping skills.
Things You'll Need
- Towel
- Soap bar
- Paring knife, plastic knife or spoon, or wooden craft stick
- Pencil
- Paper
- Toothpick
- Paper towel
Instructions
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1
Place a towel over your lap, or on a table if you prefer to work on a flat surface. Scrape away any words or details molded into the soap bar using a paring knife, plastic knife, craft stick or spoon. Continue until the details are no longer visible and the soap face is relatively smooth.
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2
Decide what you would like to carve into the soap and figure out a layout for the project. Sketch the layout on paper, showing each face and side of the soap bar and the basic outline of your object.
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3
Carve an outline of your object into the top face of the soap using a toothpick or the tip of a knife.
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4
Whittle away the areas of soap outside your object's boundaries using a knife, spoon or preferred carving implement. Use small strokes, removing only small amounts of soap with each pass of the carving tool. Continue doing so until you have a rough shape for your desired object.
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5
Flip the soap bar over and examine its various sides. Carve away little bits of soap as needed to fine tune the shape of your soap carving.
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6
Scratch in the areas of fine detail and texture using a toothpick or knife tip. Do this for all faces and sides of the soap carving.
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7
Smooth the soap carving by rubbing it first with a paper towel, then with your hands. Continue until your soap carving looks as intended.
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Tips & Warnings
Large bars of soap are easier to work with than small ones.
Inexpensive soaps are great for practice carving.
Simple shapes such as hearts, stars, turtles or smiley faces are well suited to youngsters and beginners.
If young children are doing the carving, give them plastic knives, wooden craft sticks or other dull instruments to carve with, rather than sharp knives.
Do not attempt to cut of large chunks of soap at a time while shaping your carving -- breaking off large chunks could cause the soap bar to fracture or break.
Soap carving leaves behind lots of small pieces of soap, so shake those off the towel and off your clothes and into a trash can, or save them if you have other uses for soap shavings.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
