SMF Soap Challenge August - Inverted Stamping

[TVivian]

I'm in! Can't wait to try this one.


1. Lionprincess





2. Sonya-m





3. PinkCupcake





4. Dillsandwich





5. Vkumudini





6. Balloons





7. KCHaystack





8. not_ally (argh, 10 batches of inverted stamping tries in my future. This looks hard (imagine whiny Malibu Barbie voice.)





9. TheDragonGirl





10. jules92207





11. Janzo





12. nframe





13. SunWolf (Woo hoo! Lucky number 13!! Now to figure out what to do. )





14. Commoncenz





15. rainycityjen





16. CaraBou





17. tbeck3579





18. Soapswirl





19. KristaY





20. GalaxyMLP





21. dibbles



22. TVivian

 

[KristaY]

I have a question regarding the metal. Since much of the wire I've found lying about the house is of unknown composition, will this be a potential problem with future DOS? I've read that soap in contact with non-stainless steel might be an issue but maybe it's just with prolonged exposure such as sitting on a wire rack? I've got a few wires bent into shapes but now I wonder if I should dip them into clear epoxy or nail polish to seal. How does anyone else feel about it?

 

[Saponista]

I have never tried with anything other than the plastic coated wire krista, so I can't speak from experience. I would perhaps worry slightly though. I did an experiment with plain soap bars of different recipes, recording shrinkage in mm and weight loss. I measured the bars with a random metal ruler and they all developed pretty nasty DOS. I have never had DOS on any of my other bars.

 

[MrsSpaceship]

So... If this is my 50th post, do I qualify to enter??

 

[Saponista]

Yes you do, please copy and paste and add your name to the sign up list if you want to enter.

 

[not_ally]

Krista, I am concerned about this too, the kind I have is galvanized, not stainless. I probably will paint them w/nail polish and hope it helps.

 

[not_ally]

Saponista, it seemed like in the video you think it is better to pour at a thicker trace? Curious about this b/c the Auntie Clara post recommends pouring at emulsion.

 

[galaxyMLP]

I would only use plastic coated or a known stainless steel wire. I would worry that one would be aluminum and that would NOT be fun...

Remember that video..? You don't want that reaction happening that close to your hand. Gloves and all.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Saponista, it seemed like in the video you think it is better to pour at a thicker trace? Curious about this b/c the Auntie Clara post recommends pouring at emulsion.

I would probably pour @ emulsion to get a smooth, flawless surface and wait until it is getting set up (like thick trace) to do this. That way you have time to play w/ colors, ect. and your surface comes out smooth.

 

[Saponista]

I poured at trace so I didn't have to wait around for ages, it was only just traced though. I ended up with a smooth surface that way. My end soap in the video has a bit of an uneven surface as I tried to stamp too soon and had to smooth it out with a spatula (I edited that out!) my camera battery was dying so I was panicking as I didn't want to have to do it again. You have more time to get your pour right if you are doing multi colours etc. if you are pouring at emulsion.

 

[kumudini]

Krista, when I searched craft wires on Amazon, there were all kinds of wires, many of which were aluminum. So I would be really careful with unknown material.

 

[Stacyspy]

I got stainless wire in different gauges on Amazon..the brand name is Beadalon.

 

[Luv2Soap]

I'd love to give this one a try!!!!

 

[Saponista]

Just add your name to the list luv

 

[Saponomancer]

did my first try- just wanted to see if I could work out any cool patters using just a basic circle as a base

and then my batter superheated and I had to blend it all again

at least it was a solid colour for this

 

[Saponista]

That's really pretty, such a shame you had to blend over it! What did u us for the circles?

 

[not_ally]

Oh, no DG! But it looks like you did really well with the technique, I will be extremely happy if my first one goes so well. Also, you twisted a perfect circle, darn it. Jealous.

 

[not_ally]

I have been lye-less for a couple of days, so spending time thinking but not doing on this one. I kind of love how the challenges make you do that. I would like to (a) use a larger slab than usual/the small ones I have, so have to find a makeshift one - for more surface/stamping area even if it will be trickier w/r/t setting time; (b) swirl a base layer but put a plain layer on top so that the stamping shows up and (c) use some of the tools I already have here - some of which I am *sure* will not work, eg, plastic fondant/cookie cutters, but I am going to try them anyway. It is so fun to just try stuff, espec. when you know a bunch of other people are doing the same thing and you can talk it out.

 

[Saponista]

I'm thinking totally random stuff, like maybe a handful of dry spaghetti for a sort of stippled effect.

 

[not_ally]

That sounds cool, Saponista! It is nice to have things percolating, and to see how they end up. Sometimes, in a way, the posts I like the most - both to make and read - are about how things did *not* work, I think they are the most interesting and instructive. Plus just human, goodness, if I thought everyone made soap like those on Newbie's browse thread right out of the gate I probably would have quit after my first few batches