Brambleberry Heavy Duty Column Mold
http://www.brambleberry.com/Heavy-Duty-Column-Mold-P5401.aspx
I have been daydreaming trying to figure out which fragrance to try and also what type of color scheme to use. I kept thinking of peppermint. At work we have this candy bowl that is filled with peppermint. Every time I looked at it I kept thinking of this mold. I knew I had some peppermint fragrance oil hidden in the back of the storage closet - since I hide from that fragrance.
I don't do well with peppermint fragrance or any other types of "mint fragrances" for that matter. I get some weird type of reaction to it, it's a little weird considering that I can chew mint gum with no problem!) The last craft show I did I had to hide the Melt and Pour peppermint soaps that I had for sale. I could not deal with the scent! I just about gave away the soap for free just to get rid of it.
So I decided to give it a try to get rid of what fragrance I had left and also to get this color scheme off my head.
I prepared my lye water. Melted down my oils. No fancy recipe. Just your basic:Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Shea Butter, Mango Butter and Castor Oil for extra suds :)
All turn out nice. I mixed the lye water into my melted oils. Worked in to a light trace and mixed in my measured fragrance all while trying to hold my breath - LOL!!! I actually did well :)
I decided to cut out one of the flexy cutting mats that I had handy and use it to separate the inside of the mold in half. This way I would be able to color one half white and the other red. I mixed my colors in my soap mix, poured it inside the mold. Once I had it all in I very slowly started to take out the plastic divider, slightly moving it from side to side as I pulled it up. Finally I took a long paint brush and used the end to swirly it some more. Here are the results :
I'm pretty happy with it. It's kind of neat :)
I must say that I need to develop better patience skills. I did not wait long enough to take the soap out of the mold and ended up damaging the sides :( - boo!:
Oh well...something to avoid doing next time
In the mean time I am quickly giving away all these soaps to the first takers! Just the little whiff I get every time I pass by the curing rack gets me going! I may just have them continue to cure in a hidden section of the house. AWAY FROM ME! I just need to give myself a reminder or they will stay there for years to come :)
Happy Soaping! - Roxana
Beautiful swirls, Roxana! Great idea using a divider. It's funny, I made a Peppermint Swirl soap with the same mold a couple of weeks ago. I used a funnel, though, for my swirl. The sides of my soap got a bit damaged, too, when I unmolded, but I was able to smooth most of the rough spots away with my finger. Fabulous job on the soap - I love peppermint myself!
ReplyDeleteGreat soap Roxana! I love your swirls! Have you found that the tube gets stuck in the cap if you push it all the way down? I left my shaving soap in the mold for 3 days and when I unmolded it the liner just fell right off! Patience is definitely the hardest part of soaping!!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather! Funny you should mention about the cap. I had to put on the gloves to help me loosen it from the tube :)
DeleteI am trying a new batch right now and I have stored it out of sight so that I am not tempted to unmold it if it's not ready yet :)
Thanks for posting!
That looks so great, I love the swirls!! I am loving this mold too, it's my new fave! Maybe some more hard oils in your recipe or adding sodium lactate (I swear by it for hardening soaps, and it's also a fantastic humectant!) or salt water concentrate would make unmolding easier and/or faster for you.
ReplyDeleteHi Laura
DeleteThanks for your post! I have been tweaking my recipe and it has thrown the result off for my bars. They are coming out a little soft during the unmolding. I just made a new batch and have added some sodium lactate to see if it will work :)
Wish me luck