Anne-Marie Faiola, Author at Soap Queen

Steps to Character

April 20, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

From the book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey

I’m reading this book for my Mastermind Business Book Club (affectionately dubbed the “Personal Development Book Club”) and one of the points that struck me in my reading last night was a longer, more expanded versions of one of my favorite phrases:

“How you do anything is how you do everything”.

The quote from the book is:

“Sow a thought, reap an action;
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.”

Fleur de Lis Bike Reflector

April 19, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Super cool gizmo if you’re a regular bike commuter. Find this nifty, trendy, colorful and delightfully whimsical necessary reflector here. $30

Scented Fingers and Toes?

April 19, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Remember This? Scented nail polish is back and apparently, is better than ever. If tires can smell like lavender, nail polish should smell like strawberry. Revlon is launching eight new scented nail polishes this month, aply titled “Fruitful Temptations“. Fruit has inspired their sweet fragrances like “Not So Blueberry” and “Sublime Strawberry“, certainly to beat out the regular fragrance of nail polish I like to call “Super Headache“. I can’t wait to try all 8 fruity creations! It will definitely bring me back to my high school days (sigh). Girls night anyone?

Accountability Group Yourself Great

April 17, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Spingtime isn’t just the season to get admire the flowers, get a pedicure and dust off your open-toed shoes. It is also a time for reflection and contemplation of how 2009 has gone so far and planning how you can continue to blossom in 2009. As you may have read before, my Mastermind Group develops goals. We share these goals with each other via email and at our monthly meetings. But, then, we take it one step further: mini-accountability groups.

One way to ensure that you’ll hit the gym every day at 6 a.m. is to have a workout buddy that’s expecting you. Making a promise to yourself and breaking it is one thing; disappointing a friend who woke up at 6 a.m. is another.

Our Mastermind Group has created small accountability groups within our larger group. These mini-accountability groups email every single Friday with updates on one big goal and give an update to the entire group at our monthly Mastermind meetings. Having the mini, weekly check-ins is a big help in keeping each person accountable. Seeing other members making major progress on their goals is exciting and inspiring. Additionally, a little bit of positive peer pressure is a good thing. Just like you don’t want to let your workout buddy down, losing the respect of your accountability group because of poor progress on achievable goals is unacceptable.

If you have a Mastermind Group, use Spring as a time to bring in this new practice to enhance your output and progress on your goals. If you don’t have a Mastermind Group, consider starting one … today.

How to Convert %s to Weight Amounts

April 15, 2009 Filed Under: Lotion

One of the questions I frequently get when I’m teaching classes at Otion is:

I got this great recipe from my grandmother. It looks like fun. But, it’s all in %s! How can I turn this awesome balm recipe into something I can work with? Help!

Answer: Your grandmother’s (fictional!) balm recipe can be recreated. Here’s an example of how I would do this.

Step one:Formula in percentages – everything equals 101% (preservative isn’t included in the 100% since you need preserve 100% of the product)

Mango Butter 25%
Stearic Acid 19%
Sweet Almond Oil 40%
Jojoba 11%
Polysorbate 20 4%
Lemongrass EO 1%
Preservative 1%

Total: 101%

Step Two: Convert these percentages to decimal numbers. Here is how that is done:

25% divided by 100 = .25
19% divided by 100 = .19
40% divided by 100 = .40
11% divided by 100 = .11
4% divided by 100 = .04
1% divided by 100 = .01

Step 3: Finally, multiple the decimal by how much you want to make. In this case, I’d like to make 22.5 ounces so this is multiplied by 22.5

.25 x 22.5 = 5.625
.19 x 22.5 = 4.275
.40 x 22.5 = 9.0
.11 x 22.5 = 2.475
.04 x 22.5 = .9
.01 x 22.5 = .225

= 22.5

Optional: Now, let’s do this in grams. Wha? Why grams? Ounces are not as preferable as grams because the unit of measure is much larger and clunkier. Converting this to grams gives us: 638 grams (1 ounce = 28.3495231 grams)(22.5 ounces x 28.3495231 grams = 637.864)

.25 x 638 = 159.5
.19 x 638 = 121.22
.40 x 638 = 255.2
.11 x 638 = 70.18
.04 x 638 = 25.52
.01 x 638 = 6.38

= 638

Viola! Simple math gets you a recipe that you can use. As for this recipe, it will be heavy, waxy and spreadable. I imagine it would work well for an elbow and foot cream and will not absorb in quickly.

Lori Nova’s Top Ten Essential Oils

April 14, 2009 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Big thanks to Lori Nova from The Nova Studio for this Guest Blog. Lori is going to be teaching her amazing swirl technique and colorant class at the Soap Intensive Weekend at Otion this year. Class attendees are in for a huge treat. Lori’s Guest Blog is below:

While preparing for my upcoming 2-Day Soap Making Boot Camp, I began to realize that there are some essential oils that are crucial to me for Cold Process Soap Making. Even though I occasionally use oils that are not on this list, without these oils I would be hard pressed to make amazing soap at an affordable price.

