Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Do you love Bramble Berry’s line of Silicone Kudos Molds? We love them too and it’s time to add more molds to the selection. That’s where you come in. Which molds would you like to see added to the Bramble Berry line?
Take 2 minutes to take the survey and check all of the molds that you would like to see at Bramble Berry! There are 38 fun designs to choose from. Take the survey HERE. Thanks, good luck and have fun!
Take the Survey HERE!
I’m happily adjusting to mommyhood and getting into a groove where I can make it into the Bramble Berry office a couple afternoons a week and work from home most mornings. Tuesday, I popped in to do an MSN.com interview for Bramble Berry’s Small Business of the Year Award for Washington State. They wouldn’t tell me the exact air date but I’ll be sure to keep you all updated.
The film crew was awesome!
Notice all the kid friendly decals on the wall? I’m hoping he doesn’t peel them off and eat them up!
My wonderful husband by my side to help with Jamisen when I was in the hot seat. The boys are working together in the BB conference room
They filmed all throughout the warehouse too so hopefully that part will make it into the final cut. You may get your chance to see some of the Bramble Berry warehouse!
I hope Alaa wasn’t too nervous pouring fragrances with the camera on her. She has a steady hand and I hope she makes the final editing cut. =)
Thank you to everyone that posted comments and suggestions to the eh hem, gassy baby issue. I am doing everything + a bit more: I’m off dairy, we’ve tried probiotics, no probiotics, no prenatal vitamins for Mom, prenatal vitamins for Mom, no soy for Mom, baby chiropractor appointments, two kinds of gripe water, 1 homeopathic treatment, chamomile tea for Mommy, chamomile tea (small amounts) for baby, fennel tea for Mommy (lots and lots of it!), a million different burp baby positions, feeding him upright + more. Something is working or some combination of things is working because Lil Man is decidedly less gassy. Thank you for all of your helpful suggestions. I’m going to keep doing all of it and then some just to make sure that Jamisen stays as happy and healthy as possible.
I will leave you with this photo of Jamisen after his first shower. He loved the warm water and so sooooo relaxed when it was all over.
Enter to win a chance to test 8 NEW Summer fragrances!
What’s the S.O.A.P. panel you ask? Soap Opinion (Awesome) Panel members will receive 8 one ounce fragrance samples of our top summer choices for Summer 2011. Give the cutting-edge fragrances a sniff AND test them in any product you like (really, anything you want). Then fill out a survey to help distinguish the top choices. We want your honest opinion and notes on testing!
How to apply: Tweet, Facebook or Blog about your favorite Bramble Berry product (including links) and why you should be selected for the S.O.A.P. Panel. We’ll announce the finalists on Monday, May 16th so get your tweets, posts and blogs done by the end of the weekend! 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)!
Fine Print: We will be sending the fragrances out next week and we would like the surveys complete by June 20th, which gives you about a month to test the fragrances. Please keep these dates in mind before you enter. We looking for an accountable and enthusiastic panel!
Have you been on the S.O.A.P. panel before? Feel free to enter again!
Check out the new Spring fragrances that we added from the last Floral S.O.A.P. Panel (read about the new fragrances here) AND see some of the testing from the floral panel here. We had such a great testing team. They really went all out.
Ruth from Sirona Springs was on the spring floral panel. She went above and beyond our testing expectations.
Fine Print: We normally welcome international entries but unfortunately these fragrances cannot ship overseas.
Did you miss the contest? If so, you can read about it here. But don’t worry, you can still cash in on the Aloha Mold promotion. Keep reading…
Congratulations to the following WINNERS (picked at random)!
Laurie: “I would like a “FULL” moon. All I can find are half-moons!”
Ema: “Suitcases!!! Who couldn’t use travel size soaps that are already ready for the trip?”
Holly: “I have been looking for cute owl soap molds! Owls are super trendy right now, and there isn’t a lot out there.”
Marion Catalano: “I love snails, those cute ones with the house attached,I grew up with them in Germany, I can’t really find them here in America……”
Winners, please email info(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your shipping address and let us know which FOUR molds you would like. Browse the molds you can choose from HERE.
Thank you for all who participated. We got some really good ideas for new mold designs! We also got some really funny replies like a mold that lines itself and prevents soda ash from forming. Believe me, if there were something like that out there, we would be all over it!!
As a thank you for your participation, we want to give all of the Soap Queen Readers a promo code to use on any of the aloha molds. Promo Code: ALOHA20
Using this code will get you 20% off of any of our Aloha molds. See them all by clicking this link!
To use the code, just enter ALOHA20 in the coupon code section of the check out screen! Expires May 31st.
