What a better way to start off the new blog than with a 6 color column swirl tutorial. Full disclosure: this is an older tutorial that I’ve already written so…YAY for being lazy!!! Enjoy…
My primary tips and tricks for making the perfect column swirl are:
– Use a slow moving recipe so you have time to work with it
– Soap at a much lower temp to help keep it from moving too fast. Around 80 degrees
– Use contrasting colors so to ensure that each color pops
Tools needed:
Slab Mold
Hunk of wood (can be found in the Whittling section of Michaels)
Skewer
Mixing bowls
Stick Blender
6 Plastic Deli Containers
Whisk
Spatula
Scale
Gloves
Eye Protection
Recipe:
22.8 oz Distilled Water
241 grams Lye
1 large pinch of Tussah Silk
28.8 oz Olive Oil
19.2 oz Coconut Oil
12 oz Rice Bran Oil
Titanium Dioxide & Super Pearly White Mica
Aqua Pearl Mica
Fizzy Lemonade
Tangerine Wow
Liquid Blue Oxide
2.25oz Sweet Orange EO
2.25oz Yuzu FO
Start by putting on your gloves and goggles. Safety First!!
Weigh out your water and lye in separate containers. Rip up your large pinch of Tussah Silk into smaller pieces and add to the water. In a well ventilated area, slowly add your lye to your water. Stir until the water becomes translucent. Stick your lye water into the freezer to cool.
Melt your Coconut Oil in the microwave. Weigh out your oils into one bowl. Set aside to cool.
Weigh out your fragrances and set aside so they can blend together and become friends.
Prepare your colorants in each deli container. Using approximately 1 TBSP of light oil (such as Rice Bran or Olive) to 1 tsp of colorant.
Prepare your work station by adding the hunk of wood to the center of your slab mold. Arrange your colors by putting your most contrasting colors side by side. For this Recipe I set up the colors in this order: – Aqua Pearl, Fizzy Lemonade, White, Blue, Tangerine Wow and White again.
Once your lye water and oils reach approx 80-90 degrees, add the lye water to your oils. I like to pour my lye water over my stick blender into the oils to cut down on any bubbles that may form. Burp your stick blender to eliminate any additional bubbles.
Slowly pulse your stick blender until you reach a very light trace.
Hand whisk in your Fragrance.
Pour the soap into the separate deli containers in equal amounts. You can either whisk the colors together by hand or quickly pulse the colors with your stick blender being careful to not over blend, leading to a thicker trace.
Start with your first color and pour from up high into the center of your wood column. Count to 5 and switch to your next color. Count to 5 for each color and continue to repeat until all of the colors are gone.
Using a spatula, scrape the soap off of each side of the column and slowly pull the column out of the center of the slab mold.
You could leave the soap as is, or add more interest by dragging a skewer through the design. Starting from the center, drag your skewer all the. Way through the soap up to the farthest corner. Move your skewer over by about an inch and drag it back to the center. Repeat the process until you have completed the design throughout the mold.
Insert your dividers carefully and leave the soap for 24 hours to set up.
Unmold your creation the following day and revel in your awesomeness!!!
bubbles & ducks 