Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Cupcake beanie for $30 from FredFlare.com
Confectionery delight gift wrapping for $24.95. ‘Tis sweeter to give than receive with
this comprehensive wrap kit that has 20 sheets of wrap in 4 delish designs, 20 gift tags, 2 rolls of ribbon & string, 30 stickers plus mini instruction book on tying the perfect bow.
The first Cupcake below has a delicious Passionfruit scent with the perfect color combination. The second is a Raspberry Violet that looks sweet enough to eat followed by my favorite, Saturday’s Coffee Cupcake. YUM! It’s great attention to detail with the vibrant colors and the uber fluffy frosting. Do these come with a “Do Not Eat” warning?
If you’re ever in Australia, try and stop by the Saturday Mosman Market to see these little beauties in person. Betcha can’t buy just one.
Our new custom Oatmeal, Milk & Honey soap mold is here. In the soap above, I scented with Oatmeal, Milk & Honey fragrance (of course), and used the Melt & Pour Toolkitto make the words, the wheat sheaf and bees stand out. I used Heavy Metal Gold mica in white soap base for the words and wheat sheath and Orange Mica mixed with Cappuccino Mica for the bees. The detail work was made easy by the depth of the carving for the bee and wheat sheaf. I also added a bit of long-cook Oatmeal to add texture and definition to the bar.
Did you miss directions on how to make this?
Click here for Part One Instructions
Click here for Part Two Instructions
Click here for Part Three Instructions
These are SoapyLove’s creations from the soap weekend – be sure to check back with me in a few weeks to learn all about making lotion!
So, what do you think? Will you try this at home? If not, why not? And did I miss any major steps or questions that you have about this project? Post a comment and let me know.
Just a few more photos from the grand NYC Media Tour. It was a whirlwind of meetings with Magazine editors, the Martha Stewart radio interview and a 3:30 minute shoot for Better TV. Better TV is a subsidiary of Better Homes & Gardens. The parent company, Meredith, publishes magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Parents, Fitness, More and Country Home. The show will air next week on 40 different cable stations nationwide and then be available to watch online at Better.tv
Here I am, prepping for the shoot, reviewing the script. It was a jam-packed 3 minutes. The hostess did an amazing job getting us through making eye shadow on air, talking about the DIY Perfume kits and also the Children’s Soapmaking kit.
The hostess, Audra Lowe requested a gold eye shadow recipe. It looked great on both of us. The entire shoot was a lot of fun. It went by so quickly! And, we did the entire thing in one take. I can’t wait to see the segment.
I went a little crazy on Letterpress cards tonight. Check out my purchases:
From Tigerfood Press.
From Sweetbeets.
From SmockPaper.
Missed the previous instructions?
Click here for Part One Instructions
Click here for Part Two Instructions
Thank you to commenter Teresa for reminding me that Cookie Cutters are entirely appropriate to use instead of the Exacto Knife. I used cookie cutters for the soap display at Otion (above or click here to view full size photo) rather than the Exacto knife idea.
Step Six:
Melt clear soap (approximately 1 ounce per bar of soap). Cool this to 120 – 130 (it varies by base – Bramble Berry’s house bases are ideal for embedding soap at around 120 to 125 degrees). The key is that the soap must be cool enough to not melt your hand-cut insert. Pour this clear, cooled soap, into the mold approximately 1/8″ thick.
Step Seven: Carefully and quickly place your black insert soap into the clear soap. Spray liberally with alcohol to ensure a smooth clear surface. Allow to harden for approximately 10 minutes or until thick skin has formed. Be careful to not move the soap during the hardening process or you may end up with wrinkles.
Step Eight: Melt white soap, approximately 2 ounces per bar. Allow to cool to 120-130 degrees. Add fragrance. Spritz the clear soap layer with rubbing alcohol to help the two layers adhere. Pour white soap to fill the soap mold.
Allow soap to fully harden, invert and pop your creations out! Viola! You’re done. I’ll have final reveal photos tomorrow.
So, what do you think? Will you try this at home? If not, why not? And did I miss any major steps or questions that you have about this project? Post a comment and let me know.
In Lucky Magazine, designer Nicholas Kunz mentioned that Eucalyptus Essential Oil is well, essential to removing pen marks from clothing.
Lucky magazine says:
Put on gloves. Gently dab a small amount of the oil on the stain with a soft cloth. Let it sit for a few seconds and then delicately blot and rub until the stain is gone. Launder as usual. This works best on cottons and light woven fabrics; never try it on leather.
If anyone tries it and it works, let me know.
Click here for Part One Instructions
Click here for Part Three Instructions
Step Three: Pop your Black Soap Out
Invert your mold and gently pry your flat soap out. Face it so that the underside of the soap is facing you (this is the more dull side).
Step Four: Prepare your Cameo Design
Using the size of your soap mold as a guide, draw your design or find a great silhouette on the internet and shrink it down. Print it on normal paper on your inkjet or laser printer.
