Anne-Marie Faiola, Author at Soap Queen

Make it Monday: #Nail Polish

November 19, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

It’s time for a fun and fresh new #Make It Monday contest. This week is all about Nail Polish! Did you know that Bramble Berry recently introduced a whole line of nail polish products? So of course we’ve been having an absolute blast experimenting with all the fun colors and glitters, making our very own nail polishes. Now it’s your turn…we want you to show us your fresh and funky nail polish creations!

Mission (if you choose to accept it)

Create a unique product that follows the theme for the challenge of the week. This week is all about nail polish!
Post your pictures of your cute and creative nail polishes to Bramble Berry’s Facebook page during the entry period (November 19th – January 15th).
Your entry must have the hashtag of the week in order to be entered into the contest. This week, your picture must have the hashtag #Nail Polish
At the end of the entry period, Team Bramble Berry will pick our favorite entries. The winners of the challenge will be featured on the Soap Queen Blog. You have until Monday, January 15th to post photos of your #Nail Polish. Please submit your photos by 12 pm (pacific standard time).
You can submit up to three different pictures! Bonus points if you tell us which colors your polish creation used. [Read more…]

Bath Bomb Winners!

November 19, 2012 Filed Under: Bath Fizzies

This week is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for and that includes you, our wonderful customers, friends, fans and readers. I’ve enjoyed seeing all the creative ideas that everyone has come up with for our Make It Monday: #Bath Bombs Challenge. From adorable little cupcakes to chill pill fizzies and even bubble gum bath bombs, it has been so much fun to check Bramble Berry’s Facebook page everyday and ooh and ahh over all the fizzy creations you have created. Like all our Make It Monday challenges, it was difficult to choose the winners. But, it had to be done. Drumroll please…

Top Row:

Athena from Antoinette’s Bath House – Orange You Glad I’m Naked Bath Bombs

Odette from Riverlea Soap – Bath Bombs Fizzy Soap Combo

Anntoinette from the Yard Store – Natural Bath Truffles (from the Soap Queen tutorial) with Lavender-infused Olive Oil

Middle Row:

Aneta from Sapuneta – Scented with Raspberry

Laura Harris – Lil’ Animal Fizzies scented with Exotic Fruit Smoothie

Elizabeth from Tidal Creek Candles & Soaps – Happy Snowman Bath Bombs scented with Cranberry Fig

Bottom:

Amy from Sunbreak Soaps – Coconut Lime Verbena Bath Bombs

Marisa from Soaps Temptation – Sabonetes Artesanais

Ginger-Vee from Champ de Fleurs – Sweet Orange and Spicy Ginger Bath Bomb Cupcake

Thanks to all who participated and keep your eyes peeled for our next Make It Monday challenge being posted later today. If you need some extra fizzy inspiration over the Thanksgiving weekend, take a look at our #Bath Bomb Facebook album to check out all the bath bombs that were entered. In the meantime, I’ll continue planning for Thanksgiving (I’m making the lasagna and the kale salad) and being extra grateful for such a fun community of soapers (and fizziers!) to share my days with.

Facebook Photo of the Week 11/12-11/16

November 16, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Lately I’ve really been getting into the holiday spirit. We even have Christmas music going at home (eh hem, I’m a sucker for the Glee Christmas Album). We’ve got so much to be thankful for around here. Our Christmas Tree is already up and Jamisen is just having a blast looking at all those twinkling lights. Speaking of cute little guys…

This week’s Facebook Photo of the Week comes from Mike of Soap Passion. Mike made these cute little gingerbread men following a Soap Queen tutorial and said, “These are one of my favorite soaps for the holidays, I just love the Gingersnap Fragrance O il.” All the gals in the office agreed with me and we oohed and ahhed over these adorable little gingerbread men! Take a peek at more of Mike’s work here:

Soap Passion on Facebook

Thank you so much Mike for being part of our soaping community and being an active participant on our Facebook page. There’s a little package of goodies being sent your way, so keep your eyes peeled!

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. Next week’s photo of the week pick could be yours!

Psst…Last week we featured Brooke of Her Best Apple, and she was kind enough to write about it in her blog! Thanks for the love, Brooke =)

We’re Adding to the Family

November 16, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

“Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.” – Marc Brown

Pretty soon Jamisen will find out what it’s like to be better than a superhero! We’re expecting a second little Bramble Bump who is due to arrive in May. We are over-the-moon excited. For those of you doing the math, that means the siblings will be 25 months apart (almost to the day!). This pregnancy has been surprisingly easy. I haven’t been sick that much and other than the normal, first-trimester-tireds and the expanding waistline, it’s been a way easier than pregnancy compared to the first. Soon, our little family of 3 will become a family of 4. We can hardly wait.

Ombre Rebatch Layers

November 15, 2012 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

I’m revisiting rebatch this week with a fun take on the popular look of ombre. A delicious blend of earthy, herby and citrus essential oils come together to complete this warm-hued and fun-textured soap. Plus, read on about a new addition to the Bramble Berry product line and how you can get one of your own!

Recipe and Tools:

3 pounds Grated Luxury Rebatch

2-4 Tablespoons Distilled Water

Diluted Red LabColor

0.9 oz Orange Valencia Essential Oil

0.2 oz Star Anise Essential Oil

0.1 oz Patchouli Essential Oil

2 Pound Wood Log Mold

Droppers with Suction Bulb

Plastic Food Wrap

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

Packaging Inspiration with Heathoriginal

November 14, 2012 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Here’s my friend and fellow Pinterest obsessor Heather, winner of Seattle Bride Magazine’s Best of 2012 for her creative and unique wedding favors, with some tips for packaging your soaps – great for craft shows, Etsy, or gift giving! -Anne-Marie

Hi! This is Heather from Heathoriginal reporting in. I am absolutely thrilled to be on the Soap Queen blog and to have this opportunity to be chatting with you about one of my favorite things…packaging!

[Read more…]

Pin it To Win It Winners!

November 13, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Pin It To Win It! Isn’t that so much fun to say? This contest, to kick-off Givember, had so many great entries. If you search Pinterest for #soapmaking you will be able to see all the fun pins from the Soap Queen blog and Bramble Berry’s website that people chose for their Pin It to Win It contest entries!

And now for the winners! Drum roll please…

Toni Babcock said: “The three Bramble Berry products I chose were the Shea Butter, Litsea Essential Oil and the Pumpkin Spice Fragrance Oil. I chose the Shea Butter because I think it is an amazingly versatile product that works in so many applications. I love the Litsea EO and it is a best-seller in my facial bars — even the men like it! I also chose the Pumpkin Spice Fragrance Oil because I think it makes the perfect fall fragrance, especially when you add a bit of Cream Cheese Frosting FO.”

Michelle Stiller said: “I am so excited to try the Bath Bomb Surprise and can’t wait to try one of those bath fizzies out out and see how the ducky fares!”

Maria Stanley said: “I love color and decided that when I first started making soap that the neon colorants were my favorites!”

AJ McCabe said: “I love the basic how-to tutorials for cold process soap making on the Soap Queen blog. That is why I pinned the burping for the soap bubbles and lining the mold tutorials. I also pinned the Gingerbread Man Tutorial and Shea Butter Cupcake Soap because I like to make those to give away during the holidays!”

Remember it’s Givember all month long! Even though we are almost halfway through the month of November (eek!) there are still two more newsletters featuring exclusive projects, as well as two more new free sample kits to go with your Bramble Berry purchase of $125 or more (while supplies last). You can also join us in our newest Soap Queen feature, the Facebook Photo of the Week — a great way to share your most recent soapy bath and body creations with a chance to get featured on the Soap Queen blog!

S.O.A.P. (Fall 2012) Fragrances Announced!

November 12, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thanks to the Fall/Winter 2012 S.O.A.P. Team for their help picking out our latest fragrance additions! I’m super excited about this round. I can’t wait to tell you all about the latest and greatest scents *you* chose (yay!) along with a few of the notes from the S.O.A.P. team’s initial responses after their rigorous testing. In no particular order, here are the winners:

Waterlily Orange: This beautiful watery floral fragrance is a harmonious blend of fresh herbal greens, lotus and water lily. The top has light peppery twist of bergamot, the heart is a crystalline watery flower and the finishing accord is a graceful woody amber. Despite its floral notes, it is bright and cheery.

“Reminds me of a cool water type fragrance with maybe some fresh cut grass. This would be first on my list to purchase, and that of my friends. Everyone LOVED this one a lot and almost everyone said it reminded them of the ocean.” – Alicia

“It smells like a soft and sexy men’s cologne. I like it a lot!” -Laura

“It’s like sunshine! It just wakes you up and makes you happy.” -Teneshia

[Read more…]

Product Labeling Change: Physical Address Petition Filed

November 10, 2012 Filed Under: Business Musings

Earlier this year, the HSMG (Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild) filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA to allow the change of the current regulation that requires a street address on cosmetic products, to be changed to allow a PO Box as the place of business on a cosmetic label. Their argument focused on the personal risk associated with putting a home address on the label and the fact that a PO Box should be sufficient. I strongly urge all of you to comment with a clear, concise, short and professional note to the FDA why this change should be made. You can comment on this petition here.

UPDATE 9/19/2017: The FTC has updated regulations concerning business name and address. The NEW regulation says the street address may be omitted if it is listed in a readily accessible, widely published, and publicly available resource. Read more here.

[Read more…]

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

November 9, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”
-John Ruskin

Facebook Photo of the Week

November 9, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

It’s the beginning of a brand new feature on the Soap Queen blog — Facebook Photo of the Week! Every week we will be choosing one photo from Bramble Berry’s Facebook page submitted by you and feature it in its very own blog post.

This week’s photo comes from Brooke of Her Best Apple. In this soap, Brooke used our Relaxing Fragrance Oil and said, “I just LOVE this FO, it smells awesome. It does turn cold process soap dark, but it smells so good that I can work with that!” I know how frustrating it can be to work with discoloring fragrances, but Brooke, you totally blew it out of the water with your positive attitude and gorgeous design! Check out some of her other soaps:

Brooke’s Blog: Soap It!

Thank you so much to Brooke for being a fan and regular contributor on Facebook and sharing your awesome soapy creations with us — expect a little package of goodies to be sent your way!

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. The week’s photo of the week pick could be yours!

How to Use a Multi-Bar Soap Cutter Video

November 8, 2012 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

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You Like Us! You Really Like Us!

November 7, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The results are in, and thanks to a gracious readership, Bramble Berry was been named in Saponifier Magazine’s annual awards as Favorite Soap/Cosmetic Ingredient Supplier, Favorite Essential Oil Supplier, and (drum roll please…) Favorite Overall Supplier! Wahoooo!

We are super grateful for the awards (and your support and your business and your parenting advice and your humor and so much more!). But, really, it’s all about the team and this award is definitely for them. What better to show them how awesome they are than with SUGAR! (duh!) Voila! Cupcakes, cookies, and balloons! [Read more…]

Cuticle Salve Recipe

November 6, 2012 Filed Under: Lotion

I’m totally loving the weather right now – windy, rainy, and super cold, perfect weather for an active toddler who would love nothing more than to be outside. Woo hoo! Puddles! Honestly though, I love the fact that the cold weather has created an opportunity for me to develop this all-natural cuticle salve recipe. See what I did there? See how I turned that around? #SilverLining. Ahem. Bring it on winter!

[Read more…]