SMF May 2021 Challenge - One Pot Wonder

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I thought the same thing about myself when I was pouring mine. Like, why can't I just use the proper tools instead of improvising so much? My life would be so much easier.šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø
I guess I just am what I am.
Sounds like there are a few of us out there like this. At least we can comfort in the fact we are not alone.
 
@gladysjones @Stephd31 Neophilia: an enthusiasm for what is new and novel.

I can relate. Years ago I uncovered this beautiful word and it was a lightbulb going off in my head when I learned that there was a word that fit that part of me that is abundantly curious. And curious is a good word, too. This word takes it to the next level, though.

P.S. I like being a neophiliac. šŸ„°
 
Finally, it is done. Everything was slow going due to my hand, and I should have stopped using the SBer one or two bursts before I did. My batter thickened up more than I wanted, what with my slow moving hand and all. But it's in the oven for CPOP to encourage gel. I used a T&S mold, but miscalculated necessary Total Batch size needed so they'll be Short & Skinny. But I think the design should be okay with the short & skinny. I poured the colors in the right order as planned for what was going to be on the bottom, middle & top, but at the end of the pour, I wasn't so sure my choice of order was necessarily the best choice. Actually, I don't think it matters that much, as I like the color combination and no matter what, I am sure I am going to be happy with the result given the difficulty of making this or pretty much any soap right now with my thumb and hand like it is.

I actually used my dominant hand for the pour and my thumb, although tired from all that work, is not in pain and did not fail to perform reasonably well with a little assist from its partner, my left hand. So it's all good. Hubby came home (from mowing across town) and I had to warn him not to touch anything until I cleaned up, which is all done now (with the soapy vessels & utensils resting out of the way in the spare shower, where they will stay for a couple of days for the residue to saponify prior to final clean-up.

Kitty Baby was outside most of the time, but has finally gone up for a cat-nap. ƀ la Mobjack Bay, I put my camera on top of the mold before I even started so I would remember to get the One Pot Wonder photo of the raw soap in the pot prior to the mold pour. I wasn't sure the mold would stay put during the pour because I tilted it so precariously, but I put a towel to stabilize it and had no trouble with the mold staying put.

I may make another attempt in a few days, or I may not. We shall see.
 
Finally, it is done. Everything was slow going due to my hand, and I should have stopped using the SBer one or two bursts before I did. My batter thickened up more than I wanted, what with my slow moving hand and all. But it's in the oven for CPOP to encourage gel. I used a T&S mold, but miscalculated necessary Total Batch size needed so they'll be Short & Skinny. But I think the design should be okay with the short & skinny. I poured the colors in the right order as planned for what was going to be on the bottom, middle & top, but at the end of the pour, I wasn't so sure my choice of order was necessarily the best choice. Actually, I don't think it matters that much, as I like the color combination and no matter what, I am sure I am going to be happy with the result given the difficulty of making this or pretty much any soap right now with my thumb and hand like it is.

I actually used my dominant hand for the pour and my thumb, although tired from all that work, is not in pain and did not fail to perform reasonably well with a little assist from its partner, my left hand. So it's all good. Hubby came home (from mowing across town) and I had to warn him not to touch anything until I cleaned up, which is all done now (with the soapy vessels & utensils resting out of the way in the spare shower, where they will stay for a couple of days for the residue to saponify prior to final clean-up.

Kitty Baby was outside most of the time, but has finally gone up for a cat-nap. ƀ la Mobjack Bay, I put my camera on top of the mold before I even started so I would remember to get the One Pot Wonder photo of the raw soap in the pot prior to the mold pour. I wasn't sure the mold would stay put during the pour because I tilted it so precariously, but I put a towel to stabilize it and had no trouble with the mold staying put.

I may make another attempt in a few days, or I may not. We shall see.
Dear
On a good note you have tell the 28th to retry if your up to it' āœØšŸ’«šŸ™ŒšŸ¼
 
Here are the soaps Iā€˜m not entering for the challenge.

For the first soap, which had four layers, the colors are quite interleaved. The layers were poured at 90 deg from the spout of a batter bowl (2000 ml). This was a huge pouring vessel compared to batch size (450 g oils) and the spout is broad. The batter for each color was passing through/over the spout simultaneously for much of the pour. The colorants are indigo, annatto, with a little AC added to the darker indigo layer. The soap is scented with lemongrass EO.

FDA3B931-D956-4CC2-A172-2A30B951CA77.jpeg
90083149-7FAC-4491-A4E4-4E576EB8FAF7.jpeg


For this next batch (450 g oils), I made a pink base batter using madder tea for the water and a little TD to add some opacity. The split layers were colored with strongly colored paprika, rhubarb and alkanet infused oils until I achieved the colors I wanted. The two warm color layers are scented with NS Satsuma and the two cool purplish layers are scented with NS Lavender and Sage. The acceleration of the purple layers had me scrambling and I forgot to take the crucial photo, but this batter was poured at about 45 deg from the spout of a 1000 ml measuring cup. I added the layers in the order shown below, from left to right. I had no idea how it was going to turn out because the purple and orange layers seemed to be moving at different speeds on the way into the mold.

I LOVE this soap! I donā€™t think it looks ridged IRL, but I canā€™t seem to get a better photo.

