Brighten up bath time with these bubbly soap makes

What you need...

• Soap kit, Melt-n-Pour, The Soap Kitchen
  Mould, flower
  Jug, glass
  Microwave or bain-marie
  Hand mixer
  Card
  Ribbon, satin
  Punches, assorted
  Paper fasteners, assorted

instructions

1. Basic Bar Technique - 1 Take enough white soap base to fill your chosen mould and cut into small pieces. Place in a glass jug and heat in a microwave for ten seconds, then remove. If it's necessary to heat the mixture again to continue melting, stir before placing back in the microwave.
   
   2 While the soap is molten, add one drop of your chosen colour and stir in. For a pastel shade, drop the colour onto a teaspoon and add a tiny amount to the melted soap with a cocktail stick. Feel free to mix different colours together to create more shades.
   
   3 If the soap has begun to cool and a skin has formed on the top, reheat for a few seconds and stir well. Add a few drops of fragrance to the hot
   liquid and stir, then quickly pour into your chosen mould placed on a flat surface.
   
   4 Leave the soap in the mould for at least ten minutes before moving to prevent the skin on top being disturbed. Allow the bar to cool for one to two hours, then turn the mould over and press down on the top to push the soap out.

2. Whipped Cream Technique - 1 Half fill a cupcake mould with soap using the basic bar method and leave to harden for ten minutes. As the topping of the cake will be made of a
   softer soap, we recommend you use a silicon cupcake case rather than a rigid mould as this can be peeled away.
   
   2 Melt a small amount of white soap base, colour and scent as usual, and while it is still hot, whip the liquid with an electric hand mixer to make it frothy. Keep whipping until it reaches the consistency of thick cream, then quickly pour over the hardened surface of the soap cake to make a soft mousse like topping.
   
   3 You can achieve a soft swirl of soap 'icing' on the top of your cupcake with a little practice, but you have to be quick and prepared to start again until you get it right. There is about a ten second interval between the whipped soap being hot enough to pour and cool enough to harden.

3. Cake Cases - 1 Use a compass to draw a circle, 11cm diameter, on a piece of card. Use the same centre-point to draw a 5cm diameter circle inside the first one. Using a ruler and protractor, mark the circles into quarters, eighths and sixteenths.
   
   2 Cut out the circle and along these lines from the edge to the inner circle. Rub out the pencil lines and fold each slice inwards to make a flat base for
   the case.
   
   3 Punch a small hole in the centre of each slice and thread satin ribbon through each one in turn to gather up the sides of the case. Secure with a neat bow and place the soap cake inside.

4. Display Boxes - 1 Measure all three dimensions of your rectangular bar, adapting a box template if necessary to accommodate the bar easily. Cut out the central aperture, then score and fold along all the lines. Assemble the front of the box and drop the soap into it so that the top faces out of the aperture.
   
   2 Secure the back and spines of the box with doublesided tape. Wrap a length of ribbon around the box and tie into a bow to keep the lid closed. Secure the ribbon in place by glueing die-cut motifs over the top.