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penelopejane

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Hi,

I haven't bought mica yet but I am about to.

I would like to have a mica line in my soap but I would like a darker green than is available. Can I mix a black mica with a green mica to make a dark green pencil mica line or won't they mix? I want it to stick to the soap in the middle so I don't want to use it in oil as a paint.

Can I use mica for a thicker line or would I have to mix it into a batter to avoid the soap separating at that point?
 
I think that you can use mica for a thick line. You don't have to mix it first. I am not sure mixing green and black mica will give you dark green. Mica is like tiny individual flakes and they don't dissolve.
 
I've mixed white mica with blue oxide to get a light blue mica. Maybe you could mix your bright green mica with some black oxide to get the color you want. It really doesn't take much oxide.
 
A think layer of line is going to separate. I know many here will disagree but I have never had a soap with a dry pencil line hold together, at some point they have always split off. The best I have tried are ones with very fine pencil lines. This includes soaps I have received in swaps and soap I have purchased just to see if they hold together.
Did not answer your first question because I am not sure, you might mix a little black oxide into the dry mica but in my mind I cannot see it working with the two dry powders.
 
I've never had AC bleed, but then again, I've never used it in a pencil line either. I can't get them to hold together so I finally gave up.
 
Getting a good pencil line that does not cause the pieces to separate along the line is a really difficult technique. It takes a lot of practice, so try and not get frustrated at first.

As for darkening the dry mica - it is an interesting idea. If it was mixed in oil or batter it would work no problem, all you can do is try with a half teaspoon or so and see.

If nothing else you can use it to color some soap! :)
 
I agree with Carolyn, get it too thick and it won't hold together. I've done a couple with good luck but they were thin lines. They held together long term.
 
Something to consider: every time I've made a mica line, it's come out darker than it looks in the jar or if the mica is mixed into the batter. I've actually done a mica line with a medium Mad Oils green mica (can't remember the name just now) that actually looks hunter green in the line.
 
I tried this while doing a gradient soap where I wanted to vary the mica line color to correspond to the batter color (starting with full blue mica and adding more and more white as I went along). It didn't really show a big change unless you compare the bottom line to the top one. I did keep the lines thin though to avoid a bar falling apart.
 
WSP's Matte Woodland Green Oxide makes a nice dark green pencil line. The line comes out a much darker green than the powder looks in the jar.
I bought a bunch of salt shakers at the dollar store for my oxides/micas and they work like a dream to make pencil lines - plus it's easy to see the colors without having to sort through jars and bags to find the one I'm looking for!
 
WSP's Matte Woodland Green Oxide makes a nice dark green pencil line. The line comes out a much darker green than the powder looks in the jar.
I bought a bunch of salt shakers at the dollar store for my oxides/micas and they work like a dream to make pencil lines - plus it's easy to see the colors without having to sort through jars and bags to find the one I'm looking for!

I can only get BB seafoam green (yucky) or shamrock green and the shamrock bleeds and fades in CP. :cry:
 
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