# July 2021 SMF Soap Un-Challenge - Confetti/Cubes



## dibbles (Jul 1, 2021)

*Welcome to the SMF July 2021 Un-Challenge – Confetti Shreds/Cubes*

Welcome to the SMF July 2021 Un-Challenge featuring soaps made with confetti shreds and/or cubes (AKA What’s Old is New Again). We all have them – those soaps that didn’t meet our design expectations, have lost their lovely fragrance and the meat soap rebatch beauties. For this un-challenge you will create soaps that include confetti somewhere in the design. There is no requirement for the size of the confetti you use, but try to keep it small enough that it doesn't venture into embed territory. You may use any technique(s) or mold, and any method of soap making you choose. Some ideas for inspiration are shown below, but make it your own.

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1. Any SMF member may participate in this Un-Challenge, regardless of length of membership or number of posts.
2. While the confetti element used may be from old soap, the soap base must be made after the Un-Challenge announcement is posted (so no confetti soaps that were completed before 6/1/2021).
3. Make and post pictures of as many soaps as you would like. There will not be a separate entry thread and there will not be a vote, so post pictures of your creations here at any time. Photos of failures are just as welcome as photos of successes. If you care to share "before" pictures of the soap used for the confetti along with the finished masterpiece (Ugly Duckling to Swan), please do!
4.* If your design is inspired by another maker, please give them credit.*
5. A sign up list will be posted, however if you make a confetti soap and want to share it but haven't officially signed up, please do! This is meant to be relaxed and fun!
6. Experiments are always interesting. If you learned something, please share. As always, please keep comments kind and have fun!

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Some helpful videos:





Some inspiration:

Use a little, by Duncannon Soap Company



Or use a lot, by Back Room Soapery



Make trees 
  by Bubbledream


  by Meu Sabao



Make a confetti embed, by DM Apothecary



Use a neutral color palette, by Ulyana Buharina



Or make a rainbow, by Missouri River Soap



Drinks are cute, by Soap and Restless



Combine shreds and cubes, by The Nature in Us



Make confetti layer(s), by One Leaf Soap



I'm looking forward to seeing what you make!


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## dibbles (Jul 1, 2021)

If you want to sign up, copy the list and add your name in a new post.

Sign up list:

1.


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## SPowers (Jul 1, 2021)

If you want to sign up, copy the list and add your name in a new post.

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!


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## KimW (Jul 1, 2021)

If you want to sign up, copy the list and add your name in a new post.

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. Awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3.


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 1, 2021)

Oh wow. That third to last one is really cool. I’m guessing they tossed the scraps in some mica.


If you want to sign up, copy the list and add your name in a new post.

Sign up list:


1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. Awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4.


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## dibbles (Jul 1, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> Oh wow. That third to last one is really cool. I’m guessing they tossed the scraps in some mica.


They did coat the cubes with mica, then placed them on the soap which already had been dusted for the mica line IIRC. I've had this image saved for years.


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## Misschief (Jul 1, 2021)

dibbles said:


> They did coat the cubes with mica, then placed them on the soap which already had been dusted for the mica line IIRC. I've had this image saved for years.


I've tried that technique and getting it to be gorgeous isn't as easy as I expected it to be.


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## Tara_H (Jul 1, 2021)

If you want to sign up, copy the list and add your name in a new post.

Sign up list:


1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. Awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5.


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## KimW (Jul 1, 2021)

If you want to sign up, copy the list and add your name in a new post.

Sign up list:


1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5.


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## dibbles (Jul 1, 2021)

@KimW were you planning to sign up? I don't just want to add your name to the list.



Misschief said:


> I've tried that technique and getting it to be gorgeous isn't as easy as I expected it to be.


It isn't - mica has a way of getting smeary.


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## KimW (Jul 1, 2021)

dibbles said:


> @KimW were you planning to sign up? I don't just want to add your name to the list.


Yes - I noticed my error and included my name.  Thank you!


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## MrsZ (Jul 1, 2021)

Sign up list:


1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6.


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## amd (Jul 1, 2021)

Correcting signup list as Kim W. is still not showing up as added.

Sign up list:
1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Kim W.
6. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
7.


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## dibbles (Jul 1, 2021)

Sign up list:
1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6.

We are being too helpful. KimW is the second name on the list. I didn’t look carefully enough. My bad.


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 1, 2021)

dibbles said:


> This is meant to be relaxed and fun!


THANK YOU SO MUCH My Dear Timing Talent


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## amd (Jul 1, 2021)

dibbles said:


> We are being too helpful. KimW is the second name on the list. I didn’t look carefully enough. My bad.


I missed it too!


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## dibbles (Jul 1, 2021)

ResolvableOwl said:


> THANK YOU SO MUCH My Dear Timing Talent


You can make more confetti and use it again


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## peachymoon (Jul 2, 2021)

Sign up list:
1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect!


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## The_Emerald_Chicken (Jul 2, 2021)

Sign up list:
1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8.


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## Misschief (Jul 2, 2021)

Sign up list:
1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends


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## bookreader451 (Jul 3, 2021)

Sign up list:
1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends 
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl


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## Vicki C (Jul 4, 2021)

Sign up list:
1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends 
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.


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## bookreader451 (Jul 4, 2021)

@Vicki C Yes, I was stunned by how absolutely beautiful that soap was.


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## MarnieSoapien (Jul 4, 2021)

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps. 
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!


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## glendam (Jul 4, 2021)

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps. 
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps


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## MysPhoenix (Jul 4, 2021)

Today at 1:45 PM

New
Add bookmark
#25
1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!


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## dibbles (Jul 4, 2021)

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 5, 2021)

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!
14. ResolvableOwl - ConfettiConfettiConfettiConfetti, let's see how far we can nest soap recycling!
15.


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## heartofnebraska (Jul 5, 2021)

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!
14. ResolvableOwl - ConfettiConfettiConfettiConfetti, let's see how far we can nest soap recycling!
15. heartofnebraska - also been procrastinating a confetti soap!


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## SPowers (Jul 5, 2021)

Mine is one and done.  I filled a small 6-cavity mold with the excess batter as I didn't bother to recalculate for the confetti!


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 5, 2021)

Note to my former/future self (as well as everyone else experimenting with transparent/glycerin/M&P soap): Don't panic when the base doesn't come out as transparent as hoped straight out of saponification. Give it a day or two, re-melt, and things might become alright by themselves:


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 6, 2021)

Soap scraps from a failed lollipop swirl challenge, cut into triangles. I’ve been holding on to these, waiting to figure out what to do with them. Bottom layer has some grated soap “confetti.” And then a few strands of “confetti” near the top.





