Brand new and hot off the press, Debbie Chialtas’ newest Let’s Get Soapy e-zine is now available! This 24-page full color PDF is packed with tutorials for making soaps with water-soluble paper, achieving ombre coloring and working with neon colors for bright soaps that are ready for summer.
Archives for April 2013
Fair Ivy Finalists
I know many of you have been on pins and needles all weekend waiting for us to announce the finalists for the Fair Ivy 2013 contest, and you only have to wait a few moments more. Thank you everyone who participated. We had so much fun seeing all the fun products that came in! Did you miss the sneak peek of all the entries? Check it out here. We chose winners based on the quality of the product that came in (example: lather, smell, overall look for soap), the labeling and how the product arrived to us. Since Fair Ivy ships individual packages to consumers, it was important that items arrive intact and unscathed to us.
I’m happy to announce the 2013 Fair Ivy finalists. Go check them out and let me know what you think! [Read more…]
Facebook Photo of the Week (April 5 ~ April 12)
It’s the beginning of the week (Happy Monday!) and that means it’s time for a recap of the most awesome week ever! (Psst: Earlier this week, we wrapped up the Fair Ivy contest by getting the rest of our entries and posting a mashup. Stay tuned next week when the finalists will be announced. We also had a fun and engaging guest post from Jean at SoapArtOnline on how to cut one of those 25 lb. monster soap blocks and posted a much anticipated Soap Queen TV episode that has been a year in the making. Are you ready for the winner of last weeks Facebook Photo of the Week? Check it out below.
Sunday Night Spotlight: Lavender
Bramble Berry’s Grade 1 Lavender Buds have a rich and deep color of periwinkle and that traditional calming Lavender smell that will have you going back for more. Did you know that these particular buds have actually been hand harvested? We are told that they are picked before noon on the day of harvest to help prevent fast drying which gives them their extra vibrant color. A great property of Lavender is its known anti-inflammatory properties, which would be great for a skin-soothing oil infusion or a bath tea. My favorite use for lavender buds is to sprinkle them on top of cold process soap as a finishing touch.
Cookie Dough Truffles (Food Recipe)
These super yummy treats were adapted from the adorable book, The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook. If you’re ever in need of a legit squeal fest, check out this book. The recipes are delicious (of course) and the pictures are to-die-for. I tried my hand at these amazing-looking truffles and they were a total hit
Pins and Tweets of the Week + Soap Challenge
Happy Friday, everyone! It’s going to be a pretty rainy weekend around here, which means lots of spare time to try out some of these great projects and crafts. Here are some of my absolute fave pins of the week:
How To Make Solid Bubble Bath
It took me over a year of testing and formulating to find the perfect recipe for Solid Bubble Bath. It dries to a solid bar – but isn’t so hard that you can’t crumble it up with your fingers. Rolling up the bar is a little tricky to get the cute swirl in the center, but if you’ve ever made sushi or a jelly roll cake you will be a pro at this. And, nothing says you can’t start easy and just go with one color instead of the double color that I show in this video. [Read more…]
Fair Ivy 2013: Sneak Peek!
Monday was the deadline for the Fair Ivy 2013 Contest and we are energized by all of the creative bath and body products that came in. I’ve had so much fun opening up the packages and being able to smell, feel and try out all the fabulous handmade items. We’re in the middle of choosing which items we’ll be sending along to Fair Ivy (and we’re announcing them next week!) but we didn’t think it was fair to keep all of this eye candy to ourselves.
The Soap Monster
I was reading some fabulous soaping blogs the other evening and I came across one that made me chuckle out loud. Jean of Soap Art decided to order our Premium Soap Base in bulk, which comes in a 25 pound box. These are pretty big boxes and can be quite intimidating if you have never ordered one before. Luckily, Jean did a fantastic job writing a funny and engaging tutorial on how to cut down one of those 25 lb. soap blocks. Thanks for letting us repost, Jean! -Anne-Marie
This is the Soap Monster.
Handmade Pin Cushion with Walnut Seeds
After my first ever project involving a fabric picture book for Jamisen (which he loves; proof right here), I’m definitely hooked on sewing! I can’t get enough of browsing Etsy for pretty fabrics and dreaming of coordinating them in a beautiful way. One thing I decided I wanted to try was a variation on this tutorial for a walnut-shell stuffed pin cushion from the Quilt Taffy blog. I made mine GIANT; the finished size is 5.5″ X 6″, which is perfect for me and my habit of misplacing tools next to my sewing machine. You can easily make any size pin cushion you’d like with this tutorial.
Facebook Photo of the Week (March 29 ~ April 5)
What a fun week it has been! We’ve been keeping super busy with all sorts of fun activities and promotions that are going on for both Bramble Berry and Soap Queen. The members of our Spring Spring S.O.A.P. team (you can see the list here) were picked, we started getting entries for our Spring Soap Swap, received a bunch of cute bath and body products for the Fair Ivy contest (the deadline to receive entries is this Monday!) and have a super fun April Showers Scavenger Hunt going on. I also made the second soap in the Great Cakes SoapWorks Soap Challenge – the Elemental Swirl (read all about it here). This is how my version of the Elemental Swirl turned out – very teardroppy and artistic.
[Read more…]
Friendship
“The language of friendship is not words but meanings.” ~Henry David Thoreau
Whipped Candle Frosting
Are you ready for a departure from your typical candle? This adorable whipped topping adds punch and pizzazz with some fun embedded wax objects to boot. A friendly gift, perfect for your spunky desk mate at work or friendly neighbor at home.
Announcing the Spring 2013 S.O.A.P. Team
We are excited and happy to announce our Spring 2013 S.O.A.P. Team! There were many amazing applicants; thank you everyone that applied. And, now the Spring 2013 S.O.A.P. team….
