# Gent's Minion Challenge



## MzMolly65 (Mar 21, 2014)

Over in this thread .. 

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=43817

Our very own Effacious Gentleman said 





> Great work!  But I can see Minion Soaps being made by someone very soon......................


Which sounded to me like a challenge so the squirrels in my head started running on their wheels. .. and .. I have begun pouring the Minions.  For various reasons I don't expect to have them finished until ... maybe the end of the month .. so don't expect pics any time soon!

Anyone care to join me in a Minion challenge?


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 21, 2014)

You are, quite simply, fab! Can't wait to see how they come out.

Edit - and now you have me thinking about how I would do it, too!


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## MzMolly65 (Mar 21, 2014)

Does that mean you're in???


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## seven (Mar 21, 2014)

oh this is fun! but i have absolutely no idea how am going to do it, lol!


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## Jencat (Mar 21, 2014)

Minion soaps!  Too cool!!!  I'm not skilled enough to try it, but I'm looking forward to seeing what people come up with.  I <3 the minions.


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## Jeanea (Mar 21, 2014)

I love the minions they are just too cute. I knew when I saw the post on the dome shape soap this would come up.....wrecking my brain tryin to figure out how to join in with what I have.....lol


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 21, 2014)

I might well be in - I have these ideas and I think I need to try it out.  Just need to source some melt and pour.......................


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## MzMolly65 (Mar 21, 2014)

Melt and pour .. oh my! You're taking the easy way out  *throws down gauntlet*

I'm taking lots of pics and looking forward to seeing how others approach this :Kitten Love:


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 21, 2014)

Well, thinking of the eyes/eye, you see..............................


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## Dennis (Mar 21, 2014)

Melt and Pour?! 
.
.


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## MzMolly65 (Mar 21, 2014)

Nice one Dennis .. 

So .. I've already got a Minion maelstrom going .. holy crappers!

When you think you have a plan and all hell breaks loose, said plan goes flying out the window.  I thought I would only need a little mix of two colours for what I had planned today so I decided I would make some nice swirled salt bars with the balance of the mixture.  I mix, I divide, I colour .. I pour 1st colour .. I pour 2nd colour and suddenly I am all out of mix but the mold for 2nd colour is only 1/2 full .. ARGH!

In a panic I'm hurriedly mixing more of 2nd colour and deciding that now I'm going to have tons of batter left so might as well mix more of 1st colour while I'm at it and still make the salt bars in the end (one really should not bite off more than one can chew )

Get things done and fill mold for 2nd colour but ... but ... but .. now it's all gone again and I have a 1/2 batch of 1st colour with nothing to swirl it with.  Good grief .. throw in the scent and guess at the salt (since I obviously don't need all of it anymore) and pour the bars anyway ...... wayyyyy too much colour in these bars and black of all colours *sighs*.  The bars will stain, taking the premise of "black face" to a whole new level.  

Can you rebatch salt bars?  Where did 2nd colour all go?  I have a sneaky suspicion I missed taping some cracks and it ran under my blockades and the "plan" didn't work the way I thought it would.  Won't know until I unmold.  

Taking a much needed breather and trying to find my wits ... I think I threw them out the window with the plan.


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## seven (Mar 21, 2014)

obsidian made a thread about rebatching salt bars. from what i can remember, it's not recommended.


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## Obsidian (Mar 21, 2014)

Nope, can't rebatch salt bars. You can grate them and add the powder to new soap though. What are you using for a minion mold? A canoe pan would be perfect but I don't think they come in silicone or plastic.


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## houseofwool (Mar 21, 2014)

Black trimmings for the hair, pour a bit of yellow, place the eyes. Pour a bit more yellow. Place 2 vertical blue rectangles for the straps, then pour blue. 

Tricky as the devil to actually do though.


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## Sinful7 (Mar 21, 2014)

Absolutely can not wait to see what you all come up with! I love minions


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## MzMolly65 (Mar 22, 2014)

ooo .. can't share my secrets YET.  Will share all after everyone's done.  It would be too easy for you all if I shared now OR your brilliant ideas might start my squirrels running in the other direction.

Have mine technically done .. my delay is that I have some personal business outside of soaping taking me away from home and can't finish them just yet.  Once I had the plan thought out it was easier than I expected.


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## MzMolly65 (Mar 22, 2014)

There's an awful lot of people looking at this thread but not a lot seem to be joining the challenge .. hmmm????

Come on folks, there is no fail in soap.  If stuff doesn't turn out it's still soap.  Play .. attempt .. you have to walk before you can run.

Everything you do is a learning experience so jump in .. give it a try .. don't be shy!!!!  Use your imagination too.  It doesn't have to be a literal Minion .. it can be an artistic representation!


