Anne-Marie Faiola, Author at Soap Queen

Pumping up the Detail on your Soaps

March 23, 2010 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

This project was originally published on The Soap King blog (run by our retail store, Otion). Thank you Erik and Kat for a great technique post!

Rubbing in a little mica pigment on the surface of a soap will pop out that gorgeous detail that may normally go unnoticed. This trick is super easy and the results are very dramatic. For this project, I made my melt-and-pour soap like normal, used a clear soap base that I colored with a variety of mica pigments, and scented it with Woodland Elves fragrance oil. But instead of calling it done with the de-molding, I added a special touch to finish my soap. Remember, it’s those extra little efforts that will catch the eye.

You will need:

Abstract wings flexible mold

Opalescent green mica

Heavy metal gold mica

Rubbing alcohol

Step One: Pour a variety of colors and swirls for a basic bar. After de-molding your melt-and-pour soap, spray with rubbing alcohol to create a slick surface for rubbing in the pigment.

Step Two: Using a mini-scoop, tap a very small amount of opalescent green mica on a paper towel and then rub all over the surface of your soap. Repeat with the heavy gold mica. The deep parts of the detail in the soap will contrast beautifully against the higher surface that catches the pigment.

Before and After. Less is more! I like to apply the gold in patches on top of the opalescent green mica to create depth.

Try this technique with different colors. The darker your soap is to begin with, the more stunning the detail.

Be a More Effective Mind Changer

March 22, 2010 Filed Under: Business Musings

From DailyGood

Famed Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, noted for his theory of multiple intelligences, recently published Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People’s Minds. The book outlines Gardner’s research and thinking on how best to convince others (or yourself) to adopt a different viewpoint in various settings, including business. In this interview Gardner talks about the difficulties inherent in the process of changing someone’s mind and the seven “levers” by which leaders can accomplish it.Check out the interview if you want to be more persuasive.

Sneak Peak: KBShimmer on Soap Queen TV!

March 22, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

To end the busy weekend with a bang, yesterday we finished filming 2 premium episodes of Soap Queen TV with speical guest, Christy Rose from KBShimmer (swirling expert extraordinaire). I had a blast and the advanced soap recipes turned out gorgeous! Thank you SO MUCH for making the trip to Bellingham, Christy! You were a joy to work with!

Sunday’s Photo Album

We just went over our scripts and are about to start filming!

Christy swirling the Lavender and Lemon soap.

This is the “In the Pot Swirl” soap

Cutting the Energy soap.
That’s a wrap!

See more of KBShimmer here (website) and here (Etsy)!

Stupendous Saturday Continues

March 20, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Hi Team,

The Stupendous (busy!) Saturday has almost come to a close and I am all the worse in energy levels for it (ha ha). Between working out, studying scripts for the premium SoapQueen.TV episode filming tomorrow on Swirling Cold Process Soap, entertaining our enchanting out-of-town SQTV star and speaking at the MoneyWi$e Women’s conference, I am pretty delighted that my day is over (for the next 12 hours at least).

What a blessing the day was, though! The speakers at the MoneyWi$e Women’s Conference were all top notch. I heard Debbie Lacy talk about taming money fears. My two take aways from her talk were: (1) Is it your fear or is it your partner’s fear? If it’s your partner’s fear, drop it. There’s no use fretting about their fear. (2) If it is your fear, acknowledge it, name it and then re-frame it in a way that is a positive, celebratory way. You don’t need to keep owning negative fears around money.

Anny Havland, blog here

Next, I attended Anny Havland’s (above) talk around creating long-term wealth through real estate. She had helpful tips around how to qualify for a home loan (good credit, not surprisingly, was key) as well as some common myths for home mortgages. Did you know that using one of those servicing companies to set up a bi-weekly mortgage payment can be done without a servicing company (and their fees?). What the bi-weekly companies do is just have you paying 13 months of payments per year (rather than 12). This is something you can do on your own, either by paying 1/12th extra per month to your mortgage principal or making one extra payment per year (with your servicing brokerage’s help). Learn more about this idea here and read Anny’s financial blog here.

I spoke on the importance of determining your own destiny and taking charge of your finances through goal setting. While I can’t say for certain what the take aways from the audience were, here are what I was hoping they would take away:

1. Baby steps equal greatness. Small incremental amounts of efforts over time creative mind-blowing results. Just put one foot in front of the other and do the same boring thing that’s working, day in and day out, and you’ll be happily shocked at where it takes you in 1, 3 or 10 years.

