Hand Painted Coastal Decorative Soaps

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This coastal set of soaps was probably less than $1 (each) to create and anyone can do it even if you cant free hand draw. 

I started with a 3 pack of soap from Dollar Tree.  Because the soap was embossed with the brand name I had to use the soap planer (my daughter bought me for my birthday actually for candles but it works better on soap since that's what it was intended for)

After I made the surface flat I took one piece of tissue paper (I purchased at the Dollar Tree in the gift wrap section). There is a shiny side and a matte side. You want to use the matte side.

Find an image you like that is similar to a coloring book style (or draw your own on a piece of paper). I cut the piece of paper the size of the soap first so I knew what size to draw my swimsuit. 

Place the tissue paper on the drawing and trace it with the watercolor marker (Archival ink is permanent and wont smear)

Once the drawing is on the tissue just let it sit for about an hour before you adhere it to the bar of soap.  It does not matter if the tissue is wrinkled because that will get flattened out once you apply to the soap (unless it interferes with your drawing)

Put a very light coat of Mod Podge directly on the bar of soap. Place the tissue down and use a dry brush to smooth out the wrinkles.  Let the bar sit again for about 30 min. Cut the excess tissue off the sides of the bar.

Now you are ready to paint. I used my watercolor set (and a dotting tool to make my polka dots, see photo)

I normally do most of my coastal pieces in the typical blue tones but recently I saw Angel Nichole on youtube do a video on neutral coastal decor and wanted to do a few projects in neutral tones. 

Once you are finished painting and the tissue is completely dry, spray the soap lightly to set the paint. I use Krylon clear coat.  After it is sprayed you can freely apply the top layer of Mod Podge without smearing the paint.

You should use about 5 coats of mod podge with drying in between coats.   

I wrapped twine around it for the staged photo and the soap is actually more for  decorative purposes but can definitely be used without destroying the image. The Mod Podge protects the image until it gets down to the end of the bar,

I loved these so much I actually did an additional set in my typical blues.

What I love about this project is that the possibilities are endless! 

Happy Painting!

If you would like to follow me on instagram where I post each project as I finish them, you can follow me at TheRepurposedPainter.

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Hi, I'm Kathy. I enjoy creating home decor pieces using discarded and inexpensive items.

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