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## Sinful7 (Mar 22, 2014)

If I didn't have so many backorders to catch up on I would! That and I have to order some more dyes.. I am limited at the moment


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## cmzaha (Mar 22, 2014)

Obsidian said:


> Nope, can't rebatch salt bars. You can grate them and add the powder to new soap though. What are you using for a minion mold? A canoe pan would be perfect but I don't think they come in silicone or plastic.


 
Sorry to dispute this but you can rebatch salt bars and I have done it by rebatching in the oven. (I do not rebatch in crock pots). They will not be as nice but all the salt is still there. Like anything soap, things do not always go as planned or what works for one does not always work for another. Just have to try and see if it works for you.


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## athallr (Mar 22, 2014)

Ohh fun!! Can't wait to see these.


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## coffeetime (Mar 22, 2014)

I'm super tempted but like the other poster, I have too many soaps to catch up on, plus packaging, etc. I can even picture how I'd do it...I only use clays and such for colourants so the colours might be off...no, no must get work done!!!


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## MzMolly65 (Mar 23, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> Sorry to dispute this but you can rebatch salt bars and I have done it by rebatching in the oven.



Would love more details on how to do this if you'd care to share.

How is everyone's Minion's coming along???? I've been away taking care of some Immigration business ... YAY ... I'm a legal resident of the USA now!

So .. back to my Minions ... will try and finish them up this coming week.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 29, 2014)

Alas I'm in the UK at the moment for a family funeral - not had a chance to get anything sorted on it :-(


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## MzMolly65 (Mar 29, 2014)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Alas I'm in the UK at the moment for a family funeral



My sympathies to you Gent ..


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 30, 2014)

Almost home now. In Brussels, about to fly to Zürich and then a train back to Austria. Looooong day


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 4, 2014)

Minion eyes are proving to be more complicated than I originally anticipated.  Effort #1 failed so tweaked the plan and tried again.  Effort #2 failed as well.  Will attempt this particular plan one more time with MORE tweaking and if attempt #3 fails, will have to formulate a new plan.

I can see the potential for this to work ...... I just have to figure out the mechanics to MAKE it work!!!

BTW Gent .. I have not succumbed to M&P yet!!!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Apr 4, 2014)

The only possible thing I could think of was a roll of black m&p with white m&p rolled around it.  As it's only for the eyes, surely that's allowed?

Plus, if I make my own m&p, can I do it then?


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## Dennis (Apr 4, 2014)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> The only possible thing I could think of was a roll of black m&p with white m&p rolled around it.  As it's only for the eyes, surely that's allowed?
> 
> Plus, if I make my own m&p, can I do it then?







Now look what you've done!  You just had to say that and stir them all up!


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 4, 2014)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Plus, if I make my own m&p, can I do it then?



That might just be sufficiently impressive enough to quiet the mob!


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 18, 2014)

Soooo ... eyes are proving to be a big challenge.  I think I finally have pupils but they're not as black as I was aiming for .. I'm just giving in after several attempts and enough black soap around my house to last a year. 

I thought it would be a simple matter of filling progressively larger tubes but the first tube was a straw and I plugged the bottom and stuck two straws in a container of salt to hold them upright, trying to fill them with a pipette.  The straws were too small a diameter and air locked with very little soap going down the tube.  The second straws were larger but all the soap leaked out the bottom and I had a container full of black salt.  Third attempt was a milk carton full of black soap (which turned grey .. grr) and when it was slightly firm I stuck the straws into it, let it harden a bit more and then with a twist I pulled out the straws and voila .. I have small black tubes which will become pupils.  Now putting the coloured iris around them could be my mental end, LOL!

I have several thoughts on making that work but every failed attempt means the loss of the pupil and starting over from the very beginning .. it's like a terribly bad video game!

I'm still not sure this is the solution to eyes but it's a starting point and if the next stage proves to be unsuccessful I'm scratching my head on how to solve this (without resorting to M&P)

Anyone else doing anything or am I in this alone?


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## newbie (Apr 18, 2014)

Mz Molly, maybe you should try the reverse. Pour your irises into whatever round mold you are going to use and then insert a skewer into the batter. Once the batter has solidified, turn the skewer to loosen and pull it out. Then you can pour your black into that space to get the pupil. You'd have to make certain your irises were well set or you could get a mess pulling the skewers out.

If you pour you black very thin, it should go all the way in unless you have made a very long set of irises.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 18, 2014)

Where were you yesterday??? LOL .. j/k

I actually thought of that but with such thin tubes I was afraid I wouldn't get the skewer in straight and my pupils would be all wonky.  Although a crosseyed Minion might be just about right .. HA!

I have a strange plan to set the already poured pupils into an iris but I may be in the rubber room on this one so I'll keep you informed of how it goes.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Apr 18, 2014)

Depending on the size that you are going to, I would just do black and white eyes - anything more and it's getting fiddly.  I don't know how many people (of soap buying age!) could tell you what colour the irises of the minions are, or even if they have them.


