Primrose
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Welcome to the February 2020 Soap Making Forum’s challenge. This month’s challenge topic is technique based – the “Ione Swirl”.
This is a swirl created by Ione from Eve’s Garden Soaps; it has been discussed here on the forum a few times with IrishLass giving it the name “Ione Swirl”. Both Ione and IL have achieved some beautiful soaps with this technique, and it has inspired me to try it myself a few times, with varying levels of success. It is essentially a hanger swirl, with a particular swirling pattern, combined with a drop swirl. The technique, links, photos and my tips and hints are after all the rules, so here we go.
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PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THIS FIRST (and ALL Rules)-
Rules:
1. To be eligible to vote, members must add their names on the sign up list - regardless of whether or not an entry is submitted, although full participation in the Challenge is highly encouraged for all who sign up (see General Rules below).
2. This month’s voting will be password locked. Passwords will be sent (via SMF Conversations) to all registered participants ONLY. So please check your messages when the voting begins.
3. No posting your entry photos until the entry thread is made. Non-entry photos are very welcome!
4. You are allowed to change your entry photo up until the entry thread closes. So if you decide after you post your entry you want another try, and you like the second better, you can change it up until the deadline.
SMF Challenge General Rules
· To enter you must have a minimum of 50 posts and been a member for a month (sorry but no exceptions on this)
· In the spirit of advancing our soapmaking skills, all members who sign-up for an SMF Challenge, do so with the expectation that they will make every attempt to make the Challenge soap, as well as post their experience in the Challenge. By doing so, each participate has a better knowledge of the process when voting. We do understand that sometimes things come up in our lives and throw our plans out of whack, however signing up with no intent to participate and only to vote is discouraged.
· Please add your name to the sign up list if you wish to participate (however, you don’t have to enter a soap at the end if you don’t feel happy with what you have produced), but please do post your experiences in the main Challenge thread and be prepared to be encouraged to continue trying.
· The challenge thread should be used to upload pictures of any of your challenge attempts where you can ask for advice and discuss the technique with other members, and provide helpful hints you learned along the way.
· Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please try to keep your comments polite.
· Competition entries must be uploaded to the separate entry thread before the closing date. The Entry thread will open on February 22, 2020 at 12:01 am GMT (Please follow the challenge specific rules as to what you need to enter)
· After the closing date February 27 at 11:59 pm GMT the winning entry will be chosen using survey monkey (Voting will be open from February 28 to February 29) and the winner announced on March 1, 2020. There is no prize attached to this challenge.
· If you fail to make the challenge deadline, you are still welcome to upload your soap onto the thread, but your entry will not be eligible for voting. We still love to see anything you have produced.
· Even though there is no prize, this is still a competition. If your entry is deemed not to fulfill the general rules or the rules specific to the challenge in any way, then you will be given the opportunity to amend your entry. If this is not possible then your entry will not be included in the voting.
· All the challenge mods reserve the right to have the final say on whether a soap is eligible for voting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIFIC RULES FOR THIS CHALLENGE:
1. You must use at least 3 colours - one for the base and at least two accent/swirl colours. One of these can be your uncoloured batter if you want.
2. You must pour in the drop pattern and use the hanger tool as shown in the video and diagrams.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some of Ione's beautiful soaps for inspiration. You can see more at https://www.evesgardenhandmadesoaps.com/ and on you tube.
The Ione swirl is essentially a hanger swirl with a particular swirling pattern, combined with a good drop swirl to start with.
Start with a base layer poured into your mould (at least 1/2 fill the mould), then add your colours in a drop swirl pattern. You may wish to do only one of these layers, or add a bit more of your base colour and do another drop swirl.
The hanger swirling pattern is as follows (you can do these in any order as long as you do all three movements):
1. Up and down vertically
2. Side to side horizontally
3. Graduating circles from the middle out to the edges
A great example of the pouring and swirling technique is in this video
Here is my terrible paint version in step by step pictures haha
Some tips I have found:
* Use a well behaving fragrance oil. I cannot stress that enough. Having said that I have achieved nice soaps from emulsion through to medium or so trace. You dont want it to end up being a plop and drop though!
* Use a thin hanger - not a thick one like a gear tie. Either bend into a |_| shape or in its normal form.
* I think that colour choices come into play significantly with this technique, something I'm not very good at. I'd love to see what you come up with.
You may enter a group of soaps in one photo, or choose a minimum of two soaps for your entry photo, but choose one entry photo, please.
When you enter your soap on the entry thread please feel free to include any information you would like, eg. oils/additives, colours, fragrances, how you found the technique and what you found worked, and didnt work.
Thank you for participating and please sign up using the sign-up sheet below.
Enjoy!
Next post will be my own attempts at this, followed by the Sign up post.
This looks like a difficult technique but I've found it quite forgiving once you get the idea of the patterns required. I unfortunately am a better swirler than I am a photo taker so please bear with me. Below are all the Ione swirls I've attempted. The top two were poured at emulsion. The middle two at a light to medium trace. The bottom two moved more quickly than I anticipated and I thought they would fail, they were probably medium to heavy trace, but still gave me a nice result. I actually think I get better results pouring with slightly more trace vs emulsion
Scented with BB Lavender and Herb
Scented with BB Lavender Forest
Scented with EO blend of Lavender and Lemon Myrtle
Scented with BB Eden's Garden (accelerated, been a bit of a tricky one to try to use for this technique)
This black one was a bit of an experiment with a discolouring FO added only to the black portion. Time will tell if it bleeds across to the colours - it has already affected the white a little bit. This soap is only a week or so old. BB Black Amber and Vanilla
Scented with BB Fresh Snow and Lavender EO
This is a swirl created by Ione from Eve’s Garden Soaps; it has been discussed here on the forum a few times with IrishLass giving it the name “Ione Swirl”. Both Ione and IL have achieved some beautiful soaps with this technique, and it has inspired me to try it myself a few times, with varying levels of success. It is essentially a hanger swirl, with a particular swirling pattern, combined with a drop swirl. The technique, links, photos and my tips and hints are after all the rules, so here we go.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THIS FIRST (and ALL Rules)-
Rules:
1. To be eligible to vote, members must add their names on the sign up list - regardless of whether or not an entry is submitted, although full participation in the Challenge is highly encouraged for all who sign up (see General Rules below).