Step Five: Cutting
Place your design on top of the soap. Use a small exacto knife to trace around the design, through the soap. Make sure your soap is on a cutting board or thick piece of cardboard. You don’t want to accidentally cut your counter.
If you’re not so good with the knife, you can also use a small cookie cutter to shorten this step up.
Part of the fun of this technique is the ability to customize logos, your name, your special symbol or even your own silhouette.
Use your fingers to smooth out any rough edges. My silhouettes were cut in such a herky-jerky, caffeine-fueled fashion that I had a lot of smoothing to do!
You can do some very intricate designs with enough patience and no caffeine. A steady hand is essential for this project.
Now that your silhouette is prepared, join me tomorrow as we work our way through placing this customized soap into your mold for maximum dramatic effect.
I’m still in NYC and after a full day of meetings and another evening show (Chicago – I bought tickets for less than half price from a scalper and felt very NYC-savvy), I’m getting ready for Better TV tomorrow and a few more magazine meetings before flying back home to Bellingham, Washington.
This project was designed by Debbie C. of the renowned SoapyLove. Debbie was the first to do Soap Popsicles on a grand scale with difficult designs and fetching colors (don’t miss her ghoulish Halloween designs). Here, she shares her very cool “Silhouette” technique with Soap Queen Readers. If you haven’t seen the Silhouette Soaps, click here to be taken to a post with a picture of a gaggle soaps using this technique.
Thanks, Debbie!
What you’ll need:
Buy the entire KIT or, mix’n’match with what you already have
·Clear soap base (2 ounces per bar you plan to make)
·White soap base (2 ounces per bar)
·Fragrance oil, skin safe (1/8 teaspoon per bar)
·Soap mold with simple shape and flat surface
·Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle
·Small cookie, clay, or fondant cutters; Exacto knife or similar craft knife
·Food thermometer
·2 cup Pyrex measuring cup
·Small cup to mix oxide pigment in
·Spoon or craft sticks to stir with
·Knife and cutting board
Step One: Make the Black Soap
To mix the dispersion colorant, black oxide (why black oxide? It doesn’t bleed. For a primer on bleeding, click here), mix a little rubbing alcohol with the black oxide.
How much is “a little bit?” I like to do 70% alcohol to 30% black oxide.
Stir this slurry up well. Notice there are still clumps in the bottom. Not to worry, these will stick to your bowl as you pour the black oxide mixture into your soap and you’ll be left with a wonderful dark black.
Step Two: Pour into Flat Mold
Once you have the black slurry, cut clear soap into small chunks, approximately 1 ounce per bar you’re making.Put into Pyrex cup and melt in microwave – about 15 seconds per ounce.Stir until all chunks are melted.
Add pigment to clear soap and stir thoroughly.Add more pigment mixture if needed to get a nice, dark black color.
Pour into soap mold, making 1/8” layer. Don’t forget to spray with rubbing alcohol to ensure there are no pesky bubbles marring your flat surface. Allow to set at room temperature; if in a hurry, put in refrigerator for 10 minutes until solid.Save any extra soap to re-melt for future projects.
You can also pour into your plain multi-cavity soap molds – that way you are sure your silhouette will fit in your soap mold.
Make your black flat soap and check back tomorrow on how to prepare your sillouette.
Click here for Part One Instructions
Click here for Part Two Instructions
Click here for Part Three Instructions
My weekend in New York has been no less enthralling than my first day, in a large part due to the subway system. I’ve been able to travel uptown and downtown, multiple times in a day, on an unlimited-ride $7.50 “Fun Pass.” Fun pass indeed; I could easily spend $7.50 per day in gas back in Bellingham, WA and not travel nearly as far. There are also cool mosaics in the walls announcing the subway stops. This is a nice, artistic touch.
And then, there is also graffiti. Reading the graffiti on the Subway is a bit of an art, sort of like reading a palm. Today, someone had etched the words, “Doom” and “Loner” into the glass of the subway car I was in. I don’t wish to think of how long it took to etch those words into the glass (undoubtedly with a disposable Bic pen) nor would I like to run into this doom-predicting loner.
My friend Allison (that’s her, in the first picture on this post) and I headed downtown to the famous (infamous?) Canal Street where we proceeded to gorge ourselves on replica handbags. It was amazing how nice the handbags were for $35 each. We were shocked (yet not surprised) to be led into hidden panels to entire rooms full of faux handbags. At one point, a man mumbled “Prada?” on the street to us. We expressed interest in his wares. He led us down the street to a white van. He then urgently said “Quick! Quick! Get in the van!” Tempted by the allure of a genuine Prada bag at a great rate, we jumped in the van. This is when Allison turned to me and said “This is how white slavery happens.”
We got out of the van. Quickly.
It’s unclear to me if we left because we were worried about being sold to become drugged, fertile child-bearing wives in a foreign country or just because the selection of handbags was quite poor in the van.
Allison is a good enough friend that she even stood for 30 minutes at Magnolia Bakery to get cupcakes. I bought four and have eaten one. It’s good. But, not as good as homegrown Cupcake Royale.
