2015 May Soap Challenge Club -- Mini Dessert Soaps !

This month's Soap Challenge requires us to make MINI dessert soaps. I usually make my dessert and food soaps with Melt & Pour soap bases and they are often similar in size to the actual food or dessert item. So this is the first time I am making dessert soaps using CP method and in much smaller dimensions.

We were also required to include one food item in all our soaps. I chose food-grade rose water (distilled water and rose extract) recommended by a well-known Indian chef. 

I made mini soapy Charlotte Cake, Buttercream Chocolate Cake, Meringue Chevron Cake and Apam Ice Cream Cornetto.

Mini Dessert Soaps

I piped the "sponge fingers" and "meringue" a day ahead.

Hand-piped soapy "sponge fingers" for Charlotte Cake

Hand-piped soapy chevron "meringue" layers

WHAT A MESS!! I had a really hard time putting the charlotte cake together. Everything was falling a part.

Charlotte cake assembly gone quite wrong!

 I almost gave up ... walked away for 10mins to calm myself down and tried again.

Work-In-Progress -- Mini Charlotte Cake Soap

Mini Charlotte Cake Soap

Mini Charlotte Cake Soap

 My Meringue Chevron Cake soap is inspired by Haniela's Raspberry Meringue Chevron Cake.

Meringue Chevron Cake

Mini Meringue Chevron Cake Soap

Mini Buttercream Chocolate Cake Soap

Mini Buttercream Chocolate Cake Soap

I am a big fan of Azlita of Sweet & Sour blog. This soapy Apam Ice Cream Cornetto  is inspired by her pancakes that resemble mini ice cream cones!

Mini Apam Ice Cream Cornetto Soaps

Mini Apam Ice Cream Cornetto Soap

Mini Dessert Soaps

This is definitely my favourite soap challenge! I had loads of fun! Now off to submit my entry before the link-up closes in 20 minutes! YIKES!!

2015 Soap Challenge Club -- Spinning Swirl Technique

I have been quite the scatterbrain recently. Totally forgot about this month's soap challenge until I checked my email and found out that the link up has been opened -- for the past 3 days! Yikes! I checked the timer on the link up and it yelled to me that I had 1 day and 7 hours before the link up closed. Good luck to me!

So inspired by this colourful floor installation made of candy! 

Crazy colourful saccharine art by Tanya Schultz of Pip & Pop.

These are the colours that I have chosen for this soap challenge: Bramble Berry's Fired Up Fuchsia colourant, Hydrated Chrome Green pigment, 1982 Blue mica, Ultramarine Lavender pigment and Fizzy Lemonade colourant; and Orange Heaven mica from The Conservertorie. I did not use a slow-tracing recipe as I wanted to be sure that I would be able to unmold and cut the soap in time. I used Blackraspberry Vanilla Fragrance Oil from Bramble Berry as I knew that this fragrance oil would help slow down trace in my soap batter and give me sufficient time to complete the swirl.

The fragrance oil was first mixed together with the oils so that I will not forget to do so later on. I gave the stick blender 2-3 short pulses to combine the oil and lye mixture to a slight emulsion. The emulsion was then divided equally into 6 pitchers with the prepared colour pigments. I used a whisk to gently incorporate the colour pigments into the soap batter.

The coloured soap batter was poured into the slab mold at 6 different points.  The colours were alternated randomly. I was pretty pleased that the soap batter remained fluid enough for me to complete the pour, although it did thicken to a medium trace towards the end. I then spun the mold clockwise, following Amy's slight jerking motion. I found that this really helped to push the soap batter around in the mold. By the time I was satisfied with the swirl, the soap batter had thickened significantly and I had difficulty removing the air bubbles. 

(Photo was taken at 3am with a camera phone. Apologies for the poor lighting)

I managed to unmold and cut the soap after 15 hours. Phew!

