Ebru Soap- Great Cakes Soapworks Soap Challenge, June

So after many early practices, and then once the contest rules were laid out many attempts, I finally decided on a soap challenge theme.

The Dragon

Scented with a blend of  Cedarwood, Juniper Berry, and Rosemary Essential Oils, and
Mysore Sandalwood Fragrance Oil by Oregon Trail Soapers Supply

Colorants by Nurture Soap

I wanted to try a new recipe. I used for this soap

23% Sweet Almond Oil
7% Castor Oil
10% Coconut Oil
20% Tallow
40% Lard
3% Superfat
with 40% Lye Concentration (1.5:1 water to lye ratio)
split between 1:1 water to lye and the remaining .5 water was replaced with 100% pure coconut milk
Tussah Silk, 2% Sodium Citrate, and 1 tablespoon sugar ppo was also included in this soap
A total of 14 colorants were used as well (listed in my process).

Fragrance was appx 38% Cedarwood, 38% Sandalwood, 16% Juniper Berry, and 7% Rosemary (more or less)
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My inspiration is a wonderful etsy artist, Robert Wu. This work of his titled Rhythm was my main inspiration, but if you take time to visit his shop, you can see his Dragon, Peacock, and Phoenix (which I believe has been sold) works which also were an inspiration for this soap.

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I began by stick blending a few bursts, added the coconut milk, then stick blended to emulsion. I added the fragrances, and then I split the batch into 9 squirt bottles (a small amount) and into 3 paper cups.

I poured the base, and then proceeded to color each bottle and cup. I am a scoop and dump color gal, so it took no time to color.

I then laid out my fire beneath.

Colors from top to bottom were-
Sunshine Yellow mixed with Maya Gold
Desert Sunset
Really Red
Orchid Purple
Activated Charcoal mixed with Dark Steel Gray

I then skewered top to bottom and bottom to top, alternating. I think had I used the blunt end of the skewer, it may have pulled the batter apart more like the inspiration photo.

Then I used the Activated Charcoal mixed with Dark Steel Gray to lay out the body. After laying down Teal beside it, I proceeded to skewer out spikes along the body and off the top of the head.

I then laid out alternating colors of Wisteria Purple, Teal, Klein Blue, and Mantis Green. I threw in there an AC/Steel line as well. I then pulled the skewer down as a comb would do for the wings.

Finally I dropped Raspberry Red, Red Vibrance, Really Red, Titanium Dioxide, and Sunshine Yellow in front of the mouth. I made French curls to emulate fire escaping.

I am happy enough with the outcome, and think I'll call this one DONE:-)

Thanks for looking, and thank you to Amy for hosting these fun and exciting challenges!

Ebru Soap, a Learning and Creative Process

So with the Great Cakes Soapworks Ebru soap challenge rapidly approaching, I decided to have a go at a couple of more attempts for practice sake. The first attempt you can see here.

These are my second, third and fourth try.

The first up in line is one I decided to use a new fragrance with, which I knew accelerated. I did not realize quite how badly it would accelerate with 40% lye concentration as well as rice. My high lye concentration buys me eons of time with all recipes I've tried, but when there's an accelerator fragrance, it moves far too fast for any intricate designs.

it wasn't a complete disaster. All in all I love the scent of the fragrance, Rice Shea Blossom from Brambleberry, and I do look forward to using the soap. I really could've worked this fragrance so much better, had I not tried such an intricate design with it.

The next soap was an attempt at a combing design. I used a homemade comb tool, pulled it through after laying colors diagonally in the mold, and then free handed swirls throughout. 

I'm kinda a throw and go colorant gal, so I accidentally over saturated the orange. it's quite reminescent of the fab designs of the 60's and 70's in my opinion.

Unfortunately after I made this intricate skewered design, the soap had reached medium to thick trace, and the ebru effect was a little, blobby, for lack of better term.

The excess orange also seemed to overwhelm the design some.

Onto the next soap. This soap didn't trace for eons. I had so much time swirling, I didn't know if it would ever harden lol. I did an ITP swirl with base colors, platinum grey,  dark steel grey, then some khaki yellow. I spiral swirled in the pot and poured. 

