Very cute Anj. Bet your kids love them. They turned out really nice. So how did you like painting them? Are you going to make some for your neighborhood gift exchange? You have really been busy painting these last few days, haven't you? Luvs

It was a little more difficult than I had thought. When the varnish got wet it tended to try to lift up a little and I got a slight crackle affect. And I tend to get itchy when I get my hands tied up so of course while I'm painting my eyes started itching and I kept forgetting I had soap on my hands. ha I did that at least 4 times. Not fun. I bought a bunch more to paint though. I've caught the bug.
I had thought of a few people I could give them to so I'm sure they'll be handed out as gifts. May just get some of those shiney $1 store drawstring bags to drop them in and put a cute tag on it.

I have been more busy than you can imagine. I have washed 8 loads of laundry today and have 2 more to do before bed. ha My painting has taken it's 'tole' on my housework so I've been playing catch up today. ha I have gotten quite a few projects done painting and non-painting and almost all my shopping done though so I'm glad to get the weight of that lifted just a little. Have a bunch more still left to do though so I'm not out of the water yet. I'll be a painting fool (sorry paintingfool) again tomorrow. :)

I didn't like the ones I tried to do snowmen on--thought my outlining was too thick on them. However, I gave them to the girls Saturday and told them to let their kids use them, and they thought they were wonderful--maybe I am just too hard on myself. Your outlines look perfect--did you use a liner brush and paint or some kind of pen? If I do more, I am going to go get a different soap--mine had a scent that bothered my nose and eyes! Know what you mean about having it on your hands and then rubbing your eye! LOL I don't know how you managed to get all your shopping done and all that painting too! And housework--just no end to that is there? Make sure you take your vitamins girl, don't know how you do it all! Luvs

Well, you could have at least let us look at them before you gave them away. ha I'm sure you were too hard on yourself. I did use a 6/0 liner brush.

I'm not completely done shopping. Have a few more left, but Santa is done anyway. DH and I took a date night Friday and spent most of it at Toys-r-us filling orders. Had to do my DM's shopping for her this year too. You'd think the housework could just stop for a little while so we can do what we want to do, but alas, it does not. ha I could get a lot more done if everyone here would quit producing such neat stuff that I just have to come look at. ha Well, we do have to take breaks so keep em coming. ha I just stopped to print out more tags and now I'm off again. ~Anj

Those are really cute! What brand of soap did you find? and what did you do about the lettering on the soap
Hugs
Diana

I love them, love them, love them!

Thanks ya'll. I just ended up getting Pure & Natural soap from Walmart. 97 cent 3pack. The words are still on the back. I guess you could sand them off if you wanted to. I took Luvs advice and sanded the rough edges off before I painted and it sands really easily.

I had bought some and there was printing on both sides. I used my slicer to cut it off, but wasn't happy with the results. Thank You for the information. I'll get some :-)
I love to scan my pattern then when I go to print it I can put in the size. Saves a lot of headaches.

Anj, these are really cute, you did a great job. I don't think I will try painting on soap yet, don't like the feel of it in my hands - feels like unglazed ceramic to me. Isn't that weird?
Luvs, I think painters are their own worst critic. I can see exactly what is wrong with a painting but my husband and children think it is perfect. We painters have a saying that the untrained eye does not see what ours does.

Anj, That is high praise coming from someone with Paintingfool's experience!

You are so right, PF, we know how it SHOULD be, they just see what is--and sometimes that is good enough. If I think I have done a poor painting job, or think I have messed it up--I will either sand it off and redo it, or just give it away so I don't have to see it. I know that is funny--but it is how it is!

I might try a different brand of soap--hopefully one with less smell--but I really enjoy doing bigger things more than the little things.

And the ornaments! Unless I just do some freehand painting on them--forget it! Trying to trace the pattern on is just too difficult.

See at least I know my limitations! LOL Sure admire those of you who can do it so well.

Luvs

It was pretty weird feeling so I got some tissue paper to hold it while I painted it and to lay it on.

Luvs~ The smell on any of it is going to be pretty strong I think unless you get unscented.

I actually enjoy the tiny stuff. My favorite brushes are my tiny liner brushes. I use them more than I should. Hoping to get some new ones for Christmas.

I can see lots of mistakes in my stuff too, but I've usually moved on to the next thing so I don't let it bother me too much. I'm a perfectionist on lots of things so I wonder why it doesn't bother me more. Maybe because most of the people around me aren't painters and I know they won't notice. You guys scare me a little more. ha ~A

I know this was a really old post but I was looking through the gallery at all the projects that have been posted. I thought that this would be a fun project to try and was wondering if there was anything special you did to prepare the soap before you painted it. Did you use regular acrylic paint and did you use a sealer when you finished?

This probably wont be the only old post that I bump up to the top of the list...lol...sorry

Nightlilly

No problem with bumping up old posts you have comments or questions about--that's why they keep them on here for awhile for us. However, if there is anything you think you will want to refer back to--save it to your own computer because these do eventually get dropped off as new things are added on.

I'm going to let Anj give you all the details on how she did her soaps since this was her post, and they turned out so cute!

