I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and were able to spend some quality time with your friends and family this year. This Christmas, Jamisen got a visit from Santa, as well as being the cutest darn Christmas elf I’ve ever seen. We were able to spend time with both sides of the family and I can hardly believe that next time this year, I’ll have two little Bramble Bumps in the house! Eeeek!!! We find out in less than two weeks what we are having and I cannot wait. I haven’t even thought about names yet until I know if we’re having a boy or a girl. On to Facebook and the fun photo of the week:
Joyful Jamisen
“Joy springs from within; no one makes you joyous; you choose joyfulness.”
-Unknown
Tiger Stripe “Hanger” Swirl Tutorial
Have you checked out Bramble Berry’s brand new Brazilian clays yet? These natural colorants work excellently in cold process soap and are available in an amazing range of colors. They’re even available in a sample pack so you can test them out before purchasing a larger size! To keep with the natural elements of the clays, I used a delightfully herbal essential oil blend for fragrance.
To create a two-color tiger stripe effect, I modified Bramble Berry’s 2 pound Wood Loaf mold. If you have some cardboard lying around from holiday packaging, here’s your chance to reuse it for some soapy goodness. We’re keeping it green on Soap Queen!
Santa Visits and Bubbles Appear
We were so pleased that Santa had a few extra minutes to stop by our house on Christmas Eve. Jamisen initially wasn’t the biggest fan but with Daddy by his side, he walked over to the book bin, grabbed a book and brought it back to Santa to read to him. It was rather adorable. Jamisen’s big present from Santa was a workbench. He promptly dismantled it, turned it upside down and tried to use it as a sitting stool. Funny little guy.
Merry Christmas 2012
Bramble Berry Cookie Swap
There are so many things that make the Christmas season my favorite – the new tradition of the Elf on the Shelf, playing Settler of Catan for hours, laughing with family, Santa Claus making an appearance (while Grandpa mysteriously disappears), the Salvation Army shopping trip for Bramble Berry and the big Faiola-Renoud family dinner. There’s another one that I don’t want to forget though: the annual Bramble Berry cookie swap. Any excuse to get the team together for a bit of good cheer coupled with delicious, sugar and butter laden treats is a win-win in my book. Bonus points for leaving with a big box of cookies of all shapes and sizes!
My contribution to this year’s swap was Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies with a Mint Chocolate Glaze, pulling from two different recipes. I’ve included the recipes at the end of this post, so check ’em out after these highlights from the day! [Read more…]
Jamisen the Christmas Elf
This week, we had a little pint-sized elf visit the Bramble Berry warehouse to help spread Christmas cheer. It turns out that he accepted a little Christmas cheer first. Thank you Norman (our operations ninja) for the fantastic fishing game. Jamisen caught onto it quickly and I can see that we’ll have hours of fun ahead, ‘fishing’.
Jamisen’s favorite part of visiting the office is always a toss-up between the giant ‘Vanna White’ wheel (seriously, we have a giant Wheel of Fortune wheel at work) and playing with my keyboard and my computer. He adores anything electronic or computer. Remotes, cell phones, computers … he’s all about it. [Read more…]
Gift Idea Roundup: Last Minute Quickies
Somehow, despite all the perfect planning, did someone *maybe* slip off your gift list? No worries! Here are a few of my favorite quickie projects, last-minute ideas that you can get done in just a few hours.
Top Row: Painted Ornament Project, Soapy Candy Canes, Gingerbread Man Soap
Middle Row: Mistletoe Soap Project (Part One, Part Two, Part Three), Christmas Tree Soap Centerpiece (Part 1 & Part 2), Pepperminty Bark Soap
Bottom Row: Holiday Soap Stamp, Secret Message Soap, Lump of Coal Soap
Facebook Photo of the Week 12/17 – 12/21
Christmas is only four days away and I just can’t wait (family, family, family!). This month has been full of fun projects like our Hot Process series: Crock Pot Camo, CPOP Swirls, and HPOP Layers; interesting contests like our Make it Monday: #Christmas Schwag; and even a couple Facebook photos of the week (see here and here). We also celebrated this month of giving by going out on our annual Salvation Army Shopping Trip and holding our Bramble Berry Cooke Exchange (more on that later, but check out last year’s swap here). But, on with the show. Here’s the winner of this week’s Facebook Photo of the Week:
This week’s photo comes to us from Linda of The Enchanted Bath. Linda shared a gorgeous cold process soap made with our Turkish Mocha Fragrance Oil that had me drooling all over my keyboard (since I know what that fragrance smells like and in a word, it is ah-maz-ing). Using just the fragrance oil to color the soap’s main body, Linda added a touch of Titanium Dioxide to the frosting to keep it nice and white. She says that the Turkish Mocha “Smells delicious and it’s flying off the shelves at my store. I highly recommend this fragrance!” Thanks for being a part of our soaping community on our Facebook page Linda, I’ve really enjoyed watching you grow in your craft and try new things with your soaping. There is a special little package headed your way. [Read more…]
Hot Process Series: Oven Process Layers
Ever wondered what the difference is between CPOP, HPOP, and CPHP? I’m hoping to set the record straight when it comes to various methods of using heat to aid in the soapmaking process. Or, at the very least, I’ve set out to tell my own accounts of what happens when I soap with these different methods. I’ve already rocked out some CPOP and CPHP tutorials, and today we’ll be visiting HPOP.
