January 2022 Soap Challenge - Hanger Swirls

I have always been one of those people that wanted a challenge. I feel like personally, I learn best when I am being competitive and I have a deadline. I recently discovered the Soap Challenge Club which is hosted by Amy Warden. This was a fun and really unique way for soap makers across the globe really work on their technique and communicate with one another. I had so much fun! Due to illness, I was only able to make a few designs this month, but do not fear, I have paid for a subscription until April and will be pushing my artwork to the next level. I am so excited to share with you what I have been able to create! In the end, I decided to enter both colorful hanger swirls into the advanced and open categories. I feel like the technique was just better executed, and hopefully I can perfect the secret feather swirl in time.
Secret Feather Swirl
My first attempt I chose was the secret feather swirl. This involves two pieces of cardboard that are cut the length and height of my loaf mold. There is a lot of alternating pouring involved in this technique, but it was a fun experience. I really learned a lot, and I think the next time I do this, I will wait to put the rest of the uncolored batter into the mold until after I run the hanger swirl tool down the middle of the 'feather'. That way, there are no black marks left on the top and sides, hopefully. This secret feather is going to be part of my natural line, as the additives are activated charcoal for the swirl, and the essential oils are lemongrass and Eucalyptus essential oils. As time goes on, I am hoping to create a natural soap for each challenge, along with a luxury soap. That being said, I am really letting my creativity take me in the right direction!

Conventional Hanger Swirl

A few days later, I was ready to try my hand at what I really wanted to enter. I don't think people who do not make soap understand how complex it really can be at times. You have to really research scents that make the batter thicken up faster, you have to be able to read the soap batter in order to pour it just at the exact right time. And, it is so scientific! This is why I really like this form of art. It molds art and science into one. That being said, my first batch of the day just did not set up by the time I had poured it. The soaps were at a light trace. And once I had poured it, the soap colors I had chosen were too close to one another and were not as distinguished as I had hoped. I learned a lot from the first batch of the day, and decided to do another one. Using a color palette of two pinks and two purples, I added a bit of black to one purple and started pouring my second batch. This, to me, seemed like a winner. I was really confident on the pour, the swirls, the colors! Everything including the top was working out well. I think next time, I will make sure that my colors aren't so close in color. It is really hard to tell the difference between the pinks, and I would like to be able to tell them apart more easily in the soap. Overall, I am happy with these soaps! The scent is a medley of lightly scented teas, and really reminds me of when my mother had tea with her friend, Betsy. They used to sit at the table and drink their tea for hours really enjoying having a conversation and a reason to ask for just one more cup.

Love, Tara


*All Soaps from the January Soap Challenge will be available for purchase February 16th*


 

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