SMF JANUARY 2024 CHALLENGE – Mini Drop [Mini Drip] Swirl

[Mobjack Bay]

Today I attempted to make my entry with a FO that has accelerated on me both times I’ve previously used it. Do you think I recalled that or read my notes - nope.
So that didn’t work and I had to pivot to a spoon/spatula swirl. Lesson - read your notes, don’t trust the notes on the bottle, and search SMF to double check.
After some choice words, and encouragement from DH, I dusted myself off and tried again - with a FO/EO blend I knew would give me time to try the challenge design.
Probably should have done that the first time, but at least I know I’ve got friends wanting soap with the FO from the first batch no matter what it looks like.

That has happened to me more times than I want to admit . I’m glad to hear that it worked out in the end.

 

[Tammyfarms]

I really want to sign up but I'm really sick right now with Pericarditis and supposedly there is a link to that with covid vaccines so even though it might just be a coincidence I don't think I will get any more vaccines. But hopefully I will feel better soon I just hope it doesn't turn in to chronic pericarditis it's inflammation in the sac around your Hart so I have been feeling alot of pressure in my chest. Hopefully it calms down soon so I can sign up.. I'm going to wait till I feel better to sign up.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[CLMP]

Oh no, I hope you feel better soon. Just recently another person I know ended up in the emergency room due to pericarditis. I wonder if they know about the link with the the vaccine.

That is correct, no ombre in the base. The idea is to keep the focus on learning how to make drops.

Supposedly alot of people are getting it and that its the vaccine also if you have a virus it can cause it, but I haven't had any viruses so I'm thinking vaccine. It can last up to 3 months or become chronic which can lead up to heart surgery where they remove the sac around your Hart I really hope this doesn't happen to me or your friend I hope they will be ok too. I've had it for about three weeks now. I hope everyone has lots of fun with this challenge!

 

[katili]

Waiting is the hardest part! *stares at freshly unmolded soap that isn’t quite ready to be cut yet*

My recipe didn’t thicken up too much on me but I may have gotten it a touch thicker than I meant to in the beginning. I also had a measuring snafu splitting my batter and had to pivot my colors a little bit; I hope I got enough contract.

In retrospect the mold I chose may not have been the easiest shape to work with either.. hoping I have some actual drops when I cut it into bars! It smells great though lol

 

[katili]

Well... I was wrong lol; my soap *did* set a little too much, and so I have a nearly perfectly straight line between my base layer and my swirls layer, and the swirls layer looks kind of like funny-colored camouflage. It's still a pretty soap but not at all what I was going for here. I'll try again!

 

[janesathome]

Sign-up List for SMF January 2024 Challenge: Mini Drop {Mini Drip} Swirl. To sign up, please copy and paste these instructions and the list below into a new message. Then add your name and the next number for the next person:

1. AliOop - Great way to "drop" into 2024!
2. katili - Why not dive into something I've never done?
3. MichaelP - I agree with katili, I want to try something new and help develop my soap making skills. Looking forward to this!
4. Mrs.Z - this looks fun!
5. McKherring Farm
6. VikingChick - This should be fun!
7. VickiC
8. Blue - Fun project for next weekend!
9. dmcgee5034 - honey, I dripped the soap!
10. Tammyfarms - I made mine today. I didn’t want to enter until I knew I would be able to make soap. It’s in the mold.
11. Janesathome - Oooh, I’ve been needing a focus for a soap. My biggest challenge will be getting out to pick up squeeze bottles: minus 49 with wind chill tomorrow and my car does NOT like those temps! Hoping for some moderation in weather soon.

 

[janesathome]

Well... I was wrong lol; my soap *did* set a little too much, and so I have a nearly perfectly straight line between my base layer and my swirls layer, and the swirls layer looks kind of like funny-colored camouflage. It's still a pretty soap but not at all what I was going for here. I'll try again!

Isn’t soaping FUN?? So many surprises…

 

[janesathome]

Sign-up List for SMF January 2024 Challenge: Mini Drop {Mini Drip} Swirl. To sign up, please copy and paste these instructions and the list below into a new message. Then add your name and the next number for the next person:

1. AliOop - Great way to "drop" into 2024!
2. katili - Why not dive into something I've never done?
3. MichaelP - I agree with katili, I want to try something new and help develop my soap making skills. Looking forward to this!
4. Mrs.Z - this looks fun!
5. McKherring Farm
6. VikingChick - This should be fun!
7. VickiC
8. Blue - Fun project for next weekend!
9. dmcgee5034 - honey, I dripped the soap!
10. Tammyfarms - I made mine today. I didn’t want to enter until I knew I would be able to make soap. It’s in the mold.
11. Janesathome - Oooh, I’ve been needing a focus for a soap. My biggest challenge will be getting out to pick up squeeze bottles: minus 49 with wind chill tomorrow and my car does NOT like those temps! Hoping for some moderation in weather soon.
12.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@janesathome I can’t even imagine -49 temps. I hope you don’t have a long drive to wherever it is you will find squeeze bottles!

 

[katili]

Isn’t soaping FUN?? So many surprises…

There's always something new to learn hehe. I'm just happy I wound up with a pretty soap even if I can't enter it in the challenge.

 

[Blufuz]

I don’t know yet if I’ll have time to participate before the deadline, but in case I do, could a recipe with a high lard content work for this technique? Does anyone have any recommendations?

