SMF April 2021 Challenge - Lollipop Swirl

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I have what may be my entry in the oven now (after I got the door back on 🙄) and I'm so excited to see if it comes out ok... I did tiny tiny pours and it took pretty much for.ev.er to get it all poured. On the upside I now have a batter recipe that stays fluid for a really long time too, so I may have another attempt at a pull through one of these days.

This is my second favourite attempt so far, but there was meant to be a black line between the two shades of purple which seems to have been entirely swallowed up! There's a tiny hint of it in places but mostly it disappeared completely:
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I have what may be my entry in the oven now (after I got the door back on 🙄) and I'm so excited to see if it comes out ok... I did tiny tiny pours and it took pretty much for.ev.er to get it all poured. On the upside I now have a batter recipe that stays fluid for a really long time too, so I may have another attempt at a pull through one of these days.

This is my second favourite attempt so far, but there was meant to be a black line between the two shades of purple which seems to have been entirely swallowed up! There's a tiny hint of it in places but mostly it disappeared completely:
You say "purple" I say "Periwinkle Blue" my favorite color - even used it for my wedding dress. Periwinkle, Periwinkle, everywhere and I just don't care, Periwinkle!
 
I do not want this challenge to be an excuse for me to buy anything new.
I went old school with my first try. Went back to my favorite slow 50% Lard recipe (also change it back to original 33.3% lye concentration) I dusted off my Pringle cans that were my first molds. And although I messed up in SM3 and calculated mold volume before adjusting the additives from an copied recipe...I actually didn’t have enough to fill up my mold... but it was such a fun pour still worked out just fine! Can’t wait for the cut! My batter stayed pretty fluid the whole pour and I realized early on to make sure to keep the batter pour on the wall of the mold or it just plops and doesn’t move the already poured batter and swirl. Plus it’s easy to keep track of what color is next with the different colors lining the wall of the mold. It was nice just making a small batch like I used to in the beginning! Thanks for the break from reality @Primrose !!!
 
i dont understand why someone is mentioning the lollipop swirl as an entry, are you talking about competitions you have on this forum or the soap challenge,because this months entry is the polka dot challenge,so because i am new here i am confused. thank you
 
i dont understand why someone is mentioning the lollipop swirl as an entry, are you talking about competitions you have on this forum or the soap challenge,because this months entry is the polka dot challenge,so because i am new here i am confused. thank you
I think maybe you're thinking of the Soap Challenge Club challenge for April, which is indeed Polka Dot Soap. The April challenge for this forum (which is "Soap Making Forum") is the Lollipop Swirl. Hope that helps. :)
 
i dont understand why someone is mentioning the lollipop swirl as an entry, are you talking about competitions you have on this forum or the soap challenge,because this months entry is the polka dot challenge,so because i am new here i am confused. thank you
SMF has it's own monthly challenge, unrelated to Amy Warden's Soap Challenge Club. This is the thread for the SMF challenge for April, which is the Lollipop Swirl.
 
Well my first attempt is wrapped up in its pvc mold, in all its failed glory! My batters were different thicknesses by the time I was ready to pour, so one kept breaking through the other. I had to blend my coloured one too much, because my activated charcoal was not properly dispersed. So next time I'll soap at a lower temp, and figure out a better way to add colour 🤔
 
Well my first attempt is wrapped up in its pvc mold, in all its failed glory! My batters were different thicknesses by the time I was ready to pour, so one kept breaking through the other. I had to blend my coloured one too much, because my activated charcoal was not properly dispersed. So next time I'll soap at a lower temp, and figure out a better way to add colour 🤔
I accidentally soaped at around 80 degrees today...forgot about it in the fridge. I used clays and activated charcoal for colors. The clay I dispersed with a tablespoon of my aloe juice and my AC with a tablespoon of my batch oils. I just mixed it in the pitchers I was pouring each color from and used a spatula to mix with batter instead of the stick blender. I surprisingly stayed pretty fluid till the end. But we will see how it turned out when I cut it tonight! Good luck!
 
