Let it Snow

Miss Natalie spent yesterday with Grandpa and Nana.  The boys were otherwise engaged, so she had our undivided attention.  A friend sent me this link:  http://alphamom.com/family-fun/holidays/snow-globe-soap/ a couple of weeks ago, so I thought it might be something we would enjoy doing together.  

We have an ice maker in our frig, so I didn't have any ice cube trays.  I did find some little square, disposable,  mini dessert servers at a party supply store that served the purpose well.  They are a little bigger than ice cubes, so it was easier to find small plastic toys to put in them.

Natalie quickly went to work grating the soap while I melted the glycerin in the microwave.

 She added the soap color - 2 drops was more than enough!- the glitter, and a little scent, while Nana stirred it together.  The glycerin was really hot when it came out of the microwave, but it cooled so quickly that Natalie was in no danger of getting burned after I poured it into the molds.  We had to let it cool a little longer in order to get the toys to stand on their heads.  A film covers the top fairly quickly, but it is still very liquid in the center.  All in all though, it sets very fast.  A couple of toothpicks (with the occasional spoon) were required to complete the topsy turvy balancing act.  We only truly messed one up, and it was very easy to peel the film off the snowman, remelt the glycerin and do it over again.  (Just don't wait until it is completely set.)  One of them has a floating house in it, but she happily proclaimed it the house from the movie "UP".  She's giving it to her brother.  Life is good!

Then the grated soap (we used bars of Ivory soap) was sprinkled on top, and just a tad more of melted glycerin added to seal it all together.  I had to reheat the left over glycerin just a little to make it liquid again after we had gotten the globes where we were happy with them.

We popped them into the freezer for just a wee bit.  I'm not sure that this step is really a requirement, but it is what we were directed to do in the tutorial, so we followed the directions.  Yes....see....I CAN follow directions!!

  After just a couple of minutes they were ready to be popped out of the molds.

 Voila!  It was a great, fun craft, and she is so proud of them.  It's kind of messy, but hey, it's just soap!  The soap just peels off  and now my counter tops are really clean.

Grandpa is pretty happy with his gift!

Gratitude for:
- Grandchildren!
- Time enjoyed doing crafty stuff together.....even if it's too hard to keep it all secret!
- Having everyone together if only for a few hours.