Red Ted Art - Make crafting with kids easy & fun

Cute & Easy Crafts for Kids

  • Home
  • START HERE
  • Preschool Crafts
  • Easy Crafts for Kids
  • Paper Crafts
  • Free Printables
  • About
  • Join Our Newsletter
  • Cookies, Privacy Policies & Disclosure

How to… Make Dandelion Soap

May 11, 2022

Here is a lovely guest post from the Liz over at Me and My Shadow! As you know Liz has guest posted with me before with some lovely organza flowers. And now she is back with these great dandelion soaps – what a great way to “convert” what is a weed into something useful and practical. You will find many a practical, upcycled, foraged or charity shop found idea of atย Me and My Shadow, so her site really is a worth a good explore!

how to make dandelion soap (First shared in May 2012!)

Over to Liz!

I’ve made some recent tentative steps into the world of foraging and I’m loving it! ย But rather than just eat our pickings, I’ve been thinking up new ways to use the natural goodness that’s all around us.

Reading up on the health benefits of dandelions as I was making cookies, I discovered they are said to be good for skin complaints andย eczemaย which lead me nicely onto trying it in soap. ย I’m not claiming it’s a miracle cure, and for the real benefits you should drink the infused leaves; flowers or roots, but washing your skin with it too can’t hurt can it?

Small ice cube or chocolate moulds make great guest soaps

Melt and Pour soap is brilliant to use – it does exactly what it was on the tin! ย We had great fun collecting the raw ingredients and the end product is beautiful, great to use yourself at home, or give it some pretty wrapping to turn into a handmade gift.

Dandelion Soap – You will need:

  • melt and pour soap (from specialist craft shops or try online at Amazon or eBay)
  • as many dandelion heads as your little helpers can pick
  • some moulds (try silicone ice or confectionery moulds, or experiment with household items)
  • essential oil – optional for fragrance (your choice, but I think lemon or tea tree goes well)

Easy Dandelion Soap How To:

Dandelions are probably one of the most easily recognisable wild flowers in the country. ย Try to pick them in full sun when they are fully open, and avoid areas where they may have been weed on by dogs, sprayed with ย pesticides or be polluted by car fumes. ย Good places to look are garden lawns (not total stranger’s lawns!); parks; playing fields; grass verges and footpaths.

1. You will need to dry some of the flowers so you can add dried petals to your soap. ย The amount will depend on how many soaps you want to make – I tend to use 2 flower heads in each large bar. ย Lay the flowers on a try and place in the oven on the lowest possible setting for 3-4 hours (or overnight with the oven door ajar) until they are completely dry. ย It is important to make sure you have got all the moisture out or they’ll go mouldy and spoil your soap!

Once they are totally dry, you can either pull the petals off or snip with scissors – until I did this I never knew that the fluffy ‘clock’ part was already in the flower. I assumed the yellow petals turned into the fluffy bits!

2. Place the remainder of your flowers (remove most of the stalk) in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them. ย The more flowers you use, the more intense your colouring will be. Ruby insisted on adding a few leaves, and this didn’t seem to do any harm. ย Bring to a rolling boil and continue boiling for about 5 minutes. TIP- use an old saucepan or at least make sure you wash it clean straight away so it doesn’t stain.

Liquid sunshine!

3. Take off the heat and strain through a muslin or clean tea towel. ย Put aside to cool down. TIP-if you have liquid leftover after you’ve finished colouring your soap, don’t chuck it away. ย Add a little cider vinegar and it makes a great cleansing hair rinse.

4. Melt your soap as per the instructions on the pack – generally this is just a case of giving it a zap for a minute or so in a microwavable jug. ย You can now buy all sorts of soap including organic; SLS-free and palm oil-free. ย Whatever you choose, for this particular soap, it’s best to chose a clear one rather than opaque/white so you can see the petals.

5. Add your dandelion infused colouring, a spoonful at a time. ย This is a bit trial and error – add until you have the colour you want, but don’t add too much that it will change the consistency of the soap and stop it setting. ย At this point you can add a few drops of essential oil for fragrance if you wish. ย Add in your dried petals and stir well – I also sprinkle some petals inside the empty moulds to make sure you get to see them on the top.

6. Pour quickly but carefully into your moulds. Experiment with differentย receptaclesย – I’ve used silicone moulds (nice shapes and easy for kids to pop out when they’re cool); a mini loaf tin for soap slices; plastic Easter egg packaging and even the underneath of a glass paperweight!

7. Leave to cool for a few hours before turning out. ย If you’re having trouble getting the soaps out, gently run a sharp knife around the outside edge. ย If you’re worried by any bubbles on the bottom surface, you can carefully trim and slice off with a sharp knife also.

