How To Make Mica Painted Soaps Tutorial

Materials needed to mica paint the Bearded Iris Soap, made with Fine Arts
Bearded Iris mold.

(Any other soaps, just use the same method, only your choice of colors and
mold.)

• Micas: Flower color: Purple Shimmer or Passionate Pink (select one)
• Leaves: Majestic Green
• Background Bronze Shimmer, or Shimmering Gold (select one)
• Highlights: Diamond Cluster, Shimmering Gold, White Pearl
• Brushes: 2 (if you have a brush like you would
  use for makeup to apply blush, it makes a nice sheen to the finished product).
• Liquid: I personally prefer to mica paint with a
  dry brush.
• 2 Paper towels or Kleenex, one to lay the soap on
  while you are working on it, and one for clean up.

Hold the iris that has been molded and scented in your hand, with the flower
up. Take the wider of your paintbrushes, and apply the mica smoothly to the
flower part of the soap, including the center or stamen area.

Wipe brush off well with your dry paper towel or Kleenex. Now dip the end of
the brush into the purple shimmer (or passionate pink if that was your
selection) mica, and apply slowly to the flower area. Do not be alarmed when
the flower looks streaked, and not even.

Now, when you have coated with one coat of the mica, start again coating
with the same color, directly over where you already applied mica. DO NOT
wet your brush again before you do this... you want it dry.... apply up to 4 or
5 coats, till the flower looks pretty smooth in appearance. Dust off your
paintbrush to remove any loose mica possible. It is easy to do if you tap it
lightly on the side of your table.

Still using a dry paint brush, dip your brush tip into the diamond cluster,
and apply to the center area of the iris...in the little dip, and blend it out
to shake out any loose mica from your brush.

Now, lay your soap down on the paper towel, and we will apply your choice of
either color of mica to the background and leaf area of the soap, including
the sides.

Now, the flower is almost done, so we will move to the leaves. Again, we
will use the finer brush for the leaves. Dip the end area into the majestic
green mica....and follow the creases of your soap leaves, go from the base of
the soap (bottom of the flower area) and pull your brush upward in all 5 of
the leaf lines.

When you have completed one coat on all, go back and put on 2 more coats,
using your dry brush. Shake any loose mica possible from your dry brush. If
there is extra mica sitting loose on your soap, just blow it away... it will
make the air sparkly, and will get it away from your soap, all at the same
time.

We are now ready for the background. Again, hold your soap if you can in
your hand. It will be easier to paint it that way. We will use the broader
of your brushes for this area.

Dip that brush into the bronze shimmer mica. You need to apply these coats
more heavily than the previous coats...and again from the bottom area of the
iris, paint in an upwards motion to get the bronze to the entire background,
around all of the iris leaves, and down the sides...so if you look at your
soap, at least from the top, it is all mica covered.

Now when you are done, go back over the background 2 more times with the
bronze, each coat should be applied as thickly as you can, without leaving
mica globs. If you do happen to have one of the cosmetic brushes like the
one you use to apply powder blush, just lightly dust all the bronze area. It
will give a real smooth polished finish. If you dont have a blush brush,
just use the widest brush you have, dry, and just “polish” it.

Now, still holding the soap, we will do highlights...again we will use the
fine brush, and dip it into the white pearl color this time...we are going to
highlight the iris itself now...so put your loaded brush down to the points
where your flower leaves come out. And press lightly, so you will deposit,
or paint some of the mica at the first half inch of the leaf, as it comes
out of the center...now, lightly, brush the mica left and right horizontally
just to make sure the pearl color is in the veins of the flower. There are 6
flowers petals, the 6th one is small, and in the center, or the top area of
the stamen. Shake out the brush well of all loose mica.

Now, still using that dry, finer brush that you just dusted out, dip the
very tip into the bronze shimmer mica, and just paint only the stamens of
the iris flower...do it lightly just to give it a shimmery look that
differentiates the stamens from the rest of the area.

Now, you are finally ready to do the back of your soap if
you desire. Use the largest brush you have, and dip it into the bronze
shimmer mica, and dust it on the soap. You may need to do this twice; then
again, polish the soap and mica with the largest sized brush you have.

Tutorial provided by Joan Trebilcock,
RN of Sweetscents
Check out her site and show your
support!

She has sold a wide variety of
supplies for the personal care, mineral makeup &
toiletries market since 1985, offering wholesale prices and international
shipping as well!