Anne-Marie Faiola, Author at Soap Queen

Bramble Berry Cookie Exchange

December 21, 2009 Filed Under: Soap Queen Cuisine

This afternoon is Bramble Berry’s holiday party. The entire staff is doing a White Elephant and a Cookie Exchange (I’m super excited). I found this fabulous recipe in Food and Wine Magazine and got to work Sunday night so I could impress my fellow coworkers. I decided to plunge into Gingersnap Sandwich Cookies with Lemon Cream Filling (drool). I’ve already sampled a few and the verdict is: DELICIOUS! Here’s the recipe in case you need cookies for a last minute cookie exchange. The photo below was taken by the experts at Food and Wine Magazine. My cookies, I trust, taste just as good but eh hem, um, don’t look quite the same.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
Filling
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

ONE: Preheat the oven to 350° and position racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.TWO (the cookies): In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and molasses. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until incorporated, scraping down the bowl.

THREE: Working in 2 batches, drop scant tablespoons of the dough onto the baking sheets, 3 inches apart. Food and Wine says to bake the cookies for 20 minutes on 350° (I baked mine for 15 minutes and they still got a little bit crispy), until risen and fallen and slightly firm; shift the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through for even baking. Let cool slightly, then transfer the parchment paper to racks and let the cookies cool completely. Bake the remaining cookies.

FOUR (filling): In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice (I doubled the amount of lemon required for a more tart taste – worked out great).

FIVE: Arrange the cookies in pairs on a large work surface. Spoon or pipe 1 rounded tablespoon of the lemon filling onto the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, pressing them together so the filling spreads to the edge.

Make Ahead: The sandwich cookies can be stored in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper for up to 1 week.

Check out the original recipe online here

New Year’s Eve Party Favors!

December 21, 2009 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Wash Away 2009 – Hidden Surprise Soap

The idea with this fun project is to wash away 2009 and start fresh and clean in 2010. I originally got this hidden surprise soap idea from Soapylove’s Halloween tutorial. For this project, I painted 2009 on top of the soap so it would wash away in the first use. After 3-4 washes, 2010 will slowly appear to ring in the new year! This fab soap is appropriately scented with our bubbly, Champagne Fragrance Oil! I’m posting this a little earlier than New Year’s so you have time to make these favors for your friends and family.

Ingredients

Clear Melt and Pour
White Melt and Pour
Champagne Fragrance Oil
Basic Rectangle
Light Gold Mica
Heavy Metal Gold
Brownie Pan
Craft KnifeSoap Paint
2 parts Liquid Soap
1 part Clear Melt & Pour Base
1 part Rubbing Alcohol
1 part Light Gold Mica

ONE: Melt 5 ounces of white soap base in the microwave (in 30 second intervals) and pour the soap into the brownie pan mold. Spritz with rubbing alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let cool for 15 minutes.
TWO: Once the soap has cooled, release it from the soap mold and place it on a cutting board. Use your craft knife to cut out the numbers 2010. You can either trace them using this technique or cut them by hand. I printed out 2010 from a Word document and traced the numbers. Set the numbers aside to use later. Hint: Bigger, more bold, sans serif fonts are easiest to trace. Oh, and no coffee before cutting. The shaking won’t add to the smooth look of the numbers.

Variation: Want to shave some time off of this project? Try using cookie cutters to cut out the numbers or our Alphabet Mold to easily create your soapy numbers.

THREE: Melt 4 ounces of clear soap base in the microwave (in 30 second intervals). Mix in 1 ml of Champagne Fragrance Oil and 2 heaping pigment scoops of Heavy Metal Gold Mica. Mix well.

FOUR: Pour thin thin 1/8 inch layer into one rectangle cavity and spray with rubbing alcohol. Let the thin layer cool in the mold which should only take about 5 minutes. While this layer is cooling, frequently stir the remaining soap so it doesn’t form a skin; we’ll be using it soon.

FIVE: Spritz the first layer of soap with rubbing alcohol and pour another thin layer of soap on top. Spritz your numbers with rubbing alcohol and place them into the thin layer of soap. Let the soap cool for about 5 minutes. Then fill the mold up the rest of the way with your gold soap.

Hint: The numbers should look backwards and read from right to left when you put them in the soap (we don’t want backwards numbers in our final product).

SIX: For a finishing touch, paint 2009 on the top of the soap to be washed away. After a couple of uses, 2010 will appear into soap giving you a “clean” start into 2010.

Soap Paint: In a small mixing bowl, combine 2 parts liquid soap, 1 part clear melt and pour soap, 1 part rubbing alcohol, 1 part Light Gold Mica. Heat in the microwave for 15 second, mix well and start painting. Check out our Soap Paint tutorial HERE.

Did you notice my little penguin friend giving me a hand? Check out his other penguin friends here. They are just too cute for words!

Eggnog Christmas Cocktail (Light)

December 20, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Snuggle up on the couch with a guilt-free holiday cocktail. My hubby and I sipped this light eggnog drink with my brother and sister-in-law. It started snowing outside so we all plunked down for game night, which is always full of laughs and “friendly” competition.

I love eggnog but the calorie content is horrifying. I found this great recipe by Bethenny Frankel on Health.com and it only has 148 calories! I can live with that!