There are some other posts of painted soaps too, hope you run across those as well.

Luvs

Yea, it's no problem at all commenting on older posts. Ya'll weren't here and we are glad you are getting to look thru everything.
Luvs~ you could have fielded this question since I learned how from you and soso. :)

Let me see if I can remember everything we did. I just got some more soap to paint some Easter things on.

First~ luvs suggested that you sand any rough edges with fine sandpaper. Then we just put on a few coats of the waterbased varnish. I found some at the craft store that had a matte finish, but I think luvs found some in a Satin finish. After it dried I just applied my pattern and painted it. It feels kinda ookie on your hands so I used gift wrap tissue to hold onto mine while I was painting it. Then just put a few coats of the waterbased varnish on at the end. I used some Delta Ceramcoat Gloss Varnish that I got in a little bottle at Walmart. For Christmas I found some little gold see-thru mesh bags at the $1 store and put the soap in them and then tied the bags onto a Christmas hand towel to give as gifts. Everybody loved them. Oh, and soso said that she puts a little tag on hers that says something like "Use from the bottom until only a sliver remains".
Is that everything?? If not I hope someone else will add on.

Luvs painted some with the one-stroke roses that are beautiful. I think it was Diana?? that painted some. I remember the Dora the Explorer one and maybe an Annie? Then Soso has some over on the Discussion side under the post "I'm Painting". She has a lot of different ones there to look at. Ok, I think that's everything. Ask questions if you need to. I asked a bunch the first time I did this. ~Anj

You guys are great! I really appreciate the help! I'm gonna have to make a trip to walmart to pick up some varnish and soap..lol

Nightlilly

Oops, forgot to say that I did use regular acrylic paint to paint them. ~Anj

Thank you Anj

Nightlilly

anj! these are very very cute! i love all three of them. if they were mine... i would NEVER use them! all of you paint such cute things... i'm envious!

Anj, these are so cute. Another great idea. I LOVE IT!Luthien is bringing up old posts for me to look at and I love it. I thought I had gone back and looked at everything on here but now I know differently. I'll have to go find Luvs, and the others soaps. I have company coming for Thanksgiving I just found out so guess I'll be cooking and cleaning around my clients in the evening this week so probably won't hear much from me.

Thanks ya'll. I can't take credit for the idea cause I got it from someone else, but they sure were fun to do. Need to get some more painted for this year. The people I gave these to loved them! I put them in a see thru mesh bag and tied them onto a coordinating Christmas towel.

PG~ I know there are pages and pages of old projects here on the gallery and on the discussion side as well. Lots of good ideas that I still want to try that other people have posted.

I just thought of a new idea on what I think I'll do for neighbor gifts....we'll see if I have time to get them done. I'm excited to try.

~Anj

Anj, Now you have my curiosity up and I'll be checking back as often as possible just to see what the neighbors gifts will be. Remember I'm old and slow so you can't wait till Christmas week to post pictures. How fun, can hardly wait. I tried to paint on soap the other night and quit right away. How do you trace a pattern or do you free hand all of these? It was good for a great laugh. You should of been here. I could of probably won funniest home videos if someone would of recorded it. Will need more encouragement to try that again. However sometimes I keep trying cause I love a challenge.

Oh gosh, it's been a while so I don't remember exactly, but I had to have transferred the pattern somehow cause I couldn't have done those just looking at something. I'm sure I just transferred my pattern like usual using carbon paper after the varnish dried. I can never find the transfer paper so I use carbon even though it can be messier sometimes. You gotta make sure the paint underneath is totally dry or it will smudge. I do remember the pattern being very light, but enough that I could see it. Trying to remember if I might have done a coat of white paint over the first coating of varnish so maybe it would show up better? Sorry, my brain didn't seem to retain much of the experience....except that I had to hold the soap with tissue paper because I kept rubbing my eyes and forgetting I had soap on them. It burns by the way. ha And after a while the soap smell started making me feel a little sick. ha Glad I bought a rather mellow smelling soap or I'd have been in trouble. I hope you'll try it again. They really do turn out cute. I want to paint some with saltbox houses or prim stars on them for a bowl in my bathroom.
Does anybody else remember?? Luvs?? ~Anj

It's been awhile for me too, Anj, and we know what my memory is like! I think we put a coat of the varnish on first and let it dry. Then you can transfer your pattern on lightly. If you want, you could certainly paint a white or any other color on before you transfer your pattern. That might make it easier to see the pattern too. I find the transfer paper in the painting section at Michael's an Joanne's. I always get black and some white also. The white is great for dark backgrounds. I might also mention that if you are good at freehand or even the One Stroke painting, that is really easy to do on these--no pattern tracing required. My biggest problem was the smell of the soap--mine was so strong it started making my eyes water and my nose was just filled with the smell of it! They sure do look cute when painted though, and you can really use them until all that is left is the thin layer of the sealer and the painting! Give it another try Phonegirl, I know you will get lots of compliments on them--especially if you package them with a pretty coordinated color washcloth like Anj did. If I can find some less smelly soap, I might try to do some more just for the fun of it. Luvs