I’ve often been asked how the inverted stamp technique tops on my handcrafted soaps are made. A while ago I promised to write a tutorial with pictures about this so here we are.
The inverted stamp technique is a method of embossing the surface of soap. When embossing soap with a stamp you force an imprint into the soap. With the inverted stamp technique you do the opposite: you ‘pull out’ a mark on the surface of the soap – hence the name. I make no claim to have invented the technique; it’s been around as long as cold process soap has been made. But I have worked extensively with it and made it a defining design feature on several of the soaps in my standard line. It’s practical because it allows you to add interest and decor to soap tops while essentially keeping them flat for easy packaging.
The inverted stamp technique makes use of that phase in soapmaking when ongoing saponification causes the soap batter to go from runny emulsion to a solid state. Among soapmakers this phase is commonly known as ‘trace’, referring to the trace that is left on the surface of the thickening soap batter when touched. Unlike embossing with a stamp which typically happens when the soap is fully saponified and can be done any time over a period of several weeks or even months, the inverted stamp technique is a little more challenging in that it has a short window of opportunity – a minute this way or that can make a big difference for the final result.
So, the viscosity of the soap batter is crucial. The other important thing is the tool – or tools – used to emboss the soap. You can, of course, use anything you happen to have handy to make a mark in soft soap. I prefer to use thin steel wire for this because I feel it gives me more control than just the edge of a spatula or cookie cutter pushed into the soap.
Here’s how you do it:
You pour the soap at very light trace. In fact, you should pour as soon as your emulsion is stable. This is often the case well before trace. The benefit of pouring before trace is that you’ll be able to scrape out your bowl or pot into the mould without leaving any drip marks on the surface. Drip marks on the surface may seem slight when the soap is wet but tend to look a lot more accentuated once the soap has set.
Once the soap is in the mould you check the surface. If you managed to pour at emulsion you’re likely to be fine and can proceed to the next step. If you poured at trace and you have drip marks on the surface you’ll want to smooth them out. You can do it with a spatula, scraper or something else that produces a flat surface. Or, you can add a bit of extra texture with something that produces drag marks. For lattice tops I like to use this guide for chopping onions, but eg an Ashanti comb or afro pick could serve the same purpose:
Here’s the tool I used and another top made with the same tool holding it at a slightly different angle:
The inverted stamp technique of embossing soap can obviously be used for an endless number of designs depending on how skilled and artistic you are at bending wire – either on its own or in combination with other design techniques. One of the most popular designs using this technique is the lattice top with crossing diagonal lines making a wafer-like pattern on the top of soap. In the picture below you can see that the soap batter was already slightly too viscous when I made my lines. The ridges are of uneven height due to jagged peaks forming as the thickening soap begins to stick to the wire.
- I first pull my comb/onion chopping guide along the surface of the soap making drag marks parallel to the long sides of the mould.
- Then I grab my wire (the angular, u-shaped one in the pic above) and start making parallel marks diagonally across the mould. Keeping the distance between the marks and the angle constant is a bit of a challenge. My wire fits perfectly at an angle between the insides of my mould so I use the sides of the mould as a guide for the angle. To get the distance right I try to work rhythmically – on the beat.
- When I’ve gone down in the one direction I go in the other direction making marks down the length of the mould ending up with a diamond pattern. I try to keep the diagonal lines close together – to get as many diamonds as possible on the top of each bar.
- Halfway there: drag marks along the length of the mould, parallel lines diagonally across the mould in one direction and now parallel lines diagonally in the other direction. My lines are about 1-1.5cm apart
To me a pretty lattice top on its own is quite striking and my personal preference is to do the inverted stamp technique on a background of one solid colour. But you can easily combine a lattice top with other design elements like colour and embeds:
I mostly work with log moulds, but the inverted stamp technique works well with slab moulds and individual moulds too. The larger the surface area the more you can show off the embossed designs eg by using several different embossing tools to create intricate combined designs. Note, however, that a large surface might take longer to emboss so make sure that you work with soap formula and fragrance that doesn’t thicken too fast.
Here inverted stamp lily pads are featured on their own and combined with cold process frog embeds:
Works nicely with individual moulds too:
Here the leaf tool was used to make single ‘prints’ on individual oval bars as well as to make a pattern covering the top of a log:
A curved scallop shape to suggest curly wool on the Lanolin & Lemongrass Merino Soap:
And finally a nearly perfect ‘squiggle’ execution on top of the Black Sheep Merino Soap:
Lisa
Genius! Thanks for sharing, your soaps are gorgeous!
Jackie
Clara,
What can I say except AMAZING. Thank you for your generosity in printing this blogpost. Your soaps and techniques are inspirational and I look forward to learning something new with each post. Thank you. Jx
Theresa
Thank you for sharing this great technique!
