SMF March 2021 Soap Challenge - Air Blow Technique aka Dutch Pour Technique aka Wind Blow Technique

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Has anyone had any luck in replicating the 'cells' that you get in the paint version of this technique? From my reading up it depends on having different surface tension between the liquids in the pour, but I imagine coming in contact with soap batter is going to mess up the obvious options.
This is a challenge from a few years ago. While the goal was to use cells created by using soap batter that was previously poured, there is a discussion about dropping alcohol onto the surface of the soap. You might find some hints in there. May 2017 SMF Soap Challenge - fluid acrylic cell pour
 
So I kept going back and forth on if I want to try this challenge or not! 😂 I’m wondering though, the base soap can have a design, right? Like an ITP Swirl or whatever. Then after the base is set the next day, cover with white or black batter, then so your blow design?
 
So I kept going back and forth on if I want to try this challenge or not! 😂 I’m wondering though, the base soap can have a design, right? Like an ITP Swirl or whatever. Then after the base is set the next day, cover with white or black batter, then so your blow design?
This is sort of my question too...I'm so confused! Analysis Paralysis!!
 
This is sort of my question too...I'm so confused! Analysis Paralysis!!
I’ve watched soooo many acrylic pour videos that I’m finding the options are endless.... and this may be way above my artistic ability! But I’m still wanting to try it! But decisions and a plan seems to be the challenge for me. This may just be a wing it pour, which I’m really good at! 😂😳🤔😬
 
From Earlene’s original post:

4. As shown in the sample videos, a base soap is made and allowed to set up, which becomes your canvas upon which you will pour and create your design. You are allowed to use a previously made soap as your base upon which you pour the pallette to create the Air Blow design. Or you may create a new soap as your base, using any design of your choice, including plain soap. The base soap may or may not be coordinated with the surface design, as you choose.

The way I read it, I think we can use any colors and techniques to make the slab “canvas”. I hope so because I just poured mine and it is not solid black, white or uncolored batter.
 
From Earlene’s original post:

4. As shown in the sample videos, a base soap is made and allowed to set up, which becomes your canvas upon which you will pour and create your design. You are allowed to use a previously made soap as your base upon which you pour the pallette to create the Air Blow design. Or you may create a new soap as your base, using any design of your choice, including plain soap. The base soap may or may not be coordinated with the surface design, as you choose.

The way I read it, I think we can use any colors and techniques to make the slab “canvas”. I hope so because I just poured mine and it is not solid black, white or uncolored batter.
Ahhh - Thanks, Mobjack Bay, that makes sense. I obviously overthought it - shocking. I am going with this too, so there will at least be two of us doing it this way! :)
 
1. The_Phoenix - I have a feeling my family won't see much of me for the next 26 days.
2. KimW - Thank you for hosting, Earlene! Hope your visit with MIL is pleasant.
3. AMD - hopefully I don't blow this (oh, wait... that's the opposite of what I need to do...)
4. glendam - this sounds intriguing and I need an excuse to make more soap
5. Mobjack Bay - YES, YES, YES!!!
6. bookreader451 - Always willing to try something new.
7. SPowers - I was going to beg off this one til I saw the micas & more video! she's a girl after my own heart and I also liked the straw idea... no more new equipment for me and I know I drop my hairdryer right into the middle of my mold!
8. violets2217 - I’m all in! Ready to up my game! 😬😳
 
Ok... so I'm going to tackle this next week, just wrapping my brain around some details...
I am a bit confused by this...
3. You must use at least 3 colors, PLUS a background color of either white or uncolored soap batter, OR black.

The starter soap that we allow to setup before blowing the more fluid soap has to be black or white? Or can it be any color?
OR.... do you mean that when we pour the fluid soap that is blown, the first color has to be black or white?
And then we have to blow 3 additional colors as well?

So what I'm thinking the process is like this...
1. Make soap (black, white, any color?) and pour into slab mold.
2. Allow soap to setup.
3. Make soap and separate to 3 colors (or 4 if one needs to be black or white?)
4. Pour black or white color and blow for background?
5. Pour other colors and blow as needed for design.
 
Ok... so I'm going to tackle this next week, just wrapping my brain around some details...
I am a bit confused by this...


The starter soap that we allow to setup before blowing the more fluid soap has to be black or white? Or can it be any color?
OR.... do you mean that when we pour the fluid soap that is blown, the first color has to be black or white?
And then we have to blow 3 additional colors as well?

So what I'm thinking the process is like this...
1. Make soap (black, white, any color?) and pour into slab mold.
2. Allow soap to setup.
3. Make soap and separate to 3 colors (or 4 if one needs to be black or white?)
4. Pour black or white color and blow for background?
5. Pour other colors and blow as needed for design.
After previous posts and re- reading original challenge post. The slab base soap can be any color or design. Once that’s set and ready to blow, you will pour a thin layer of batter that is white or black for neutral background and good flow surface, then pour your design with colored batter to blow. Not sure if that makes sense, but that’s how I explained it to my brain!
 
Clarifications:

Base soap (or starter soap) can be anything you choose: previously made or newly made soap of any color combination or design. It does not have to color coordinate unless you want it to.

The soap that gets poured onto the base soap has to be white (or uncolored soap) or black. If your attempt at black fades (as sometimes happens with black when not enough colorant is added), it will be acceptable, as long as your attempt is black and it doesn't fade to a light grey.

