# SMF August Challenge -Rock and Gem Soap



## galaxyMLP (Aug 2, 2017)

Welcome to July’s SMF Soap Challenge!

PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THIS FIRST (and ALL Rules)-

General Rules:
1.The only members eligible to vote are those with their names on the sign up list - regardless of whether or not you have submitted an entry.

2. This months voting will be password locked. Passwords will be PM'ed to registered participants ONLY. So please check your PM's when the voting begins.

3. No posting your entry photos until the entry thread is made. Non entry photos are very welcome!

4. You are allowed to change your entry photo up until the entry thread closes. So if you decide after you post your entry you want another try, and you like the second better, you can change it up until the deadline.

NOW
This month’s challenge goal is to create a rock, gemstone, or pebble soap.

I had some major technical difficulties this month. My computer died and with it, died windows movie maker. I decided to try to use my phone to capture the video because I couldn't find my normal camera either. On top of that, I couldn't find a software to edit the videos on the phone itself. Some of the videos are also upside down. But, I figured it out eventually. Thank you are for your patience with me. 

This month is a design challenge month. You may use any technique to make this soap. This includes but is not limited to: Cold Process, Hot Process, Melt and Pour, soap carving, jelly soap, soap dough, a blend of any of those processes, ect.

The only real rule is that your soap must resemble a real rock, pebble or gemstone. For example, although my soap does not follow a specific picture of one, it is clearly an amethyst. You must let us know what stone inspired you for your challenge. I hope to see a huge variety in this challenge!

Video 1:
Making the amethyst soap. I did a poor job editing this video together as it was about 5-6 different videos and I'm still learning the new software. If you guys want me to post each one individually to the youtube channel I can do that. Really, all this video shows is me pouring the melt and pour soap in a gradient pattern. I add a cap to the soap to block the flow when I'm pouring the next layer of dark soap.

https://youtu.be/ykeUK4lvsEQ

Video 2: 
Cutting of the amethyst soap. This took 35 minutes to do. I rinsed the soap with water after I cut it to get the smooth look in the pictures. 

https://youtu.be/OQppUKXtTC0

Video 3:
Cutting of the Yellow jasper soap. Yellow jasper can sometimes have green veins to it so that is what it is modeled after. This soap was originally made for the spin swirl challenge over a year ago. The batter was too thin and I thought it looked like stone. I cut it out to resemble a tumbled piece of yellow jasper. 

https://youtu.be/CiidQfzBw4M

Finished soaps:























SMF Challenge Specific Rules
· You must create a rock, gemstone, or pebble soap for this challenge. 

· Your design must be modeled after a real or existing stone, gemstone or rock.

· It does not need to match an existing picture of one although you may feel free to do so.

· You may use any ingredients or techniques into this soap.

• *For the entry thread*

For soaps that have been carved: you must show a "before" carved picture (or video) and a picture after carving.
All other soaps only need the finished picture. Feel free to tell us about your process. 

• 
Challenge Entry Thread Opens August 20th 2017 .
Challenge Entry Thread Closes August 26th 2017.
Survey for choosing the winning choices opens the 26th, no later than the 27th and closes 30th
Winners Announced August 30, 2017.

SMF Challenge General Rules
· To enter you must have a minimum of 50 posts and been a member for a month (sorry but no exceptions on this)
· Please add your name to the sign up list if you wish to participate (however, you don’t have to enter a soap at the end if you don’t feel happy with what you have produced)
· The challenge thread should be used to upload pictures of any of your challenge attempts where you can ask for advice and discuss the technique with other members.
· Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please try to keep your comments polite.
· Competition entries must be uploaded to the separate entry thread before the closing date.

· After the closing date the winning entry will be chosen using survey monkey and the winner announced. There is no prize attached to this challenge.
· If you fail to make the challenge deadline, you are still welcome to upload your soap onto the thread, but your entry will not be eligible for voting. We still love to see anything you have produced.
· Even though there is no prize, this is still a competition. If your entry is deemed not to fulfil the general rules or the rules specific to the challenge in any way, then you will be given the opportunity to amend your entry. If this is not possible then your entry will not be included in the voting.
· Newbie, Saponista, Lionproncess00 and GalaxyMLP reserve the right to have the final say on whether a soap is eligible for voting.


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 2, 2017)

Sign up list:

1.


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## toxikon (Aug 2, 2017)

Sign up list:

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!


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## Soapprentice (Aug 2, 2017)

Sign up list:

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!


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## Kittish (Aug 2, 2017)

Sign up list:

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...


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## earlene (Aug 2, 2017)

Sign up list:

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.


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## jewels621 (Aug 2, 2017)

Sign up list:

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.
5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea.


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## dibbles (Aug 2, 2017)

Sign up list:

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.
5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea. 
6. dibbles - rocks and gems...a lot of choices


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## mx5inpenn (Aug 2, 2017)

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.
5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea. 
6. dibbles - rocks and gems...a lot of choices
7. Mx6inpenn - lots of ideas...can I make the vision though?


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## Kittish (Aug 2, 2017)

Mx6inpenn- that is the question.

Is it kosher to talk about what you plan to try before the entry thread opens?


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 2, 2017)

It is absolutely allowed to discuss plans before posting! It's completely up to you! Some like to keep it secret and some like to share!

Edit: Let me know if you want me to further explain what I did to make the soap, or provide links to resources to learn about gemstone/rock/stone soaps.


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## Kittish (Aug 2, 2017)

Well then. I've got several ideas. I'll give as many of them as I have time for a try. 

First idea is for blue lace agate. The soap base that I used for the design trial with the cocoa lines is a perfect texture for agate, nicely hard and kind of waxy and very shiny. It's also a nicely white soap. Use ultramarine blue to color part of the batter a nice, pale blue and leave the rest uncolored, and pour in lots and lots of thin layers. If I make it as a one pound block, I can cut and carve pieces and blocks to my heart's content. I can use the same soap recipe and a little bit of cocoa powder or activated charcoal instead of the ultramarine to make Italian marble. 

I'm also thinking of using the made from scratch melt and pour recipe from the Melt & Pour forum here, with one change to the recipe. I'd replace palm oil with cocoa butter (has similar properties in soap and similar sap value) because I have cocoa butter and I do not have palm oil. I ran the recipe through SoapCalc, entering the oil in ounces first and using that to generate the amount of water and lye needed (which came up right in line with the recipe as given). Depending on what color the soap comes out after I've added the solvents, it may become amber or carnelian. If it's not too dark an amber or brown, it could even become jade or emerald or sapphire depending on the colorants I use. I also plan on pouring it into one large block that I can cut it up and carve as wanted. 

I'm thinking of trying to reprocess some of my raw meat soap one more time, and going for a red granite look. It's just about there now, except that it's all in little cubes waiting for me to decide what to do with it. My mermaid tail rebatch would also probably make a pretty good mottled jade. It's not quite the right color for aquamarine, though.


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## toxikon (Aug 2, 2017)

I think I'll attempt a turquoise soap! I love the look of turquoise.


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## Soapprentice (Aug 2, 2017)

I have ideas too.... I love emeralds, so may be an emerald soap??  I don't know.. and then there is my Alexandrite.... hmmm...


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 2, 2017)

I love alexandrite! It would be really cool if you could capture the dual light effect by using mica or glitter! 

Kittish, the lace agate sounds like a beautiful idea! In fact, all those ideas sound great! 

I've made melt and pour from scratch before. Not clear mp soap though. I'm not sure if the link you posted is clear mp soap or not but if it is, clear soap can be finicky to make and might not pan out if you switch and oil even if their sap/profile is similar. There are non-saponifiables in the oils that can affect clarity.

Oh, and turquoise sounds lovely! Texturing the soap with all the veins will be fun to do!


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 2, 2017)

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.
5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea. 
6. dibbles - rocks and gems...a lot of choices
7. Mx6inpenn - lots of ideas...can I make the vision though? 
8. SunRise Arts :  well.... MP is my thing!


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## Kittish (Aug 2, 2017)

Honestly, *galaxyMLP*, I'm already figuring the MP is going to not be very clear. I've got images picked out to use, depending on what color and clarity I wind up with. The main complaint I saw about this recipe in the original thread is that it comes out amber colored, which I'm guessing is due to the palm oil, and possibly also related to how hot you let it get. Cocoa butter should give a much lighter base color, even if it does make the soap less clear and I'll also be watching the temps fairly close.


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## Soapprentice (Aug 3, 2017)

That's a great idea galaxy, I m pretty sure I am aiming pretty high for a first timer. But hey, when did that stop me!! Will def give it a try or many tries...

I honestly think this is your challenge SRA.. no pressure


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## BattleGnome (Aug 3, 2017)

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold... must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.
5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea. 
6. dibbles - rocks and gems...a lot of choices
7. Mx6inpenn - lots of ideas...can I make the vision though? 
8. SunRise Arts : well.... MP is my thing!
9. BattleGnome - my parents are visiting next week, maybe my mom will help with some m&p



Edit: 
I already have an attempt in the mold! 

I feel like a passed a soaping milestone (ha!) with this one. I made an 80% co bar using the heat transfer method and a spatula. No extra heat or electricity! (I also got an acceptable level of trace in about 5 minutes.) No idea if this will be anything close to an entry but I feel very accomplished for no reason.


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## penelopejane (Aug 3, 2017)

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold.. must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.
5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea. 
6. dibbles - rocks and gems...a lot of choices
7. Mx6inpenn - lots of ideas...can I make the vision though? 
8. SunRise Arts : well.... MP is my thing!
9. BattleGnome - my parents are visiting next week, maybe my mom will help with some m&p
10. PenelopeJane - I've always wanted to try this!


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## NsMar42111 (Aug 3, 2017)

I actually started making "rock" looking soaps (marbled ones). I'm not going to have enough time for this one though...looking forward to seeing everyone's results!


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 3, 2017)

Thank you Galaxy for hosting, and also last month!  This is perfect for busy August!  Because one can pick to make 1 soap MP


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## Kittish (Aug 7, 2017)

Challenge soap attempt number one- Blue Lace Agate is in the mold. I think I got the wiggledy bits, thanks to BrewerGeorge's idea for piping lines into the mold. If I can get the soap to look right, I'll call the EO blend I'm scenting it with Blue Lace and build my first soap/lotion/perfume set around it.


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 7, 2017)

Yay! Glad to see an attempt! 

For anyone hesitant, don't be shy, go ahead and sign up! You don't have to use MP soap if that's what's stopping you!


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## earlene (Aug 7, 2017)

Galaxy, I won't be doing M&P.  CP is my plan.


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 7, 2017)

Glad to hear it! Any soap works.


