For the month of February, we did a theme challenge called “Winter Wonderland”. The only requirement was to have an element of snow in all cold-process soap. Small non-soap embellishments were allowed, and the challenge was also divided between all-natural and synthetic entries. In order to be considered for the all-natural category, the soap must have been made with all-natural ingredients – no fragrance oils, micas, oxides or dyes, and all ingredients had to be listed. We are so grateful to our sponsors this month! Brambleberry sponsored the all-natural category, and Nurture Soap sponsored the synthetic category. I was very pleased to see close to the same number of entries in each category!

Let’s start with the synthetic category. Claudia Carpenter of Om Nom Soap in California completely knocked our socks off with her winning entry! She’s a long-time member and supporter of the Challenge Club and is the creative genius behind the Challenge Club logo and stamps for our winners. For this challenge she created a 3D design in her Winter Wonderland soap:

I know you’ll want to click on the photo to see how she did it, and even then you’ll be left scratching your head! Congratulations, Claudia, on your grand prize which is a $100 gift certificate from Nurture Soap!

In second place, we have another beautiful soap. Congratulations goes to Ami Johnson from Idaho who just participated in the challenge for the first time last month! Her cardinal design is fantastic with all the piped branches, berries, and of course the cardinal:

(Click on the photo to see a larger version.) Ami wins a $75 gift certificate from Nurture Soap!

Third place in the synthetic category goes to Jessaca Redd in Texas for her adorable chickadee soap! Jessaca used an impression mat to create a wood pattern on the bottom of her soap, then embedded the chickadees in the snowy white background.

Jessaca wins a $50 gift certificate from Nurture Soap – congrats! Click on the photo to see how she made the soap.

Finally, the Sponsor’s Choice prize goes to Pooja Nidgudkar of Blue Nectar Soaps in California for her Icicle soap! Carrie Thornsbury, owner of Nurture Soap says, “I really like how the colors came together in this soap, and how the icicles were embedded to lend a unique visual effect. It kind of reminds me of a Van Gogh painting!”

Congratulations, Pooja! She wins a $25 gift certificate from Nurture Soap, and you can click on the photo to learn more about how she made the soap.

Competition in the all-natural category was pretty tight. I’m pleased to announce that the grand prize goes to Penny Simmons in Arkansas for her Snowy Winter’s Night soap! Penny has been participating with the Challenge Club for quite some time now and this is her first time as a winner! Here’s her stunning soap:

Congrats to you, Penny! She has won a $100 gift certificate, plus Anne-Marie Faiola’s new book, Pure Soapmaking*, from Brambleberry! Click on the photo to see how Penny made her soap.

In second place, Holly Shelton of Kapia Mera Soap Co in Tennessee was just three votes behind Penny with her Winter Landscape soap. Holly has been a long-standing member of the Club also and this is her second time with a second place win! Her soap is multi-layered with multiple design elements that all came together to create one amazing soap:

Holly wins a $75 gift certificate, plus the Pure Soapmaking book from Brambleberry! Way to go, Holly! Be mesmerized by the video she created of the making of her soap by clicking on the photo.

In third place is the cutest little polar bear soap you’ve ever seen by Diana Ruzic of Organza Soaps in Ohio. Diana is another long-time member of the Club who is placing for her first time ever! Check out her sweet soap:

Congrats to Diana for winning a $50 gift certificate, plus the Pure Soapmaking book from Brambleberry! Click on the photo to see her blog post on how she made her soap.

And….the Sponsor’s Choice prize goes to Hayley McHendry of Soap Lore in New Jersey for her Bird and Winter Aspens soap. This was Hayley’s first challenge, and hopefully the first of many more! Amber Strawn from Brambleberry says, “We loved the creative combination of techniques. Looking at it we couldn’t even figure out how she did it at first – which is really impressive given how many soaps we’ve made/seen here at Bramble Berry!”

Hayley wins a $25 gift certificate, plus the Pure Soapmaking book from Brambleberry! Excellent work, Hayley! If you’re as curious as to how she made the soap as Amber was, be sure to click on the photo to see her process.

You can see the rest of the beautiful Winter Wonderland soaps HERE. There are so many different designs and techniques represented – so impressive!!

Our next challenge is coming up soon! For March, Tatsiana Serko of Creative Soap by Steso is our guest teacher once again as we learn how to make Rimmed Soaps! This is an advanced technique, but she has broken down the steps and provided a recipe and technique that should help us all be successful! Here’s the soap she created for the tutorial:

We will divide the challenge between U.S. and international participants to give more opportunities for prizes. Rustic Escentuals is the sponsor for the U.S. challenge and Voyageur Soap & Candle Co. is the sponsor for the International challenge. Registration opens this Monday, February 29th for those who wish to join and learn! If you haven’t signed up to receive notifications yet, here’s where to go:

*affiliate link