April SMF Soap Challenge, Hanger Swirl Petra Style

[JuneP]

I really appreciate the prayers Rowan. I asked my daughter if she and he other Reiki friends could send me some healing energy, and maybe they will find that all is OK after that mishap.
The heavy duty codeine Tylenol prescription pain pills are doing their job and even better now that they stabilized that brace to keep my knee from bending 90 degrees!. You're right he seems to know where he should be sitting right now.
Yes, Bodhi is so cute. He is a real cuddle bug

June, I really hope their mistake didn't undo the surgery and you are not in too much pain? What a worry!! I'm sending lots of healing prayers your way. Bodhi looks so cute! They really have that 6th sense that tells them just when they are needed. Fingers crossed (English/Irish good luck) that everything goes ok

 

[JuneP]

The walker is more comfortable and I feel, safer. For 3 months I cannot put any weight on that broken leg, so I am going to wind up with a strong left leg by the time the right one is healed. It's also increasing my arm and shoulder strength. I can only walk so far right now because of general weakness. Once I can eat regularly, which I started today, and can feel up to taking my supplements, I should gain more strength.

The therapist also said today, that it takes a while to get the effects of the anesthesia out of ones system. So there's that as well.

Thanks so much for your lovely and caring thoughts. We have such a great group of people here!

Love,
June

OH NO!! Talk about adding insult to injury, quite literally. I hope there's no extra damage. That is horrible. I am so sorry for you. I can only say please rest and take it easy. Keep Bodhi by your side and think happy thoughts. You will be up an about before you know it. I'm glad you are using the walker. That truly is far more stabilizing than crutches. You are able to put your entire weight on the walker much easier than on crutches and it gives far more surface to distribute your weight than crutches do. I've had both and the walker definitely was the quicker and less painful road to recovery.

 

[snappyllama]

I hope you're able to recover quickly! I'm happy to see you have a buddy to hang with.

 

[Navaria]

Ummmm... what are TS molds?

Tall and skinny molds

 

[dibbles]

June, I feel so bad for you that there may have been more injury. I do hope no further surgery is required. Glad the pain meds are helping and you seem to be doing as well as you can expect. Bohdi is adorable.

 

[Navaria]

Oh June, that's awful! You've had the worst run of luck lately! Rest and let that little cutie snuggle you all he wants!

 

[lionprincess00]

Ummmm... what are TS molds?

A tall and skinny mold.

Judiraz, I found it so funny your bed and the doors (bathroom???) are set up exactly like my bedroom. My bed and those double doors lead straight to my bathroom in the exact same fashion. So funny. Your leg however is not funny. I am so sorry. I had surgery on my wrist for problems when I first started soaping back in, I don't even remember what year it was 2014 Maybe? Anyway I'm so sorry you're dealing with this, and I seriously hope they didn't cause any more damage. My surgery was killer, and I cannot even begin to Fathom and entire leg. I seriously hope you get better soon and will say a prayer for you.

 

[BlackDog]

Yikes, you guys. #2 is CPOPing right now, but my batter got too thick AND I forgot the FO. I don't have high hopes.

I tried mixing my colors with glycerin for the 2nd time ever, but I feel like I have to stick blend more with that than I do with water. But with water I get the rivers with CPOP! UGH! #soapproblems

PS, June there's a great quote out there that goes something like "There's no better medicine than a dog who thinks his love can cure you." Looks like you're in good hands.

 

[lionprincess00]

ATTENTION:
This challenge will be judged primarily on technique first and then on design. I understand how hard this technique is, and so long as you follow the rules it will be accepted as an entry. I will specify in the survey that this is based on technique first and then design. I've had some questions and so I just want to let everyone know ahead of time. Thank you.

 

[TeresaT]

So, try #3 was a complete disaster. I stick blended to "emulsion" and divided my batter. I had decided to mix the micas with glycerin this time and not the oils. Bad choice, especially since I left them in their little sample bags and just smooshed them around to get them mixed. (Doesn't work.) I used a lower lye concentration than I'm used to (29% vs 33.333%) and I substituted grapeseed oil for the shea butter. The micas were spotty in the batter, so I grabbed the badger to blend and that helped. The batter was very fluid when I poured. Unfortunately, it also separated. When I started to do the top, there was an oil slick. Apparently, because of my previous pudding pours I was a little too stingy with the stick blender this time around. I now have a 2# mold and a guest loaf mold full of maroon pink grapefruit soap gelling in the oven. As Scarlett would say, "Tomorrow is another day." Or some crap like that. (Actually, it's already "tomorrow." I'm going to bed.)

 

[newbie]

I know it's too late for this batch, but if you ever pour thin and find a bit of oil on the top (not full-on complete separation), it can still often be salvaged by leaving it sit and not trying to heat until it's saponified. I've done this and had the wrinkly bit of oil on top, which makes you just hope and pray it holds, but often does. If you end up with a texture you don't like, you can heat it for an hour at 190 degrees after it's fully saponified and it will improve.

I hope you have better luck next time. Don't give up! That's the thing about the technique challenges; they make you nail every step, which is incredibly helpful in other ways and at other times when you are soaping.