I don’t know what to make of it, honestly. It was one of those “Let’s do this and see what comes of it.” I really like the triangles and using them gave me an idea for a fun soap design.


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## Babyshoes (Jul 6, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> Soap scraps from a failed lollipop swirl challenge, cut into triangles. I’ve been holding on to these, waiting to figure out what to do with them. Bottom layer has some grated soap “confetti.” And then a few strands of “confetti” near the top.
> View attachment 59178
> 
> 
> I don’t know what to make of it, honestly. It was one of those “Let’s do this and see what comes of it.” I really like the triangles and using them gave me an idea for a fun soap design.



Ooh, I see sailing boats in a freak storm! Awesome!


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## Future_Ghost (Jul 6, 2021)

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!
14. ResolvableOwl - ConfettiConfettiConfettiConfetti, let's see how far we can nest soap recycling!
15. heartofnebraska - also been procrastinating a confetti soap!
16. Future_Ghost - this will be my first challenge here, and I need to use up some soap scraps so it feels perfect!


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Jul 6, 2021)

Babyshoes said:


> Ooh, I see sailing boats in a freak storm! Awesome!


I See Sail Boat's Too'  Thats Cool .


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## SPowers (Jul 6, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> Soap scraps from a failed lollipop swirl challenge, cut into triangles. I’ve been holding on to these, waiting to figure out what to do with them. Bottom layer has some grated soap “confetti.” And then a few strands of “confetti” near the top.
> View attachment 59178
> 
> 
> I don’t know what to make of it, honestly. It was one of those “Let’s do this and see what comes of it.” I really like the triangles and using them gave me an idea for a fun soap design.



I LOVE these!  I see sail boats as well!


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 6, 2021)

Would you believe me that my soap will be EDTA-free when I use this as my mould?


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 7, 2021)

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!
14. ResolvableOwl - ConfettiConfettiConfettiConfetti, let's see how far we can nest soap recycling!
15. heartofnebraska - also been procrastinating a confetti soap!
16. Future_Ghost - this will be my first challenge here, and I need to use up some soap scraps so it feels perfect!
17. Mobjack Bay - I’ve gathered up the bits and pieces.  Now all I need is an idea…


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## SPowers (Jul 7, 2021)

Mine is a bit of a confetti explosion but also looks a bit like a galaxy.  The 'planets' are soap balls scattered randomly throughout the soap with a few on top.  Maybe I'll call it Bubble Gum Galaxy or Pink Super Nova.


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 7, 2021)

SPowers said:


> Mine is a bit of a confetti explosion but also looks a bit like a galaxy.  The 'planets' are soap balls scattered randomly throughout the soap with a few on top.  Maybe I'll call it Bubble Gum Galaxy or Pink Super Nova.
> 
> View attachment 59218


I love it!

@phoenix - love yours too.  Will remember this for sailboat themed soap in future!


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 10, 2021)

I just spent 3(!) hours making a layered confetti soap.  I was aiming for a sandy gold color in one of the layers, but what I ended up with is definitely darker than intended.  In case I try for a beach sand color in another soap, can anyone suggest a good Nurture mica to use to get a light gold sand color?  Looking at the NS website now (too late…) I can see that Sahara Gold, which is what I used, is darker than what I wanted.


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## dibbles (Jul 10, 2021)

I haven't used honey blush, but I've seen others that say it works. I have used (sparingly) black walnut powder, and I have used a tich of Nurture's bronze brown. Use very sparingly - it gets too dark very easily. But those give a more tan sand color rather than gold, so I don't know if its what you want. I think I used both bronze mica and black walnut powder in this one.


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 10, 2021)

Thanks @dibbles and I love your beach soap!


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 11, 2021)

Confetti soap #1 for me.  I’m calling it _*Interstitial. *_

The gold turned out better than expected.  It’s a bit more orange than planned, but I think it works okay with the teal and blue.  The confetti is from an almost soap on a stick batch that I made a few months ago with leftover batter from another soap. The round embeds were made from rehydrated confetti.  I put it in a plastic bag, added some distilled water and let it sit/hydrate for a couple of weeks.  I was inspired to try rehydrating the scraps after making my soap dough for last month’s challenge.  It was on the sticky side, but moldable.  I planned a weight of confetti for each layer in advance, but not everything goes as planned.  I also have an issue with my countertop not being level that I forgot to correct for because it’s been so long since I made a layered soap.


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## SPowers (Jul 11, 2021)

Mobjack Bay said:


> Confetti soap #1 for me.  I’m calling it _*Interstitial. *_
> 
> The gold turned out better than expected.  It’s a bit more orange than planned, but I think it works okay with the teal and blue.  The confetti is from an almost soap on a stick batch that I made a few months ago with leftover batter from another soap. The round embeds were made from rehydrated confetti.  I put it in a plastic bag, added some distilled water and let it sit/hydrate for a couple of weeks.  I was inspired to try rehydrating the scraps after making my soap dough for last month’s challenge.  It was on the sticky side, but moldable.  I planned a weight of confetti for each layer in advance, but not everything goes as planned.  I also have an issue with my countertop not being level that I forgot to correct for because it’s been so long since I made a layered soap.
> 
> ...



love that!  I really like the idea of rehydrating some of the scraps for embeds.. what ratio of scraps to water did you use, if you don't mind me asking.


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 11, 2021)

SPowers said:


> love that!  I really like the idea of rehydrating some of the scraps for embeds.. what ratio of scraps to water did you use, if you don't mind me asking.


Thank you!  I really can’t say an exact amount of water.  I put small cubes of confetti in the bag and added enough water to get it all wet, but not dripping wet.  After it sat for a bit, I smooshed it around with my fingers through the bag, added more water and smooshed it around some more. The amount of water is going to depend on how dry the confetti is.  If you add too much I imagine you can let some of it evaporate.  The rehydrated soap was quite sticky when I made the balls, but the balls were not sticky the next day after leaving them out over night.


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 11, 2021)

Confetti #2 I want to call it *Blah Blush *but posting it because I learned a few things 

It answers the following questions:

1. Did I use TD in the original soap?  Yes, it sure looks like it, and I better start remembering to write it down! eta: actually, I did write it down.  It was on the back of my worksheet… so, I almost have a comparison of TD vs white clay in this recipe, see #3.
2. What happens if I use soap made with indigo and madder teas as confetti?  Will the colors stick?  Yes!  And the indigo colorant is actually a beautiful navy/admiral blue IRL, but I can‘t get it to show up that way in a photo.
3. Does kaolin clay at 1 tsp ppo help to whiten my whitest palm recipe?  No, not really… This recipe is usually whiter on it’s own.  It’s also possible that the mid-oleic sunflower I had to use in lieu of HO sunflower played some role in the color outcome.






