Soap Queen

Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more

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Are You the Next S.O.A.P. Panel Member?

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We’re looking for the latest and greatest fragrances to add to the Bramble Berry lineup…and we need your help! For the next week, we’re on the hunt for 8 soap mavens to help us decide what fragrances to add for Fall/Winter 2012. Check out the mash up blog post from the last soap panel so you can see how much fun testing can be!

What’s the S.O.A.P. panel, you ask? Soap Opinion (Awesome) Panel members will receive one ounce fragrance samples of our top 10 choices of fragrances that were designed especially for us. We’ve already tested all of the S.O.A.P. panel fragrances and they’ve gone through our own internal Brambleberrian panel so you’re getting the best of the best (!). Give the cutting-edge fragrances a sniff AND test them in any product you like (really, anything!). Then fill out a survey to help distinguish the top choices. We want your honest opinion and thorough notes on testing!

How to apply: Tweet, Facebook, Pin or Blog about your favorite Bramble Berry product (including links) and why you should be selected for the S.O.A.P. team. We’ll announce the finalists on Monday, August 13th so get your tweets, posts and blogs done by next week (you’ll have all weekend to work on it)! Note: Your Tweets should have @brambleberry someplace in the body of the Tweet (but make sure they don’t just get directed directly to @brambleberry or else no one else can see them)! Be sure to link your blog post below in the comments so we can read about it and tag your post on Facebook or Pinterest if you’re doing things that route.

The Fine Print: We will be sending the fragrances out by the end of next week and we would like the surveys complete by September 7, which gives you about 3 weeks to test the fragrances. Please keep these dates in mind before you enter. We are looking for an accountable and enthusiastic panel, so be sure that this works out with your schedule! Because these fragrances can’t ship internationally, we are not able accept international entries.

#Soap Sculpting Winners

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

I’m excited to announce the winners of the #Soap Sculpting Challenge. Team Bramble Berry had an absolute blast checking out all the amazing sculpty soaps that were submitted. Each one was  unique and special; at times we couldn’t even believe the photos were soap! Check out these fabulous sculpty soaps:

Lauren from Sunbasilgarden – ‘Caramel Apple (see  the tutorial for this realistic caramel apple soap here)

Jill from Calise Soapworks & Such: ‘Giant Rainbow Lolly Soaps’

Leeana from LoveLeeSoaps: – ‘Sushi Soaps’

Laura from Silly Sudz Soap: ‘Chocolate Chip Waffle Cone Soap’

Many thanks to everyone who particpated in the #Soap Sculpting Challenge (as well as the #Layers, #Embedding and #Swirling Challenges). We had fun oohing and aahing over the incredible soaps we’ve seen this summer. Keep your eyes peeled for later this fall when we will host our first ever Cold Process Challenge series.

Happy Soaping!

Palm Free Vertical Twist Tutorial

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Have you ever had one of those moments where you felt like testing your (soaping) boundaries to see how far you could take something but feared you would ruin an entire batch of soap? We’ve done a vertical twist project before, and it turned out awesome. But I wondered, what if we just kept on twisting the divider…? Ahem. It was new levels of soap happiness. If you’re a tactile learner and you’d like to see/hold/touch/smell this soap and experience it in person, we’ve put it in our etsy shop here so you can learn to make this palm-free soap.

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Business Blog Mashup – Managing Your Business

Filed Under: Business Musings

Welcome to our third business post mashup, a resource list from this blog for managing your business! These posts are compiled of my own musings, experiences, and also a few special guest posts. There’s a lot of info here, so I’ve broken it down into three parts: Customer Service, Leadership and Team Building, and general Business Management.

Customer Service

Running with Great Customer Service 

The Importance of Keeping A Customer (Guest Blog)

Being Defensive May Lose You Money

Calling Angry Customers Takes Guts

I’m Irritated, But I’m Not Sure If It’s Justified 

No Fare For You [Read more…]

Embedding Challenge Photo Mashup

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Need a bit of embedding or soaping inspiration? Our most recent Make it Monday challenge was the best yet(!). Tons of soapers headed on over to our Facebook page to share their #embedding soaps (see the winning soaps here). I’ve compiled all of the entries into one awesome embed-a-palooza! The keys to a successful embedded soap is temperature, non-bleeding colors and a lot of creativity. These soaps display that (and more). Enjoy.

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Baseballs, Burgers and Bells

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Have you ever thrown out the first pitch at a baseball game, or tossed a giant pair of dice in front of hundreds of people? Chalk it up to a day at the ballgame for Team Bramble Berry!

The Bellingham Bells are a team of collegiate-level players who participate in the West Cost League. They play during summer break from school, and travel from all over the west coast to compete. We were lucky enough to catch a game between the Bells and the Kelowna Falcons in a battle for the first place slot in the league! The Bells took the game, and I’m sure it was due to Team Bramble Berry’s well-established enthusiasm and cheering abilities. Those big lungs and big hearts were comforting when I was asked to throw out the first pitch (!) and Rachel and Carla from customer service were brought onto the field between the first and second innings to participate in a fun game of (GIANT) dice throwing! Get ready for a picture-heavy post… [Read more…]

Banana Quinoa Spelt-Whole Wheat Pancakes

Filed Under: Soap Queen Cuisine

I am obsessed (obsessed!) with Quinoa (pronouned “Keen-Wah”). It is a complete protein (amino score o 106), gluten-free, low-glycemic load (18) seed. One cup has 8 grams of protein. I use it in place of rice in many dishes and try to sneak it into a lot of other dishes, including pancakes! It’s become a Faiola-Renoud family household tradition to cook up a huge batch of these on Sunday with a variety of fruits tossed in (tip: if you refrigerate your fruit, you can cut it finely using a food processor so you don’t get fruit lumps in your pancakes). We’re obsessed with blueberry-banana right now.

Banana Quinoa Spelt-Whole Wheat Pancakes
~inspired by Parents Magazine recipe Banana-Quinoa Waffles, June 2012 issue [Read more…]

INS Numbers for Soapmaking

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

If you’ve been soaping for a while, you’ve probably heard the term ‘INS Number’ and if you’re like many soapers, you scratch your head, research it a bit and then keep soaping your favorite recipe. An INS number refers to a numerical value that explains or describes the properties an oil will have when reacted with sodium hydroxide to make bar soap. It relates to the degree of unsaturation and  molecular weight of the oil. Full disclosure: I don’t use INS numbers. I don’t find that they relate well to a finished batch of soap and how it will be perceived by me (or anyone) in the shower. The Bramble Berry lye calculator does not include INS numbers either. That said, some soapers swear by INS numbers though so like many soaping issues (example: to gel or not to gel?) using INS numbers is a personal preference.

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Loving Lotion at Otion

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Bramble Berry’s customer service team (what a great bunch of gals they are) had another fun team bonding experience at Otion last week! They made cold process as a team too so be sure to check out that post if you missed it (Cold Process and Customer Service). Team BB delved into the wonderful world of lotion making from scratch using Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter and luxurious fixed oils. The class was taught by Otion’s newest addition, Alycia! She’s already a pro at teaching classes so if you’re local and interested, check out Otion’s class schedule HERE!

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