The reasons that I use/choose these oils time and time again is…

1) they smell great in CP soap,
2) they are reasonably priced and I can afford to buy a 16 ounce bottle of them, and
3) many of them blend well with each other, creating dozens or more of possible combinations.

Here’s my Top 10 List:

1: Lavender(use .7 ounces per pound of oil/fat)
2: 5-Fold Sweet Orange (use .5 ounces per pound of oil/fat)
3: Petitgrain (use .5 ounce per pound of oil/fat)
4: Lemon (use .9 ounces per pound of oil/fat)
5: Litsea Cubeba (use .5 ounces per pound of oil/fat)
6: Spearmint (use .5 ounce per pound of oil/fat)
7: Lime (use .9 ounces per pound of oil/fat)
8: Peppermint (use .5 ounce per pound of oil/fat)
9: Rosemary (use .5 ounce per pound of oil/fat)
10: Anise (use .5 ounce per pound of oil/fat)

My favorite COMBINATIONS with these ten Essential Oils:

~Lemon & Litsea Cubeba
~Lavender & Litsea Cubeba
~Lavender & Any Citrus (Orange, Lemon, Lime, etc.)
~Lavender & Any Mint
~Lavender & Rosemary
~Rosemary & Lemon
~Rosemary & Spearmint
~Lime & Spearmint (aka Mojito)
~Anise & Lavender
~Anise & Sweet Orange
~Petitgrain & Sweet Orange
~Peppermint & Lemon
~Peppermint & Spearmint (aka Doublemint)

How to figure out how much essential oils to use in Cp soap making:

Refer to “my list” above about for how much is recommended to use per pound of oil/fat.
How many pounds (of oil/fat) does your recipe have?
Let’s say you are making a 4-pound batch of oil/fats (fyi – 4 pounds = 64 ounces)
You multiply 4 x the amount of E.O. recommended.

To demonstrate, I’ll use Anise & Lavender.
Anise is recommended at .5 per pound of oil/fat.
So… 4 (lbs of oil) x .5 = 2.0 ounces of Anise (if you were using only Anise for the entire 4-lb batch).
and 4 (lbs of oil) x .7 = 2.8 ounces of Lavender (if you were using only Lavender)
Since you are using a combination of oils, divide each by 2.
So for Anise, it’s 2 divided by 2 = 1 (ounce of anise for the whole batch, in combo with lavender)
So 2.8 divided by 2 = 1.4 (ounces of lavender for the whole batch, in combo with anise).

So the end result for an Anise & Lavender Soap would be:
1 ounce of Anise AND 1.4 ounces of Lavender

Remember – these are guidelines for Cold Process Soap Making only and this is only a place to start. After making your first batch, if it comes out smelling more like one oil and you want it the other way around, feel free to adjust the amounts until you find exactly the scent you are looking for.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post and find it helpful in scenting your Cold Process soap.

Please feel free to post a comment below and share your favorite “can’t live without” essential oils for CP soap making and also the combinations you love the most.

Peace, Love and Chocolate

April 13, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Vosges Haut Chocolate is an upscale chocolate company that takes chocolate lovers to a whole new world of loving chocolate. Perhaps most famous (well, at least in Bellingham!) for their Bacon Chocolate (that’s right … bacon + chocolate. Apparently, it sells.) Their boutiques are located in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas. We’re talking classy truffles, chocolate bars, gourmet wine and cheese pairings and over the top gift boxes in the boutiques.

My favorite product only costs $375.00 (cough, cough). Of course I won’t buy it, but a girl can dream right? It’s a gift box called the Sensory Collection: Chocolate for the Nose. It’s a complete guide on how to taste chocolate. It comes with chocolates from 15 different countries, 42 different aromas to smell and a guide book that includes the history, tasting and making of chocolate. How decadent would this be to have for your next girls night? The kit promises to ‘unlock the mysteries of Mother Earth’s magical cacao’. Sold!

It’s Official! People love SWI! (video)

April 11, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Note: Email and RSS subscribers won’t be able t see this video. You need to click through to the blog to see it (which wouldn’t kill you. There’s lots of things that update on the blog frequently, like the booklist and TwitPics).

Soap Intensive Weekend 2009 is shaping up to be chock-full of helpful hints, camaraderie and the best that Bellingham has to offer. Click here for our helpful, handy list of things to do and places to stay while you’re here. With instructors like Lori Nova, Debbie Chilatis and business coach Ron Huntington, you’ll learn melt and pour, cold process and basic business practices. $350 covers your classes, materials and a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience.

4 Ways to Live Longer

April 10, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I read a fantastic article in Good House Keeping (March 09) last night; “4 Ways to Live Longer”. It goes right along with the happiness blogs that I’ve been writing. It seems that these happiness habits will help you live longer as well! According to Gary Small (M.D., director of the Center on Aging at UCLA), “There’s good evidence that emotional, spiritual, and social factors are all important for longevity”. The article provides evidence that people live longer if they maintain positive attitudes, volunteer, attend church and have strong social connections. What caught my attention was the fact that volunteering is compared to working out 4 times a week. Helping others, like working out, boosts the bodies antibodies positively effecting our immune system, brain and hormones. So let’s get out there, people, and live long and happy lives!