The original soap was a OPW fail due to significant acceleration of the indigo colored batter.  For that soap, I added concentrated colorant teas as water splits.  The indigo was a bit darker than intended and the madder was a bit lighter, but I consider it a “proof of concept” success. One other thing I noticed, which seems counterintuitive, is that the indigo layer of the soap was a little softer than the madder layer when I was dicing it.  Given the acceleration of the indigo soap, I would have expected the reverse, but maybe I was a little off in my water split calculations.

I’m hoping the base of the current soap will lighten up a bit as it cures.  

edited a bit for clarity…


----------



## SPowers (Jul 11, 2021)

Mobjack Bay said:


> Thank you!  I really can’t say an exact amount of water.  I put small cubes of confetti in the bag and added enough water to get it all wet, but not dripping wet.  After it sat for a bit, I smooshed it around with my fingers through the bag, added more water and smooshed it around some more. The amount of water is going to depend on how dry the confetti is.  If you add too much I imagine you can let some of it evaporate.  The rehydrated soap was quite sticky when I made the balls, but the balls were not sticky the next day after leaving them out over night.



Thanks... I'm going to try this.


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## VikingChick (Jul 11, 2021)

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!
14. ResolvableOwl - ConfettiConfettiConfettiConfetti, let's see how far we can nest soap recycling!
15. heartofnebraska - also been procrastinating a confetti soap!
16. Future_Ghost - this will be my first challenge here, and I need to use up some soap scraps so it feels perfect!
17. Mobjack Bay - I’ve gathered up the bits and pieces.  Now all I need is an idea…
18. VikingChick - I tried one today. The colors are  and i hope the rest of it worked (I may be looking at my first ever failed batch ). We’ll know in a day or two!


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## Catscankim (Jul 12, 2021)

Mobjack Bay said:


> Confetti soap #1 for me.  I’m calling it _*Interstitial. *_
> 
> The gold turned out better than expected.  It’s a bit more orange than planned, but I think it works okay with the teal and blue.  The confetti is from an almost soap on a stick batch that I made a few months ago with leftover batter from another soap. The round embeds were made from rehydrated confetti.  I put it in a plastic bag, added some distilled water and let it sit/hydrate for a couple of weeks.  I was inspired to try rehydrating the scraps after making my soap dough for last month’s challenge.  It was on the sticky side, but moldable.  I planned a weight of confetti for each layer in advance, but not everything goes as planned.  I also have an issue with my countertop not being level that I forgot to correct for because it’s been so long since I made a layered soap.
> 
> ...


Love the colors!!!


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 12, 2021)

*Heinz’ Special: Alternating Wall Pour*




Actually a by-product (M&P scrap utilisation) of my primary project, this is based on M&P base I've made, according to the rules, 9 days ago (in July). It's a hard, pretty and clear base, still I decided to “ruin” it with shreds of a soap that is rich in red palm oil (orange-brown colour). I then decided it needs a somewhat more reddish hue, so I added tomato paste – which works pretty fine, except that, when molten, it looks and smells (?) like rosehip jam for some reason.

In lieu of “mica lines”, I sprinkled beans on top of the inclined soap surface, that I had previously shaped from soap dough – that itself is kind of confetti-ish, since it is made from moistened soap scraps. The size of the beans makes it difficult to see the alternating inclinations of the mould between pours; the triangular layers are better distinguished by the colour. It's a fun technique, I'll probably do it more often in the future, maybe with a beautiful hombré transition (I'm not so much a fan of the look of mica lines).

I have no idea why that M&P soap behaves differently at different pours. I literally just blitzed the hardening base in the microwave for a few seconds to melt it up again, besides evaporation no change in composition. Sometimes (like bottom and top layer) it becomes quite opaque; but at the middle pour, it is nearly fully transparent, hence it appears darker, and you can see the palm chips floating around in there.

You'll have guessed anyway, but this is dedicated to a fellow red palm oil user whom I'll not mention by name (we'll have to spare his nerves). Now I'll only need some toast …


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## KimW (Jul 12, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> Soap scraps from a failed lollipop swirl challenge, cut into triangles. I’ve been holding on to these, waiting to figure out what to do with them. Bottom layer has some grated soap “confetti.” And then a few strands of “confetti” near the top.
> View attachment 59178
> 
> 
> I don’t know what to make of it, honestly. It was one of those “Let’s do this and see what comes of it.” I really like the triangles and using them gave me an idea for a fun soap design.


Sailboats!!


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## VikingChick (Jul 12, 2021)

@ResolvableOwl i think it looks like a caramel and peanut candy bar!


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## VikingChick (Jul 12, 2021)

This is a soap i made while going through scraps. My husband’s favorite soap is scented with orange, patchouli, and ylang ylang EOs. The original soap was kind of a camouflage pattern that was intended to be blue & white, but still being new I didn’t anticipate what orange EO would do to TD and indigo. It became gray-green and cream and it reminded me of his old uniform so I called it “camo.” I didn’t realize I’d planed them so much, but this weekend I thought, well, I’m in the spirit of confetti soap - and we both hate waste- so camo confetti soap was born! He doesn’t really care how pretty it is, only that he likes the smell and it gets him clean, so the main soap is just army green due to some leftover predispersed indigo I had on hand. I like how the curled scraps showed up in some of the bars!

Here’s my soap (not my “entry” as that’s still in the mold) along with the original soap:


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 12, 2021)

@VikingChick Both are great! I imagine that layering in the original pour to become even more impressive when the bar gets used up and reveals annual-ring like patterns all over. Its confetti descendant somehow reminds me of microscopic views of algae/plankton, or fossil plants.
These holes appear to be cavities from (more or less inadvertent) soap curls?

Regarding the baked beans soap: You might not be aware how this adds another level of escalation to what has happened in the thread Latest alternating wall pour . That said, peanut caramel is a a fine treat on itself. But there is little danger I'll make it in the next time (as a soap replica, at least), since I'd be ambitious to make it from a peanut oil-based soap – something that won't happen in the next few months due to self-imposed oil purchase limitations  .


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## VikingChick (Jul 12, 2021)

ResolvableOwl said:


> Regarding the baked beans soap: You might not be aware how this adds another level of escalation to what has happened in the thread Latest alternating wall pour .


I’m going to have to go back and look. I’ve missed a lot on here the last couple of weeks. Regardless, I like it!