I want to try with a naturally white base if possible.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I don’t know yet if I’ll have time to participate before the deadline, but in case I do, could a recipe with a high lard content work for this technique? Does anyone have any recommendations?

I want to try with a naturally white base if possible.

Lard is pretty user friendly, but I don't generally use it above 50-60%. What do you mean by high lard? A recipe with 60% lard, 20% coconut and 20% liquid oil of choice would work for swirls as long as the fragrance and any additives don't speed things up.

 

[Blufuz]

Lard is pretty user friendly, but I don't generally use it above 50-60%. What do you mean by high lard? A recipe with 60% lard, 20% coconut and 20% liquid oil of choice would work for swirls as long as the fragrance and any additives don't speed things up.

That’s pretty much what I meant. What’s the downside of using more?

 

[Mobjack Bay]

That’s pretty much what I meant. What’s the downside of using more?

The biggest problem I have with recipes made with >60% lard (or any other recipe with palmitic + stearic > low 30s) is a function of what happens as the batter starts to cool down. When it takes me more than 15 minutes or so to execute a design, smaller portions of batter will get a bit firm/sludgy, even if I start with batter that is just barely at trace. The batter thickening due to cooling (like false trace), not acceleration. When that happens, I can't squeeze it out of a bottle or do a complex swirl. It doesn't help that the ambient temperature of my soap room is in the mid to high 60 F range right now. One solution would be to set the bottles down in a slightly warm water bath, or possibly on a heating pad, but I don't really have the space in my soaping area. My recipes are typically manageable with palmitic + stearic in the range of 29-31 as long as I have a plan and work reasonably fast. I've also been experimenting with giving the sludgy soap a quick burst in the microwave, like 5-10 sec, depending on the volume.

 

[janesathome]

The biggest problem I have with recipes made with >60% lard (or any other recipe with palmitic + stearic > low 30s) is a function of what happens as the batter starts to cool down. When it takes me more than 15 minutes or so to execute a design, smaller portions of batter will get a bit firm/sludgy, even if I start with batter that is just barely at trace. The batter thickening due to cooling (like false trace), not acceleration. When that happens, I can't squeeze it out of a bottle or do a complex swirl. It doesn't help that the ambient temperature of my soap room is in the mid to high 60 F range right now. One solution would be to set the bottles down in a slightly warm water bath, or possibly on a heating pad, but I don't really have the space in my soaping area. My recipes are typically manageable with palmitic + stearic in the range of 29-31 as long as I have a plan and work reasonably fast. I've also been experimenting with giving the sludgy soap a quick burst in the microwave, like 5-10 sec, depending on the volume.

@Mobjack Bay you are describing my experience exactly! I hadn’t thought to try keeping the smaller quantities of coloured batter warmer. That’s brilliant! I’ll try it. (Just as soon as I get out of the house! It’s still miserably cold here and I’m staying home until the Arctic front dissipates. Minus 38, minus 42 C with wind chill at the moment. Our entire province was at risk last night of power outages given the strain on our electrical grid. We were all asked to turn off everything we could to prevent rolling blackouts ).
thanks for the great tips!

 

[Tammyfarms]

It’s still miserably cold here and I’m staying home until the Arctic front dissipates. Minus 38, minus 42 C with wind chill at the moment. Our entire province was at risk last night of power outages given the strain on our electrical grid. We were all asked to turn off everything we could to prevent rolling blackouts ).
thanks for the great tips!

I feel badly for complaining that it’s warmed up to -2F here. I am not super happy with my soap from a couple days ago and if I don’t make another batch today or tomorrow it’s not going to happen.

 

[katili]

Oh gosh that's so cold I think here where I am the coldest I've seen this week is 11, but that is significantly colder than we're used to here so it's been very unpleasant.

I have a much better plan of attack for my second attempt today, I'll be using the same recipe as my gradient pour I just did yesterday because it behaved very nicely, and I think I'll make this batch in the kitchen because it stays warmer than the soaping area than my craft room.

 

[Tammyfarms]

Oh gosh that's so cold I think here where I am the coldest I've seen this week is 11, but that is significantly colder than we're used to here so it's been very unpleasant.

I have a much better plan of attack for my second attempt today, I'll be using the same recipe as my gradient pour I just did yesterday because it behaved very nicely, and I think I'll make this batch in the kitchen because it stays warmer than the soaping area than my craft room.

This is unusual for us but does happen every few years. Fortunately it doesn’t stick around long. I can’t tolerate fragrance in the house so all soaping is done outside or in my soap curing/tack room which is outside in our shop.

 

[VikingChick]

Attempt #3 is in the oven. It thickened up a little quicker than I’d have liked, but I do know this: I’m going to love the colors! I sniffed the FO and made what I envisioned. We‘ll see how it turns out!

 

[Vicki C]

Oh gosh that's so cold I think here where I am the coldest I've seen this week is 11, but that is significantly colder than we're used to here so it's been very unpleasant.

I have a much better plan of attack for my second attempt today, I'll be using the same recipe as my gradient pour I just did yesterday because it behaved very nicely, and I think I'll make this batch in the kitchen because it stays warmer than the soaping area than my craft room.

My grandson in Snohomish was very excited about the dusting of snow they got!