Beat 2 egg yolks until lightened in color. Add 1/3 cup sugar, beating until dissolved; set aside. Combine 2 cups 1% low-fat milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 dash each cinnamon and nutmeg in a saucepan over high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, and gradually whisk into egg mixture. Return to pot, and cook to 160°. Remove from heat, stir in 1/4 cup white rum, and pour into a bowl; set in the refrigerator. Beat 4 pasteurized egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form; with mixer running, gradually add 1 tablespoon sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk egg whites into chilled mixture; sprinkle with cinnamon.

It tasted delicious – and practically full-fat. Everyone was a fan at Game Night.

Here’s the link to the original recipe

Tweet Ya’ Later

December 18, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

If you don’t follow me on twitter, here are this weeks business-y tweets that ya’ missed. Enjoy!

Reading @MichaelHyatton presentation tools:http://bit.ly/6ywQm I’m checking out all his links but probably won’t go Mac.

Sweat wicking sheets – there’s a market for everything: http://ow.ly/MLMV

Blurring the lines between public and private lives – libel in the age of Twitter:http://is.gd/5spZT(via @queenoftheclick)

Entrepreneurial success should not come at the expense of having a healthy personal life:http://ow.ly/MLTtGreat advice.

Reading @indiebusinessblog about effective tips for being your own media:http://bit.ly/5qg9bx

RT @elfindustrial: Yikes – I would hate to be this man – the man who turned down the Snuggie:http://ow.ly/N7KD

“Etsy saved my life but this is the hardest job I’ve ever had” – On Qutting Your Day Job:http://bit.ly/5bdVI7

Totally agree about the point of analysis paralysis being a common trap:http://ow.ly/M2iQ

Zero Dollars, A Little Talent & 30 Days – a free e-book on starting an online business:http://ow.ly/M26M

Opening a specialty niche store in a recession – there’s never a better time:http://ow.ly/M1JF

Reading about @incmagazine Entrepreneur of the Year:http://ow.ly/KmOZ

Debunking the myth that women ‘eat 7 pounds of lipstick in their lifetime’. It’s bullocks: http://bit.ly/88v

Our soapmaking iPhone App is getting an update – a much requested NOTES section. Yay! http://bit.ly/6KOe4N

How to avoid being blindsided by ‘idea aura’ (or what we call ‘Look! A shiny penny!’ in our office) http://ow.ly/M2oQ

Opening a specialty niche store in a recession – there’s never a better time: http://ow.ly/M1JF

“A lonely sort of joy in pressing on the thorn.” On the soul of entrepreneurship – resilience: http://ow.ly/KnUw

“Many times, people overlook their own hobbies and don’t realize that there’s a business there waiting to be built.” http://ow.ly/KnQF

Reading a column on the DIY Economy by Friedman in the NYTimes: http://bit.ly/4ocKhg

Why introverts make good managers: http://ow.ly/Knz4

10 Rules for being a start up (including: no one will give you money): http://ow.ly/L84T

If you want more random business advice, personal ramblings and periodic Bramble Berry updates, follow me on Twitter here.

Coordinated Christmas Packaging

December 17, 2009 Filed Under: Home Crafts

I was in a pinch this year to get my presents wrapped and out the door (but, of course, didn’t want to settle for run of the mill wrapping paper since my handmade gifts certainly weren’t run of the mill). I dug through my gift wrapping box and found some adorable paper that I could use to coordinate my entire ensemble of gifts. This project works with any sort of wrapping paper and looks incredible. Just don’t tell anyone how easy it was!

Do you like the wrapping paper I used? Check out Smock Paperon Etsy.Ingredients and Tools
(paperboard) Lunch Boxes
Cellophane Bags

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey CP Loaf Soap
Soap Boxes
Sea Salt
Blue Mix Labcolor
Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil
Wrapping Paper
Ruler
Craft Knife/Scissors

SEA SALTS: Bath salts are an easy gift with simple ingredients. I just mixed 3 cups of Dead Sea Salt with 2 ml of diluted Blue Mix Labcolor and 10 ml of Cranberry Fig Fragrance Oil. Just mix them well and they’re ready to give away. For the packaging, scoop the salt into a cellophane bag and fold down the top. Fold a piece of wrapping paper over the top and staple on both ends.

PAPER LUNCH BOX: I found these cute little lunch boxes on sale at a local craft store and they’ve been in storage waiting to be used. To snaz them up, I cut a 4 inch wide strip of wrapping paper, wrapped it around the box and secured it with clear tape.

SOAP BOX: Our plain white soap boxes are blank canvases for creativity. Above, I cut two strips of paper and wrapped them around the soap box in opposite directions, securing the ends with clear tape. The paper I used is double sided but you could use 2 different, coordinating pieces of paper as well. Check out our Finished Cold Process Soap if you don’t have time to make your own.

CARDS: My cards turned out so cute that I had to make extras to keep on hand. With a glue stick, adhere a strip of paper over the blank card. For an extra special touch, I added a Merry Christmas Sticker to the bottom that I got at my local rubber stamping store (so much faster than rubber stamping). Trim the edges of the card and you’re done with the card. Pack your goodies in the lunch box, close up the box and your present will hold its own under any tree!

