SMF May Challenge- Interpretation, not Imitation

[Rowan]

SusieOz, It could be the cold weather if you don't gel them? It doesn't tend to happen if you stick blend too much. When I over stick blend, my soap sets up very quickly and goes solid. Does it eventually solidify or stay a bit soft?

 

[Rowan]

1. Sonya-m - no clue where I'm going with this yet but excited to see where I end up!
2. MySoapyHeart. *Puts on safetygear, cracks fingers, stares into camera* Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille...
3. Penelopejane - I'd really, really like to put up an entry for this challenge. It's colours though so I'm not sure...
4. Navaria- gonna sign up so I can at least vote, time permitting I'll participate. Gonna be crazy this month!
5. maya- I'm with Navaria on this. I will see if I have enough time. But I realllllllllly wanna!
6. LisaAnne I know what I want to do and if I can't pull it off it will one very ugly soap. Which is fine, I make lots of those.
7. dibbles - Dusting off my thinking cap...
8. Steve85569 - No idea but I know I'll make a couple of batches for this ..
9. snappyllama- Am I the only one worried that I'll pick one inspiration picture but my soap will be suited for a different one?
10. KristaY-My creative light bulb needs higher wattage for this one.....
11. mzimm- I'm an idiot with colors, and a kindergartener in technique....sounds like two perfect reasons to join in!
12. doriettefarm - I'm pretty stoked about this challenge after reading the rules and seeing the inspiration pics. There's a technique I've been wanting to try that lends itself perfectly to one of the pics . . . plus I've got all the right colors!
13. Judiraz- It may take all month to figure this out! #13 wasn't good last month...hope I have better luck in May
14. BlackDog - Nothing to be ashamed of, newbie, I have a wookie at my house too.
15. Lisajudy2009 - I'm going to try it!
16. TeresaT - I think I have found my "Pollock" challenge. Yay, me!!!
17. kc1ble - I told myself I would get in on this month's challenge...before I knew what it was Yikes! At least it can be abstract.
18. SuzieOz - Oh my goodness, did I really just do this ... ????? Bring it on!!
19. BattleGnome - I'm broke but apparently need to order colors
20. MissChief - I wasn't gonna but I can't vote if I don't
21. Lenarenee - fantastic challenge idea!
22. CaraBou - I've never seen a bird I didn't like - Soap, don't fail me now!
23. mintle - will fly or crash, hehe

24. Cathy Gordon - 1st time for everything. Time to fly.
25. jules92207 - love the inspired feel off this challenge - failure or not, I need to soap more anyway!
26. AMD - Feeling a bit bird-brained anyways...
27. Saponista - This is going to be a tough one for me, I'm not very good at abstract interpretation type challenges. I will give it my best shot though!
28. Rowan - I may have a problem getting this one off the ground but can't wait to try :crazy:

 

[SuzieOz]

SusieOz, It could be the cold weather if you don't gel them? It doesn't tend to happen if you stick blend too much. When I over stick blend, my soap sets up very quickly and goes solid. Does it eventually solidify or stay a bit soft?

It stays soft a lot longer than usual but does eventually set up. But it tends to crumble, especially nearing the end of the bar.

But the weird thing is it has a different sort of look to it which puts me in mind of how egg whites look when you whip them up. (Which is why I wondered about the stick blending). It's not soda ash either.

I'll keep trouble shooting - I'd post recipes if I'd changed anything, but I haven't so it's not the recipes. The only thing I can think of besides the stick blender is the change in weather. It's been positively icy!

 

[SuzieOz]

Ok here are photos of what is happening with my soap, if anyone had an idea about it ... the grey parts on the right are soft but smooth and feel like they'll be fine once they harden up, the green on the left is softer with uneven textures, and the purple is super soft and chalky and falls off the rest of the soap. When I squish it between my fingers it falls apart and feels just like cornflour (corn starch).

I soaped at a thin trace to try and get some swirls. Maybe my oils cooled down too much while I was mucking about? When I started they were around 45C/110F.

I seem to have my best success making plain soaps with one or two colours, temp around 45-50C, and blending to thick trace before pouring. Except that when I first started soaping I had what I suppose was "beginner's luck" and everything I did worked ... I've got photos of an amazing Taiwan swirl! How I'd like that luck back now. I'm guessing I might need to re-think my challenge entry :???:

 

[Saponista]

I have had this occur when I have failed to mix one of my colours quite enough and it has come out of emulsion. This has occasionally left lye heavy patches but sometimes it doesn't zap when you test it is just horribly hard and crumbly. I will show you a pic later when I get home, but it looks very similar.

 

[BattleGnome]

My first attempt. I was attempting a drop swirl on stripes but ended up with a spoon swirl. It still didnt quite get the feel I was going for.

 

[SuzieOz]

^^ That's a cool looking soap even if it isn't what you were going for BattleGnome.

I have had this occur when I have failed to mix one of my colours quite enough and it has come out of emulsion. This has occasionally left lye heavy patches but sometimes it doesn't zap when you test it is just horribly hard and crumbly. I will show you a pic later when I get home, but it looks very similar.

Thanks Saponista.

 

[SunWolf]

1. Sonya-m - no clue where I'm going with this yet but excited to see where I end up!
2. MySoapyHeart. *Puts on safetygear, cracks fingers, stares into camera* Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille...
3. Penelopejane - I'd really, really like to put up an entry for this challenge. It's colours though so I'm not sure...
4. Navaria- gonna sign up so I can at least vote, time permitting I'll participate. Gonna be crazy this month!
5. maya- I'm with Navaria on this. I will see if I have enough time. But I realllllllllly wanna!
6. LisaAnne I know what I want to do and if I can't pull it off it will one very ugly soap. Which is fine, I make lots of those.
7. dibbles - Dusting off my thinking cap...
8. Steve85569 - No idea but I know I'll make a couple of batches for this ..
9. snappyllama- Am I the only one worried that I'll pick one inspiration picture but my soap will be suited for a different one?
10. KristaY-My creative light bulb needs higher wattage for this one.....
11. mzimm- I'm an idiot with colors, and a kindergartener in technique....sounds like two perfect reasons to join in!
12. doriettefarm - I'm pretty stoked about this challenge after reading the rules and seeing the inspiration pics. There's a technique I've been wanting to try that lends itself perfectly to one of the pics . . . plus I've got all the right colors!
13. Judiraz- It may take all month to figure this out! #13 wasn't good last month...hope I have better luck in May
14. BlackDog - Nothing to be ashamed of, newbie, I have a wookie at my house too.
15. Lisajudy2009 - I'm going to try it!
16. TeresaT - I think I have found my "Pollock" challenge. Yay, me!!!
17. kc1ble - I told myself I would get in on this month's challenge...before I knew what it was Yikes! At least it can be abstract.
18. SuzieOz - Oh my goodness, did I really just do this ... ????? Bring it on!!
19. BattleGnome - I'm broke but apparently need to order colors
20. MissChief - I wasn't gonna but I can't vote if I don't
21. Lenarenee - fantastic challenge idea!
22. CaraBou - I've never seen a bird I didn't like - Soap, don't fail me now!
23. mintle - will fly or crash, hehe

24. Cathy Gordon - 1st time for everything. Time to fly.
25. jules92207 - love the inspired feel off this challenge - failure or not, I need to soap more anyway!
26. AMD - Feeling a bit bird-brained anyways...
27. Saponista - This is going to be a tough one for me, I'm not very good at abstract interpretation type challenges. I will give it my best shot though!
28. Rowan - I may have a problem getting this one off the ground but can't wait to try

29. Sunwolf - Just can't seem to get into the "soap groove" lately...maybe bending my brain for this challenge will get things flowing! :think:

 

[Saponista]

Here's the crumbly image for susieoz

I poured the white before adding green and yellow colourant and failed to mix it enough so it came out of emulsion in the mould. Here is the crumbly weird texture that you get if you don't quite mix thoroughly enough. You can see the green and yellow sections are fine as they were mixed more.

 

[cgpeanut]

Are you using any clays?

 

[SuzieOz]

Thanks Saponista, it's possible I didn't mix the colour in enough as I was trying to keep a thin trace. I don't think I'm very good at thin traces anyway.

@cgpeanut - No I didn't use any clays.

 

[lionprincess00]

1. Sonya-m - no clue where I'm going with this yet but excited to see where I end up!
2. MySoapyHeart. *Puts on safetygear, cracks fingers, stares into camera* Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille...
3. Penelopejane - I'd really, really like to put up an entry for this challenge. It's colours though so I'm not sure...
4. Navaria- gonna sign up so I can at least vote, time permitting I'll participate. Gonna be crazy this month!
5. maya- I'm with Navaria on this. I will see if I have enough time. But I realllllllllly wanna!
6. LisaAnne I know what I want to do and if I can't pull it off it will one very ugly soap. Which is fine, I make lots of those.
7. dibbles - Dusting off my thinking cap...
8. Steve85569 - No idea but I know I'll make a couple of batches for this ..
9. snappyllama- Am I the only one worried that I'll pick one inspiration picture but my soap will be suited for a different one?
10. KristaY-My creative light bulb needs higher wattage for this one.....
11. mzimm- I'm an idiot with colors, and a kindergartener in technique....sounds like two perfect reasons to join in!
12. doriettefarm - I'm pretty stoked about this challenge after reading the rules and seeing the inspiration pics. There's a technique I've been wanting to try that lends itself perfectly to one of the pics . . . plus I've got all the right colors!
13. Judiraz- It may take all month to figure this out! #13 wasn't good last month...hope I have better luck in May
14. BlackDog - Nothing to be ashamed of, newbie, I have a wookie at my house too.
15. Lisajudy2009 - I'm going to try it!
16. TeresaT - I think I have found my "Pollock" challenge. Yay, me!!!
17. kc1ble - I told myself I would get in on this month's challenge...before I knew what it was Yikes! At least it can be abstract.
18. SuzieOz - Oh my goodness, did I really just do this ... ????? Bring it on!!
19. BattleGnome - I'm broke but apparently need to order colors
20. MissChief - I wasn't gonna but I can't vote if I don't
21. Lenarenee - fantastic challenge idea!
22. CaraBou - I've never seen a bird I didn't like - Soap, don't fail me now!
23. mintle - will fly or crash, hehe

24. Cathy Gordon - 1st time for everything. Time to fly.
25. jules92207 - love the inspired feel off this challenge - failure or not, I need to soap more anyway!
26. AMD - Feeling a bit bird-brained anyways...
27. Saponista - This is going to be a tough one for me, I'm not very good at abstract interpretation type challenges. I will give it my best shot though!
28. Rowan - I may have a problem getting this one off the ground but can't wait to try

29. Sunwolf - Just can't seem to get into the "soap groove" lately...maybe bending my brain for this challenge will get things flowing! :think:
30. Lionprincess- I think I finally came up with an idea for this one!

 

[SuzieOz]

My "fail" turned out quite pretty after all Although, still a "fail" as in it doesn't qualify due to the colours. Still waiting for it to harden up though.

No time to soap this weekend, helping out my parents with their down-sizing massive garage sale. Sold some soaps here though! Did better than the last market I did.

 

[CaraBou]

Two small batches this weekend. The first is a no-go; I've yet to cut the second. Had a heck of a time matching one of the colors. I seriously need to order more blue-hued micas :razz:

 

[dibbles]

I'm struggling with color too. Seems like at least one of the four is wrong, wrong, wrong. This challenge has become a personal battle.

