Circling Taiwan Swirl - Majestic

Soap #29 Circling Taiwan Swirl in purples
made 10/01/2016 ready after 10/02/2016

There was a time when I didn't think I was competitive, I wasn't interested in entering competitions. In my other life as a 'longarm quilter' I started to enter competitions back in 2012 and have been quite successful. I never thought that I would enter competitions with my new hobby of soaping. I only started to make soap in the summer of 2015, yes, I went and found myself another addictive hobby.

Amy Warden of Great Cakes Soapworks is hosting an online soaping challenge, I was enticed to try it. The competition is for a soap made in a loaf shaped mould with three dividers giving four spaces for coloured soaps. I had never used this new pink liner, I made a wooden mould to make it more stable and cut some dividers to fit the liner. (See my previous post for my practice session).

For this batch I chose colours more to my liking, purples, green and yellow, pleasing to the eye
Violet mica
Magic Yellow mica
Lavender mica
Apple Green mica
Fragranced with Lavender and Litsea Cubeba essential oils

Stick blended to emulsification, ready to section off...

Coloured micas mixed in......

Colours placed in order...

After the swirling

The cut

This is the cut photo I entered into the challenge...I named it 'Majestic'

I'm really pleased how these turned out...

Circling Taiwan swirl...practice

Soap #28 Circling Taiwan Swirl, (this batch turned into a practice session)

made 09/01/2016 ready after 09/02/2016

scented with orange and patchouli essential oils

I had my butters and oils melted and went to choose my colours, these were not what I had in mind when I first opened the drawer but were what jumped out at me

Bronze Satin, New Moon Black, White Satin and Silver Graphite 

I mixed my oils, added the lye mixture, stick blended to emulsification and divided between four jugs.

I added my colours to the jugs and my essential oils to all except the white as my chosen essential oils were dark in colour and I wanted to keep the white as white as possible

I gradually poured one colour in each section of the liner bit by bit....

It all looks very tidy from this angle..

I had to work quickly at this point as my batter was thickening, this vision is not what I had planned but it had worked to a fashion. I now had to wait and wait till unmoulding.....I really wanted to make another batch right there and then but had to wait until this mould and liner were free again....

I was pleased that the loaf unmoulded so well from this new liner, the liner is thicker and not quite as flexible as my others but there wasn't a problem

Trying out my new cutter, I know it hasn't been sanded or varnished yet but will be soon...

I cut this loaf so that I had as many 2.5 inch blocks as possibly making sure that both end cuts are the correct measurement any extra was left in the middle.

Each block is then cross cut through the middle like this one.

So this is the cut that shows a water lily...the bronze turned out to be a little darker than I had expected.

I know far too may photos....

Before this loaf was even cut I had made up another batch in different colours...

Christmas Spirit....

Soap # 22 made 14/11/2015 best after 14/12/2015

Christmas Baubles, fragranced with Home for the Holidays, this is the third batch of this soap, being handmade each one is very slightly different and has it's own character.

Soap # 23 made 14/11/2015 best after 14/12/2015
'Ginger Highlights, fragrance with my own blend of ginger, frankinscence, litsea, lemon, orange and bergamot essential oils

Four thieves....

Soap # 18 Four Thieves or Forthaves....made 7/11/2015 best after 7/12/2015

Love this blend of essential oils Rosemary, Sage, Lemon, Lavender and Clove, you can read more about it here

Yes, I did make a full loaf but lost the photos somewhere, too busy to fuss about it just now so used the nearest bars available.....

Soap #19 made 7/11/2015 best after 7/12/2015
Christmas Baubles fragranced with Home for the Holidays a lovely fresh Christmas scent.

Soap # 20 Christmas tiger swirls,

Elf Sweat fragrance oils with a tiger swirl on the left...

Soap # 21 Coconut Kisses

Lots of yummy butters and oils and a Coconut cream fragrance oil.....this soap was such a vibrant yellow from the FO but it has mellowed and is now a lovely rich cream colour...