This week was full of fun and easy projects, perfect for a beginner crafter. Our Super Simple Shoe Polish is a great inexpensive alternative to store bought polish, and adding a little brown or black oxide really helps to liven up worn or faded leather. We also kicked off our Show Your Love promotion by making these cute and easy Mini Heart Bath Bombs. Interested in giving these bath bombs a try? Order soon because everything in the recipe is 30% off until February 7th =)
Our Natural vs. Organic post is full of information for the beginner and advanced crafter. If these terms have ever caused you confusion, it’s a good read.
Looking for some culinary inspiration for your Super Bowl party? Out of the numerous chili recipes entered into our Chili Cook Off, Kari’s Chili Verde with Pork was the winner (click through to get the recipe to make it yourself). Everybody in the office loved the tangy verde sauce and hearty chunks of pork. It was incredibly delicious!
But let’s get back to my favorite topic…soap! This week’s Facebook Photo of the Week comes to us from Josie of Josie’s Beauty Boutique. Her “Don’t Eat Me Because I’m Beautiful” soap is lovely, and I was impressed to hear that she has only been soaping since November! She definitely got some bonus point for that cute and clever soap name too.
Fragranced with the LoveSpell (Type Fragrance Oil), I love the subtle Valentine’s Day vibe of Josie’s soap. This bar of soap also reminded me of a cupcake with its pastel colors and heaping frosting. In fact, we may or may not reveal a creative cupcake recipe on the blog next week (winkwink), so stay tuned! Interested in making your own dessert-inspired soap? We’ve got you covered with the following foodie-inspired projects:
- Shea Butter Soap Cupcakes – Cold Process Soap
- Bath Bomb Cupcakes – Day One – The Cupcake
- Bath Bomb Cupcakes – Day Two – The Frosting
- How to Make Cupcake Bath Bombs on Soap Queen TV
- One Cake, Two Cake, Soap Cake, Cupcake
Aren’t Josie’s soaps beautiful? It’s hard to believe she has only been soaping for about 3 months, and she has more than 700 bars of soap under her belt. Thank you so much for sharing your soapy creations with us Josie, we are so happy to have you as part of our soaping community!
Josie’s Ebay Shop: Josie’s Beauty Boutique
And thanks to everyone who posts photos, asks questions and otherwise makes our soaping community the best it can be. Seeing your creations each week is a true treat!
Post pictures of your crafty creations on the Facebook page each week for a chance to be featured on the Soap Queen blog and receive a sweet soapy package from Bramble Berry.
its exciting.so many beautiful different soaps.
Hi Marcia!
I’m so glad you love Josie’s soaps as much as we do 🙂
Happy Soaping!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Thank you much Marcia! 🙂
Thank you for shedding some light on this. I value and respect your opinion very much. You are, as always, a class act.
Hi Jackson!
We are happy to clear this up for you 🙂 Thanks for being a reader!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Not to be the rain on the parade here, but this subject has come up on several forums I am associated with : I am shocked and surprised to see a 3 month soapmaker selling soap, and even more shocked to see Brambleberry publishing this. As we all know, 3 months is no where near time enough to know how a recipe will behave, much less sell it. Granted, the soap is beautiful. But the burning question is “is it safe” ?
Hi Jackson – I see this come in in forums frequently and generally want to be friendly and inclusive to newcomers in our community. Soapmaking is a science and an art. It’s something that can take years to perfect or months, depending on the soaper, their experience in chemistry and if they’re following tried and true recipes. For example, if someone took a recipe from my book Soap Crafting and used the recipe, it would have been tested a minimum of 10 times by me (not to mention the thousands of soapmakers that have purchased the book and used the recipe now). When I started making soap 20 years ago, there wasn’t much information out there and a lot of my learning was trial and error. But now, there are so many good books, videos and classes that new soapers don’t have to have a painful learning curve.
