Friday, February 20, 2009

Got Unused Dolls?

Not sure what to do with the dolls lying around from your daughter used to play with them? This is an edgy, sort of gross/sort of fun, soap project utilizing old plastic dolls. Perhaps it's a perfect transition for your teen to say good bye to her younger years and herald a new era. Or perhaps, it's just a creepy project I dreamed up as a second-date activity with my now-husband (true story. He didn't even bat an eye). Craft Lab (the HGTV show) asked me to design an edgy soap project to pitch to their producers. This is what I came up with:

What you need:

Dismembered plastic doll
1 pound (16 ounces) Bramble Berry melt and pour soap, clear
1 ounce Pearberry Fragrance Oil
Soap mold (or Tupperware or anything you find like an empty yogurt
container)
Rubbing Alcohol

1. Dismember your doll. They come apart surprisingly easy. And, once you get over the slightly creepy factor of dismembering a doll, it's also satisfying to say goodbye to your past and hello to your teen and adult years.

2. Cut the melt and pour blocks into 1 x 1" cubes.

3. Melt the soap in 30-second increments until the soap is fully melted. Stir if there are any big chunks.

4. Add .25 ounces to .50 ounces of fragrance or essential oil. Remember, if you use a yellow or orange colored fragrance, your soap base will look less clear and look more yellow/orange. That's why I suggested Pearberry. It stays completely clear.

5. Pour the soap base halfway up into your mold.

6. Spritz your dismembered doll part with rubbing alcohol.

7. Embed your doll head, limb or torso into the soap.

8. Pour the rest of the soap all the way up.

9. Do one final rubbing alcohol spritz to make sure there are no stray bubbles on the top of the soap.

Wait for the soap to harden, wrap with saran wrap, label and watch for the varied reactions your dismembered soap creations get.


On a personal note, I'm in San Diego for a long weekend for my brother-in-law's wedding. Hair and make up starts at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning (eek!). I'm hoping to have a bit of time to sneak away to post photos of our fun. My hubby and I are thinking we might go on a roller coaster later today. Neither of us have been on one in over a decade so if you listen hard around noon, you just might hear us screaming.