I accidentally soaped at around 80 degrees today...forgot about it in the fridge. I used clays and activated charcoal for colors. The clay I dispersed with a tablespoon of my aloe juice and my AC with a tablespoon of my batch oils. I just mixed it in the pitchers I was pouring each color from and used a spatula to mix with batter instead of the stick blender. I surprisingly stayed pretty fluid till the end. But we will see how it turned out when I cut it tonight! Good luck!
I dispersed my AC in glycerin, but my apple sauce mixing cup had ridges in the bottom, so it probably wasn't mixed throughout. So I had to stick blend it, but I think I can correct it next time!
 
Welcome to the April 2021 SMF Soap Challenge. This month’s challenge is the Lollipop Swirl

The Lollipop Swirl was created by Mater Sam in mid-2020, and exploded across facebook soap groups and internet forums for quite some time. I thought it would be fun to see it make its way to a SMF challenge!

PLEASE READ ALL RULES for the challenge.

SMF Challenge General Rules

1. To enter you must have been a SMF member for at least one month and have a minimum of 50 posts at the time the Challenge is posted (sorry but no exceptions on this).

2. The only members eligible to vote are those with their names on the sign-up list - regardless of whether or not you have submitted an entry. The sign-up list will be posted in this thread.

3. This month’s voting will be password locked. Passwords will be sent by private message (via SMF conversations) to registered participants ONLY, so please check your messages when the voting begins.

4. A separate entry thread will be created and this is where you will post photos of your entry soap. Please do not post photos of your entry until the entry thread is opened. Post pictures of your entry soap only in the challenge entry thread.

Non-entry photos are always welcome and may be posted in the general challenge thread. The challenge thread should be used to upload pictures of any of your challenge attempts (other than your entry) where you can ask for advice and discuss the technique with other members, and provide helpful hints you learned along the way.

5. Your soap must be made after the monthly challenge has been announced.

6. You are allowed to change your entry photo until the entry thread closes. If you decide you want another try after you post your entry, and you like the second better, you can change it up until the deadline.

7. In the spirit of advancing our soap making skills, all members who sign-up for a SMF Challenge do so with the expectation that they will make every attempt to make a soap for the challenge. Writing about your experience in the challenge is encouraged. By doing so, each participant has a better knowledge of your process when voting. We do understand that sometimes things come up in our lives and throw our plans out of whack, however signing up with no intent to participate and only to vote is not in the spirit of the challenges and is not allowed.

8. Please add your name to the sign-up list if you wish to participate (you don’t have to enter a soap at the end if you don’t feel happy with what you have produced), but please do post your experiences in the main Challenge thread and be prepared to be encouraged to continue trying.

9. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please keep your comments polite.

* * * *

  • Competition entries must be uploaded to the separate entry thread before the closing date.
  • The entry thread will open on April 21, 2021 at 11:00 pm GMT (Please follow the challenge specific rules as to what you need to enter).
  • After the closing date on April 27, 2021 at 11:59 pm GMT the winning entry will be chosen using Survey Monkey. Voting will be open from April 28-29, 2021 and the winner will be announced on April 30, 2021. There is no prize attached to this challenge.
  • If you fail to make the challenge deadline, you are still welcome to upload pictures of your soap onto the thread, but your entry will not be eligible for voting. We always love to see anything you have created.
  • Even though there is no prize, this is still a competition. If your entry is deemed not to fulfill the general rules or the rules specific to the challenge in any way, then you will be given the opportunity to amend your entry. If this is not possible, your entry will not be included in the voting.
  • All the challenge mods reserve the right to have the final say on whether a soap is eligible for voting.
* * * *
SPECIFIC RULES FOR THE APRIL 2021 CHALLENGE

The Lollipop Swirl is essentially a modified wall pour done in a column mold. You will pour alternating colours down the side of your mold in order to layer them on top of each other rather than allowing them to break through different layers. For each subsequent pour, rotate your column mold slightly so that each layer is poured slightly away from the previous one - this will create the lollipop pattern. Please see the videos linked below to show how the lollipop swirl is poured.