FCA687AB-C835-4BA6-B728-6E9F87846494.jpeg

45739797-5C2C-4171-8095-ECAB6DFBA09F.jpeg



In case anyone is interested, I made the concentrated oil infusions using the method Chass of Wild Plantanica uses to make hers. It makes adding botanical colorants almost as easy as adding micas.
 
Last edited:
Whoosh! So much for "I'll participate in this challenge because it looks easy." My attempt is in the mold, but getting it there was a little hectic. I hope my colors aren't too similar. At least I remembered the fragrance and a picture of the pot.
Well, I cut it this morning and am fairly pleased with the result. The colors turned out decent, though not stunning. Like usual (sigh), I overheated and got glycerin rivers, but they don't ruin the design. It will be my entry, because I don't foresee having time to make another batch.
 
Here are the soaps Iā€˜m not entering for the challenge.

For the first soap, which had four layers, the colors are quite interleaved. The layers were poured at 45 deg from the spout of a batter bowl (2000 ml). This was a huge pouring vessel compared to batch size (450 g oils) and the spout is broad. The batter for each color was passing through/over the spout simultaneously for much of the pour. The colorants are indigo, annatto, with a little AC added to the darker indigo layer. The soap is scented with lemongrass EO.

View attachment 57525
View attachment 57526

For this next batch (450 g oils), I made a pink base batter using madder tea for the water and a little TD to add some opacity. The split layers were colored with strongly colored paprika, rhubarb and alkanet infused oils until I achieved the colors I wanted. The two warm color layers are scented with NS Satsuma and the two cool purplish layers are scented with NS Lavender and Sage. The acceleration of the purple layers had me scrambling and I forgot to take the crucial photo, but this batter was poured at about 20 deg from the spout of a 1000 ml measuring cup. I added the layers in the order shown below, from left to right. I had no idea how it was going to turn out because the purple and orange layers seemed to be moving at different speeds on the way into the mold.

I LOVE this soap! I donā€™t think it looks ridged IRL, but I canā€™t seem to get a better photo.

View attachment 57527

View attachment 57528


In case anyone is interested, I made the concentrated oil infusions using the method Chass of Wild Plantanica uses to make hers. It makes adding botanical colorants almost as easy as adding micas.
love the lemongrass one Mobjack!
 
So here is my non entry. I thought I was being a superstar by trying to use the full rainbow spectrum in this one. However, I was disappointed that the greens and blues did not come through very much at all, despite making up slightly more of the green knowing that it tends to 'fade'. This mixture was also a little bit thicker for the pour than my previous effort ( the one in the entry thread) - as you can see from the 'in the pot' shot.
IMG_3327.jpg
IMG_3328.jpg
IMG_7999.JPG
 
Last edited:
@Mobjack Bay those are beautiful! Did you pour at 45 degrees from the spout, or 90? Looks like 90 in the photo but maybe I'm not seeing it right.

Also, do you by any chance know which video by Chass explains her method of oil infusions? I looked at at her website and her list of videos, and none of them seem to be specifically about the oil infusions. Thanks!
 
@Mobjack Bay those are beautiful! Did you pour at 45 degrees from the spout, or 90? Looks like 90 in the photo but maybe I'm not seeing it right.

Also, do you by any chance know which video by Chass explains her method of oil infusions? I looked at at her website and her list of videos, and none of them seem to be specifically about the oil infusions. Thanks!
Thank you! I fixed the angles for the pours šŸ™ƒ. Chassā€™ YT is here
 
I see now I didn't really do the technique right. :confused:
Huh? I'd say it's perfectly fine! You apparently poured when the batter was still very thin, so you got a layering that is hard to beat in its fineness (extra points for the effort of putting so many layers in the pot). It heavily reminds me of wood grain texture!

Dividing single colours into multiple pours has been addressed multiple times in this thread. If the organisers had objections against it, I think we would have noticed šŸ¤Ø. AFAICS, you did nothing against the rules.
 
Here are the soaps Iā€˜m not entering for the challenge.

For the first soap, which had four layers, the colors are quite interleaved. The layers were poured at 90 deg from the spout of a batter bowl (2000 ml). This was a huge pouring vessel compared to batch size (450 g oils) and the spout is broad. The batter for each color was passing through/over the spout simultaneously for much of the pour. The colorants are indigo, annatto, with a little AC added to the darker indigo layer. The soap is scented with lemongrass EO.

View attachment 57525
View attachment 57526

For this next batch (450 g oils), I made a pink base batter using madder tea for the water and a little TD to add some opacity. The split layers were colored with strongly colored paprika, rhubarb and alkanet infused oils until I achieved the colors I wanted. The two warm color layers are scented with NS Satsuma and the two cool purplish layers are scented with NS Lavender and Sage. The acceleration of the purple layers had me scrambling and I forgot to take the crucial photo, but this batter was poured at about 45 deg from the spout of a 1000 ml measuring cup. I added the layers in the order shown below, from left to right. I had no idea how it was going to turn out because the purple and orange layers seemed to be moving at different speeds on the way into the mold.

I LOVE this soap! I donā€™t think it looks ridged IRL, but I canā€™t seem to get a better photo.

View attachment 57527

View attachment 57528


In case anyone is interested, I made the concentrated oil infusions using the method Chass of Wild Plantanica uses to make hers. It makes adding botanical colorants almost as easy as adding micas.
Really pretty soap love the colors in bothšŸ’«šŸ§¼
 
Back
Top