Arts and Crafts

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Suriname

In Suriname, trays are carved from soft, fragrant woods. Geometric designs are typically carved. Try carving your own trays using bars of soap.

Carved tray

Materials needed:

Rectangular soap (Test soap for ease of carving before buying a lot. Ivory tends to carve easily. You may wish to use fancier scented soap, but make sure it carves without crumbling, etc.)
Potato peelers
Table knives
Toothpicks
Plastic table covering

Using a table knife, scrape a 3/8" deep rectangle into the side of the soap that has the name on it. Leave the outside edge, so that you form a tray. A scraping motion, shaving off thin bits at a time, may result in a smoother finish than carving out deep pieces at a time.

When the tray surface is finished, take a toothpick and make two lines, 1/2" apart, down the middle of the soap lengthwise. Divide the line into four squares, using the toothpick. Now very lightly scratch a diagonal line through each square.

The diagonal line will be the high point of the carving. Using the toothpick, scrape away the soap so that the corners of the square on either side of the diagonal lines form valleys, and the diagonal line becomes a peak. Do this in each square, leaving a thin high line between each square.

Add other geometric carvings along the sides of the main design.

Tip: To avoid waste, gather the soap shavings and chips together, moisten them and squeeze them into a soap ball.