Here are some great Ety sites to shop adorable paper…

White Mouse Design
Crafting Bug
Paminboots
Feterie’s
The Paper Addict

On Dealing with Disappointment

December 16, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Waiting in the airport hoping to catch an early flight back home and I’m thinking about how my meeting didn’t go quite as I had hoped. But I took away so much positive from it and already have my awesome action plan for improving the next meeting. I realized that I am seeing the optimistic side right off the bat because I’ve trained myself to have that point of view. So, I thought I’d write a quick post before my flight about how I deal with disappointment and set-backs. Like all of my ‘experience-sharing’ posts, take it all with a grain of salt and feel free to share your experiences too!

There’s a reason clichés are …. cliché. There are many experiences that are universal. Yes, I’ve watched a pot not boil. I too have counted my chickens before they hatched and had my back against a wall because I bet my bottom dollar barking up the wrong tree.

And, the ‘When God closes a door, he opens a window’ characterization is equally true.

When you are in business, there are often doors closed, shut and slammed in your face. And sometimes, it’s hard to see the window at first. Here are my favorite tips for recovering when you are disappointed in a business situation:

1. Have a pity party. Acknowledge you are disappointed. Your feelings ARE justified. You just had your favorite store say ‘No’/(insert your experience here). Wallow. FOR ONE DAY. No more than that. Another pithy yet true saying Bramble Berry’s business coach says is “Celebrate your successes for one day. Mourn your losses for one day. After one day, move on.”

2. Call your trusted friends and advisors. Talk it out. Tell them about the experience. If you’re on Day One, you can wallow and whine about how unfair it all is. Good friends are awesome for this. They’re on your side no matter what. But, if you’re not still on Day One, suck it up and start to problem solve with them.

3. Action. So you didn’t land the sale/get into the juried craft show/get product placement in a big magazine; that’s okay. And what’s your plan to change it and make it better next time? Rip that scab wide open and Monday morning quarterback. What went wrong? If there is someone to ask, be sure to ask your account rep/media contact/decision maker why you didn’t make the sale or why you didn’t get product placement rather than speculating. Then, move into planning: what is the action plan to fixing it next time? WRITE IT DOWN. Action plans are useless if you don’t write them down and commit to being accountable.

4. Work off that stress and tension. Like the song says, “move it move it.” When you work out, you give your body something to do while your brain can zone out and process without you constantly second guessing yourself (you already did that, remember?). Physical activity is a great stress relief no matter if it’s walking, running or weight lifting. Just do something to get yourself out of your house/office and in a different situation. Move your body. Let your brain wander as your limbs work out your stress and dismay.

5. Fake it ’til ya’ make it. Just like the ‘Shopping is Psychological’ post, what is the way you can reframe this in your head?

You didn’t get the account: “Wow, I didn’t walk out with a Purchase Order but I sure am closer to one the next time!”
You were promised placement in magazine/tv and it didn’t happen: “We didn’t get placed this time but I am so excited that I have this contact for next time.”
You didn’t get into a juried show: “Well, that’s okay. They have my stuff for next year and man, look at the cute designs I thought up just for the show. They will be great on Etsy/my own site/Artfire/another craftshow/to send to potential wholesale accounts”

There will be another chance. Just think how much you learned. Work on those takeaways. And, be sure to look out for that window. It will open up. I promise.

Travel Little Mouse, Travel

December 15, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

I’m glad that everyone seems to be enjoying the scheduling and planning posts I’ve been doing. I apologize that this post doesn’t have many photos. I’m in the airport and sans photo hard drive. There were a few questions on this planning post and I’ve answered them below.

What Tools do you use for planning?

I use Plan Plus Online to do my general overview and scheduling – and then I sync that with my smartphone (iPhone now, Treo before this). I carry around a notebook for big ideas or to-do lists that get transferred to tasks in Plan Plus Online. Before Plan Plus, I was managing everything through Outlook but it wasn’t as efficient for me.

What do you find gives you energy with your 15+ hour days?

Energy for my day happens through good lifestyle practices. I eat fairly healthy throughout the entire day. People that hang out with me are amazed at how much I eat – but it’s generally all healthy. Lots of protein, low on the processed carbs and very little sugar (save cupcakes) and fat (save cheese). Sure, I have an off day or three (fudge for breakfast, anyone?) but overall, I eat a healthy, small-meals-all-through-the-day diet. I go in phases where I write everything down and monitor every gram (using Livestrong.com) of everything that goes into my mouth to less draconian monitoring habits. I probably spend 1/3 of my year with hardcore monitoring to keep myself honest.I also meditate in short bursts throughout the week in the morning and work out (cardio, pilates, boot camp or weights) at least 5 times a week.

I think all of those things really help with the energy throughout the day.

Is it safe to assume you don’t watch tv?

It is safe to assume we don’t have a tv hooked up in our household. I haven’t ever had a tv in any home or apartment I’ve lived in as an adult, preferring to read instead. That’s not to say that we don’t watch movies or indulge in the occasional Hulu show (Glee, anyone?) but for the most part, we are a non-tv household. My parents emphasized games for family activities rather than television watching and that stuck. But, since I read so much (including People magazine and Entertainment Weekly), I stay pretty caught up on all the pop culture – enough to lowest-common-denominator gossip with the best of them.