Finally, enjoy your soaps!

Aaah thank you lovely Liz! What a great way to turn a walk and a forage into a great gift. ย And Dear Reader, do go and visit Liz over atย Me and My Shadow!ย 

«
»

Filed Under: How To's, Nature, Soap Making 20 Comments

Comments

  1. Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum says

    May 18, 2012 at 3:18 pm

    Ohhh brilliant – is it bad to admit that for Christmas I had a soap making kit (melt and pour) which I had begged for and yet because I don’t fancy the soaps in the kit I haven’t made any. I like the idea of this and we have plently of dandelions I may have to have a try – I will let you know how it turns out ๐Ÿ˜€

    Reply
  2. Katey @Having Fun at Home says

    May 18, 2012 at 3:20 pm

    I think this is a really fun idea!! Very earthy and would make a great gift.

    Reply
  3. maryanne @ mama smiles says

    May 18, 2012 at 3:26 pm

    I never would have thought to turn dandelions into soap – what a great idea!

    Reply
  4. Red Ted Art says

    May 18, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    Thank you ladies – I think the Dandelion idea is just genius! Go Liz!

    Reply
  5. Terri says

    May 18, 2012 at 3:45 pm

    I would have never thought to do this, but it sounds so amazing!

    Reply
  6. amber says

    May 18, 2012 at 4:12 pm

    This is so neat!

    Reply
  7. Debbie says

    May 18, 2012 at 4:15 pm

    This is a brilliant idea! Will give this a try in the summer holidays ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  8. Gina says

    May 18, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    Ohhh, you make it sound so easy! ๐Ÿ™‚ I met someone at a craft show that made soap and she said it was addicting. She loved to try different oils and fillers each time. What a great idea using dandelions in the soap! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  9. Didi says

    May 18, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    What a fun idea! I’ve made dandelion fritters before, but would never think to use dandelions in soap. I can’t wait to try this. I bet it smells lovely, and it looks so pretty. Thanks for sharing this neat idea.

    Reply
  10. Bethany @ No Twiddle Twaddle says

    May 18, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    What a lovely idea. I have always been intimidated by the idea of making soap, but your tutorial makes it look so easy. I love the idea of incorporating something so easy to find in the mixture!

    Reply
  11. Lorie says

    May 18, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    My kids love picking dandelions! We’ll have to try this. I also love that you can make something beautiful and useful from “weeds”.

    Reply
  12. crystal@growingajeweledrose says

    May 18, 2012 at 7:18 pm

    Oh, I love this! I LOVE dandelions. They are my favorite flower, and certainly not a weed as some people claim. I need to try this ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  13. Creative Playhouse says

    May 18, 2012 at 7:24 pm

    This is actually genius. Our garden is FULL of dandelions and Jake loves them; definitely trying this!!

    Reply
  14. The Monko says

    May 18, 2012 at 7:58 pm

    Can’t believe what a great colour the dandilions give to the soap. This is the second cool soap post I have seen here. I think I might have to give in and get myself some of this melt and pour stuff. (Nice cheap gifts for christmas!)

    Reply
  15. Suzanne says

    May 18, 2012 at 8:15 pm

    They’re so pretty! They’d be wonderful gifts.

    Reply
  16. Liz Burton says

    May 18, 2012 at 10:03 pm

    Thank you for all the lovely comments. Glad you liked the post x

    Reply
  17. Red Ted Art says

    June 2, 2012 at 9:42 pm

    Ditto @Liz – thanks for all your lovely comments and THANK YOU Liz, for sharing your fabulous foraging idea with us!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dandelion Soap Benefits | Soap Process says:
    May 18, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    […] Red Ted Art’s Blog ยป Blog Archive ยป How toโ€ฆ Make Dandelion Soap […]

    Reply
  2. Ideas to help you restock your shelves « Montessori Alliance says:
    July 23, 2012 at 4:13 pm

    […] be used as Practical Life exercises. Hand eye co-ordination exercises from Sew Liberated. Dandelion Soap from Red Ted Art will have you children scouring your garden for dandelions. Children using a hole […]

    Reply
  3. Playful Learning With Dandelions says:
    July 30, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    […] If you are keen to try making dandelion soap, check out this tutorial by Red Ted Art […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Welcome!

Welcome

Hello! I am Maggy and I love all things crafty and sharing my craft ideas and how tos.

The aim of this site is to provide easy, do-able and fun crafts for all ages.

Categories

Archives

Crafty Blogs

Copyright © 2022 ยท Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs