Archives for June 2013

HSCG Conference Guest Post: Single Cavity Silicone Molds

June 30, 2013 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Saturday was a day full of interesting sessions, one of which was a session by Amanda Griffin on how to make single cavity silicone molds. Amanda lives in Dallas, Texas and teaches soapmaking classes that include the basics of formulation as well as more advanced soapmaking techniques that include working with color, swirling and she’ll even teach you how to make your very own silicone molds.

Have you ever found a little ornament you thought would be the cutest soap, or wished you could make your soap into something more personal? Learning to make your own single cavity silicone molds offers you a wide range of new and interesting shapes for your soaps. Think about unique shapes such as Buddhas, pine cones, cupcakes, fake food, grandma’s figurines, thrift store finds, and holiday themed items. The possibilities are endless!

Within the session Amanda explained the types of materials that were best suited for the use of making silicone molds. Pretty much anything goes, however your surface needs to be non-porous, if you find the item you’ve selected is porous be sure to seal it before making your mold.

You will also need to give thought as to how pliable you would want your mold to be for example; if you are making a slab or log mold you might want the walls to be more sturdy to hold in the larger amount of soap. Small single cavity molds will need to be more pliable to release your small irregular shaped item.

Amanda gave several examples of household items that can be used to make a mold box-the mold box holds the item you want to cast (and will ultimately become your mold); such as a pine cone, fake food item, nail polish, etc. She also explained that in order to make the proper amount of silicone you need to figure up the cubic inches within your mold box minus the space your item will take away. Don’t be afraid; there’s a calculator for that.

Getting set up for the mold.

Pouring the silicone.

One great option for pourable silicone is the DIY Pourable Silicone Kit and E-Book from Bramble Berry that includes Part A and Part B with complete instructions written by Amanda Griffin. This kit is perfect for making fun single cavity molds. (Pssst, another tip! For those more experienced with making silicone molds, Bramble Berry also sells the pourable silicone on its own!)

Silicone slab/log molds make soapmaking so much easier as they solve the huge problem of getting your soap to release without the headache of all that pushing, tugging and destruction of your soap-saving you time and money. Making your own mold is a great solution to the costly expense of purchasing a ready made mold and if you want a very specific size it is the best option. Amanda showed us how she made her very own slab mold from just a few pieces of melamine (as her mold box) from the local hardware store and pourable silicone. Yes, a new slab/log mold is really just a DIY project away.

Facebook Photo of the Week (June 21st ~ June 28th)

June 28, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Happy Friday! This week, Lily and I have made a few batches of soap, given a talk on entrepreneurship at the college, and enjoyed wandering through Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and seeing photo after photo of beautiful soapy creations. She’ll be a soap expert before she’s 1! From the #4thofJuly Challenge (see our Facebook album here) to summer inspired projects (like this one and this one), there was no shortage of creativity and inspiration. Are you ready for this week’s winner? Drum-roll please ….

This week’s tropical soaps were made by Hilary at Ivy Lane Soaperie. These two soaps are immediately eye-catching because of their bright colors. Hilary says the swirl blue soap on the left was scented with Soapy Clean Fragrance Oil and colored with Aqua Pearl Mica (which is her go-to summer color). The soap on the right, Lemonade Pie, blended several Bramble Berry citrus scents. Thanks to Hilary for being part of our soapmaking community on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page, and to everyone else who shows off their creations each week. Happy soaping!

Hilary’s Website: Ivy Lane Soaperie

Hilary’s Facebook Page: Ivy Lane Soaperie

Be sure to post pictures of your soap creations on the Facebook page each week for a chance to win a gift package from Bramble Berry, and don’t forget to check Soap Queen regularly for soapy news and updates!

Soap Challenge: Elemental Swirl

June 27, 2013 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

When Amy of Great Cakes Soapworks announced her Elemental Swirl Soap Challenge, we couldn’t wait to jump on board. This particular soap utilizes several soaping skills, including two in-the-pot-swirls, a mica vein and a psychedelic top swirl. All of these techniques combine to create a textured-looking soap with one-of-a-kind ruptured, uneven layers.

Recipe:

33 oz. Swirl Quick Mix

4.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)

11 oz. Distilled Water

Tangerine Wow! colorant

Burgundy Pigment

Green Chrome Oxide

Fizzy Lemonade Pigment

Cappuccino Mica

Ultramarine Violet

Ultramarine Pink

1 oz. Pink Grapefruit Fragrance Oil

.5 oz Lime Fragrance Oil

.5 oz. Kumquat Fragrance Oil

10″ Silicone Loaf Mold

Optional:

Sodium Lactate

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Don’t want to buy the Swirl Mix or want to make a recipe up from scratch? I’d recommend at least 60% liquid oils and no more than 40% (total) of solid oils and butters to give yourself a long time to work with this intricate design.

If you have never made cold process soap before, I highly recommend you get a couple of basic recipes under your belt. Check out this (free!) 4-part series on cold process soap making, especially the episode on lye safety. Bramble Berry carries quite a few books on the topic as well, including this downloadable book on making cold process soap.

COLOR PREP: Disperse 1 teaspoon of each pigment into 1 tablespoon of Sunflower Seed Oil. Prepping your colors in the beginning will allow you to work quickly and give you more time to work with your soap. Use the mini mixer to get all those clumps worked out smoothly.

FRAGRANCE OIL BLEND: In a glass container, measure 1 oz. of Pink Grapefruit Fragrance oil. This will fragrance the bottom orange and green swirl layer. In a second glass container, blend .5 oz. Lime Fragrance Oil and .5 oz. Kumquat Fragrance oil. This will fragrance the top purple and pink swirl layer.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water, and stir until clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that lasts longer in the shower, you can add Sodium Lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of Sodium Lactate per pound of oils in the recipe.

TWO: Melt the entire bag of Swirl Quick Mix and portion out 33 oz. in a large glass container. Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until thin trace. You can use any standard recipe with this design if you don’t have the Swirl Mix on hand but keep in mind that you need a lot of working time with multiple techniques.

TWO: Split the soap into 4 separate containers, pouring about 1.5 cups into each container.

THREE: Color each of the split batches. In one container, add 3 teaspoons of dispersed Tangerine Wow! and 1/2 teaspoon dispersed Burgundy Oxide. In another container, add 1 teaspoon of dispersed Ultramarine Pink. In the third container, add 1 teaspoon of dispersed Ultramarine Violet. In the fourth container, add 1/2 teaspoon of dispersed Green Oxide and 3/4 teaspoon of dispersed Fizzy Lemonade pigment. Using a whisk or spatula, blend the mixtures until the colorants have been fully dispersed. Mixing the colorants in starting with the lightest color and going to the darkest will allow you to use the same whisk for all four portions, resulting in less dishes to clean!

FOUR: Add half of the Pink Grapefruit Fragrance oil to the orange soap and half to the green soap and mix using a whisk or a spatula. Avoid using a stick blender as it could accelerate trace.

FIVE: For the first in-the-pot swirl, start by pouring the lime green colored soap into the orange colored soap in 4 places: 12:00 o’clock, 4:00 o’clock, 8:00 o’clock, and center. Pour from a high point so that the soap penetrates the entire depth of the soap in the pot, which will create a swirl throughout the mixture. Using a spatula, chopstick or dowel, swirl the soap by running the tool through each of the entry points once. It is important to swirl only once because you do not want the colors to completely blend together.

SIX: Pour the freshly swirled soap into the silicone mold. Tamp the mold on the table after you are finished pouring to ensure even coverage and disperse bubbles, but be careful to not overmix the swirl.

SEVEN: To create the mica vein, use a powder duster to sprinkle a thin layer of Cappuccino Mica over the freshly poured orange and lime swirl soap. Sprinkling too much mica can cause your layers to separate so take extra care to achieve just a light dusting of mica. Then, still wearing your goggles, close your eyes and gently blow on the mica to lightly press it into the soap. Because mica is so fine, this part can get messy. Be sure to have paper towels and isopropyl alcohol on hand to clean up any mica that sticks to the mold or your work surface.

EIGHT: Add half of the Lime and Kumquat fragrance oil blend to the purple soap and half to the pink soap, mixing in thoroughly with a whisk. When the fragrance oils have been fully incorporated into the batter, create your second In-The-Pot-Swirl using the same technique as before.

Pour the Ultramarine Purple colored soap into the Ultramarine Pink colored soap in 4 places: 12:00 o’clock, 4:00 o’clock, 8:00 o’clock, and center. Pour from a high point so that the soap penetrates the entire depth of the soap in the pot, which will create a swirl throughout the mixture. Using a spatula, chopstick or dowel, swirl the soap by running the tool through each of the entry points once. It is important to swirl only once because you do not want the colors to completely blend together.

NINE: From a high point, pour the purple and pink soap into the center of the silicone mold. Pouring from high up will create the ruptured and uneven layers you see in the final soap.

TEN: Drizzle any remaining soap in a zig-zag pattern across the top to enhance the final design.

ELEVEN: Drag a chopstick or dowel inserted into the top 1/4″ of the soap down the length of the mold, making a series of short s-curves that are perpendicular to the lines created by the poured soap. Once you’ve gone from one end of the soap to the other, make small loops back down the length of the mold. When you reach the end of the mold, create one big loop that carries you into the next row, and do a reverse loop back across the mold again. Continue this pattern until all of the soap is swirled.

TWELVE: Spray the entire top with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to reduce soda ash. Cover and insulate for 24 hours and unmold after 3-4 days. Allow to cure for 4-6 weeks and enjoy!

Soap Crafting Advance Copy Has Arrived!

June 26, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

After many sleepless nights, hundreds of hours in the Soap Lab and thousands of bars of soap, the time has come: the book is finally here! Although there is only one copy of Soap Crafting for now, it’s surreal and gratifying to physically flip through its pages.

We’ve seen the Advance Reader Copy (otherwise known as the “dummy” book) as well in its digital form, but nothing compares to holding the bound, hardback, full color final product. It’s total vindication for a year’s worth of hard work (not only for me but our entire team). With 31 brand new cold process tutorials and information on everything from oils to tools to a comprehensive FAQ and Troubleshooting section, this is one solid soapmaking companion.

Pre-orders for Soap Crafting are still available, and each pre-order comes with two complementary exclusive video downloads for recipes in the book, two never-before-seen-projects download sheets (that aren’t included in the book but are really rad) and a special comprehensive guide to colorants. Those who pre-order can expect their copy to ship out in the beginning of August.

Jamisen stopped by the office for a visit today, and we sat down and flipped through the book together.

One more bonus look utilizing Instagram’s new 15 second video editing options! The book has so many full page, full color photos…

(This one doesn’t start automatically. Click the arrow to play).

You can pre-order the book HERE to ensure you get all the extra goodies available ONLY to those who pre-order.

Birthday Cake Soap

June 25, 2013 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Who doesn’t love birthdays? There’s always plenty of sweets, frivolity and maybe even a few presents. Best of all, birthdays are opportunities to get together with family and friends to celebrate! Of course, no birthday is complete without a birthday cake. This fun (obviously Lily-inspired) Birthday Cake soap was adapted from a tutorial our friend Debbie of Soapy Love did several years ago, and we’ve added a few special twists of our own. A little frosting, plenty of glitter and lots of bright, deliciously scented layers will make this cake a hit at any party.

What You’ll Need:

For the cherries

6 oz. ClearMelt & Pour base

Perfect Red Color Block

Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold

For the cake

46 oz. White Melt & Pour base

12 mL Hungarian Lavender Essential Oil

5 ml Buttercream & Snickerdoodle Fragrance Oil

7 mL Creamsicle Cybilla Fragrance Oil

Ultramarine Violet Color Block

Tangerine Wow Color Block

5 mL Vanilla Color Stabilizer

10″ Silicone Loaf Mold

For the frosting

8 oz. White Melt & Pour Base

2 oz. Liquid Castile Soap Base

3 mL Buttercream & Snickerdoodle Fragrance Oil

3 mL Vanilla Color Stabilizer

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

Part One: Make the Cherries

ONE: Cut 6 oz. of Clear Melt & Pour into small cubes and put into a heat-safe container. You can also cut up the Perfect Red color block and add them to the cubes. Color blocks are WYSIWYG, so add more of the block for a darker color. Note: The Perfect Red color block is a non-bleeding color. That’s important for this design. Not sure what “Non-Bleeding” means? We have you covered here with an explanation.