We ended our evening on Saturday night with a wonderful showing of the musica, Wicked. Having read the book by Gregory Maguire when I was in college, I had fond memories of the storyline. The musical on Broadway did not disappoint. Wow! What an amazing show with elaborate costumes; an absolute joy to see and hear.
On Sunday, I hung out with longtime Bramble Berry customer and friend, Jen. She took me to all the great shops in town from Century 21 by the World Trade Center, to Bergdorfs, Saks Fifth Avenue and Daffys. She even hooked me up with her friend to get a makeover. For those of you wishing such a transformation, “Tony C.” at the T. LeClerc counter is phenomenal. And, he’s also really nice and entirely flattering. I left his chair feeling a bit like a princess. You can judge for yourself. “Before” is on the left and “After” is on the right (as if it wasn’t obvious).
Finally, after a long day of sight seeing, Jen and I went to Tony Award Winning “Spring Awakening.” We arrived 3 minutes late and asked for the cheapest seats in the house. The ticket agent literally sold us the last seat, in the last row. Luckily, the usher took pity on us and gave us two empty seats, in the first row of the balcony (some of the best seats in the house). It was an excellent show with very serious themes on growing up, adolesence and parental oversight.
Tomorrow is a big day with several meetings with magazine Editors to talk about soapmaking as a creative outlet for children. Thankfully, I’ll have the wonderful subway to get me around to the meetings with a minimum amount of effort. And, should I wish another cupcake for breakfast? I have three more.
Greetings from the lovely New York City. I am absolutely in love with this city – the energy, the activity and the awesome subway system. Mass transit is something we don’t have in Seattle, WA so this is a treat.
I am here to do a bit of media – Martha Stewart Radio is the big one but I’ve also been lucky enough to have a long meeting with Parents Magazine and will be on Better TV next week as well.
Today was the radio show. Here I am at Sirius Radio.
On the air with Mario Bosquez. His specialty is “a little bit of everything Martha,” so he covers food, gardening, lifestyle and of course, crafts. I had read someplace that he had a niece. Picturing her like 6 or 7 years old, I left him a Children’s Soapmaking Kit to play with.
Of course, today, I see a picture of his niece and it’s clear that she is a fully grown, beautiful, adult woman. I sure hope she likes Salamander molds and Watermelon fragrance!
Mario Bosquez was a great host – engaging and genuinely interested in our craft. Plus, he was positively over the top ecstatic about our Oatmeal, Milk & Honey custom mold and fragrance. That did warm this little soapmaker’s heart.
Then, I got lucky. Jen Strang, a long time Bramble Berry customer and entrepreneur herself with RememberThePlaza.com, happened to have an extra ticket to the Grammy Award winning Steve Earle and Allison Moorer. The concert was in a lovely church in Greenwich Village and was a small, intimate and sold out event.
What a great way to end my evening in NYC; on the West Side, listening to a folk singer and reflecting on a successful and fun day.
I love New York.
I recently was honored when a young female entrepreneur asked me to mentor her. She’s an online business in a different space than ours – also specialty and niche but nothing to do with bath and body.
We sat down and chatted for a few hours. I loved her business concept, her business name and the entrepreneur herself. She was a dynamo! Only one problem: she didn’t have very many sales.
So, what did she do? She went out and started another company, having diagnosed her lack of sales as a positioning problem. In trying to start the new company, she all but let her first company sit in the weeds, gathering dust. She did no new marketing, no new products and quit writing her daily blog.
Now, 6 months later, she has one company not making any money (the first one) and another company … not making any money (the second one).
I see this disease in so many entrepreneurs (myself included) – misdiagnosing the problem
It’s natural to do only what you like to do. It’s natural to do the fun things first. It’s natural to want to eat the dessert and skip the broccoli. It’s natural to have too many good ideas as an entrepreneur.
The key is to squelch those natural instincts and actually follow through on ONE good idea. If you thought it was a great idea a year ago, why isn’t it valid now?
The sales part of any business is what’s hard. Actually convincing your potential customers that YOU’RE the one to buy from requires daily, incremental painful effort. It means doing the same things, day in and day out. It’s not sexy. It’s not always fun. It’s sometimes boring. It’s repetitive. But, it’s what will win the day in the end.
You don’t have a positioning problem. You don’t have a cash problem. You don’t have an employee problem. You don’t have a niche problem. You don’t have a packaging problem.
Get more sales and poof! All of those so-called “problems” go away and get magically solved. Why magic? Because with sales comes money. And with money comes more resources. And with more resources comes more bodies to work on your “problems.”
Don’t re-do your packaging yet again. Don’t re-jigger your formulas yet again. Don’t redesign your web site yet again.
Then, in a year, when you’ve quadrupled your sales, you’ll look back at those other ideas that had been tugging at you and be able to use all of your new found cash to expand your business in a logical, thoughtful manner.
Martha Stewart Radio!