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## jade-15 (Apr 18, 2014)

Minions have irises??
*checks phone case*

Oh, so they do.  I thought they were just black dots - and as I said, I have minions on my phone case!!

I am eagerly waiting photos of all your minion-ey soap


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## CaraBou (Apr 19, 2014)

Can't wait to see what you guys come up with.  Stick with it MzMolly!


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## godschild (Apr 19, 2014)

I can't wait to see these as well.  I would do it with yall but I haven't gotten that far into soaping yet.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 20, 2014)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> I don't know how many people (of soap buying age!) could tell you what colour the irises of the minions are, or even if they have them.



Brown silly 

... my goodness that's a bit like saying the fans don't know or care what the T in Captain James T. Kirk stands for.

All Minion geeks will know what colour the iris' are and will be very cranky if you try to cheat them and think they won't notice.


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## Dennis (Apr 20, 2014)

mzmolly65 said:


> brown silly
> 
> ... My goodness that's a bit like saying the fans don't know or care what the t in captain james t. Kirk stands for.
> 
> All minion geeks will know what colour the iris' are and will be very cranky if you try to cheat them and think they won't notice.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 22, 2014)

hmm ... maybe I've been attacking eyes all wrong .. 

This video from Soaping 101 has given me a new idea [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSplNrFa-BE&feature=youtu.be[/ame]


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## godschild (Apr 22, 2014)

Great idea!


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## Dennis (Apr 22, 2014)

Great vid!  Thanks.  Brain is now churning.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 24, 2014)

Poured some Minion bodies today.  Progressing slowly .. but still progressing.  Getting excited over the way they look so far!!


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## jules92207 (Apr 24, 2014)

I am so anxious to see everyones results!!!


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 25, 2014)

The Minions are coming .......... 

.. a cheeky teaser so you can all see I really am working on this.  Plan of attack for eyes has changed completely after seeing Soaping 101's carving video.  So glad I saw that before making any more attempts.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Apr 25, 2014)

Love it!


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## Sinful7 (Apr 25, 2014)

You tease you!!! They are looking fabulous. Wonderful colors


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 28, 2014)

another hinty clue ..


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## SoapySouter (Apr 28, 2014)

My Minion soap lol




image by Karen Adamson, on Flickr


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## MzMolly65 (May 6, 2014)

Been caught up in house renos and spring gardening but this morning I took some time out to get a bit farther on the Minions.  Thought I might as well share some proper pics since they're almost done.  Not sure how I'll plane these when I'm done since I don't have a planer .. ??? hmmm ???

ETA:  I have more black, blue and yellow soap and soap scraps around my house than any one person can possibly use *sighs*.  I had no idea making these would generate so much excess, although now that I've figured out what I'm doing *IF* I ever made them again I hope there would be less.


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## MzMolly65 (May 6, 2014)

Another thing for next time (*IF* there is a next time) .. not sure I'd do this same recipe again.  I used 100% co with 100% coconut milk in an effort to keep the colours clean without using TD and as well thought things would harden faster so I could get these soaps done quicker.  However, since I didn't work on them every day this recipe was a bit brittle when carving and some pieces broke loose from each other (look at the pics around the pants and suspenders and you'll see the separation).  I think a softer recipe might give a person some leeway or a softer carve and also allow the new soap being poured a better chance of sticking to previous pours.


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## jules92207 (May 6, 2014)

Seriously outstanding work. I am humbled by your creativity!


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## seven (May 6, 2014)

looking good mzmolly, cant wait to see the end result. i agree, a 100% co recipe is not a good candidate for carving. i had problems cutting mine with a wire cutter, i gotta use a knife. cant imagine carving.


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## MzMolly65 (May 7, 2014)

seven said:


> looking good mzmolly, cant wait to see the end result. i agree, a 100% co recipe is not a good candidate for carving. i had problems cutting mine with a wire cutter, i gotta use a knife. cant imagine carving.



Actually Seven .. they carve really nice.  If I were going to carve soap for art or mold making I'd use this recipe.  I think I could get great detail and it has a nice ability to shave curls off it, but what's happening that I don't like is the different colours are not sticking to each other properly because I'm pouring them too many days apart.  I think if I were pouring them day after day they would stick better.


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## MzMolly65 (Nov 19, 2014)

So after a VERY, VERY long hiatus I am staring at the Minion's .. only their irises and pupils left to go but the poor things are covered in a layer of dust from sitting on the shelf so long.  I've spent the whole summer renovating a bathroom and multiple other things, plus started a new job and pulled out an old hobby when my niece asked me to knit her "shark socks" .. so the poor Minions have been thoroughly neglected.