Happy Mother’s Day from Team Bramble Berry
It will come as no surprise to anyone with children that our entire lives have shifted with Jamisen’s arrival. We are both tired and euphoric, all the time, and every day brings exciting new challenge and joy. I’ve been taking Jamisen to work with me a few afternoons and so far, it’s been highly inefficient but when your tummy is the size of a golf ball, ya’ gotta wake up to eat a lot. It probably doesn’t help the efficiency that my grasp of the English language seems to have diminished greatly along with my sleep.
Working from home has been a bit easier (missed the home set up post? Click here to see it) because all of the bag o’ tricks (swing, official changing table, lots of different clothes, all kinds of swaddling clothes, four kinds of pacifiers) is at home. I’m still getting to know Jamisen so I don’t always know what to do when he screams so having a multitude of options to try and soothe him has saved me on more than one occasion.
Sometimes, he does scream inconsolably and I don’t know what to do. It seems that our little guy might be a bit gassy. I’m going to eliminate dairy from my diet; we have two kinds of gripe water; lil man is on baby probiotics but if anyone has any suggestions on how to relieve his pain, I’d love to hear it. There’s not a lot worse in life than hearing your child cry in pain and not be able to fix it.
There is no doubt that this lil man, gas or not, is exceedingly loved by everyone in his life. Grandma and Grandpa are especially delighted with him. In fact, I’m pretty sure they don’t notice if me and Chris are in the room when Jamisen is there. We’re okay with him being the show stopper though; he’s the show stopper in our lives too.
This was baby Jamisen’s first day at the Bramble Berry office. We tried to get him to help out with the swap organization but his Mamma put him in a pretty deep food coma. He was out like a light! And could he be any cuter? I mean…could he possibly. Be. Any. Cuter?
I know you’re all excited about the soap swap. It’s like Christmas in May! Team Bramble Berry has been hard at work getting everything organized so we can get these swap boxes out the door this week! Feast your eyes (below) on just a small fraction of the soaps that came in for the swap.
If you received the Bramble Berry Newsletter last week then this is the blog post you’ve been waiting for. This is the post where you have a chance to win some of the hottest summer soap molds! See contest rules at the bottom of the post).
It’s finally time for the S.O.A.P. panel (floral edition) fragrance oil reveal (bells and whistles)! The top three fragrances are in the warehouse and ready to order. Bramble Berry is pleased to introduce to you Cherry Blossom, Orange Grove, and Eucalyptus Blossom!
Cherry Blossom Fragrance Oil: This lighter fragrance is a fruity floral delight for the senses; with notes of sweet pomegranate seeds, tart juicy currant mingling beautifully with pink cherry blossom and delicate white magnolia, this is a floral that will quietly steal your heart and have you bursting into song for no reason. This was one of the mystery fragrances in our Spring 2011 S.O.A.P. panel and it was a big hit with it’s fresh and clean scent. Does not discolor or accelerate trace in Cold Process soap.
S.O.A.P. Team Reaction: “Heaven! Sweet clean smell favorite in alllllllllllllll products!!!! Will be buying this one as sooooon as it’s ready!!!!!!!! I am in love with this and it preformed well in CP. No problems”
Home office is officially set up! Jamisen loves working with Mom.
I can’t get through a day without a warm cup of tea (I’m that way at the BB office), my multiple laptops, the iPhone close at hand and yes, lil’ man right beside me all the time. It’s been a great couple of days working from home.
On this scrubby episode of Soap Queen TV I’m going to teach you how to make two different types of exfoliating melt and pour soaps. I used our shredded loofah in a loaf mold and an actual loofah sponge in our popular 12 bar silicone mold. After we shot this episode I gave away some of the loofah sponge soaps to friends and family. It was such a hit they’ve already requested more! I know you’ll love it too!
Ingredients for Shredded Loofah
Clear M&P Base
Lemon Essential Oil
Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil
Canary LabColor
Bright Cherry LabColor
12 Bar Square Silicone Mold
Get the ingredients to make the Tie-Dye soap project in the video here.
Ingredients for Loofah Sponge Soap
Clear M&P Base
Red Apple fragrance
Hydrated Chrome Green Oxide
Loaf Mold
Crinkle Cutter
Get the ingredients to make the Layered Loofah soap here.
ELF Wooden Soap Mold – Made by our brother company company, ELF Industrial (www.soapmolds.com), this log mold is made out of ¾” Unfinished Birch Wood and features a hook and eye latching system for years of use. As with all wood molds, you should always line the mold with plastic or butcher paper for each use. Final Soap Log Dimensions: 2 3/4″ x 3 1/2″ x 17 1/2″.
We hope everyone is enjoying their Easter weekend with friends and family!
-Team Bramble Berry
