Anne-Marie Faiola, Author at Soap Queen

How to Color Glitter

November 19, 2009 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Be the only one in your neighborhood with custom colored glitter! It’s easy to do and you only need a couple of ingredients! So grab your Iridescent Glitter, Mica and Mini Scoops and get ready to make dazzling glitter in any color of the rainbow!

The concept is super simple. Just combine 1 mini scoop of mica (any color) and 1 tablespoon of iridescent glitter. Mix until fully incorporated.

Above, I made shimmering green glitter using shamrock green mica. I also made a classic yellow glitter using yellow mica. But wait, there’s more…

See that fun lime green color above? I mixed 2 mini scoops of my shimmering green glitter with 2 mini scoops of my classic yellow glitter for a bright and unique green. Or, try mixing Blue Mica and Red Mica for a really cool purple. Or, Red Blue Mica mixed with Merlot Mica for a hot pink. Your glittery possibilities are endless!

Yes, we did have to do some testing (trial and error). Above is one of our first attempts that didn’t pan out how we thought. We mixed Shredded Glitter with a Liquid Labcolorfor a not so pretty, super chunky first try. But we got it right in the end! Good luck with your creations and let us know what fun colors you create!

P.S. Stay tuned…more glitter projects to come!

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!

I Love Milk and Cookeez – Two Scoops

November 18, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

We’re baaaaack! Grab your afternoon snack (milk and cookies of course) and enjoy the rest of the Milk and Cookeez interview! See the first half of the interview here!

Milk and Cookeez Website
Ice Cream and Clean Bath Shoppe Website

After the Bath Blog
Milk and Cookeez on Twitter

Anne-Marie: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you like to do when you’re not creating for Milk and Cookeez?

Tammy: When I am not creating I spend time with the fam. I have 3 children, a 10 year old daughter, who I might add is my biggest fan, and 6 year old and 2 year old boys. They keep me grounded and focused. I enjoy volunteering my time with my daughter’s Cheerleading Squad and gardening.

Anne-Marie: What is your favorite thing about running your own business?

Tammy: I love making people smile. I also love knowing that I am giving them a high quality bath and body product that doesn’t just look fun it is really good for you. I also enjoy knowing that I make the decisions on what products I use and what I can neglect to offer, it goes along with the Type A thing.

Anne-Marie: What’s the best advice you can give to someone who wants to start their own business?Tammy: Research everything! Ask lots of questions, there are many wonderful people that are more than willing to help you. I joined the Indie Business Network to receive my insurance, but I would be remiss not to mention all of the amazing support that the IBN has offered.Anne-Marie: What’s your favorite product to make?

Tammy: Right now it is Melt and Pour Soaps. I change every few months, last month it was Scoopz. I am so into manipulating the soap to make not only a molded soap, but a whole new product.

Anne-Marie: What is your favorite Bramble Berry product and why?Tammy: I have 2, is that ok? I adore your Holiday Candy Fragrance Oil. This is the fragrance that has become our signature Sweeteez fragrance. It is the perfect combination of sweet and yummy, just like Milk and Cookeez. I also love your Like-Cold-Process Melt and Pour soap. I love the way that it does not sweat and has no detergents in it. I won’t use a detergent based M&P.Anne-Marie: Final thoughts? Anything you want Soap Queen readers to know about Milk and Cookeez?

Tammy: Milk and Cookeez make great gifts and favors that not only look sweet, but are good for you too. I love working with customers and making products that make people smile. Who doesn’t smile when they see a cupcake or an ice cream cone? I know that I sure do.

Milk and Cookeez Website
Ice Cream and Clean Bath Shoppe Website

After the Bath Blog
Milk and Cookeezon TwitterAnne-Marie: Thanks, Tammy, for letting me pick your brain! Good luck with the new Ice Cream and Clean Shoppe and keep us updated with your favorite new products!

I love Milk and Cookeez

November 17, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon the cutest website called Milk and Cookeez. I was so enamored with the cuteness factor that I bought some goodies that (thankfully!) came in the mail shortly after my splurge for practically instant gratification. I was so enamored with my purchases that I contacted Tammy (the owner) and she graciously agreed to a Soap Queen Interview. Yesssss!

Milk and Cookeez Website
Ice Cream and Clean Bath Shoppe Website

After the Bath Blog
Milk and Cookeez on Twitter

Anne-Marie: Is this a full time or part business (or just a fun hobby)?