TWO: Melt the soap on 30 second bursts, stirring between each heat. Once the soap chunks are fully melted and the colorant is incorporated, pour into the silicone mold.

THREE: Spray the soaps with isopropyl alcohol and allow to sit for 1 – 2 hours before unmolding.

Part Two: Make the Cake

ONE: Cut and melt 12 oz. of White Melt & Pour base in a heat safe container. Heat the soap on 30 second bursts, stirring between each heat. Shave off chunks of the Ultraviolet Color Block and add into the mixture until you reach your desired color. Add 4 mL of Hungarian Lavender essential oil and stir until the oil and color have been fully incorporated into the soap.

TWO: Pour the lavender soap into the loaf mold and spray liberally with isopropyl alcohol.

THREE: Allow the soap to form a thick skin on top but remain soft enough so that you can push a dent into it with your finger. Using an object with a blunt end, make grooves in the soap from end to end. We used the end of a paint brush to make three grooves. Use a clean up tool to tidy up the grooves or any soap that ended up on the sides of the mold.

FOUR: Set the mold aside and start making the second layer. Cut and melt 8 oz. of White Melt & Pour base and add 5 mL of ButterCream & Snickerdoodle Fragrance oil. Because this oil contains vanillin — which discolors soap — add 5 mL of Vanilla Color Stabilizer to keep the soap white. It’s important to do the layers quickly one right after another as soon as the first layer is hardened to give the layers the best chance of adhering to one another.

FIVE: Spray the purple layer with isopropyl alcohol, and then pour the white layer. Be sure the lavender soap has hardened to the point where the white soap wont break through.

SIX Once the white layer has solidified but not fully hardened, use the same technique as before to make grooves in the white soap.

SEVEN: Cut and melt 12 oz. of White Melt & Pour base in a heat safe container. Heat the soap on 30 second bursts, stirring between each heat. Shave off chunks of the Tangerine Wow color block and add into the mixture until you reach your desired color. Add 7 mL of Creamsicle Cybilla fragrance oil and stir until the oil and color have been fully incorporated into the soap.

EIGHT: Spray the white layer with isopropyl alcohol, and then pour the orange layer. Be sure the white soap has hardened to the point where the orange soap wont break through.

NINE: Cut and melt 14 oz. of White Melt & Pour base in a heat safe container. Heat the soap on 30 second bursts, stirring between each heat. Shave off chunks of the Ultramarine Violet color block and add into the mixture until you reach your desired color. Add 8 mL of Hungarian Lavender essential oil and stir until the oil and color have been fully incorporated into the soap.

TEN: Spray the orange layer with isopropyl alcohol, and then pour the lavender layer. Be sure the orange soap has hardened to the point where the lavender soap wont break through.

Part Three: Make the Frosting

ONE: Cut and melt 8 oz. of White Melt & Pour base. Pour into a larger container, and then add 2 oz. of Liquid Castille Soap Base.

TWO: Add 3 mL of Buttercream & Snickerdoodle fragrance oil. Because this oil contains vanillin — which discolors soap — add 3 mL of Vanilla Color Stabilizer to keep the frosting white.

THREE: Whip the ingredients together with a hand mixer. Start out on medium, and turn up the speed to high after one minute. Mix until the frosting forms peaks.

Tip: This mixture will foam up and grow very quickly! Spray with a bit of isopropyl alcohol as you mix to keep it from flowing over the sides of the container.

FOUR: Use a spatula to quickly frost the top of the soap.

FIVE: Wait a few minutes for the frosting to firm up before placing the cherries.

Finish off with a little iridescent glitter on top and you’ve got yourself a soap that looks good enough to eat!

New Products at Bramble Berry: Summer Edition

June 24, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The first day of summer was this past week (and it rained, but really, who tracks that stuff?!). Here’s a treat so you can start your summer off right — brand new Bramble Berry products (yay!). Team Bramble Berry has been busy testing all the new products, and we’re happy to share them with you.

About a month ago, the Soap Guild Conference and Bramble Berry gave a special gift to attendees. Every conference-goer got a mini-cold process kit that included our brand new 4″ silicone loaf mold and various colorants & scents. You can check out the full tutorials and ingredients here. We didn’t want you to miss out on all the fun, so we made it available for everyone!

Soap Guild Cold Process Kit

Who doesn’t love new stick blenders (now available in green and white), as well as a brand new smokin’ hot stand mixer that comes with an awesome 5 quart glass bowl. Looking for just the bowl on its own? We’ve got you covered there too! These mixing bowls are great for large soap batches, and they even give you enough room to do a generously sized in-the-pot-swirl.

Top Row: Stand Mixer with 5 Quart Glass Bowl & 5 Quart Glass Mixing Bowl with Lid

Bottom Row: Green Stick Blender & White Stick Blender

Trying new molds is one of the best parts of soaping, and there’s almost a dozen new ones for you to experiment with. Experiment with the Pirate Mold for a fun summer party for example, or the 4″ silicone loaf mold for those recipes you’ve been dying to just try out (it holds just 18 ounces when filled to the brim, perfect for test batches). The Silicone Liner for 18 Bar Mold will save so much $$$ in time alone (no more lining that mold!).

Top Row: Guest 5 Hearts Mold, Medium 9 Ball Silicone Mold, Rounded Oatmeal Mold

Middle Row: Pirate Face Mold, Guest Lotus Mold, Tray Carved Heart Mold

Bottom Row: 4″ Silicone Loaf Mold, Large 9 Ball Silicone Mold, Silicone Liner for 18 Bar Mold

Looking for a new book to help boost your business? We’ve got ’em! Good Manufacturing Practices by Marie Gale and Efficiency in Scaling by Kendra of Amathia Soapworks are excellent for high volume soapmakers who want to streamline their processes. Our very own Kathryn Hackney also wrote the Cold Process Colorant Master Class for those of you looking to hone your soap coloring skills.

Top Row: Craft, Inc. Revised Edition, Craft Inc. Business Planner, Good Manufacturing Practices

Middle Row: Chick Days, Small Business Accounting Simplified, Branding Basics for Small Businesses

Bottom Row: Soapmaker’s Handy Reference Guide, E-Book Cold Process Colorant Master Class, E-Book Efficiency in Scaling

The newest issue of Let’s Get Soapy from Soapylove is now available. Neon colorants and geometric patterns are all the rage right now, and the tutorials are perfect for fun summer projects. The magazine comes with a set of color blocks, sent to your house, to get you started on your perfect neon soap tutorial.

Soapylove E-Zine Neon Kit

These downloadable cards add a great finishing touch to any Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day bath & body products.

4th of July Day Cards Digital Download, Mother’s Day Cards Download & Valentine’s Day Cards Download

We’ve also introduced a triple-threat of new oils. Get ready to soap with Argan, Canola and Chia Seed Oil! These lightweight oils will add that extra touch of skin-loving goodness to your cold process and balm recipes, and you’ll be wondering how you ever soaped without them.

Argan Oil, Canola Oil, & Chia Seed Oil

With a whole line of botanicals, you can try your hand at a new project — potpourri! You can also use these botanicals to infuse your oils to create all-natural colorants for your soaps. For more on how to infuse, check out this e-book.

Top Row: Cloves (Whole), Cinnamon Sticks, Juniper Berries (Whole)

Bottom Row: Rose Hips (Whole), Cedarwood Chips, Orange Peel (Ribbon Cut)

Never made potpourri before? Try Nature Fix, the ultimate fixative to make the scent of your sachets last longer. It is a great alternative to other fixatives like benzoin and orris root which have been known to increase skin sensitivity and cause an allergic reaction.

Nature Fix

You’ve been asking and we finally got them back in — plastic bail jars in both the 4 and 8 ounce sizes. These jars are great for bath bombs, scrubs, salts, and more. Let us know what you use them for on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page!

4 oz Plastic Bail Jar & Short 8 oz Plastic Bail Jar

If you need another all natural colorant, these Cambrian Clays perform beautifully in cold process soaps. They come pre-dispersed so you can add them to your batch without having to worry about cracking, accelerating trace or separation.

Cambrian Blue Clay (wet) & Cambrian Yellow Clay (wet)

Cera Bellina Wax is natural derivative of beeswax and will give any lip balm, lotion bar or emulsion and nice smooth and luxurious texture. Try using the wax in the Tutorial for Everything Balm or the Lotion Bar Love tutorial to feel the difference for yourself.

Cera Bellina Wax

We have a surplus of Olive Oil Melt & Pour and we wanted to share it with you! Our Olive Oil Melt & Pour Base is super gentle and provides a deep, creamy lather. If lotions are more your thing, we’ve also included an Aloe Lotion Base.

Surplus Olive Oil Melt & Pour Base

After weeks of testing by members of our S.O.A.P. Team, we finally revealed the winners. Check out this blog post for more info, and welcome Tart Apple, Shave and a Haircut and Spring Meadow Fragrance Oils to our fragrance family. And because we love new scents so much, we’re also introducing Cucumber Oak Fragrance and Green Tea & Cucumber Fragrance Oil, as well as our newest essential oil, Red Brazilian Mandarin. If you lean more toward lip balms, we’ve brought back a reformulated Coconut Flavor Oil, and added a Winter Clementine Flavor Oil.

Have you tried any of Bramble Berry’s new products? If so, let me know in the comments what you thought, how you used it, and what you’d like to try next!

First Triathlon for Chris

June 24, 2013 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

We are all so proud of my sweet husband, Chris. He just finished his first triathlon! He decided to race just 2 weeks ago and did 3 trainings to prep. He did the Lake Padden Triathlon (in Bellingham, WA). He raced in the ‘Competitive’ category and we don’t know how he did yet in terms of his overall finish but we do know how he did with his family: he’s a winner with us! The race consisted of: Swim 1/2 mile, Bike 21 miles, Run 5.2 miles

Chris wasn’t happy with his finish time (2:08) but we all disagree. It was an admirable finish for his first triathlon. And, he had some technical difficulties … his bike chain was off when he went to get on his bike AND he got horrible cramps on the run. His next tri will be a slam dunk.

Big thanks to Uncle Erik for spending his morning with us, helping to wrangle children, find parking spaces and generally be all around awesome.

We had a super fun night with our friends Lisa, Deron and their son Oskar this week. It turns out that all 2 year old boys like water; or at least our two do!

The boys played extremely well together. Jamisen even mostly shared! He did push poor Oskar over a couple times but then helped him up again (?). It was a strange teamwork thing and Oskar really did amazing with this abuse. He is such an even tempered little guy.

Lily and I have been the dynamic duo this week and last, having tons of fun at Bramble Berry and generally raising the cuteness factor at the warehouse by 1000fold. She did her second video shoot today; you can see it here. She is quite the trooper! Not everything is hunky dorky land in the life of Lily. She’s refusing to eat without major cajoling (and much crying) so we have a lactation specialist coming over this week to help us all get some peace and hopefully keep her on the path to gaining weight. Overall though, if that’s the major issue right now, we’re feeling pretty lucky and blessed. Happy Monday! And, have a great week =)

HSCG Conference Guest Post: Cupcake Soaps

June 23, 2013 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Cupcakes! They are everywhere (and have been for almost a decade, despite many predictions of the “next big thing” dessert being just around the corner). We love the little tasty morsels of sugar, cream and butter too. With the cupcake craze in full swing, of course, soap cupcakes are a hit. Ruth Esteves gave a wonderful presentation demonstrating how to make soap cupcakes at the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild Conference. She made it look easy and fun.