2. This month’s voting will be password locked. Passwords will be sent (via SMF Conversations) to all registered participants ONLY. So please check your messages when the voting begins.
3. No posting your entry photos until the entry thread is made. Non-entry photos are very welcome!
4. You are allowed to change your entry photo up until the entry thread closes. So if you decide after you post your entry you want another try, and you like the second better, you can change it up until the deadline.
SMF Challenge General Rules
· To enter you must have a minimum of 50 posts and been a member for a month (sorry but no exceptions on this)
· In the spirit of advancing our soapmaking skills, all members who sign-up for an SMF Challenge, do so with the expectation that they will make every attempt to make the Challenge soap, as well as post their experience in the Challenge. By doing so, each participate has a better knowledge of the process when voting. We do understand that sometimes things come up in our lives and throw our plans out of whack, however signing up with no intent to participate and only to vote is discouraged.
· Please add your name to the sign up list if you wish to participate (however, you don’t have to enter a soap at the end if you don’t feel happy with what you have produced), but please do post your experiences in the main Challenge thread and be prepared to be encouraged to continue trying.
· The challenge thread should be used to upload pictures of any of your challenge attempts where you can ask for advice and discuss the technique with other members, and provide helpful hints you learned along the way.
· Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please try to keep your comments polite.
· Competition entries must be uploaded to the separate entry thread before the closing date. The Entry thread will open on February 22, 2020 at 12:01 am GMT (Please follow the challenge specific rules as to what you need to enter)
· After the closing date February 27 at 11:59 pm GMT the winning entry will be chosen using survey monkey (Voting will be open from February 28 to February 29) and the winner announced on March 1, 2020. There is no prize attached to this challenge.
· If you fail to make the challenge deadline, you are still welcome to upload your soap onto the thread, but your entry will not be eligible for voting. We still love to see anything you have produced.
· Even though there is no prize, this is still a competition. If your entry is deemed not to fulfill the general rules or the rules specific to the challenge in any way, then you will be given the opportunity to amend your entry. If this is not possible then your entry will not be included in the voting.
· All the challenge mods reserve the right to have the final say on whether a soap is eligible for voting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIFIC RULES FOR THIS CHALLENGE:
1. You must use at least 3 colours - one for the base and at least two accent/swirl colours. One of these can be your uncoloured batter if you want.
2. You must pour in the drop pattern and use the hanger tool as shown in the video and diagrams.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some of Ione's beautiful soaps for inspiration. You can see more at https://www.evesgardenhandmadesoaps.com/ and on you tube.
The Ione swirl is essentially a hanger swirl with a particular swirling pattern, combined with a good drop swirl to start with.
Start with a base layer poured into your mould (at least 1/2 fill the mould), then add your colours in a drop swirl pattern. You may wish to do only one of these layers, or add a bit more of your base colour and do another drop swirl.
The hanger swirling pattern is as follows (you can do these in any order as long as you do all three movements):
1. Up and down vertically
2. Side to side horizontally
3. Graduating circles from the middle out to the edges
A great example of the pouring and swirling technique is in this video
Here is my terrible paint version in step by step pictures haha
Some tips I have found:
* Use a well behaving fragrance oil. I cannot stress that enough. Having said that I have achieved nice soaps from emulsion through to medium or so trace. You dont want it to end up being a plop and drop though!
* Use a thin hanger - not a thick one like a gear tie. Either bend into a |_| shape or in its normal form.
* I think that colour choices come into play significantly with this technique, something I'm not very good at. I'd love to see what you come up with.
You may enter a group of soaps in one photo, or choose a minimum of two soaps for your entry photo, but choose one entry photo, please.
When you enter your soap on the entry thread please feel free to include any information you would like, eg. oils/additives, colours, fragrances, how you found the technique and what you found worked, and didnt work.
Thank you for participating and please sign up using the sign-up sheet below.
Enjoy!
Next post will be my own attempts at this, followed by the Sign up post.
This looks like a difficult technique but I've found it quite forgiving once you get the idea of the patterns required. I unfortunately am a better swirler than I am a photo taker so please bear with me. Below are all the Ione swirls I've attempted. The top two were poured at emulsion. The middle two at a light to medium trace. The bottom two moved more quickly than I anticipated and I thought they would fail, they were probably medium to heavy trace, but still gave me a nice result. I actually think I get better results pouring with slightly more trace vs emulsion
Scented with BB Lavender and Herb
Scented with BB Lavender Forest
Scented with EO blend of Lavender and Lemon Myrtle
Scented with BB Eden's Garden (accelerated, been a bit of a tricky one to try to use for this technique)
This black one was a bit of an experiment with a discolouring FO added only to the black portion. Time will tell if it bleeds across to the colours - it has already affected the white a little bit. This soap is only a week or so old. BB Black Amber and Vanilla
Scented with BB Fresh Snow and Lavender EO
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