Soap Queen

Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more

Tutorials by difficulty level:

Hello to Health Day 7: Fresh Air & Sun

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Fresh Air and Sunshine

My Husband and I are soaking up some Vitamin D in Seabrook, WA.

We know it’s been a miserable summer with way too much heat in most of the country (or in the PNW, no heat!), so suggesting that you go out and play in the fresh air and sunshine may sound like cruel and unusual punishment. So let’s just agree that we’re talking about fresh air and sunshine are necessary for optimal health when the temperature outside is below triple digits!

If the average person kept a diary of how much time they spent outside versus inside, time under an open sky would be surprisingly miniscule. Most of us have jobs that tie us to our desks, and our exposure to fresh air and sunshine is limited to a run to the corner espresso stand and periodically taking out the garbage.

[Read more…]

Baby in the Pumpkin

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I bet when you saw the title of this blog, you didn’t think I literally meant ‘Baby in the Pumpkin’ but yes, we carved out a pumpkin and all in the name of fun photography, stuck Jamisen in the pumpkin

Oct 2011

The baby in the pumpkin did make this year more memorable than previous years. We had an extra fun time carving our pumpkin this year! As you can see, we did it a little differently than the traditional Pumpkin =)

[Read more…]

New Videos at Bramble Berry Just for YOU!

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

It’s here! It’s here! The very special tutorial we filmed with Kristy Schemrich of Kristy’s Lovely Lathers is ready for you to watch! Now you can learn to make amazing soaps like Kristy for just a few dollars. I had such a wonderful time with Kristy when she and her husband came all the way to Bellingham this summer. In fact, I have an entire video of bloopers from when we were filming that prove it. And yes, that’s Amber laughing hysterically in the background.

Embedded Neon Soap Online Tutorial

Learn to make a striking Swirled and Embedded Soap Loaf in this online soap tutorial. Taught by Kristy Schemrich of Kristy’s Lovely Lathers and Anne-Marie Faiola of Soap Queen, you couldn’t be in better hands to learn this complex looking project. They break it down step-by-step for you to easily follow along and make the entire project from start to finish. At over 15 minutes, this is a longer, more detailed video than our free Soap Queen TV videos, and for less than $4 how can you go wrong?

[Read more…]

How to Line Any Mold

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

If you’re thinking about getting into cold process soapmaking then you’re probably going to need to learn how to line a soap mold. Fear not, I’m here to help!

This is the technique I always use when lining molds. When you get the basics down, you’ll be able to line any sized mold. I think that I speak for many people out there when I say that I would rather scrub the kitchen floor with a toothbrush than line a mold. Does anyone despise lining molds as much as me? (Did I go too far with the tooth brush analogy?) However, we must put in the work before we get to play. This technique is fast and easy for me. So I thought I would share it with the world…or at least the soapmaking world.

With this technique we’ll be cutting out one big piece of freezer paper that covers the bottom of the mold and the long sides. Then we’ll cut two smaller pieces that will just cover the ends. This technique works on any mold.

[Read more…]

Maak Soap Lab

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Maak Soap Lab is from Portland Oregon, just around the corner from Bellingham! (Well technically 4 hours down the coast, but you get my drift). We first discovered Maak when we hosted a contest with Fair Ivy (read about the contest here). We fell in love with their detailed packaging, ‘modern rustic’ look and clean website design and it’s a double bonus that they’re located in our neck of the woods, the fabulous Pacific Northwest! Check out the goodies I just bought.

[Read more…]

Soapy S.O.A.P. Mash Up

Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thank you to all of the S.O.A.P. team members who tested the new fragrance oils for Fall. Three fragrances made the cut and they’ve already been ordered. In fact, we’re expecting them any day now. I can’t tell you what they are yet…you’ll have to wait just a couple more days to see which scents made the final fragrance oil roster. I also wanted to give a shout out and big THANK YOU to each and every S.O.A.P. team member. You gals blew it out of the water with your creativity and variety of testing. I can’t say it enough! I had so much fun reading your results and blog posts. You’ve definitely set a high bar for the next S.O.A.P. team!

[Read more…]

Hello to Health Day 6: Eat More Greens

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Eat More Greens

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know this because our parents have been pushing this idea on us ever since we were old enough to hold a spoon. But now, rather than eating your broccoli in response to the all-purpose “Eat it ‘cause it’s good for you” exhortation, you have many more excellent—even exciting—reasons to eat more greens.

Blending your veggies is a good way to get them in. Try my “Green Smoothie” recipe. It’s packed with fresh veggies and spinach!

[Read more…]

Pumpkin Patch Family Fun

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

We have had a fantastic weekend with family. I feel so lucky that my folks were able to come up for the entire weekend. We explored Stoney Ridge Farm today and wow, was it packed full of families! I haven’t seen that many families in one place ever! Of course, once we visit Disneyland, that statement will probably change.

Oct 2011

Jamisen has never seen farm animals before. In fact, besides a few adorable niece and nephew dogs, he’s never seen ANY animals before. He seemed interested.

[Read more…]

Apple Jack Peel for Fall

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Are you ready to get creative with a new cold process technique? Then this is the project for you. I got a little crazy and experimented with a third divider in the vertical mold. And to get even more creative I added powdered goat milk to the recipe. Powdered Goat milk is easier to use and store than fresh goat milk and is very quick to mix-up when using our little mini-mixer tool. You’ll also notice in the instructions that I added the goat milk at trace, which is an easy way to add the goat milk without turning the soap brown. Oh…and if you’ve never used Apple Jack Peel, you’re in for a real treat! Enjoy!

[Read more…]

Be Cool, Cold Call

Filed Under: Business Musings

The last couple of months we’ve had a lot of questions on the Soap Queen Blog, Facebook Fan Page and in customer service requesting wholesale advice. It’s been so long (over a decade now!) since I’ve sold my soaps wholesale, I thought I would reach out to some of my successful soaping friends to share some current best practices and advice with the Soap Queen readers. I’ve already posted advice from Soapylove and KBShimmer so be sure see those blog posts too.

Today’s guest bloggers are Jeanee Duvall of Dirty Laundry, and Oddette Handley of Riverlea Soap! Enjoy!

-Anne-Marie

Odette from Riverlea Soaps also has some great tips:

[Read more…]

Look But Do Not Eat!

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Have you ever been to the Bramble Berry Facebook fan page? If not, head over there right now and join the helpful, inspirational and soap enthused community. It’s a really fun place to share projects, troubleshoot recipes and get feedback on your soap related projects (from soaping fanatics). I’m on Facebook every single day as part of my job. How lucky am I? I get to connect with Bramble Berry’s customers and drool over beautiful soap projects every day. Life is good!

[Read more…]

Hello to Health Day 5: Community

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Importance of Community

Back in the 1950s—the “Happy Days” of American society—people didn’t talk about the value of community much. They didn’t need to, because they lived it. Most people lived in tight nuclear families, they knew their neighbors, they belonged to neighborhood churches, they participated in local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, they were members of school clubs (yes, including glee club!) and local service organizations like the Rotary Club, and people chose a career and stuck with it, often staying at the same job for all their adult life. These were all communities within communities connected to other communities.

Fabulous community of friends 

[Read more…]

Jamisen’s First Food

Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

My parents fed me ice cream at 3 weeks old for my first food so in keeping with the inappropriate dairy choices for children, we are keeping that magic alive with Jamisen’s first food taste.

Behold … whipped cream!

Sept 2011

[Read more…]