To get a great frosting on your cupcake soaps, you need to have a fairly thick soap batter. With that in mind, I would suggest Bramble Berry’s Basic Quick Mix Ruth used about 3 pounds of batter to make 12 cupcakes (with a little left over). If you use the 33 ounce size package of Bramble Berry’s Basic Quick Mix, you should get around 8 cupcakes with a little left over (unless you go sky-high with the frosting, then you may not get as many).

Before I go any further, here’s a picture of Ruth with the newly appointed President of the Handmade Soap and Cosmetic Guild. Her name is Feleciai Favroth. She is going to do a great job!

Before beginning to make soap, be sure to suit up for safety, just like Ruth did. Ruth began by adding her water/lye mixture to the oils. She used twice as much water as lye. Next, she added fragrance oil that she knew wouldn’t discolor the soap. She blended to bring the soap to a medium trace.

Then she poured the bottoms of the cupcakes.

She showed us various molds that can be used for the base of the cupcakes.

I love the idea of using the nut cups. They stand alone, are lined, and make pretty packaging. Ruth colored the remaining soap base that was then used to frost the cupcakes.

While we waited for the frosting to thicken up a bit, Ruth shared lots of fun ideas. She kept her goggles and gloves on. Don’t forget to keep your safety equipment on. Ruth introduced us to various piping equipment, from simple to more complex. She showed us lots of fun embellishments. Included were sugar pearls and sugar cupcake decorations.

Did you know you can get kits that contain coordinated cupcake pretties? Other good decorations include body safe glitters and jojoba beads. She had a star set that had star liners, star sugar sprinkles and star cupcake picks. So cute!

When the frosting was ready, it was time to learn how to pipe designs. First, Ruth showed us how to get the soap batter into the piping bag. Her method was pretty slick. She used disposable pastry bags in a medium size. She cut the end off of the little closed end of the bag. Then she dropped the tip into the bag. When you do this, keep the little ends of both the tip and the bag down. With a little wiggling and positioning, the decorating tip was secured in the bag and ready to go. She folded the tip end of the bag up a bit, so the tip was facing up. Then she placed the bag in a tall container, like a sturdy cup. Once the bag is in the cup, it’s helpful to open the bag as wide as you can. You can even fold the bag over the edges of the cup if the bag is large enough. Next, she poured some soap batter in.

When you do this step, be sure to leave enough room to twist the bag a few times to prevent soap from leaking back out the top when you begin squeezing and decorating. When you think the soap is ready to use, twist the bag closed on top. Then pick the bag up until the tip swings freely down. If soap runs out of the tip, your batter is too thin. Reposition the frosting bag in the cup, tip up. Test it again in a few minutes.

What to do while you’re waiting for the frosting soap to get a bit thicker? Remain suited up, of course. Do 10 jumping jacks. Check the soap. Do an easy Sudoku or Crossword puzzle. Check the soap. Do a few sit-ups. Check the soap. Look at yourself in the mirror. Check out the safety goggles. And the flat abs. Check the soap. Stare at the soap frosting and will it to get thicker more quickly. Check the soap. Do the Macarena one time through. Don’t know it? Wait until after you finish your soap. There are some good videos of it on YouTube. Check the soap. It should be ready. It was probably ready a few activities back. Now that the soap is good and thick, like frosting, you can begin decorating.

Ruth used a Wilton Brand 2D Closed Star (this one from Bramble Berry is pretty close). She made swirls, roses and flowers with this tip. For the swirl, put a dollop of frosting in the center of the cupcake. Then squeeze the bag and move around the outside edge of the cupcake. Remember, we’re talking soap cupcakes and frosting here. Don’t lick your gloved fingers if you happen to spill a little. Continue to spiral in toward the middle of the cupcake. Make a pretty swoop at the top of the center.

The rose looks really complicated, but it’s not. But I suspect it takes a bit of practice. When asked whether she practiced piping frosting before piping real live soap, Ruth said she did, and that it helped her soap piping be better. So if you are the patient type, you might want to practice this rose on frosting before attempting it on soap. After all, if you mess up the frosting, you can eat the evidence.

Still using the 2D tip, start in the middle of the cupcake with a little circle of frosting. Not a blob, but a circle or dollop. Work your way out and around the cupcake. End by gently pulling the tip up where you started the outer circle. Use a stick or pick to poke down any spike that might remain after you pull the tip up.

For the flowers using the 2D tip, make little blobs all over the cupcake. Push the tip down and bring it straight up. Repeat until the flowers are piled as high as you’d like.

Ruth then switched to a different bag with a large round or star tip (similar to this one at Bramble Berry). With this, she made spirals, plops and wiggles.

For the plops, she did the same motion as for the flowers. For the spirals, she did the same motion as for the swirls. For the wiggles, she put the tip onto the cupcake. She began letting some soap out. Then she wiggled back and forth, keeping the tip down. I love the wiggles! So how to do you wash with a cupcake soap? Ruth had a fabulous solution. Cut the cupcake have vertically. Wash with the cut side. The outside will fit nicely in your hand. Genius. I heard attendees talking about pre-cutting the cupcakes for your customers. Anne-Marie Note: I have a cupcake soap in my shower right now and I hold the entire thing, frosting side down, in my hand to shower with. It eventually rounds out to a nice round bar of soap.

Can’t get enough cupcakes? Here are the top Soap Queen cupcake related tutorials:

How to Make Bath Bomb Cupcakes (Video)

Melt and Pour Cupcake (Mold) Tutorial

Bath Bomb Cupcakes, Day 1 and Day 2

Fluffy (Melt and Pour) Frosting Soap Cupcakes

Shea Butter Whipped Frosting Soap (Cold Process) Cupcakes

Whipped Soap Cupcakes Video

Foaming Bath Whip Cupcake Frosting

How to Frost the Perfect Bath Fizzy Cupcake (video)

Thanks so much, Ruth, for a fun, interesting and educational session!