> Its confetti descendant somehow reminds me of microscopic views of algae/plankton, or fossil plants.
> These holes appear to be cavities from (more or less inadvertent) soap curls?


This is what I see too! Thank you for verbalizing it.


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## glendam (Jul 13, 2021)

@SPowers not sure if you tried it yet, but I once did some embeds with a similar process, I added 2 tsp of water to a handful of scraps and covered them with plastic, in retrospect @Mobjack Bay method of doing all in the bag seems better because they do become sticky.

something that worked better was to mix the scraps with soap dough, well, at least if you plan to make embeds with more details.  I was making chameleons


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## SPowers (Jul 13, 2021)

glendam said:


> @SPowers not sure if you tried it yet, but I once did some embeds with a similar process, I added 2 tsp of water to a handful of scraps and covered them with plastic, in retrospect @Mobjack Bay method of doing all in the bag seems better because they do become sticky.
> 
> something that worked better was to mix the scraps with soap dough, well, at least if you plan to make embeds with more details.  I was making chameleons



Thanks so much!


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## The_Emerald_Chicken (Jul 14, 2021)

Finally I got around to taking pictures of my batch. This is scented with Amazon Lily & Rain from BB; I made use of the slight acceleration when doing my layers. (Sadly the line between the blue and orange got a little bumpy, plus some of those seemingly unavoidable glycerin rivers appeared.) This batch was inspired by this soap on Etsy and it contains some shavings from my March challenge soap


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## Zing (Jul 15, 2021)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Not with the beans again??!! What is Heinz doing to you people??!!


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## SideDoorSoaps (Jul 16, 2021)

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!
14. ResolvableOwl - ConfettiConfettiConfettiConfetti, let's see how far we can nest soap recycling!
15. heartofnebraska - also been procrastinating a confetti soap!
16. Future_Ghost - this will be my first challenge here, and I need to use up some soap scraps so it feels perfect!
17. Mobjack Bay - I’ve gathered up the bits and pieces.  Now all I need is an idea…
18. VikingChick - I tried one today. The colors are  and i hope the rest of it worked (I may be looking at my first ever failed batch ☹). We’ll know in a day or two!
19. SideDoorSoaps - finally! I keep meaning to make some confetti soaps!


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## Sweet Potato Soapl (Jul 18, 2021)

This is my first time doing  challenge. Better late than never


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## Sweet Potato Soapl (Jul 18, 2021)

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!
14. ResolvableOwl - ConfettiConfettiConfettiConfetti, let's see how far we can nest soap recycling!
15. heartofnebraska - also been procrastinating a confetti soap!
16. Future_Ghost - this will be my first challenge here, and I need to use up some soap scraps so it feels perfect!
17. Mobjack Bay - I’ve gathered up the bits and pieces. Now all I need is an idea…
18. VikingChick - I tried one today. The colors are  and i hope the rest of it worked (I may be looking at my first ever failed batch ☹). We’ll know in a day or two!
19. SideDoorSoaps - finally! I keep meaning to make some confetti soaps!
20. Sweet Potato Soap & Such- 1st timer


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## bookreader451 (Jul 18, 2021)

We have been cleaning/clearing out the basement readying for our kitchen renovation (was supposed to happen in May) and I am trying to sneak in my batch this month.   I have a stove and fridge in the basement for soaping and that is becoming my kitchen for 12 weeks.   We could grill if it ever stops raining.


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 20, 2021)

Where are these un-challenge soaps?!?


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## glendam (Jul 20, 2021)

Mobjack Bay said:


> Where are these un-challenge soaps?!?


I just removed mine from the mold, need to cut it soon


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## MrsZ (Jul 20, 2021)

Mobjack Bay said:


> Where are these un-challenge soaps?!?


I'm hoping to make mine tomorrow.


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 21, 2021)

Mine is technically finished, but I'm still waiting for some effect to intensify … geez, diffusion is _slow…_


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## Tara_H (Jul 21, 2021)

I found some lard today! In the Polish section of the supermarket! So hopefully today if mum wants to help out, or at the weekend if she doesn't, I'll make soap.


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## MrsZ (Jul 21, 2021)

I made my un-challenge soap today. I couldn't get the base color just what I wanted it to be. I think it looks like a lemongrass scented thousand island dressing. But in block form.  It's CPOP'ing now. Maybe it won't look so bad after it sets up.


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 21, 2021)

Tara_H said:


> I found some lard today! In the Polish section of the supermarket! So hopefully today if mum wants to help out, or at the weekend if she doesn't, I'll make soap.


Your grocery store has a Polish section? Being of Polish ancestry, I’d like to peruse that section.


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## AliOop (Jul 21, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> Your grocery store has a Polish section? Being of Polish ancestry, I’d like to peruse that section.


I was thinking the same thing. Our stores tend to have Hispanic and Asian, or sometimes a generically labeled "ethnic" section - but no Polish. We do have a few stand-alone Indian, Asian, and Halal (meat) stores.


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## Tara_H (Jul 22, 2021)

AliOop said:


> I was thinking the same thing. Our stores tend to have Hispanic and Asian, or sometimes a generically labeled "ethnic" section - but no Polish. We do have a few stand-alone Indian, Asian, and Halal (meat) stores.


@The_Phoenix - We have the same setup, but with Polish also for both.  When they joined the EU there was a very large number of immigrants to Ireland and they seem very organised  There are a good number of Polish groceries, even in smaller towns, also hairdressers etc, and I believe even a newspaper or two.


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 22, 2021)

I'm not of Polish ancestry (not that I know of at least), nor of Bulgarian, Russian, Greek, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Arabic, Ghanaian, Mexican, Brazilian, Spanish, Italian, French or whatever descent, but that doesn't keep me from perusing their stores!!!


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## glendam (Jul 22, 2021)

@AliOop, this reminds me of the time I went to a viatnemese grocery store, all the aisle signs were in Vietnamese, but they had one in English that said “American food”


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## MrsZ (Jul 22, 2021)

Here's my pink lemongrass confetti soap!


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## glendam (Jul 22, 2021)

Here is my confetti soap.  I am not very happy how it’s turned out but I got to use a lot of soap scraps.  I keep them sorted by color so I thought I could attempt a landscape soap with a look similar to pointillism paintings.  However I think lighter colors would have worked better.  Each section has a different fragrance and color, a floral for the “flower field”, cotton candy twist for the sky and a forest kid for the “hills”.  I think I like the bars where I poured the leftover batter better.


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 24, 2021)

Aren’t these cute? Took me half the day to make. Poured the green then let it set. Textured using a fork. Then used squeeze bottles for the blue and brown layer to form the tree trunk. Let that set a bit. Then added the confetti to more blue batter and poured. Shaped the top of the tree. Then poured more blue. And finally piped the white clouds.
Scented with NGs Green Tea.