Tammy: I would have to say, it’s a full time job with part time pay. Having 2 websites, a blog, and keeping up with social media definitely takes time. Then adding in production, designing, and product sourcing- it takes at least 40 hours a week. I love every minute of it though and wouldn’t change a thing.

Anne-Marie: I love your website! Do you have any other outlets?

Tammy: Right now we are mainly focused on the website. In a few weeks I will be doing my first ever Holiday Boutique. I am anxiously awaiting my first real step at working in a shop. I also sell my products wholesale across the USA. Right now I sell my cupcakez in a local cupcake shop, a few different products in a All Girl Spa in NJ, a Gift shop in Laguna Beach, CA, and a pet spa in WI (it’s a people line).

Anne-Marie: Your bath cupcakez, cookeez and soaps are so detailed! How do you have time for it all? What type of things do you outsource?

Tammy: Thank you for the compliment. I adore details. To me details make or break products, whether they are bath and body, home décor, or fashion. Details are necessary. I must say that as I have grown and become more comfortable with what I do and learned a lot more, I have really added to my products.

As far as outsourcing, I don’t. It’s a bit of a “Type A” thing. I like control. Right now I am working with a wonderful Cold Process Soap Artist, Kristy from Kristy’s Lovely Lathers. She has designed and made my newest line, Sweeteez. Sweeteez is Milk and Cookeez self proclaimed, Signature fragrance. I make the “coordinating products” while Kristy makes the most luscious and beautiful, Sweeteez, Cold Processed Goats Milk Soap.

Anne-Marie: I loved your tub taffy and cookeez! How long did it take you to perfect these recipes and the look you were going for? I used the tub taffy the other night and felt super moisturized when I got out of the tub.

Tammy: Thank you again. Cookeez took awhile. As I mentioned before, I’m not a baker, so I had a few “not so good” batches before I perfected the recipes for all of the cookeez. I love the tub taffy. While it is a very monotonous task to make it, I love what it does for skin. Olive butter is a fantastic butter and I don’t ever see myself changing this recipe. It works so well and is so good for dry skin.

The look that I like is a bit of vintage, with a fun, whimsical feeling. I like to think back to things that I liked as a kid and bring them out in my work. The cookeez are packaged just like a bag of cookeez. I even buy my bags from a local Cake and Candy shop. The tub taffy is reminiscent of a day at the boardwalk in Atlantic City. I have fond memories of watching the taffy puller make all of the luscious salt water taffy then making a small bag of my favorite kinds (my favorite being Neapolitan).

Anne-Marie: Tell us about your new Ice Cream and Clean Bath Shoppe!

Tammy: Ice Cream and Clean is a “Cool division of Milk and Cookeez”. All of the products that are sold at Ice Cream and Clean are of a “cool” nature. We sell our beloved Scoopz and have now added a Scoopz on a Cone option. You can choose from 3 different soap cone fragrances to enhance your tub soak. They are a true bath experience; you can get “Ice Cream and Clean”. We also carry a wide variety of Soapylove’s Soapy Pops and our own Soapopz, which are our take on Soap pops. Finally, we offer Icy Slushy Scrubs, a combination of organic cane sugar, Mango & Shea Butter, and Melt and Pour Soap. They are individual sized mini Ice cubes that clean, scrub, and moisturize all in one. Ice Cream and Clean follows the same ideals as Milk and Cookeez: Yummy fun for you and your tub.

Milk and Cookeez Website
Ice Cream & Clean Bath Shoppe Website

After the Bath Blog
Milk and Cookeez on Twitter

Check back in tomorrow for more Milk and Cookeez fun!! Tammy and I have a lot more to talk about!

Emulsified Scrubbin’ to our Elbows

November 16, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I had an AWESOME Saturday at Otion. I was there all day working with Julie from a lavender farm in Sequim, Washington. Though she is already one busy lady, getting her Masters in Horticulture and running her farm and burgeoning toiletries business, she has big plans. Rather than experimenting with recipes for the next year, she decided to get all her questions answered with a custom designed day, including recipes already figured out, at Otion.

