The boys (my husband and 10 year old son) have been waiting to go skiing for months. So earlier this week they decided to kick off the new year on the slopes. With the boys gone, it meant a girls’ day for my daughter and me.

My daughter loves to stay busy, fluttering through the house from one activity to another. A planned craft activity usually helps the day go smoother for both of us. Today’s activity was making soap crayons. We’d seen the recipe on Creative Galaxy, an Amazon Original children’s program available through Amazon Instant Video.

To make the soap crayons use a standard handheld kitchen grater to grate about half a bar of white Ivory soap into a medium size mixing bowl. Add 1.5 tablespoons of warm water to the bowl and mash the soap shavings and water together with a fork. When well mixed, add five drops of standard food coloring and use your hands to knead it into the soup. After it’s well blended, press the soap into metal cookie cutters to form shapes. Freeze for about 30 minutes to set the soap.

Our hands were covered in food coloring and soap when we were finished pressing the soap into the cookie cutters, but clean up is a snap. Just rub your hands together under warm water and you’re all cleaned up. Well, except for the grater, bowl and fork.