October 2020 Challenge - Tall and Skinny Shimmy

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I think you’re close and it’s a really pretty soap regardless! I haven’t even had the chance or the energy to try once yet. Got to get motivated but I’m having trouble. Been really tired lately.

Thank you so much' awww

I think this is a great try! At the very least a fun looking soap, so good job!! I didn't sign up this month. I did give it a try but my batter was too thick and I just got pretty well defined blobs sitting next to each other lol. They aren't even pretty blobs. Just blobby

Thank you,

 

[szaza]

That's such a happy looking soap @Peachy Clean Soap !
I think your mold might still be a bit wide for a good shimmy (maybe they should call it the tall and anorexic shimmy, because a very slim mold is important in this technique). If you want to try again with the same mold you could try to elevate it slightly more while pouring on the opposite side. Also make sure to really pour along the wall. I hope you keep trying! And as @AliOop said, if you keep going like this, you'll be eligible to enter soon

@bookreader451 are you getting a zigzag through the middle or blobs that don't push into each other? (The first is caused by too thick batter, the latter by either a mold that's too wide or not enough elevation)

@Jersey Girl I hope you'll soon feel energized again. Take care!

@tommysgirl if you share a picture maybe we can help you troubleshoot

@Louise Taylor I'd love to see what you come up with! If you want help with troubleshooting batter fluidity, let us know! I'm sure there's a ton of helpful tips waiting to come to you

 

[tommysgirl]

@tommysgirl if you share a picture maybe we can help you troubleshoot

Here is a pic. I had this vision in my head of a 'stunning' black and white shimmy with a thin red line in between. I attempted the red line with a mica line, as you can see in the white portion. The black portion ate it up. I really was just trying to avoid portioning off and coloring batter red (lazy). And the batter was getting thick as I poured, I feel like I over used the stick blender. My recipe was 75% Olive, 15% Coconut and 10% Castor - 33% Lye solution and 2% SF. Anyway, this is my best blobby blob bar, Lol!

 

[Catscankim]

Here is my epic fail lol.

I got my ts mold yesterday. This whole stupid thing from start to finish was a stupid experiment lol.

Nurture says their mold holds 32oz of oils. My recipe for my other molds is 35 oz of oils, and 52 oz soap weight, according to soap calc. So i figure it being larger is an optical illusion since its tall and skinny. Wrong!!! It only filled about 3/4 of the way up, so its short and stumpy.

Next up...i forgot that i used up all of my olive oil the other day. Now i was home from work and comfy. I wasnt running back out. I did a quick SMF search on avocado oil and decided to sub that for my oo. I kept tweaking the oils that i had until all the specks came out close to my original recipe on soap calc. My cat loves the printer, so that kept her busy for a while lol.

I used TD for the white, and mixed half of that batter with magenta for the pink. The gray was supposed to be dark gray or purple, whatever it decided to morph into. Its a fussy color, but i already knew this about this color.

After calculating all of my batter weights (while waiting for lye to cool), i finally got to start soaping at 3am....I got home from work at 1:30, so its not as bad as it sounds. 3 colors, 5 pours each...15 cups.

As i start dividing up my little cups, the batter with the td in them got to medium trace. (Cuuuuurrrsssseeeee woooords). Mind you, i still dont realize that i dont have enough batter to fill the mold.

The td batter started getting super thick for the pours. I did the best i could and this is what the end result is.

Gonna have to double the recipe and skip the td next time. The gray stayed nice and fluid, although i probably needed more cause i dont know what happened to that color in the end result. And i used up my expensive avocado oil, because i couldnt wait to go out today to get more oo lol

 

[szaza]

@tommysgirl that's a really good shimmy you got there! I understand it's not what you had in mind, but the shimmy through the middle is well executed. Try to go for 3 different colors next time, that will really help with the design

@Catscankim I'm so sorry your first try didn't turn out as expected after having to wait for your mold to arrive.
I can see how the white batter being too thick really affected your design, so I think that's the main un-shimmyfier. If you try again, also make sure to really pour along the wall of the mold and not directly into the batter in the mold. I can't tell if that was an issue in this soap, but it can mess up the design if your wall pour isn't a real wall pour.

 

[Catscankim]

@Catscankim I'm so sorry your first try didn't turn out as expected after having to wait for your mold to arrive.
I can see how the white batter being too thick really affected your design, so I think that's the main un-shimmyfier. If you try again, also make sure to really pour along the wall of the mold and not directly into the batter in the mold. I can't tell if that was an issue in this soap, but it can mess up the design if your wall pour isn't a real wall pour.

The only one that i could wall pour was the gray as it was nice and fluid. The other two with the td got to the point of squeezing the cup so it landed however it wanted lol. It might have made a nice hanger swirl, but i wanted to see how close i was with an actual shimmy, even though my batter didnt behave.

Gonna try again. I think i have the wall pour down. Just need to keep my batter thinner. I didnt even consider that the td was going to accelerate, even though i knew i shoulda thought of that lol.

Edit, kinda looks like a funnel. And my fo smells phenominal. Definitely a repurchase....Afternoon Tea by Nurture soaps

 

[Louise Taylor]

@Louise Taylor I'd love to see what you come up with! If you want help with troubleshooting batter fluidity, let us know! I'm sure there's a ton of helpful tips waiting to come to you
[/QUOTE]

Thank you
I have an idea to pour the batter Into individual containers and only blend once the previous layer is poured. More work but I think that will work with only 6.