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## Kittish (Aug 7, 2017)

galaxyMLP said:


> Yay! Glad to see an attempt!
> 
> For anyone hesitant, don't be shy, go ahead and sign up! You don't have to use MP soap if that's what's stopping you!



Yep, my first attempt is CP. Took forever to come to trace, which came as a surprise. I was kind of counting on my fragrance being mostly ylang to accelerate the soap. Got my batter all mixed, split and colored before I added my EOs... then had to wait over an hour for it to reach medium trace. 

Stick blending would probably have sped that up, but I don't like to pull out the stick blender for a small batch, especially for a result that nothing more than a bit of patience will bring about just as well.


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## artemis (Aug 7, 2017)

I am right on the verge of entering this month. I soaped today, and as I looked at the batch of bars, I was reminded of some jaspers I've seen while shopping for beads. Googling led me to a stone that sort of matches my soap. Now, all I can think about is carving up a bar or two. I guess that would be a sort of backwards design process...


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 7, 2017)

Oh Gosh, I made mine last night that I could not sleep. I wish I could post the photos already! My family loves them!


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## Kittish (Aug 8, 2017)

*grumble mutter grumble* So I'm wondering what the heck is up with my soap?? It's been over 24 hours, and the last time I made this particular recipe the soap was almost too hard to cut that long after pouring! 

The loaf, still mostly in the liner, is nice and hard on top, but the bottom is still pretty squishy, especially along the long edges. I also saw a couple of drops of clear liquid that had seeped out from where the liner overlaps. Didn't test it to see if it was oil or lye, figure whichever it is any that's left on the actual soap will reabsorb. I'll zap test when I actually cut it. 

I've got both ends of the loaf uncovered, and I can't see any apparent separation or spots that look yellowish or crumbly or other issues. I'm pretty much certain that I did not have false trace, since it was over an hour from the time I mixed my oils and lye to the time I got the batter in the mold and during that time it maintained a temp of about 100 F and kept a homogeneous appearance. I've also double checked my measurements and made sure I didn't leave anything out or put too much of anything in. 

For now, I'll let it sit with as much of the liner removed as I could get off without damaging the loaf. Hopefully it will finish hardening up in another day or two. If not, I'll stick it in the fridge or freezer for a bit just so I can at least get the liner off it.

Edit:

I think I've managed to answer most of my own questions here. I made a small change to the proportions in the recipe between the two batches- first had 40% OO and 15% RBO; second had 30% OO and 25% RBO, and increased the water content- 40% lye concentration in the first batch, 33% for the second. I also mixed at a higher temperature for the first batch than I did for this one. I think those three things pretty well account for this soap taking longer to harden up. The seepage, I don't know, but it seems to have all reabsorbed and/or evaporated at this point so unless my soap never finishes setting up or is zappy once it does I won't worry about it. 

I made the changes to the lye concentration and temperature mostly with the expectation of my EO blend (half ylang) causing the soap to accelerate. That acceleration never happened.


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## Kittish (Aug 9, 2017)

Looks nice, kind of puts me in mind of the cloud patterns on a gas giant planet.
I didn't use enough pigment in what was supposed to be a lighter blue, so it looks just like the uncolored part. 

I like how the pigmented oil swirl on top looks, and the bits inside worked out all right, too. Going to see if I can find a spray bottle to use, for a solid line of color across the bars.















The covered parts of the loaf wanted to stay soft, right up until I got them exposed to air, then they hardened up pretty quick. Time to try again!


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 9, 2017)

Not sure what happened there with your batter Kittish, wish I could help :-?

But it looks so pretty!  How were you going to make your rocks?


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## Kittish (Aug 9, 2017)

SunRiseArts said:


> Not sure what happened there with your batter Kittish, wish I could help :-?
> 
> But it looks so pretty!  How were you going to make your rocks?



Not going to use this batch for the challenge. I will leave the bars as is, though. They're pretty, just not the look I wanted.

Think if I make the next batch warmer, it'll go a bit quicker for me. 

If you look at the bracelet in the top pic, that's kind of my reference stone. Was going to leave some bars as 'slabs' and carve a bar or two into chunks for 'tumbled' stones. The swirly on top was just for fun, to see how it came out. 

Next batch I'll use a bit more pigment in my lighter blue, try to get it clearly differentiated from the white. Might also add just a touch of TD to the white.

The darkest blue streaks are where I dripped a line of pigmented oil down the length of my mold. I'm going to try to work out some way of getting a super thin layer across the entire surface, so I have edge to edge lines.


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## Soapprentice (Aug 10, 2017)

I had to take an unexpected trip... I will not be able to make soap this time... I wanted to do one so bad!!! I will look forward to see everyone creations.


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## artemis (Aug 10, 2017)

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold.. must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.
5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea. 
6. dibbles - rocks and gems...a lot of choices
7. Mx6inpenn - lots of ideas...can I make the vision though? 
8. SunRise Arts : well.... MP is my thing!
9. BattleGnome - my parents are visiting next week, maybe my mom will help with some m&p
10. PenelopeJane - I've always wanted to try this!
11. Artemis - I have a plan!


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 10, 2017)

Soapprentice said:


> I had to take an unexpected trip... I will not be able to make soap this time... I wanted to do one so bad!!! I will look forward to see everyone creations.




Sorry to hear that! Hopefully you can try to make one at a later date.

Artemis, glad to see you're joining!

