Brush embroidery

[AKjulz]

After seeing IrishLass post last week about brush embroidery I checked out soaping101's video. Looked like fun and I already had some cured round soap to try it on. Their "frosting" recipe is 85% CO and 15% OO made with heat transfer method. I whipped some up, added color to half and had maybe 10 minutes to decorate before my baggies of soap turned into bricks! I was SO disappointed that there was zero time to work with it.

IrishLass, noticed you didn't have any luck either...was your icing workable? I wanna know why it got so hard so fast. In the video she had all kinds of time. Maybe it's just movie magic
I only managed to do these two "cookies". Had a few minutes to do the light pink, and could barely squeeze out the red it was so solid

 

[IrishLass]

Sounds a lot like the same experience I had. I used the same recipe (85% coconut/15% olive) and I had barely enough time to do 2 soaps (not anywhere as nice-looking as yours, I might add) before the soap set up too much for me to be able to squeeze it out of my piping bag. I'm thinking she must use more water in her recipe or something. I used a 30% lye solution in mine, and I soaped with both my oils and lye solution at room temp. And I also waited until my batter looked like the same exact consistency as hers. Hmmmm......


IrishLass

 

[CaraBou]

Hope you find the trick to softer soap -- those are fab!

 

[newbie]

I saw that video and wondered the same thing, if the soap would just sit at that trace and not move. She had to have added extra water if you both had the same experience with bricks in a bag. I wonder why she chose that recipe?

 

[KatieShephard]

After seeing IrishLass post last week about brush embroidery I checked out soaping101's video. Looked like fun and I already had some cured round soap to try it on. Their "frosting" recipe is 85% CO and 15% OO made with heat transfer method. I whipped some up, added color to half and had maybe 10 minutes to decorate before my baggies of soap turned into bricks! I was SO disappointed that there was zero time to work with it.

IrishLass, noticed you didn't have any luck either...was your icing workable? I wanna know why it got so hard so fast. In the video she had all kinds of time. Maybe it's just movie magic
I only managed to do these two "cookies". Had a few minutes to do the light pink, and could barely squeeze out the red it was so solid
View attachment 9806

The pink one looks pretty!

 

[Dorymae]

I don't think I'd use her recipe, but rather use a piping soap that I use to do soap cakes and such. Use high solid fats cold and cold lye whipped with a hand mixer. It would still be pipe-able and does harden up all the way but you have a long time (almost an hour for me) to use it and pipe whatever you like. It is not a whipped soap and will not have a lot of air incorporated into it but is creamy and pipes very nice.

 

[AKjulz]

Dorymae, thanks so much for that suggestion. I have a big show coming up next weekend so no time now, but will sure try your method after that!

 

[grumpy_owl]

Sorry to Frankenstein's Monster an old thread, but I just tried it. It's a waste of soap--I calculated for .5 ounces of oils--because it thickened soap fast. Did not try Dorymae's method, just a plastic baggie, some cheap brushes and those pointed-end thin wood sticks.

You can see the progression from proper trace for this to too-thick-to-spread (lower right black one in first pic). That said, it is surprisingly easy.