SMF May 2021 Challenge - One Pot Wonder

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I’m looking at all the entries and non entries and noticing that most of them have a layered look with the last color poured on the bottom of the soap. In the videos they even talk about that. Then I look at my attempt (non entry, forgot picture) and don’t see that. It instead looks layered from the side more so. I realized today why that is...I think anyway. Lol.
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I used a pretty wide spouted pitcher for the pour so all the colors were coming out at the same time mostly. Just an observation for anyone who wants a different look. Here’s the pitcher I used and the soap again.
 
Ok I have cut attempt #4 and am 90% happy.
Pre-pour photo - CHECK. 😃
Soap layers poured at same spot - CHECK.😃
Soap colors poured in all at once - CHECK.😃
If I were to make another entry 🤔 (no, no Vicki, no) I would pour the batter in just to the right of the spout, at say 30 degrees on the circumference or about 1:00. My batter was perfect, but there was a whole lot of one color pouring which didn’t match my vision. But now I know!
 
My non-entries. I forgot to take photos of the pouring containers for the first two attempts, which is the only reason neither of them made it into the entry thread. 🤦‍♀️

Thank goodness someone shared the idea of putting a piece of tape over the mold or I’d have forgotten for every attempt.
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Love the first one! Looks like ocean waves ETA: over a Hawaiian Sunset. So pretty.
Thank you! I love them so much. 🌊

I think they look like a tsunami. I have a rational/irrational fear of tsunamis. Rational because tsunamis are dangerous but irrational because I’ll likely never find myself in the midst of one. My fear is so strong that I have an “end of times” tsunami nightmare once a month where I’m trying to outrun one with my family. 😱
 
My fear is so strong that I have an “end of times” tsunami nightmare once a month where I’m trying to outrun one with my family. 😱
Advance apologies for the post hijack... but two decades ago, I had tsunami dreams for the entire year before my then-husband left me for the person with whom he'd been having an affair all that time. Despite his constant reassurances that nothing was wrong, that everything was fine, and that I was being silly, I knew something was desperately wrong. In the dreams, he and I were always doing something together, and I'd turn around to see the tsunami wave towering over us out of nowhere. Those dreams stopped immediately once he left, and I haven't had one since.

I'm not trying to imply that the same thing is going on for you, but I do believe dreams can be powerful indicators that something important needs our attention. And PS - it was crushing at the time, but his departure was a blessing in disguise since now I'm married to my best friend who is a far better person in every way. 💛
 
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Advance apologies for the post hijack... but two decades ago, I had tsunami dreams for the entire year before my ex-husband left me for the person with whom he'd been having an affair all that time. Despite his constant reassurances that nothing was wrong, everything was fine, and I was being silly, I knew something was desperately wrong. In the dreams, he and I were always doing something together, and I'd turn around to see the tsunami wave towering over us out of nowhere. Those dreams stopped immediately once he left, and I haven't had one since.

I'm not trying to imply that the same thing is going on for you, but I do believe dreams can be powerful indicators that something important needs our attention. And PS - it was crushing at the time, but his departure was a blessing in disguise since now I'm married to my best friend who is a far better person in every way. 💛
First, @AliOop, thank you for sharing such a personal story. That means a lot to me. I actually know why I have a recurring tsunami dream—I have it much less than I used to. My daughter is severely dyslexic and her freshman year was very traumatic socially and academically. At the same time, my husband had a very large tumor removed from his thyroid and although it was benign, I was TERRIFIED that it could develop into something more. You see, my father had a tumor removed from his neck that was malignant and he’d suffered two more bouts of cancer before succumbing to it just a month shy of my daughter’s birth. 🥲

I felt like I was drowning in fear and anxiety. The weight I had put on myself to keep my family happy, healthy, and safe was causing me to buckle. I liken it to playing an emotional never-ending game of “52-card pickup.” The cards are all flying around me and I’m scrambling to pick them all up, while they never get neatly put back into a deck.

I can say with 100% certainty that my husband is not having an affair. Our marriage is the healthiest state it has ever been. And my daughter graduates next week from high school. Honestly, the three of us are all breathing easier knowing that she made it through the toughest four years of her life. We’re experiencing a collective lightness in being. And it’s lovely. ❤
 
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@The_Phoenix ... awww thank YOU for sharing your story! From your previous posts, I was sure there was nothing like an affair going on in your marriage, but it sounds like you hit the nail on the head with all the other health scares and life stressors. During the daytime, we can compartmentalize in order to put one foot in front of another... but when we are sleeping at night, our brain says, "My turn now!" -- and all kinds of stuff comes out.

