May Have Achieved My First 1/2 Way Decent Swirl

[commoncenz]

After the fiasco earlier this week where I started out doing a Tiger Swirl and my brain disengaged from my hands, I thought it might be better to go ahead and allow my hands to do the swirl that they were obviously itching to do. Soooo, tonight we (my hands and I) attempted a Taiwan Swirl. The FO is Cucumber Melon from VA Candle Supply. For the attempted swirl I used three colors; TD along with Nurture's Green Apple and Hollywood Pink.

So far, in the mold and uncut, it doesn't look 1/2 bad. I can see that I should have been more precise with both my pouring and my movements, but overall, except for the air bubbles on top, I'm kinda pleased. (Those dimples on top ARE from air bubbles right?).

I am genuinely excited to cut this one 2morrow evening and see if the rest came out as well as the top. "Well" being relative as this is my first attempt at a Taiwan Swirl. Although I've been watching videos of the technique for the last 2 weeks, which may explain my hands "taking over" earlier in the week. :crazy:

Edit: Well, I'll have to upload pics later because I keep getting an upload error.

Edit 2: Files were too large. Fixed.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

Those are some very lovely

 

[Dorymae]

Very nice! Can't wait to see the cut pics.

 

[commoncenz]

Thank you both. I can't wait to see them either. I should probably go to sleep before I find myself letting my hands get in the way of my head again. lol.

 

[TeresaT]

Pretty!

 

[not_ally]

Congratulations, lovely! Please post cut pictures, those are so much fun w/Taiwan swirls ...

 

[soapswirl]

Looks lovely, well done

 

[navigator9]

Not half bad??? It looks beautiful to me, you're much too modest.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Gorgeous! I love them!

 

[commoncenz]

Thank you all.

Navigator, they haven't been cut yet. So, while the top may look decent ... well, while I'm new to the coloring game, I have cut a few uncolored "surprises" before. lol. I'll definitely post pics this evening after they're cut; good or bad.

 

[snappyllama]

Those are really pretty. I love the color combination... nice choice!

 

[commoncenz]

So, yeah, the cut shows that I've got to go back to the drawing board. Problem is that I can't figure out what I did wrong with this one other than maybe being more precise with my pour and movements. So, that's what I'll try to change next time. I think the key may be focusing on this one particular type of swirl before trying to move to another because I won't be satisfied until I get it right. Soaping ... so frustratingly addicting :razz:

Oh well, since it's raining constantly here now, I guess I'll call this mistake "Cucumber Melon Rain".

Edit: A question here. How thick is vegetable glycerin supposed to be. I ordered some from an Ebay supplier and it's awfully thick. Like thicker than corn syrup. I've been mixing my micas in it and while the resultant mixture spreads well in the soap batter, it's initially very thick. Not that I believe this has anything to do with my trials and tribulations obtaining a proper swirl.

 

[Obsidian]

Those look very nice, I like the vertical striping. Glycerin is pretty thick but I don't know if mine has ever been like corn syrup. I generally mix my micas with a little oil, just enough to make a slurry and make sure there are no lumps.

 

[commoncenz]

Thank you. I'm not complaining about the swirls ... per se. Just not what I was going for ... but, heh, that gives me a reason to try again! And yeah, I think I'll go back to oils for my micas. I ordered the glycerin because I read that it worked with both micas and oxides. But the stuff I'm using is soooo thick and the only colorant that I've not had a difficult time using it with has been the TD (go figure).

 

[soapswirl]

Which way did you cut these? Vertically down?

 

[commoncenz]

yes. from the top down.

Edit: Holy Mother! If I wanted to see swirls like I had on top, I would have had to cut "Horizontally" wouldn't I have? But, I've seen folks do a Taiwan swirl in a loaf mold in the same way I did mine ... so there must be a step or something I'm missing.

 

[commoncenz]

So yeah ... there's this. All the videos I watched about a Taiwan swirl and the ONE I missed was probably the most important....

Thanks SoapSwirl for the mule kick to the head ... "doh"

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NvSKIN2DuA"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NvSKIN2DuA[/ame]

 

[soapswirl]

Not to worry commoncenz - now you know! And its still lovely colourful soap

 

[not_ally]

Are any of the bars thick enough to cut in half horizantally and at least to get a sense of what the swirl would have looked like? Maybe if you do a couple of them and put them together? So irritating when you (ie; me) do stuff like that!

 

[commoncenz]

Ok, I think I would have been very pleased with this swirl if I had cut it correctly. Actually, I know I would have. Lesson learned; and one I won't soon forget. Gotta slow down, be patient and "see" how the swirls are supposed to work.