Anne-Marie Faiola, Author at Soap Queen

Alaska Airline’s Machine Help

June 12, 2008 Filed Under: Business Musings

Thank you Dad for this hilarious exchange (if you don’t recall, my Dad also had a puzzling exchange with Cinnabon as well. Click here to read it).

Jenn: Hi, I’m Jenn, your virtual assistant for the Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air Web site. If you need help, or have a question, simply type it below.

You Asked: For my flight (Confirmation Code: BWY*DC Name: FAIOLA/RICHARD Ticket Number: 027-X11X85525X )The web site would not accept my Alaska Air number ([edited out]). Can you help me with correct number?

Jenn: The electronic ticket number and 6 letter confirmation code can be found in your confirmation e-mail or on the Purchased Reservation page. Alaska and Horizon ticket numbers start with 027 and can be found beneath the traveler information.

You Asked: Jenn, you are an attractive woman and your voice is very nice for a machine, but you are worthless.

Jenn: I’m sorry, please let me help you with something else.

Perfect for Single Party Servings

June 12, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

FredFlare is making my heart go pitter-patter for this single cupcake stand. Made out of hand blown glass, the stand measures just 8″ tall. At $60 each, getting enough for a whimsical dessert set might seem extravagant but for the person that has everything? I’m betting they don’t have these.

Click here to read an interview with the (female!) glassblower who designs these trendy, topical, trig pieces.

Last minute gift ideas for Dad

June 12, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Dad will love our Father’s Day Shaving Kit featured on L.A. Splash’s Father’s Day Gift Guide. This is a simple project for the kids that Dad will oohh and aahh over.
You can purchase our Shaving kit here, or read the entire review and see more gift ideas here.

Goin’ to Alabama

June 12, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I’m off to Alabama for the Alabama Soap Meeting. I’ve prepared some how-to instructions to post while I’m gone. I am hoping to blog from the conference if all the technology (laptop, camera, plug ins etc…) works. I’ll be twittering for sure.

In the meantime, just in case, enjoy the fun tutorial on detail work with MP soap.

SoapyLove’s Soapy Helpers (video)

June 11, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

(email subscribers: there’s a video on the blog)

There are only 4 spots left for the Soapmaking Weekend Intensive. For more information and to register, click here.

Cheese, Please?

June 11, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I am in grateful awe over this amazing assortment of cheese from Soap Queen reader (and web site designer!) Erin from Wisconsin. She sent a fabulous box of cheese from The Cheese Place

All I’ve eaten today is a Dance Party Cupcake from Cupcake Royale with a glass of milk and half of a S’Mores Donut. The Cheese will certainly balance out this healthy diet. I’m gnawing on the Aged Gouda as I write.

Thanks, Erin!

Johanna’s Cricket Soap

June 10, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Johanna (see previous Johanna projects here and here and here) used heavy green paper to make the cute little antenna’s for the perfect finishing touch to this little soapy bug – you could also use furry pipe cleaners for the same effect.

Johanna used Lime LabColor with just a touch of Brilliant Blue LabColor to deepen the green. She dusted the bug with Heavy Gold Mica to make the details pop. The Cricket Mold (dicontinued) is one of Milky Way’s latest designs and it’s on sale for the month of June.

Fragrances for Dad

June 10, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Father’s Day is Sunday! If you’re thinking of making something special for your Dad, husband or grandpa, these are the fragrances at Bramble Berry that strike me particularly Dad-like.

Oatmeal, Milk and Honey
Arabian Spice
Beau Brummel
Cedar and Saffron
Cold Water
Drakkar
Dragonsblood
Mayan Gold
Nag Champa
Sandalwood Vanilla
Sensuous Sandalwood
Spiced Mahogany
Vetyver
Wasabi
Kentish Rain
SeaMoss

Cybilla Scents;
Almond
Beau Brummel
Dragonsblood
Indian Sandalwood
SandalwoodPS – Hi, Dad!

Calling Summer Sun in Bellingham

June 9, 2008 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Melt & Pour Soap

With Summer supposedly around the corner here in Bellingham, I am desperate for happiness even if it comes in the form of cheery soap. I hope these sunny flowers make you smile.Here are the supplies you will need to make these Summer Sunflower soaps:Clear Melt and Pour Soap base
Sunflower Labcolor
Java Beans Labcolor
Pearly White Mica
Fuscia Labcolor or True Tone
Cappuccino Mica
Sunflower Milky Way Mold

Step one: Melt a small amount of your clear M&P soap base in a small heat safe container. I usually use a small glass Pyrex or coffee mug. For this project, you’ll only need about 16 oz. of soap base to make 4 stunningly beautiful sunflowers. Divide the soap into about 4-5 different sections for different colors and layers. It never hurts to have a little extra.

Hint: You can use a white base if you want a soft and pastel colored flower. I wanted my sunflower to be bright and vibrant so I chose a clear base.

Step Two: Color your melted soap base with the Sunflower Labcolor and pour into the petals part of your mold. Don’t forget to spritz each layer with alcohol to eliminate bubbles and to make sure your layers stick together.

Hint: I do another spritz after each layer has hardened and right before I pour the second layer. This will help the layers stick together.

Step Three: Melt a little more clear soap base (if you haven’t already) and color with the Cappuccino Mica for the center of the flower. For the darker shade in the center, I used the Java Bean Mica.

