Soap Challenge Club - Dandelion Tiger Swirl

This month's soap challenge offered by Amy Worden of Great CakesSoapworks is called the  "Dandelion Tiger Swirl".  This technique was introduced to soapers by Vinvela Ebony, if you want to see her beautiful soaps please visit her blog dandelion SeiFee.  She is so talented and I love looking at all of her creations.
This technique requires that you have a fluid soap batter that you will color and pour down a platform of some type that you  insert into your soap mold to create the swirl. On my first batch I used Black Raspberry Vanilla fragrance from Natures Garden. My colors for the swirl are black, red & white. On this soap I used a plastic cutting mat to pour the colors into the soap. As I was pouring the colors the soap batter started to thicken which made it harder to do the swirl. I more or less had to sort of glob it on towards the end.

On my second attempt I used a piece of plexiglass cut to fit my soap mold. I liked how easily the soap flowed down the plexiglass to create the swirl. The fragrance oil I used on this batch was Vetyver from Bramble Berry. This is the first time I have soaped using this fragrance and it behaved really well and did not thicken the soap, the colors flowed so much better. For the colors I used Green Oxide, Super Pearly White Mica both from Bramble Berry and Magic Yellow Mica and Cosmo Martini Mica both from The Conservatory.

I enjoyed this challenge and I will be planning some of my future soaps incorporating this technique. I want to thank Amy Worden for putting on each monthly soap challenge,  and especially all her hard work in making the video tutorials for each  challenge. I have learned so much by participating and I love every new technique that I have learned.

 

Here is my first attempt at the Dandelion Zebra Swirl.



 

You can see that my colors are getting thick on me.
They are barely running down the cutting mat.

 



All the soap is in the mold and I have added the 
left over colors on the top to swirl.
 



Swirled Top
 



 

 

Black Raspberry Vanilla

 

 

Here is my second attempt of the Dandelion Swirl

 




You can see here how easily the soaps
 pouring here compared to my first batch.





Here are the cut bars of soap.

Soap Challenge Club - Holly Swirl

This month's soap challenge offered by Amy Worden of Great CakesSoapworks is the  "Holly Swirl". I have admired all the soaps made by Holly from Missouri River Soap and am so excited to try her technique. Please take the time to go visit her web site here, her Facebook page here, along with her YouTube page here where she shows us how she creates her wonderful soaps.  

I had such fun doing the "Holly" swirl that I made 2 different batches of soap. The first batch that I made was the Lavender/Lemon. On this one I used Bramble Berry's Essential Oils, Lavender 40/42 and Lemongrass.  For the colors I used Titanium Dioxide, Magic Violet & Magic Yellow.

On the second batch I used Bramble Berry's Cherry Almond fragrance oil. I love this fragrance and on this batch it soaped very well for me. The colors I used were Titanium Dioxide, Burgundy Oxide, and Cosmic Fluorescent Pink. I also used gold mica for a very faint pencil line.

I can't wait to see everyone else's version of their "Holly Swirl" in this challenge. I know they will all look great. I want to thank Amy for offering this soap challenge along with Holly for being so willing to share her talents with us.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the 2 soaps and the process of me making them.

 



Fragrance and colors used on Soap #2 Cherry Almond



Colors are mixed for the soap

Soap poured into the mold and the left over
colored soap put on the top for swirling.

Top after swirling.
 

Close-Up on the swirled top.

The Soap Unmolded.

  




Another view of the soap un-molded.
 

Pictures of the cut bars of soaps.

 

 

 

 

Cherry Almond Soap

Here are pictures of my first soap and the process. 

Colors and Essential Oils

Colors mixed

Base color is poured in the mold and started 
pouring the colors for the swirl into the mixing bowl.

Colors swirled into the base color.

Closer picture of the swirled colors.

Here is have added the solid lavender color to the soap.

I have globed on the remaining colors of
soap to swirl the top.

Close-Up before the swirl.

Swirled top with glitter added.

Out of the mold.

Cut bars of soap.

 

 

Lavender Lemon Holly Swirl Soap

Soap Challenge Club - Mantra Swirl

This month's soap challenge is the 'Mantra Swirl'. I have wanted to try this technique ever since I saw some of the beautiful soaps made by other soapers and fell in love with the swirls and the beautiful colors. You want your soap batter to stay very fluid to accomplish this swirl so I and use more soft oils in my recipe, you also need to use a fragrance that does not move fast, Pink Sangria from WSP. When you cut the soap you cut it horizontally instead of the usual vertical cut so the swirl shows up on all the bars.

