SMF April 2021 Challenge - Lollipop Swirl

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@earlene and Resolvable Owl - Have no idea what the bottle is/was made of as it's not marked. It passed the test of going through the dishwasher...but apparently that's not a good test with this dishwasher (my old one sanitized with water and steam on rinse cycle)!
Hmm, I have seen PET thingies come out of the dishwasher in nearly the same shape as before, just shrunk by a third in size. Anyway, I'm super curious of your submission! Do you happen to have photos of what happened to the bottle?
 
Hmm, I have seen PET thingies come out of the dishwasher in nearly the same shape as before, just shrunk by a third in size. Anyway, I'm super curious of your submission! Do you happen to have photos of what happened to the bottle?
Just for you, I dug it out of the trash. Warping more severe at top, likely because bottom was confined by soap dough and a plastic lid. Here it is in all its sad glory....
IMG_9099.JPG
 
when you said let it warm up, how long did that take? I only let mine rest for 5-10 minutes out if the freezer and it usually comes out of pvc pipe easily. However it does depend on the recipe, mine has 60% ish of hard oils and I try to force gel with a heating pad because I use a lot less water. I also used Vaseline in the pipe. Definitely better to use liner when in doubt!
It was a few years ago and I can’t really remember - I think I tried freezing it a few times. It was like cement! Maybe it was my recipe. I was baffled by the videos I watched.
 
For some reason, this technique reminds me of my first instructed landing when going for my civilian pilot license. My instructor was a very soft spoken strong and silent type. Keep this in mind. As I was closer and closer to the runway and unable to straighten out the aircraft I finally asked my cool as a cucumber Instructor Jim, "Why is the plane going sideways?" To which he yelled (really screamed I think), "Because you're doing it wrong! My airplane! I have control!" This, of course caused me to actually turn to look at him in that tiny Cessna cockpit. I'd never seen that look on a face and haven't since. As soon as I looked at him he yelled, "You REALLY need to learn FEAR!" I chuckled then and I'm chuckling now.
 
For some reason, this technique reminds me of my first instructed landing when going for my civilian pilot license. My instructor was a very soft spoken strong and silent type. Keep this in mind. As I was closer and closer to the runway and unable to straighten out the aircraft I finally asked my cool as a cucumber Instructor Jim, "Why is the plane going sideways?" To which he yelled (really screamed I think), "Because you're doing it wrong! My airplane! I have control!" This, of course caused me to actually turn to look at him in that tiny Cessna cockpit. I'd never seen that look on a face and haven't since. As soon as I looked at him he yelled, "You REALLY need to learn FEAR!" I chuckled then and I'm chuckling now.
OMG! My dad was a pilot. I remember the intense fear when he handed me control of his Cessna and said, now you take over, after purposely stalling the engine. I was terrified. I swore never to fly with him again in a small plane. Obviously I didn't die, but for the life of me, I can't recall if he taught me to pull it out of that stall as planned or if he ended up having to do it himself. All I remember is the total sense of fear.
 
OMG! My dad was a pilot. I remember the intense fear when he handed me control of his Cessna and said, now you take over, after purposely stalling the engine. I was terrified. I swore never to fly with him again in a small plane. Obviously I didn't die, but for the life of me, I can't recall if he taught me to pull it out of that stall as planned or if he ended up having to do it himself. All I remember is the total sense of fear.
Oh dear! Thankfully, Silent Jim was not making the plane do anything, it was all my stupidity. You poor thing!
 
Soap dough... :) Roll it out bigger than mold and put it on your plastic cutting board or whatever, squish column mold into soap dough.
That is so smart!!! I cut cardboard circles out but there wasn’t a great deal and some of the batter leaked out. Not a big deal but using soap dough is a great idea!! Also used one layer of plastic wrap, then cardboard, then another layer of plastic wrap.
 
6 months after moving, I finally got my soap gear organized. I really hope I'll be able to give this technique a go, because I've been wanting to try this for a while, but I'll hold off on signing up until I've actually made an attempt ;)
 
A few thoughts on the pour: you have to pour just so. Like, duh, right? 🤣 Too close to the previous pour and the design doesn’t move. Too far apart and it pinwheels. There’s a sweet spot that I haven’t found...yet. I made attempt #2 earlier and filled the mold all the way to the top, hoping that at least two bars hit the mark.
 