They need to be finished soon as Christmas is around the corner and I need to mail them so ............ I'll stick a deadline on them and say the Minions will be finished by Nov 26th.  Now to find a planer .............. *gulp*


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## jules92207 (Nov 19, 2014)

Oh yea!!! I can't wait to see them. Been missing those little faces...


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## IrishLass (Nov 19, 2014)

Oh wow! How is it that I've never seen this thread! I love the Minions! I've even been known to sing the Bo Du Bleeb lullaby before bedtime on occasion (yes, I have the words memorized 

): 

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FngXiTm4gcs[/ame]

I wish we had Minion smilies here.

I can't wait to see the finished soaps!


IrishLass


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## MzMolly65 (Nov 25, 2014)

Alright .. here's the photo diary of the Minions

The plan and one of the molds I used .. instant oatmeal cereal box






I used a cardboard insert in my silicone mold and poured the pants first.  Sorry but the photo doesn't show the cardboard shaping for the pants well. I poured the pants upside down in a U shape with the bib being the U.  Once dry I unmolded them and then turned them over and put them back into a different mold with the bib upright






Then my camera experienced a huge glitch and while I thought I had photos of the next step .. I didn't.  Huge apologies.  I put the block of pants into another mold, tall and narrow, so that the front of the bib was facing upward and used a silicone cutting mat to shape the heads and poured the yellow for the main body/head.

Bascially I poured all the pants and body/heads at once, with the original plan being  to cut them into individual soaps after they were complete.  But several  failed attempts to make proper eyes and Soaping 101's soap carving video encouraged me to cut them into  individual soaps before completing the rest. 

Then also missing due to the camera glitch, I cut the block into individual Minions and carved out the goggle frames using a hole saw blade.  I rested the blade on the soap and tapped it into the soap with a hammer, then turned it and tapped again and continued doing this until the entire circle was cut through.

After that I marked the strap locations for the goggles and pants but didn't want to separate the head into two pieces (as you'll see below if you look closely for the mark lines).  I poured the frame for the goggles next, using a piece of rubber tube to prevent the entire circle from being filled because I didn't have another saw blade in the right size to cut the eye.






The four Minions waiting for goggles


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## MzMolly65 (Nov 25, 2014)

Goggles poured






rubber stops removed, straps carved out and Minions in another mold for next pouring






A view in the long mold with straps and eyes poured.  This mold is just  1" styrofoam cut to shape, pinned in place with nails and lined with  parchment paper.






Drilling out the irises.  I just use a drill bit turned by hand, no drill involved.


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## MzMolly65 (Nov 25, 2014)

Today .. irises poured using powdered cocoa to get a brown colour .. it's supposed to lighten with curing *crosses fingers*






The final steps will be to drill again for black pupils and then plane the soaps when cured.  ETA:  You can see how much they've shrunk in the past months if you notice the gap between the soaps.  Originally they fit tight in this mold.


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## jules92207 (Nov 25, 2014)

So flippin cool!!!


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## CaraBou (Nov 29, 2014)

Plane!  Plane!  Plane!  

We want to meet the minions!!!



P.S. Yer awesome for telling us how you made them


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## shunt2011 (Nov 29, 2014)

WOW, you certainly put a lot of thought into these.  Thank you so much for sharing your techniques.  Cant wait to see them done!


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## MzMolly65 (Dec 3, 2014)

Sorry folks .. life has thrown me another curve ball *sighs* .  My husband has been experiencing mental illness that exhausts me and keeps me from doing much beyond his care.

Once again the minions are on the shelf but with Grace, medication and rest for him I hope I'll have the time to get back to them next week.


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## MzMolly65 (Dec 3, 2014)

CaraBou said:


> P.S. Yer awesome for telling us how you made them



Thanks Bou .. I was raised in the era of sharing information freely so that all might learn.  I'm tired of this new era where everyone wants to charge a dime for their 2 cents worth of knowledge.  :roll:


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## jules92207 (Dec 4, 2014)

I wait with bated breath... But take care of you and yours first, of course. Can't wait to see what comes next.


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## MzMolly65 (Dec 12, 2014)

Finally got the last of the soap poured today.  Pupils are in and the Minions are technically done now except for curing and planing!  WHEW!  It's been an adventure.  

These pics are with iris's poured (chocolate brown eyes, using cocoa for colour)  They started off looking poo brown which worried me but after a little planing I realized it was ash and the eyes are actually a nice, dark brown.  Layed them out for a photo before drilling the pupil holes .. by hand again, and then back in the mold and poured the pupils.  Pics of the finished Minions will follow next week after they've dried and been planed.


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## Obsidian (Dec 12, 2014)

Oh my, those are going to be super cute.


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## Cindy2428 (Dec 12, 2014)

Thank-you very much for the pictures as you've gone along. They are adorable


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