Candy Swirl Soaps

Candy Swirl Soaps

Candy Swirl Soaps

 

I really enjoyed the spinning swirl technique and will definately use it again, but with a slow moving recipe. It is a very fun soaping technique and produces amazing results. Thank you Amy! I am already looking forward to next month's soap challenge -- dessert soaps! My favourite! YUMMY!

Soap Challenge Club -- Soap Swap !

I participated in the Spoon/Chopstick Swirl Soap Challenge organised by Amy Warden last December. Members of this Challenge Club were also given the option to participate in a soap swap. My last soap swap was way back in 2011. Naturally I said "Yes!" and I opted to be paired with an international member (i.e. the member may be located ANYWHERE that is possibly accessible on our planet!)

My partner was Karen Harvey from Talkeetna, Alaska!! We were required to send one of our Spoon/Chopstick Swirl soaps to our swap partner, so I sent Karen one of my Wishing Star Soaps :)

Wishing Star Soap

I was SUPER thrilled when I received a wonderful smelling package in the letterbox yesterday evening. MeiMei and I carefully opened the package, wanting to savour the moment. We loved it! Thank you Karen!

Northern Lights Soap, handmade by Karen Harvey

Northern Lights Soap, handmade by Karen Harvey

Northern Lights Soap, handmade by Karen Harvey

Northern Lights Soap, handmade by Karen Harvey

Check out Karen's blog post about her Northern Lights Soap that she made for the soap challenge!

2015 Soap Challenge Club -- Butterfly Swirl

I found my heart beating just a bit faster when Amy Warden announced that she would be attempting to de-mystify the Butterfly Swirl in her January Soap Challenge Club. I have always been in awe when I see the amazing swirl designs created using the Butterfly Swirl technique but have never attempted it myself.

I was all set to video the soaping process, however things did not proceed as planned. The fragrance oil was added into the oils and once the lye was stirred in, the batter started to thicken up very quickly. I barely had time to blend in the colours. Could this be due to the new recipe that I was trying out? Perhaps it was the fragrance oil that I used?

It was almost impossible to pour the batter into the mold. I practically globbed all the different colours into the mold, banging real hard along the way. By the time I stuck the hanger into the batter, it was pretty stiff. Then the camera d-i-e-d ... shut down on its own. DUH.

The TOP. Now, I had to redo the top 4 times! I had planned for a swirled mica top but it just did not work out with the batter getting so thick and lumpy. Each time I tried to texture the top, it ended up looking so rough and ugly!

In the end, I improvised by smoothening the top as much as I could and popped on some soapy toppers. Aaaahhhh ... much better! Thank goodness for some leftover soap balls from my Rainbow Pop Soaps!

Butterfly Swirl Soap -- #1st attempt

Butterfly Swirl Soap -- #1st attempt

As expected, the soap was riddled with lots of air bubbles. The new recipe however produced a very hard and nice bar of soap with lots of creamy bubbles! OOohhh...I love it!

I decided to attempt this technique one more time even though I knew that I would not be able to submit my entry in time for this month's challenge. This time I used my regular recipe and a trustworthy fragrance oil - Blackraspberry Vanilla from Bramble Berry.

Neapolitan Butterfly Swirl Soap

Neapolitan Butterfly Swirl Soap

Neapolitan Butterfly Swirl Soap

Neapolitan Butterfly Swirl Soap

Neapolitan Butterfly Swirl Soap

The results were much better in my 2nd attempt but I don't see butterflies. Do you?

2013 Soap Challenge ! -- Holly Swirl

Singapore celebrated her 48th birthday on 9 Aug 2013. I was getting tired of the typical 'National Day' soap in red and white, with stars and crescent moon or a Merlion; and I wanted to create a soapy version that embodied the true 'spirit' of Singapore.

So, when Amy Warden of Great Cakes Soapworks shared the Holly Swirl, I knew that it would be the perfect technique for the soap I had in mind. The Holly Swirl is essentially a swirl in a swirl technique created by Holly Bailey of Missouri River Soap Co. You can see her lovely Green Apple and Rose Soap here. 

