Excited about my first HP swirl!

[tersh79]

Just got done molding my first HP swirl and I'm excited about the results! I'll cut tomorrow but looking through the sides of the mold I think the soap is goings look fantastic. Have a look!

For inquiring minds, I took half the batter out and colored it with TD, a little TD and red lab color in the main pot, made a few divots in the pink and plopped in the white, swirled starting from the middle out in a clockwise swirl, once in a counter clockwise swirl, and then scooped and slopped it in to the mold. If I had a mostly pink glop I scooped one with more white, and vice verse. Tapped out the bubbles and put it to bed! Can't wait to cut it tomorrow. (P.s., it's scented with a frosted cranberry FO from WSP!)

 

[seven]

I cant see the pic...

 

[tersh79]

I cant see the pic...

ARGHH!!! This app won't upload it and the forum doesn't like imgur links without the .jpg ending - but it's fixed now, at least. Thanks.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Hmmm, I still can't see it. Might be an issue with the firewall here. Will check later.

 

[Tienne]

(I can see it.) Those swirls look really good from what you can see from the side! It looks like you did a good job at getting the colours evenly distributed. It'll be exciting to see it unmolded and cut!

 

[seven]

i can see them now

you can already see the swirls from the side of the mold. looking good...

cant wait to see cut pics, pls do post them

i have yet to try layering or swirling in a HP. not brave enough. perhaps now that i have SL i should try it. the batter is pretty fluid if you add SL i think layers/swirls are possible.

 

[songwind]

Looks pretty cool. I think I'll try this with my next batch!

 

[ourwolfden]

Very pretty!

 

[DaleF]

I see some awesome swirling going on from the side. Good luck!! I can't wait to see it unmolded and cut.

 

[Tienne]

i have yet to try layering or swirling in a HP. not brave enough.

I saw a video on youtube today and the lady does hanger swirls in HP!! I was like; "Whaaaat?!?" :shock:

She uses SL too and her HPs are really really smooth and workable! I subbed to her channel because I gotta see more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oxJOoyIE1w

 

[jcatblum]

I can't wait to see how your soap looks after you cut it. HP soap doesn't HAVE to be rustic & ugly!!! So awesome to see you showing everyone colors are not just for MP & CP

 

[seven]

I saw a video on youtube today and the lady does hanger swirls in HP!! I was like; "Whaaaat?!?" :shock:

She uses SL too and her HPs are really really smooth and workable! I subbed to her channel because I gotta see more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oxJOoyIE1w

Hanger swirls???? OMFG!
I am not even brave enough to perform this on cp, let alone hp.

/off to see video now

edited: she really did it! and the soap looks real smooth and CP-like from the photo. her batter was really fluid. i wonder how much SL did she use.

 

[kikajess]

Oh, yeah. From the looks of it, that's gonna be some gorgeously swirled soap.

 

[tersh79]

Here it is! It turned out fantastic! This has got to be my prettiest soap to date. Very happy Now - packaging! Hmm, any suggestions?

 

[seven]

Oh those are pretty, indeed. Look smooth too for a hp. Did you use sodium lactate in your recipe?

Now i must brave myself to do some swirling on a hp

 

[Tienne]

Give yourself a pat on the back Tersh, those soaps came out lovely!!

Seven, I watched some of her other videos and I saw her pouring some SL in and it wasn't very much, (she does have those teensy cute little molds though and correspondingly small batter size), but I don't think she uses more than the 3% you're supposed to. She does add a little bit of skimmed milk too, though. I think it was about 1 Tbs to her size batch. (I've heard that milk should help keep HP smooth, too.) But isn't she clever! Heck, when I do HP, I feel as if I have less than a minute to get things into the mold before the batter starts going crunchy on me and she just stands there, swirlin' and swirlin' like she has all the time in the world! Man, do I have swirl envy! LOL

Tersh, as for a packaging suggestion? Cellophane bags and then waistbands are always nice. (It's a pretty cheap way of doing things and it shows off the soap really well.) You can even design your own little "logo" stickers and then print that out and make your own cute waistbands on some pretty coloured card or even on some strips of fancy wallpaper and give it all a really personal touch. (Did I mention it can be done CHEAPLY? LOL)

Here's some examples of what I mean;

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...ndmade+Deco+Label+For+Soap&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Edit: If you don't want to buy cello bags, then the soaps look just as pretty if you just wrap them in wax paper and then put a waistband around that.

 

[seven]

Tersh, i'm with Tienne on the packaging suggestion. waistbands/cigarbands are simple, easy to make, and they look nice too. besides wax paper, you can also try those brown kraft papers as a wrap, then for the cigarband you can either use another contrasting color (black for example), or gift wrapping paper.

another example of my all time favorite soap packaging...

all dark, mysterious, and gloomy...

now of course that one was printed professionally, but i like the idea of using a seal wax..

can you tell i love black?

 

[DaleF]

That really turned out beautiful! Congrats.

I really like the homemade soaps that are showcased to really show off the soap. So much work is put into making them beautiful and functional, it seems almost a shame to put them into a bag where you can't smell them. I love a simple waistband. This time of year you can really get some beautiful ribbons. I love the fancy wallpaper idea from Tienne.

Seven, your picture came in while I was replying. LOVE that packaging!!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I can see it on this laptop - and I'm very glad that I can! Lovely looking soap

 

[tersh79]

Oh those are pretty, indeed. Look smooth too for a hp. Did you use sodium lactate in your recipe?

Now i must brave myself to do some swirling on a hp

Nope, no sodium lactate! It's a simple olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, lye and water recipe. This one I was careful not to overcook it (I think my other HPs I've let go to long and they get dry and harder to work with in the mold, this one was a bit wetter and definitely made it easier to work with for swirling.) I do mix with a whisk, instead of a spoon, which I normally see in the Youtube videos, don't know if that makes a difference or not!