Amy put out a "how to" video along with some recipe suggestions. The video was very helpful along with a link to another soap maker (Amathia) who also does a nice job explaining the process.
I gave myself lots of time to complete the challenge. I knew it would take more than one try to get this one right!
The first try for the challenge was scented with Blackberry Sage and the colors were ultramarine pink and a burgundy pigment. The recipe included olive, coconut, palm, and rice bran oils with a little shea butter and of course goat milk. I love making the top mantra swirl on the wet soap. The inside is a bit more tricky. I chose to use the hanger technique, going side to side rather than top to bottom as in some other swirl patterns.
Time to stop or should I go for more Mantra Swirls??? Of course, since I had planned ahead earlier I still had a couple days left before downloading my entry.
This time I wanted to use some essential oil blends I had prepared a few weeks back and I wanted to try a brighter color pattern. I decided to use a Clary Sage, Virginia Cedarwood and Tangerine blend. I had been playing with a color scheme of orange, yellow and bright pink using some neon colored pigments and thought this would be a good combo. I was really happy with the original wet soap in the mold! I love this combination of color. I am thinking a whole line of various patterns of it now. The scent is great too!
I enjoyed this color combo so much I had to try another pattern!
Since I still had a couple days before the challenge was over before uploading my entry I thought I would do one more Mantra Swirl.
So what did I learn from this challenge? Expect the unexpected! Use a slow moving recipe to have time to move those swirls inside the mold. Use a thicker hanger... Oh, I ended up cutting another hanger and wiring two together to get a thicker swirl line. Using a plastic chopstick instead of a wooden skewer helped to pull those Mantra Swirls across the tops. And yes I will make some more Mantra Swirls!
Thanks again to Amy for organizing another great challenge. I know there are a lot of soapers all over the world that are enjoying them and learning new techniques or improving upon their own. Want to read about this months challenge and take a look at Amy's version of the Mantra Swirl? visit her blog at http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/index.php/who-wants-to-learn-the-mantra-swirl/
PS... these soaps will be ready sometime in August for purchase!