I purchased the new vertical mold at Brambleberry and finally had some time to play with it.

I made a batch of Exotic Amber (eo blend with frankincense, myrrh, and patchouli, among other things) with goat’s milk and shea butter.  It has vanilla in it, so I had to use a stabilizer.  So between the fact that it will darken slightly and the eo’s were a golden color, I went with warm ambers and browns, hence the name.

To make the soap, I separated it into three containers…one with less than the other two.  Since the eo turned the soap a golden color, I left one container alone.  I added some brown oxide to the second one and added more brown oxide to the third smaller amount.

I poured the medium brown into one side of the mold.  I poured the amber on the other side while squirting the dark brown down the center divider at the same time.  Then I pulled the divider out.  I stuck the long handle of a plastic spoon into the center and made two quick “swishes” back and forth.  I forgot to take a picture of that step though, not that there was much to see.

I was so excited I could barely wait to cut it and find out how it came out.  While all the soaps look different, the bulk of them came out exactly how I envisioned.

The mold worked fine, but the plastic pieces do allow a small amount of soap to leak into the wood.  I would love this to be made of clear plexiglass like my other molds with pieces that lock together.  I felt I was working a little blind.  However, the mold is solid and has a great base to keep it from tipping while you work.  I can’t wait to try out some other ideas I have for this mold.