 

[tommysgirl]

@tommysgirl that's a really good shimmy you got there! I understand it's not what you had in mind, but the shimmy through the middle is well executed. Try to go for 3 different colors next time, that will really help with the design

Really? Wow, thank you! I saw it as a complete fail and initially wasn't going to even mention it cause I was embarrassed! Lol! Maybe I'll try again with 3 colors if I get an opportunity. Thanks for the encouragement

 

[KimW]

Ok so...LOL I just watched the videos again before settling in for my next attempt and realized...they are pouring along the wall that is DOWN, not the wall that is UP. So, yeaahhhhhh, I've been doing the pour along the wrong wall. Go me!!

I'm betting it's going to be a lot easier pouring along the wall that is down!!

 

[AliOop]

The only one that i could wall pour was the gray as it was nice and fluid. The other two with the td got to the point of squeezing the cup so it landed however it wanted lol. It might have made a nice hanger swirl, but i wanted to see how close i was with an actual shimmy, even though my batter didnt behave.

Gonna try again. I think i have the wall pour down. Just need to keep my batter thinner. I didnt even consider that the td was going to accelerate, even though i knew i shoulda thought of that lol.

Edit, kinda looks like a funnel. And my fo smells phenominal. Definitely a repurchase....Afternoon Tea by Nurture soaps

I really like that soap - colors and design. And I agree that you’ll probably have a good shimmy once you have fluid batter.

 

[linne1gi]

The only one that i could wall pour was the gray as it was nice and fluid. The other two with the td got to the point of squeezing the cup so it landed however it wanted lol. It might have made a nice hanger swirl, but i wanted to see how close i was with an actual shimmy, even though my batter didnt behave.

Gonna try again. I think i have the wall pour down. Just need to keep my batter thinner. I didnt even consider that the td was going to accelerate, even though i knew i shoulda thought of that lol.

Edit, kinda looks like a funnel. And my fo smells phenominal. Definitely a repurchase....Afternoon Tea by Nurture soaps

When I am pouring a Tall & Skinny - I never use TD because it always thickens up too quickly - I use a white mica instead. Lately I have been liking the "snow white" mica from Mad Micas. I also never use activated charcoal, if I want black, I use a black mica instead, because AC tends to thicken up too much also. I actually think your soap looks pretty - maybe not a perfect tall & skinny but definitely a lovely soap.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Act #2 At this Tall & Skinny Shimmy' Shimmy' Soap Design Challenge. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

 

[bookreader451]

@bookreader451 are you getting a zigzag through the middle or blobs that don't push into each other? (The first is caused by too thick batter, the latter by either a mold that's too wide or not enough elevation)

I don't know how to go much thinner. Maybe I didn't elevate it enough. I am using the Nurture TS mold.

 

[linne1gi]

I don't know how to go much thinner. Maybe I didn't elevate it enough. I am using the Nurture TS mold.

I mostly hand stir....and wait....and wait.... That seems to be the ticket. More stick blending just accelerates the batter.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I've used my Corrugated Plastic Mold for the 2nd time today. IMHO here are my Pros & Cons:
Pros: Inexpensive to make. Easy to un-mold soap. Clean up is fast. It lays flat for storage. Light weight. My CP soap turned out beautiful.
Cons: Not that easy to make (hubby made mine) I'm not good at measuring. I'm not sure on CPOP?. its plastic wouldn't want to try.
Bottom line yes Its Well Worth The 5.00 bucks If your crafty & fellow a youtube DIY video. You'll have a soap mold you can use over & over.

 

[linne1gi]

I've used my Corrugated Plastic Mold for the 2nd time today. IMHO here are my Pros & Cons:
Pros: Inexpensive to make. Easy to un-mold soap. Clean up is fast. It lays flat for storage. Light weight. My CP soap turned out beautiful.
Cons: Not that easy to make (hubby made mine) I'm not good at measuring. I'm not sure on CPOP?. its plastic wouldn't want to try.
Bottom line yes Its Well Worth The 5.00 bucks If your crafty & fellow a youtube DIY video. You'll have a soap mold you can use over & over.

I made and used mine 3 times before it bit the dust. Still worth it - I just made another. It was a great buy.

 

[Jackie Tobey]

So my first try was a flop as well. Will give it one more go then have to start back to work on a long stretch. Here is the result. Interesting looking but a no go. Batter got too thick on me as well.

 

[Catscankim]

When I am pouring a Tall & Skinny - I never use TD because it always thickens up too quickly - I use a white mica instead. Lately I have been liking the "snow white" mica from Mad Micas. I also never use activated charcoal, if I want black, I use a black mica instead, because AC tends to thicken up too much also. I actually think your soap looks pretty - maybe not a perfect tall & skinny but definitely a lovely soap.

Thank you . Will post my next try soon

 

[dibbles]

Try #3 is tucked in for the night. I thought it was more set up than it was when I moved it, so I hope I didn’t screw it up. I’m not at all sure There is a good shimmy going on in there, but if there is I’ll be mad at myself and wish I’d gotten out the hanger.

 

[linne1gi]

So my first try was a flop as well. Will give it one more go then have to start back to work on a long stretch. Here is the result. Interesting looking but a no go. Batter got too thick on me as well. View attachment 50597

At least it's beautiful!