Kittish, beautiful soap even if it's not what you intended.


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 11, 2017)

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold.. must be fate!
2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!
3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been  disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my  rock collection for inspiration...
4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.
5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea. 
6. dibbles - rocks and gems...a lot of choices
7. Mx6inpenn - lots of ideas...can I make the vision though? 
8. SunRise Arts : well.... MP is my thing!
9. BattleGnome - my parents are visiting next week, maybe my mom will help with some m&p
10. PenelopeJane - I've always wanted to try this!
11. Artemis - I have a plan!
12. MySoapyHeart - '_I have never tried that before_, _so I think I should definitely be able to do that_.' (Pippi Longstocking)


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## Kittish (Aug 11, 2017)

Blue lace agate attempt number two is in the mold now. Came at it a little differently this time. Started making my layers at very thin trace. Put my colors into disposable piping bags, and cut off just enough of the point to let a very thin stream of soap drizzle out. And started building layers as thin as I could get them. Lots of layers.

Emerald attempt is in a double boiler on the stove, waiting to see how much longer it's going to take for the last bits to dissolve. I'm going to try to put some veils in with activated charcoal when I pour it into the mold. 

I've still got chunked up raw meat rebatch and orange peel soap, waiting for me to decide what I want to do with it. I'm leaning toward seeing just how finely I can process each of them with my food processor. Start with the fine shred blade, then pulse with the chopper, see how close to powder I can get them. Then mix in a little alcohol or water and shape rocks by hand.

Edit: The emerald is out of the mold, and looks promising. Already the look and feel of the soap is far superior to the first batch of glycerin soap I tried. Really glad I used a two pound mold, wound up being the perfect size. The blue lace is still in its mold, probably going to let it sit for another day or so after how long it took the last batch of that soap to harden up.

Further edit: The blue lace agate is out of the mold and out of the liner. It hardened up a lot faster than the last batch did. It. Looks. Awesome. I'm going to let it sit for another day or two and start carving. I should be able to get lots of gorgeous stones from it.


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## Kittish (Aug 14, 2017)

So I have rocks carved. I just spent almost four hours carving rocks and didn't even realize how long I'd been at it until I tried to move. Did three each from the emerald and blue lace agate blocks, and still have chunks left from each to make more rocks with.

I did two faceted gems from the emerald. **** it's hard getting even facets. I did the third one as a carved emerald, tried to replicate one I found on line. Got reasonably close, too. I used clay sculpting tools to carve it.

The blue lace agate is being cut into tumbled stones of assorted sizes. I'm really pleased with the way this soap came out, I nailed it with this one. 

So now I have to decide which soap I'm going to use for the challenge. I'm really leaning toward the agate, it's just mesmerizing.


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## Kittish (Aug 15, 2017)

So here's the soap I decided NOT to use for this month's challenge. Along with a teaser scrap of the one I am using. I had to prop the carved one up somehow. :twisted:






It's an attempt to replicate this: http://moonstargems.com/product/39-94-carat-pear-shaped-dark-green-emerald-with-fancy-carving/


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## BattleGnome (Aug 15, 2017)

Beautiful carving


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 15, 2017)

Kittish said:


> So here's the soap I decided NOT to use for this month's challenge. Along with a teaser scrap of the one I am using. I had to prop the carved one up somehow. :twisted:
> 
> 
> 
> It's an attempt to replicate this: http://moonstargems.com/product/39-94-carat-pear-shaped-dark-green-emerald-with-fancy-carving/



Very nice, Millie, well done!


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## earlene (Aug 15, 2017)

My first attempt is for rhodochrosite, of which I have a couple in jewelry.  It's one of my favorite gemstones, but I don't normally order much in the way of pink colorants.  So with the only 2 reds I have and some TD, I mixed colors and hoped for the best.  Then I experienced soap on a stick and thought for sure this batch was lost to my plan.  As it turns out, upon cutting I am far more pleased with the results than I could ever hope for given the problems I had yesterday with the batch.  So no pictures at this time.


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## jewels621 (Aug 15, 2017)

So rarely does a soap ever turn out the way I planned it in my head. This challenge is a "one and done" for me. My cheeks hurt from smiling while I was finishing up this challenge. I think this will be a style that is in my soap repertoire forever. I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with!


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## Kittish (Aug 16, 2017)

MySoapyHeart said:


> Very nice, Millie, well done!



Millie? Weird autocorrect?



jewels621 said:


> So rarely does a soap ever turn out the way I planned it in my head. This challenge is a "one and done" for me. My cheeks hurt from smiling while I was finishing up this challenge. I think this will be a style that is in my soap repertoire forever. I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with!



Mine wasn't quite one and done, but I hear you on being happy with the result. Blue lace agate is going to be one of my regular soaps I think.


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 16, 2017)

Kittish said:


> Millie? Weird autocorrect?



Ooops ◉_◉

It wen`t a bit _willy-nilly_ when it ended up being _Millie_! 
That made me a bit _skittish_, 
I am very sorry, _Kittish_!

(ᵔᴥᵔ)


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 16, 2017)

I also did only one!  And done.  

But I am super busy and been in the road on and off.  Also school starting my last one will be a senior!  yay!!!


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## Kittish (Aug 16, 2017)

MySoapyHeart said:


> Ooops ◉_◉
> 
> It wen`t a bit _willy-nilly_ when it ended up being _Millie_!
> That made me a bit _skittish_,
> ...