Facebook Photo of the Week (June 14th ~ June 21st)

June 22, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

As Camp Bramble Berry is winding down, I’ve been having a good time playing with its aftermath. Whoops, did I say “I”? I mean, Jamiseen has (duh!). He loves the bubbles and the goopy floop the most (“goopy floop” being a technical term, of course). Bramble Berry’s Facebook page has been busy this week. There have been a number of entries to our #4thofJuly Challenge contest already, and that doesn’t even begin to include the number of beautiful soapy photos on the page every day. This week’s winner was an inspiration with bright summer colors and fabulous design. Check it out below…

The burst of rainbow color in this ginger peach soap from Moriam at Moe’s Natural Products caught my eye. It’s such a creamy looking soap, and it’s made with both coconut and Goat’s Milk, giving it a super skin-loving lather. Thank you Moriam — and everyone else who posts each week — for being part of our Facebook community! Below are a few more beautiful examples of her soapy creations:

Moriam’s Facebook Page: Moe’s Natural Products

Soapy Social Media Roundup

June 21, 2013 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

It’s still baby mania around here! I’ve been trying to get back into my normal routine (with Lily always in tow, of course), and I’ve been making it into the office for at least a few hours every day. Lily is the unofficial Bramble Berry mascot these days. She loves being walked around the warehouse. We also received some exciting news this week. Team Bramble Berry was the top referrer of new members to the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild for 2013! I can’t say ‘Thank you’ enough to the HSCG board and volunteers. Their conference is an event I look forward to each year (curious about our coverage of this year’s conference? Check our archives here!). As a gift for referring more than 30 new members, they even sent me a fantastic cheese basket! They know the way to my heart; if I had to live on only three things in life, they would be cheese, bread and cupcakes.

In the social media world, everyone is abuzz because you can now use hashtags on Facebook! The tags work the same way they do on Twitter or Instagram. The reason to use them is that they give you a quick and easy way to search and find groups of posts. We’re going to start using hashtags such as #brambleberry, #soapqueen and #soapcrafting, and we’d love for you to do the same when you post relevant content on your Facebook business pages.

Use the hashtags when you add a photo, comment on our Facebook page, or use a Bramble Berry product. My hope is that you’ll be able to search the tags and be rewarded with a wealth of information and awesome photos from your fellow soapers =)

This week was fun in social media. Here are my favorite Pins, Tweets and Vines of the week:

Pins.

Top left: How cute is this Bentley Ruched Short Dress? I love the bright fuchsia color! And, it looks figure flattering for post-baby.
Top right: Rain is something we’re used to in Washington State (they didn’t coin the term ‘Juneuary’ for nothing!) and this is an inspiring quote no matter where you are.
Bottom left: I’m such a fan of foodie themed soaps, and these cupcakes from Jennifer’s Handmade Soaps are some of the best I’ve seen. Bright, fun colors and excellent attention to detail make these really stand out. Want to see more of Jennifer’s work? We interviewed her earlier this week!
Bottom right: It’s been hard to find a spare minute to get back into the kitchen, but I am just dying to try these Southwest quinoa stuff peppers. Quinoa is a great source of protein and fiber, and I eat it at least once a week if not more. The rest of the family hardly notices when I slip it into random things, like pancakes, cookies and burgers.

Vines:
With dreams of a summer vacation on my mind (and no, with a newborn and a 2 year old, that will not be happening this year!), I made a Hawaiian shirt-esque cold process soap yesterday. Keep your eyes peeled for a full tutorial coming to this blog. We scented the soap with our brand new Shave and a Haircut Fragrance Oil, which was one of the winning scents chosen by our 2013 S.O.A.P. Panel. It performed admirably, giving me plenty of time to get a perfect design in the soap below.

Here is the final photo from the Instagram feed here.

Tweets:

These are some excellent tips on raising girls to take charge and become leaders. I especially like numbers 3 and 5. Good things to keep in mind as Lily grows!
With so much going on around here lately, reading about these 8 things I can cut out of my day to make it more productive was particularly insightful. Habits like multitasking during a meeting or checking my phone every few minutes and seeing one million new notifications are doing more harm than good.
Do you make and sell your own soapy products? Consider this article about how important color is in determining customer purchases. Color is 85% of the reason a customer is interested (and purchases) a particular product.
If you have little ones too, you know how important it is to stay active and engaged in their lives. These 5 tips are just little things you can do to stay connected. I especially like number 3 — and want to incorporate nightly dinners more into our routine.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Chris is doing his first triathlon tomorrow (!!) and Lily, Jamisen and I will be there to cheer him on at the finish. What projects do you all have in the works? If you’re looking for some inspiration, try your hand at our newest Make It Challenge. This one has a patriotic theme, and I’d love to see what you all come up with on our Facebook page.

Sweet Summer Scrub Tutorial

June 20, 2013 Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

I love summer, but it sure can be hard on skin. There’s summer dryness, summer sun burn, summer bug bites and chlorine from the pool – all of which can make skin unhappy. With this Sweet Summer Scrub, we can (hopefully!) keep most of those potential problems in check.

This recipe is rich in Sweet Almond Oil, which is known for being a lightweight oil chock full of oleic and linoleic essential fatty acids. That’s basically a fancy way of saying it’s incredibly moisturizing and absorbs into skin with ease. Our decadent Foaming Bath Whip acts as the gentle cleansing base to help give your skin a fresh start (all the better to take in that rich Sweet Almond Oil). With a little help from the some regular granulated sugar you can find at the grocery store, you’ve got yourself a gentle exfoliating scrub that is must-have summer skin care item.

What You’ll Need:

2 lbs. Foaming Bath Whip

1 lb. Sugar

2 oz. Sweet Almond Oil

Coral Mica

Aqua Pearl Mica

1 oz. Neroli and Shea Blossom Fragrance Oil

3 Disposable Frosting Bags

1 4B Frosting Tip

4 Short 8 oz Plastic Bail Jars

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

PREP: Before measuring out the oils, unwrap both packages of Foaming Bath Whip and combine in a large bowl (at least 64 oz.).

