Official entry thread: SMF Soap Making Challenge November: Drop and Skewer

lionprincess00 · Nov 16, 2015

This is the official entry thread for the November Soap Challenge, drop and skewer.

Please no comments on this thread. We want to keep this clean and neat. If you wish to comment you are welcome to do so on the other thread.

Please post a picture of the swirl rod you used and a picture of the cut soap. If you like, additional pictures of your process and/or wet in the mold pictures may be added. Please try to keep all pictures to one post.

Info like your fragrance or a brief description of the method you used, (itp vs solid base), is welcome.

Entries need to be in by midnight CST on November 23rd. Voting will open on this thread after the close.

Good luck to my fellow soapers!

newbie · Nov 16, 2015

Here's mine. I saw a soap I really loved and this is my attempt to make something like it. I know that is controversial to some but I learned more about drop swirling, and dropping and then swirling, making this than I did in all my other attempts combined.

Base is colored with paprika infused oil, paprika, a little red brick oxide and a dc'ing fo. I dropped AC black soap and TD+ white white mica soap. Scent is Vanilla Rosewood. Swirled with a bamboo skewer twice in a circular pattern mainly through the drops.

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commoncenz · Nov 16, 2015

Here's mine. I took Dibble's advice and used the Challenge to make one of the X-mas gift soaps that I was going to do. It's colored with AC and Nurture's Hollywood Pink Mica. The scent is Maple Street Candle's "Love Spell" Type.

songwind · Nov 16, 2015

Here's my entry. It was my first try, but I don't have any confidence that I'll get a chance to make another batch.

This is scented with BB Frankincense & Myrrh (Cybella) FO. Colors are Mixed Blue Lab Color & Black Oxide, WSP Matte Yellow Oxide, and uncolored soap. Swirled with a bamboo skewer.

I didn't have enough black left to make it truly dark, and the FO discolored it a bit more than I expected giving it a slightly greenish cast. Thankfully I only used it in the blue, so the white should stay white.

BlackDog · Nov 17, 2015

Here goes:

This was actually my first try, since my second didn't come out as hoped. It's scented with Mad Oils Sea Island Grapefruit, which has all but disappeared in the 10 days or so since I made it. I hope it'll be back!

Used micas a for colors and mixed in a little activated charcoal with the black. TD for the white. Poppy seeds on top, along with a little glitter (Lemony Felony) that MO sent as a sample along with my FO. Something fun, anyway!

My "skewer" was a gas station straw, but I definitely did not use this challenge as an excuse to buy myself a large fountain soda! *shifty eyes*

DeeAnna · Nov 17, 2015

Castor Bean Oil 5%
Coconut Oil 15%
Lard 80%

Superfat 3%
Lye concentration 32%
Soap batter was warm to the touch, so perhaps 110 to 120 F.
Scent was 3 parts Fresh Cut Roses FO from Natures Garden and 2 parts Japanese mint EO (a milder type of peppermint).

The blue is ultramarine blue in glycerin. The yellow is annatto infused into high oleic safflower oil.
I did an ITP swirl with light blue batter mixed into the plain base batter (there is no colorant in the base batter). I poured the ITP mixture quickly into the mold hoping to get a lot of feathery patterns.
I did a drop pour with two colors -- a deeper shade of the same blue and the yellow.
I poured the first layers of colored batter from 12-18 inches above the mold, so the colors would fall fairly deep into the base batter. The soap was at a medium-light trace.
I used a bamboo chopstick as my swirling tool. I used circular and figure-8 motions to pull the drop-poured colors deep into the base batter.

TeresaT · Nov 17, 2015

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The photos don't really do them justice. There are more detail in the swirls, but I only have a phone. (Do you see the red dolphins?)

Judiraz · Nov 17, 2015

My entry has a pale yellow base done with BB yellow mica. I dropped 5 colors, amaranth pink, poppy red, green (can't remember which), and desert sunset, all Nurture micas, along with TD for a touch of white. I used WSP's Apple Tango Mango for the FO. Behaved well and didn't accelerate. I soaped at about 90. My batch was 40% lard. I used a wood dowel to swirl in a loopy loop pattern. It has a kind of vintage look to me???

snappyllama · Nov 17, 2015

The pink nightmare. I wanted to make another one for the challenge but simply ran out of time.

The implement of destruction...

doriettefarm · Nov 18, 2015

What the heck, I'll post my attempt #2 because I'm not sure there will be time for a 3rd! Used 3 different micas from Nurture (Desert Sunset, Empire Yellow & Apple Green) for my drop colors. Scented with Lime Crystal Kisses from Elements B&B. My weapon of choice was a chopstick and I also included a freshly poured pic so everyone can see why I described it as 'radioactive'

gigisiguenza · Nov 19, 2015

Ok might as well submit mine now because I don't have enough lye to go for a third attempt.