Can I ask something else? Why bramble berry, otion and soap queen, instead to be just one brand ?

This is a great question. The short answer is that I am always planning for the future and I wanted to give myself the option to spin off one or any of the companies should the perfect buyer come along without harming the others.

It’s appropriate for me to be writing this post today because I’m traveling, again. In addition to travel for executive education, I travel for business meetings and speaking engagements. There are just some business meetings that can’t be done over the phone or even via Skype. Big meetings with vendors or large customers generally require a face to face to just get that ‘gut check’ done. And speaking engagements are better done in person.

Because I travel so much, I have some travel tips:

1. Pay the extra $3 to park at the closest park’n’ride to the airport. It’s worth it for the 15 minutes of stopping, starting and general slowness otherwise.

2. If your flight takes off at any time before 7 a.m. and you don’t live next to the airport, invest the $99 to just stay at the airport. You’ll be getting up at 5 anyways and it’s just easier to not fight traffic.

3. Don’t check unless your trip is over 5 days or you want full size liquids. You pay money to check bags and then you have to wait for the checked bags.

4. Don’t be the jerk with the extra-large carry on. If you need to check a bag, just give in and check the bag. Don’t be the person that is stuffing the entire overhead bin full, hitting people with your bag and generally being obnoxious. If you do check, pack your important documents in your carry-on. The 1 time out of 100 that your bags get lost will be the one time your marriage license/important presentation/passport is in your checked luggage.

5. Middle seats are only fun when you are under 4 feet tall and weigh less than 100 pounds.

6. It’s easiest to fall asleep during take off. I don’t know why. It doesn’t make any sense.

7. Flights over 7 hours need Ambien or Lunestra. There is never enough reading, movie watching or talking to your seatmate to last 7 hours.

8. Your seatmate. Don’t talk to them unless they clearly are looking to make a new networking connection. If they have their headphones in, have buried themselves in a book or are studiously ignoring you, let them be introverted and enjoy their flight.

9. Babies cry. It’s the nature of things. It doesn’t mean that the Mom holding the baby is a terrible mother and deserves your wrath and dirty looks. Travel with earplugs if you must have silence.

10. Mascara looks terrible after a 4 hour flight. If you are a woman, resist the urge to wear much make up on travel day. You just look like a wilted, sad wreck when you arrive at your destination unless you’re extremely proficient at bathroom touch ups.

11. Wear clothes that you could wear to your first meeting on to the flight. You never know when you are going to need to dash from the (late) flight to your first meeting. Dress business casual at the very least.

12. When you feel like taking a cell phone call prior to the flight taking off yet after you’ve boarded, consider ignoring the call and sending a text message. No one wants to hear your call,

13. When you feel like taking a cell phone call prior to boarding, walk a discrete distance away from the crowd. No one wants to hear your call.

14. Yelling at flight attendants makes those around you uncomfortable. If you’re that uptight, might I suggest Xanex?

15. If your flight is delayed, do not switch airports. It never ends well.

16. If your flight is canceled, call your office and have them start checking available flights for you. When you get to the counter to have your flight rebooked, have your action plan already laid out for the nice customer service person. Ideally, while your office/spouse/friend is checking flights for you, you’ll be on the 1-800 line checking for alternative routes so you don’t even need to step to the counter. Always have a back up plan.

17. If you can use miles to buy any of the ‘Executive Boardroom’ passes, do it. It makes waiting at the airport much easier.

18. When you go through security, have your documents out, your identification at the ready and all your liquids in a clear zip lock baggie; take your coat, scarf, watch and shoes off; empty your pockets. Do this all in 20 seconds or less. You had 10 minutes standing in the Security Line to get prepped. Be efficient.

19. Taxis and public transportation in large cities are a miracle. Use them. Resist the urge to spend $100 a day on a car you’ll never use because you don’t know your way and are scared to drive.

20. Say ‘Thank You’ at every opportunity you get. Traveling is not fun nor glamorous. You might as well make it as pleasant as possible.

If you have any other tips or questions, post them below. I would love to hear how you make travel more easy, enjoyable and delightful for yourself and others.

Salvation Army Shopping Spree

December 13, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Every year Bramble Berry adopts a Salvation Army families and buys Christmas gifts for them (our post from last year). This year we had 5 families with a total of 33 individuals. It was a big job – but fortunately much of the crew turned out to help! It’s a holiday tradition that we all love. The Bramble Berry team volunteers their time after work to help do the shopping. And, that’s a good thing because even with 20ish people help shop, it still took over 2 hours to find everything on the lists.

To the right is Amber passing out the shopping wish lists. She gets the names and ages ahead of time and makes up the ‘Wish Lists’ so everyone is clear on the sizes of the clothing and what toys the kids want. Her organization is key to making the shopping trip go smoothly. And to the left is Nicole (aka BrambleMomma on the Teach Soap forum) and her daughter finding the perfect gifts.