2. Plan, little mouse, plan! Having a hard time getting your friends and family to tell you that you have the best idea ever is more difficult if you don’t have a plan. My favorite book for helping out with business plans (and determining mission and values) is The Rockerfeller Habits.

3. Start small and start now. Use 99Designs.com for fast, inexpensive graphic design and Elance.com for affordable copy writing and webdesign. Succeed on your terms and on what you can afford. Go for the awesome branding package and website design package when you’re past start-up page.

With Marcia Brixey, the founder of MoneyWi$e

Tonight, my husband and I took our special SoapQueen.TVguest and her husband out for dinner. She came all the way to Bellingham,WA from Terra Haute, Indiana. We are honored to have her as a guest and I am excited to introduce her to you tomorrow. Until then, happy soaping!

Stupendous Saturday

March 20, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Hi Team,

I have such an awesome weekend planned and I can’t wait to share it with you. This morning, I put the finishing touches on the scripts for tomorrow’s filming of SoapQueen.TV. We have a secret surprise guest in town to help me film the shows. The two premium content SoapQueen.TVepisodes will cover cold process swirling secrets and I can hardly wait to share them with you.

Before that happens though, I am speaking at the MoneyWise Conference on how self-employment and controlling your own destiny is totally the way to go. I will definitely post my top take aways from the portion of the conference I am able to attend. I also have a super fun soapmaker interview for this week as well as my take aways from a Learning At Lunch I attended this week with the Alaska Airlines CEO. It’s going to be a jam packed weekend (and week) and I wanted to post to let you know that I am working on some great content to share with you. Until then, happy soaping!

Soap Queen TV – Whipped Soap Cupcakes

March 18, 2010 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

They look like cupcakes, they smell like cupcakes, but don’t be fooled, they’re soaps! Learn how to make soap cupcakes with whipped frosting in this episode of Soap Queen TV. Using the same technique Debbie shared on the Soap Queen blog (in this tutorial), I make a soapy replica of the Lavender Vanilla Cupcake from Cupcake Royale.

How to make Soap Cupcakes with Whipped Frosting from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

Here’s what you’ll need for the cupcake base:
40 oz. White Melt & Pour Soap
1 1/2 oz. Vanilla Select Fragrance Oil
1 1/2 oz. Vanilla Color Stabilizer
6 ml Canary LabColor (diluted)
SoapyLove Scalloped Round Mold

Here’s what you’ll need for the soap frosting:
16 oz White Melt & Pour Soap
8 Tbsp Natural Castile Liquid Soap
9 ml Royal Purple LabColor (diluted)
1 oz Lavender Fragrance Oil
SoapyLove Jojoba Bead Mix

Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!

DIY Wine Aroma Kit

March 17, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Next week I’m headed to the 2010 “Taste Washington” (a top food and wine show in the Pacific Northwest with classes, tastings and food) and I’ve been researching wine aromas and how to improve your wine palate. You can improve your wine sniffing abilities by training your nose to identify notes in different wines. There are kits out there to help you with this or … I was thinking a little DIY Bramble Berry action might be in order!

Put together your own wine aroma kit for a fun evening or dinner party with your friends. If DIY isn’t your style, this is the kit I’ve been drooling over on Amazon.com: Le NEz du Vin Red Wine Aromas

Common wine aromas that you can find at Bramble Berry

Fruits:Lemon, Grapefruit, Orange, Strawberry

Florals: Lavender, Violet,

Vegetal: Thyme, Pine, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Clove, Licorice,

Animal: Leather, Musk

Grilled: Dark Rich Chocolate, Toasted Bread, CaramelUsing a wine aroma tasting kit is simple: you put your nose into a large bulbous glass with wine in it, identify three or four fragrances and then compare your nose to the tasting notes that the vinter will provide on their website or through a store. Using the wine aroma tasting kit, you can improve your sensory skills by implanting a sensory ‘memory’ each time you need to pinpoint a particular aroma. Or, make a game out of it at your next party – let your guests smell the fragrances on blotters and ask them to identify the notes. Turn learning into something fun and create what you love (with Bramble Berry) =))

Soap Weekend Intensive Sneak Peek

March 16, 2010 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

We have been busily working on the final details for the Otion Soap Intensive Weekend (August 13-15 in beautiful Bellingham, WA). Erin Pikor is a confirmed Melt and Pour teacher at this summer’s Soap Weekend Intensive. We are absolutely, head over heels, thrilled that she’ll be a part of the festivities. Check out Erin’s Etsy Shop, Naiad Soap Arts website and blog.