Bramble Berry is sponsoring this month's prize. The winner will receive a signed copy of Anne-Marie Faiola's new book Soapcrafting as well as everything needed to create one of her recipes in the book. Second and Third place winners will receive free registration of next month's Soap Challenge Club. So exciting!!!

My entry for this month's Soap Challenge is the "Singapore Sling".

The Singapore Sling is a long drink created by a Mr Ngiam Boon Tong who was working as a bartender at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore sometime before 1915. Today, there are many versions of the original recipe. MeiMei and I were happy gals when we found a bottled version in our local supermarket.

Our inspiration ... 

Singapore Sling

Preparation:

The cocktail mixture was heated gently to allow all the alcohol content to evaporate. The leftover mixture was poured into an ice-cube tray and allowed to solidify in the freezer. I used part cocktail mixture (sans alcohol) and part distilled water combination in my recipe.

I prepared a slow moving blend of Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil and Palm Oil and lined my favourite 2 lb mold from Bramble Berry. Choice of colourants: Copper + Gold Mica, Merlot Mica, Red Oxide and Yellow Oxide. Fragrance blend: Pineapple Cilantro and Kumkuat FO. (colourants and FO from Bramble Berry)

M&P embeds that MeiMei and I prepared in advance.

Pineapple slices and Maraschino cherry M&P embeds 

I did not manage to take any WIP photos (A-G-A-I-N). I was head-scratching most of the time as I watched the cocktail mixture turn my lye solution from a bright red to yellow to orange-red and the soap batter morphed from dark orange to bright yellow. After I added my colourants to a portion of it, it turned a sad brown.

Then I carefully pushed the embeds into the soap ... only to watch them sink ... *wail**

Fresh soap

It was v-e-r-y different from what I had planned and I was getting really frustrated. Then MeiMei came hopping along and squealed, "oooohhhhhhhh!! It's ssssooooooo NICE Mummy!"

My heart melted :)  I felt renewed. Sprinkled some glitter and everything got better - magically.

Freshly cut. I love the swirls but the colours turned out very dark due to the reaction of the cocktail mixture. 

"Singapore Sling" soap

"Singapore Sling" soap

I love the Holly Swirl and will surely use this technique in my soaps! Thanks Amy for this soapy challenge! 

2013 Soap Challenge ! -- Mantra Swirl

This month's soapy challenge is the MANTRA SWIRL technique.

Amy Warden (Great Cakes Soapworks), the creator of The Soap Challenge Club, taught us 2 different mantra swirl techniques. I opted for the advanced / modified mantra swirl technique to enter for the challenge. I love this technique as it showcases the swirl on different sides of the soap when cut.

I used Amanda Griffin's slow-moving recipe, replacing rice bran oil with olive oil and shea butter with mango butter; and Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil from Bramble Berry. MeiMei suggested that I use Yellow, Pink and Green for the 3-colour technique of the advanced / modified mantra swirl.

So, after watching the various videos provided by Amy (numerous times!); I finally felt "confident" enough to embark on my new swirly adventure.

Preparation: (clockwise) mold with dividers, hanger with chopstick taped to it, 1 tsp colour pigments in 1 Tbsp olive oil, Cranberry Fig FO, Mango Butter and blend of Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil and Castor Oil.

I wish I had remained calm enough to snap some photos of the soaping process. I was home-alone and was battling a fast tracing batter with impossible dividers! HA!

Earlier, I was feeling pretty proud of myself for diligently taping down the dividers to the mold - very securely ... then I realised when it was time to remove them that they would not budge and ended up cursing and scratching madly at the "invisible" tape to pull them off !

When they (the dividers) were finally removed, I had to bang the mold several times to smooth out the surface and immediately ploughed my hanger contraption through it. Next was the mantra swirl on the top - was I supposed to do a "S" or an "8" ??