I then worked on the design. I tried my hand at birds this time. all in all I'm getting more comfortable with designing ebru art in soap.

 I've learned thinner batter works much better, a steady hand is very important, and harmonious strokes as well as detail work adds great interest. If your base pour is overly intricate, you run the risk of thickening trace, so keep the base design within a reasonable time frame. Gelling truly helps the soap designs to pop. Try different pulls. Many different effects occur from pulling in, out, in and out, swirling, spirals, etc. There is a limitless potential for creativity and imagination with ebru soap.

Ebru Cold Process Soap

I will preface this post by saying, this isn't my contest soap for the month of June, but rather this was meant as a learning tool for those who were looking to see what ebru soap was all about. Stay tuned for my entry into the June Great Cakes Soapworks Ebru Challenge:-)

So, I decided to forgo the Great Cakes Soapworks Challenge of miniature soap desserts this month for several reasons. First off, I am currently involved in an alternative liquid swap on a soap making forum, and was busy creating 15 soaps for the swap. I also decided to make 15 special "extra" gift soaps for this swap. The gift soaps weren't quite what I intended, so I had to redo them. Being as they were round soaps, I only have a 6 round soap silicone mold, well let's just say I wound up with 54 soaps when all was completed (a soap on a stick fail accounted for 6 of those).

So by the time I was ready to focus on the dessert challenge, the link up to submit was already available and I was too late.

So I decided to set my eyes onto the challenge for the month of June, the Ebru Soap Challenge.

Ebru art is defined on http://www.turkishculture.org/traditional-arts/marbling-113.htm as
The Turkish Art of Marbling: Ebru

Marbling is the art of creating colorful patterns by sprinkling and brushing color pigments on a pan of oily water and then transforming this pattern to paper.

So googling the ebru art in soap making, I discovered these examples.
Soaping 101 Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzQJrztr2GY
and this video by Sergio Masala
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFuOjmqWgjQ

Having done the spin swirl the last challenge in April, I chose to spin and then ebru.

I split my batter into
Titanium Dioxide
Activated Charcoal
Nurture Soap Mica Mint Green
and Nurture Mica Red Raspberry
I kept a little uncolored naked batter as well

After pouring a layer of uncolored batter just thick enough to coat the base of my mold, I began poring circles slowly and fluidly into the uncolored batter. I poured one color at a time, on center and slow, then another and etc. In the picture you can see the alternating colors and where I put each circle.

I then spun until I felt it sufficed.

Finally, I again, in the top 4 corners, poured a red raspberry, then titanium dioxide, then mint green circle. Taking a skewer I pulled lines from the outside into the center to give a flower impression.

I topped off the flowers with a small dab of activated charcoal in the middle, and then strategically placed dabs of activated charcoal and titanium dioxide dots for interest around the soap.

The center circle did not spin, so I cleaned it up, and instead of pulling my skewer in, I went from the center out.

This is ebru soap. It is drawing onto liquid soap batter a top the soap.

I used 40% lye concentration. It takes a long time to trace, and it remains very fluid a long time. If you use TD or any other colorant in WATER, however, it (the portion with added water after you have reached trace) thickens fast and, well, very thick. Also, if your fragrance accelerates, it will move like lightning with this lye concentration. If your fragrance behaves, though, this concentration is like a secret soaping ninja weapon giving you an awesome edge on design and time to complete your designs.

I used an essential oil combination of 13 grams of frankincense, 6 grams of cedarwood, and 4 grams of rosemary for this. I also used a 100 grams lye to 100 grams water, 2% sodium citrate (18 oz of oils total), 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and 50 grams coconut milk (added while mixing to trace...this took eons to trace and so I finally added the coconut milk to aid the trace of the batter).

Now cut pics!

All in all I am pleased with this, and I am eager to make my second attempt ever at Ebru Cold Process Soap.
A final apology for the white washed photos. I am needing to improve my photography skills, and its something I've struggled with a while now!!