Lemongrass Kumquat In 6-bar mold:
I wanted to try out a Cool Tools Peacock mat, which was 6 inches wide and 9 inches long. I trimmed off the excess and it fit perfectly in my 6-bar mold that was 6 x 6 inches.
The issue I have with Cool Tools mats is that they really only have 2-3 Mega mats that are positive relief (embossed) and work for soaping. And the corners curled up while the soap batter was on it, so some soap went underneath it.
I bought 2 different mat designs, but the second one (as most are) is too finely detailed for soaping. (These mats were originally designed & intended for jewelry making.) This one worked fairly well though.
Back to soaping:
I used 36 oz of batter poured off from another project (see previous blog) with .5 oz/14 grams of BB Lemongrass eo and 1 oz/28 grams of BB Kumquat fo combined and added to all the colors.
11 oz of each color:
Dark green (BB Leftover greens) (with green jojoba beads)
BB Fizzy Lemonade yellow
BB Celine Red mica (will morph to orange)
Top (which will become the bottom). The Red morphs to orange.
I poured lines of color and when I swirled it, I went all the way to the bottom, but not much really shows on the sides. (It should be a fun design when using the soap.)
Soaps by Sly 
These turned out beautiful! How long did you let the mat dry? I also had curling on my first attempt. I wonder if we could somehow tape the mat down inside the mold? Probably helps to have the mat fit the mold like yours too. No worries for you though, I can’t even tell that soap got under your mat. The bars look even and the colors are gorgeous (as usual!) 🙂
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April:
Thank you so much!
I didn’t work too hard on this one – I just put the mat in the bottom of the mold and randomly poured the soap over it. Then tried to do a “free” Taiwan swirl pour, and swirled all the way through like I would the Taiwan swirl. Of course, not making a horizontal cut, none of that showed up, except on the top (that became the bottom…which faded quite a bit with some ash too).
I liked it better before the red morphed to orange…who knew?
When I washed the mat after words, it just curled into a ball, so I had to put something heavy on it to straighten it out again.
Since these mats are for jewelry making, I don’t think they like the high Ph they are subjected to. But after straightening, it’s like new again.
Sly
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Good to know! I only have the one silicone mat as of now. I’m glad you were able to flatten this one out again because it’s a keeper 🙂 Picture 6 – Amazing!!!!!!!!! (All awesome though!)
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April:
You are such a sweat heart – thank you!!
I have at least a half dozen mats picked out at Amazon…so hard to decide. Almost all are designed to go on the top of a loaf and I’m just not sure they really stand out that much after cutting….so I’m still on the fence with purchasing any more.
Did you ever take photos of your Christmas Tree impression mat soap and post them on your blog? They were so cool!
Sly
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You are super sweet as well………my wish list is gigantic!
I did cut it but they just didn’t have IT. What’s worse, my “white” background turned beige
I will keep working on it. The challenges, although trying for this newbie, really do teach me sO much. Amongst my own experiments, full + daytime job, family, and soap (and stuff), I’ve got a lot going on ALL the time. The challenges really make me push past where I might without them. I’ll keep working on that one just for you though 😉
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Good Luck April!
I won’t be doing the Feb challenge (hopefully back in March), but I will look for your entry.
Best wishes, Sly
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Your soaps turned out beautiful, love your mat as well 😊
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Yvonne:
Thank you so much!
Sly
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