Soaping Notes
I’ve been making a lot of soap in the last few weeks – testing out new products, trying fun techniques, putting a different spin on color schemes and generally having a creative time in the Soap Lab. I made the soap below with Labcolors (Canary, Tangerine, Red and Berry Red) and the always delightful Pineapple Cilantro fragrance. You can tell that this was a batch that I was playing with some swirling and design techniques on. That’s the bonus of a wide, flat horizontal mold – lots of canvas to play on.
Bite Me Not Lotion Bar
Summer is the season of days by the pool, nights by the barbecue, and (queue scary music) mosquitoes! Keep the bugs away without synthetic chemicals this summer by making your own all natural “bug off” lotion bar. We’ve custom blended some essential oils to keep bugs away and keep you smelling great all summer long. Apply the lotion bar to your legs and arms and let the bugs beware!
Buy everything you need in the click of a button!
(remember you can always add or delete items from your shopping cart if needed) [Read more…]
Aloha Mold Promotional Code
Happy summer! It’s time for another Aloha Soap Mold promotional coupon code. Did someone say coupon code? Do we have your attention now? This summer’s code will get you 30% off any of our Aloha Molds (See them all here). Please go to our Facebook page to get the promotional coupon code. If you’re not an official fan yet, you’ll have to “like” our page in order to view the coupon code. Hey…it’s totally worth it for 30% off some super cute molds!
The soaps pictured above were made with Clear Melt and Pour, Tangerine Wow Colorant, Electric Bubble Gum Colorant, Fizzy Lemonade Colorant, Luster black Mica and Super Pearly White Mica. Scented with Pikake Flower Fragrance Oil. If you have ever been to Hawaii and love the tropical floral smell when you first step off the plane, then you will LOVE this fragrance oil. [Read more…]
The Ants Come Marching One By One
Hurrah! Would you like to learn how to make this soap – and get access to exclusive, newsletter-only deals? The Bramble Berry Newsletter is scheduled to go out tomorrow. Sign up for it on the Bramble Berry Homepage (mid way down on the right). It’s a double opt-in process so be sure to click the link that gets sent to your email so you don’t miss the newsletter.
New Soapylove Tropical Kit
Bramble Berry is thrilled to announce the latest and greatest Soapylove Kit featuring tropical colors and a fragrance oil that will send your mind to an island getaway! Debbie Chialtas, the founder of Soapylove, designed this exclusive kit just for Bramble Berry customers. See more of Soapylove products on the Bramble Berry website. Debbie also has done quite a few innovative and inspirational tutorials for the Soap Queen blog. You can find them all here.
Island Style Soap Colorant Kit: Transport yourself to the tropical islands with the Soapylove Island Style Kit! Inspired by vibrant tones found in flowers, foliage, and the wonderful sunshine. Mix and match to create your own color fantasy! For even more of a getaway enjoy the delicious fragrance of Guava Shave Ice, included in this deluxe kit. Click HERE to get your Island Style Soap Colorant Kit (before they fly off the shelves for summer)!
The tropical colors scheme just screamed to be used in the Soapylove Rainbow Mold! They’re super cute in solid colors or you can get creative and lightly color each individual rainbow stripe. The island inspired soap colorants are dyes that are specifically designed to be bright, happy and easy to use in melt and pour soap. Enjoy blending Aloha Yellow, Purple Paradise and Orchid Pink in your tropical creations. Now, I know what you’re thinking, dyes usually bleed in melt and pour soap. You are correct. In the soap above, we used such a tiny amount of the colorant that it didn’t bleed (and still hasn’t bled after two weeks- score!) . Keep your eyes peeled for a tutorial to come on the delightful rainbow soap above!
Check out the entire SoapyLove Line HERE!
SWI is Full and Jamisen is Mobile
We made the most of our Memorial Day. While hiking to Clayton Beach, Chris and I told Jamisen all about Memorial Day (and if the link I gave you yesterday didn’t have you tearing up enough, this is an even better narrative about the emotional costs of war). Jamisen listened quietly and seemed to appreciate the gravity of the message. After all the talking, he was delighted to be let down to crawl around the beach. It was his first experience wit the sand and he went for it – crawling all over and generally showing a fiercely independent streak.
Mini Mac’n’Cheeses, Slides and Bonnets
We are having a lovely family weekend thus far – and it’s only 2/3rd of the way through! Bramble Berry is closed for Memorial Day. Chris and I are delighted to have an extra full day with our baby boy but we recognize that it’s just not another day off. It’s a day of reflection, remembrance and gratitude. We plan to start tomorrow by telling him about the importance of Memorial Day, starting his education about our Armed Forces and the sacrifices they and their families make. If you do nothing else this weekend, please read this article. It moved me to tears (in a good way).
We hosted a wine tasting party Friday night and learned a lot about Washington State wines. Our expert guests (Masquerade Wines) actually made the Gold Medal 2012 Cabernet Sauvingon for Washington State so they had a lot of great information to impart based on real-deal experience.
Before we filled our house with people, my Mastermind Group (or at least most of them!) got together for paddleboarding. It was such a great workout and absolutely a soul-enhancing time. My smart business owner girlfriends inspire me. [Read more…]
The Entreprenurial Journey (with Food)
I had the pleasure of spending last weekend with one of my Mastermind Groups (what’s a Mastermind Mind group? I’ve written about the concept here). The Women President’s Organization operates chapters all over the world for women entrepreneurs that gross over $1million in revenue and are running companies. The group exists to foster business education and relationships and help all the members on their entrepreneurial journey. I’m on hiatus from the group after having the oh-so-lovely Jamisen (side note: apparently he really is lovely because everywhere we go, he is mistaken for a baby girl) but was honored and thrilled when the group asked me to join them on their annual retreat.
