Make your mum feel extra special this year with these beautiful handmade soaps using our perfume-inspired fragrance oils along with suspending melt & pour soap base and poppy seeds for a simple but thoughtful gift idea for the mums in your life.

With Mother's Day just around the corner, today's tutorial will give you a step-by-step guide on how to make these gorgeous handmade soaps all by yourself. Not only a perfect pampering gift for your mum but also for any special person that may be in your life and you feel deserves a special treat - be it a best friend, your grandma, sister, partner or yourself!

Jump straight in with our video above or read on for a written tutorial with plenty of images to help you on your way. If you're new to making melt and pour soaps, be sure to check out the information in our beginner's melt and pour soap tutorial here.

We have used a suspending melt and pour base which means that the added poppy seeds will suspend within the base and be evenly spread throughout the bar rather than sinking to the bottom as it likely would in a non-suspending base.

These sweet oriental flower scented soap bars will be sure to make Mother's Day, one to remember.

Difficulty: Beginner

Makes: 3 x 100g soap bars

Ingredients

• 300g Suspending Melt & Pour Base
• 9g Flower Explosion Fragrance Oil
• 9g Poppy Seeds
• 4g Silken Deep Rose Mica Powder

Equipment

• Microwave or double boiler
• Kitchen weighing scales
• Heatproof jug
• Bowl for poppy seeds
• Suitable container for fragrance oil
• Sharp knife
• Spatula
• Thermometer
• Spray bottle
• Single cell soap moulds

Step 1 – Prepare your ingredients

Weigh out 300g of Stephenson's crystal suspending soap base, cutting into small equal cubes and place in the heat proof jug. Weigh out 9g of fragrance oil, 9g of poppy seeds and 4g of silken rose mica powder into individual pots/containers.

Step 2 – Melt the soap base

Place the heat proof jug of cubed soap pieces into the microwave and heat on short 30 second bursts until the soap base reaches approximately 65°C. Or place soap pieces into a double boiler and gently heat until the temperature is reached.

Spritz with isopropyl alcohol to disperse any bubbles that may have formed.

Step 3 – Adding colour

Take the 4g of silken rose mica powder and add to the melted soap base.

Stir until fully combined.

You may find a spritz or two of isopropyl alcohol will help break up any clumps of mica that may form.

Step 4 – Add the poppy seeds

Now add the poppy seeds.

Stir until the seeds look evenly spaced.

Step 5 – Adding fragrance

Now take the 9g of fragrance oil and add to the soap base. Stir until fully combined.

Spritz with isopropyl alcohol to disperse any bubbles that may have formed.

Step 6 – Pour into the mould

Place your mould onto a flat surface and spritz the cells with isopropyl alcohol.

Now pour into the mould.

Spritz with isopropyl alcohol to disperse any bubbles.

Leave your soaps to fully cool for approximately 3-4hrs.

Step 7 – Unmould

Once your soaps have fully cooled you can unmould the soaps. The soaps will need to be packaged or placed in an airtight container to stop them attracting moisture from the air.

Step 8 – Packaging idea

The packaging we have used today in just simple cello wrap. Each individual soap has been wrapped and we have then stacked 3 soaps together and tied with a wide black ribbon.

Other Options for Customising Your Soap

Would you like to substitute the poppy seeds with a different exfoliant?

Why not try Craftovator's Apricot Stones Exfoliant, Coffee Green Seed Exfoliant or Peach Stones Exfoliant?

You can also use a different mica powder if you'd like to change the colour of the soap. See our wide range of mica powders here to find your favourite colour.

Our tutorial is meant for personal use only. If you’d like to sell your soap products, you’ll need to purchase our Melt & Pour Soap Assessment and follow the guidelines on selling your bath and body products as laid out in our blog post here.