A few thoughts on the pour: you have to pour just so. Like, duh, right? 🤣 Too close to the previous pour and the design doesn’t move. Too far apart and it pinwheels. There’s a sweet spot that I haven’t found...yet. I made attempt #2 earlier and filled the mold all the way to the top, hoping that at least two bars hit the mark.
This is really tricky. I have two practice rounds under my belt and they aren’t matching my vision, 🙄
 
A few thoughts on the pour: you have to pour just so. Like, duh, right? 🤣 Too close to the previous pour and the design doesn’t move. Too far apart and it pinwheels. There’s a sweet spot that I haven’t found...yet. I made attempt #2 earlier and filled the mold all the way to the top, hoping that at least two bars hit the mark.
🤣 🤣 This has become my strategy too! 🤣🤣
 
This is really tricky. I have two practice rounds under my belt and they aren’t matching my vision, 🙄
I've found it a lot trickier than it looks too and I think for me it's down to being able to get my body into the correct position to pour. For my next attempt I think I'm going to put the mold in the kitchen sink. Seems safer than teetering on my knees atop a bar stool. :nodding:
 
Inconsistent pouring due to inadequate (for the design, at least) pouring vessels.
Too close to the previous pour and the design doesn’t move. Too far apart and it pinwheels.
I watched I Dream I Soap YouTube video on the lollipop swirl for the 12th time today... I took two tips away from her video... 1. I saved lye bottles and cut the top off and used those to pour from. They hold 16 oz ish which was perfect for my colum mold with 3 colors. They are flexible enough to squeeze while pouring and creating a spout. I was definitely more in control of my pour. And 2. She said she poured just to the side of her previous pour, right at the curve where the batter slides down the side and spreads. I tried that today. We’ll see how it turns out tomorrow!?!?

After a trip to my friendly Ace hardware, I found a rubber cap with a tightening metal gasket for the bottom of my pvc pipe... so lo leaking today! The whole time the cute little guy was helping me he thought I was making soup in my 12 inch piece of PVC pipe I was carrying around. But after some mime soaping my arm action he found me what I was needed!

One of today’s soaps is my entry no mater what. The colors look good and they were good pours! I think! Lol!
 
I watched I Dream I Soap YouTube video on the lollipop swirl for the 12th time today... I took two tips away from her video... 1. I saved lye bottles and cut the top off and used those to pour from. They hold 16 oz ish which was perfect for my colum mold with 3 colors. They are flexible enough to squeeze while pouring and creating a spout. I was definitely more in control of my pour. And 2. She said she poured just to the side of her previous pour, right at the curve where the batter slides down the side and spreads. I tried that today. We’ll see how it turns out tomorrow!?!?

After a trip to my friendly Ace hardware, I found a rubber cap with a tightening metal gasket for the bottom of my pvc pipe... so lo leaking today! The whole time the cute little guy was helping me he thought I was making soup in my 12 inch piece of PVC pipe I was carrying around. But after some mime soaping my arm action he found me what I was needed!

One of today’s soaps is my entry no mater what. The colors look good and they were good pours! I think! Lol!
I’ve watched that video many times too. I can’t get my batter to be the perfect viscosity nor can I get perfect round circles - I end up with lopsided blobs.
 
Me tooooo!!!
@Vicki C
Hmmmmmm....I wonder if what I do would help? Not sure if I can explain. Try pouring it similar to as you would EO/FO out of a bottle. That is, pour the soap down a skewer or such, and position the skewer so that it lands the batter down the mold wall where you want it. Something akin to the below pic except it's usually a two-handed operation because depending on my pouring vessel (what the batter's in) and the batter trace I don't/can't generally hold the skewer against my batter vessel one-handed. Usually, I pour gently OVER the skewer, rather than the batter flowing under and along the skewer. You do have to be careful to not tip over your mold, but it works a treat for finicky pour designs like this one.

ETA - oops forgot the pic
1618414091875.png
 
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