DIY Soap Rocks (Crystal and Gold Vein Variation)

Here’s another variation of DIY soap rocks tutorial.  I am just having so much fun playing with melt and pour soap.  I’ll admit that I’ve had some flops that never made it to the blog – but even the wonky soaps are lovely because the organic glycerine soap base I use is really luxurious and I am always experiment with really delicious smelling essential oils.  So even the silly looking soaps are enjoyed.

Although there was a cool mid-century modern inspired design that I loved (in theory – it was a little flawed in the execution), I think my “lake superior” soap is my favorite, followed closely by the DIY gemstone soap experiments from last year.  Truthfully, I’m on the fence about today’s crystal and gold vein version of DIY soap rocks because it just didn’t turn out exactly how I pictured it in my mind, largely because of the overly optimistic size of the “gold veins”.  Even friends and family who love how it turned out debate what it actually looks like (fudge, deli meat, gold?), so I thought I might as well share and see what YOU think it looks like.  I still think it looks like some kind of stone…

Whatever it is, it sure is sparkly!  And smells delicious.

Here’s how I made these crystal and gold DIY soap rocks (following my first DIY gemstone soap tutorial – linked here), plus what I think could improve the design!

 Supplies:

• Glycerine soap base (clear)
• Mica soap colorant in gold (I used whole pack of six)
• Mica soap colorant in white
• Soap fragrance (optional – I chose citrus grapefruit this time but you can try a set and combine)
• Bar silicone molds
• Loaf silicone mold
• Pyrex measuring cup
• Cutting board
• Sharp knife
• Microwave
• Old spoon
• Small spray bottle
• Rubbing alcohol

I cut up about two pounds of glycerine soap base into chunks and added some white mica powder then zapped it in the microwave in my Pyrex measuring cup for a minute or so – until melted.  I gave it a quick stir, poured it into my smaller bar silicone molds and let it sit overnight.  Then I had these creamy, translucent bars so I chopped them up into irregular “gem” shapes and placed them in my large loaf silicone mold.

I chopped up more glycerine soap base and added this gold mica soap colorant in gold (I used all six blocks) before melting it in the microwave.  Then I added my essential oil (I used half a tiny bottle of a cinnamon citrus I picked up), poured the melted glycerine over my crystals, spritzed the surface with alcohol, and let it set overnight.

Once I popped out my long bar of soap, I cut large irregular pieces and shaved the edges to look more organic.

I think the secret to a more realistic gold veined quartz soap would be to increase the size and volume of the crystal chunks so the gold is really just a tiny filler, filling in the gaps.  You might have noticed I tried adding some darker bronze and gold pieces for dimension, but that didn’t really have the desired effect.  Next time I’ll leave way more crystal spikes poking out the top of my DIY soap rocks, because I loved how that aspect turned out!

You can always just buy a soap rock – which is how I got hooked on these gems – but making DIY soap rocks is so much fun!