I agree with your concerns about safety. It is important that soapmakers are well educated and are making safe products. Making safe soap doesn’t necessarily matter how long you’ve been soaping; it matters how educated you are. I’ve seen some soapmakers on YouTube that have been soaping for decades who showcase unsafe ingredients and techniques.
I think the soap that is showcased here is beautiful, shows a mastery of the subject and shows someone beautifully progressing in her art, science and craft. And, I welcome Josie to our soapmaking community.
Thank you Anne Marie, That was very nicely put. Hi Jackson, thank you for your comment and your concerns. I have followed Anne Maries Recipes and turned them into my own recipes over time, I use my Bramble Berry Lye Calculator every single time I batch a new recipe and wait the 6 weeks for the cure. I use the zap test and PH stripes. And before my soaps go anywhere I test them on myself along the way, which I have very sensitive skin so that helps too. I have spent many hours researching and studying before I ever made my first soap. And I made Melt & Pour 1st before ever attempting CP Soap because I still didn’t feel comfortable and knowledgeable enough. So when I did my first cold process soap I had my lap top viewing Anne Marie’s awesome videos she does up at the counter with me for my first Cold Process Soap attempt. And it went great! Once I got down a basic recipe I started branching out making more advanced soaps and making my own infusing teas & spices into my oils etc… I do understand how someone would think that I may not know enough, and really I don’t know a lot like most soapers out there, but if you could ask my husband how much sleep I get, he would tell you not much because I am always reading and studying and learning along the way. A person does have to get out there and start sometime, I just happen to let people know that I’m not very experienced at what I do, I could not say anything and I think no one would ever know. So I am being as safe as I can possibly be with my soaps. If I ever have any questions I always go to Kari here on Bramble Berries Live Chat and she helps stir me in the right direction. I don’t take chances with anything I am doing and Bramble Berry support is always there for me, like I said before they are Awesome in helping me when I am coming upon an issue that I don’t feel good about. I hope to someday soon have my own soap shop where I can sell what I love to make. Thank you for all the wonderful comments to me on my soaps here and on BB Facebook, and thank you again Anne Marie for putting me out there to the public. Much appreciated. Thank you Josie
Hi Josie!
Your soap is lovely, and I really admire your commitment to keep learning about your craft :). I’m so happy to hear that we have been able to provide you with support along the way! Can’t wait to see what you make next 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Wow! So beautiful, how did you get the heart embed…do share. Tks
The embeds fit perfect into the mold. Once they are made cut enough so you can slip it into the mold a bit on the tight side so it will suspend by itself from side to side. Then you can place it anywhere you like. Thanks you Josie Sundell
Wow! Beautiful. How did you do the heart embed. So pretty.
Hi Dedre!
Isn’t the heart embed cute? If you are looking to do something similar, the Mini Heart Silicone Mold is the perfect mold to achieve this look 🙂
Mini Heart Silicone Mold:
https://www.brambleberry.com/Mini-Heart-Silicone-Column-Mold-P5811.aspx
I hope this helps 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
The embeds fit perfect into the mold. Once they are made cut enough so you can slip it into the mold a bit on the tight side so it will suspend by itself from side to side. Then you can place it anywhere you like. Thanks you Josie Sundell
These are all so beautiful! I can see me, years from now, when I’m really, really old (not like I am now) being known in this neck of the woods as the crazy old lady with closets full of beautiful soaps!
Hi LuAnn!
Aren’t her soaps lovely? Haha, soapmaking is such an addictive hobby, it’s easy to quickly start collecting it! 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
WOW! I can’t thank you enough Anne Marie. That was so sweet of you to do Facebook and this!! I am very grateful for the recognition. You have really been an inspiration to me and I just wanted to say thank you again. This is just way too cool! 🙂
Hi Josie!
We are so happy to be able to share your beautiful soap! Thank you so much for being a part of our community 🙂 Your soap is inspiring.
-Amanda with Bramble Berry