SMF August 2020 Challenge - Zig Zag Cosmic Wave Technique

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I have to admit that I am happy to be done with this challenge! I definitely learned a lot and ended up with a few bars to give as nice Christmas gifts so it was well worth the effort, but I am glad it's over! I actually ended up going with my 2nd try although the colors didn't have as much contrast as some of the others, but since the zigzag turned out more even I went with it.
I never could make myself stop concentrating so hard on the pour and pay attention to the position of the mold. I guess I can't do two things at once. By the time I got done, the far end was about an inch thick and the near end was 1.5 inches thick with all kinds of waves on top. Thanks to my inability, I finally broke down and bought a planer (it's a beauty too).
If I tried a 6th time (which I'm NOT!) I would try a different mold. Maybe I would do better with a wider mold??

These are my non-entries.

#1 Blue Shocker neon (MM), Flotation Device neon (MM) & Blue Moon white (MM) - Trying for Florida Gators colors but missed the mark. Probably because I don't like the team.
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#2 is on the Entry thread

#3 Wicked (MM), Satin Grey Pillow Case (MM) & Golden Buddha (MM) - Going for UCF (University of Central Florida) colors. I think they would make good wood or rock colors, but I blended them too much.

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#4 Pastels - Berry Twist (NS), Sea Green (NS) and Yellow Vibrance (NS). Wish the bar on the left looked like the one on the right!

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#5 Browns - Tall, Dark, & Handsome (MM), Poppycock (MM) & Champagne (MM). I forgot to clip the side of silicone mold so the loaf got a little dented.

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Did I mention that I'm glad this is over?!?!?

Thank you @dibbles for organizing this!

They are all really great imo... I only made one attempt and it really was a fair as far as the design is concerned.
 
I’ve had my share of fails with challenge attempts. I used to not enter them, but lately I’ve decided I will. There is something about entering, trying, and completing, even if I don’t win, show, or place.

I look at it like this: if I ever enter a marathon, or triathlon, I would go into it knowing that some people have trained to be the best, and probably started with more talent than I have, too. I wouldn’t expect to cross the finish line with them anywhere in sight, would I?

Yet the experience of preparing for and running the race is still fun, and still good for me. Finishing it still has value, too - because finishing something hard, or something where I’m not the best, develops my character. It gives me compassion for those who struggle where I may shine - bc now I know how it feels to be not-so-good at something. It also develops perseverance when I don’t give up bc it didn’t turn out like I wanted. It helps me be appropriately humble when my best effort is so minuscule compared to “the greats.”

Of course, there is nothing wrong with deciding not to enter, as well. No need to stress ourselves out over soap! But I do find value in sharing even my flops with all of you. The grace, acceptance and encouragement you/we pour out to one another is healing to all who receive it.

Ahem. Well. That turned more philosophical than I meant it to be. But I hope y’all are encouraged to try and to enter. You may be surprised at the positive outcome that doesn’t depend on how cool your soap looks. 🌺
 
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I’ve had my share of fails with challenge attempts. I used to not enter them, but lately I’ve decided I will. There is something about entering, trying, and completing, even if I don’t win, show, or place.

I look at it like this: if I ever enter a marathon, or triathlon, I would go into it knowing that some people have trained to be the best, and probably started with more talent than I have, as well. I wouldn’t expect to cross the finish line with them anywhere in sight, would I?

Yet the experience of preparing for and running the race is still fun, and still good for me. Finishing it still has value, too - because finishing something hard, or something where I’m not the best, develops my character. It gives me compassion for those who struggle where I may shine - bc now I know how it feels to be not-so-good at something. It also develops perseverance when I don’t give up bc it didn’t turn out like I wanted. It helps me be appropriately humble when my best effort is so minuscule compared to “the greats.”

Of course, there is nothing wrong with deciding not to enter, as well. No need to stress ourselves out over soap! But I do find value in sharing even my flops with all of you. The grace, acceptance and encouragement you/we pour out to one another is healing to all who receive it.

Well. That turned more philosophical than I meant it to be. But I hope y’all are encouraged to try and to enter. You may be surprised at the positive outcome that doesn’t depend on how cool your soap looks. 🌺

Love this. ♥️
 
Here are 2 pictures of my attempt at the Zig Zag Cosmic Wave. They show the off the best. The other photos are not worth sharing at this point. The batter was too thin, I guess, because the colors seem to bleed into each other.




Oh, and I never officially entered because I wasn't sure I'd find the time to make the soap in the first place, so it's good I didn't post it on the entry thread. So I am okay with that.
 
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Even if they're not technically perfect, I still really like how your soaps turned out @earlene
Agreed! I love your color choices @earlene, and I can see the curving and feathering!

I personally found this technique waaaaayyy more difficult than I thought it would be (hence the four attempts, haha). The cool thing is, all of the soaps I've seen shared here still look cool even if they weren't technically perfect.
 
I’ve had my share of fails with challenge attempts. I used to not enter them, but lately I’ve decided I will. There is something about entering, trying, and completing, even if I don’t win, show, or place.

I look at it like this: if I ever enter a marathon, or triathlon, I would go into it knowing that some people have trained to be the best, and probably started with more talent than I have, as well. I wouldn’t expect to cross the finish line with them anywhere in sight, would I?