 

[TeresaT]

Thanks, newbie. This challenge is kicking my butt! I'm thisclose to saying forget about it. But I'm too stubborn. I've just gone through all of my new Soapalooza FOs and checked the website for acceleration information. I'm going with Lime Sugar this time. I've also got a bunch of new mica samples in from a group I've joined and will try a few of them. I am going to nail this puppy if it kills me! Besides the Lime Sugar, I have Blue Chamomile, Raspberry Tomato Leaf, Yazu Satsuma, Aloe & Yucca and Vanilla Orchid Blossom to try out. The website said they all soap well in CP with no acceleration. Then again, they said Bungle in the Jungle behaves well in CP, too. I'm going to stick with the high water I did yesterday. Since I tried the grapeseed oil, I'll go with sunflower (high oleic) today. I might force myself to do a second batch and try out the Salty Sailor just because it smells good. I've got coffee. What else do I need, right?

 

[newbie]

Salty Sailor is a huge accelerator. I'd be wary of anything with orchid in the name too- they tend to run along the lines of lily fragrance which always seems to accelerate. One of those other ones MUST behave, right?

 

[snappyllama]

Attempt #1 is a complete failure. Heck with the technique - I didn't even make good soap. The challenge gremlins got me. My batter was a little too heavy to do a nice wall pour and I poured too heavy, so I know I would have failed in the technique, but here's the bigger issue:

My accent colors batch portion separated - after being poured. I'm scratching my head on this one since I had a nice trace on my batter before stirring in my colors. FO was added to the oils as I always do. My main color is lovely soap with no problems. The other colors are ones I've used before from Nurture and Mad Oils. I CPOP'ed with oven preheated to 170 and then left overnight in a mold where I've done this before. I guess I'll blame the FO on this one. WSP Cucmber Melon - though it has fine reviews. It did morph scent though so I don't like it anyway. I'll leave it as my scapegoat.

Today is not my day. But check it out... EWWW.

 

[Steve85569]

Amber Musk has been behaving for me on this challenge. It hasn't been the FO that has been kicking me on this one. Something about laying it all in the mold "just right" and then running the hanger back through the middle of the swirl. But then again I've been able to try a couple of "new" recipes and I'm learning a LOT about making soap look pretty.
I'm hanging right with ya TT!

 

[LisaAnne]

Wow, 2 beautiful entries so far!

Snappy, I love your colors.

 

[TeresaT]

Fourth time was (almost) a charm. I still got a bit of oil separation, but I didn't dump it out and SB it into oblivion. I know it was completely emulsified because I SBd until light trace to make sure I wouldn't have that issue. I think the "problem" is that I've never used this many soft oils. I've always used lard/oo/coconut/castor and shea. I've substituted the shea with grapeseed yesterday and sunflower today. I'm guessing that 100 gms of a soft oil makes a huge difference in the way the soap behaves compared to 100 gm of a hard oil when you are soaping at low temperatures. My "limes with orange" color scheme didn't turn out quite the way I anticipated, either. It looks more like "Christmas in April with a scent of sugary lime." Sucks to be me. I'm going to make a big bowl of popcorn and put way too much butter and salt on it then binge watch something on Netflix. I will cut my maroon grapefruit tomorrow after work and put this on the shelf to wait until Tuesday after work to cut. I may attempt another try. Not sure. I think I want to try something easy. Ebru or duplicating the Sistine Chapel artwork in soap sounds easy at this point.

ETA: I think I have a winner! I won't really know until I cut it. However, I just took a look at it and the orange has morphed back from "Christmas in April" to "limes with orange." I'm very excited at the moment. My challenge mold and my ITP swirl mold are on the curing rack covered with some paper towels to prevent soda ash. I'll cut them Tuesday after work (if I can wait that long!).

 

[Rowan]

Attempt #1 is a complete failure. Heck with the technique - I didn't even make good soap. The challenge gremlins got me. My batter was a little too heavy to do a nice wall pour and I poured too heavy, so I know I would have failed in the technique, but here's the bigger issue:

My accent colors batch portion separated - after being poured. I'm scratching my head on this one since I had a nice trace on my batter before stirring in my colors. FO was added to the oils as I always do. My main color is lovely soap with no problems. The other colors are ones I've used before from Nurture and Mad Oils. I CPOP'ed with oven preheated to 170 and then left overnight in a mold where I've done this before. I guess I'll blame the FO on this one. WSP Cucmber Melon - though it has fine reviews. It did morph scent though so I don't like it anyway. I'll leave it as my scapegoat.

Sorry, it didn't quite work out for you. The colours are gorgeous and beautifully swirled. I love green and red together!

The same happened to me with an applejack & peel FO, giving a rather strange effect to my Taiwan swirl! I might be a bit crazy, but I do wonder if it's possible to use that effect in a design, rather like glycerine rivers! It could make a great mottled effect for a landscape soap!!

 

[JuneP]

Now that I'm settling in a bit (even was able to wash my own hair in the guest bathroom sink, while standing on one good leg!), I'm reading all the messages in the thread and looking at what some of you are calling failures. Failures there not! I'm seeing some gorgeous soaps with fabulous color combinations and beautiful patterns.

And if you think anything is a failure, there's no such things if you've learned from what your just did! Instead, it was and is a learning experience.

 

[Rowan]

Sonya and Newbie, you're soaps are amazing! Great technique and precision.

I still haven't had time to do a third attempt yet . Here's my second trial. My FO caused acceleration and the coloured batter just layered on top of each other, not spreading across the mould, so I dumped the rest of the batter in and then used a thick hanger in quick circles. Unfortunately it's a fail because it's not the right technique, but I did get my very first butterfly (we'll sort of!).