Soap Carving

We did some soap carving in co-op art two weeks ago. The ingredients for this project are simple and cheap. It is a good chance for the kids to work in 3-D. We did this a few years ago and the project is here: http://artteajannell.blogspot.com/2009/03/soap-carving-good-clean-fun.html This time I asked the kids to carve a leaf, thinking it would be a simple shape for them to carve. The "from the top" shape was pretty simple, but the "from the side" view took a little thinking and help for them to achieve a bit of a curve in the leaf. Ivory soap comes in a 10 pack for under $5 at Wal Mart here. Plastic knives work great and are safe. Toothpicks can be used for details and smoothing. We also used the toothpicks to puncture through the design paper to transfer the basic shape to the soap blocks. Paper plates are handy for catching shavings, and labeling with names if necessary. A small piece of note paper is used to copy the shape of the soap and design the initial shape in.