That made me chuckle. 

I can't wait for the photo thread to open so I can see what everyone has made. It sounds like lots of people have had fun with this challenge.


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## toxikon (Aug 17, 2017)

Well my attempt is in the mold! My lovely turquoise colour made with "CP-safe" micas turned a murky swamp green as soon as the lye hit, go figure. Still looking forward to cutting it up!


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## Kittish (Aug 17, 2017)

toxikon said:


> Well my attempt is in the mold! My lovely turquoise colour made with "CP-safe" micas turned a murky swamp green as soon as the lye hit, go figure. Still looking forward to cutting it up!



It might yet settle down into the color it's supposed to be. Hope it turns out for you!


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## dibbles (Aug 17, 2017)

toxikon said:


> Well my attempt is in the mold! My lovely turquoise colour made with "CP-safe" micas turned a murky swamp green as soon as the lye hit, go figure. Still looking forward to cutting it up!



Green turquoise is a thing, so if it stays green, you are still good to go.


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## earlene (Aug 18, 2017)

I made more soap last night but forgot the fragrance!  Still rhodochrosite, and I used [33% Lye Concentration] this time so did not end up with soap-on-a-stick, thankfully.  I decided not to carve into the first attempt because I love the bars once cut so much that I decided to keep them as they are instead of carving them up for the challenge.  My original goal was to do a ribbon pour and I achieved that this time and used some individual molds so I'll be starting out with a shape closer to my goal and wasting less soap.  At least I hope that is the case.  I'll see in a day or so.  If they harden up enough for carving by then.  If not, they'll have to wait until we get back from Carbondale, where we are going to spend a few days for the eclipse.  There will still be time to finish before the entry thread closing date.


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## Kittish (Aug 18, 2017)

I've got one piece of my blue lace left to finish carving. Have to give it a day or two to harden up a bit more on what's now the surface. Wound up with six pretty good sized rocks and three small chips (though I can possibly manage two or three more chips from my scraps) from my 500g batch. Almost every time I pass where they are, I find myself stopping to just stare at them for a bit, with a side of 'wow, I made those'. Even my SO, who is markedly unimpressed by and uninterested in pretty much anything to do with soap, has said they look really good. 

My jade attempt is melting down, going to recast it into individual bars and add scent. It turns out that I don't care much for how high cocoa butter amounts smell in soap. I did keep out the one piece that I carved so intricately.

My chunked up raw meat and orange peel soaps are mocking me a bit I think. Sitting there waiting for me to drag out the food processor... I figure I'll wind up just smooshing part of the milled soap into more rocks. Might be able to manage a sandstone look from them, which would be a far better look than raw meat.


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 20, 2017)

So we all know diamonds come from carbon.  So I had this in my mind 

All made with soap.  I should have just put glitter for the diamond instead of adding mica.  It would have been clearer. 

The ring is made of MP, the rock of CP


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## Kittish (Aug 21, 2017)

The lump of coal looks awesome! The diamond does put me more in mind of opal with the mica. If you make it just a touch less clear and could maybe manage streaks of red and blue mica colors it would make an awesome opal I think.


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## cherrycoke216 (Aug 21, 2017)

1. toxikon - I literally just bought a gem-shaped silicone mold.. must be fate!

2. Soapprentice - This is going to be my 1st MP soap and I'm excited!!!

3. Kittish - too bad my jade soap was a failure and has already been  disposed of, it would have been great for this. Time to look over my  rock collection for inspiration...

4. earlene - Lots of gem stones to look through once again, & thousands of photographs for inspiration.

5. jewels621 - hmmmm.......I like this idea. 

6. dibbles - rocks and gems...a lot of choices

7. Mx6inpenn - lots of ideas...can I make the vision though? 

8. SunRise Arts : well.... MP is my thing!

9. BattleGnome - my parents are visiting next week, maybe my mom will help with some m&p

10. PenelopeJane - I've always wanted to try this!

11. Artemis - I have a plan!

12. MySoapyHeart - 'I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that.' (Pippi Longstocking)

13. Cherrycoke216 - I'm in!!! I hope I can squeeze out some time...


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## penelopejane (Aug 21, 2017)

SunRiseArts said:


> So we all know diamonds come from carbon.  So I had this in my mind
> 
> All made with soap.  I should have just put glitter for the diamond instead of adding mica.  It would have been clearer.
> 
> The ring is made of MP, the rock of CP



Save this for the entry thread!


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## artemis (Aug 21, 2017)

Oh, no! I just thought of another idea! How many stones can we enter?


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## Kittish (Aug 21, 2017)

artemis said:


> Oh, no! I just thought of another idea! How many stones can we enter?



Pretty sure it's just one per person. I'll admit I was tempted to try to get around it by making several kinds of stones and having them all in one pic, but decided that would violate the spirit of the challenge. And so my raw meat rebatch continues to mock me... Do you know, it's hard to type with a cat in the way?


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## artemis (Aug 21, 2017)

Kittish said:


> Pretty sure it's just one per person. I'll admit I was tempted to try to get around it by making several kinds of stones and having them all in one pic, but decided that would violate the spirit of the challenge. And so my raw meat rebatch continues to mock me... Do you know, it's hard to type with a cat in the way?


I know it is one per person... [emoji17] [emoji53]  I'm going to tuck the idea away for a while and maybe revisit it. Actually, I may try it with polymer clay, instead. [emoji189] 

I was thinking of sharing my group pic (I've started to think of them as a set) but also the close up of the one that's really up for consideration.


