Monday 16 June 2014

Hanger Swirl Soap Challenge Club

I've been on the mailing list for Amy Warden's Soap Challenge Club since practically the beginning, but this is the first time that I have actually participated in the challenge. I'm not sure why it took me so long to sign up, but I'm glad that I finally took the plunge.


This time around, the challenge was to produce a soap using the hanger swirl technique, in which a clothes hanger is dragged up and down and side to side to create beautiful swirls and designs. Prior to the challenge, I had used this technique a few times, but hadn't ventured beyond layering colours one on top of the other and dragging the hanger up and down through those layers. Though I love this look, for the challenge, I wanted to attempt something a bit different.

I chose an earthy blend of fragrance oils for my soap, including patchouli, cedarwood, bayberry and vanilla oak, and a natural palette of clays and botanicals to match. I also used more liquid oils than normal in order to keep the soap workable.


I wasn't really sure what the design should be, so I poured the different colours in a random order and then used the hanger to swirl circles and moved the hanger up, down, side to side and every which way.


I love slicing into a log of soap when you don't know what you're going to get, and this soap was definitely a surprise. I was afraid that I got a bit carried away and created a muddy mess, but thankfully the swirls were distinct. And I enjoyed making the challenge soap so much that I decided to try again a few days later, this time using a light and fruity fragrance of orange and guava. This time I layered the different colours, went up and down with the hanger, and then side to side. I don't like this one as much, but it was fun to try.


Thanks for organizing this event Amy!


22 comments:

  1. Beautiful soaps, the 1st one is so special!

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  2. Both are pretty but as Natalia said, the first one is special! I like the tall shape by the way :) I have tried the hanger swirl just once and the hanger was too short for the length of my mold. I would like to make more hanger swirls in the future but i need to get the right size hanger first :)

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  3. Thank you Natalia and Silvia!

    Silvia, if you can find the right hanger size, you should give it another try. I bent the one in the picture above to fit my new tall skinny mold.

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  4. Very pretty...I love your color choices.

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    1. Thank you Janet! I was quite happy with the colours, though one friend commented on Facebook that it looks like mushy peas, potatoes and gravy ;)

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  5. I'm so glad you decided to join us this time, Deirdre!! The top soap definitely has a unique look thanks to your hanger swirl - love it!! Hope you'll join us again next month too!

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    1. Thanks so much Amy! It was really fun thinking about the design from the perspective of the challenge and trying to go out of my comfort zone with it. Looking forward to what you have in store for us in the future!

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  6. Love this soap! It looks like a fancy/classy take on camo! The second one is just as beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Anna! I hadn't thought of it as a fancy take on camo, but I love that because the scent is quite "manly" :)

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  7. Your first soap is si original! But I also loved the second one ;-) I love pink!!!, but above all, the pink soap has a butterfly pattern which really very obvious on the slice to the right. Making a butterfly is my absolute dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bravo!

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  8. love the natural looking one, but pink is always good too.

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  9. They're both lovely, Deirdre, but like the others I particularly like the swirl you made in the first one. (The fragrance blend sounds very appealing too ....!)

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    1. Thanks Debbie! The fragrance is nice - I didn't use much vanilla oak, but it really comes through beautifully.

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  10. I love your tall skinny molds and the hanger swirls are beautiful

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    1. Thanks Cris! I'm enjoying the tall skinny molds, though I haven't had them for that long so I'm still playing around with them.

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  11. So beautiful! I love the first one particularly and the fragrance sounds divine! I signed up for the challenge this month but (yet again!) didn't get round to participating. I love that I can still vote though :-D

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    1. Thank you! You should give the challenge a try next time around ;)

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  12. Your soap is beautiful Deirdre! Your choice of colors and scents are perfect together...love how both soaps turned out!

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