Well we are 17 days into the new year. It would appear that I won't be any better about blogging more often than the day before the link up closes for Amy Warden's GCSC (GreatCakes Soapworks Challange). Good thing that wasn't a resolution I had set.LOL
I got a Soap cutter for Christmas so you bet I made a batch of soap on Christmas day ,I gotta try out the new cutter. wow it is so awesome to have the whole loaf cut at once and all the soap is the same size. I won't have as much soap in the sale bucket at farmers market this year.
This month we are doing the Taiwan Swirl. the only downer for this swirl for me is I can't use my new cutter,or can I? We will see. I went with Amy's recommended 80% olive 20% coconut oil. My first batch we went with Black Raspberry Vanilla. I think purple and white. Now I have not had very good luck with my purples but I am a glutton for punishment and I am not going to give up till I get it right. So I decide that maybe I need to use more pigment than what I have used in the past. In the cup it was a nice dark purple. added to the soap it looked kinda grey,but it was a nice fluid soap. It seemed too fluid but I carried on. I didn't get to do the swirl. Isaac had to do it but he did a great job.
here it is in the mold, good contrast. when it came out of the mold it was hardly noticeable. After two weeks curing I do see the purple morphing back to its true color as it cures so who know how it will look in a few more weeks.
if you squint your eyes you can see a little light purple on the left side.
So we have to give it a second try.I just got a sample of a liquid color during the week so what smells green? green apple, I had used it once before and it didn't trace too soon for me so I decided to give it a try. Well I was just too confident.I had to stick blend the color a little to get it mixed through and it started to set up on me. push on, even though you cant see a swirl on top. When it was time to cut I have a bar that is solid white. my green was too thick to get to the bottom, but wow I love that swirl. So I personally think that I made to big of a batch because I can put my block of soap onto my soap cutter and get 3 bars. two with the swirl one that is solid white.
So lets try it one more time. Guava fig is the FO of choice. It stayed nice and fluid but I really think I mixed too much as the color. But I am pleased with the color.
The pink is kinda taking over but I already know that what you see on the top means nothing. you don't know if you have a fail with this until you cut. and it will be just a little longer before I can gut this.I will show you how I use my new soap cutter to get this baby cut with the most uniformity that I have had in a while.
Well this batch is taking its sweet time. it is still too soft to cut. so I will cut it when I can and make a video of how I get to use my soap cutter and still get the awesome design to show. I can not wait till next week I have a whole bunch of liquid colorants on there way. The most important thing to remember during challenges is don't try to many new things at one time. It can get frustrating. I do really like this swirl I will be giving a three color try soon.