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## AliOop (Jul 24, 2021)

@The_Phoenix for an unchallenge, you went for it. These are amazing!


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 24, 2021)

AliOop said:


> @The_Phoenix for an unchallenge, you went for it. These are amazing!


Thank you! I’ve wanted to make a tree soap anyway so this unchallenge gave me the opportunity to go for it. I want to try and make a bonsai tree next with Mt Fuji in the background. It’ll be a birthday present to my hubby. He LOVES Japan. Can’t take him to Japan just yet but I can bring Japan to him.


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 25, 2021)

Here’s one more soap made with indigo and white soap chopped up in my food processor. I was trying to repeat the  look of the soaps *here, *but didn’t have enough of the soap left to make round embeds.  I used a discoloring FO, BB Cedar & Amber (mixed with patchouli EO), as well as cocoa powder in the base batter.  Darker base soap would have been nicer with the blue and white.  I love the sweet woodsy scent of the FO with patchouli!


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 25, 2021)

MrsZ said:


> Here's my pink lemongrass confetti soap!


Looks great!



glendam said:


> I keep them sorted by color so I thought I could attempt a landscape soap with a look similar to pointillism paintings.  However I think lighter colors would have worked better.


I love this!  It’s a very creative way to use confetti.



The_Phoenix said:


> Aren’t these cute?


Super soap!


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## glendam (Jul 25, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> Aren’t these cute? Took me half the day to make. Poured the green then let it set. Textured using a fork. Then used squeeze bottles for the blue and brown layer to form the tree trunk. Let that set a bit. Then added the confetti to more blue batter and poured. Shaped the top of the tree. Then poured more blue. And finally piped the white clouds.
> Scented with NGs Green Tea.
> View attachment 59546
> View attachment 59547
> ...


So beautiful!


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## Trea (Jul 26, 2021)

Sign up list:

1. Spowers - this is right up my alley - love 'unchallenges'!
2. KimW -awe man - With summer in full swing I was going to sit out July's, but can't resist a chance to lessen my load of soap shavings!
3. Phoenix - I have just the design in mind!
4. Tara_H - Confettipalooza!
5. Mrs. Z - I have a little confetti waiting for me too!
6. peachymoon - I recently got a bevler/planer and have been saving shavings for confetti. Perfect
7. The_Emerald_Chicken - Mine's already on the heating pad 
8. Misschief - it's time I used up some of my odds and ends
9. bookreader451 - I was just thinking of making another soap curl drop swirl
10. Vicki C - Yes! Maybe I’ll attempt Tara Trees with all my scraps.
11. MarnieSoapien - I do love a good confetti soap!
12. glendam - perfect, have lots of scraps
13. MysPhoenix - yay! Now I will finally stop procrastinating on a confetti project I've been meaning to get around to for about a month now!!
14. ResolvableOwl - ConfettiConfettiConfettiConfetti, let's see how far we can nest soap recycling!
15. heartofnebraska - also been procrastinating a confetti soap!
16. Future_Ghost - this will be my first challenge here, and I need to use up some soap scraps so it feels perfect!
17. Mobjack Bay - I’ve gathered up the bits and pieces. Now all I need is an idea…
18. VikingChick - I tried one today. The colors are  and i hope the rest of it worked (I may be looking at my first ever failed batch ☹). We’ll know in a day or two!
19. SideDoorSoaps - finally! I keep meaning to make some confetti soaps!
20. Sweet Potato Soap & Such- 1st timer
21. Trea - Spiritual Soothings Soaps - also a 1st timer!


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 26, 2021)

Mobjack Bay said:


> I used a discoloring FO, BB Cedar & Amber (mixed with patchouli EO), as well as cocoa powder in the base batter.


That's a lot of colourful things going on here! As if indigo itself wasn't weird enough already. It appears that the FO browned strongly through gel phase except for the outer “shell”? (Oddly enough, this contradicts my cocoa observations that the colour gets _deeper_ on the outside when exposed to air) Or is it late bleaching? Do you expect the brown to fade on the cut surface over time?


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## Vicki C (Jul 26, 2021)

I used some soap leftovers from rimmed soap I had made for the lollipop swirl challenge and cut the thin slabs into cubes. I love the look of cubes floating in transparent soap, so after pondering making my own transparent soap I decided to use some leftover M&P (already had some with color added) and try out different methods. What worked best was placing the cubes in a cavity mold and pouring in the M&P. I did not master getting the M&P under all the cubes, I think because the cubes cool the M&P as soon as it hits them and it starts to congeal. I tried out different temperatures and different pouring speeds - too fast and you get bubbles, too slow and it cools too quickly as it hits the cubes. I’m sure there is a way to do it. Anyway, here’s what I made. The cubes are scented with mint EO, the M&P with lavender EO.


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 26, 2021)

Mobjack Bay said:


> Here’s one more soap made with indigo and white soap chopped up in my food processor. I was trying to repeat the  look of the soaps *here, *but didn’t have enough of the soap left to make round embeds.  I used a discoloring FO, BB Cedar & Amber (mixed with patchouli EO), as well as cocoa powder in the base batter.  Darker base soap would have been nicer with the blue and white.  I love the sweet woodsy scent of the FO with patchouli!
> 
> View attachment 59571


Love it!

I have very little confidence soaping with discoloring fragrance oil. I’ve made so much tan/brown soap that I resorted to avoidance. But I have a good amount of discoloring FOs and they are all lovely smelling. I just need to think outside of the box. Your creation is very nicely executed.


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 26, 2021)

Vicki C said:


> I used some soap leftovers from rimmed soap I had made for the lollipop swirl challenge and cut the thin slabs into cubes. I love the look of cubes floating in transparent soap, so after pondering making my own transparent soap I decided to use some leftover M&P (already had some with color added) and try out different methods. What worked best was placing the cubes in a cavity mold and pouring in the M&P. I did not master getting the M&P under all the cubes, I think because the cubes cool the M&P as soon as it hits them and it starts to congeal. I tried out different temperatures and different pouring speeds - too fast and you get bubbles, too slow and it cools too quickly as it hits the cubes. I’m sure there is a way to do it. Anyway, here’s what I made. The cubes are scented with mint EO, the M&P with lavender EO.
> 
> View attachment 59592
> 
> ...


Very cool! Looks like mosaics tiling. I love the color combination you used.


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## Vicki C (Jul 26, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> Very cool! Looks like mosaics tiling. I love the color combination you used.


Thank you! I seem to always land on the blue/green/purple side of the spectrum.