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## Kittish (Aug 21, 2017)

Er, a thought occurs to me. Do I need to narrow down my blue lace agate batch to just ONE stone? As in one singular chunk of soap? All of my pics are of all the stones I managed from the loaf. All the same kind of stone, all from the same batch of soap.


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 21, 2017)

penelopejane said:


> Save this for the entry thread!


 

Thanks!   I have a set of "crystals" for my entry!


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## Kittish (Aug 22, 2017)

I hope things are going ok with galaxyMLP. The entry thread was supposed to open yesterday.


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## earlene (Aug 22, 2017)

Kittish said:


> Er, a thought occurs to me. Do I need to narrow down my blue lace agate batch to just ONE stone? As in one singular chunk of soap? All of my pics are of all the stones I managed from the loaf. All the same kind of stone, all from the same batch of soap.



I am not *galaxy* of course, but I don't see why you can't submit a photo of your best rock soaps from the same design.  I re-read the rules and it is not specified.  

"*For the entry thread*
For soaps that have been carved: you must show a "before" carved picture (or video) and a picture after carving.  
All other soaps only need the finished picture. Feel free to tell us about your process."

I'm glad I re-read that!  I have not yet taken 'before' photos, and I think I probably would have forgotten to do so!


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 22, 2017)

Kittish said:


> I hope things are going ok with galaxyMLP. The entry thread was supposed to open yesterday.


 

School is starting for many, these are busy times.  I have my last one as a senior this year!  yay!


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## Kittish (Aug 22, 2017)

SunRiseArts said:


> School is starting for many, these are busy times.  I have my last one as a senior this year!  yay!



She also was having hardware issues when she opened this thread. 

My niece and nephew started school a couple of weeks ago. Nephew's first year in school, preK this year. He's still in the "oh my gosh this is so fun do we really have to leave already?" stage. Cute to watch, especially the reaction of his older sister, who started fourth grade this year.


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## artemis (Aug 22, 2017)

SunRiseArts said:


> School is starting for many, these are busy times.  I have my last one as a senior this year!  yay!


I have my first one as a senior this year!  [emoji15]


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 22, 2017)

Hey!! So sorry for the delay! I'm opening the thread now. 

You may post a group of crystals as long as they are all the same batch/style. This means that if you poured and cut the stones from the same batch, you may photograph them together. However, please do not mix multiple styles of crystals. 

Remember to show us a picture of your soap before carving (if you carved it) and after carving.


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## Soapprentice (Aug 23, 2017)

Kittiesh and Dibbles, they are **** pretty looking rick soaps... I miss this challenge so bad


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## lenarenee (Aug 23, 2017)

I am incredibly impressed with the soaps so far! Such realistic gems and stones!  This is going to be one of the toughest challenges to vote on....!


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 23, 2017)

artemis said:


> I have my first one as a senior this year! [emoji15]


 
My youngest is 17, and my oldest will be 31 in November! :shock:

When I had my "baby", (I still call him that).  My dad made fun of me and called me grandma :evil:


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 23, 2017)

galaxyMLP said:


> Hey!! So sorry for the delay! I'm opening the thread now.
> 
> You may post a group of crystals as long as they are all the same batch/style. This means that if you poured and cut the stones from the same batch, you may photograph them together. However, please do not mix multiple styles of crystals.
> 
> Remember to show us a picture of your soap before carving (if you carved it) and after carving.


 

err, Is my entry ok, then?  They are from the same batch, I just added to the color, and mix fos.


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## Kittish (Aug 23, 2017)

I love the entries so far! It's pretty awesome how many entries you wouldn't be able to tell which bits were the soap if you didn't have the before pics.


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 24, 2017)

Just popped in to post my entry and to seriously GAWK at all yer`purdy soaps! I am amazed (!!) at what awesomeness you all have produced! Thanks to Galaxy for hosting this one, it was superduper fun, and something I will do more! 

(_Ack _- voting will be EXTREMELY difficult...)


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## IrishLass (Aug 24, 2017)

Wow, wow, wow!!! I just had a peek at all the beautifully stunning entries so far, and all I can say is, 'Have fun voting!' 


IrishLass


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## Soapprentice (Aug 24, 2017)

The soaps are spot on!!! Amazing so far...


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## Kittish (Aug 26, 2017)

I've learned of several types of stones new to me with this challenge so far. Sunset sodalite, kambaba jasper and opal fluorite are all new to me. I think I may need to track down some specimens to add to my collection.


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## earlene (Aug 26, 2017)

Today I am working on my gemstone soaps.  Two carved and awaiting some final touches.  When I went in search of my carving tools, I discovered another soap I had sitting around that might be a nice gemstone soap as well, so plan to carve on it a bit too.  Once I get my paintbrushes out, I'll add a bit of gold mica for some fine lines and the framing of my 'jewels'.

ETA:  Done and posted.  I didn't bother with the second soap after realizing I just want to use it as is.


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## Kittish (Aug 26, 2017)

earlene said:


> Today I am working on my gemstone soaps.  Two carved and awaiting some final touches.  When I went in search of my carving tools, I discovered another soap I had sitting around that might be a nice gemstone soap as well, so plan to carve on it a bit too.  Once I get my paintbrushes out, I'll add a bit of gold mica for some fine lines and the framing of my 'jewels'.
> 
> ETA:  Done and posted.  I didn't bother with the second soap after realizing I just want to use it as is.



