Amber Waves of Soap: Butterfly Swirl, Soap Swap

This butterfly swirl is a bugger, I've come to feel. It has been the most difficult soap technique, for me, thus far in my soaping journey. Let me back up to December.

I signed up for a soap swap with 9 other soapers. The only rule of this swap was choose something to focus on (something we wanted to specifically highlight), and that thing you choose, do it to the best of your ability. So naturally, knowing this challenge was quickly approaching, I choose to swap a butterfly swirl soap. Having failed twice in the past at this technique, I knew I'd be needing a ton of practice.

My main goal- produce a butterfly swirl that looks like a butterfly while standing upright.
This isn't a requirement, of course. There are gorgeous soaps out there with intricate detailed butterfly wings that look perfectly executed while on its side. I was being stubborn, however, and decided I was GOING to make an upright butterfly swirl, or die trying. I was very much in awe of the soaps by Zahida of Handmade in Florida regarding this technique, and honestly her beautiful soaps inspired my fire for this upright style.

Obsessed much?!

I made 4 practice soaps in my 1 pound soap mold, and though one was executed well, the others were lacking in detail and color, and none produced an upright butterfly.

Here's the one I really liked and thought looked like a butterfly (much more so than my other attempts).

***The last picture below was my favorite. Unfortunately the pic flashed, and in haste I didn't retake it. Boy do I love this butterfly though:-)

I then decided, for my swap, I really needed to invest in a mold large enough to make the required 10 bars I needed to send in. I purchased a tall and skinny mold that makes 12 bars, which was perfect for this swap. I also hoped the added height would allow the wings to swirl more upright than my shorter mold did, and in doing so allow for an upright butterfly.

After the practices, I made my swap soap and decided it was good enough for the swap. At this point I was becoming a little burned out on this particular swirl. The swap soaps were not butterfly enough for a contest I felt, because they resembled more along the lines an owl or an organic plant or something. I am extremely happy with the swap soaps when it comes down to it, and so I signed up for the contest with the hopes of producing an upright butterfly.

I call this

Citrus Blast

Scented with a fragrance oil blend of lemon, agave lime, and yuzu