 

[niclycha]

1. Sonya-m - no clue where I'm going with this yet but excited to see where I end up!
2. MySoapyHeart. *Puts on safetygear, cracks fingers, stares into camera* Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille...
3. Penelopejane - I'd really, really like to put up an entry for this challenge. It's colours though so I'm not sure...
4. Navaria- gonna sign up so I can at least vote, time permitting I'll participate. Gonna be crazy this month!
5. maya- I'm with Navaria on this. I will see if I have enough time. But I realllllllllly wanna!
6. LisaAnne I know what I want to do and if I can't pull it off it will one very ugly soap. Which is fine, I make lots of those.
7. dibbles - Dusting off my thinking cap...
8. Steve85569 - No idea but I know I'll make a couple of batches for this ..
9. snappyllama- Am I the only one worried that I'll pick one inspiration picture but my soap will be suited for a different one?
10. KristaY-My creative light bulb needs higher wattage for this one.....
11. mzimm- I'm an idiot with colors, and a kindergartener in technique....sounds like two perfect reasons to join in!
12. doriettefarm - I'm pretty stoked about this challenge after reading the rules and seeing the inspiration pics. There's a technique I've been wanting to try that lends itself perfectly to one of the pics . . . plus I've got all the right colors!
13. Judiraz- It may take all month to figure this out! #13 wasn't good last month...hope I have better luck in May
14. BlackDog - Nothing to be ashamed of, newbie, I have a wookie at my house too.
15. Lisajudy2009 - I'm going to try it!
16. TeresaT - I think I have found my "Pollock" challenge. Yay, me!!!
17. kc1ble - I told myself I would get in on this month's challenge...before I knew what it was Yikes! At least it can be abstract.
18. SuzieOz - Oh my goodness, did I really just do this ... ?? Bring it on!!
19. BattleGnome - I'm broke but apparently need to order colors
20. MissChief - I wasn't gonna but I can't vote if I don't
21. Lenarenee - fantastic challenge idea!
22. CaraBou - I've never seen a bird I didn't like - Soap, don't fail me now!
23. mintle - will fly or crash, hehe

24. Cathy Gordon - 1st time for everything. Time to fly.
25. jules92207 - love the inspired feel off this challenge - failure or not, I need to soap more anyway!
26. AMD - Feeling a bit bird-brained anyways...
27. Saponista - This is going to be a tough one for me, I'm not very good at abstract interpretation type challenges. I will give it my best shot though!
28. Rowan - I may have a problem getting this one off the ground but can't wait to try

29. Sunwolf - Just can't seem to get into the "soap groove" lately...maybe bending my brain for this challenge will get things flowing! :think:
30. Lionprincess- I think I finally came up with an idea for this one!
31. Niclycha- OK yay I have enough posts to join. Hopefully I did this correctly. If not please let me know. My first challenge entry. Now I'm narrowed down to colors I use in my next soap

 

[newbie]

Don't get too wigged out by making an exact color match. As close as you can get is good but obvious mis-fires, like an obvious pink instead of red or heavy teal blue for sky blue, aren't acceptable. I am more interested in the interpretation part than in color matching to perfection.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Eeeep, not sure what to do now! I made my second attemt of the challenge yesterday, and as for a regular soap I am very happy with it! It smells divine, behaved perfectly, had perfect trace/emulsion, no separating, made perfect layers, lots of time to play etc. A dream batter! I cut it an hour ago. It looks great.

But as for the challenge itself, ack! A color I used that was supposed to be really dark, morphed into a much lighter grey and did not give me the dark sillouette effect I was going for. *sob*

What to do, what to do...
ps. The mica was just a tester from Coastal Scents, I got it aaaages ago and I wanted to use it up. I used it in MP soap just fine, but it reacted with the lye and lost all oompf...

 

[MySoapyHeart]

I'm struggling with color too. Seems like at least one of the four is wrong, wrong, wrong. This challenge has become a personal battle.

You and me both! Aaarghhhhhhhh.....

 

[mintle]

I made two attempts already but my idea/interpretation cannot be translated into soap design because... it is impossible, as I see it now. I have two days of vacation now and plan to soap a lot!
How are you all doing?