Here I go again with another soap challenge. I have decided that I like doing the various soap challenges as it gets me motivated to try something new. The Peacock Swirl is one that I have wanted to try for a while but wasn't quite brave enough. Then a new challenge using this very method via Great Cakes Soapworks came up. I decided now was the time to try it!
This pattern is created in a slab mold rather than a log mold. The complete pattern should remind you of the peacocks feathering. The colors are added to the top of the mold in lines leaving the base a solid color. Once the lines have been drawn a homemade device similar to a comb is run across the top and followed by using a wooden skewer in "S" patterns to form the feathers.
This pattern is created in a slab mold rather than a log mold. The complete pattern should remind you of the peacocks feathering. The colors are added to the top of the mold in lines leaving the base a solid color. Once the lines have been drawn a homemade device similar to a comb is run across the top and followed by using a wooden skewer in "S" patterns to form the feathers.
Here are the colors I choose for the first batch I attempted. Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Pink, Burgandy Pigment and Chromium Green Oxide. The colors are ready to add to the bottles.
You can see that I have poured the uncolored base into the slab mold and the colors are in the bottles and ready to work with.
The colors have been added to the mold in repeating lines across the top. This mold will give me 12 bars of soap.
The "comb" has been run over the top. The handmade tool is made with the beauty parlor type picks used in hair rollers and spaced close together in a heavy cardboard. You can see that by using the tool I have created an interesting pattern of the simple lines.
Next I used a wooden skewer and made "S" designs from top to bottom in rows moving sideways across the slab. You can sort of see the oval and round patterns creating the peacock feathers. But I wasn't as happy as I had hoped I would be with this batch so I made another one. Oh, and this is scented with Loving Spell fragrance oil.
Here goes batch #2 for the Peacock Swirl. This time I chose to use some neon pigments of Tangerine Wow, Bubble Gum Pink and Fizzy Lemonade with the Ultramarine Blue.
Here are the colored lines across the mold. They are much brighter!
The "S" lines have been made through the mold. This mold is a bit larger than the one above which will give me 18 bars of soap. The peacock feathers show up a bit more, especially through the center of the mold. This one is scented with a Passionflower and Acai Berry fragrance oil.
And here are the cut bars from the Peacock Swirl in neon colors. This is the photo I will be submitting to the challenge. I believe there is a lot of room for improvement with this specific technique. Need to work on that "S" swirl for one thing!
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