Anne-Marie Faiola, Author at Soap Queen

Switchtasking

December 2, 2012 Filed Under: Business Musings

I recently attended an education event (EO Alchemy). One of the speakers was time management guru Dave Crenshaw. Another speaker was monk Dandapani.

Between the two of them, they drove home a message to me that I could not and cannot ignore.

I am an expert at being distracted. I am an expert of doing 3408 things in one day. I am an expert at doing most things so-so and only a few things with excellence. And, the scary thing is, you probably are too!

Do I get a lot done every day? Heck to the yes I do. But, supposedly, I can do more in a day if I focus on one thing at a time. “Hi. I’m Anne-Marie and I am an expert at ‘switchtasking.‘”

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Welcome

November 30, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

“A smile is the universal welcome.”

-Max Eastman

Facebook Photo of the Week 11/26 – 11/30

November 30, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Happy Friday! I’ve been touring all of the fabulous bath and body products everybody has been posting on our Facebook page. There have been some super creative ideas and I found a totally adorable soapy photo-op idea that we just have to try out with the Bramble Bump (psst…have you voted in the Bramble Bump poll yet?). Now for the winner of this week’s Facebook Photo of the Week…

This week’s photo comes to us from Marcy of Kiku’s Creations. I was floored by how absolutely realistic her Rose Petal Soaps looked. Yes, those are soaps! I love the idea of using them as single-use soaps in a guest bathroom or as a special Valentine’s Day gift. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing soapy creation with us! Expect a special little package to be headed your way.

Marcy’s Etsy: Kiku’s Creations

Marcy’s Facebook Page: Kiku’s Creations

You still have a chance for your soapy recipe to get featured on the Teach Soap website (and a chance to get a $10 Bramble Berry Gift Certificate)! Send us an e-mail with a full tutorial, including pictures at [email protected]. For more details, check out this blog post and some of our featured recipes: Soothing Avocado Foot Balm, Peach Pie Soap, Rose Garden Bath Tea and Refreshing Tangerine Melt and Pour Soap.

Super Bouncy Ball Soap DIY

November 29, 2012 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Raise your hand if you have childhood memories of begging your parents for change so you could buy a rubber bouncy ball from the quarter machine (me!!)? This soap is super nostalgic and reminiscent of those bouncy balls that weren’t in the quarter machine. These are the ones that were always sitting in plastic jugs on the counter and cost a couple of dollars. These are the SUPER BOUNCY BALLS.

Their swirls and sparkles were always mesmerizing as they sat on the high-up shelf. I wanted to recreate that look, using our new 4 Sphere mold and of course, some shimmery mica and glitter! Eventually the embeds will bleed and create an even more swirly effect. If only I could figure out a way to make them actually bounce like the real thing. Kids love these bouncy ball soaps during bath time!

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#Halloween Challenge Eye Candy

November 28, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Is it just me or does it feel like Halloween was yesterday? Sheesh, time is flying. It’s already almost December, people! Anyway, I thought I’d share with you all of the great entries from the Make it Monday #Halloween challenge. You can see the winners of the challenger here, and also check out the #Halloween Facebook album which is chock-full of pictures from this and all the previous Make it Monday challenges. Itching to compete? There’s still time to enter the #Nail Polish challenge! And, pssst…our next challenge coming up this Monday will be another holiday themed challenge. Because if I didn’t mention it before, it’s already almost DECEMBER.

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Falling for Pumpkin Pear Soap

November 27, 2012 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

This fun, multi-step project was a hit when it went out with the Bramble Berry newsletter (not a subscriber? Sign up on the right hand side of the Bramble Berry Homepage). Just in case you aren’t a subscriber, I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the fun. This project definitely evokes a warm fall color palette with matching scents, but I can see this translated to any time of year by changing up the colors and fragrances.

Phase 1 Recipe:

6.0 oz. Palm Oil

20.0 oz. Pure Olive Oil

8.0 oz. Coconut Oil

1.2 oz. Castor Oil

4.8 oz. Rice Bran Oil

5.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide (lye)

13.2 oz. Distilled Water

3 teaspoons Titanium Dioxide

3 tablespoons Sweet Almond Oil (or another liquid oil)

3 tablespoons Paprika

2.7 oz. Pumpkin Spice Fragrance Oil

Heavy Duty Column Mold

Click here to add everything you need for both phases of this project to your Bramble Berry cart! [Read more…]

Finding the Perfect Purple

November 26, 2012 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Recently my good friend, Cealleigh, married the love of her life in a beautiful ceremony that took place in a gazebo overlooking a pristine California beach. I was honored to act as her Matron of Honor, and possibly even more excited when she asked me to create the favors for her reception! Cealleigh loves orchids and took cues from their colors for every facet of her wedding decor. She had the idea for some purple soap embedded in opaque soap for the favors, and I embarked on the journey to find the perfect hue for her soaps!