ONE: Combine the Foaming Bath Whip and Neroli and Shea Blossom Fragrance Oil in a large bowl. Whip using a handheld or stand mixer until the fragrance oil has been fully incorporated into the Foaming Bath Whip.

TWO: Portion out the Sweet Almond Oil and add it to the bath whip and fragrance oil mixture.

THREE: Using a hand mixer, combine the bath whip and oils. Whip until the mixture has approximately doubled in size (this is a good 5 – 10 minutes of mixing which is why a stand mixer is preferred).

FOUR: Once the bath whip mixture has fluffed up, add in the sugar a little bit at a time, using a spatula to gently fold it into the mixture. Be careful to fully incorporate the sugar while not deflating the bath whip too much.

FIVE: After fully incorporating the sugar, split the mixture into two equal parts.

SIX: Add approximately 4 mini scoops of Coral Mica to one bowl of bath whip. Add the same amount of Aqua Pearl Mica to the other. The mica colorant is WYSIWYG, so it’s up to you how much to add. Add an extra scoop or two for a more intense color, but keep in mind that the base is white and your color will not evolve past a pastel.

SEVEN: Cut the tips of the plastic frosting bags. Using a spatula fill one frosting bag with the Coral colored mixture, and the other bag with the Aqua colored mixture. Then, put a frosting tip and the two filled bags inside a third bag. Squeeze until both colors come out in one stream through the third bag. Twist all three of the bags together at their openings to create a seal.

EIGHT: With a steady hand, swirl the whip into a container. Move around the outside of the jar and work your way in as you squeeze. When you reach the middle, start swirling your way back to the outside of the jar. Repeat the swirl until you fill the jar to the top.

There you go! Enjoy your sweet summer scrub for those sweet summer days.

Spring 2013 S.O.A.P. Fragrances Announced!

June 19, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We (well, actually … you!) have selected the final fragrance oils for the 2013 Spring S.O.A.P. (Soap Opinion Awesome Panel)! A diligent 8 person team tested 7 different oils for us and took detailed notes on everything from first impressions out-of-bottle to how it reacted in many products from candles to cold process soap. Thanks to our panelists for their painstaking efforts to make sure that our newest additions are the most well-rounded, long-lasting fragrances we can offer. Many of the testers shared their thoughts via blogs and even video, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a few of our favorite posts.

Roxana of Pink Sudz Soap was particularly excited when her S.O.A.P. box arrived and gave some great first impressions.

Andrea with Soap4Squares brought her testing samples to the local art walk and got the opinions of fellow art walkers. My favorite part is how well she captured reactions as people sniffed away. This was a particularly clever way to gauge reactions. Kudos for being so creative (and brave!), Andrea.

Katie of Royalty Soaps was kind enough to shoot video for her testing thoughts. Not just once, but twice!

Here are the Spring 2013 S.O.A.P. Survey winners!!

Tart Apple (Mystery Fragrance #1)

There’s no doubting that this is a true apple! Wonderfully tart like the Granny Smith variety, it finishes with a slight hint of tropical pineapple. Try blending it with Cinnamon Sugar Fragrance Oil to conjure up a warm apple pie, or round out a floral blend with this as a delightful top note.

What the panelists said:

“Very cheerful and happy!” — Amy of Foam on the Range

“It reminds me of apple tea. Sweet yet cut with a floral subtlety.” — Andrea of Soap4Squares

Shave and a Haircut (Mystery Fragrance #2)

This fragrance oil was a favorite for its distinctly masculine notes. Aromatic spices and a slight musk combine with notes of orange zest that finish clean and crisp. This one reminded our testers of a barber shop, and we agreed!

What the panelists said:

“Smells just like a hot guy fresh out of the shower.” — Janet of Janet’s Candles and Creations

“This was my #1 choice.” — La Shonda of Nyah Beauty

Spring Meadow (Mystery Fragrance #3)

This scent is a delightful and sweet floral with fresh and herbaceous notes. Feminine and light, Spring Meadow has just the right balance of earthy greens for something that’s not overwhelmingly floral.

What the panelists said:

“This initially reminded me of lilacs, gardenias, a hint of rose and freshly cut flower stems.” — Andrea of Soap4Squares

“This is the best behaving floral I have personally ever used!” — Katie of Royalty Soaps

“My husband thought it smelled like an apple orchard or like early morning dew in an English meadow.” — Amy of Foam on the Range

Thanks again to our wonderful testers. Which of the new fragrance oils will be the first you try? Or, is there something our Bramble Berry line is desperately missing that you’d like to see us add? Tell us because we’re always on the hunt to round out our line of fragrance oils.

Fourth of July Challenge

June 18, 2013 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Do you have what it takes to Make It? The Make It challenge is returning to the Soap Queen blog, and we wanted to bring it back with a bang (of fireworks, naturally!). This month’s challenge is all about the Fourth of July. This time, any bath and body product counts — scrubs, lotions, bath fizzies, cold process, lip balms, melt & pour and more! It is fun to start summer off with a challenge, and everyone in the office is waiting on pins and needles (fireworks and sparklers?) to see your best red, white and blue creations. Keep reading for the official rules, and then get to creating!

The Mission (if you choose to accept it)

Create a unique item that follows the challenge’s theme. For this challenge, you can showcase anything that follows the Fourth of July theme. Cold process, melt and pour, lotions, scrubs, lip balms and home crafts are all allowed.
Post pictures of your themed product to Bramble Berry’s Facebook page between June 18^th and July 1st.
Your entry must include the designated hashtag “#4thofJuly” in the photo caption in order to be entered into the contest. Photos without #4thofJuly will not be considered.
You can make multiple projects, but we will only consider three pictures per person.
At the end of the two weeks, Team Bramble Berry will pick our favorite items. The winners of the challenge will be featured in a Soap Queen Blog post.

You have until Monday, July 1st to post your pictures! Remember to include the #4thofJuly hashtag.

