Starting From Scratch

I have wanted the soaps to be more than just decoration for a long time. Last summer we were asked to make a bloodhound soap for the Bloodhound National Specialty show. We took on the challenge, and that job has brought another order. Thank you! I wanted to share some of the process that went into making the soap. Here are some pics.

What we were looking for:

We discovered that bloodhound legs are very fragile when they are made of soap. So we opted to creating a soap with the dog lying down. Here's the master we created with our 3D printer:

Fine tuning the model took awhile.

We were very proud of this achievement, but then came the mold-making. Thank God I kept my own antique building blocks (it feels weird to say that my toys are antique.) So I used them, to create a mold.

The mold is wrapped in contact paper that I use for my Cricut. The dog is stuck to the floor, because molds float!

During our earlier learning we learned that silicone is heavier than the plastic mold, so the models were popping up out of the mold. So, we tried adhering the mold to the floor of the mold. But that didn't solve the "fragile leg" problem. Thanks to my years of crafting I had some foam that I could cut down, which fit into the mold, allowing the dog to be stuck to the foam, and creating a platform for the dog to lie on.

Three of the eventual ten silicone molds we made.

But the thickness of the platform was problematic, so we had to adjust the depth of the mold, At first we just filled the mold, not the platform. Not a good idea.

This is when we realized we needed a platform in the mold.

After a few more tweaks, we were able to get beautiful bloodhound soaps out of the molds. We made 100, needing about 75, so many times the legs broke, or the platform did. We finally did come up with this wonderful set. Thanks to my Cricut for making the card possible.

The finished award set. Including a "dog house," box.

This is exactly what I want the soaps to be. A useful memory replay. Imagine taking a shower and remembering the event that you won this at. The soap can sit proudly on a shelf, but when it comes time to clean up or change the decor, he can help you clean up.

We made 80 of these sets, and would love to be challenged again.

We just sent out another special order, a goat milk dog shampoo bar. These will also be gifts at a dog event. Can we help you with anything?