Here’s a sneak peek at one of the projects she’ll be teaching.

Easter Mash Up

March 16, 2010 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Wondering what to make for Easter this year? Check out our projects from Easters past.

Easter Grass Melt and Pour

Dying Easter Eggs with LabColors

Chicks, Cows and Bunnies

Wesson Oil and Fresca Easter Eggs

Rabbits Mold

Patience. It’s a Soapmaking Virtue.

March 15, 2010 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that the incomparable Amber accidentally ripped the divider off the side of the perfect swirl molds last week. This is what happens if you rip instead of slide.

When you’re using the Divider Molds (soon to be released, I promise), just gently wiggle and slide the side bars up the side of the soap. Always remember to slide the dividers off. Slide. Slide. Slide.

Women’s Leadership Summit 2010

March 14, 2010 Filed Under: Business Musings

Six weeks ago, my friend and mentor Shandel Slaten called me up and said “You know, I have this idea. Tell me if you think it’s crazy. I just won Coach of the Year. One of the bennies for winning that was that I could offer this awesome personality and values profile at a discount for just one month. I love helping people and I want to help as many people as possible. What do you think about the idea of me putting on a Women’s Leadership Summit?” I was on board. Until she said her next line: “… in six weeks.”

I’ve planned business retreats, ran a conference for 100 entrepreneurs on Rosario and been involved with other weekend events and planning on in 6 weeks seemed a little aggressive. But, if anyone could do it, it was Shandel. “I’m in!” I told her.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being in the audience with 130 other women as we explored what our natural personality types are and what motivates us to get up in the morning. I’ve taken these tests with True Life Coaching (Shandel’s company) before and have brought her up to Bellingham to coach my entire team. The tests are incredibly interesting, valuable and helpful for living a life with purpose.

Molly Wilmot from Pinks Original Bakery spoke about starting Pinks (formerly Mostly Muffins) and about her biggest lessons growing a business. My take aways from her talk were:

1. Always tell the truth. If you speak from the heart and put honesty first, you don’t need a PR company and you never need to spin anything.

2. Believe in yourself. Molly never believed in the early years that she would fail. It didn’t cross her mind. She just put one foot in front of the other and did what came naturally.

I was honored to speak at the event. I told the Bramble Berry story (starting out in my house with $15,000 on a credit card and no business experience) and went over some keys for Bramble Berry’s successful business journey.

1. Goals matter. Set goals. Make a roadmap. Follow the roadmap. No excuses.

2. Surround yourself with a strong support network – family, friends, employees, life and business coaches, Mastermind Groups, Accountability Groups – to have a better chance at succeeding.

3. Continual learning. Devour books. Read and learn from the best business minds possible to grow yourself as a person and as a leader of integrity within your family and your company.

The event was incredibly rewarding and I was grateful to be a part of it. Thank you to True Life Coaching for facilitating it.

And, if you’re interested in taking that next step in your personal life? Shandel is doing a Life 301 course (via phone) to help you determine your life’s purpose and dig down and figure out what your values are. I’ve taken it and the course was incredible. It helped me define what my values were so I could start to design my life with those values in mind. Four years later, I’m still finding value in the phone training course I took from Shandel.

Purpose Filled Leader

March 13, 2010 Filed Under: Business Musings

Guest Post by Shandel Slaten – I spoke at Shandel’s brainchild today, 2010 Women’s Leadership Summit in Seattle and can’t wait to share what I learned … tomorrow. Tonight, I’m hanging with my family and feeling energized by all of my newfound knowledge. Until then, enjoy Shandel’s Guest Post.

The continual pursuit of excellence in leadership fascinates and inspires me. In my simple way, I have observed there are flashy firework leaders and steadfast star leaders. The firework leaders are ones that come out with a bang, a spark, and a flash of brilliance that “ooooos” and “aaaaahs” the crowds as they are mesmerized by the exciting new light in the sky. All attention and admiration is completely focused on the show and the star-filled sky is forgotten and disregarded while the fireworks display their magic. However, the fireworks quickly die out and fade away after their burst of showmanship. Meanwhile, the stars still shine as they always have and provide consistent, steady, predictable beauty and guidance. Did you ever hear of someone navigating through stormy seas by fireworks? No, that’s ridiculous. Neither do people depend on firework leaders when they really need guidance and effective direction. Similiar to the sailor, we look to the steadfast stars to bring us through the turbulent times in our own personal or corporate lives. (read more after the jump by clicking the link below ….)