Here we are lined up at the register. The line was so long I couldn’t get all of us in one picture! Shoppers kept walking by our line and looking at us with a mixture of horror and pity. And then, quickly scurried off to find shorter lines. On the right, we are bagging, organizing and labeling all of Christmas gifts. Though we buy wrapping paper to include with the gifts, we don’t wrap any of the presents so that the parents can look everything over before the big day. We are extremely thankful to Fred Meyers for giving us our own cashier and for giving an extra 10% off of everything we bought so we could give even more presents.

Here I am swiping my credit card card; it’s one of my favorite moments of the entire year – surrounded by the incredible Bramble Berry team, living up to our value of being ‘Socially Responsible’ and making a positive impact on our local community. Alas, even with all the joy, someone has to clean up. Tim, the experienced cashier they gave us, sure had a lot of hangers to clean up after we were done.

It was good thing our warehouse crew is so very good at packing. They managed to get everything into Norm’s car – of course there wasn’t room for anyone else besides Norm after they were done. He also reported that everytime he stopped, no less than 3 toys would start singing or making some type of racket.

We were all extremely grateful that we were able to share some holiday cheer with those less fortunate than us. It such a blessing to be given the incredible opportunity to give back to our community. Thank you for shopping at Bramble Berry so we can continue to give back throughout the year to worthy non-profits. Happy Holidays!

Candy Cane Soap Tutorial

December 11, 2009 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Are you having guests over this Christmas? Sneak these Candy Cane Soaps into the guest bathroom for holiday ambiance. Just tell the little ones not to eat them, they look and smell like the real thing.

This project involves mixing melt and pour with glycerin to give it a softer, pliable texture. As soon as the soap is cool enough to handle, it’s cut into strips and molded into candy cane shapes. Timing is crucial for this project. Once you pour the soap into the mold, don’t walk away! The cooler and harder the soap, the more difficult it is to mold.

Once you start twisting and molding the candy canes, work quickly. We recommend having a soaping buddy for this process. If the slab of soap becomes too cold, it becomes very difficult to twist the soap without breaking.

Ingredients
6″ Silicone Slab Mold

7 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap

3 oz. White Melt and Pour Soap

2 mL Peppermint Essential Oil

1 oz. Liquid Glycerin

Red Mica
Fine Silver Rainbow EcoGlitter
99% Isopropyl Alcohol in Spray Bottle

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

ONE: Melt 3 ounces of White Melt and Pour Soap Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Add 1 mL of peppermint essential oil and 0.5 ounces of liquid glycerin. Stir together. Pour the soap into the mold and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let the layer cool for about 5 minutes. If the soap has a skin on top that can support more soap, it’s ready for the next layer.

TWO: Melt 3 ounces of Clear Melt and Pour Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Add 1 mL of Peppermint Essential Oil and 0.5 ounces of liquid glycerin. Stir together. Add about 1/16 teaspoon of the Red Mica and mix together. Once the red soap has cooled to 125 degrees F, spritz the white layer of soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol and pour the red soap into the mold. Let the soap cool for about 5 minutes.

THREE: Once the soap has cooled enough to unmold but is still warm, remove it from the mold and place it on a cutting board. With a craft knife and ruler, cut the soap into thin strips.

My creation

FOUR: Place two of the freshly cut soap strands on top of each other (so they look like a checkered board) and squish them together as much as possible.

FIVE: Gently twist the soap and curl the top so it looks like a candy cane. Timing is very important. You need to work quickly to mold the candy canes while the soap is still pliable. You’ll have about 5 minutes to do all of the twisting before the soap gets too hard to be pliable and breaks.

SIX: Once all the candy canes have been twisted, melt 4 ounces of Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base using 10 second bursts. Mix in about 1/4 teaspoon of Fine Silver Rainbow EcoGlitter. Feel free to add more glitter if you prefer. Dip the candy canes in the sparkly soap. Then, you can either lay the soap flat on a silicone mold to dry, or create a “hanging contraption” as shown below to allow the soap to drip off. Allow the soap to fully cool and harden. Enjoy!

Candy Cane Drying Contraption: We came up with a silly contraption to dry our candy canes, and you probably have the supplies in your home to make one too. We used 2 medium sized jars (or mugs), a ruler, a chopstick (or skewer) and salt to weight the jars so they don’t tip over.

Candy Cane Soap Tutorial

These candy cane soaps look and smell just like the real thing!

Author: Soap Queen

Recipe type: melt and pour

Ingredients

6" Silicone Slab Mold
7 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap
3 oz. White Melt and Pour Soap
2 mL Peppermint Essential Oil
1 oz. Liquid Glycerin
Red Mica
Fine Silver Rainbow EcoGlitter
99% Isopropyl Alcohol in Spray Bottle

