#prettyinpink #patchoulirainscent #tallandskinnyshimmy
#pink soap
November 5, 2015
Obsessed - the definition of obsessed is either "to think about something unceasingly or persistently; dwell obsessively upon something."
or
It's what happens to me and why I decided to make batch #4 for the tall and skinny shimmy challenge….
Case in point: the November Challenge for Amy Wardens Great Cakes Soap Challenge is called the "tall and skinny shimmy." Alison and I happily entered the Challenge, bought 2 silicone tall and skinny molds, and began planning our color strategy. We divided one of our large "loose batter" batches of soap so that each of us could play around with the color. How hard can it b?, we stupidly thought.
Rainbow, the beautiful example of what our soap is supposed to resemble once we've completed the Challenge. This one was made by Tatiana Serko. The idea is to get the colors to loosely flow/shimmy together……
great looking soap isn't it, looks easy, right?
When we made Tall and Skinny Shimmy batch #1, the first thing we learned is that you need REALLY LOOSE batter, otherwise the soap will look like a spoon plop and won't "shimmy." The other thing we learned was that we needed more batter for our next try (if we're going to split a batch). Oh both bars smell great, they just aren't what we needed and are a bit short of batter…..on to split batch number two.
Batch #1
Alison is yellow, green white, and Kathy's is blue (s) and white
notice we don't have the "shimmy" going on at all!
Tall and skinny shimmy batch number 2, this time we barely mixed the batter, but a minute into the process we knew we had problems….again, with batter getting to thick to fast! Dang, what's a girl to do? Again, we had bars of great smelling soap that looked really similar to the first batch. Oh yeah, this is getting OLD.
Batch #2
Kathy's on left, Alison on right
our volume was up but that's about all, the batter was too thick…..again!
On the third try we decided not to split a large batch, since in the earlier tries the person going second (Alison unfortunately) for sure had thicker (and more unmanageable) soap. So third time is going to be the charm, right?! Do I sound a little sarcastic? A little ticked off, a little "obsessed"????? Here is why, DOS, yes Dreaded Orange Spots ALL OVER THE SOAP!!!!! We have no idea what happened, our oils are fine (we used same oils on #1 & #2 and they were fine except for thickening). We used a scent called Angel Baby, we bought it in July, it's not rancid or too old, we've used it several times without incident, but this time - oh brother, what a mess.
Batch #3
How disappointing, we actually got the shimmy, but the spots, my eyes!!!!!
we were very, very, very disappointed!
And now we are back to the word of the day - "obsessed." That would be me, Kathy. I just couldn't let the shimmy beat us, so today I made batch #4. Yes this is a little over the top, but I was determined to do this one. Alison was busy and unable to come to the soap kitchen, so I forged on alone and took still pictures. The following is a visual narrative of the creation of what I think we'll call Pretty in Pink….unless it's trademarked.
I wasn't kidding when I said pink!
All of the colors except the top - Pink Vibrance from +Nurture Soap Supplies - came from Rustic Escentuals
In this picture I had mixed the color in the safflower oil already.
The FO (fragrance oil) I used is from Rustic Escentuals, Patchouli Rain. We discovered it at their fall open house and absolutely love it. Its so sweet and fresh and tangy all at the same time. They describe it as follows: "This fragrance oil is a fresh rain and earthy patchouli with notes of lily of the valley, cyclamen, fresh ozone, earthen moss, and hints of sweet citrus."
Tried something a little different, added the FO into the oils before adding the lye/water.
Fingers crossed that it performs well.
Now in goes the lye. I didn't mix it much, just to emulsification as I know it will thicken up as time passes.
I have no idea which color went in first, second or what. I realized immediately that the batter was getting thicker, so I was grabbing, mixing, and pouring as fast as possible.
You can see it's a little thick.
I know the pink on the left is Blushed Pink, it was the lightest of the colors.
Thick anyone? only thing to do is keep on plugging away.
Only the top is left, thank goodness, it was getting seriously thick at this point.
I slammed the remaining white batter on the top and slammed it down several times hoping to get rid of any air bubbles.
I spooned the remaining nuggets of batter all over the top.
And last but not least, my most favorite part….swirling!
It's quite a pretty soap, hope it will "shimmy" for us!
Now that you've seen the glamour part, here is the mess part. Using cups for the batter is a great idea, I'm sure we will be using them again.
Cups are everywhere, then they weren't, that's why throwing them away is so great.
….no, I didn't get the "shimmy" and we decided to enter batch #3 (with a side of rice)!
The pink batch smells lovely and actually looks pretty good even though I didn't achieve what I was going for.
The tall and skinny shimmy was a tough one. It's pretty, but we're not sure we will use it much!
Please enjoy the final shots.
No shimmy in these bars!
This soap will be available for purchase after Dec.18, 2015.
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