I used Maple Street Soap Supplies Butt Naked FO. White=kaolin, Black=AC, Neon Magenta Mica, Neon Orange Pink Mica. All colorants added as powder at trace. 33% Lye solution using aloe juice for water.

I used heat transfer method for melting hard oils, added liquid oils once melted. SB to emulsion, split into four equal portions, added colorants. Poured black and white side by side for base. Drop poured half of pink at point where b/w met, then half of orange, then balance of pink, finished with orange. Used chopstick for skewer for in body swirl, starting at one end, doing figure eight all the way to other end. Used any remaining pink n orange on top for a swirl. Banged out air, covered with saran wrap, sat on table to set up. Poured on Friday, 11/13, cut on Saturday 11/14.

Saponista · Nov 19, 2015

Here is my entry for this month. I used a 40% lye conc which I have decided I love as I think it makes detail within the bars look sharper. It also stays thick but fluid enough to pour for much longer than higher water bars so it was easy to plop blobs into the base colour. I then used a typical wooden skewer in a loop formation to create the swirls. I poured the drop swirl part from about half a metre above the mould. They are scented with neroli, frankincense and litsea.

dibbles · Nov 19, 2015

Well, here it is. Base is colored with a little Snow White Mica from Nurture and the drops are colored with Laurel Green, Turquoise and Blue Vibrance mixed with Black Pearl micas, also from Nurture. The fragrance is Mad Oils Snow Witch. My skewer was a chopstick, swirls a combination of loops and a little twiddling.

jules92207 · Nov 20, 2015

Well here it is. Vanilla Bean Noel fo from WSP which will discolor greatly as can be seen in two of the cuts, which were my first cuts that ended up too soft. Last picture is my broken chopstick I used for the swirls.

A challenging but fun project -

Cactuslily · Nov 20, 2015

Well, this is going to have to be what i go with. Everyones entries are lovely! This was lots of fun to do.Happy Soaping!

kchaystack · Nov 20, 2015

Alright, here is mine. This was my first try. I'll post pics of the second later in the comments thread.

I used Soapalooza's Bonsai, Nurture's Blue Vibrance, Apple Green and Black Pearl mica. The base is titanium oxide.

I did an in the pot swirl with the black in the base, then dropped the colors, including the black, in the swirl. I used the thin wooden dowel to swirl. I'll have a video up of the making this weekend.

MrsSpaceship · Nov 22, 2015

I think I may not qualify for entry because my drop didn't break through very much so most of the swirl is from the chopstick.

I was feeling particularly industrious and tried making my first video, and since those are the only shots available of the tool I used, I have to include it, even though I don't really think the quality is worth showing.
All my colorants were from BB, and I believe that in the video I say the my fragrance (Twilight Woods for Men) is as well. That is incorrect, it's from WSP.
Base: Brown oxide with a TD ITP.
Yellow: Fizzy Lemonade & Yellow Oxide
Orange: Tangerine Wow (and a few drops of something else I don't recall)
Black: Started with Ultramarine Purple, and added too much black oxide
Red: As mentioned, this is a SoapQueen blend of 3 parts. Electric Bubble Gum Colorant + 1 part Merlot Sparkle Mica + 2 parts Tangerine Wow! Colorant + 4 parts. Fizzy Lemonade.

Picture first:

Video last:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvQ3Pukm7jI[/ame]

CaraBou · Nov 23, 2015

What I like most about this 500 g batch is that every bar had a delicate pattern. but my camera couldn't always capture the sunny yellow (lemongrass EO) base in all of its splendor; some of the pics are biased toward white. Got tired of fighting it -so hopefully you get the gist. The blues were created from BB's neon raspberry mica, with or without AC to darken. Swirled with a bamboo skewer.

Rowan · Nov 23, 2015

This didn't work out quite as planned as it's a bit over Swirled! The colours were based on the Van Gogh sunflower painting hanging in my hallway (I wish it was an original!!!) with a pale blue background and yellow, orange and brown flowers. I'm pretty sure there was a soap I saw with similar colours on a great cakes soap works challenge, but I havent seen it in a while, so I'm not certain.

It's scented with sandalwood amyris, patchouli and litsea EO's and smells divine! I used a chopstick to swirl.

Rowan · Nov 23, 2015

I still can't load more than one photo at a time and I've had a bit of difficulty loading it the right way up. Feels like I'm a bit jinxed! I rotated the photo on the IPad but it didn't make a difference. Really sorry!

Official entry thread: SMF Soap Making Challenge November: Drop and Skewer

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