Mango-Papya Scented Elephant Soap

I'm currently finishing up a 7 week break from medical school, courtesy of the 3 week gap between 3rd and 4th year combined with taking the first block off of 4th year. Since my first Sub-Internship starts on this upcoming Monday, I thought it was time to update the blog a little bit, as my craft and cooking projects are starting to get a bit backed up. That brings us to the elephant soaps!

Originally, I was looking for something that would serve as a cute, cost-effective memento for the guests at my wedding to take home with them. I also wanted it to be something they might actually use, and since I wish everyone loved washing their hands as much as I do, the idea of decorative soaps popped into my head. They are both pleasing to the eye and functional! As for the elephant shape, that has to do with my Alma mater, Tufts University. Jumbo the Elephant is the amazing mascot of Tufts University and seemed a fitting choice since the wedding was held at that location. And yes, Jumbo is awesome -- my mascot can squish your mascot.

Since it became painfully obvious that buying soap in 1 lb bricks at the craft store would not be thrifty, I stumbled upon Wholesale Supplies Plus (http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com) where I was able to purchase a 24 lb brick of ultra white soap base, blue dye, and mango papaya fragrance oil for a reasonable price. I purchased elephant candy molds from Amazon, along with a food scale, large measuring cup, and dough scraper from Target. The picture to the left is the soap block with at least 1 lb already removed. Once I had the supplies, the process was quite simple.

Since the soap can get quite slippery, I used the dough scraper to cut away chunks of the soap base and the large handle kept me from cutting myself. I measured out 1 lb of soap using the scale and then dumped that into my makeshift double boiler (which happens to be a regular sauce pan topped by an oven-safe glass bowl). Once the soap melted to liquid, I added 1 tbsp of fragrance and enough of the dye to achieve the color that I wanted. Next, I quickly transferred the melted soap mixture to the measuring cup for more precise pouring into the molds. A quick spray with alcohol ensured that no bubbles formed on top and then the soap was left to cool for about an hour in the molds. Probably the most difficult part was prying the soap from the molds once cooled, which had to be done with constant even pressure on the mold. Unfortunately, not all the molds survived as I cracked them in the process. Too much pressure! In the end, I made over 150 scented elephant soaps. I have enough left over to survive many-a-hand washing.