KimW
Well-Known Member
Perfection!
SMF April 2021 Challenge - Lollipop Swirl
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user 29214
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thank you! Do you mean the flattened spots on top? If so, I am afraid I can’t take credit as that was quite by accident, the container that I used as a mold has indentations, it looks like this one but different size I think... it is hard to see but they are where the numbers are:
https://www.amazon.com/Healifty-Sil...e+containers+for+mixing&qid=1619280372&sr=8-2The color was made with copper mica. The first two soaps weren’t that good, which is why I am only showing these!
I like yours too, really nice color palette. I have never tried making rimmed soap, yours turned out great!
You are kind... I know it’s far from perfect
. I am inspired - I have silicone containers like that, never thought of their mold potential!
This was my first attempt. Poured too far apart from the previous pours. Also I didn’t like the colors much
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
@The_Phoenix Glad that you have the energy rn to do boring “housekeeping tasks” like presenting/photographing/sharing your Lollipop results. Some conscentious routine can be a good solace that a normality exists somewhere out there.
I like both swirls a lot. The first has more “surprises” in it (be this a good or bad thing, more or less in agreement with your conception), but I agree that the colours are not the snappiest.
Much better with the second (your third), one sees that you have learned from everything. Having four colours that fit well with each other is difficult, but IMHO you succeeded here! Orange-blue is a well working combination – a bummer that the batters themselves don'like each other (greenish line in between). I imagine this loaf would also look gorgeous when cut vertically.
I like both swirls a lot. The first has more “surprises” in it (be this a good or bad thing, more or less in agreement with your conception), but I agree that the colours are not the snappiest.
Much better with the second (your third), one sees that you have learned from everything. Having four colours that fit well with each other is difficult, but IMHO you succeeded here! Orange-blue is a well working combination – a bummer that the batters themselves don'like each other (greenish line in between). I imagine this loaf would also look gorgeous when cut vertically.
Sorry, OT. But non-English-native me will probably never get used to the strange decision of the English language to have a single word, which, depending on context, either means “hollow container for casting” or “bad fungus that spoils food”.
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
Has anyone used a crinkle cutter to cut the pucks off the cylinder?
Has anyone a split mould in use? (like, cut a plastic bottle in half vertically, and tape together for the pour) I'm tempted to do another pour just to enjoy how much easier unmoulding would be afterwards.
Has anyone a split mould in use? (like, cut a plastic bottle in half vertically, and tape together for the pour) I'm tempted to do another pour just to enjoy how much easier unmoulding would be afterwards.
If you do, please share your results! Most of my cylinders have been easy enough, but this evening I spent over half an hour delivering a soap baby! And it wasn't even good enough to enter after all that
I'm getting very conscious I'm running out of time but I have a specific vision I'm trying to achieve, and getting closer every time - I think the next one might be it, for real this time... If I start early tomorrow morning I just might make it
KimW
Well-Known Member
@ResolvableOwl and @Tara_H - I have not, but I do know such molds exist. yes, I too delivered a soap baby 
, and this from my normal column mold which always unmolds easily. And also after sliming it with plenty of mineral oil. Silly things.
, and this from my normal column mold which always unmolds easily. And also after sliming it with plenty of mineral oil. Silly things.
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
I did – had to, ex post. Finally dared to get rude to my swirls; they were stuck so tightly into the film canisters that I had to destroy either the soaps (inacceptable) or the moulds.
The shortest blade setting of the box cutter was just right to cut through the plastic, but to barely scratch the soap itself. Should time (and curing space) permit, I'll repeat a lollipop swirl when I'm dealing with fluid CP batter next time, into one or two of these capsules, taped together again. If I had done this beforehand, this would have saved me from quite some pain. Look at the lid in the top left corner. I had to literally peel that stuff out, and now I have a good portion of accidental soap dough in whatever colour results from mixing all other colours together. (Still b/w only to keep up the tension
)
So what. Three of my four rods appear promising (from what I've seen by rough planing), so this will be(come) my submission. I'm very relieved now, and my head is free now to wonder about decoration and stuff.
user 29214
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I hadn’t either, until this challenge!You are kind... I know it’s far from perfect
And final attempt. Really cool camouflage effect.