1. You will require a cylinder/column mold for this technique. If you do not have a specific soap mold, an empty Pringles can works very well. PVC pipes are also suitable, or anything else a similar shape.

2. You must must use a minimum of two colours (you can use many more if you so desire)

3. Your entry photo must show at least two bars from your batch.

4. You can make this challenge as simple or as complicated as you would like. You may wish to try doing a rimmed soap with lollipop swirl centre; you may wish to use multiple colours, or keep it simple with only two colours. You can embed the entire lollipop soap inside a standard loaf, or you can add embellishments to the lollipop. Let your creativity loose with this one :)

HELPFUL TIPS:

1. Choose a well behaving fragrance oil which will remain at a steady/predictable trace for the duration of the pour.

2. A light to medium trace appears to work best for this technique; however don't despair if your batter is a little too thin to start with and a little too thick at the end. You will likely find you still have some nice bars in the middle of the loaf.

* * * *

Creator of the technique, Mater Sam - YouTube video showing two colour lollipop swirls




Fraulein Winter - tutorial video showing both a two colour swirl, and a four colour swirl





For all the inspiration you ever need and more, check out the Soap Challenge Club entries from December when they did this technique!

https://soapchallengeclub.com/lollipop-swirl-winners/


Most of all, good luck and have fun!

Primrose Good Morning' Thank you for hosting our April Lollipop Challenge.
I have just a few Q. When you said we can embellish our Lollipop Soap Design what does this entail? & 2nd Q. when you mentioned we can put entire cylinder lollipop soap into another mold' does this mean place cylinder lollipop soap into a "rectangle" shape 2nd mold? or any shape 2nd mold for housing lollipop soap?.
Much Thx 🤗🧼💫.
 
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So my second attempt was such an awesome pour. And just like last time I had the oven on for my soap, put my soap in the oven... and proceeded to forget about it. My iPhone had frozen this morning and I started working on getting it reset and then started to smell some really good strong soap... I opened the oven and turned it off, then peeked inside and saw my soap tipped over with a blob of soap bubbling on the bottom of the oven. I removed my mold and let it cool. Needles to say my oven is a little cleaner than before I started soaping this morning & my phone is working again! And now I get to go buy some more Pringles because that one is pretty much destroyed!🤪😳🙄😬
 
i dont understand why someone is mentioning the lollipop swirl as an entry, are you talking about competitions you have on this forum or the soap challenge,because this months entry is the polka dot challenge,so because i am new here i am confused. thank you
See the title of this thread? See also at the top of the page of each sub-forum at SMF the link to the SMF Challenge and Entry threads.

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See also this thread for all past SMF Challenges: SMF Soap Challenges ... across the years
 
Well my first attempt is wrapped up in its pvc mold, in all its failed glory! My batters were different thicknesses by the time I was ready to pour, so one kept breaking through the other. I had to blend my coloured one too much, because my activated charcoal was not properly dispersed. So next time I'll soap at a lower temp, and figure out a better way to add colour 🤔
Since my pour went so badly with one portion at light trace, and one much thicker, I went ahead and swirled with a chopstick as I knew I wouldn't like the effect I was getting. I love the end piece that had more of the uncoloured batter.
 

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Since my pour went so badly with one portion at light trace, and one much thicker, I went ahead and swirled with a chopstick as I knew I wouldn't like the effect I was getting. I love the end piece that had more of the uncoloured batter.
My first thought: "ohhhh, dreamy"
ETA: Nice save, btw. I didn't have your foresight on my attempt and I just have a pair of weird eyeballs looking at me. I will definitely swirl if my next attempt goes so obviously wrong!
 

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