Yet the experience of preparing for and running the race is still fun, and still good for me. Finishing it still has value, too - because finishing something hard, or something where I’m not the best, develops my character. It gives me compassion for those who struggle where I may shine - bc now I know how it feels to be not-so-good at something. It also develops perseverance when I don’t give up bc it didn’t turn out like I wanted. It helps me be appropriately humble when my best effort is so minuscule compared to “the greats.”

Of course, there is nothing wrong with deciding not to enter, as well. No need to stress ourselves out over soap! But I do find value in sharing even my flops with all of you. The grace, acceptance and encouragement you/we pour out to one another is healing to all who receive it.

Well. That turned more philosophical than I meant it to be. But I hope y’all are encouraged to try and to enter. You may be surprised at the positive outcome that doesn’t depend on how cool your soap looks. 🌺
I couldn't ❤ this more. Thank you!
 
I’ve had my share of fails with challenge attempts. I used to not enter them, but lately I’ve decided I will. There is something about entering, trying, and completing, even if I don’t win, show, or place.

I look at it like this: if I ever enter a marathon, or triathlon, I would go into it knowing that some people have trained to be the best, and probably started with more talent than I have, as well. I wouldn’t expect to cross the finish line with them anywhere in sight, would I?

Yet the experience of preparing for and running the race is still fun, and still good for me. Finishing it still has value, too - because finishing something hard, or something where I’m not the best, develops my character. It gives me compassion for those who struggle where I may shine - bc now I know how it feels to be not-so-good at something. It also develops perseverance when I don’t give up bc it didn’t turn out like I wanted. It helps me be appropriately humble when my best effort is so minuscule compared to “the greats.”

Of course, there is nothing wrong with deciding not to enter, as well. No need to stress ourselves out over soap! But I do find value in sharing even my flops with all of you. The grace, acceptance and encouragement you/we pour out to one another is healing to all who receive it.

Well. That turned more philosophical than I meant it to be. But I hope y’all are encouraged to try and to enter. You may be surprised at the positive outcome that doesn’t depend on how cool your soap looks. 🌺

I couldn't have said it better myself @AliOop!
 
The only thing that I could add to @AliOop is something a quilt artist said to me many years ago. Don't compare your quilts to others, especially those with more experience than you. Always compare your current quilt with what you did on the last quilt. Did you correct mistakes? Did you learn something? That is what makes quilters better and quilting more fun. I see a direct correlation in that to soaping...at least for me.

When my back allows me (hopefully in the future) I will take this to heart when I start entering the challenges. I know that I won't "win", I'll be that beginner soaper that is learning. But I will do it for fun, for knowledge and for show...this forum is the best for all three. In the meantime, I have every challenge bookmarked and have devoured the videos. One of these days, I want to do them all, even if they are years late!
 
@Quilter99755 so true! The challenges are meant to be an opportunity to learn and have fun.

In some respects, the challenges are like a book club. Everyone is reading (making) the same thing. But the interpretations, ideas and learnings are as unique as each person taking part. And I think we all gain something from everyone else.
 
Also agree and will post in future. Here's my 'failed' design attempt. It's scented with Peppermint Bark and smells delicious!
 

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My soap is still so soft in the mold still /: surprisingly, one of the fragrances I used made cosmic wave glop and I had to save with a chopstick swirl. The other I really like the color scheme. Here is what they look like in the molds. I can wait til I can cut! Maybe tomorrow. I can’t believe I waited to so long to make them that I missed the entry deadline. I had evenresearched good color schemes to try!
 

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My soap is still so soft in the mold still /: surprisingly, one of the fragrances I used made cosmic wave glop and I had to save with a chopstick swirl. The other I really like the color scheme. Here is what they look like in the molds. I can wait til I can cut! Maybe tomorrow. I can’t believe I waited to so long to make them that I missed the entry deadline. I had evenresearched good color schemes to try!
I really like those colors and designs!
 
Thanks @AliOop and @szaza! I was finally able to get them out of the mold but they were still very soft and probably could have set another day out of it before cutting but I was impatient!
A proper cosmic wave zig zag:
C27277B8-6C26-4CF1-BA5D-DE07E9B8A1F3.jpeg697706CF-5BFA-430B-BF71-8A31B8E31172.jpeg
and then the flop (I used a chopstick and hanger inside):268DD478-B961-4896-A037-31FD0A8DFB3B.jpeg521858EA-268D-4BBC-9114-893476334455.jpeg

the second one required a lot gentler handling for some reason, it’s same recipe except for the added titanium dioxide and fragrance which is what I think gummed up the works. Both fragrances arefrom the BB Adventurer collection Backwoods Hike (top) and Verdant Woods, which I think smells like the Duluth Trading “Date Night” scent. Omg, I love it so much. You can kinda tell where some of the cosmic-omg was happening in the darker bars but the hanger swirled them right up. I wish the yellow had stayed as vibrant in the first attempt. This was fun!

Everyone's bars are beautiful!!
 
These were two attempts that I did that didn’t make the cut. The red/blue was “Smoke + Mirrors” and like that it looks smokey but ultimately the contrast wasn’t as punchy as I wanted and the colors got muddled a bit. One of my colors was Celestial Silver mica and that contributed a bit.

The orange/green was “Harvest Moonlight” and the green was actually supposed to be more of a teal blue. This one thickened and bunched a bit—I had to plane some of the really thick wave parts down after cutting. It might have been the fragrance oil that made it move quicker (cinnamon heavy), or that I used a bit of sugar to bump up the bubbles. Both smell great and will make some good soap.
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They are lovely!
 

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