Yes! I had been trying to get this pattern but was missing it. I had a pattern in mind but the soap was too thin to do it (the messy part on the end.) I had to improvise although I was hesitant about over-swirling but then it happened! Out of the guesswork came the original pattern that I had been aiming for, or very close to it. It makes me think of stingrays but is way more voluptuous. Unfortunately when I was swirling, I was looking at the big picture and not at how the bars would cut so I don't know if individual bars will capture it. Ah well, next time.

Oh my my my. I have been negligent in posting. It is not for lack of soaping but more for lack of pictures. I got a new camera and have been having a great deal of difficulty in getting the pictures to download to my computer, although it's supposed to be a great deal easier. Ha! Not for the tech un-savvy, like myself.

We are having an ebru challenge this month, so I thought I would post some of my pattern attempts. Paper marbling is a truly fascinating medium with some glorious patterns that are very difficult to dissect. Some are more straightforward, thankfully for someone trying to translate them to soap, but some are on a scale that makes trying them in a small slab impossible, and some I just cannot figure out.

Anyhow, here are some of my tries for this month.

Last month was a gradient challenge. I used yellow with increasing amounts of black for my colors but I didn't find this to be as colorful as I would have liked. I got the mix from Will Kempart but his yellow was Chromium Yellow, if I recall correctly, and adding black gave some very bright lime greens, which I did not get. I got olive but I'm sure that's due to the yellow I had at hand.

Then I tried to make some finer gradients that would look more like a blush from one color to the next. I am not that great at hanger swirls. The picture insists on being sideways.

Currently setting up for another patterns so we shall see what comes of it.

I managed to make some pretty translucent soap without trying. it was at a lighter trace when poured which made part of the difference, I'm sure, as this is my normal recipe. I always love that alabaster look although sometimes the soap bar itself feels slightly different in texture than when it's at a medium trace when poured. 

I tend toward more colorful soap but sometimes I have to come back to wonderful grays and black, which I love, every time, even though I tend to park these colors in the back of my mind for periods of time. It was a gray day and these were taken next tot he window in natural light. I probably should have adjusted the exposure on the pictures but I like how warm the wood feels and the slightly darker look of the whole thing. Not terribly artsy but I don't really care!

So I tried to make a soap that looks kind of like Malachite. Needs some work and some tuning on the colors. Lots of malachite has bullseyes and I wasn't going for that but the more striated kind. I think this is a bit too edgy so if I try again, I will probably manipulate the mold some to smooth out the lines.

I filmed the making of three of the four layer. Well, I filmed all four but I can't seem to process the last layer, but I think three is plenty. The first pour was way too thin and got very blurry. The second pour is what you see in the picture. In the third pour, I lined my colors up in the container perpendicular to the pouring spout rather in parallel to it but I decided to pour it that way anyhow, to see what the difference would be. If you watch, I apologize for my messy soaping ways, tripping over the dustpan and rustling the paper on the floor so much. I'm not very professional.

Thin trace Ribbon Pour, first two layers.

Thin Trace Ribbon pour, layer three

Trying a super thin Ribbon pour. My first half is not pictured because it just poured through itself. I have no idea if it sunk and kept some of its ribbons or if it mixed and is a complete mess but it wasn't looking hopeful. I did remember to scent it though, unlike my other half. Because there was no way to get the batter to hold the next layer, I made a 16 ounce oils batch with low water so it would stay thin for a long time, then loaded one container with half that batter. Each container was good for 2 pours, so each of these layer is approximately a 4 ounce oils batch. It was interesting to me how different the first layer is from the last. The batter was by no means thin with the last pour but it must have had a little more body. The first pour mixed much more than I ever anticipated. I like them all and can see how I could get a very good agate or malachite look from a pour like the last two layers. Next up.....!

I forgot to scent the soap in the pictures, which sucks. The bottom layer is scented and may carry the day. I'll have to see. 

I must have the world's worst camera phone. Blurry half the time and the colors generally don't look as saturated as in real life. Oh well. Next time I can upgrade, right?

My last post was one half of a double sided-soap, which I ruined by gelling too hot. The first layer separated but the second layer didn't. What a mess that was. Now I have a bunch of thin bars with no place to go. 

Ribbon pour No. 6317 or something

I think the weirder it is, the more I like it. I poured this tonight and took a couple cell phone pictures but clearly my lens needs to be cleaned. I'll have to get pictures after it's done. I tried pouring from the corners but ended up zigzagging it across the top and letting the weight of the soap push itself out but I had to stop pouring a few times to get some black in there. I need four hands. I just know there is more untapped potential but I find my head a blank some days.

Made some soap for our forum challenge, which is based on using color wheel and schematics like contrasting colors, monochromatic palettes, etc.. I was hesitant to try the orange and blue with a Ribbon Pour because of mixing but when I mixed the micas, I got an interesting slivery brown, which I thought was acceptable. Still managed to keep enough of the colors straight up, versus mixed and I'm happy with the bars.