Here was the schedule of the day:

9:30 start (lay of the land, coffee, bath rooms)

9:45 – 11:30 – Advanced Lotion with Whipped Butter (includes preserving and shelf life)

11:30 – 11:45 – break

11:45 to 12:45 – lip balms/lipsticks (4 different recipes)

12:45 – 1:15 lunch delivered from Old World Deli

1:15 – 2:15 – Body Scrub (three emulsified scrub recipes)

2:15– 3:15– Soy container candles

3:15 – 4:00 – Bath fizzies

4:00 break

4:15 – 5:15 – Spritzers & follow up questions

5:30 End

We jammed all of that into the day and Julie left with a huge pile of goodies by the end of the day between all the recipes we made. And most importantly, she now has a stable of successful recipes to turn to when expanding her line.

Julie was super smart and brought a store bought lotion that she loved. We dissected the ingredients and created something similar both in feel and performance. It was fun to make similar recipes with and without IPM to feel the difference in slip and feel. We also played with the addition of talc to reduce oiliness in the oh-so-rich body butters.

We made lip balms and lipsticks. We had lots of fun experimenting with manly-man type lip balm flavors and ideas. Julie is a huge fan of unrefined hemp oil so we spent some time talking about the tradeoff with the unrefined hemp versus shorter shelf life for products.

We had a delicious lunch delivered by Erik, the Otion Store manager, from Old World Deli. I got my typical (homemade pickled onions, with fontina cheese & spinach, grilled to perfection) and Julie had a delicious chicken pesto sandwich.

Then we were back in the thick of things (literally!) with emulsified sugar and salt scrubs. We made a variety of recipes and discussed the pros and cons of each. It was fascinating to see how much salt and sugar needed to be added to get any sort of legit ‘scrubbiness’ to the products.

We did have one small mishap. The emulsifying wax/oils/stearic acid mixture spilled a bit on our protective paper towel. We didn’t think much of it and kept using the microwave until we smelled smoke. Whoops! The oil/wax combo coupled with the dry paper towel caught fire in the microwave. That was quite a surprise and we put out the (small) fire quickly, marveling at the strange occurrence and vowing clean up thoroughly after each and every spill from here on out.

Then, with barely a pause, it was back to the races to finish the busy learning schedule with bath fizzies, candles and making body spritzers (Polysorbate 20 is your friend for body spritzers). We did take a quick break to run across the street for donuts for a late afternoon pick-me-up. We were both pretty tired but satisfied when 5:30 rolled around.

Thanks for a fun day, Julie!

Hospice Wins Big

November 14, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Have you heard of Hospice? If you haven’t, you’ll want to learn more. Hospice is a national organization with local chapters that helps families care for loved ones in their last weeks and months. When my little friend Kyle passed away this year, Hospice was at his home to help provide care and support for the family in the last weeks before his death. And, as his Mom Christsin says, “They were great!” When the opportunity to go to their auction came up (my friend Wendy from local phenom business, Avenue Bread, led a table), my husband and I jumped.

The auction was incredible – raising well over $130,000 for the local chapter of Hospice – and I have mixed happiness that all of the items we bid on went for over their value. Though we ‘lost’ (the items), Hospice won big.

You may recall the Dessert Dash from last year? Since I knew the drill this time, I scoped out the desserts ahead of time. Check out the incredible choices. Did I mention that the Arc de Triumph cake was made from Lemon Custard? We were motivated and as a table, we strategized: Arc de Triumph (for sheer bartering potential) and then the two incredible cheese plates donated by Old World Deli followed by the Katie’s Cupcake cupcakes. Thankfully, we were the fifth highest donating table and though the Arc de Triumph was gone, the cheese plate with the (locally famous) Ba Ba Blue cheese was there. Our table runner (the local Fairhaven reality specialist, Heather Othmer) gamely shoved shoulders and threw elbows to get our table one fabulous post-dinner cheese plate.

And, I had my second fire of the day. We caught a napkin on fire at our table during one particularly exciting auction round. You’ll hear about the first fire … tomorrow or another day (there are a lot of photos to edit from Saturday’s all-day teaching whirlwind at Otion). The other fire involves beeswax, oil and a microwave.

It was a wonderful event and we all felt so thankful to be invited and involved. I feel especially grateful to have a business with customers that value social responsibility and giving back.

Christmas Tags – Don’t Throw ‘Em Away!

November 12, 2009 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

What do you do with all of your Christmas tags? We like to use ours!

