Once I saw the Gnome Mold at Bramble Berry I knew I had to have it. Gnomes are in right now. You see them popping up on Etsy and if you have kids you might have seen the movie Gnomeo and Juliet. I wanted to give the gnomes detail and color so I thought Water Soluble Paper would be the perfect way to do that.
Before we get started you’ll need to print out the Gnome images on water soluble paper. A laser printer works best. If you need a quick lesson on using water soluble paper, check out Anne-Marie’s video here. When you print it out be sure to choose “none” for page scaling. You don’t want it bigger or smaller than how it comes. Go ahead and cut them all out.
Ingredients
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Lay one in your mold just to make sure it printed out okay. It should be slightly smaller than the cavity so the top and bottom layers of your soap will touch around the edges without paper in between it.
Now we’re ready to melt and pour our first layer. For the first layer I like to use Clear Melt & Pour Soap Base. Melt about 4 or 5 ounces on short bursts just until melted. Don’t over heat. I like to blue this a bit to help with clarity. To do that I added a drop of Blue Mix Lab Color. You can add scent to this layer or not. Just be sure your fragrance doesn’t color the soap.
Pour this into each cavity just until you reach the top of the gnomes boots. That is the highest point in the design.
Spray with a light mist of alcohol to get rid of any bubbles. Before we insert our gnome let the layer cool down a bit. Gently blow on the soap and when a very slight skin forms it’s time to add the paper. Lay the gnome face down over the clear soap.
Now here’s where I become a bit of a rebel. Because the gnome design is pretty deep if you were to leave your embed like this you wouldn’t be able to see the detail that well in the finished soap. To help with that I simply take my finger and push the paper down into the soap as well as I can. As long as the soap is cooled down a bit and nice and thick it won’t start dissolving the paper. You’ll be fine. Please note that this works only when printed with a laser printer. Paper printed with a ink jet seemed to bleed right away. So go ahead and push that little gnome down into the soap.
Let the littles guys harden up a bit and it’s time to do the white layer. Melt 6-7 oz of White Melt & Pour soap base.
Add your fragrance. Spray the little guys with alcohol to help with the layers sticking and pour your white base into each cavity. Finish with a spray of alcohol to get rid of any bubbles.
Allow to cool completely. There you have it! Soon you’ll have a forest full of these adorable little guys.
-Amanda, www.lovinsoap.com
Amanda, these gnomes are SO cute, I am printing these out right now and plan on making a bunch for next Christmas. Where can I get the water soluble paper?
Hi Diane!
You can actually purchase the water soluble paper from Bramble Berry’s website here:
Water Soluble Paper: https://www.brambleberry.com/Water-Soluble-Paper-P3318.aspx
We can’t wait to hear how your gnomes turn out. 🙂
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Hi i made something similar but with butterflies, i had them a week and over the corse of the week the colour faded on the water soluable paper, now most of the original vibrant colour is gone. Was the first layer i poured too hot?? i didnt think so at the time, but what do you think?
Did you print using an inkjet or laser printer. I noticed fading when I printed on an inkjet.
Amanda, you are so creative!!! I hope to think of original ways to make my soap!!
Possibly the cutest thing ever!