I wasn't able to participate in the last two soap challenges- too much other activity on the home front. I was able to get to this one, however- in fact, I made two batches!
The challenge was spinning swirls, something I had never seen before, but it looked like fun- and very doable. Marly (DIL) had been asking for a citrus scented soap, so that helped determine my colors. My one big problem was my lack of a slab mold. I did manage to cobble one together with some heavy duty corrugated cardboard I cut out of a box.
I needed my slow tracing recipe- I was going for three colors plus white.
I wanted citrus colors, so I used Apple Green, Sunshine Yellow, Vibrance Orange, and titanium dioxide all from Nurture Soap Supply. I love their micas!!
Here it is, all poured into my improvised slab mold. As you can see, I don't have the best control with my pitchers. Oh, well.
Spun once. . .
Spun twice. I liked the movement I got, but the colors blended more around the edges than I wanted.
However, when I cut the bars, I was surprised- that blending did not extend all the way through the soap. So, here is my entry for the challenge!
I scented these with a combination of lime, lemongrass, and litsea cubeba essential oils. They smell like citrus heaven!
I had time, so I wanted to test a theory- would using squeeze bottles give me better control of my pouring with a technique like this? I also wanted a more permanent slab mold- cardboard was good for one batch, but not more! So, my son and I spent a couple of hours making two molds- one small, one larger.
I made the same recipe, using the same colors and scents. I wondered if a slightly thicker trace would help with the color blending, so I got the batter to just a hair beyond emulsified, then poured into my bottles which already had the colorant in them. I definitely felt I had more control over the pour. No white blobs over my circles!
Two spins later, and we had. . .
And here are the finished bars--
There is nothing wrong with them, they look good- but the narrower color bands I got on the first batch had lots more movement. Maybe next time I won't blend past emulsification, and see what happens.
My daughter-in-law now has plenty of citrus scented soaps to look forward to, and I now have two slab molds!
Thanks for hosting this challenge, Amy. I love this technique and will be using it again!
