SMF November Challenge Entry Thread

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Saponista

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Please post your entry photos in this thread with information about your inspiration behind your design. Please keep nice comments and anything you want to say about the entries on the original challenge thread. This is for entries only.

Thanks for taking part!

Claire (Saponista)
 
My inspiration was a bit roundabout this month. I was inspired by a 1982 movie that was set in 1934 which had a song inspired by jazz, more specifically Julie Andrews singing “Le Jazz Hot”.

I tried to use m&p to try represent the glitter of her outfit and topped it with the diamonds in her choker.

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My inspiration was old velvet theater curtains. I don't know why, but that is what the theme made me think of. I wasn't sure how to show the contrast of the red theater curtains so I chose white. The FO (Barber Shop 1920's from CC) actually discolored to this antique white, which I found pretty fitting :)

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Both of my grandmothers were married in the 1920's, so early on I decided I wanted to do something related for this challenge. I have a picture from one of my grandma's wedding and did a little bit of research into the trends. Large bouquets with long trailing ribbons was the bee's knees, and that's the type of bouquet in the photo. I tried several times to represent the ribbons in the body of the soap, and the best attempt was a combination of a wall and ribbon pour (similar to Fraulein Winter's cosmic shimmy). My other grandmother eloped, so there are no pictures, but she carried an embroidered handkerchief, which she gave to her daughter to carry on her wedding day. When I got married, my aunt gave it to me. I then gave it to my daughter, who then gave it to my daughter in law. I hope someday there will be a little girl who will carry it on her wedding day. The soaps made to represent this are the rounds. Both of my grandmothers' favorite color was blue, so some of these are ivory and some are blue. I used a cake decorating brush embroidery technique to apply the flowers. I will be giving these soaps to my girls, and to my very special aunts.

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My first thought for this challenge was New Orleans Jazz / Louis Armstrong in the 1920’s, but as I was researching exactly how I wanted to showcase this idea, I came across an article mentioning that the renowned author Zora Neale Hurston was initiated into the Voodoo religion while in New Orleans during a five month stay in the 1920’s.
I was intrigued. I’ve loved Hurston’s novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” ever since I read it many years ago, but I knew little about her other works - or of the woman behind the novel. As I dug a little deeper into her time in 1920’s New Orleans, I found myself both fascinated and disturbed by her accounts. But it was interesting enough to make me change my challenge soap from a focus on Jazz to a focus on Voodoo!
So my soap features Baron Samedi (and I apologize for the pictures - I couldn’t capture what the soap looks like in person - but you get the idea)!
Baron Samedi is considered one of the most powerful Loa in the Voodoo religion. He is usually depicted with a skull face, a Top Hat, and a cigar. And I staged my soap with the Baron’s preferred libation of Rum :)

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I have been wanting to make a "fancy" soap for me, with Shea and cocoa butter and the last of my precious lilac FO, so I used this challenge for that purpose. I love 1920s decor. As I searched for examples, I kept seeing pictures of bathrooms. My favorite were tiled with green and white. So, I've decided that my soap is one that would be used in one of these bathrooms. Technically, the swirl itself looks more art nouveau than art deco, I suppose? Anyway, here it is as well as a compilation of pretty bathrooms: pixlr_20171117085450378.jpgIMG_20171117_090304-01.jpeg
 
This soap had to grow on me, but I like the way the colors and scent have developed. This challenge was so wide open...so many possibilities! It's a good thing I only had time for one batch this month or my house would be overrun with 1920's soap. My inspiration was a random picture off the internet that just kept catching my eye. It's my standard lard recipe scented with Havana from Saffire Blue. I chose this FO for its smoky, stuck-in-time scent. I used plain old poster board to make dividers for my cylinder mold.

I'm having issues posting more than one picture per post....every time I try, my reply disappears, so I'm going to post each picture in a separate post as this is the fifth time I've had to retype this. Argghh! And sorry!

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My entry was inspired by the Salvadore Dali painting Still Life: Sandia, completed in 1924. It was one of the earliest Dali paintings to be really visible to the public, exhibited in the Exposición de la Sociedad de Artistas Ibéricos (Madrid) in 1925 in addition to being mentioned on the front page of the newspaper La Voz (Madrid) and reproduced in the illustrated magazine Nuevo Mundo (Madrid).

It's scented with a combination inspired by the Chanel perfume Bois des Iles, introduced in 1926.

The cat silhouettes are, of course, entirely on purpose. Yep, I meant to do that. Absolutely.

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I like the color scheme and scent I used in the challenge so well that I did it again. Changing my entry to this soap. It's a bit more fitting for my inspriration, and the colors came out clearer.

Still inspired by the Salvadore Dali painting Still Life: Sandia. Still scented with my attempt to duplicate Chanel Bois des Iles.

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Based on the retail pricing of the perfume I tried to duplicate, this is $100/bar soap. :shock:
 
Cocktail Soap

The Roaring 20’s always remind me of wild parties and prohibition. In honor of the spirits and the spirited, here’s my cocktail soap. It’s a one pound loaf but I photographed only one bar so the light could freely pour through it (pun intended).

I edited my initial post in favor of a pic more in focus, and a better lead-in statement. I rushed too much initially because I thought my entry could be late!

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Winnie and Piglet

The House at Pooh Corner (published 1928 ), when Winnie and Piglet are walking hand in hand to Kanga's house.

I found a drawing on a Sotherby's auction and this is my soap interpretation, scented with Lemon Myrtle as the tree scent of Kanga's part of the wood.

As you can see, I did run out of time after all, but here it is, for you to see. Working on ways to represent pencil drawings in soap. Painted with soap on soap.

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I like the color scheme and scent I used in the challenge so well that I did it again. Changing my entry to this soap. It's a bit more fitting for my inspriration, and the colors came out clearer.

Still inspired by the Salvadore Dali painting Still Life: Sandia. Still scented with my attempt to duplicate Chanel Bois des Iles.

novsoapv2_1-1744.jpg


novsoapv2_2-1745.jpg


Based on the retail pricing of the perfume I tried to duplicate, this is $100/bar soap. :shock:

Really nicely done and there was definite inspiration by his paintings. The more I think of how you did it the more I want to tell you "very nicely done but I'm glad it was you and not me!".
 
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