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 26, 2021)

@Vicki C Heeey, you stole my design! 
Seriously, that's some great bars of soap there. The only thing I dislike is that you're too hard to yourself. Your cubes are much smaller than mine, and I not only like the look of them more, but they also didn't behave as stubbornly as mine. I too hate it when M&P crazes out (hardening, skin formation, bubbles) during putting in large embeds, and the cooling thingie is really annoying (but when you heat up the cubes beforehand, e. g. in the oven, they might be just too warm and keep the M&P base from solidifying…).
Worth a try, to prevent the lowest layer of cubes from not being wetted all around: first pour a thin layer of M&P into the moulds, and only then add all the cubes (not sure if it is better to let the bottom layer solidify first, or not). But anyway, during usage, the cubes are exposed anyway, so if the bottom sides anticipate this, it's not that bad at all.


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 26, 2021)

ResolvableOwl said:


> It appears that the FO browned strongly through gel phase except for the outer “shell”? (Oddly enough, this contradicts my cocoa observations that the colour gets _deeper_ on the outside when exposed to air) Or is it late bleaching? Do you expect the brown to fade on the cut surface over time?


I took the photo within a few hours of cutting the soap yesterday and it doesn’t look much different today.  The FO discolors to tan and I used it at 1.5% of oil weight. I was originally intending to use it at 3%, but ran out.  As I recall, patchouli, which I used to make up the difference, also adds a bit of tan coloring. If anything, I think the the color could deepen a little due to the fo and eo.  Due to the confetti, I made this soap with what I consider to be a lowish lye conc (33%) and covered it with a blanket.  It got fairly warm, but did not overheat. I‘ve seen indigo go colorless in soap (right after addition), which I assumed was due to a state (redox?) change, but I’ve never had any issues with cocoa powder changing color, Including in a soap I made last month with the same cocoa powder.


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 26, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> Love it!
> 
> I have very little confidence soaping with discoloring fragrance oil. I’ve made so much tan/brown soap that I resorted to avoidance. But I have a good amount of discoloring FOs and they are all lovely smelling. I just need to think outside of the box. Your creation is very nicely executed.


Well, thanks.  It’s not my best work , but it smells great and I’m always learning something. I was planning on a light tan base in the bottom layer, but I obviously needed more of something to counteract the translucency of the gelled soap. 



Vicki C said:


> Anyway, here’s what I made. The cubes are scented with mint EO, the M&P with lavender EO.


I love these!


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## Vicki C (Jul 26, 2021)

ResolvableOwl said:


> @Vicki C Heeey, you stole my design!
> Seriously, that's some great bars of soap there. The only thing I dislike is that you're too hard to yourself. Your cubes are much smaller than mine, and I not only like the look of them more, but they also didn't behave as stubbornly as mine. I too hate it when M&P crazes out (hardening, skin formation, bubbles) during putting in large embeds, and the cooling thingie is really annoying (but when you heat up the cubes beforehand, e. g. in the oven, they might be just too warm and keep the M&P base from solidifying…).
> Worth a try, to prevent the lowest layer of cubes from not being wetted all around: first pour a thin layer of M&P into the moulds, and only then add all the cubes (not sure if it is better to let the bottom layer solidify first, or not). But anyway, during usage, the cubes are exposed anyway, so if the bottom sides anticipate this, it's not that bad at all.


Yes I should have said your soap inspired me! Love that mosaic look. And I considered the thought of the thin layer first but unless it was really hot I’d be worried about separation. And yeah I considered warming up the cubes, but they were a tad sticky and I was worried about them congealing into a clump. It actually occurred to me at the very end that the reason the M&P wasn’t completely covering them was that the cubes were creating a cooling effect. Something to keep fooling around with.


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 26, 2021)

Honestly, you did a better job than me in just about any way. Forget that I have had all the cubes fully covered, (I still won't show the bottom side to the public ). The batter didn't stick too well to the cubes (too long in cure/too dry?), and it was too many of them and too large, so they arranged parallel to the wall and to themselves. You see how easily they break out.

Looking back, M&P would have been the better choice for me for sur, but I was too ambitious and wanted to embed the cubes in the same soap as themselves (the first time btw that I faithfully replicated a recipe ). Anyway, I can still cut these white-blue mosaic discs into small cubes and embed them…


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## LynetteO (Jul 26, 2021)

Just saw this thread & had to post pic of ZNSC tweak with confetti I made today for my DD. Had no clue confetti was this month challenge. Happy coincidence.


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 27, 2021)

Made one last batch. I suppose it’s coincidental that I made it during the month of this pseudo challenge. It is a very weird design. We shall see how it translates into the finished product. It’ll either be cool or weird…or weirdly cool.

The top looks nice!


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## VikingChick (Jul 27, 2021)

So I’m really kinda disappointed with mine, even if I do love the colors. I would have made another batch, but honestly, between work stuff (to include a possible new job & move) and having company, I‘ve been too distracted to soap too much this month.

This was a weird batch; it refused to set up (I know why). I was going for a multi-layered drop swirl, which then morphed into an attempt to just do some irregular layers. I thought I put in a ton of confetti, but it didn’t turn out to be that much.

So yeah, here it is  (PS, my photographer sucks)


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## MrsZ (Jul 27, 2021)

VikingChick said:


> So I’m really kinda disappointed with mine, even if I do love the colors. I would have made another batch, but honestly, between work stuff (to include a possible new job & move) and having company, I‘ve been too distracted to soap too much this month.
> 
> This was a weird batch; it refused to set up (I know why). I was going for a multi-layered drop swirl, which then morphed into an attempt to just do some irregular layers. I thought I put in a ton of confetti, but it didn’t turn out to be that much.
> 
> So yeah, here it is  (PS, my photographer sucks)View attachment 59643


I love it! It makes me think of a desert sunset.


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## VikingChick (Jul 27, 2021)

MrsZ said:


> I love it! It makes me think of a desert sunset.


It makes me think of fire. Which I guess is similar to a desert sunset!


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## glendam (Jul 28, 2021)

VikingChick said:


> So I’m really kinda disappointed with mine, even if I do love the colors. I would have made another batch, but honestly, between work stuff (to include a possible new job & move) and having company, I‘ve been too distracted to soap too much this month.
> 
> This was a weird batch; it refused to set up (I know why). I was going for a multi-layered drop swirl, which then morphed into an attempt to just do some irregular layers. I thought I put in a ton of confetti, but it didn’t turn out to be that much.
> 
> So yeah, here it is  (PS, my photographer sucks)View attachment 59643


I like it, it looks like a pixelated sun set to me


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## glendam (Jul 28, 2021)

This challenge has motivated me to use the crazy amount of soap scraps I forgot I had.  I chose the orange and yellow ones for this fall soap, I put them inside and on top, but have not taken pictures of the bars which I just cut today.  Scented with caramel apple crunch from Wsp.


