Soap Challenge 2013 - Week 4

We've made it to the final week of the Great Cakes Soapworks 2013 Soap Challenges and this week's featured technique is Leopard Spots.

I thought it would be fun to change things up and reverse the color scheme, so rather than the traditional leopard look, I'm going for lighter spots on a darker background.  Activated charcoal was used for the base soap, while the spots consisted of uncolored soap and soap colored with turmeric powder.  The soap is scented with essential oils of tea tree and chamomile.

Piping the spots...

This was my first experience with any soap piping, so that was a bit of a crazy adventure!   Of course by the time I felt like I had a decent grasp of it, I had used up all the soap in my freezer bags. :)

Here are a few of the different bars, post-cutting...

I was at a friend's milestone birthday party/cookout last night.  Maybe grilling is still on my mind, but I think the big upper LH spot on this soap below looks a lot like a hot dog + bun...  not exactly what we're going for, but pretty funny.

I have mixed feelings about how this one turned out - I generally tend to prefer more of a modest/simple/clean look.  However, it will still be (in 4 weeks) a wonderful, fully-functioning artisan soap chock full of coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and shea butter!

Soap Challenge 2013 - Week 2

This week's featured technique in the Great Cakes Soapworks series of Soap Challenges is the Elemental Swirl.  In a nutshell, two separate in-the-pot swirls are created.  I've never attempted an in-the-pot swirl, let alone two at once, so this will certainly be an adventure!

Many of my soaps, whether it be through the use of herbs, botanicals, or the essential oils chosen, are inspired by the natural world around us.  The idea for this soap came from the ever-changing cloud formations and dramatic colors spread across the horizon here in Iowa at dawn.

My soaps always go in the mold upside down (i.e. the slightly rounded edge created at the bottom of the mold becomes the top of each soap bar), so that means the sky section of this soap goes first.  For the sky, I chose the following colorants: alkanet root (front L), paprika (back L), annatto seeds (front R) and pink kaolin clay (back R).  The alkanet root, paprika, and annatto seeds were all infused in olive oil in advance.

Here they are poured in the pot...

 And gently swirled...

The earthen tones included Fuller's Earth clay (front), black walnut hull powder (back L), and a thin pencil line of cocoa between the earth and sky layers.

The base formulation of this recipe included coconut oil, soybean oil, and olive oil; it's a tried-and-true recipe that I use when teaching my Soapmaking 101 classes, so I knew it would allow plenty of time for working with the large number of colorants.   This batch of soap is lightly scented with essential oils of jasmine, thyme, and patchouli.  

So here it is...

Soap Challenge 2013 - Week 1

I'm currently participating in the 2013 Soap Challenge coordinated by Amy Warden at Great Cakes Soapworks... a great opportunity to experiment with some new soaping techniques and certainly push me outside my comfort zone!  The first week's challenge was the Tiger Stripe.  

Without further ado, here are the results from Week 1:

My base soap formulation is a combination of coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and shea butter.  Serenity is an uplifting, springy herbal soap, featuring essential oils of spearmint, rosemary, and clary sage.

For the tiger stripe technique, I chose a monochromatic muted green color palette.   The lighter green is colored with French green clay, while the darker green is colored with wheatgrass powder and just a hint of Australian black clay.  What a thrill to cut this soap and see the uniqueness of each bar!