Instructions

Melt 3 ounces of White Melt and Pour Soap Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Add 1 mL of peppermint essential oil and 0.5 ounces of liquid glycerin. Stir together. Pour the soap into the mold and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let the layer cool for about 5 minutes. If the soap has a skin on top that can support more soap, it's ready for the next layer.
Melt 3 ounces of Clear Melt and Pour Base in the microwave using 10 second bursts. Add 1 mL of Peppermint Essential Oil and 0.5 ounces of liquid glycerin. Stir together. Add about 1/16 teaspoon of the Red Mica and mix together. Once the red soap has cooled to 125 degrees F, spritz the white layer of soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol and pour the red soap into the mold. Let the soap cool for about 5 minutes.
Once the soap has cooled enough to unmold but is still warm, remove it from the mold and place it on a cutting board. With a craft knife and ruler, cut the soap into thin strips (about ¼ inches or smaller).
Place two of your freshly cut soap strands on top of each other (so they look like a checkered board) and squish them together as much as possible.
Gently twist the soap and curl the top so it looks like a candy cane. Timing is very important. You need to work quickly to mold the candy canes while the soap is till pliable. You'll have about 5 minutes to do all of your twisting before the soap gets too hard to be pliable and just breaks in your hands.
Once all the candy canes have been twisted, melt 4 ounces of Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base and mix in about ¼ teaspoon of Fine Silver Rainbow EcoGlitter. Feel free to add more glitter if you prefer. Dip the candy canes in the sparkly soap. Then, you can either lay the soap flat on a silicone mold to dry, or create a "hanging contraption" to allow the soap to drip off.

Body Butter, Balm and Bath Fizzy Questions?

December 10, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

More fun on Martha Stewart Radio! 1-866-675-6675

Friday, December 11th @ 1 pm (Eastern Time) 10 a.m. (Pacific Standard Time)I’ll be live on the Living Today Show (Sirius Satellite) talking body butters, balms and bath fizzies. I would be thrilled to answer your questions LIVE! The studio number is 1-866-675-6675 so call with your bath fizzy, bath bomb & body butter questions.

Plan Little Mouse, Plan!

December 9, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

In my office with one of the planning whiteboards (taken with my webcam)

I was heartened by the level of reader engagement on my post about scheduling yesterday. Thank you for reading and participating.

A couple questions came up on the comments – some easy ones:

How much do you sleep? 5 to 7 hours a night

What is a ‘Big Rock’? It’s Stephen Covey’s term for the ‘Must Do, Really Important, Lines Up with Value, Vision and Life Purpose’ things. For more on this, keep reading this post.

“I’m sure coffee helps.“ I wish. I don’t drink caffeine. Any. Nada. Zilch. One day, I could write a long post about weaning myself from that addictive substance and the subsequent walking-zombie month.

And the not easy one:

Could you share something about your marketing strategy?Yes! I totally can and will. And it’s complex enough to probably warrant a few well thought out posts. Plan on that in 2010 from me.

What did I say? Always on the iPhone. This is on a vacation to scout my brother’s wedding!

As I mentioned in this post, a full 10% of my schedule is devoted to planning my schedule. For me, planning happens in three stages:

1. Yearly Planning – I do this in November for the entire year. What goals do I want to achieve in an entire year? I’ve posted about this type of planning here and here. It usually takes about 2 days of planning, refining, planning, refining, planning and refining some more before goals, vision and value is aligned. And, this is a living document. If it needs to be changed during the year (say, we land a huge account or I get an awesome opportunity to travel abroad for work), it gets changed. I’ve blogged about the process of goal setting, planning your year, determining your vision and values here, here, here, and here. The yearly planning is by far the most difficult and challenging. Once it’s done, everything rolls easier from there.

2. Monthly Planning – I do this monthly with my Management Team for business and my Accountability team for personal stuff. I’ve blogged about the Management Team meeting here and the Accountability team here and here. This is just the process of looking at the big yearly goals and breaking them down into more manageable chunks of what needs to be accomplished in 30 days.

Project task board at Bramble Berry

3. Weekly Planning – I do this on Sunday or Monday morning. I look at my schedule for the entire week, revisit my goals for the year and the month and then start to slot those things in accordingly. Some of my weekly goals and tasks are around family and friends – they’re not all about business. Remember, it’s the extra 20% (health, family and friends) that makes me feel fulfilled in my life so my ‘Rocks’ also include nurturing important relationships. It usually starts with a list. I want to take XYZ class his week, see XYZ friend, go to So-and-So’s house for dinner, make XYZ sales calls, write 5 blog posts, work on X SoapQueen TV scripts etc…

Then, I go through my schedule and literally slot these goals (or “Rocks”) in (using PlanPlusOnline software), leaving lots and lots of time for the smaller pebbles and sand. In any given day, my task list is typically not more than 4 to 6 items. This allows me to be extremely flexible in helping out where needed for customer service, answering emails and all the other stuff that comes fast and furious when you own your own business.

Some of the things I do every single day don’t get written down as a task because they’re just part of the routine. For example, unless it’s a scheduled work out class, I just fit in gym time when I can. Or, daily clean up at the office. Routine, mundane things don’t go on my planning.

The whole process takes 20 minutes max and it’s easy to do. Productivity isn’t about running around, trying to get every single little task done, jumping from fire to fire. It’s about doing the few things that matter. It’s about doing the things that help to move you, your company and your family towards your goals.

Do I drop the ball and disappoint myself and others by not always meeting my deadlines and goals? Yes. I do. Life happens. And, tomorrow is another day. Do my days get totally messed up and not go as planned? Of course it does. Today was one of those days (thus the blogging at midnight). And, when it does, like a diet, you just get back on track and find time during the rest of the week or the weekend to complete your ‘Rocks.’ The pebbles and sand somehow always seem to find their way into the day without any help. Need help determining your rocks? The Cliff Notes version is here. Or, you can buy the book ‘First Things First’ by Stephen Covey (highly highly highly recommend) and do the exercises. They are enlightening and life changing.

