Ruffle Soap Winners

Our guest teacher of the July challenge was Whitney Schneider of Cheeky Goat Soapery.  She shared how to make her original ruffle technique that she created for the Abstract Art Design challenge last July.  It’s a stunning technique that can be used to create a variety of beautiful designs.  Ruffles for this challenge were required to have visible striations and a semi-circular fan shape.  Members were also allowed small embellishments to enhance the ruffle design.

The challenge was completely blind this month so that no one was able to share anything about their soaps anywhere on the internet until after the winners are announced.  None of the photos will be linked to social media posts, but if you search #soapchallengereveal, you can find out more information about the soaps from this month’s challenge.  The names were not attached to the entries during voting either, but you’ll find them on the entries linked to this post if you click on the titles of the soaps.

We have a brand new sponsor this month: Farmer’s Defense! They create game changing garden wear for outdoor work; however, their protective sleeves have become a game changer for soapmakers as they cover your arms quite comfortably and stylishly.

The sleeves are a polyester blend that is moisture wicking to keep you cool and dry, plus they are tight fitting so they don’t snag while you work.  They provide protection against skin irritation, overheating with heavy clothing, and added the benefit of sun and UV ray protection UPF 50+ if you choose to wear them outside!  Available sizes from XS to XXL+; world-wide shipping.

They are providing gift certificates to their site PLUS custom Soap Challenge Club sleeves for the beginner and experienced categories, including the top three voted winners and Sponsor’s Choice winners, with an additional Sponsor’s Choice winner for the bonus category.

And now I get to announce the winners!  In the experienced category, I am very pleased to announce the grand prize winner is Teri Endsley of Tree Marie Soapworks in Indiana!   Ginkgo Glow is a gorgeous design featuring both translucent and solid ginkgo leaves with gold tips.  She has demonstrated excellent control of her soap batter and lovely technique:

Teri wins a $75 gift certificate plus a pair of custom Soap Challenge Club sleeves from Farmer’s Defense.  Congratulations!!

Second place goes to Robin Grieco in Arizona for her wonderfully transparent Moon Flower ruffle soap!  The monochromatic color scheme has such an elegant look:

Moon Flowers by Robin Grieco

Great job, Robin! This is her first time in the top three in the experienced category. She wins a $50 gift certificate from Farmer’s Defense plus the custom sleeves!

In third place by just one vote we have Ben Frazer of Queer Bull Soap in the UK.  His soap design really comes to life with fancy ruffle dresses on shop mannequins!  The added bows and elegant colors look amazing:

New York, London, Paris! by Ben Frazer

This is Ben’s second time in the top three this year!!  He wins a $25 gift certificate from Farmer’s Defense and the custom sleeves!

The Sponsor’s Choice award for the experienced category goes to Susan Carruth in New Hampshire.  Susan’s design is a super cute porcupine with ruffled grass and flowers as well.  Meet Flower the Porcupine:

Flower the Porcupine by Susan Carruth

Excellent work, Susan!  She wins a $25 gift certificate from Farmer’s Defense and custom sleeves – woo hoo!

Recognition Awards for the experienced category are next.  The Best Technique award is for the soap that has excellent striations and fan shaped ruffles with unmuddied colors.  The embellishments simply enhance the ruffle design.  My pick for this award is Marty Johnson in Minnesota for her version of ginkgo leaves with delicate stems and berries:

Under the Ginkgo Tree by Marty Johnson

I love that she used a wood grain soap for the base and it’s obvious that her batter was the perfect texture to create the ruffles. Amazing job, Marty!

The Best Use of Color Award is for an entry with smooth, well-mixed colors, that are unmuddied and beautiful.  My choice for this award is The Wonderful Coral Reef by Maya Morag in Israel.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

The Wonderful Coral Reef by Maya Morag

Not only are the colors beautiful, but she also did a great job adding shimmery gold accents!

The Best Presentation Award is for an entry with fantastic photography and well displayed soaps.  This striking photo by Irina Beketova of IB Organics in Texas is truly exceptional!  The red background pulls out the lovely red lines in the soap, while the mirror reflects a flawless surface.  It is such an elegant display:

Coral Palms by IB Organics

The front soap is well-focused and really shows off the texture of the ruffle design.  The colors appear bright without harsh shadows.

Please check out the rest of the entries in the Experienced category HERE. If you click on the title of the entry, you can see who made it and possibly more information about the soap.

For the beginner category, our grand prize winner is Kim Correa in South Carolina!  She was inspired to do a brightly colored ruffle on a black and white base.  The many colors and layers really turned out fantastic!

1991 by Kim Correa

Kim wins a $75 gift certificate from Farmer’s Defense and a pair of custom Soap Challenge Club sleeves – way to go!!

Second place in the beginner category goes to Agnieszka Kalenbach in Illinois for her poppy and cornflower soaps.  The moody photo really shows off the texture of the ruffled petals and the small embellishments really enhance this floral meadow landscape:

A meadow full of poppies and cornflowers by Agnieszka Kalenbach

Agnieszka wins a $50 gift certificate and custom sleeves from Farmer’s Defense – how cool is that?  She’s only been participating in the Club for a couple of months!

In third place we have Amy Bruederle in Illinois who used some wood grain soaps for the base and added some extra colors for an extra lovely design!  She said it reminded her of the fungi that would grow on the big trees near her childhood home:

Fungi in the Forest by Amy Bruederle

Amy wins a $25 gift certificate and custom sleeves from Farmer’s Defense!  Great job!

The Sponsor’s Choice award in the beginner category is Ballet Folklorico by Katherine Corona in Texas.  Katherine has captured the essence of her inspiration: the beautiful ballet folklorico dresses that are worn by the women when dancing this traditional Mexican dance.  You can see the colorful ruffles fly as they manipulate and fan their skirts out to create a stylish scene:

Ballet Folklorico by Katherine Corona

Katherine also wins a $25 gift certificate and custom sleeves from Farmer’s Defense!  Fantastic work!

Now we get to do Recognition Awards for the beginner category!  The Best Technique award goes to Debbie Klimko for her amazing Woodland Pine soap.  She did a really great job with the texture, color and fan shape of her ruffles, and the unique half cylinder shaped bars really set this soap apart:

Woodland Pine by Debbie Klimko

Such a creative use of ruffles!  The pine needles and cones really are terrific!

Next is the Best Use of Color Award, and I have chosen Marisa Gosselin in Florida to receive this award for her Pollinated Ruffles soap.  Each soap is a different type of flower with bright, bold colors that are super smooth and unmuddied:

Pollinated Ruffles by Marisa Gosselin

The cute little bees and ladybugs really pull the design together for this fun little floral arrangement!

For the Best Presentation award, I’ve chosen “Butterfly’s Life Cycle” by Chriss Bange in Germany.  Chriss took some risks with so many different colors and was able to manipulate the ruffles to create a lovely panorama with excellent striations and structure.  The photo is well-lit and focused so we can see all the details of the design:

Butterfly’s Life Cycle by Chriss Bange

The background of the photo is super clean – which is absolutely critical when using such a dark color.  Such a fun theme idea, Chriss!

Please check out the rest of the entries for the Beginner category HERE. Click on the title of the entry to see who made it.  Some will have more information about the soap as well.

Ok, last but not least, we had some really fun and amazing soaps in the non-competitive bonus category!  Our Sponsor’s Choice winner for this category is Natalie Jepson-Kundiger of Willow Tree Weaving & Soaperie in Kansas!  Natalie put together a collection of pumpkin soaps that just make you smile with their cuteness.  Not only did the ruffles make amazing pumpkins, the technique was also great for leaves and stems:

Pumpkin Patch by Willow Tree Weaving & Soaperie

Natalie wins a $25 gift certificate and custom Soap Challenge Club sleeves from Farmer’s Defense – woo hoo!

Please check out the rest of the entries for the Bonus category HERE.   If you click on the title of the entry, you can see who made it and possibly more information about the soap.

Next month we are doing Modified Peacock Swirls!  If you love a good swirl challenge, this one is for you!  Our sponsor is Making Soap Magazine.

Modified Peacock Swirls by Amy Warden

Registration for the August challenge opens tomorrow – Monday, August 1st.  Check out the Upcoming Challenges page for more info and to sign up for notifications.  I hope you’ll join us!