Sunday, April 28, 2013

Leopard Spot Challenge

So I have been agonizing about this last challenge from Amy of Great Cakes Soapworks (see link)

I was having a hard time feeling confident over this one.  I googled videos and tutorials out there, and there was not much on it.  Recently Cee, fellow soaper from Oil and Butter, created a beautiful Leopard Soap - here is  the link.  I love Cee's soap and she certainly is an inspiration to me, so I studied the video that she has on her blog and admired her soap.  I decided to jump in and give it a go.

A couple of things had me at a disadvantaged from the start...

#1: I decided to use milk...Coconut Milk.  I found a carton at my local Trader Joe's and was so excited to see it in the fridge section (and not the canned type) that I decided to buy it to use.

 
 

The last time I used Coconut Milk my soap turned out a little too soft...It eventually harden up and was actually pretty nice but since then I have been hesitant to use. 
 
#2: I decided to change my recipe.  The main recipe I use often mostly consist of Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Kernel Flakes, Castor, and a Butter (sometimes Mango or Shea, and recently I have started to use Cocoa Butter).  Sometimes I use Palm but most of the time I leave it out.  For this recipe I decided to use Sunflower Oil instead of Rice Bran...and added Palm Oil. 
 
#3: I wasn't feeling confident! :(
 
So I mixed my oils.  Added my lye to the Coconut Milk Ice Cubes (I froze the milk to prevent any parching) and then combined them all.   I added my fragrance oil at light trace, a nice soft floral that has behaved beautifully in the past.  I noticed that it did took me a little longer than usual to reach a medium trace. I separated my batch into three.  One to color white, one for pink, and one for gray.
 
Everything good so far...but boy was it taking forever to reach thick trace!!! I decided to pour my soap into the ziplock baggies that I was going to use to pipe.  I remembered a recommendation from a fellow soaper in the Teach Soap Forum that said to try to stick the soap in the fridge to get it thicker faster.  So off they went into the fridge.  Well I guess I was not patient enough because I took them out 5 minutes later and it still seemed pretty fluid and going against my better judgement I decided to start piping. 
 
What a mess!  I think I cut the corner of the bag too big.  The pink was coming out like a fast moving flood!  I was having a really hard time controlling the piping with the ziplock bags.  I think I should have maybe used plastic piping bags.  Then I went to use the gray for the middle and realised...I made too much gray and not enough pink!  I was not going to have enough pink to do more than three spots.  I added more pink to cover the gray and boy was it going everywhere.  I was starting to get pretty frustrated and quickly started to break out in a sweat.  I was dressed with soaping safety in mind.  Long sleeves and gloves! 
 
Our weather has now turned quite warm, and there I was, breaking out in a heat flash, sweat starting to bead on my forehead and my nose starting to itch.  I had soap on the mold, on the table, on my gloves...it was a mess and all I could think of was "IT'S SO HOT and MY NOSE ITCHES!!!"
 
I quickly covered the three leopard spots with the white colored soap.  Added the gray to the top and quickly textured it.  Stuck the soap in the freezer, cleaned up quickly and took off the long sleeve shirt :) . Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
 
 
Well fast forward four days later when I tried to unmold the soap from the silicone mold.  It looked like it was ready to come out, but once I started to take it out I realised...WOW, this soap is pretty soft...and because I can't seem to have the patience I took the soap out and pretty much ruined the sides.  I did wanted to cry...but at the same time I really can't help but laugh at what I get myself into at times.  I must say that I am actually happy with how the inside turned out, especially with the challenges that I had.  Here is a pic:
 
 
I am only showing  you the front since the sides are pretty bad...:)
 
Regardless of my challenges, I HAVE REALLY ENJOYED Amy's soap challenge.  A year ago I could not think of finding myself doing this level of soapmaking.  The soaping community is pretty welcoming and encouraging and I have learned so much from all my new soapy friends :)
 
I am really looking forward to future challenges for sure!
 
Thanks for checking out my blog. 
 
HAPPY SOAPING!
Roxana



16 comments:

  1. O-My-God! What a story! I've been seeing you in my mind and it's not a nice picture! But lady,you got fantastic soap! I love it! If you hadn't written the other half of this story,I would have said you had a beautiful soapy day there!

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    1. LOL! I thought of you when I finally posted the blog. I wondered what you would say :)

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  2. This soap turned out great!! I love the colors, and it looks like it ended well for you, even if the soap gave you trouble while you were making it!

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  3. :D I know exactly what you mean. I was also breaking a sweat when I made my leopard spot soap. But your soap is very beautiful. Enjoy it Roxana!

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  4. Great story and the soap looks fantastic!

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  5. Wow, what a story Roxana!
    But your soap is gorgeous, really gorgeous!The spots are perfect!
    Lovely soap!

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  6. Thanks for sharing your story with us Roxana. it may not have worked out as well as you hoped, but I think it's gorgeous. The colours look fantastic together. How's the coconut milk working out, it must smell fabulous

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  7. Sounds like you had some challenges with this batch, but I never would have guessed that by looking at the photos. Your soap turned out beautifully, Roxana! I love the pink and black together, and the textured tops look so pretty!

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  8. Thank goodness for your soaping experience, you overcame those hurdles brilliantly! I think it turned out beautiful, you should be very proud of it!!!

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  9. Even for the obstacles you faced it came out GREAT and the best part is this: even IF the sides are not up to par for you (since you kept them "off camera" lol we will never know), you can ALWAYS shave that off and still have a beautiful soap! I'm in love with the hot pink....very nice spots too!

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  10. Thank you very much! Funny you should mention shaving off...I was going to do just that this evening :)

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  11. Thank you everyone for all the nice compliments! I am glad you enjoyed my little story. I can laugh about it now! :)

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  12. Seriously, at the rate you were going, you really had my expectations pretty low! In all honesty, I believe your soap turned out way better than mine! Great job, Roxana!! I'm so glad you stuck with it and participated in the challenges!

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    1. Thank you Amy! I really enjoyed that challenges! Can't wait for the next time you publish some more :)

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