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 28, 2021)

VikingChick said:


> So I’m really kinda disappointed with mine, even if I do love the colors. I would have made another batch, but honestly, between work stuff (to include a possible new job & move) and having company, I‘ve been too distracted to soap too much this month.
> 
> This was a weird batch; it refused to set up (I know why). I was going for a multi-layered drop swirl, which then morphed into an attempt to just do some irregular layers. I thought I put in a ton of confetti, but it didn’t turn out to be that much.
> 
> So yeah, here it is  (PS, my photographer sucks)View attachment 59643


I like it!


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## Mobjack Bay (Jul 28, 2021)

@The_Phoenix 
_I like it, it looks like a pixelated sun set to me_

Yes! And an excellent use of white confetti, which is hard to use!


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 28, 2021)

*Warning, long post ahead! I promise I'll eventually come to the un-challenge part of it somewhere near the bottom. *Don't wonder if you've seen one or the other step beforehand, I've shared them every now and then, but I wanted to combine all into one post for easier reference. I'm too lazy rn to find all the reference comments, and will refer to other threads only exceptionally.* [I'm counting rebatch/confetti levels, though]

Disclaimer No. 2:* This soap is not intended to be “beautiful” or “pretty”, it's rather another appraisal of the material qualities of several soap varieties, as well as some experimental challenge, tackling aspects of soap behaviour that might be more or less conscious to the curious soapmaker.


For not overly surprising reasons, soap scraps and confetti are an evergreen among soapmakers. Several months ago, I've decided to compact and upcycle these into something of further use.

First step: sorting scraps by colour:


The snapped yellowish sausages on the left are in fact microwave-rebatched blends of sunflower castile and red palm oil soap that faded just a bit too much for my original plans with them *[Confetti level 1]*.

I put both into airtight containers and wetted/softened them with 10% water over days/weeks. Grated down the pale ones first, to make the resulting ex-post soap dough smoother.
After thorough rehydration, I rolled the coloured scraps into balls of roughly similar size:


The various soaps were of very different softness (some still rock hard, some nearly slimy-liquidy), but I didn't care, since all that was important was the shape as of now.
The pale scraps gave a lovely soap dough *[Confetti level 2]*, suitable to be formed into asparagus-like storage shapes, performing soundchecks, or worse:



 Rabbit hole!

About that time @Mobjack Bay posted of cylindrical mould honeycomb soap, and I instantly fell in love with that idea!
So I prepared a Pringels can with bubblewrap, melted up the asparagus dough into a HP batch, and prepared for The Big Rebatch/Confetti Party:

 Soap balls, pre-heated in the oven (to reduce risk of early solidification of HP batter during pouring)

 The soap cylinder, cast and unmoulded. *[Confetti level 3]* Not overly happy with the rugged look, but everyone who ever has bothered to rebatch knows what a huge pain it is to even get to such a point, lol. 

Of course things haven't been complicated enough, so I also added sunflower butter as post-cook superfat to give chlorogenic green a shot to turn the HP/rebatch matrix green over time. The success? Well, after a few weeks it's become a tiny bit greener than concrete at least…


You can see the broad and narrow stips of bubblewrap (I'll have to repeat this with CP one time). The ball embeds are cut open, and expose their cheerful content to the public, from which some is from previous monthly SMF challenges (sushi nori/rice, OPW indigo, paprika salmon,…). Note how the brown blob at the top (rich in red palm oil) has started bleeding into the matrix – we'll come back to this later on.


*Now it's eventually time to fast-forward to July and the actual (un)challenge!*
The soap base is intended to be made in the month of the challenge, so I dusted my propylene glycol bottle, and made some M&P base (this time only from new oils, no confetti level increment).


Unfortunately I have no photos from the process, but it was fun to exploit something that might be called “HTCP” (high-temperature cold process): heat/melt up the oils (palm stearin, canola wax, PKO as hard oils), dissolve lye _and polyols_ in a double-walled thermos mug, add the oils, stir thoroughly until emulsion is reached, and then let it stand to keep warm under heat of the reaction, and liquid under the accelerating and diluting properties of the polyols. After a few hours, I had a can of finished M&P base, melted under its own reaction heat, ready to be used as-is.

Time for *[Confetti level 4]*! This time rather conservative confetti, with a dollhouse-size cheese grater. Confettifying some of the above colourful soaps, I roughly sorted the shavings by colour.


Then I filled the small round PE bottle with hot water (to delay M&P solidification), placed it into the open square bottle, and alternated between adding molten M&P base and soap shavings, one colour at a time. You can see what a terrible job I did at how it came out:

[cliffhanger … to be continued in the next post, since I have reached the maximum 10 pics to attach]


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 28, 2021)

[…Part 2]


The M&P recipe has some serious skin formation issues, so it was a pain to at least somewhat incorporate the confetti, and not easy to ensure that the embeds are somewhere in there. The non-transparent mould doesn't exactly help with that…
It was easier than I feared to remove the bottle in the inside. I somewhat repeated this step, placed a narrow test tube filled with hot water concentric into the hole, and added molten M&P base, this time without confetti. Removed the small tube, and filled the inner core with a mix of M&P and grated soap made from 100% red palm oil.

Eventually, I sliced the rod into three handy bars of soap, and admired the look:



Now I gave the carotenoids *three-and-a-half weeks of time *to diffuse into the soap base. And it didn't disappoint me!




I already knew this from the palm oil (in the core): the yellow/orange/red dyes bleed quite quickly out of the chips and spread out into the transparent base around it, up to the point where the chips appear white within an orange-yellow aspic. New to me was that the paprika soap is prone to this effect too. In general, the shavings of most of the input soaps (including the green HP-rebatch matrix) lost quite some of their colour brilliance, and look more or less grey now.

Bottom line: I made this soap to test practicability of some technical ideas, not to produce a beautiful soap. I somewhat failed, since I actually like the look of the soaps . Not so much the colour, that's meh (but I have to sugargoat it, given how much of my grey-green marble soap I'm sitting on…). But I actually like the “impossible” shape of the hole with a “levitating” plug in the middle.

Stay tuned for updates how the carotenes march through the glassy ring over the months!