Ingredients
Clear Soap Base
Brownie Pan Tray Mold
Liquid Green
Yellow Mica
Iridescent glitter
Merlot Mica
Red Blue Mica
Kumquat Fragrance Oil
Microwave safe container
Cutting board
Freezer or wax paper
Craft knife (exacto)
Cookie cutters (optional)

ONE: Melt 8 oz clear melt and pour soap base. For a fun lime green color, add 4 drops of Liquid Green and 1 mini scoop of Yellow Mica and mix well. Then, for an extra special touch, add 3 scoops of iridescent glitter.

TWO: Once the colors are fully mixed in, add your favorite Christmas fragrance oil. We chose Kumquat. What? You don’t get kumquats in your stocking?

THREE: Pour the soap into a brownie pan mold and let cool (approximately 20-30 minutes).

FOUR: Remove the cooled soap from the mold and place on a cutting board.

FIVE: You can use a cookie cutter or use your craft knife to cut out Christmas tag shape. Get creative and remember they don’t have to be perfect. Once you have your Christmas tag, cut out a letter or object in the middle either by hand or with a cookie cutter. Depending on the size, you should be able to get 6-8 tags out of one sheet.

SIX: For an authentic Christmas tag detail, use a straw to cut out a hole at the top for the ribbon. Use your finger to smooth out the edges of the soap.

Tip: If you decide to use a cookie cutter, just smooth out the edges of the soap with your finger when you’re done. My cookie cutters didn’t leave me with the smoothest edges. Yours might be better than mine.

SEVEN: Melt 3 ounces of clear melt and pour and add 3 mini scoops of Red Blue Mica and 1 mini scoop of Merlot Mica. This is my favorite combination for an awesome hot pink color. We’ll be using this color to fill in our letters.

EIGHT: On a flat surface, place your soap on top of your smoothed out freezer paper or saran wrap. Firmly press the soap so that it sticks to the freezer paper. We’ll be pouring soap into the center and we don’t want it to leak.

NINE: Spritz the green soap with rubbing alcohol and fill in the hole with the hot pink soap. Spritz again with alcohol to get rid of any air bubbles. If you go outside the lines don’t panic, just use a scraper tool to scrape off the soap once it has hardened.

Tweets Ya’ Missed

November 11, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I was in Seattle yesterday working with my Board of Directors on plans for the new year. While I was down there, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting with the Editor of Seattle Business Monthly, Leslie, to talk about Bramble Berry’s social media strategy. We have a comprehensive plan and it was exciting to talk to the premier business magazine in the NW about how we implement it.

In SoapyNews, If you’re looking to have a custom soap mold made, my younger brother has you covered with prices starting at $250. For details, click here.

Business-y tweets you missed last week on Twitter if you don’t follow me:

Reading about a soaper’s experiment using Pomace versus Virgin Olive Oil: http://bit.ly/2YA3Vx (I love using Pomace!)

Checking out Gold School’s Picks for Dad for Christmas:http://ow.ly/Ak1L

RT @frugalluxuries: The 19 blogs Inc. thinks you should readhttp://ad.vu/y3y9

Life is short. My extensive research indicates that we are all going to die anyway. Tips on building self-confidence: http://ow.ly/zf57

RT @BobPritchett: Wow… 1 stubborn designer = Apple one-button mouse. A committee of collaborative designers = this:http://bit.ly/4w419e

Tips for finding ‘megatrends’: http://www.imediaconnection…

10 Things Social Media Cannot Do, including substituting for a marketing strategy: http://ow.ly/z2Gn

Cupcakes are still hot in Harlem (and for that matter, everywhere!):http://ow.ly/yU8e

RT @BobPritchett: I love color palette tools; they live where science and art intersect. Colorotate is really cool: http://bit.ly/t51Tl

Look for opportunities; leadership without a secret code – interview with Harvard’s President: http://ow.ly/zf5W

Clementine Cupcake is our newest Limited Edition fragrance – so yummy! http://bit.ly/7boc6

Lessons from entrepreneurs who beat the statistics:http://ow.ly/yGrh

Big isn’t always beautiful; Starbucks goes small and indie:http://ow.ly/yGxm

“The fish stinks from the head” – thoughts on building an empire with disparate restaurant brands: http://ow.ly/yFIG

The dark side of positive leadership traits – everyone’s got one:http://ow.ly/ypJl

Shopping Is Psychological

November 10, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

I love love lovecraft shows, fairs and bazaars of all types. Since I spent many weekends at craft shows selling handmade soap to help bootstrap Bramble Berry, I have a very special place in my heart for crafters and artisans and try to buy as much as I can from small businesses represented at these shows.