Catch up on my happiness blogs below:
Day 1: Introduction
Day 2: Friends and Community
Day 3: A Vision
Day 4: Goals
Day 5: Time
Day 6: Our Mind
Day 7: Our Health
Day 8: Bumps

Sweets for the Sweet

April 9, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

I recently had an excuse to spend some time in the delightful Seattle neighborhood, Pioneer Square. In addition to a delicious little coffee house that serves drinking chocolate, Sweet Petula has their adorable retail shop in the Pioneer Square neighborhood. If you’re a bath and body products lover (or should I say ‘connoisseur’?) like I am, you’ll appreciate every inch of this charming shop. I bought a good selection of their goodies and have been enjoying them ever since.

First of all, everything in the store is merchandised absolutely with clean precision that matches the simple, classic packaging sensibility. But, as I looked closer, I got to see the magic behind the perfectly ordered shelves. Apparently, little elves do not perfectly stage and set the shelves (another fairytale story ruined for me); one hardworking Ms. Cory Smith does and wow, does she work hard.

Cory took me behind the scenes to her manufacturing (which was arranged just as precisely as her store) and impressed me with her thoughtful production practices and tidy workspace. I am pleased to say that her soaps were great in the shower and the square bath fizzy/salt cube above is a relaxing bath time treat. If you’re in Seattle, visit the shop! You’ll be amazed with the refined selection and excellent products.

The shop also sells Sweet Anthem’s perfumes. Because it was my lucky day, the enchanting perfumer Meredith was at Sweet Petula’s shop when I got there. She had a wonderful grasp of perfuming and a commanding presence when speaking about her passion for blending scents. I left with a fistful of Meredith’s goodies as well as a full bag of Sweeet Petula’s products.

Not in Seattle? Buy Sweet Petula’s goodies here or here. Check out Sweet Anthem’s shop and blog here.

Wedding Style: 8 Affordable Wedding Finds

April 9, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thanks, abc 15.com, for making our DIY products part of your wedding bliss!abc 15.com shares some affordable ways to have an elegant wedding with out breaking the bank giving hope that a fabulous wedding is still possible (even in our struggling economy). Bramble Berry isat the bottom of the page but there are 7 other fabulous ideas that are worth reading! Oh, and don’t miss the video to the left hand side of the screen that flaunts our fabulous wedding soaps. Here’s what they had to say about our Wedding Soap Kits…

“Bramble Berry DIY Products – Create affordable custom wedding favors with Bramble Berry DIY wedding favor molds. From perfume to makeup, shaving kits to soaps, Bramble Berry has over 2,500 DIY products to choose from. Makes a fun addition to any shower, a wedding favor or great gift idea! Choose a high quality, affordable kit for $40 or under!”

Building Layers for Rose Soap – a Pictorial

April 8, 2009 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

We Love Our Commenters!

April 8, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thank for all the outpouring of comments and support over the last few months. It’s been a while since I did a “We Love Our Commenters” surprise prize. I’ve put together 3 prize packs (partially shown) with fragrance blends (using Bramble Berry products, of course), one Milky Way Candle Mold and some assorted Labcolor colorants.

I did a random drawing of all the people that commented in the last week and came up with (drum roll please!)

Burnt Mill Candle & SoapStay tuned for more giveaways in the next three weeks. Thank you everyone for being an active part of the Soap Queen Community.

Simple Easter Scrub

April 7, 2009 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Soaks & Scrubs

Need a special little gift to give your Easter dinner hostess or for a special friend? I’ve created this adorable salt scrub with an Easter twist. Best of all? It’s fast and easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 cups fine grain dead sea salt
3 tablespoons lotion base
3 tablespoons soap concentrate base
1 1/2 tablespoons Vitamin E oil
1 ounce Jojoba oil
2 ounce Sweet Almond oil
3 teaspoons Jojoba beads
1/4 oz. lettuce fragrance oil

Shredded loofah and Emerald Green labcolor to sprinkle on the top.

4 ounce tin container with clear top

Instructions:

So easy! Just mix everything except the loofah and Emerald Green labcolor together.

Spoon into your container.

To make the grass green loofah: Put some diluted labcolor (suggest 10 ml of Labcolor in 3 ounces of water) and the loofah in a seal top baggie and then mush them around until they are as green as you like. Ideally, you’ll want just enough liquid to color the loofah without making it sopping wet.

For an extra special touch, make some of our play dough soap and roll into little egg shapes. Next roll the little eggs in some iridescent shredded glitter and scatter across the top of the scrub.

PS – Did you recognize our little happy erasers in the scrub up top? Get your own Easter Bunnies here.