Here is some inspiration to get you started:

Top Row: Solid Bath Sugar Cubes Tutorial & Easy 4th of July Stars

Bottom Row: American Flag Soap & Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of Freedom

Interview with Jennifer’s Handmade Soaps

June 17, 2013 Filed Under: Business Musings

Do you like soap? Cupcakes? Texture? And, mind-blowing soaps? Be sure to read through today’s interview with Jennifer of Jennifer’s Handmade Soaps. Jennifer has been soaping for a little over five years and has become an active part of our amazing community on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page. You might recognize her soaps from the Fair Ivy 2013 Contest, the #UniqueTops Challenge and from her Facebook Photo of the Week. I’ve been enamored with Jennifer’s soaps since I first saw them and was pleased when she answered a few questions for Soap Queen readers. Read on for some super soapy inspiration…

Soap Queen: Tell us a little bit about yourself! When you’re not busy keeping your shop stocked with soaps, what are you up to?

It’s kind of been an interesting journey for me. I started out in the field of architecture, got a graduate degree in creative writing and moved into teaching at the college level, and then accidentally fell into soap making. I still teach a couple courses every semester. I love teaching (whether it’s soap or writing – it’s rewarding to help students learn new skills). If there are any hours left over in the week after soaping, teaching, and grading then I can usually be found writing. Pretty much I’m happy when I’m creating—whether it’s soap or stories.

Soap Queen: Do you have a favorite Bramble Berry Product? If so, which one and why?

Okay…I’ve narrowed it down to my four favorites. It was too hard to select just one product! At the top of the list is your Surplus Cherry Almond Fragrance Oil. I’m in love with that fragrance. I usually have multiple bars of soap in my shower at any one time and among those soaps you will always find a Cherry Almond soap. Yeah, I’m slightly obsessed with that fragrance! Tied for second are your 5 lb silicone liners for the 5 lb wooden molds (they have made my life so much easier, not to mention the amount of time I’ve saved with them) and your heat resistant bags (both the small and large ones). And finally, your Avocado Butter.

Soap Queen: Your soaps are so unique and colorful! Where does your inspiration come from?

Desserts, mainly cupcakes, tend to be a huge source of inspiration. I’ll see something and I become bound and determined to replicate it in some way in soap. That’s how my pie soaps came out last summer. I was looking for a peach pie recipe and saw the lattice crust design pictured with the recipe I printed and I forgot all about making a real pie as I was pulling out my sketch book and figuring out how I could make a peach pie soap. The majority of my inspiration comes from other soap makers. Sometimes it’s their color scheme, the design, or some other small part. I have this ever growing folder of “inspirational soaps.” When I get stuck on what to do next, I go through those photos and start sketching out designs until I’ve created something new to try. Color is a big inspiration too. I love bold and bright colors. I have a small all-natural line where I use essential oils and natural colorants, but I’m happiest when I can use bright and fun colors. I love contrasting colors and I especially love using embeds. Embeds can be a bit of a pain. It turns soap into a two day process, so I have to plan well when I’m making soaps with embeds, but it’s always worth it in the end.

Soap Queen: How did you get started soaping?

This question always makes me laugh. I kind of fell into making soap by accident. In 2009 I was working on an article about the history of soap and cleanliness. I was reading about how soap was made in the early 1800’s and I was a little confused. There’s a living museum called Old Sturbridge Village out by me that replicates life in a rural 1830’s town in New England. OSV was offering a modern day soap making class taught by one of their staff, and I figured they’d be able to better explain how soap was made in the 1800’s, so I signed up. I had no intention of going there to learn how to make soap. I just wanted information for my article. I found the process fascinating during the class, but I didn’t really think much more about it after the class was over. Then about six weeks later when I got to finally use the soap I’d made in class I fell in love with it. I started to request books from the library, went out and bought the basic supplies I’d need, and placed my first order with Bramble Berry (not lying here! The teacher had recommended you to us, so when I needed to buy my oils and lye I tried you guys first and was hooked of course). From there it just kind of snowballed.

Soap Queen: Do you have any advice for those just getting into soaping?

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I made every mistake I think there is to make along the way as I was learning. I’ve had soap that was lye heavy, had too much water in it, soap that’s seized on me, soap that I never reached a true trace on (that was before I discovered the joys of a stick blender). I got frustrated with the mistakes, but from each one I learned a valuable lesson. And I started with small one pound batches so it wasn’t the end of the world when a soap didn’t work. It’s OK to fail. I haven’t met a soap maker yet who hasn’t had a failed batch or two, and we’ve all learned from them.

I’d also recommend taking a class if you can, especially if you’re a visual person. I think where a class helps is for illustrating things like trace, that are harder to explain in writing. If you can’t take a class, watch videos. There are hundreds of them out there. Soap Queen TV’s Basic Introduction to Cold Process videos are great as well.

Soap Queen: Do you prefer any type of soaping over another?

Cold process! I do a few melt & pour (M&P) soaps (Popsicles, S’mores…) because they are adorable and people love them, but I get impatient and frustrated with making M&P soaps. Whereas I can be in a kitchen all day making cold process (CP) soap and be completely content. Cold process offers a different kind of challenge than M&P soap and I think I love the challenge of cold process soaps. In some way I think you can be more creative with cold process soaps. I also love the fact that I can create my own recipe with cold process.

Soap Queen: We all have funny soaping stories, what’s yours?

I have to say my “soap on a stick” moment was really funny to me (after I’d calmed down and cleaned up that disaster). It was my first time using alcohol in soap. I had read that it accelerates trace, and I thought I was all prepared for it. I added the color and fragrance before the alcohol/lye mixture. I wasn’t going to use my stick blender. Figured I’d have enough time to mix the soap and get it in the mold before it set up. I poured the lye in and got almost two stirs in before the soap had gone completely solid on me. I pulled the spoon out of the pot and the entire soap mix came out with the spoon. I tried to mush it into the mold, but I wish now I’d just left it on the stick to see how it cured. I bet it would have held its shape and I could have cut it up into bars the next day!

Thank you so much for letting me chat with your for a bit, Jennifer! I adore your creative brain and soap creations. If you are looking to learn more about her soaps and what Jennifer does you can check out her blog, shop and Facebook Page