May 2017 SMF Soap Challenge - fluid acrylic cell pour

[mommycarlson]

My first attempt (and most likely last) was a horrible ugly mess LOL. Okay, the soap itself was fine, the color scheme however, was not. It did not blend well together, my orange turned pink, so the brown and black background looked awful with it, nevermind the fact that I put some yellow in with the black and brown to try to bring a little pizazz to it. Ughhhh. I have already shredded and rebatched it. I am really looking forward to seeing what others come up with. oh, and FYI, the rebatch just made it slightly less ugly

 

[SunRiseArts]

How many layers of colors on the soap ( not the cells) do they have to be 3 or can it be more.?
Thanks.
Sorry for all the questions.

 

[kchaystack]

How many layers of colors on the soap ( not the cells) do they have to be 3 or can it be more.?
Thanks.
Sorry for all the questions.

You can do more. Your top layer has to have cells tho

 

[BattleGnome]

I started an attempt today... I don't know how it's going to turn out. I have some very organic shapes in the oven right now but most seem to be single colored (fingers crossed for a successful gel). I attempted to swirl my colors (without the alcohol) for practice but was too scared they would muddle.

On the plus side, I discovered the other day that tictac containers are PP5. So far the container doesn't seem to be melting so I'll have a nice travel soap if I can figure out how to remove it.

 

[newbie]

I decided to not use the one I thought I would use so I thought I would post it. I hope I remember to never put alcohol on top of CP again to get rid of what I thought was ash. It left this kind of scaly white feel that I can't get rid of no matter what. This happened before but I thought it was a fluke. Hot water for me from now on.

I also made a number of layers first. I can't get the look Vicki got when she tipped her mold back, so I had to futz around to get a more interesting effect. I didn't put cells on the other layers since they are buried. Also shown, my last layer before alcohol. Sniff sniff.

 

[dibbles]

I decided to not use the one I thought I would use so I thought I would post it. I hope I remember to never put alcohol on top of CP again to get rid of what I thought was ash. It left this kind of scaly white feel that I can't get rid of no matter what. This happened before but I thought it was a fluke. Hot water for me from now on.

I also made a number of layers first. I can't get the look Vicki got when she tipped her mold back, so I had to futz around to get a more interesting effect. I didn't put cells on the other layers since they are buried. Also shown, my last layer before alcohol. Sniff sniff.

newbie, I am so sorry if you sprayed alcohol on your soap after reading my many posts about how well it has worked for me to get rid of ash. I don't get a lot of ash, typically, but any time I have a bit of batter left over I pour it into an individual cavity mold which never gels and ALWAYS gets a layer of ash. So I've sprayed quite a few bars with varying recipes and have only had success.

I think I'll have time to try this again next weekend. I don't think I'll drop the alcohol on it. I have seen that some people who make CP spray their first layer with alcohol to help a new layer adhere. I wonder if Vicki is pouring a layer and letting it set up enough to not move, then spraying that layer before pouring a new one. Her layers are pretty thin. Just thinking here. That might be how she gets the batter to behave the way that it does. In my first try my batter was very thin and it still didn't act like hers does in the video.

 

[newbie]

Not to worry, dibbles. The alcohol treatment is well-known for ash but I have had nothing but trouble, myself.

She left a comment that she pours one layer and then waits for it to set up before pouring the other. She said that, because she is pouring so thin, she has to pour in the morning and do the next layer in the evening or she waits until the next day. She made no mention of spraying the first layer before going ahead, but that doesn't mean she doesn't do that. I have waited a day between layers and never had problems with adhesion. If I'm at all concerned, I just spray lightly with water to soften up the top of the layer I'm pouring onto.

I use 8-10 ounces of oils for a batch to get a thin layer. Her slab is much larger than mine so she gets more movement when she sets it back on the horizontal. That's why I have to manipulate mine a bit more to get anything but soft stripes.

 

[dibbles]

I haven't had trouble with adhesion either without spraying. Her colors just sort of separate in cool patterns but I have no idea how it happens. I had to manipulate my base layer too. I did a second layer but wasn't sure if I could move that around or not, so only moved it by tilting the mold a bit.

 

[BattleGnome]

My official attempt is in the oven now. You definitely need a generous slab for this technique, I'm using a 1# mold.

Something that may or may not have made a difference: I used three colors (uncolored and two others). I spritzed th in colored batter with some rubbing alcohol befor pouring it first. I poured the other two on top and almost got one of the colors to do the bubble pop thing. (Then I ruined it while placing embeds)

 

[artemis]

I lined my mold (cardboard box), so that part is done, at least. Maybe I'll have a chance to actually make the soap this week!

 

[DeeAnna]

My wonderful stepson visited us this weekend, so my plans to make soap got rearranged. Love him to pieces, so I don't regret the change in my plans.

But ... Need ... To ... Soap ....!

 

[SunRiseArts]

I had to try the technique with MP. It took me a while to figure out the best way. My cells came out cool. This week I will try with CP, and then decided which one I like better.

Thought I share little owls I made with the technique, although I think I went a little crazy on too much color!

 

[toxikon]

Wooow I love those owls!

 

[KristaY]

Those owls look SO cool, SunRiseArts! I'm crap at M&P so that skill level is way above me, lol. And I don't think you went color crazy, they're great as they are!

 

[Susie]

Those owls are gorgeous! I love the way the colors play in and out of the "feathers"! Just stunning!

See, this is why I don't play in the MP world. You artists intimidate me.

 

[artemis]

But ... Need ... To ... Soap ....!

Yeah.... I couldn't take it anymore and went ahead and made the thing. I am very happy with it. When I watched the challenge, I saw it as way to create something I could see in my head. While mine is not flowing and dramatic, like the ones in the videos, it is almost (almost) exactly what I was hoping for.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Thank you all!

well I could not sleep and made my soap. It was looking amazing, until it started to harden early and the top is a mess. I am so sad, because my cells looked good. I know what happened. Is from using lard. It has happened before.

I took pictures, but I think I won't even post those.

 

[newbie]

Are you kidding? We love seeing what you think is a botch!

 

[SunRiseArts]

Are you kidding? We love seeing what you think is a botch!

Is a bit embarrassing ..... and I do not have the time to make another one ....

 

[DeeAnna]

Well, my one and only attempt is a wrap. This technique is too complicated to try it twice!

I had trouble making the cells due to an ongoing comedy of errors. And most of the cells looked awful when I finally got them made, but a few turned out tolerably okay. (Yes, I meant that to be very faint praise.)

The decorative swirly pour looked really quite nice. Nice enough that I was sorely tempted to leave it alone and not set any cells into it. But I reminded myself that I'd gone this far with this challenge project, so "in for a penny, in for a pound!" I gritted my teeth and laid those ugly cells in the wet soap batter, hoping some kind of magical things might happen.

Ermmmm... Well, I'm still am not quite sure there was any magic happening. I've decided it is one of those projects that I can't judge until I see how the bars turn out. Until then, I keep stealing peeks at the saponifying soap and wondering whattintheh*ck this soap is going to grow up to be. :think: