A Fruity Faux Funnel Pour

It’s been catch up time for me lately. Many of my most popular soaps sold out this holiday season. So I’ve been hurriedly trying to remedy that situation.

And in the midst of restocking, I got the itch to try a technique that I first saw on the Soap Queen blog that Anne-Marie calls the Faux Funnel Pour. I’ve used the funnel pour technique lots (and even teach it during the Soapmaking Boot Camp at The Nova Studio). But here was my chance to use 4 colors, lose the funnel and still get a funky, layered look! This version looked so much easier and forgiving, that I had to give it a try!

I also decided to take this opportunity to redesign a soap in my line that has had various looks: Fruity Bits. It’s a bright, tart fruity scent, with lots of pineapple and melon. Many people like it, but I was never happy with the look. If I picked the right colors, this technique could really fit the bill.

So I choose 4 bright micas to color each layer: green, yellow, purple and Merlot Sparkle mica from Bramble Berry.

Once I made up my batch of soap, I split it into 4 parts, colored each one and then stirred in the fragrance oil by hand. I was trying to keep the soap as thin and “pourable” as possible. (Oops! I almost forgot to add the fragrance, something that I’m known to do when I’m excited about getting right to the design technique. Caught myself this time!)

I poured each color in the same order, over and over until the soap was all poured. I set the cups on either side of the mold to make it easier to remember the order as I went back and forth, left and right, yellow, purple, green, red, yellow, purple, green, red… (Since it was just me and my two hands, I was too busy to get photos of the pouring.)

As the tutorial suggests, I poured in different areas of the mold. I’m so happy with how it turned out! It’s a messy technique (at least, the way I did it), but that’s just a sign of fun soapmaking!

This batch is setting now, and I’ll check it on Saturday to see if it’s ready to cut. I hope it is. I’ll be cutting it not in the usual way, like a loaf of bread, but rather, horizontally. Never cut soap like that? No worries, I’ll explain more when I cut and share more photos of this fruity batch!

UPDATE: See photos of the cut bars and an explanation of how I cut it here.

Advertisement