Other tools: Whiteboards, whiteboards, whiteboards everywhere! I have FIVE huge whiteboards in my office. They are constantly changing with whatever project is being worked on, whatever the quarterly goals are and whatever we’re brainstorming on that everyone needs to see.

Planning your life isn’t difficult once you knock out the Yearly Planning – everything flows from those ‘Super Goals’ that you give yourself at the beginning of the year. Take a stab at it. Give it a try. Get started now and I’ll do a post in late December so we can all share our yearly goals and help one another get excited about goals, dreams, schedules and even a little pixie dust.

Run Little Mouse, Run!

December 8, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Me with members of the Women President’s Organization

Morgane commented on the Brand Spankin’ New Items post:

I was thinking that if i had to manage my own company, the first thing that would scare me would be managing my time.
Anne-Marie, i would love to know what a day or even a week at BB look like?
I know i am curious! )
Thanks for sharing your passion with us.

I’ve had variants of this question before and requests for the Bramble Berry story. It feels odd to talk about myself as though I am doing something extraordinary or special. But, then I look at the statistics and realize that with the help of my team, we are doing something cool. We’ve beaten the odds (knock on wood) and are among the (sadly low percentage of) 3% of women-owned businesses in the nation grossing over $1 million dollars. (Can I hear a ‘Woot Woot!‘?). So, if my experiences will help you reach the next pinnacle in your success, I want to help.

Speaking at the Admistrative Professional’s Day in Bellingham

My days vary greatly. Some days start at 4:30 a.m. when I leave the house for what I (gritted-teeth) lovingly refer to as my ‘Seattle Days.’ Those days end around 10 p.m. when I make it back home, both excited about what I learned, forward looking and frankly, exhausted. The Bellingham -Seattle – Bellingham commute can take up to 6 hours with traffic and usually clocks in around 5 hours. Thankfully, there’s Audible Books on Tape for the traffic crawl. Other days are in the office, loaded to the gills with email, soapmaking, phone calls, interviews, meetings and customer service tasks. Just publishing my daily schedule would probably be useless for you – but explaining my thought process behind how I plan my schedule might be helpful.

I plan my month using PlanPlusOnline software by Franklin Covey. I split my month up by percentages.

15% Planning
10% Executive Education & Learning
40% Implementing Big Rocks & Doing General Management ‘stuff’
25% Blog Projects & Writing, SoapQueen.TV & Social Media
10% Travel* (for press stuff, speaking engagements or education)
The extra 10% – Working Out/Eating Healthy
The extra 10% – Friends & Family

*in difficult months, travel can account to up to 50% and the perfectly planned month goes out the window!

There isn’t enough time in the day/month to do everything so my days start early and end late. That’s the only way I can fit it all in and, it’s the extra 20% that really makes a difference to how I feel about my schedule. If I am working out, eating right and spending time with family on a weekly basis, a 12 hour workday seems easy.No matter where I am or what I’m doing, I’m always hooked into my iPhone (and before that, my Treo).Last month, my cell phone used up 298,440 MB of data, I sent 910 text messages and received 843 text messages (and that doesn’t include Twitter). I check my email first thing in the morning and emails are the last thing I look at before going to sleep. It’s not pretty. It’s not romantic. And it’s not what my husband would prefer – but that’s what it takes for me to run my small business. You have to get up earlier, stay up later and work smarter than everybody else.I can count the number of movies on *one hand* that I’ve watched in the last decade without a laptop sitting on my lap. And, even with all of that, I love my life and feel lucky and blessed every day.

Bellingham Mastermindmind Group

I’ll spend a few posts over the next few weeks explaining the various categories, what they mean and why I devote time to them.

Executive Education includes:

Entrepreneur’s Organization

Women Business Owners

Women President’s Organization

Mastermind Group

Business Book Club

Conventions (Soap Guild, Sales & Business Specific ones)

Reading self-improvement & business books on my own time

Subscriptions to: Inc, Fast Company, Fortune, Fortune Small Business, The Economist, Success Magazine, Money

Local business groups – Whatcom Women in Business, Whatcom Young Professionals

What this does to my schedule: 2-3 days in Seattle for learning events and roundtable business discussions with the Entrepreneur’s Organization, Women Business Owners and Women President’s Organization, two evenings a month (thankfully in Bellingham!) for the Mastermind Group business discussions and Business Book Club and some local business events sporadically in the evenings. I read in the mornings before work, carry magazines with me everywhere for downtime and have trained myself to read in the car (as a passenger, not the driver!).

Why I devote this much time to things that don’t directly make me money: When I started Bramble Berry, I had an undergraduate degree in psychology and criminal justice. I went back to school and received my Masters in Business Administration 4 years ago and don’t want the learning to stop. Every day, I run into things I haven’t done before, challenges that seem to appear out of nowhere and paths that make no sense. Having a strong base of knowledge and other peoples’ experience to draw from helps to make me a better leader and make decisions that not only benefit Bramble Berry but ensure that there is a business for decades to come.