This weekend, I went to a very well known juried craft show with a girlfriend. We were so delighted to be among small business, colorful displays and quality products that we bought something at the very first booth we stopped at (soap, of course!). As we wandered the aisles, making conversation with everyone, we were both happy to be there and eager to spot the next ‘perfect’ gift. We asked all the crafters how the show was going and got happy smiles and varied responses: “I’m having a lot of fun.” “Lots of traffic.” “I love this event.”

Until we hit one beautifully arranged booth with an array of beautiful toiletry products; when we asked the woman at the booth how the show was going, she answered “Terrible.” My friend and I were taken aback and made sympathetic noises and then asked how her other events this year had been. “Terrible.” I said something acknowledging the challenging economy and she came back with “You’re right, it is tough and I’m thankful for every dollar I make.” Despite the positive last comment, we both walked away feeling slightly disjointed and worse yet, never picked up one single item in her booth. In hindsight, I just wanted to flee the negativity.

We continued our shopping trip, buying several things over the show and making lots of great conversation with everyone we met. But, the one crafter stuck with me. What could she have said? Should she have lied? How did that affect me, as the shopper? How did it affect her, as the shopkeeper, to say that?

Just from a public relations standpoint, the following answers are better then “Terrible”:

“I’m having a great time. There are lots of people to talk to.”
“Isn’t the array of crafters incredible?”
“It’s been a lot of fun!”
“I’ve been getting good feedback on this product.”
“The contacts I’ve made this weekend have been invaluable.”
“I may have picked up a few new wholesale accounts so I’m thrilled”
“This is a great place to test out new products.”
“Oh my goodness, this is incredible; I’ve been getting so many goodies from other crafters here. You should definitely check out XYZ over there. They have great XYZs.”
“I am so thankful that the weather has held up the way it has. It’s just so beautiful/warm/clear/crisp/inviting/balmy.”
“The floor traffic is great. The promoters really did a wonderful job of getting a crowd in here.”
“It’s been exciting to see what sells. Right now, my XYZ soap/lotion/bath fizzy/scrub is selling really well. I think it’s because it conveys happiness/the spirit of the season/calm/insert whatever adjective you want here.”

These answers are not a lie. They don’t address sales but at least they’re trying to find the silver lining on an otherwise dismal weekend. And, just like with children, if you don’t answer the initial question but just answer with a positive, all your potential customer will remember is your sunny nature.

The second we got into the car, my friend and I both discussed the comment and parsed the phrasing of the exchange. When I got home, my friend had already emailed me the following:

I was thinking about the downer soap lady on the way home and realized that not only did I not pick up and smell her soap – which is SO uncharacteristic of me, I love to smell everything – but then I felt a little off the shopping game at the next several booths. It’s as if she conveyed the attitude that we weren’t in the fun, cool shopping place, we were in the loser shopping place and it impacted my shopping. So it wasn’t until we hit the friendly soap booth that I thought about spending money again.

Shopping is so psychological!

She hit the nail on the head – shopping is psychological! People buy with their emotions and rationalize the choices later, after they’ve made the buying decision. So, when you’re at your craft shows this season, be sure to have handy phrases and a big smile to put on – even if your show isn’t what you expected. And you never know, by changing your own attitude, you may help to change the attitude of the customers in your booth helping to turn a so-so show into a great one.

Natural Hand Germ Busters

November 9, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Early this morning I was on the Martha Stewart Sirius Radio Show discussing all natural hand sanitizers. Since it’s officially cold and flu season, we’ve been busy testing all natural “germ busting” recipes that you can take on the go! Our goal is to share natural recipes that you can make in your own home without most of the chemicals that are in most sanitizers on the market. Here’s what we’ve been working on. Enjoy!

Please note that all the recipes contain the maximum-maximum we’d ever recommend for usage rates. You can use less for your recipes or if any sort of irritation occurs. Each ml is approximately 36 to 40 drops if you are using drops.

Recipe 1 “Thieves Oil”
3 tablespoons water
2 ml Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil or Cinnamon Leaf
4 ml Lemon Essential Oil
4 ml Eucalyptus Essential Oil

*Directions: Mix all of the ingredients together. Shake and use.