Anyway, I'm so glad that your loved ones have turned the corner on hard times and are now in a season of peace. Whew! 🤗
 
I’m looking at all the entries and non entries and noticing that most of them have a layered look with the last color poured on the bottom of the soap. In the videos they even talk about that. Then I look at my attempt (non entry, forgot picture) and don’t see that. It instead looks layered from the side more so. I realized today why that is...I think anyway. Lol. View attachment 57777View attachment 57778I used a pretty wide spouted pitcher for the pour so all the colors were coming out at the same time mostly. Just an observation for anyone who wants a different look. Here’s the pitcher I used and the soap again.
[/QUOTE
Really pretty
 
I just reread the rules to make sure I don't mess up my entry. Its going to have to be a "one and done" since time got away on me again, but at least I will get something done before the deadline. :) Just waiting on my oils to cool a little more before I start.
@The_Phoenix I must agree with the others....that first one is gorgeous!
 
Ok....well that didn't go as planned. The batter went thick fast and then I couldn't find my phone that I purposely reminded myself to put near the counter specifically to take a picture Still can't find my phone. Had to call my son to take a picture which was using up valuable pouring time. And yep, more of a pop than a pour. :( Hopefully I will have time for a second try. Meh!!
 
Ok....well that didn't go as planned. The batter went thick fast and then I couldn't find my phone that I purposely reminded myself to put near the counter specifically to take a picture Still can't find my phone. Had to call my son to take a picture which was using up valuable pouring time. And yep, more of a pop than a pour. :( Hopefully I will have time for a second try. Meh!!
Could be that you have a beauty in the mold!
 
Could be that you have a beauty in the mold!
I hope so! I actually do think it will be pretty because of the colours, and it smells great! Hopefully there won't be any, or at least too many, air bubbles in it. It definitely will not look like a one pot wonder, sadly. I have done several of them and they have always gone nicely, but I do think I chose a recipe that has thickened fast on me before. My mistake, and hopefully tomorrow after I wash my equipment up, I can be pickier with my previous recipes and find a really slow mover this time. I will pick the one that says OPW as I know that one worked super well before.
And holy meno-brain. I totally forgot that my battery was dying on my phone so I had put it in my room to recharge so I could take the picture! :oops:
 
I cut try #2 yesterday and at first I could not even see the planned & poured distinct layers. Probably because I used the exact same colors, though in a different order. When I checked the bars later, I did see evidence of the second layer, but it is not as distinct as I thought it would be. No thin lines, but I knew I wouldn't get them because I was still using the same soap formula which thickens while my hand makes me soap like an uncoordinated newbie. Please, don't take offense anyone new to soap-making. I am sure most of you are well coordinated, but I am still only about 7 weeks post-surgery on my dominant thumb & pinky finger, and less than a month since the cast was removed and a mere 3 weeks into rehap therapy for said dominant hand. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! But don't worry, I will overcome. It'll take a while, but it will happen.

What I'd really like get as a result is something like @violets2217's entry. I do adore the look of that result! Or something like this one from I Dream in Soap:
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But I would also like to use a very thin batter to get the look of Tree Marie's Cradle Canyon soap featured in the video in the first post for this challenge. I adore the that look as well, which several of you have so obviously mastered with your cooperatively thin batters. So I'll definitely be trying again with a very slow moving formula.

Because I still wasn't quite happy with it, better, but still what I wanted, I ALMOST talked myself into making another batch. But thankfully, I had a therapy session to go to, and chose to let it be.

@gardengeek, your #3 attempt is stunning, even if it doesn't qualify. It's definitely a soap to take pride in.
3rd try - I especially disqualified myself because I divided 3 colors into 7 equal layers. It is my favorite though 😍
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Next time I try this I'll probably do a Castile so I have plenty of time to work with it (as long as I don't use pomace OO, that is.) I almost convinced myself to do another batch, but managed to resist so I could rest. Later today, I'll bevel & clean up, take photos & call it done. There's still plenty of time to decide if they are worthy of posting in the Entry Thread, but I'll probably enter them simply as a matter of principle. I know they will pale in comparison to the excellent entries already posted; they sure can't compete with the rejects posted here. But I will definitely be doing this one again and one day hope to master the technique. So thank you to @amd for this challenge. I'll say it sure was more of a challenge than I ever thought it was going to be!
 
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