Wow! Ok, now I want soap I can wear as jewelry. The voting certainly isn't getting any easier...


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## FannieFinch (Aug 26, 2017)

I am awestruck with each and every single photograph of those soaps! 
I had no idea that such things could be done and can't help but to say- You Soapers Rock!


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## DeeAnna (Aug 26, 2017)

Woo hooo! I really admire all the entries for this month's challenge -- nice work!!!!!!!


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## penelopejane (Aug 27, 2017)

Toxikon 
the colours of your soap are really beautiful.  Care to share what they are?


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## toxikon (Aug 27, 2017)

penelopejane said:


> Toxikon
> the colours of your soap are really beautiful.  Care to share what they are?


Thank you! As I mentioned earlier, I was really worried because it turned swamp green when I added the lye! So I'm very pleased they returned to the colour I intended.

I mixed a few different micas from my big collection of baggies. A few from WSP and Nurture. Lets see...

From Nurture: Lime Appeal, Tropical Teal
From WSP: Carribean Blue, Mermaid Blue

I can't give exact amounts unfortunately, I was just adding dashes here and there until I got a nice shade.

Then I separated the batch and added TD for the turquoise part and AC for the dark blue part.


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## Kittish (Aug 28, 2017)

So now I've got rocks on the brain.  Played with the soap dough I made, and wound up with this:


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## penelopejane (Aug 28, 2017)

toxikon said:


> Thank you! As I mentioned earlier, I was really worried because it turned swamp green when I added the lye! So I'm very pleased they returned to the colour I intended.
> 
> I mixed a few different micas from my big collection of baggies. A few from WSP and Nurture. Lets see...
> 
> ...



So many people do the dash here and dash there - I think it is innate artistic talent.  Beautiful result. But will you be able to reproduce it again?


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## toxikon (Aug 28, 2017)

penelopejane said:


> So many people do the dash here and dash there - I think it is innate artistic talent.  Beautiful result. But will you be able to reproduce it again?



I'm not too worried about re-producing it! I've never made two batches that look the same, hah. I'm definitely an experimenter.


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## earlene (Aug 28, 2017)

I think we were supposed to start voting yesterday.  I haven't received a link for Survey Monkey yet.  Has it gone out?


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## artemis (Aug 28, 2017)

earlene said:


> I think we were supposed to start voting yesterday.  I haven't received a link for Survey Monkey yet.  Has it gone out?


I think we started submissions a little late. Maybe we're getting a little extra time to enter


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## Kittish (Aug 28, 2017)

artemis said:


> I think we started submissions a little late. Maybe we're getting a little extra time to enter



I don't mind. It's already kind of to the point where, honestly, my voting is likely to be by the close my eyes and poke the screen method. All the entries are terrific.


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 30, 2017)

Everyone, I'm so sorry about this. I thought I had the survey finally ready and I started sending the emails out and it didn't even save! :headbanging: That's never happened to me. I'll get a chance to fix it in about four hours, but I don't have time right now. I'm really so sorry about this. I'll have it ready within 4 hours or so. 

Thanks again for all of your beautiful entries and your understanding with my timing and technical issues.


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## SunRiseArts (Aug 30, 2017)

no worries galaxy!


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 30, 2017)

The survey has been correctly fixed. The same link/password that I emailed before will now work correctly. I'll finish sending everyone the link and password now. I'll edit this post when I finish so if you don't receive a pm by the time I edit this, please pm me about it.

Edit 4:49 pm CST: All pms have been sent. Please check your boxes. 

Voting will close tomorrow at 9 pm CST (28 hours from now). I will announce the winners within that hour. 

Thank you again for all of your patience.


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## Kittish (Aug 30, 2017)

galaxyMLP said:


> The survey has been correctly fixed. The same link/password that I emailed before will now work correctly. I'll finish sending everyone the link and password now. I'll edit this post when I finish so if you don't receive a pm by the time I edit this, please pm me about it.
> 
> Edit 4:49 pm CST: All pms have been sent. Please check your boxes.
> 
> ...



No worries at all, galaxy. Life happens.


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## PrairieLights (Aug 30, 2017)

SunRiseArts said:


> My youngest is 17, and my oldest will be 31 in November! :shock:
> 
> When I had my "baby", (I still call him that).  My dad made fun of me and called me grandma :evil:


 

Me too! - ages - (not to hijack the thread)

P.S. - Where can I see the gorgeous soaps y'all made?


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## Kittish (Aug 31, 2017)

*PrairieLights*, you can see them in the ~ August 2017 Challenge Photo Entry Thread~. So many awesome entries for this month.


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## MySoapyHeart (Aug 31, 2017)

Voted. Not easy.


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 31, 2017)

As of right now, we're missing one vote and have a two way tie. If you didn't vote, please do so now!


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## mx5inpenn (Aug 31, 2017)

galaxyMLP said:


> As of right now, we're missing one vote and have a two way tie. If you didn't vote, please do so now!


Sorry for the hold up! Not all the pictures were showing for me and I didn't have time to go through the thread last night.


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 31, 2017)

It's totally ok! I just wasn't sure if someone missed it! I wanted to make sure everyone had the opportunity.


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## galaxyMLP (Aug 31, 2017)

Ok, everyone has voted!! 