Theresa
Thanks for sharing
M Mart
Best tutorial ever! Excellent explanations. You are a true artist. Love your work. Now I want to try this! 🙂 Thank you very much.
Lori Curry
I love what your doing. It is brilliant!
Ann Rein
Awesome tutorial, thank you so much for this 🙂
Amanda
Stunning! I love this technique and you have simply perfected it! Your soap and images are beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing!
Amanda
Sergio Masala
Thank you very much for sharing Clara Lindberg
Your work is wonderfull.
Regards.
Sergio
Nicole Sullivan
Wow Clara, this is such a wonderful tutorial, your explanation is extensive, leaving no detail out…. Great job! Thanks so much for sharing your expertise, your artistry and precision is mind blowing, as always! Hugs
Felisha
Gorgeous! Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. It’s so creative and offers quite a bit of inspiration. 🙂
Laurie
Thank you so much for sharing your techniques ! I LOVE looking at your soaps. They are truly beautiful works of art. Thanks again for posting! <3
Cecelia
Thank you so much for your tutorial. Such beautiful soap and a lovely technique! A favorite quote: “It is in the sharing that the secrets are kept.” Thanks for sharing.
Carla
Thank you so much for sharing your technique and tools! I”ve been playing around with textures lately and this is wonderful.
Wishing you lots of continued success!
Cathi Thorpe
I have to admit I’ve been stymied by the talk of an inverted stamp on soap. Thank you for an excellent tutorial! Yay! Something new to try!
Kim Velasquez
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful tips.. The information is fantastic. I am going to get some wire today and try out this technique. Every time you post a photo, I admire your exquisite soaps. and your photography. Thank you, thank you.
Michell
Absolutely beautiful tutorial, blog and website! Your photography is stunning. Thanks so much for sharing. Can’t wait to give it a go.
Darlene
Your soaps are so lovely. Thank you for sharing your technique. You make the possibilities look endless 🙂
Jan Hunnicutt
Thanks for sharing your awesome creativity with us! I love the way your embossed soaps look, I’m inspired and think I’ll attempt your technique =)
Sindy
You are incredible~! Beautiful and creative. I love that about you!! Thanks for sharing!
Michelle Ulmer
Clara, I’ve really enjoyed seeing your soaps with this technique over the last few months and have even tried it a few times. Thank you for sharing your creativity.
Sheryl
Very Beautiful. I am a new soaper and I am amazed at some of the talent and also the willingness to share by some of the soaping artists. Smile
Thank you
Rachel B St. Rose
Love this idea. I do cake icing I will try it with actual soap and see.
DG
Wonderful technique. Thank you for the tutorial! Can’t wait to try this 🙂
Maria
thanks for the info. very well done. your soaps are very elegant
John
Thank You for the great tutorial. I run a soap group in Southern California and we will have to try this for one of our meetups.
Deborah
I love this technique. I am a soap maker and also I design jewelry and this is a technique that I use to make some of my freeform earrings. i love it!. Thank you for sharing.
Rich Bartko
Fantastic!
Darinka Ilic
Ja sam iz Srbije. Izvinite sto ne pisem na engleskom jer ga ne pisem najbolje, pa se bojim da ne ispadnem smesna. Nadam se da ce vam pomoci kompjuter u prevodu. Vas tutorijal je odlican. Sveze i sjajne ideje. Puno vam hvala sto ste ovo podelili!
Vicki
What an amazing tutorial! I’ve loved your soap designs from afar 🙂 and it’s so generous of you to share your methods – thank you!
Marte
I love this! Especially the green soap with the hearts and frogs 🙂 So beautiful! Thanks for the great tip
Lyz Foster
What a clever idea! Love it! 🙂
Tanya Chappell
Wow! Thank you for being so giving and writing this brilliant tutorial Clara. I have done some embossing/invert stamping so I understand how important timing is. Your designs are wonderful xx
Jennifer Soule
I think this is one of the coolest looking soap toppers I’ve seen as of yet. Thanks for sharing this idea and now I have some new soap to work on and make some new designs:-)
Clara
Thank you everybody for the kind words and encouragement! My work with this technique has been inspired by the beautiful creations of other soapers. If this tutorial, in turn, can serve as inspiration for others it makes me happy!
Tiggy
Hi Clara,
I just wanted to say thank you for the tutorial. I’m so gonna give this a go! I’ve been in awe of your soaps and photography for a long while now and this generosity with your talent is so great, so thank you!
Tiggy
xx
laura
hello, I’m writing from Italy to thank you for sharing your method of stamp reverse, I was able to create beautiful decorations, thank you! Laura
maya
Thank you for truly inspiring.
christina
thank you for sharing. u r inspiring
diana
Fantastico grazie oer l’ispirazione!!!