Amy Worden of Great Cakes Soapworks, showed a great video on 2 different ways to do the Mantra Swirl, the "Original" version and the "Advanced/Modified" version.  I am a visual person so her video's really helped me to understand the whole process.  After watching both of the video's (twice), I was ready to jump right in and give it a try.  I decided to do the Advanced/Modified version, after all this is a "Challenge" right...................fingers crossed.

I saw a Modified Mantra swirl displayed on a Facebook page that was made by Ramy Sanchez, that soap was so amazing! She was so gracious to post a picture tutorial showing us the process that she used to create it, needless to say we were all so excited.  You can visit her blog here and see all the fabulous soaps that she makes. Thank you Ramy for sharing your talents and technique with us. Here is a picture of one of Ramy's soap that inspired the design of my soap. Isn't it so pretty.

I absolutely love the Mantra Swirl and I am already thinking about what colors I can use to make future batches. Amy I loved this challenge and can't wait for the next one you have planned for us. I love all the other soaps made by the other participants, the colors and designs are amazing.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the process of me making this soap.

I have everything ready to start the soap.
I have printed out some pictures of Ramy's soaps,
remember I mentioned I was a visual person.


 

 

Here my colors are mixed and I have added fragrance to the soap, .
The colors I used are Titanium Dioxide,  
Fluorescent Pink (WSP), Activated Charcoal.

 

 

  


I have pulled out the cardboard dividers. Next onto the swirling.


 

 

 

 
 
 


Here is the first swirl, my soap is staying nice and fluid.
Now for the second swirl pattern.

 

I am very happy with this swirl, and it smells amazing.



Here it is unmolded. I can't wait to cut it and see how the swirl
turned out in the middle. I will be cutting this horizontally to
have the Mantra Swirl show on each bar of soap.

 

 

 



Here are the cut bars. I had some soap trimming from
the ends of the loaf and I made the soap balls that
I will use in a future batch of soap.
 

  
 

 
 
 




 

 

 

 

 

 

The Soap Challenge Club - Peacock Swirl

Well I am happy to be participating in the NEW Soap Challenge put on by Amy Worden of Great Cakes Soapworks. This challenge is a bit different than the previous ones. With these challenges we have to register to participate and pay a small fee, and we can choose which ones we want to participate in each month. Well worth the small expense, in my opinion, for Amy's time and effort that makes it possible for us to do this, besides all the great instructions, tips and even a nice recipe that will give us the time needed to accomplish this swirl. Beside getting the opportunity to learn, there is also a chance to win some great prizes with each challenge. The people who sign up for each challenge will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite 3 entries, and that is what will determine who will win the prize. I can't wait to see the other contestants soaps, I know they will be great!

I have wanted to learn this process for a very long time and this is just the incentive I needed to give it a try. The fragrance I chose for this soap is "Summer Melon Spritzer" from Bramble Berry. It has some great reviews from other soapers about how well it behaves while soaping and the smell is amazing. I am happy to share with you some pictures showing you the process I used in making these darling soaps.

 

Here is the soap rake my husband made for me.


 



My colors are all mixed up, bottles ready for the
soap base so I can add the color.



Another view of the colors and the soap rake.

 

 

 

My colors all mixed and ready to go.
From left to right: Peacock Blue Mica, Titanium Dioxide
mixed in the soap base, Green Oxide, Cosmo Martini Mica
and Activated Charcoal.

 

 

 

Starting to add my colors. I will be pouring each color
alternating them as I go until I have used them all up.



Second color poured.


 

Half way done with the colors.

 

I am finally done and the soap is still behaving and not
getting too thick.

Here I added some gold mica mixed in olive oil to
add some sparkle to the swirl.

 

Here I am dragging the rake through the soap.
I really enjoyed watching the change in the soap as I was doing this.

 

Close up of the soap after running the rake through it.
Now for the swirl to create the peacock pattern.




Now I am dragging a chop stick in an  "S"  
pattern to start the peacock swirl. 

 

Now for the second  "S"  pattern, but going the opposite direction.



Here it is all swirled, boy it sure made me dizzy looking at the soap
pattern as I was swirling. It was harder to keep track of where
I was and where I should go next than I thought it would be.

 



Ready to put lid on the soap and let the soap go
through gel phase.

 

Here it is out of the mold and ready to cut into bars of soap.

Cut bars of soap.