The winners for this month are still a tie so I'm going to go with it! 

Tied for first place: 

Earlene with the rhodochrosite soap!

Penelopejane with the river rock soap!

And in a very, very close third place:
Kittish with the Blue Lace Agate!

Congratulations! You all did an incredible job with this challenge! Thank you again for participating in the soap making forum August challenge!


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## dibbles (Aug 31, 2017)

Congratulations Earlene, Penelopejane and Kittish! I truly loved all three of your entries.

The entries this month were incredible. Very nice work everyone. 

Thank you galaxy for the fun challenge.


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## Kittish (Aug 31, 2017)

Congrats earlene and penelopejane! And thanks! The challenge was fun and I learned a lot from everyone's entries.


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## cherrycoke216 (Sep 1, 2017)

Congratulations Earlene, PenelopeJane, and Kittish!!!

Our talents always amaze me with exquisite works! Wow, just WOW! Every participant's hard work make it so hard to vote!

And thanks GalaxyMLP for this creative challenge, and also host two challenge in a row!


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## earlene (Sep 1, 2017)

galaxyMLP said:


> Ok, everyone has voted!!
> 
> The winners for this month are still a tie so I'm going to go with it!
> 
> ...



Wow!  To tie with *penelopejane'*s incredible river rock is truly an honor.  Thank you!

And *Kittish*, your blue lace agates are just so very gorgeous!

I never expected to even place in this month's challenge, with all the other excellent rock and gemstone soaps.  So thank you again, and *galaxy*, thank you for hosting twice in a row like that.  I can't even imagine how difficult that must be to pull off.


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## Soapprentice (Sep 1, 2017)

Congratulations Earlene, Penelope and kitties... your soaps were amazing.
Thank you galaxy for hosting it..


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## jewels621 (Sep 1, 2017)

Congrats, winners! So hard to choose. Everyone made such beautiful soap! Bring on the next challenge!


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## MySoapyHeart (Sep 1, 2017)

Congrats to the well worthy winners, you guys (_warning - lame pun ahead_) totally rocked this challenge. 

Fun challenge - I can`t even look at a rock, pebble or a gem anymore, without wispering to my self: _this would make such an awesome soap...

_I am forever ruined. And I don`t mind.


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## toxikon (Sep 1, 2017)

Congrats! Gorgeous entries this month.


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## penelopejane (Sep 1, 2017)

Thank you everyone. I am over the moon to share first place with Earlene'a gorgeous rhodochrosite soap! and to just pip Kittish at the post with her blue agate soap. 

I've been having such a lot of trouble with my soap lately this has really made my day. DH is going to be so pleased to hear that all my angst has been worth it! :mrgreen:

Thanks galaxy for all your hard work in putting this and other challenges together I really appreciate it.


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## Kittish (Sep 1, 2017)

I'm still new enough at this whole soap thing that I'm frankly amazed that a) I made that. and b) that it was good enough to win. I still do a little squee and happy dance when I look at those soaps on my curing rack. That's one batch that definitely will NOT be rebatched.

earlene, your rhodochrosite soap was spot on, and the gold mica and the gold chain you used for a prop totally sells the jewelry look. Honestly, I didn't realize at first look on your entry that the big oval cabochon was soap. I thought it was the pendant you used for reference, I didn't see the smaller actual pendant until I looked at the pic again.  

Your river rocks are kind of what inspired my soap dough rocks, penelopejane. I'm wondering how you got the surface so smooth. I tried using some water with one of my agates to smooth away the tool marks, but the soap went way too squishy and I wound up with soap dish marks all over the bottom (and still had tool marks visible on the surface- fail). 

Hah! MySoapyHeart, I hear you! Heck, I'm putting together freakin' product lines inspired by this challenge in the back of my mind, and I don't plan to even MAYBE try to sell for at least a year or two, if ever. 

galaxyMLP, your challenges are awesome and so much fun! Thank you for hosting them.


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## earlene (Sep 6, 2017)

galaxyMLP said:


> Welcome to July’s SMF Soap Challenge!
> 
> <snip>
> 
> ...



I just now noticed the wrong month.  That was the August 2017 challenge.   I just noticed accidentally while looking for the Sept. challenge.  Anyway, for posterity sake, is it possible to edit and correct that to say August instead of July.  Just for future reference?


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## Soapprentice (Sep 6, 2017)

Do we have a challenge this month?


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## Kittish (Sep 6, 2017)

Soapprentice said:


> Do we have a challenge this month?



I haven't yet seen a challenge for September.


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## earlene (Sep 8, 2017)

Soapprentice said:


> Do we have a challenge this month?



I've been wondering, too.  I sure hope whoever's turn it was wasn't in Houston or Florida or any of the other places around the globe so riddled with disasters!


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## cherrycoke216 (Sep 8, 2017)

earlene said:


> I've been wondering, too.  I sure hope whoever's turn it was wasn't in Houston or Florida or any of the other places around the globe so riddled with disasters!




Ditto this!!! I'm sure they just got caught in errands.


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## dibbles (Sep 8, 2017)

earlene said:


> I've been wondering, too.  I sure hope whoever's turn it was wasn't in Houston or Florida or any of the other places around the globe so riddled with disasters!



I hope so too. I also hope that hosting the challenges hasn't become a burden for those who do it. I can see that it could be, and I would completely understand that if the challenges were discontinued. I do enjoy them, and hope that won't be the case. But I get it.


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