Wednesday, August 13, 2014

August 2014 - Great Cakes Soap Challenge Club - Negative Space Embed

I'll start by saying that this has been the most challenging soap I've attempted to date!  I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but wasn't sure how to make the holes!  I pulled my slab mold out of storage and brushed off the dust (nice to put it to use, but log molds are still my favorite) and decided on a drop swirl.  How to make those holes?  I ended up using small plastic mixing cups to form the holes in each bar. After seeing Amy struggle to get the pvc tubes out, I decided to remove the cups just after the soap had hardened a bit, but was still soft.  Well, the soap ended up expanding a bit into the holes, so they weren't perfect - but they were still holes. I'd wanted to do a pink/blue swirl for the negative space embed, but picked the wrong color. I grabbed a colorant I thought was okay for cold process, but once the raw soap met the pink it became gray.  Start over.  I made a new batch and colored it blue this time around.  I think it's a great highlighted space for my Spoonbridge Soaps stamp.  My recipe has beeswax and a bit of honey, so the little bee stamp works perfectly. Vibrance Micas were used along with Peak Green mica from The Conservatorie.  The fragrance is a combination of Champagne by Bramble Berry to give it some ZING, with eucalyptus and spearmint essential oils. 
A big thanks to Amy Warden for organizing these challenges - it's good to think outside the box and try something new!    ~ Suzy  Spoonbridge Soaps, Minneapolis











12 comments:

Amy W said...

So pretty!!! Love the colors & swirls & the stamp does work perfectly in the "hole" :)

Unknown said...

Thanks, Amy ! I've been away from your monthly challenges for awhile and have missed them. They're always a chance to try something new and see how others design with the same concept, so thanks for the opportunity. This isn't the last negative space soap I'll be doing!

Pooja said...

Your stamp is so cute :) very happy looking soap with beautiful swirls.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Pooja ! Next time I'll try different pvc pipe sizes. Funny how you come up with all sorts of ideas after you've tried something once.

Infusions said...

Your colors are beautiful and look very fresh! I know what you mean by saying that the soap expanded after you pulled the plastic tubes out. Love the bee stamp - it is very cute!
Maya

Unknown said...

Maya !! It's good to "see" you ! Thank you for the comment. This was trickier than I thought - or I just didn't plan all that well, but now I know how to do it the next time around. I hope you're having/have had a wonderful Summer.

Debbie Walker said...

Beautiful colors, and the stamp works perfectly!

Zahida said...

This is beautiful Suzy! Love the colors and swirls!

Unknown said...

Thank you Debbie and Zahida - I appreciate the kind words

Unknown said...

Nice color combination and lovely swirls

Unknown said...

I agree, the blue circle is the perfect spot for your stamp. It almost looks like sealing wax. Pretty swirls too. I love your take on the challenge :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you Lisa ! Sometimes things work out well, sometimes not. I'd just purchased some sealing wax and an "S" stamp for my packaging , so maybe I had that in the back of my mind. :-D