Impression Mat Winners
February 2025 Soap Challenge
Our guest teacher and sponsor for this challenge was Amy Bautista of Elysian Acres Soap in Colorado, teaching us how to make and use impression mats for our soaps. An impression mat is a sheet of (typically) silicone with either a shallow raised or carved pattern or scene that can be used to leave an impression. Many members expressed their delight at given the tools to express their creativity in this medium! Amy’s complete tutorial is now available in our Tutorial Shop. Her methods open up endless possibilities for elevating soap designs with impression mats.
As a creative soapmaker, Amy has dreamed up many ideas for designs that required her to come up with her own tools to make them. For the past two years she has been continuously adding some of her best tools, including impression mats, to her shop. She is providing prizes for the top 3 voted winners in the advanced and winners categories. Grand prize winners will receive $100 gift certificates, second place gets $75, and third place gets $50.
All top 3 voted winners in the regular category have the choice of receiving a one-month registration fee for a future soap challenge or one tutorial from a past challenge to encourage more learning!
Recognition awards are also announced for each category. Check out all our winners below!
Winners Category
Grand Prize
Suds or Stitches?
Second Place
The Night Garden
Third Place
Peacock Lace
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Clean impression, few air bubbles, cohesive design
Name Shannon Barsi
Location Canada
Link none
Field of Flowers
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Yvonne Liao
Location Taiwan
Link Instagram
Hemp Leaves
Best Use of Color
Criteria Well-mixed, contrasting colors in a beautiful color palette
Name Lauren Conn
Location Florida
Link Facebook
Seashells by the Seashore
Advanced Category
Grand Prize
Gum Blossom
Second Place
Pine Forest
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Clean impression, few air bubbles, cohesive design
Name Ella Joseph
Location New Hampshire
Link Facebook
The Tiniest Pencils, But the Biggest Dreams!
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Andrea Maixner
Location Germany
Link Instagram
Golden Rainbow
Best Use of Color
Criteria Well-mixed, contrasting colors in a beautiful color palette
Name Irina Beketova
Location Texas
Link Instagram
Fairy Cottage
Regular Category
Grand Prize
Name Liz Strand
Location Wisconsin
Link none
Prize 1-mo registration or 1 tutorial from SCC
Tiffany’s
Second Place
Lasting Impression
Third Place
My Sunshine
Recognition Awards
Best Technique
Criteria Clean impression, few air bubbles, cohesive design
Name Darcy Geho
Location Minnesota
Link Instagram
Flower Child
Best Presentation
Criteria Well displayed soap with interesting presentation and excellent photography (focus, lighting, etc)
Name Janet Landry
Location Maine
Link none
Purple Lace
Best Use of Color
Criteria Well-mixed, contrasting colors in a beautiful color palette
Name Virginie Andre
Location Romania
Link none
Rainbow Swallows
Great job to all our winners, as well as everyone else who participated in the challenge this month! If you would like to see the rest of the entries, check out these links.
Next month’s challenge is Brush Embroidery! It’s a fun design technique that can dress up any soap. Bramble Berry is sponsoring! Registration opens Monday, March 3rd with the option to sign up for March only, or you can pre-pay for April also and receive a 10% discount.
Check out the Upcoming Challenges page for more details and sign up to be notified as soon as registration opens!
Butterfly Brush Embroidery soaps by Amy Warden