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## Vicki C (Jul 28, 2021)

VikingChick said:


> So I’m really kinda disappointed with mine, even if I do love the colors. I would have made another batch, but honestly, between work stuff (to include a possible new job & move) and having company, I‘ve been too distracted to soap too much this month.
> 
> This was a weird batch; it refused to set up (I know why). I was going for a multi-layered drop swirl, which then morphed into an attempt to just do some irregular layers. I thought I put in a ton of confetti, but it didn’t turn out to be that much.
> 
> So yeah, here it is  (PS, my photographer sucks)View attachment 59643


I think it’s cool, it reminds me of a cutaway of the earth’s crust, although I guess that would go in the other direction. Anyway I like it!


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## Vicki C (Jul 28, 2021)

ResolvableOwl said:


> […Part 2]
> View attachment 59657
> 
> The M&P recipe has some serious skin formation issues, so it was a pain to at least somewhat incorporate the confetti, and not easy to ensure that the embeds are somewhere in there. The non-transparent mould doesn't exactly help with that…
> ...


They look like owl eyes!


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 28, 2021)

I like it! I was going for a marine look. The green was supposed to look like kelp but it got muddled. Used soap from the OPW challenge, both the ovals and confetti in the sand, as well as the smaller pieces that I smooshed into canes.


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## VikingChick (Jul 28, 2021)

@The_Phoenix Wow!!


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## glendam (Jul 28, 2021)

@ResolvableOwl what an interesting project, the end results reminds me of upside down pineapple cake, made with invisible/clear pineapple


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## VikingChick (Jul 29, 2021)

glendam said:


> the end results reminds me of upside down pineapple cake, made with invisible/clear pineapple



I saw pineapple too!


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## peachymoon (Jul 29, 2021)

I finally cut my confetti soap today! I don’t have too much to report on this project. I grated up older soaps that were different colors to try my hand at a “rainbow” confetti. The colors weren’t super vibrant, so I decided to try a grey base, inspired by this soap I recently purchased on Etsy:

Concrete Jungle Silk Soap  Handmade Soap  Moon Soap  Galaxy | Etsy

It came out darker than I intended, but I think it helps it pop a bit more so I’m happy with it.  This was scented with Somali Soul by Nurture Soaps. It’s very strong and reminds me of Lush-type scents.


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## VikingChick (Jul 29, 2021)

@peachymoon I think it’s really pretty!


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## peachymoon (Jul 29, 2021)

VikingChick said:


> @peachymoon I think it’s really pretty!


Thank you kindly!


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 29, 2021)

VikingChick said:


> @The_Phoenix Wow!!


Thank you! It was fun to make.


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## SoapSisters (Jul 29, 2021)

@peachymoon I really love your soap! I love soap that's low-key but still interesting. I keep going back to look at it!


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## peachymoon (Jul 29, 2021)

SoapSisters said:


> @peachymoon I really love your soap! I love soap that's low-key but still interesting. I keep going back to look at it!


Aw, thank you!!


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## glendam (Jul 29, 2021)

Finally cut the soaps and took photos, this fragrance has 7% of vanillin but I used the ZCS, so they only have a creamy color.


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## Future_Ghost (Jul 30, 2021)

My second confetti for the month! These are why I’m posting so late, I was waiting for the alkanet infusion to turn from green/grey to more purple. The confetti is a calamine and oats soap that I used the wrong fragrance in  I like these a lot, next time I’m gonna add a little madder at trace for some pink speckles. They’re scented in a blend of wild flower, wild Berry, and wild woods. 




My first confetti of the month…not thrilled. I like the top brown and black layer but regret my chunky decision on the bottom. Next time I’ll stick with the fine shreds I think. These are my lemon, coffee & anise blend.


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## The_Phoenix (Jul 30, 2021)

Future_Ghost said:


> My second confetti for the month! These are why I’m posting so late, I was waiting for the alkanet infusion to turn from green/grey to more purple. The confetti is a calamine and oats soap that I used the wrong fragrance in  I like these a lot, next time I’m gonna add a little madder at trace for some pink speckles. They’re scented in a blend of wild flower, wild Berry, and wild woods.
> View attachment 59701
> 
> My first confetti of the month…not thrilled. I like the top brown and black layer but regret my chunky decision on the bottom. Next time I’ll stick with the fine shreds I think. These are my lemon, coffee & anise blend.
> View attachment 59702


LOVE the variety of textures and funky geometry. The coloring in the chunky embeds perfectly complements the rest of the coloring.


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## AliOop (Jul 30, 2021)

I agree - the chunks look great!


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## Future_Ghost (Jul 30, 2021)

The_Phoenix said:


> LOVE the variety of textures and funky geometry. The coloring in the chunky embeds perfectly complements the rest of the coloring.


Thank you! It’s funny because they actually came from the same soap originally! My embed didn’t stick. Even after a rind peeling and scoring. I still have a lot left to confetti. Ignore the middle bar, I wasn’t sure on the forums rules on branding.


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 30, 2021)

Is this an UFO, or did your camera craze out with a bar in the middle?


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## Future_Ghost (Jul 31, 2021)

ResolvableOwl said:


> Is this an UFO, or did your camera craze out with a bar in the middle?


Haha you saw NOTHING! Nah, they were stamped with my name, just blurred out real quick!


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## ResolvableOwl (Jul 31, 2021)

So I saw a … future ghost?

How … calming.


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## Albertina (Aug 1, 2021)

Vicki C said:


> I used some soap leftovers from rimmed soap I had made for the lollipop swirl challenge and cut the thin slabs into cubes. I love the look of cubes floating in transparent soap, so after pondering making my own transparent soap I decided to use some leftover M&P (already had some with color added) and try out different methods. What worked best was placing the cubes in a cavity mold and pouring in the M&P. I did not master getting the M&P under all the cubes, I think because the cubes cool the M&P as soon as it hits them and it starts to congeal. I tried out different temperatures and different pouring speeds - too fast and you get bubbles, too slow and it cools too quickly as it hits the cubes. I’m sure there is a way to do it. Anyway, here’s what I made. The cubes are scented with mint EO, the M&P with lavender EO.
> 
> View attachment 59592
> 
> ...


So so pretty


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## The_Phoenix (Aug 1, 2021)

This was a fun and relaxing un-challenge. I enjoyed observing the creations people came up with using upcycled soap scraps. I’ve realized there are possibilities beyond the usual confetti soaps. Thank you for hosting this @dibbles!


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## Mobjack Bay (Aug 1, 2021)

@Future_Ghost I like all of them and wow! on that last one.

There are soooo many good ideas to take forward from this month that I almost can’t wait to make more confetti soap  Thanks @dibbles


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## Vicki C (Aug 1, 2021)

Albertina said:


> So so pretty


Thank you!


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