Business doesn’t come ‘naturally’ to anyone. Certain God-given abilities give people an edge (example: being able to sell anything to anyone) but financial literacy, appropriate human resources skills, marketing strategy, operations – all of that needs to be taught.

With the CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally at a *free* event I heard him speak at

What if you don’t have the money to do tons of executive education?Get creative! Classes at the community college, attend evening (free or close to free) lectures, start a Business Book Club, start a Mastermind Group and explore these ideas with other people and go to the library monthly to read the business magazinesUltimately, how you schedule your day is up to you and what works for me won’t necessarily work for you. The next post I do will be about the 10% Planning that I spend my month on – what the planning looks like and why it’s important to do.Please ask questions – leave comments – I want this to be a helpful series for you and I can only make it helpful through your feedback.

Brand Spankin’ New Items!

December 7, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Divine New Fragrances

Woodland Elves
Vanilla Forest
Fresh Bamboo
Leather
Saffron and Honey

In other “what’s new” news…

Christmas Glitter Soap Kit

Soap Injector Tool
Perfume Roller Bottles
Surplus 6 oz. Bottle with Pump Top , Spray Top, White Disk Cap
or Black Disk Cap

Abstract Mermaid Mold
Designer Oval Mold
Goat’s Milk Flexible Mold
Slim Rectangle Mold
Slim Oval Mold
Slim Square Mold
Alphabet Embeddable Mold
Colorful Toy Penguins

Here for a limited time only
Lanolin
Macadamia Nut Oil
Wheat Germ Oil

ROI of Social Media

December 6, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Seattle Wine Gal had an excellent blog post this week about measuring the ROI of Social Media. She wrote it primarily for wineries but the message applies to all businesses, not just those in the wine industry. When I read it, I thought: “Wow! I should totally write about that for our industry.” And, then, when I started a rough draft, I realized that Barbara had already said it and there was no need to reinvent the wheel. She graciously agreed to let me re-publish her post (thanks, B!). Are you on the fence about ‘social media’ (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn and more)? Or are you tweeting away, wondering what good it does? Then this post is for you.

Social Media are an extension of customer service and relations. The extension of customer service and relations via social media efforts is measurable by how many clients and potential clients are reached by social media efforts. This is measured by how many people decide to ‘commit’ to supporting you by following/’friending’ you, which is a public declaration of their support. This measurement comes in the form of numbers of followers/fans/blog readers. With steps taken carefully to ensure quality over quantity of followers, you can assume that the number is an accurate depiction of how many people you are extending customer service and relations i.e. how many people you are allowing easy access to you and your company (to ask questions, hear company news first etc).
Social Media establishes trust. “Trust” is a bit tricky to measure, but it is possible, and very closely linked to ‘increased reputation and word of mouth’. You cannot manufacture trust and reputation it primarily comes from what has already been said and done rather than what we are going to do, i.e. the benefit of this aspect of social media takes some time to develop. Eventually “trust” and general appreciation will be evident by the increase in number of times followers/fans mention your company or product independent of your prompts. The more effort put into social media, the larger the number of unprompted mentions. This is something that can be easily missed, but a daily perusal of fan tweets, and social network mentions of your company/ products is a good indicator of customer trust and appreciation. Basically, the numbers of times that people are advertising for you, and independent of your suggestion to do so. For example: re-tweets, message board mentions, facebook conversations with friends. Providing information and the service of being accessible to clientele is what actually establishes you as a trustworthy source, and this goes well beyond what one can measure in hard numbers. This aspect of trust will be evident in good customer feedback both face to face, as well as on the web.
Social Media increases your reputation and increases word of mouth and recognition. It is very easy to measure an increase in word of mouth on the web. An increase in ‘Google Alerts’ mentions (Google Alerts is a list of web mentions and the source of mention of you, your business, and/or product on the internet, which is emailed to you). Also number of post and/or youtube views and comments, mentions on others blogrolls, and weblinks. ‘@ mentions’ and ‘Re-Tweets’ on Twitter are another great way of measuring word of mouth. It is also important to recognize who the people are that are promoting you via word of mouth, what are their credentials and credibility, are they recognized in a community that applies to your business, or are they mentioning you to a small circle of immediate friends (both are essentially good). Are the followers of those who comment on you commenting on this author/you in their own social media circles?
Social Media efforts lead to an increase in SEO (Search Engine Optimization). One of the basic tenants of SEO is that the more ‘key words’ or direct mentions of you/product/company that exists on the web, the closer to the top of peoples general web searches you become. In your social media efforts, if you consistently write about a given topic or theme, or your product name in general, these keywords will add up and create an increase in search engine optimization.
Social Media, when done properly, increases sales. An increase in sales as a result of social media can be measured to some extent by allowing customers to answer (whether checking out of an online store or in person) the question, “where did you hear about us”? More specifically, customers can be polled about what specific platform they learned about you from (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, message boards, blog mentions etc.). Google analytics is a good way to track this answer, if asked upon check out at your online store. Another way of tracking increased sales due to social media is to give coupon codes or exclusive deals for your fans and followers.

Written by Seattle Wine Gal, Barbara Evans

Find the supplies you need for this project below