This type of recipe is dated back to the 15th century. Thieves covered themselves in something similar to this oil so they could steal from plague victims and dead bodies without catching the disease. Studies about ‘Thieves Oil’ have also tested essential oils like Oregano & Thyme and shown they are effective against a host of bacteria (Journal of Essential Oil Research [J. Essent. Oil Res.]. Vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 517-523. Sept-Oct 1998.). With this recipe, you’ll need to shake the bottle each and every time you use it because essential oils and water don’t naturally mix. Cinnamon Bark and Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil can be irritating to skin. If any irritation occurs, double the water (use 6 Tablespoons) to decrease irritation. If irritation continues, switch out the Cinnamon Leaf EO with Tea Tree Essential Oil.

Recipe 2
1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol
3 tablespoons Aloe Vera Water/Juice
2 ml Cinnamon Leaf EO
3 ml Tea Tree EO
3 ml Lemon or Lemongrass EO

*Directions: Mix all of the ingredients together. Shake and use. Since Alcohol is a natural emulsifier, this recipe will turn white and not require shaking each and every time before use. Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil can be irritating to skin. If any irritation occurs, double the liquid (use 6 Tablespoons) to decrease irritation. If irritation continues, switch out the Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil with Tea Tree Essential Oil. This blend is based on the research in the Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery (2009) available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Recipe 3
3 tablespoons Aloe Vera Gel or Liquid
5 ml Lemon EO
4 ml Tea Tree EO
Optional: 2 ml White Thyme Essential Oil

*Directions: Mix all of the ingredients together. Shake and use. Can also be used on furniture (but do a small test patch before you spray it all over your grandma’s heirloom antique chest of drawers).

Naturally Emulsified
1 ml White Thyme Essential Oil
1 ml Litsea Essential Oil
2 ml Orange Essential Oil
1/2 C. Aloe Vera
1/2 Teaspoon Lecithin

*Directions: Combine the lecithin and the essential oils together in a small container. Slowly pour the essential oil mixture into the aloe vera while stick blending the mixture. This will naturally help emulsify the mixture (think salad dressing). Lecithin is typically found in health food stores and is a natural emulsifier. It has a shocking yellow color. This blend will go salad dressing thick and will not easily spray unless the spritzer is very hearty. Because of its lotion like texture, this recipe is best used on hands and body rather than furniture.

If you have favorite recipes to share, let me know. This is an area we could all use helpful tips and tricks in to keep us as healthy as possible this holiday season.

Here are some great links that really helped me with my research: Thieves Blend, Fungus Killed by Essential Oils, Antimicrobial Essential Oils, Antibacterial Soaps, Tea Tree oil antimicrobial, Tea Tree Oil & Fungus, Tea Tree Oil.

Family Fun for a Good Cause

November 8, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Last night, I had the sincere pleasure and joy to attend the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of Whatcom County (DVSAS) annual auction fundraiser with my incredible family. That’s Erik (or as we affectionately call him ‘ELF’), Otion’s retail store manager, me, my fabulous husband Chris and my sister in law (and frequent hiking buddy), Cheriss. DVSAS supports individuals affected by domestic violence and sexual assault and provides community education. Last year, in Whatcom County, they provided services to over 3,000 people. We were thrilled to be able to support such a worthy organization.

Stop Me Before I Buy Again

November 7, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

It’s a rainy day here in Bellingham, Washington but even with the rain, it’s been an exciting morning. It started early with a meeting at Bramble Berry with a contractor to talk about adding on to the Bramble Berry warehouse. We’re going to move forward with a designer next week and see if our dreams of building on to our existing building become a reality. We all have our fingers crossed. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted if we really do start to build (eventually!).

Since it’s raining, this afternoon I’ve been stuck inside with a hot drink, in comfy clothes and shopping on Etsy. It’s been a lovely way to pass the afternoon. My love of letterpress borderlines on obsessive (previous purchases here, here, here, here, here, here, here and our wedding invitations were letterpressed as well) and matches up to my sincere feelings that snail-mail notes are the best way to make an impression.

I purchased the above letterpress cards today by SweetBeets, Ave9River, and LuckyBeePress. I’m excited to send these beautiful missives out into the world and only wish they were here today because a rain day is a perfect excuse to stay inside and write thank-you-cards.