HPOP: Hot Process Oven Process. This method of using hot process calls for heat being applied while the soap spends time in the oven. Like the oven’s purpose in CPOP, and the crock pot’s purpose in CPHP, the oven facilitates holding the temperature of the soap at or above 160 degrees, speeding up the saponification process. Remember from the CPOP post that according to Professor Kevin M. Dunn, author of Caveman Chemistry and Scientific Soapmaking, heat speeds along the saponification process. The major difference is that HPOP cooks the soap in oven before it goes into the mold instead of after, which gives the finished soap a more rustic look. Questions? Check out the FAQs at the end of the post!
Click here to tweet this tutorial!
Licorice Candy Soap
I am obsessed with licorice. I’ve heard rumors that chocolate is also delicious but when forced to choose, give me the acquired taste of licorice. For the record, my favorite kind is Panda (though RJ‘s or Darrell Lea’s are never turned down) or the ultra-acquired taste of Salted Licorice (available at fine mail order stores or specialty candy stores). Even though I love straight-up licorice most of all, I’ll still eat delicious Licorice Allsorts. And, I think that this project would make such a fun gift or a since it ’tis the season, a stocking stuffer. This project is easy and suitable for a beginner (just watch those temperatures!).
Recipe:
33.6 oz. White Melt and Pour Soap
22.4 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap
1.2 oz. Star Anise Essential Oil
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
#Christmas Schwag Eye Candy
Thanks to everyone who threw their hats in the ring for the Make it Monday #Christmas Schwag Challenge! Check out the winners here. And before the holiday season sneaks away from us just as quickly as it approached, I thought you’d enjoy a peek at the over 200 (!) entries from the challenge. Everyone’s photos are also in the Facebook Photo Album for your enjoyment over the holiday break. We’ll be back next year with more fun Make it Monday Challenges, but until then feast your eyes upon this bounty:
#Christmas Schwag Winners
Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming! I can hardly believe that this year has gone by so fast. It seems like yesterday that we were started our very first Make it Monday challenge but it was actually this summer. It’s been so much fun seeing you all participate in these challenges and coming up with such clever and fun products all year, and we can’t wait for our next series (starting next year!) to see what you have up your sleeves. Are you ready for the winners of Make it Monday #Christmas Schwag? Drum roll please…
Top Row:
Jill Lemaster-Moore – ‘Yultide Soap Balls’
Yurie from Kumamama Soap
Krista Scott – Adaptation of Cool Yule Peppermint Loaf from Soap Queen
Middle Row:
Katie from Royalty Soaps – ‘Holiday Cheer Cold Process Hanger Swirl Soap’
Patty from Lather Rinse Clean – ‘Snowman Cupcakes’ with Fresh Snow Fragrance Oil
Heather from Blackbird Soap Company – ‘Enchanted’
Bottom:
Amanda from Bubblina’s Soap Boutique – ‘Christmas Tree Soap’ with Santa’s Spruce Fragrance Oil
Ludmila and Pablo from Epuyen Jabones Artesanales – ‘Christmas Magic Wands’
Jenny Rose from I‘d Lather Be Soaping – ‘Christmas Cheer Soap’ [Read more…]
Facebook Photo of the Week 12/10 – 12/14
This week I’ve been getting ready for Christmas by baking cookies for our upcoming cookie swap and going on our annual Salvation Army shopping trip! It has been so much fun seeing all your fabulous Christmas-themed products in our Make it Monday: #Christmas Schwag Challenge (check out the Facebook album here). Now onto our winner for our Facebook Photo of the week…
