Melt and Pour Pantry Soaps

Raid your larder for materials that add texture, color, and fragrance to handmade soaps. The long, thin box shown holds a number of delectable bars.

Learn Soap-Making Basics

Tools and Materials:

• Glycerin, Michael's  (or melt and pour soap base)
• Honey
• Ginger
• Cinnamon
• Ground clove
• Oatmeal
• Chamomile tea
• Yogurt Cups, 1 1/4 inches deep, or cottage cheese containers

Pantry Soaps How-To:From top: Honey-ginger (for each cup of glycerin, add 1 teaspoon honey and 2 pinches ginger);cinnamon-clove (2 pinches cinnamon, 2 pinches ground clove): Oatmeal-honey (use only clear glycerin in this soap; add 1 teaspoon honey, 2 pinches ginger, 2 teaspoons oatmeal); Honey-ginger; and chamomile (1/4 teaspoon chamomile tea). 

Use common household items for your molds. We filled round yogurt cups 1. inches deep; oval yogurt or cottage-cheese containers create other shapes. After each soap has set, press on sides of mold to loosen the soap and on bottom to release it.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Pantry Soaps - Martha Stewart Crafts