December 2022 Un-Challenge: (No more) New Year's Resolutions

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I love the colors you picked, @basti! Nice job! That swirl looks super tough to keep doing correctly through the loaf - I’m sure I’d get lost part way through and goof up. Did you use a FO/EO? 🌸
I did! I used Honey Almond by NG. Added it to my oils before adding lye and used a little less than recommended to help appease the soapmaking gods.

That's a beautiful soap @Cindy D.!! A brave decision to try so many new things at once, but it turned out beautifully 😍

@basti that soap is gorgeous. I don't think it's a failure.. you just invented a new technique 😉
I hereby declare it to be the... ahem "Panic Swirl." Will patiently await the call from the Soap Challenge Club regarding my genius. 🧐

Thank you for the encouragement everyone 🤍
 
My first time trying a scene using scrapers. What it was supposed to look like.
20221216_181008.jpg

What it actually looks like.
20221217_205518.jpg

I intended for the colors to change a lot more gradually, but I miss judged the amount of batter needed and then one pot that I didn't stir set up, so it was hard to get it mixed into the sky good. I'd like to try again but use squeeze bottles for the sky and maybe the trees at the bottom. After seeing the blue on top, it just didn't make me happy, so I took a veggy peeler and shaved most of it off. I like the mountains, Judy with the black was a little more gradual.
 
My biggest problem is packaging and photographing my soap. So I am happy that I actually got to take a picture tonight LOL. I'd probably be a millionaire if I just got around to taking pictures of all of my soap.

Anyway, for the December un-challenge, I am presenting three of my soaps that I made this month.

On the left is au naturale Oatmeal, Goats Milk and Honey soap (love the smell of it with no scent). 100% full water replacement with goat's milk.

On the right is last nights cut, which is Ophelia's Butter Bar, very lightly scented with coconut FO from CC. I haven't trimmed it yet. not sure if I will except for some buffing. No colorants, only kaolin clay if you consider that a colorant. The last time I made it, it had a translucent look about it, so that's why I added the clay.

And in the middle is my piece de resistance: "The Resolvable Owl", drop swirl scented with The Grim Reaper from NS. I was going for a slightly different look, it was supposed to be paisely. I should have reserved more white, so I got too much color. I don't dislike it, it is just not the look I was going for.

Sorry about the soap crumbs on the lazy susan lol. I saw them after I already put everything back to bed. I wasn't in the mood to redo the scene LOL.

December 2022 SMH.jpg
 
My biggest problem is packaging and photographing my soap. So I am happy that I actually got to take a picture tonight LOL. I'd probably be a millionaire if I just got around to taking pictures of all of my soap.

Anyway, for the December un-challenge, I am presenting three of my soaps that I made this month.

On the left is au naturale Oatmeal, Goats Milk and Honey soap (love the smell of it with no scent). 100% full water replacement with goat's milk.

On the right is last nights cut, which is Ophelia's Butter Bar, very lightly scented with coconut FO from CC. I haven't trimmed it yet. not sure if I will except for some buffing. No colorants, only kaolin clay if you consider that a colorant. The last time I made it, it had a translucent look about it, so that's why I added the clay.

And in the middle is my piece de resistance: "The Resolvable Owl", drop swirl scented with The Grim Reaper from NS. I was going for a slightly different look, it was supposed to be paisely. I should have reserved more white, so I got too much color. I don't dislike it, it is just not the look I was going for.

Sorry about the soap crumbs on the lazy susan lol. I saw them after I already put everything back to bed. I wasn't in the mood to redo the scene LOL.

View attachment 70237
I love your colors in the middle soap! It reminds me of a vest I had years ago. All your soaps are beautiful!
 
Will there be a new challenge for January 2023?
Yup! New members must have at least 50 posts before joining a regular challenge. You can join the challenge right up to the closing date so you have some time to reach that - or you can become a supporting member and bypass that requirement. :)
 
For this month’s Un-Challenge, I made a variation of @Dawni ‘s Triple Rice Soap (DTRS). Dawni made her soap using a hot process technique with a lard-based recipe. Others, such as @Misschief, make cold process recipes. My cold process recipe included 15% rice bran oil, 5% cooked rice slurry and 1% sweet rice flour blended into the oils, and rice rinse water for the split water to go along with master-batched lye and the rice slurry. The soap is lightly scented with lavandin with hints of eucalyptus, peppermint and amyris. The color is mostly from the unrefined shea and possibly the RBO since no other colorants were added. I‘ve had the sweet rice flour sitting around for at least a year, so a big thank you goes to @szaza for inspiring me to finally make the soap for this fun un-challenge!


E9531DAA-CE2B-4A56-B9BE-B8EDAF88ABC0.jpeg

BFFB4C61-BEA3-41C7-93CB-3A92A4E37940.jpeg
 
First post here.....slightly nervous. :) I have tried to get swirls using different tools and, while they are "okay", they never turn out like what I see many of you guys posting (sigh). For the Un-Challenge I tried pouring from opposite ends of the mold at the same time with my mix at light trace. Boy, that was a test of my motor skills! I then added a third pour from the top which stayed mostly at the top despite the mixtures not being too thick at that point. I probably could have done a little more swirl effect with some kind of tool but the mold was already soooooo full, I just decided to see what I ended up with. I put the dried lavender buds on top but when I cut today, the knife drug some of the buds down through the cut which made some not so nice looking drag marks. I will be cleaning those up as the soap cures. Anyway, here is my effort - still not quite what I want, but closer. Thank you guys who post so often. I love being "stretched" by what y'all are accomplishing!
Lavender Buds 3.JPG
 
I finally had a chance to sit back and admire this month’s soaps.

@Lidiacgarcia I love the ZNSB two ways, the pretty colors and the cute stamp.

@Servant4Christ your ZNSB looks smooth and creamy and you have the lather to prove it. All I can say about that lather is WOW.

@Cindy D. congratulations on pulling off two very advanced techniques!

@basti I’m not sure what you were aiming for but your soap makes me want to go poolside on a tropical island with a🍹 in hand.

@CreativeWeirdo I still want a bite of that yummy looking cake 😍

@Catscankim I love a good simple bar and you gave us two! You made my FOMRO worse with that really fantastic drop swirl.

@McKherring Farm Congratulations on making a super swirl. You picked just the right colors!

I hope I didn’t miss anyone. All of the soaps are wonderful.

I did miss someone! It was @dmcgee5034 and their amazing kaleidoscope soap. Some people can do it all 😍
 
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My first time trying a scene using scrapers. What it was supposed to look like.
View attachment 70234
What it actually looks like. View attachment 70235
I intended for the colors to change a lot more gradually, but I miss judged the amount of batter needed and then one pot that I didn't stir set up, so it was hard to get it mixed into the sky good. I'd like to try again but use squeeze bottles for the sky and maybe the trees at the bottom. After seeing the blue on top, it just didn't make me happy, so I took a veggy peeler and shaved most of it off. I like the mountains, Judy with the black was a little more gradual.
These are Amazing nice work!
 

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