Gingerbread House Soaps Painted With Mica

These adorable gingerbread house soaps are decorated with whipped melt and pour soap and painted mica.  You can have a lot of fun decorating these, then you can use them as soap.

Each year, my daughter makes a gingerbread house.  She loves decorating cakes, cookies, and especially gingerbread houses.  

I'm crafty and can make many thing, but a cake decorator I am not.  So I used soap as my medium of choice.  I found an adorable gingerbread house mold that's probably meant for cake or some other bakery item, but I used it for soap.

The plain soaps were adorable on their own, but I decorated them like you would a real gingerbread house.  I think they turned out so cute! 

Put these on a pedestal dish in the guest bath for an cute seasonal touch.  Gingerbread houses are generally made at Christmas, but I think they would look cute all winter long.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE SOAPS PAINTED WITH MICA

MELT AND POUR SOAP

I use Crafty Bubbles melt and pour soap exclusively.  It's not available on Amazon, so you'll have to order it directly from them.  They have a white and a clear available.

SHEA BUTTER

I added shea butter just because I love the little extra boost to moisturize my skin.  It's optional, but I prefer the soap made with it.  You can also use cocoa butter or a carrier oil.

GINGERBREAD ESSENTIAL OIL

I used the Crafty Bubbles gingerbread essential oil blend.  It's not available on Amazon anymore, so you have to order it from them.


It's back on Amazon now!  It's part of their Holiday Favorites set with 5 other essential oil blends.

MICA

I used mica to paint on the little gingerbread houses.  It was very easy to do, and you can make nearly any color.

I bought a set of 24 colors.  Each color is in a small bag, so it doesn't look like a lot of mica, but I'm sure it will last me for years.

Unless you make things professionally to sell, this set will keep you well stocked in mica for a long, long time.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE MOLD

This gingerbread house mold inspired it all.  It's a silicone mold, so it's really easy to get the soaps out.

Each soap is about 5 ounces, so this is a rather large mold.

INGREDIENTS FOR HOUSES

• 1 pound white melt and pour soap
• 1 tablespoon shea butter
• Soap colorant 
• 1 teaspoon Gingerbread essential oil blend

INGREDIENTS FOR WHIPPED SOAP

• 4 ounce white melt and pour soap
• 2 tablespoons glycerin

INGREDIENTS FOR PAINTING WITH MICA

• Rubbing alcohol
• Mica
• Paint brushes

DIRECTIONS

STEP #1

To make the houses, cut the soap into 1 inch cubes and add the shea butter.  You can melt them in a double boiler or in the microwave.  

If you melt in the microwave, heat in 30 second intervals.  Stir between each interval.  

STEP #2

Once the soap is melted, it's time to color it.  I only have blue, yellow, and red soap colorants.  I tried to buy a brown one, but I couldn't find one in the stores.  

To make brown, use 10 drops of yellow, 1 drop of red, and 1 drop of blue.  I just kept adding colors until I was happy with the shade.  

STEP #3

Once you're happy with the color, pour it into the gingerbread house soap mold.  

Spray the top of the soap with rubbing alcohol to remove air bubbles.

STEP #4

To make whipped soap, melt 4 ounces of melt and pour soap in a 4-cup measuring cup.  (I used a 2-cup measuring cup because I halved this recipe to make three houses.)

Once it's melted, add the glycerin and use the whisk attachment on a hand mixer to whip it.  Keep whipping for several minutes until it looks like whipped cream.

STEP #5

The soap should be cool enough to touch.  Be careful not to burn yourself.

I tried using cake decorating supplies, but I ended up just using my finger to dab whipped soap on the top of the houses for snow.  Be creative!

If you want to add sprinkles to your houses, this is the time before the soap sets up.

STEP #6

Then I added 1/8 teaspoon of mica to the bottom of a small disposable paper cup.  I used a disposable pipette to add rubbing alcohol to make a paint.  

Then paint your gingerbread houses.  

I used a white mica on top of the snow.

I also made red and green to paint the doors.  

Let dry completely before handling.  

While I'm not a cake decorator, I think they turned out cute!

I played around with the whipped soap to add it all over and just dabbing it on the roof.  I like the look of both.  

I really wanted to pipe the whipped soap on, but it cools too quickly.  

My daughter had a black icing pen, so I used that to define the windows and doors.  It didn't work perfect, but they are more of a abstract gingerbread house, so it worked.  

Not ready to DIY?  Buy a premade gingerbread soap on Etsy

• Gingerbread house soap by Ravensly Creations
• Large Buttermilk Soap Gingerbread House by Perma Earth
• Gingerbread House Soap by Haus of Hygiene 
• Gingerbread Men Soap by Seaside Soap Kitchen