Goldfish Soap-in-a-Bag Tutorial

 

The kids’ birthday party is next weekend. Both of my kids have birthdays in the fall and this year I decided to have one party for family and friends instead of attempting one for each of them. They were ok with it and that made me a happy mom. Don’t get me wrong, I love entertaining, but this year has been a little crazier than normal and I’m excited about throwing a bigger party to celebrate both of their special days.

 

I’m in the homestretch of planning and this week I’ll be putting finishing touches on the games, making some caramel apples and other yummy treats, finishing my shopping for prizes and getting the house in order. One of the projects I just finished up are these cute goldfish soaps. These little guys will be given out as favors at the party. I’m sure all of the parents will appreciate these much more than if I were to hand out live fish. How many of you, as kids, won a goldfish at your hometown fair just to find it floating belly-up in its bowl the very next day? So sad. Well, no worries here. These fish are low maintenance and should at least last through a couple baths.

 

Here’s what you’ll need: 2 lbs. glycerin soap, plastic fish, melting pot, rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, a funnel, clear poly bags with twist ties, chopsticks or needle nose pliers, bowl filled with ice water and fragrance oil (optional).

 

 

Take your soap and cut it into four squares. I ordered mine online because I wanted extra clear glycerin. Extra clear glycerin insures the soap will set clear like water. I’ve seen some of the regular glycerin soaps set with more of a yellowish tint.

 

 

Put one of the squares into your pitcher and place in your melting pot on the stove. I know some people also melt their soap in the microwave, so you could try that if you don’t have a melting pot.

 

 

 

Next, pour in some fragrance oil. I used a fragrance called Galactic Grape I also purchased online. The smell reminded me of Hubba Bubba grape gum. Heavenly! Add the oil according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you do use a scent, try not to use anything with vanilla. Scents with vanilla tend to yellow glycerin soap and I wanted a clear pour, so I opted for grape.

 

 

 

Keep stirring as the soap continues to melt. When it all has turned to liquid, take your funnel and get ready to start the pouring. I would suggest doing these one at a time and take extra care when pouring not to get soap on the sides of the bag. If you have a helper, this whole process can often go much faster. I, however, flew solo.

 

 

 

Once you pour the soap into the bag, you’re going to see bubbles like this. Take your rubbing alcohol and spray into the bag. It should take care of most of the bubbles. Don’t worry if you get some rubbing alcohol on the sides of the bag. It will dry.

 

 

 

Now take the bag and place it into the ice water. Placing the bag in ice water helps speed up the setting process.

 

 

 

Take your fish and lower him into the bag with a needle nose pliers. I know I showed chopsticks in the photo at the beginning of the tutorial, but I ended up switching to a needle nose pliers during the project. It was much easier to hang onto the fish so it doesn’t set floating sideways on the bottom. The kiddos would be devastated, trust me.

 

Once you lower the fish into the soap, you’ll need to hold him there for a couple minutes while the soap starts to harden. Try to touch the bottom of the bag to check on the setting process. Once it starts to feel solid, you can remove the pliers and the fish should stay floating where you were holding it.

 

 

 

Remove your bag from the ice water and place upright in a cardboard box to harden completely. You could also use clothespins and hang the bags if you wish.

 

 

Once the fish were all set, I created these thank you tags, punched a hole in the top and then put the twist tie through to tie the bag off and finish the project. Feel free to use ribbon to dress the fish up even more. And there you have it – goldfish soap. Now how cute is that? Can’t wait to hand these out at the kids’ party this weekend. I hope the guests love them as much as I do!