How then are star leaders born, or shall I say bred? I think it is through experiencing brokenness, being teachable, and enduring trials that people gain the lasting confidence, strength, and character required to be an effective leader. If you had the opportunity to see the latest Lord of the Rings movie, Return of the King, you will recall Aragon’s sword, Narsil, which lie in pieces. At just the right time, the sword was subjected first to the blazing melding fire and then to pounding of the hammer. Over and over it endured the trials of heat, pressure, and beating, but every blow was purposeful and every minute in the fire was refining the sword that it could be used for a higher purpose. That sword was a symbol of leadership. Was it any less valuable broken? I say no. Its value and worth were always there; lying latent, waiting for the opportunity to be made whole and useful. What it lacked was purpose and guidance on how to be used for the common good.

Like Aragon’s sword, I believe that only after you’ve been broken and endured refining fires and molding trials do you possess the confidence to lead forth with purpose and a true sense of usefulness. Otherwise, you may try to imitate the strength you believe a leader SHOULD have from all those books you’ve read and try to “act” like a leader with purpose, but you know the truth: your efforts resemble the fireworks or short bursts of light more than the lasting, steady brilliance of the stars. You’re not fooling anyone and here’s a sample list of what may be giving your firework show away: arrogance, “feeling “powerful, demanding to be served, out of control emotions, putting others down so you can feel better about yourself, and the need for more, more, more. Believe me if you’ve fooled them at the office, you haven’t fooled them at home. Oh people may “oooo” and “aaaah” for awhile and serve you out of fear, but soon the flash of lights will fade and once the show is over (and someday the show will be over) those you thought your fans will sigh with relief to be free from the tyranny. They will look for that leader who is a bright shining star that will humbly and confidently lead them toward “true north.”

As we enter this new quarter, be honest with yourself and evaluate if you are more like a firework or a star leader to those looking up at you? What can you do in this next year to be teachable, “coachable” (if you will) and moldable so that you won’t miss the opportunity to become a leader with purpose and be used for the good of all mankind? Maybe you’ve so confused flashes of light for true success that you’re not sure where you’re headed or if people are following or if they are, in which direction the ship is sailing. Slow down, breathe, get help, relax, and listen. Look up from your daily routines and busyness, find the big dipper, and then follow it to the North Star. You’ll always find true north if you look up from where life has you and make the effort to seek guidance or tools necessary to persevere through trials and the wisdom required to be a purpose-filled leader.

For more about Shandel Slaten, visit her webiste True Life Coaching.

Soap Intensive Weekend – August 13-15

March 12, 2010 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Otion’s popular Soap Intensive Weekend is officially taking registrations. Located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with access to two airports (Seattle and Bellingham), getting here is a snap. With our Cold Process soap expert flying over from Australia (Jude Birch from Aussie Soap Supplies) and a brand new Melt and Pour expert completely with rockin’ new ideas, this Soap Intensive Weekend will be sweet. Erin Pikor wrote two of the most popular Soap Queen blogs ever (frosted CP cupcakes & solid sugar scrub). Her projects are crowd pleasers with style.

Otion’s jam-packed weekends usually book out at $1250 per weekend but the Soap Intensive Weekend is just $350. Want to join in the soapy sweet fun? Sign up here.

PS – Here are some of the blog posts from SWI’s from previous years to read over and drool.

Don’t be Fooled with Fools Gold Soap

March 11, 2010 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

It’s time to start planning your April Fools Day pranks!

Ingredients

23 oz Clear Soap Base

Heavy Metal Gold Mica

Gardenia Fragrance Oil

Brownie Pan Tray Mold

Soap Cutter

Soapy Tools

Paint Brush (optional)

ONE: Melt 23 oz of clear soap base in the microwave on 30 second intervals. Mix in 1/2 oz of fragrance oil and 4-6 heaping scoopsof Heavy Metal Gold Mica. Mix well and pour into your brownie pan tray mold. Let cool for 4-6 hours.

TWO: Once the soap has cooled, unmold the soap and and cut into bars (any size you want). We mixed it up and did several different sizes.

THREE: Use your soapy tool from PJ’s tool kit to carve “Gold” into the soap bar. For an extra special (and shiny) touch, brush on some of the heavy metal gold mica. Just dip a small paint brush into some rubbing alcohol then into your mica and paint the top of the soap.

Place liberally around your home on April 1 to surprise the loved ones in your life.