The retreat was held at the Inn at Langley. The Inn at Langley has made all kinds of ‘Top this and that’ lists for best destination, best food etc… and it lived up to its reputation. The former Mayor of Seattle, Paul Schell, runs the Inn with his warm and charming wife, Pam. They stop in to breakfast every morning to great their guests and thank them for staying there. It’s a classy touch. [Read more…]
Making Sunshine Cold Process Soap
Today’s episode is a 4 pound cold process recipe scented with 10X Orange Essential Oil and Yuzu Fragrance Oil. It’s a bright, effervescent and citrusy combination. I’m also going to show you how to use the Vertical Soap Mold, which is a great way to add variety to your cold process recipes. I split the batch and added Calendula petals to one half and Fizzy Lemonade Colorant to the other half, giving it a natural and bright look.
If you have never made cold process soap, stop right now and watch the first four videos on cold process soapmaking. It’s important to learn how to safely use lye safely and get a couple of basic recipes under your belt before you dive into the vertical mold soap, which is an advanced technique.
Learn to Make Sunshine Soap with Orange and Calendula from Soap Queen on Vimeo.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Soap Recipe:
1.3 oz Castor Oil
17.6 oz Coconut Oil
4.4 oz Palm Oil
17.6 oz Rice Bran Oil
3 oz Shea Butter
6.2 oz Lye
14.5 oz Distilled Water
Colors, Additives and Scents:
1/4 oz Calendula Petals
2 oz Yuzu Fragrance Oil
1 teaspoon Fizzy Lemonade Colorant
9 ml oil from the batch
2 oz Orange 10X Essential Oil
Get everything you need to make this soap here.
Business Insurance for the Handcrafted Industry
You have home owners insurance. You have car insurance. Should you get business liability insurance? Having business liability insurance is not mandated by law. If you wish to run a craft business without insurance, there is no governing agency that will force you to buy insurance. Your bank, should you ever get a loan, will ask you for insurance (they’d like to ensure they get repaid on their loans no matter what happens with your business). Buying insurance is a prudent choice to protect your family’s assets should anything go wrong in your handcrafted soap and toiletry business.
We live in a litigious society. People can sue or claim damages for anything and everything. If someone slips in the shower using your salt scrub, they could claim it was the fault of your scrub. If someone uses your soap and decides that the rash they developed the next day was from your soap, they can claim damages. They might not win a possible lawsuit but dealing with the issue would take valuable time away from you and your business. Additionally, any legal fees could be costly and put you and your family assets at risk. Finally, if your house were to (knock on wood, throw salt over your shoulder, turn around 3 times) burn or have fire damage, your business property might not be covered under your home owners insurance. [Read more…]
LaBomb Colorants!
Welcome back to Talk It Out Tuesday! Today we’ll be answering some frequently asked questions about Bramble Berry’s LaBomb colorants which are specifically made to color your bath bombs with ease and flare.
What is a bath bomb?
A bath bomb, also known as a bath fizzy, is basically a mixture of baking soda and citric acid. You can also add fragrance oil, witch hazel and other fun additives like fixed oils, clays and SLS to add bubbles. When the bath bomb is dropped into the tub it fizzes and spins to release fragrance and skin-softening goodness. Bath bombs are easy to make in all sorts of shapes and scents, and you can even make them into realistic-looking cupcakes! Best of all, bath bombs are family-friendly, fun to make and even more fun to use. [Read more…]
Natural Colorants for Melt and Pour Soap
For those of you who are going all-natural and are looking for some colorant options that aren’t dull gray, green or brown, try these! You’ll be surprised how vibrant some natural pigments can be!
Activated Charcoal: Creates a solid black without having to use much pigment. Mixes in easily like a mica. Works great in melt-and-pour and cold process.
Kaolin Clay: More typically used in mineral makeup than as a soap colorant, but I tried it anyway. Very clumpy unless you break it down in a liquid first. Notice it looks slightly pink in the image; that’s because I had a little rose clay left on my spoon! Oops. Titanium dioxide is another great whitening agent.
Rose Clay: Lovely pink in both cold process and melt-and-pour. Needs to be broken down in a liquid first or you will be fishing for clumps. Rose clay is a mild Kaolin Clay.
Safflower Powder: Makes a gorgeous yellow in cold process and melt-and-pour. Another pigment that should be broken down first in liquid because of its clumpy nature. I like the little flecks that are visible in this clear base!
Spirulina: Also known as Kelp and smells very fishy. I add a strong essential oil (like peppermint or lime) to this layer to mask the scent. Needs to be broken down in liquid and tends to leave flecks of pigment. Try pouring your colored melt-and-pour soap through a sifter or strainer to catch lumps of color.
For even more colorant options and infusing tips and tricks, make sure to read this book on infusing herbs. [Read more…]
Ten Pins for the Kids
The other weekend, Team Bramble Berry headed out to the local bowling alley to participate in an extra special event. Every year, Big Brothers, Big Sisters has a nation-wide fundraising event called Bowl for Kid’s Sake, and the Bramble Bowlers jumped at the chance to help out.
From BBBS website: “Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington is the largest mentoring organization in Northwest Washington, serving over 400 children annually in Whatcom and Skagit counties.”
Unfortunately, Jamisen’s nap went late and I wasn’t able to make it. I had the perfect little outfit picked out for him and everything, darn it! But aside from missing an opportunity to hang out with my team and show off Jamisen’s outfit, I didn’t have a thing to worry about. Bramble Berry’s Bramble Bowlers rocked it frame to frame!
Elizabeth from customer service, DJ from picking, Katie from picking, and Mark from processing [Read more…]