A turquoise with a deeper orange was a good contrast, especially with the brown and white, was my best effort. I did not post my final version, which came out funky and really cool but was a far cry from a "lollipop swirl." Thank you for your feedback, @ResolvableOwl.
Insightful feedback on my soap iterations. I wanted to find four colors that complemented each other, and yet add a bit of stretch to the possibilities. In my submission for the challenge, I knew that I wanted a blue, brown, and orange, but it was a matter of finding the right tone of each color. Another version came out really nice, but it was a lighter blue and it didn't add much to the soap.
A turquoise with a deeper orange was a good contrast, especially with the brown and white, was my best effort. I did not post my final version, which came out funky and really cool but was a far cry from a "lollipop swirl." Thank you for your feedback, @ResolvableOwl.
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
Orange/brown can be a tricky combination, particularly when you can't precisely predict the depth and clarity of the brown. I really enjoy just the colours that you have, their contrast, depth, and harmony.
Just for fun, I did some digital trickery to swap the orange and black colours in your image. That makes the colour gradient less “hectic” and resembling the colour rims of chromatic aberration:
Idk which version I like more, but this colour order has the advantage of having an achromatic stripe between all coloured zones, i. e. orange and blue not in direct contact, blending into a line of murky olive.
This blending is unavoidable in Lollipop swirl, since the pour makes the colours lie on top of each other, and the cut exposes the interfaces in an oblique angle. The lower layer will shine (“bleed”) through any not fully opaque upper layer for a few mm, in an asymmetric way. One only can either live with it, minimise (high-opacity batter), or benefit artistically from it.
Just for fun, I did some digital trickery to swap the orange and black colours in your image. That makes the colour gradient less “hectic” and resembling the colour rims of chromatic aberration:
Idk which version I like more, but this colour order has the advantage of having an achromatic stripe between all coloured zones, i. e. orange and blue not in direct contact, blending into a line of murky olive.
This blending is unavoidable in Lollipop swirl, since the pour makes the colours lie on top of each other, and the cut exposes the interfaces in an oblique angle. The lower layer will shine (“bleed”) through any not fully opaque upper layer for a few mm, in an asymmetric way. One only can either live with it, minimise (high-opacity batter), or benefit artistically from it.
haha yes I always do a double take when I see “mould.” My husband and I are watching a British show on Netflix (that’s correct I hope? British, not English? IDK) and I find all the extra Us and use of S where we would use Z very quaint.
You may not like the colour but the design technique turned out great!
Still pretty - love the colour combo.
Ok, my very last actually final, no more lollipops this month, I mean it soap is in the oven now, looking like some kind of ridiculous dessert.
While pouring this one I realised that I've consistently had a problem I don't recall anyone else mentioning - once I've gone around once, the next pours want to bend to follow the existing paths rather than breaking new ground. Sometimes they go drastically off course, not just impinging on the stream to one side or the other, but often leapfrogging them entirely! Naturally this results in all sorts of mess in the design. Basically the first half of every pour gets ruined by this issue, and it's not until all the walls are coated in batter that I get any level of control over what's going on. So that limits me to half the soap to find some good bars in
Does this ring a bell with anyone else, or are the physics in my house just broken?
While pouring this one I realised that I've consistently had a problem I don't recall anyone else mentioning - once I've gone around once, the next pours want to bend to follow the existing paths rather than breaking new ground. Sometimes they go drastically off course, not just impinging on the stream to one side or the other, but often leapfrogging them entirely! Naturally this results in all sorts of mess in the design. Basically the first half of every pour gets ruined by this issue, and it's not until all the walls are coated in batter that I get any level of control over what's going on. So that limits me to half the soap to find some good bars in
Does this ring a bell with anyone else, or are the physics in my house just broken?
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