As I experimented with the hue I loved the range I was able to achieve, from deep blue-purples to lighter red-violets using all from Bramble Berry’s oxides and micas. [Read more…]

Marathons, Rain Gear, and Books

November 25, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

The biggest news of the weekend? Chris finished his Seattle Marathon in 3:25, almost a full hour faster than his time last year (blog post from last year here). He’s been training a lot more AND more importantly, dropped 25 pounds from last year’s race weight. I know, I know, I have no idea where he was hiding that 25 pounds because he was in shape last year. I secretly think that he’s losing all the weight, hoping to intersect my weight when I hit month 9 with our Bramble Baby 2.

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Ol’ Blue Eyes

November 23, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

-John F. Kennedy

Facebook Photo of the Week 11/19 – 11/23

November 23, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

After a short work week and a great Thanksgiving celebration, I was browsing Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and realized it was time to pick our Facebook Photo of the Week (what a fun way to end my week)! We had so many fun photos to pick from this week and it was just so hard to pick one! Drum roll please…

This week’s photo comes to us of Juli of Inspiri Body. It really has an artistic flair to it and it reminded of some yummy artisan chocolates that I’ve seen (and eaten)! Juli said, “I used two techniques in one soap. First, I used a discoloring fragrance (Warm Vanilla Sugar) to my advantage and tried to make a Mantra Swirl from the Soap Queen Tutorial. It is not perfect, but I love how it came out!” I loved the techniques you used to make this soap work for you, Juli!

Juli’s Etsy: Inspiri Body

Juli’s Facebook Page: Inspiri

Juli’s Blog: Inspiri Spa

Would you like your photo or project to be featured in a blog post? Come join us for soap talk, contests and lots of crafting inspiration at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and share a photo with us of your latest project. And remember, you still have a chance for your soapy recipe to get featured on the Teach Soap website (and a chance to get a $10 Bramble Berry Gift Certificate), send us an e-mail with a full tutorial, including pictures at [email protected]. For more details, check out this blog post and our featured recipes, Soothing Avocado Foot Balm, Peach Pie Soap and Rose Garden Bath Tea.

Last Day To Vote

November 23, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

It’s the last day to vote in the Fed Ex Grant Contest. If you haven’t voted today, please vote one last time. We’re not sure where we are in the standings (there’s no easy way to find out) but last time I went through every single entry one-by-one, we were in the top 5. We’d love to create a Soap Business University for you. You can vote HERE (super easy, no forms to fill out as long as you’re a Facebook user).

Happy Thanksgiving

November 22, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. We’re spending the day together, enjoying delights such as the ‘Best Weekend Kale Salad‘ (my favorite salad in the entire world!), vegetarian lasagna, pumpkin shiitake risotto with pine nuts homemade rolls, fake chick’n, mashed potatoes (sweet and regular), Worthington vegetarian dinner roast, stuffing with gravy and pear apple tartlet. We may very well be those Americans that eat so many calories today that it takes 45 miles to run it off (!!).

I’m thankful for many things this year and though I reflect on them daily, it’s still good to declare it publicly. I’m thankful for the dedicated, fun, service-oriented team at Bramble Berry, I’m thankful for a healthy baby boy, a baby in my tummy and a happy marriage to a kind, thoughtful man, I’m thankful for my close and extended family, our health, the place we live (Bellingham really is incredible) and the opportunity to spend a couple days with family, laughing, loving and reflecting. I hope you are able to do the same.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Paleo Brambleversary Treats

November 21, 2012 Filed Under: Soap Queen Cuisine

We have a few Brambleberrians that are practicing a Paleo lifestyle. If you haven’t ever heard of Paleo, it’s a style of eating that involves only consuming things that (in theory) you can catch, pick, pluck or harvest without any processing that a caveman couldn’t have done. That means no sugars (fruit sugars and natural sweeteners like agave and honey are okay), grains, dairy or soy. It’s a super clean way of eating but a bit difficult to make my typical sugary-sweet treats for. The strict letter of the law would say that you probably couldn’t have made coconut flour as a caveman…but Bramble Berry’s Paleos say that one of greatest things about the lifestyle is that it’s adaptable, and most important is the way your food makes you feel. If you’re gluten free or cutting down on refined sugars, this recipe is perfect for you!

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Vote in the BrambleBump Poll

November 20, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

BrambleBaby #2 is contentedly hanging out in my belly, being quite well behaved if I may say it (knock on wood). I’m currently growing a tiny human size of a large shrimp this week or lemon (week 14), and heading into more rapid growth in the coming weeks.

Soon enough we’ll be able to tell if this little one is a Lady Shrimp or Gentleman Shrimp, but in the meantime I’d love to get your take on it. You, our genius readers, customers and friends were able to accurately predict Jamisen’s sex. Let’s go two for two! Vote to your heart’s content in the right sidebar, and I’ll make the big announcement once we find out (and tell our family, of course). Let the polling begin!