This was the aftermath of my soapy war ...

Pretty happy with the result, I sprayed the top with rubbing alcohol and placed a piece of cardboard over the top of the mold. 2 hours later ... quite horrified to see tiny bubbles on the surface of the soap! urgh!

The soap was unmoulded after 2 days and cut. I fell in love with it instantly! WOOHOO!!

DAZZLE !

Kiddos and I decided to call this - DAZZLE! ... cool lah!

2013 Soap Challenge! -- Peacock Swirl

Hello! It has been a while since my last blog post in February. I am back!

I decided to join a Soap Challenge Club organised by Amy Warden of Great Cakes Soapworks. This month's soap challenge is the PEACOCK SWIRL technique. I have daydreamed about this peacock swirl soap since I first saw it made by Amanda Griffin of Lovin' Soap back in October 2011! See her post here.

I normally work with Melt & Pour and have only experimented with several batches of CP; so I was pretty excited and even robed in MeiMei to assist me. We googled for inspiration and decided on 5 colours - Black (charcoal), Blue (ultramarine blue), Teal (hydrated green chrome), Copper (copper + gold sparkle mica) and White (titanium dioxide). All the colourants used in this soap are from Bramble Berry.

Both Amy and Amanda had generously shared their 'slow-moving' recipes. I finally decided on 70% Olive Oil, 20% Coconut Oil, 5% Avocado Oil and 5% Rice Bran Oil. I also used Bramble Berry 's Kumquat and Energy in equal proportions. GOSH! I am so in love with this combination! YUMMY!!

Here's our lil peacock adventure (my 1st Soap Challenge ever!) :

Preparation - Bramble Berry's 18-bar slab mold, comb/rake, colourants (I ended up using plastic cups as I was unable to find my squeeze bottles! Things always go "missing" when I need them! BOO!)

Mold, Comb and Colourants

I think I got an emulsion??

Attempting an emulsion

Bottom layer scented with Kumquat & Energy Fragrance Oils, coloured soap is left unscented.

Base layer with titanium dioxide, waiting to pour the colours

I wish I had my squeeze bottles! ... and MeiMei asked, "Why are your hands shaking, Mummy??" erm ... "coz I am S-U-P-E-R NERVOUS?!?!!"

Shaky hands = Wriggly lines

MeiMei & I inserted the comb and started to pull it through the soap (together) ... very slowly and carefully... then IT HAPPENED. The colours started to turn muddy and the soap refused to pass through the comb and was pulled to the lower end of the mold. The skewers must have been positioned too close to one another! Not wanting to give up, we wriggle the comb ... we kindof  did a jiggly dance at 3/4 of the way ... by the time we pulled the comb out, we went "yyyeeeeeeee". It looked pretty messed up!

Our muddy struggle with THE comb

Grabbed my chopstick and started swirling. I enjoyed this part and was relieved that it had some resemblance to all the pretty peacock swirls that I have seen. The blue and green colours had disappeared. We were disappointed that our lil peacock adventure did not quite produce the effect that we had hope to achieve. Nonetheless, it was exciting. It made my hands shake!! I popped on the lid of the mold and brought the kids out for dinner.

After swirling

15 hours later, I jumped out of bed the moment I opened my eyes, grabbed my GooGooMonster glasses and ran downstairs to take a peep at my soap. A-W-E-S-O-M-E !! It had a wee-little bit more blue and green and NO ASH!!

15 hours later ... My 1st Peacock Swirl Soap !

I will have to wait till tomorrow before I can unmold the soap and cut into bars. There will be a separate blog post to share with everyone the peacock swirl soap bars.

I must admit that I have gotten over the initial disappointment and am pretty pleased with the end result. I am truely in love with this soaping technique and it has been such wonderful experience taking part in this soap challenge which has brought together 122 international soapers. Thank you Amy for setting up the Soap Challenge Club! Looking forward to more soapy challenges!