Hint: For that extra special attention to detail, pour a thin layer of clear soap colored with our Fuscia True Tone over the yellow petals and the the brown center. This will show through a little bit and give it that shaded and realistic look. Don’t forget to spritz between layers.
Final Step: Almost done; you can use any color here for the final layer. I think it would look great finished off with the same Sunflower Labcolor. I just chose our simple Cappuccino Mica and it turned out realistic, sunny and perfect for summer (eyes downcast modestly, of course).

Weekend Recap

June 8, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News, Business Musings

Wow! What a great weekend, both professionally and personally. First things first, Otion sponsored the local Monologue Competition. Here Erik (Otion Store Manager) and I are with the fabulous (and oh-so-young!) winner, Elizabeth.

Erik was so excited about the talent that young Elizabeth displayed that he invited her and her entre family down to Otion for a gratis soap bar. We’re hoping they are able to make it. If she’s this creative with her verbal skills, we’re betting she will make some amazing soap. Elizabeth beat out 17 other (adult) competitors to win the Monologue compeition. Her choice of pieces was excellent. She performed Victor Borge’s “Phonetic Punctuation” piece, from memory with verve and flair.

The highlight of my weekend was meeting the CEO of Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally. He is the former CEO of Boeing; a local (Seattle) boy who appears to be on the right path to saving Ford from the financial morass of the other US automakers. He was gracious, happy and incredibly fit. I was buoyed to see his slim and upright stature and inspired to look as good after 40 years in the business. I’m a CEO geek; I brought my Fortune 500 magazine to have Mr. Mulally sign his photo.

One thing that particularly impressed me about Mr. Mulally’s tenure is his commitment to a “One Ford.” He’s working on getting more Ford Cars built on single chassis to help save on customized labor costs. In fact, before he arrived, only 30% of the Ford cars were build on matching chassis. Now, over 80% of the cars are built on the same chassis. Here is our local newspaper’s take on his visit.

We spent the rest of the weekend painting our (hideous) pink house. If you missed that little breakdown, you can read about it here. I am relieved that the new blended color (3 parts Sherman Williams Sand Dollar with 1 part Warm Cappuccino) tones down the pink wonderfully while still keeping the warmth of the original hue. There are only 3 walls to go and our house will be bearable.

I finished the weekend by making a springtime loaf soap. I will blog about the colors, technique and final reveal later this week. I hope you had equally fulfilling, creative (soapy) weekends.

Button Flowers for Summer

June 8, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I made some cute Daisy (or as we call it on the Bramble Berry web site: “Button Flower“) soaps this week (all in the name of more color and fragrance testing) but really, I just can’t get over how adorable the mold is. It must be the overcast weather in Bellingham that makes me gravitate towards this happy mold. Hopefully summer will be here both in name and weather patterns soon.

The Daisy on the left is my favorite. Because the color is a bleeding colorant, it won’t stay beautifully mottled. Within two to three weeks, the entire white bar should be more of a muted pink without the unique look the bar is sporting now.

If you want to recreate any of these bars, you’ll need the Button Flower mold, clear melt and pour, white melt and pour, fragrance of your choice (might I suggest Midnight Pomegranite or Energy?), and Merlot Mica, Non-Bleeding Red, Red Labcolor and Sparkle Gold Mica.

The bars on the right and middle are simple multi pour soaps. Simple Instructions: Melt, color and fragrance the soap in different containers. Pour the soaps at the same time. They will naturally swirl and mingle in a surprising fashion. I painted gold on the rims of the soap molds before pouring. That’s where the sheen comes from.

The white soap on the left is actually just a white overpour with chunked up pieces of red soap cut up very small to give a different embedding look. All three bars are simple to make and use basic melt and pour techniques yet they look so varied and different. Melt and Pour truly is a consumable and usable art form.

Working Out Increases Energy

June 8, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Think you don’t have enough energy to work out at the end of your long, stressful day? It turns out that maybe you don’t have the energy because you DON’T work out.

Regular exercise increases your energy according a study reported in Perceptual and Motor Skills. The study found that exercise increased energy levels by as much to 50-100% after just 14-weeks of regular aerobic workouts. Participants worked out for three 20-40 minute aerobic workouts per week. The women who reported the lowest energy levels at the beginning of the study had the greatest gains.

The gorgeous boxer on the right in the photo? That’s my niece, Samantha. If she’s any indication, regular workouts really do increase energy!

Under the Sea

June 7, 2008 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

The Otionites are so very creative. This display utilizes Bramble Berry melt and pour base, Milky Way molds, rubber molds, sand from the beach and non-bleeding pigments. Using non-bleeding pigments was ultra important to this project to ensure that the colors did not fade and morph into eachother.

Otion created a dioroma of the ocean floor using a food cafeteria tray. I love the creativity that they displayed in using melt and pour as the canvas for affixing more soap to. It took over 5 pounds of soap to make this very large display. The overall “Wow! Is that really soap!?” effect makes it totally worth the extra soap.

Celebration Soap Fans

June 7, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Over at the Homestead Notes blog, they made the Soap Queen project: Celebration Soaps! I like the patriotic color scheme that they devised, especially with Flag Day coming up on June 14.

If you miss this project, click here to review the instructions.