Can the background color be the same color as the base soap?
To piggyback on @KimW’s question, the rules state that the background can be white, uncolored, or black. Are those the only acceptable background colors allowed to use as the “canvas” on which we start the technique?
So I kept going back and forth on if I want to try this challenge or not! 😂 I’m wondering though, the base soap can have a design, right? Like an ITP Swirl or whatever. Then after the base is set the next day, cover with white or black batter, then so your blow design?
From Earlene’s original post:

4. As shown in the sample videos, a base soap is made and allowed to set up, which becomes your canvas upon which you will pour and create your design. You are allowed to use a previously made soap as your base upon which you pour the pallette to create the Air Blow design. Or you may create a new soap as your base, using any design of your choice, including plain soap. The base soap may or may not be coordinated with the surface design, as you choose.

The way I read it, I think we can use any colors and techniques to make the slab “canvas”. I hope so because I just poured mine and it is not solid black, white or uncolored batter.
Ok... so I'm going to tackle this next week, just wrapping my brain around some details...
I am a bit confused by this...


The starter soap that we allow to setup before blowing the more fluid soap has to be black or white? Or can it be any color?
OR.... do you mean that when we pour the fluid soap that is blown, the first color has to be black or white?
And then we have to blow 3 additional colors as well?

So what I'm thinking the process is like this...
1. Make soap (black, white, any color?) and pour into slab mold.
2. Allow soap to setup.
3. Make soap and separate to 3 colors (or 4 if one needs to be black or white?)
4. Pour black or white color and blow for background?
5. Pour other colors and blow as needed for design.
amd, the 'backgroud' will be white (uncolored) or black. That gets smoothed out on top of your base soap to create the medium upon which the added colors will be blown around..

Picture it this way: the base soap (or starter soap, if you will) is the fabric canvas stretched onto the wooden frame of a canvas upon which you will 'paint' your picture. It is dry before the painter starts painting. It cannot be blown around because it is dry just like a real canvas is dry.

The white (or uncolored) or black soap is poured on top of the dry canvas and spread out to cover the surface of the canvas and remains wet throughout the rest of the process.

The colors are poured in a design of your choice on top of the wet background. The videos show more than one method of pouring the colors, but notice that the background below remains wet during the process, and the white (or black) get blown and fold over and intermingle with the colors during the blowing process.

I hope that clarifies the rules.
 
Is anyone changing their recipe for the top? I used my favorite recipe for the base but I am thinking I might want to use a slower moving recipe for the top.
I plan on leaving the top unscented to make sure it stays fluid, using the same recipe from masterbatch

Has anyone had any luck in replicating the 'cells' that you get in the paint version of this technique? From my reading up it depends on having different surface tension between the liquids in the pour, but I imagine coming in contact with soap batter is going to mess up the obvious options.

Here's today's attempt (will post properly in the photo gallery thread when I have the energy (edit, now posted in excruciating detail!)), I tried using titanium dioxide dispersed in hand sanitiser (70% ethanol, some water and glycerine) and a couple of drops of soap dye straight from the bottle then dragged out with a skewer. The dye is one which I always have trouble dispersing so I hoped it would be somewhat resistant to the batter in this case. I would say it's a mixed level of success. (I started out with the aim to do trees, but ended up with another ocean!)

View attachment 54848
I have not tried yet, but I wonder if your design could include little dots (like the mandala like dots from one of the videos) and upon blowing air on them they could expand and look like the cells formed by the acrylic paint.
 
I just want to say thank you @earlene for this challenge. I really liked the outcome of last month's taiwan circling swirl technique, but I am loving the freedom and just absolute fun of this one. Do I want a drop of batter there? Hmmm - maybe one there too....oh yes, that's nice. Maybe blow this more over there...oops, too much...I'll fix it with a blow this way - oh yes, that's nice. I kept thinking about Bob Ross and how towards the end of his paintings I'd be yelling, "Stop doing stuff! It's already perfect! You're going to ruin it!" Of course, he never did ruin it!
 
I kept thinking about Bob Ross and how towards the end of his paintings I'd be yelling, "Stop doing stuff! It's already perfect! You're going to ruin it!" Of course, he never did ruin it!
#soaplikeaRoss

So my first attempt was a total FAIL! I’ve just decided it’s too cold in my house to even try a pretty design that requires fluid batter. My soap was perfect, until I started to pour! I didn’t even get to try to blow my batter. I turned my hair dryer on high and nothing moved. I’m not sure if I’ll get more time to try again. I’m scared to try and cut this soap tomorrow. The base sat for almost 2 days cause I could make time to soap and it is very hard soap already! Lol!
 
#soaplikeaRoss

So my first attempt was a total FAIL! I’ve just decided it’s too cold in my house to even try a pretty design that requires fluid batter. My soap was perfect, until I started to pour! I didn’t even get to try to blow my batter. I turned my hair dryer on high and nothing moved. I’m not sure if I’ll get more time to try again. I’m scared to try and cut this soap tomorrow. The base sat for almost 2 days cause I could make time to soap and it is very hard soap already! Lol!
Welcome to the too-cold club! I can totally sympathise; I'm trying to figure out if there's a formula I can use which is mostly liquid oils to stop this happening... maybe where you live there are more options for oils?
 
maybe where you live there are more options for oils?
Maybe, but I’m not really very adventurous when it come to exotic oils. I kinda stick with the basics, I think so anyways... 🤪 my fav recipe is half lard, with a splash of coconut, olive and castor. It’s always worked for me before, today I even tried warming my house up a bit but the soap was not having it!
Thinking about soft oils... my chamomile infused bastile is a pretty fluid batter.. of course it’s mostly olive oil so there’s that & it’s a kinda soft soap in the end.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top