Soap Queen TV: Holiday Candle Travel Tins

November 5, 2009 Filed Under: Home Crafts

Grab some hot cocoa, get comfortable and prepare yourself for some candle making fun! In the final episode of my Holiday Series I show you how to make cute little travel candles perfect for the gift giving season.

When filming this episode I tried to include as much helpful information as possible, which resulted in a nearly 13 minute long video (hence the get comfy recommendation). I demonstrate how to use our liquid candle dyes and wax dye blocks as well as show many common candle problems and how to fix them. Although I mention it in the video, I really want to emphasize how important it is to use heat safe containers both for your mixing container and for the final candle container. I love keeping a few of these travel candles on hand for last minute hostess gifts or ‘just because’ gifts to give through out the Holidays.

Download the free PDF label template here to print out and make labels just like the ones in the video.

Soap Queen TV Special Edition: Holiday Travel Candles from Soap Queen on Vimeo.

To make 4 candles you will need:
16 oz Soy Container Wax (C-3)
1 oz Cinnamon Stick Candle Fragrance
Few drops Hunter Green Liquid Candle Dye
or a few shavings of Red Wax Dye Block
4 Candle Tins
4 WU-250 wicks
8 Pencils
Double Boiler
Heat Safe Container

Pumpkins and Bathbombs and Plaid…Oh My!

November 4, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I’ve been remiss in not posting this fun recap yet. We had a wonderful visitor (Michelle from Florida) come to Otion for a full day of classes last month. Check out our packed day of work (errr, I mean, fun!):

8:30 – Settle in, lay of the land

8:45 – Bath Fizzies 101
Witch hazel
Fragrance versus essential oil
Baking
Drying chamber

9:30 – Bath Fizzies Advanced
Herbs
Salts
Extra Oils

10:30 Coffee Break

10:45 Lotions 101

12:15 Lunch – We ordered in and ate at the shop to save time!

12:45 Melt & Pour – Advanced
Plaid
Silhouette

2:45 Lip Balm/Lipsticks/Eye Shadow
Recipes
Skin Safe/Cosmetic Grade
Stains versus lipsticks versus gloss

4:00 Wrap Up/final questions

Here are photos of just a few of the fun things we got done in our class day. The fantastic ELF Industrial Pumpkin Mold (made with Orange Mica and Copper Sparkle, colored in with Non-Bleeding, liquid black iron oxide colored clear soap and a stem made of Super Green Mica).

Fun Pumpkin cut outs made with the Silhouette (Cameo) SoapyLove technique using Non-Bleeding Liquid Black Oxide and Orange Labcolor.

One thing Michelle really wanted to learn was the so-cool-it-should-be-patented Plaid Soap concept that was taught this year at the Otion Soap Weekend Intensive. One thing I love about the project is how complicated the project looks when it’s done but how easy the project is once you understand the technique and pattern. You can learn how to make the same soap from the comfort of your own home with the video or the video + the kit here.

We also made many batches (many many many!) of bath fizzies, lip tints and lipsticks and cupcake Silhouette Soaps. When it was all said and done, we were all thrilled about how Kaolin Clay helped to keep the humidity warts away in the bath fizzies and Michelle was happily stunned by how easy it was to make lip tints. If you’re unsure about how to make your own lipsticks, lip balms and lip tints, we have a Video tutorial here, a kit here & blog tutorials (here, here, here, here, and here.

The day went entirely too quickly and I was sad when it ended. We made lots of great goodies and it was a day well spent.

Single-Serving Microwave Cake

November 3, 2009 Filed Under: Soap Queen Cuisine

A special thanks to Charity, from All Things Hold Together, for letting me blog her fabulous single serve chocolate cake recipe! It’s an update on my Chocolate (cup)Cake in a Mug post from last year. You can follow Charity on Twitter and be sure to check out All Things Hold Together, a blog about cooking, crafting, faith and family.

Ingredients:

2 T flour
1.5 T sugar (just eyeball the 1/2 T using a tablespoon)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
2 T milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp oil

Charity used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa and she said it was awesome!

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl (like a cereal bowl).
Scrape batter into a ramekin or mug sprayed with cooking spray.
Microwave on full power for 1 minute.
Marvel at your creation.
Loosen with a knife and tip onto plate.

Serve with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, if you so desire. It does not plate very well, so just top it with the scoop of ice cream and eat it in the ramekin.

Enjoy!